hi okay so i know this is a mainly norwayxbelarus/norbela fanfiction but there's also some usuk in this so you've been warned. anyway let's start this shit. -elise
Monday, February 14th; 4:45 AM
Natalia sits up in her bed, yawning and stretching as she does. She rubs her eyes, and looks over to the clock: way too early for her to be up, but work duties came before sleep. Sooner or later, Alfred would be calling to wake her up, and then they would get coffee, and then they would go to work. Natalia rolls out of bed and puts on her slippers. Just as she's about to go take a shower, her phone rings. She groans and answers.
"Goooood morning, Vietnam!" Alfred yells, making Natalia flinch.
"I'm already up, Alfred." She mumbles, half asleep-ly sitting back down on her bed. "I should be ready in about 20 minutes. Pick me up?"
"Sure, dude. By the way, did you see the sign on the empty store next door? Some guy got permission to make it his tattoo parlor!" Natalia was now fully awake.
"Dear God, tell me I heard you wrong." She says, standing up.
"Nope; I saw him put the 'COMING SOON' sign up after I left work yesterday. He's kinda cute, and reminds me of you, with blue eyes, pale skin, and he's tall. I think you would like him."
"There's a door connecting our store and the empty one! How bad will that be for business?" Natalia says, ignoring what Alfred said completely.
"Nat, you're looking on the dark side. Hey, I've always wanted to get a tattoo like Arthur's..."
"You want to get a Fender guitar on your ass...classy; but seriously, I need to get ready. Swing by in 20." And with that, Natalia hung up and quickly walked to the bathroom.
After a quick 10 minutes, Natalia was standing in the bathroom mirror, blow-drying her hair. Judging by the fact that her hair is long and thick, this part took another 10 minutes. She had chosen a simple outfit the night before and quickly put it on. When her long hair is dry, she ties it with a small, dark purple bow. Suddenly, as she grabs her bag and tosses her phone and keys in, a knocking comes from her apartment door.
"Coming! Hold on!" Natalia says, picking up her wallet and placing it in her bag. Quickly grabbing her black half trench coat, she closes the latch to her bag tight, goes over to the door, and opens it to see Alfred standing there, with his bomber jacket. He was leaning against the doorway.
"Ready to go?" He asks, standing up straight. Natalia nods in response.
"But first..." She starts to respond.
"Coffee," They say in unison, starting to walk down the hall to the elevator. Alfred pushes the button, and the door opens with a ding! The two step in, and Natalia runs her fingers through her ponytail. The silence was awkward, but the two friends were used to it. Finally, the elevator gets to the bottom floor. Alfred and Natalia step out, and walk down the street.
"Okay, I just want chamomile tea today." Natalia says as the two walk into the small cafe near the complex. Alfred's smile becomes smaller.
"You okay?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at Natalia. She nods in response.
"Just a little tired. It's Monday; just give me a break." Natalia and Alfred step in line, him next to her.
"To be honest, I want coffee. I'm tired, man. You live far away from me, and I have to get up early and come over, and..."
"Alfred, we live in the same apartment complex: you live two floors under me. Quit whining." Natalia says, smirking.
"Yeah, well, I still have to walk up the stairs..." He grumbles back.
The two walk out a quick time later, holding their drinks. In the cold, mid-February air, the warm drinks felt soothing on their cold hands. The flower shop was a short five minute walk from the cafe. On one side of Arlovskaya's Flowers was a bakery owned by a lovely French couple. On the other side was the empty shop, soon to be a tattoo parlor; doors connected all three stores.
The two friends finally arrive at the flower shop, and Natalia pulls her keychain out and unlocks the door. Alfred steps in, and flips the sign from 'Closed' to 'Open'. Natalia walks over to behind the counter and pulls her laptop from her bag, then putting the bag under the counter. She pulls off her coat and hangs it on its hook, before opening the laptop and pulling her purple apron from its hook, tying it behind her back. Almost right as she started typing away at her laptop and Alfred started spraying some of the flowers with water, a man around 20-something walked in through the side door. In his hand was some sort of large pastry, wrapped in wax paper and still steaming.
"I'm here to pick up an order for Adam Fields." He says as Natalia clicks away at her laptop.
"You're here early..." She mutters. "A bouquet of roses?" She asks, still typing as she looks up at him. Adam nodded and glanced around the shop.
"The deluxe bouquet is $45.00, but you already paid, so that makes things easier. I'll be back in just a minute with your flowers." Natalia steps from behind the counter and smiles again. She goes over to a row of shelves attached to one of the walls with bouquets on them. Looking amongst the name tags attached to the flowers, she finally finds "FIELDS". Picking it up, she walks back over, behind the counter.
"Here you go. So, why do you need the flowers, may I ask?" Natalia asks, handing him the roses.
"Oh... well, my girlfriend and I are going out to dinner tonight at that new restaurant in town, The Midnight Sun. I'm planning on engaging to her then." He explains.
"Then why do you have that?" Alfred looks over his shoulder and points to the wax paper wrapped item.
"This? I'm making her breakfast. These are some croissants, and I'm going to try and make something else before she wakes up in..." Adam stops to look at his watch. "Around an hour,"
"Good luck! Come back later, and tell us how it goes!" Natalia says, waving at Adam, who waves back and leaves through the front door.
Around 5:30, Natalia and Alfred untie their aprons, hang them on the respective hooks, and begin to pack up.
"Are you going to do anything with Arthur tonight? Maybe take him out to a fancy restaurant?" Natalia asks, buckling up her bag.
"Actually, since he's at work until 8, I'm going to make him a nice dinner." Alfred starts to speak again, but is cut off.
"I'll help cook," Natalia says, her head popping up. He chuckles, and zips up his jacket.
"I was just about to ask you that. I have everything bought already; we're going to make steak, paired with the finest wine, served atop of mashed potatoes with a side of asparagus and bread." Alfred says in a faux French-accent, pulling on his black gloves.
"That'll take some time to make... let's just head straight to your place; I won't bother dropping off my stuff at mine." Natalia puts on her coat, and then her bag, before walking out into the cold February evening air. The sun was starting to set, and the sky was a beautiful mixture of lavender, sky blue, and a royal navy. Hardly anyone was driving, and the streetlights had just turned on. The two walked side by side along the side of the road, with Natalia walking closer to the road, due to Alfred's rational fear of being run over. The only sound came from their feet on the pavement and the sound of the occasional car passing by. Quicker than usual, the two got to the complex. Natalia walks in, and holds the door open for Alfred. Once they get to the stairs, they tacitly agree to race up to Alfred's apartment, pushing and shoving each other as they do. As they run down the hall, feeling like little kids again, people stick their heads out, silently judging the two. Natalia ends up winning, and catches her breath at the door while she waits. Once he gets there, he sticks out his key. Natalia takes it, and unlocks the door. She drops her bag in pure confusion.
"Arthur?" She asks, picking up her bag once again and placing it on the counter. "We thought you were still at work!"
"You thought I wouldn't come off early? I'm personally offended. I meant to surprise Alfred by making dinner, but obviously that didn't happen..." He explains, glancing at Natalia and walking over to a table he had set out nicely, blowing out the red candles that had been lit. "Why are you here, Nat?" He asks, looking at Alfred as he walked in and closed the door.
"Al asked if I could cook for you guys...speaking of cooking, what did you make?" She inquires, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
"Twenty bucks he used the stuff we were going to use." Alfred says, laughing. Arthur kicks him in the shin lightly.
"As a matter of fact, I didn't. I used those steaks in the fridge, and made other stuff." Natalia looks over Arthur's shoulder to the table, where steak, various vegetables, and mashed potatoes were divided onto two plates. She sighs and drops her arm.
"That was the stuff we were going to use; well, I guess I'm no longer needed. Don't have too rough of sex tonight!" She says, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Arthur reaches his arm out and starts to say something, but Natalia just leaves and closes the door behind her. As quietly as she can, she walks down the hall and to the stairs, where she goes down two flights. She walks to her apartment, and unlocks the door. All was silent and dark, except for the small lamp she kept on so she could see at night. She flips on the main light and kicks off her shoes, bending over to put them straight next to the door. Once she stands up, her black cat, Pixel, meows loudly and comes running over to Natalia, who picks her up and cradles her like a baby. Pixel nuzzles her head against Nat's chest. The two go into her room, where she sets Pixel down on her bed. Natalia changes into her pajamas and slips on her slippers. Once again, she picks up Pixel, and takes her to the kitchen. Placing her on on of the stools sat at one edge of the small square counter-top island, Natalia opens the fridge, looking for something to eat. Too tired to eat anything large, she closes the fridge and grabs an apple from the fruit bowl. Holding it in her mouth, she picks up Pixel and walks over to the couch, where she sits down and turns on the TV. Putting on a movie, she sits there, contemplating about the day, and how she was spending her Valentine's Day with an apple, her cat, and Notting Hill.
The next day at work was a simple one; the only exciting part was Adam rushing in, ring on his finger, grin on his face:
"She said yes."