Disclaimer: Hetalia is /not/ mine, kthx.

The Best Kind of Wife

Avio Favalon

A Hetalia fanfic~

Little Natalia was completely at a loss as to what to do with herself. It was early afternoon, and she was waiting for her brother to return home from an important meeting she was too small to attend. The little girl missed him so very much, and it had only been a few hours.

She nervously paced the living room, back and forth, back and forth, fidgeting with her skirt and her bow and trying not to trip on anything. She had dressed up her very best that morning (with Katya's help) just so she could impress him (something Katya had giggled at, remarking that Natalia was simply too "sweet and adorable for words," causing Natalia to pout.).

She sighed, looking up at the front door, willing her precious older brother to walk in and swoop her up into her arms as he sometimes did. He was so big and strong… she blushed, a small smile on her face. She loved him so very much. She had even told him that she wanted to marry him, to which he'd simply smiled and patted her head, saying, "da, Nata, whatever you say."

This thought had filled her with joy, and she had become determined to do her best to be a very good future wife for him, and to be strong so she could protect him as a good spouse should. She always cleaned up any small messes and had always helped Katya with cooking whenever she could (Katya would let her was the vegetables and such) and she always made sure never to complain about anything. She was a very good girl, and some day she would make an even better wife.

Suddenly, she was hit with an excellent idea. It was so simple, really, and the little girl chided herself for not thinking of it before.

She would make a dinner for her precious big brother. It was the perfect idea. Perfect.

She felt excitement bubbling in her chest and with a small smile, she made for the kitchen, looking around desperately for one of Katya's cookbooks. When she finally found one, placed up on the counter and luckily with the corner over the edge so she could reach up and grab it. The heavy book toppled to the ground as she pulled at the cover with her small fingers and she fell backwards in her attempt to get out of the way before it hit her. Her heart pounded as she thought of what was most definitely a near-death experience.

After she got over her almost-traumatic happening, she cautiously approached the book and opened the heavy cover. She began to turn the pages in her search for an appropriate dinner for her beloved Vanya. A fourth into the book, she came across Котлета По Киевски. Kiev chicken. It's perfect, and didn't look too hard to make. Well. The meat may be kind of hard, but she could handle it. She was going to be a very good wife, and therefore this would be nothing for her. Yes. It wasn't going to be hard at all.

She glanced at the ingredients and decided it she should begin collecting them. She just had to remember where Katya kept everything. That shouldn't be too hard. A good wife should have a good memory. So. The ingredients… she needed flour, salt, pepper, eggs, bread crumbs, chicken, garlic butter, butter, cloves, and parsley. She bit her lip. Where was all of it?

Thus began her desperate attempt to locate all of the ingredients. However, much to her chagrin, she was far too small to reach the cupboards above the counters. This disheartened her for a mere minute before she remembered that there were chairs in the living room with which she could use as a boost of sorts. The perfect plan! She was going to be the best wife ever, and she would make Vanya very, very proud of her.

She ran into the room, grasping the chair in her small hands, dragging it across the floor and into the kitchen and against the counter. She climbed up the chair (with minor difficulty, honest) and onto the counter, opening the cupboards cautiously. She spotted the needed herbs on the top shelf in the cupboard and reached for them. The chopped parsley bottle came toppling out falling down and hitting the ground. She gave a small yelp, then continued her search for the cloves. It would be an interesting adventure trying to reach all of the ingredients, but she would do it! She would succeed because she would become the best kind of wife.

~o~

It was twenty minutes later and Natalia had made a complete mess.

There were broken eggs and herbs and salt and pepper and flour all over the floor and her dress. She knew she should probably clean up, but she still needed the chicken and it wouldn't make sense to clean right away.

She carefully made her way down from the counter onto the chair then onto the floor, and was about to make her way towards the freezer when she heard a surprised voice cry out, "Natalia? What on earth are you doing, sestra?" She jerked her head up to look at her brother in surprise and lost her balance, slipping onto the floor in her mess of ingredients.

"Natalia!" Ivan cried, rushing forward to his fallen little sister.

Natalia, meanwhile, wasn't really in any sort of pain. Sure, her bottom kind of stung but she'd had far worse, and she was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Vanya was home.

Oh, no. Vanya was home.

And the entire kitchen was a mess and dinner was nowhere near cooked and ready to eat and her best clothes were completely filthy and Vanya was home and she messed everything up so terribly and he's going to be so ashamed of me! her thoughts cried out. She looked up at him and then away quickly, blushing furiously in shame, tears prickling at her eyes but she would not let them fall. The best kind of wife would never do that.

Ivan knelt down next to her, carefully keeping his scarf out of the mess on the floor, violet eyes gazing at her in concern. "What were you doing, Natalia?" His voice was gentle, as was his hand on her shoulder. She was quiet, sulking and beating herself up mentally. He reiterated his question, and this time she looked up at him, tears in her eyes and her lips in an unmistakable pout.

"I-I… I was tr-trying to c-cook something delicious for you… s-so I can practice being the best kind of wife I-I could po-possibly be for you…" She whimpered, looking away and blushing with shame and embarrassment and her failure. "B-but now I have made a big mess a-and I-I have not even g-gotten anything done and I am a failure and I-I am sorry! I-I just want to be a very good wife for you! B-but I cannot e-even m-manage dinner! I am sorry, Vanya!"

Ivan blinked in surprise, then couldn't help but smile at his poor, desperate little sister. He pulled her into his arms, unconcerned about her mess getting all over his coat, and sat her on his lap, petting her hair until she calmed down. "Silly Natalia," he cooed, "you did not need to do all of this, da? You have plenty of time in your life to practice being a good wife, and I am certain that some day you will make your husband very happy. I am proud of you, though, da."

She raised her eyes to his, confusion evident as she asked him in response, "r-really, Vanya? Y-you are proud of me?"

His smile widened, somewhat gentler. "Da, Nata. I am very proud of you. That you would try to do all of this all by yourself while still being such a small, little one." He glanced around at the mess wearily, knowing he would probably have to have it cleaned. "You are a very good, strong girl, Nata."

Her eyes widened and her cheeks darkened at the compliment, and she couldn't help herself when she threw her (very messy) arms around her brother as best as she could. "Y-you really mean it, Vanya? I-I will be a good wife?"

"Da, Nata," he chuckled lightly, "you will be the best kind of wife."

Her eyes lit up and she flushed with pride. "Y-yes! I will not fail you, Vanya! I will make a very good bride for you and we will be married and we will be one!"

"A-ah, i-if you say so, Nata." He had always figured it would be best just to humor her. It was only a phase, after all.

She beamed up at him in response, and nuzzled into his chest. The best kind of wife, she thought to herself, and she gave a smile. The very best.

A/N: holy moth freaking shizmuffins. It's not angsty.

Well. For little!Bela it was. But the entire thing itself wasn't. xD;; I hope I didn't fail this completely and I apologize profusely for the horribly ooc-ness that ensued. OTL pleasedon'thateme. A-anyways. I was hit by this idea as I was reading that beautiful-lovely-gorgeous SpainBela that's on here. (go read it. Seriously. Do it. It's freaking beautiful. Of Fire and Ice by . Gogogo. Now. Doitdoit.) andum. Yes. So. Enjoy this not-angst-for-once bit by me. :'D

~Avio