Ivan sighed. "Natalya, get out of my room and get dressed." She pouted, blew him a kiss, and scurried out of the room to get ready for school. Ivan sighed again, exasperated. It was the first day of school, and his little sister Natalya was coming with him. She had just finished elementary school, and this was Ivan's third year at Московская Академия Мира, Moscow Academy for the World, a secondary school their father had insisted they go to.

Ivan, Natalya, their older sister Katyusha, and their mother Alisa had lived in America until four years ago, when their father Viktor insisted they come back to their homeland, "Mother Russia!" There, Ivan and Kat went to MAW and Nat to a local elementary. Now, Natalya was coming to MAW with him, and Kat was in the other building with the ninth grade and up. These next few years of school are going to be hard... he thought absentmindedly to himself.

Natalya looked at herself in the mirror, admiring the way her favorite blue dress fit her. She ran her brush through her silky platinum blonde hair one more time, fixed the blue bow that perched atop her head, and, once satisfied that she was presentable, began to walk downstairs. I finally get to go to school with darling big brother! She almost let out an excited squeal, but stopped herself when she saw Viktor at the bottom of the steps.

"Hurry, Natalya! You're going to be late!"

"Yes, Father..." she said politely. She hurried past him and rushed towards the door where her brother stood, waiting for her. My future husband... She shook herself and continued. She grabbed her schoolbag where it lay, ready near the front door.

"Have a nice day at school kids! Don't get into any trouble!" called Alisa.

"We won't!" Natalya beamed at her mother.

"Not this early in the school year, at least", muttered Ivan, thinking of the insane plots his sister made in elementary school against Ivan's admirers. Their father ushered them out the door and slammed it behind them.

The short walk to school was awkward for Ivan, enjoyable for his sister. She clung tightly to his arm as they walked down the sidewalk, slippery with a thin layer of ice, watching the small white puffs that form whenever either of them took a breath. Ivan dons a long, tan coat with several layers underneath as well as a thick, white scarf that is his favorite, and yet he still shivered a bit. Sensing his need for warmth, Natalya pressed herself into her brother, sharing her body heat. He sighed for the millionth time that morning, procuring a big puff of white steam that was swept away by the wind.

Natalya was much colder than her brother, though she wouldn't admit it. When she felt his shivers, she immediately jumped to use it as an excuse, pressing herself further into his side. Being much taller, walking wasn't a problem with his sister so close, but Natalya stumbles alongside him, trying to keep up.

Eventually, he pried her off him, and they arrived at the Academy hand in hand. Their father need not have worried about tardiness; they were at least half an hour early.

"Do you want to stay with me or go to your homeroom early? I'm going to mine." Ivan sincerely hoped the answer would be the latter.

"I want to stay with you, brother. Forever," she replied ominously. He shuddered at the dark look that came across her face.

"Are you cold?" She asked hopefully. He glanced at her rather disdainfully.

"No... I'm not." Well, you're acting pretty damn cold to me, she thought. Ivan pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. He studied it for a moment, and then ripped it in half.

"This is your schedule," He said, handing one of the pieces to his sister. She nodded. With that, they both began walking to Ivan's homeroom.

Once there, they found that the door was closed and there were a few other early people sitting outside it in the hall, waiting for the teacher to come. Ivan recognized a few old friends, and rushed over to greet them.

"Привет, Francis! Arthur!" he called. Immediately, two blonde heads snapped to attention. One of the boys had fair, wavy, silky hair that fell gracefully to his shoulders, and light blue eyes that were as soft as his smile. A light layer of fashionable stubble graced his chin. The other boy had hair that was a slightly darker shade of blond and fell to his ears, with bright green eyes and unusually thick eyebrows. A scowl graced his delicate features. Suddenly the blue-eyed one jumped up and rushed over to the two.

"Bonjour, mon ami! I am so glad to see your pretty Russian face again, oh hon hon hon hon! Ah, and who is this lovely lady? Eh? Is she your..."

"She's my sister, Francis." He rolled his eyes at the Frenchman.

"Oh! Well, hello belle jeune femme! I am Francis Bonnefoy!" He leant down to kiss her fingers, glancing up at her warmly as he did so. He only received a cold stare in return.

"You bloody frog! You're going to terrorize her! Ahem, hello, I'm Arthur, and this bloody git is Francis. Nice to meet you." She stayed silent. "Erm... and, your name is?"

"Natalya."

"Ah, what a beautiful name, mon cher!"

"Oh, will you quit it!? Bloody —" He was cut off by someone shouting loudly.

"THE AWESOMENESS THAT IS ME HAS ARRIVED!"

"Gilbert, for god's sake, please keep your voice down! It's too early in the morning and you're giving me a headache!"

"Oh, Roddy, loosen up a bit!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Hello, Gilbert, Hello Roderich," said Arthur politely in his British accent.

"Hello, Arthur," said Roderich. He was a graceful man with dark chocolate brown hair that fell across his forehead. Thin wire glasses framed his unusual mysterious purple eyes, much like Ivan's own. A small beauty mark graced the corner of his mouth. Next to him was Gilbert, a slightly taller man with a permanent smirk on his face. His hair was a shiny silver color, and his bright, blood red eyes were prominent against his curiously pale skin. The two were holding hands. When he spotted Francis, however, he immediately broke contact with his partner and rushed over to him.

"Yo, Francis, my man!" he shouts loudly, clapping his arm around the Frenchman's shoulders. Long time, no see! How was it in Spain?"

"You went to Spain?" interrupted Natalya.

"Yes, mon cher, with a friend of ours, Antonio." She winced at the term of endearment. "Where is the prick anyway?"

"FAG isn't complete without him!"

"Gilbert, that's offensive!" exclaimed Arthur, sneaking a glance at Francis, who just laughed.

"No, eyebrows, those are the letters of our first names, remember?" said a voice.

"TONI! What took you so long?" Gilbert ran over and gave him a bone-crushing embrace.

"Gil, Gil, let go, lemme breathe!" he exclaimed. He let him go, still grinning. "I heard the call of the FAG, that's why I came." The three burst into laughter.

Natalya tugged on her brother's coat, trying to get his attention.

"Your friends are weird," she told him.

"Oh, you'll get used to them, Da?" came his reply.

"No, I won't."

A/N

Just for clarification, the secondary school goes from grades 6-12, with grades 9-12 in a different building. Natalya is in the sixth grade, and Ivan in the eighth grade. Katyusha is in the tenth.