Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update this! I actually had this completed a week ago but I revised it a bunch of times before sending it to my lovely beta Icelilly, and then took the weekend to tweak it slightly more. I'll hopefully have more free time in the coming weeks and will be able to update more consistently.


Chapter II

Beep. Beep. Snap.

Anya felt her nose twitch, and after the sound repeated itself, she rolled over and opened her eyes.

Nikolai was standing over her, in his boxers, holding a camera.

"Get out of here you pervert!" She screamed, grabbing the cordless alarm clock and chucking it at his head.

"Ow!" He winced, nursing the side of his head as he backed away. He snapped another picture before running out the door. Anya collapsed onto the bed, thankful that she had fallen asleep fully clothed. This was the third time she had caught him in her room with a camera, though it was the first time the object she had thrown had made contact with his skull as intended.

Rolling over, she glanced at her reflection in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door. Damn, I look like crap, Anya thought, pulling herself up in a sitting position. She hadn't slept well – not that she had slept well in the past couple of months. It felt like living in such a cramped space with her siblings had really begun to take its toll.

Maybe Dmitri will get a better job. Maybe Nikolai will be able to move back in with mom and dad. Maybe then I'll be able to get a good night's sleep, she thought wistfully to herself before snorting and standing up. Those things were about as likely to happen as vodka raining from the sky.

She riffled through her closet to pick out another outfit, eying the pile of clothes on the bedroom floor and making a mental note to do laundry when she got home. Glancing out into the hall, she didn't see any signs of either brother, but could hear a familiar muffling sound coming from their room, indicating that Nikolai was in there having a disagreement with Dmitri about something.

Taking a chance, she sprinted down the hall towards the bathroom, nearly colliding with the girl coming out.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know you were in there," Anya apologized. The girl mumbled some sort of subdued response before moving out of the way to let her in. Once inside, Anya groaned in contempt when she realized that the brunette had left the bathroom a mess. There wasn't hair or toilet paper lying on the ground, but the toiletries were strewn around the counter, while the shower door was open and swinging with the bar of soap resting on top of the drain.

"That's just great," Anya muttered to herself, quickly doing her best to file everything back into its rightful place. After getting the room more-or-less organized again, she undressed and got into the shower, careful not to slip on the slick surface left by the bar of soap.

Though by the time she had gotten out, she had nearly slipped and broken her neck twice. Blow-drying her hair, she left the shower running for another minute in hopes that it would wash away whatever soap still lingered.

I should've brushed by teeth first, She griped, staring into the fogged up mirror while she scrubbed the inside of her mouth, hoping she got everything. By the time she got dressed, the shower was off and the mirror was no longer fogged, allowing her to inspect her teeth and quickly floss.

Checking herself over, she walked to the door, knowing full well what waited on the other side.

"Finally, you're done! Ouch, Nikolai get off."

"I called dibs!"

"But I have to work. You don't."

"I slept on the couch last night. My whole body is sore."

Anya sighed, instinctively ducking and narrowly avoiding being hit as her brothers began fighting their way to get through the door.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw the brunette easing her way onto one of the stools, wincing. Anya raised her eyebrows in surprise before heading towards the fridge. Normally Dmitri's flings didn't stick around for breakfast the next morning, choosing instead to shower and either head to work or straight home to apply ice to all affected areas.

Anya pulled a cup out of the cabinet, eying the brunette. The girl seemed more interested in reading the newspaper than talking, though she seemed to only be reading the print above the fold – both her hands too occupied with a Vulcan death grip on the counter to open up the paper to another page.

"Damnit!"

Anya heard a door slam and a loud knocking sound, "Dmitri open up! At least let me get my toothbrush! Come on!"

A moment later Nikolai stomped into the kitchen, his hair in disarray and a huge scowl on his face. Anya heard the brunette let out a meek yelp before looking away from Nikolai's state of undress. Rolling her eyes, Anya poured the orange juice into her glass and checked on the status of her toast. Nikolai lounged around in nothing but boxers so often that she had become pretty desensitized to it. So seeing him now was the equivalent of seeing potted plant – albeit a creeper potted plant that enjoyed having a bad attitude and taking pictures of her while she was sleeping.

"Do we have any carrots left?" Nikolai asked, shuffling through the fridge.

"If there aren't any in there, then no," Anya responded, grabbing the toast as it sprang up, "You should have asked Dmitri to buy some more when he went to the grocery store yesterday."

"I guess I can live without them for a few days," Nikolai shrugged, closing the fridge and reaching over to grab an apple, "Good morning, by the way," he said, leaning over and giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Knock it off," Anya hissed through clenched teeth. Nikolai merely grinned and took a bite of the apple. The brunette didn't seem to notice, as she was leaning back on her stool as if trying to find a more comfortable sitting position.

"So what's your name?" Anya said in a forced attempt to start conversation. The brunette looked up at her like she had just realized that Anya was standing across from her.

"Katarina."

"I'm Anya, nice to meet you," Anya smiled while Katarina looked at her warily.

"Nikolai," Her brother replied coolly, "So did you have fun last night?"

Anya choked on her juice and Katarina looked taken aback.

"What? You kicked me out of my room last night and threw a cell phone at my head. For all that you better have had a good time."

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Katarina sneered.

Nikolai shrugged and took a sip of juice, "Judging from the way you're sitting in that chair, I'm guessing-"

"Nikolai," Anya cut him off with a withering glare.

Katarina's face turned bright red and she looked back down at the front of the newspaper again, which she must have read a couple of times by now. After a few minutes of awkward silence – only broken by Nikolai's loud bites into the apple – Anya turned on the television and began watching the news.

"Oh good, the sensational pieces," Nikolai commented sarcastically, "because no one can live without knowing what stunt Snooki's pulled this week."

"Shut up," Anya replied lazily, though she silently agreed with him.

"The shower's all yours Nikolai!" Dmitri called, as he raced down the hall in just his towel, having forgotten to bring clothes with him into the bathroom in his race to best his brother.

"'kay!" Nikolai hollered back, tossing the apple core into the garbage before wandering towards the bathroom.

"Nikolai, please get dressed today! And Dmitri don't leave your towel on the floor of your bedroom again it'll get mildew-y!" Anya yelled, buttering the toast she had left cooling on the counter.

A few minutes later, Dmitri came stumbling into the kitchen, messing with his tie. "Damn it. Anya? Could you help me with-" Dmitri paused, noticing Katarina eying him from the counter, "Oh, hello, I didn't know you were still here."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Katarina snapped, "I'm not some cheap floozy you know! I don't just sneak out the morning after!"

"I- I didn't mean it that way," Dmitri stammered. He sent Anya a pleading look, but she just shrugged and sipped her juice.

"I hope so," Katarina glared at him as he made his way to the fridge.

"Oh Dmitri, next time you're at the store, Nikolai wants some more carrots."

"He should get them himself then," Dmitri replied, "He has money. And he can take on some responsibility around here. We aren't his parents."

"You try getting him to leave the house."

"Okay, I will."

"Oh really, well- Dmitri I told you not to do that!"

Dmitri paused, the opening of the milk carton up to his lips, "Hey, I'm the only one here who drinks it. Besides, they say milk helps you grow big and strong."

"Then you should probably drink coffee to stunt your growth," Katarina muttered, causing Dmitri to choke on his first gulp.

Anya forced a polite smile, "So… Katarina was it? What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a waitress," Katarina responded, "But I have the afternoon shift today, if you were hoping that would get rid of me."

"Oh I didn't mean that," Anya lied, "Though Dmitri and I will be headed off to work soon so if you stick around you'll be alone with our brother."

"Oh, I figured Dmitri was headed to work, but I figured you were staying here," Katarina replied lazily, "I wouldn't leave the house in that outfit unless… oh, are you a telemarketer?"

"No," Anya snapped, turning to Dmitri, "I believe its time you escorted this girl home, don't you agree?"

"Um, yeah, sure," Dmitri replied, not looking pleased at the idea of being trapped in a car with Katarina.

"Oh, I don't need an escort, I can-" Katarina stood up and instantly began clutching her stomach, "God damnit."

"What's wrong?" Anya asked, all trace of concern gone from her voice.

"I should've known it was a bad idea to try that. Damn it. I thought I got my period early but the way this hurts-" Katarina winced.

"Oh, I, um," Dmitri said, looking around frantically, "Do you want to lie down or-?"

"No, I just need to walk it off. That's all." Katrina took a small step forward before doubling over in pain again.

"Oh god. Do you want me to call someone?" Dmitri asked, becoming alarmed.

"No. I think you should take me to the hospital."

"The hospital..?"

"Yes, the hospital. I'm not dying but this definitely calls for prescription strength painkillers. Ah, and soon would be good."

"Yes, right away," Dmitri stammered, groping frantically for his keys, "Anya could you call my work and tell them I'll be coming in late today."

"Sure, why not," Anya replied, trying to absorb the scene unfolding in front of her.

By the time Dmitri found his keys, Katarina was back on the stool and gripping the counter again. Staring at her awkwardly for a moment, he eventually reached to pick her up, and she screamed at him for not being careful enough.

"Well, that was… interesting," Anya remarked as the door closed behind them.

"Damn, did I miss the fireworks?"

Anya turned around to see Nikolai leaning against the bathroom door with his towel wrapped around his waist, nodding at the doorway. "All I heard was 'You did this to me you bastard' and 'You better pay for it.' He didn't get her pregnant did he?"

"No, thank god. She was shrill," Anya answered, "Apparently they did something last night and now she's in excruciating pain."

"Well yeah, she had sex with Dmitri. None of the other girls had to go to the hospital though. I wonder-"

"I'd rather not analyze my brother's sex life, thank you very much," Anya cringed, "I don't know what they did and I don't care to know."

Nikolai shrugged, "It's not like anyone else around here has a romantic or sex life to speak of."

"You don't- you don't know that," Anya felt her face turn red, "I see plenty of guys."

"Oh really? Because in the entire time I've been here I've never seen you out on a date, and yout boss doesn't seem like the kind of guy to give you a long lunch break. So unless you're having sex with Dmitri I don't see how that's possible."

"Don't be vulgar," Anya snapped, "and go get dressed. I have to make a phone call."

"Whatever. I totally won that argument though," Nikolai waved as he headed towards his room.

"Yeah, okay. I haven't been on a date in a while. I admit it. You happy?"

Nikolai paused, "Not really," he said quietly before opening the door and heading inside, his shoulders slightly slumped. The answer was ambiguous enough that Anya didn't bother getting creeped out and instead dialed the number Dmitri had left on the side of the fridge in case of an emergency.

"Hello, you have reached the front desk of BLOC Enterprises. How may I direct your call."

"I would like to speak to the supervisor for Dmitri Braginskaya. This is his sister," Anya answered, mentally kicking herself for not remembering the man's name.

"Oh, Anya, is that you?"

The calm robotic voice became more animated and Anya felt her stomach sink like a stone. She had hoped never to hear that voice again.

"Amelia?"

"Sharp as always I see. It's been so long. You didn't attend the last sorority reunion."

"Yeah, sorry, I was busy with work at the time," Anya rolled her eyes, remembering how they had scheduled a two year reunion. According to the sisters, every milestone counted, even one so insignificant.

"That's too bad. The planning committee had set up a sky-diving event for us. Oh, I had begged them not to do an activity that I would be so much better at than the others, but they insisted on making it exciting, so who was I to say no? I totally owned everyone there."

"Yes, that is too bad," Anya replied, wondering what she had done to make the universe hate her so much this morning, "I do need to speak to my brother's supervisor though."

"Oh, what happened? I hope he's not sick. He's a lot of fun to have around!"

Anya could practically hear the other girl salivate on the other end of the phone and silently wretched. She was tempted to tell her about Katarina to freak her out, but realized that probably wouldn't bode well for Dmitri if word of the incident spread around the office.

"No, he's fine. A minor family emergency came up and he'll be in later today."

"Oh I see. His supervisor isn't in yet but I'll be sure to pass on the message. And Anya-?"

"Yes Amelia?"

"We gotta have lunch! It's been way too long and I have so much stuff to tell you!"

"Yes we should, that would be lovely, I'll call you. I have to get to work now, you have a good day."

Anya exhaled and hung up before Amelia could respond. Amelia was apparently down to earth and nice according to other people Anya had talked to, but when she talked to her the girl always seemed very aloof. Neither of them had ever gotten along and their relationship seemed to devolve into a type of catty politeness that Anya despised taking part in.

"Why do I have to deal with this crap so early in the morning," Anya groaned, rubbing her temples, "I gotta get out of this funk."

"God, I'm sorry! You still haven't gotten over what I said?" Anya looked up to see Nikolai walk past her, opening the fridge again and eying it warily. For once he has listened to her, and was dressed in an old T-shirt and khaki shorts.

"I stopped caring about anything you have to say a while ago. Guess who I just got off the phone with?"

"From the angry and unsatisfied look on your face, I'm guessing he wouldn't sell you the drugs on credit?"

"Ha ha," Anya stood up and put her empty glass in the sink, "Did I ever tell you about a girl named Amelia Jones?"

"No. But I think your friend Camila, or whatever her name is, said something about a water balloon standoff?"

"It's Kamilė. And yeah, I know what you're talking about," Anya sat down again and sighed, "We had been in the same sorority for two years, but never talked to each other because she was a year younger and we didn't have the same friends there. At the beginning of my senior year, we finally did interact, and it didn't turn out well. I don't remember the exact details, but we left that first meeting with a lot of hostility."

"Hostility? Go on…"

"Oh shut up. Anyway, about a month later, some of the other girls began this water balloon fight. I was asked to join and it looked like fun, but then Amelia got invited to play too."

"And you threw ten at her! I hope you got her in the face."

"No. Stop interrupting. Anyway, Amelia got a little too into it, and began hoarding the water balloons so she could 'launch a full scale assault.' Well, we only had so many water balloons left, so I suggested that we hold onto the ones we had for the time being as well. Pretty soon, it turned into this huge standoff and all the sisters were on edge, wondering which side would be the first one to launch the attack and drench the entire house."

"So what ended up happening?"

"Nothing, as it turns out. I graduated that year while she stayed for her senior year. I haven't seen her since. But the water balloon thing kinda served as a backdrop to a whole bunch of other things that happened," Anya frowned, "Basically, I'd rather pull out all my teeth with pliers than go to lunch with her."

"She invited you to lunch? That's strange," Nikolai observed, grabbing the orange juice.

"I think she enjoyed the thrill of the battle or something, I can't even begin to figure out how her mind works. Not to mention- GODDAMNIT NIKOLAI I DRINK THAT JUICE TOO!"

"So?" Nikolai glanced at her, before continuing to drink from the bottle.

"I give up," Anya drummed her head against the counter, "I should just start buying food for myself and hiding it in my room. Then the two of you can be as unsanitary as you want with whatever's in here."

Nikolai opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Before Anya could sit up, he was already walking over to answer it.

"Hey Anya I- Nikolai! It's great to see you! I-"

Nikolai slammed the door in Kamilė's face and turned to his sister, "Cammo's here."

"You don't have to be so rude."

"I can't help it. Every time I see her it's like she's undressing me with her eyes," Nikolai faceplanted on the couch, "It's creepy."

Anya stopped at stared pointedly at him, "Let those who are not creepy perverts cast the first stone."

Nikolai muttered something inaudible into the couch cushion and Anya turned around to answer the door.

"Oh Anya, I guess Nikolai didn't recognize me. We haven't seen each other in a while-"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," Anya replied meekly. The prospect of leaving the apartment seemed to begin easing the tension out of her.

Kamilė peered around her, "Do you think I could-?"

"No. Sorry. If we don't leave now we're going to be late."

"Oh, okay," Kamilė glanced at Nikolai before Anya rushed out the door and quickly locked it.

"I don't get why you lock the door. Nikolai's there isn't he?"

"Nikolai's a masochist who enjoys the occasional - and random - alone time with hard liquor. Believe me, it's just as much about keeping him inside the house as it is about keeping people out."

Kamilė tilted her head when they reached the bottom of the stairs, "But couldn't he just unlock it from the inside? And don't you and Dmitri want him out of the house?"

"I want him out of the house, but not after he's been drinking. His personality is already grating, but once he gets alcohol into his system he just gets sadistic," Anya glanced at her watch and quickened her pace, spotting her car in its normal spot, "And he's not good with complicated things like locks then either."

"I guess that makes sense," Kamilė acknowledged. A moment later, she slid into the passenger seat, "But wait, doesn't Dmitri leave later than you? Why wasn't he here?"

"You're asking way too many questions for this early in the morning," Anya shook her head and turned on the ignition, "You can quiz me all you want when we get to work, but right now I would really love some peace and quiet."

She could feel the tension leave her body as she pulled out of the parking space. For a few hours anyway, she could stop being on high alert and drop this angry and defensive personality that seemed to surface whenever her brothers were around.

Kamilė looked up at her, noting the change in atmosphere, "Hey, you want to grab some lunch today at that new place down the street from work?"

"Um," Anya said quietly, "Maybe tomorrow. I have to make sure I get everything done today." Sighing, she allowed herself a small smile.

"Okay, sure," Kamilė chuckled nervously to herself, "Welcome back, regular Anya, you have been missed."


Author's Note: Thanks for reading this far! Feedback is appreciated, even negative feedback!

BLOC was a reference to the "Eastern Bloc" countries. Though the name doesn't actually have any significance and I just wanted something to call that workplace - hence why Amelia works there despite America not being an Eastern Bloc country. Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country or use popular fanon names. The only new one introduced in this chapter is Fem!Romano, who goes by Katarina Vargas.