Alright, this chapter, again, is pretty light. I haven't really laid on the hard shit. That, my friends will be coming around the fifth chapter and later. Please, please, please don't think that this story is just a fluffy fic, it becomes very heavy and very sexual towards the end. Warnings: None

Also I forgot to mention, "lapushka" is a Russian endearment that means 'little paw'

Age 7:

Alfred shuffled into the house sleepily, having just gotten off the bus. Over the years he'd definitely gotten healthier. A bit too healthy. His clothes were a bit snug and chub was definitely evident. It was really more his caretaker's fault than anything. With Alfred's tendency to overeat and Ivan's inability to say no, the weight was inevitable.

"Dad?" he called out, looking around curiously and dropping his backpack. "Dad, I got a question!:"

Ivan was in the kitchen washing the dishes. "I'm in here," he called out, glancing over his shoulder when he saw Alfred. His heart fluttered, even after two years, whenever Alfred called him 'dad.' He had always wanted children, but due to...circumstances he'd been unable to have them. "What do you need to ask, lapushka?"

"Why don't I have a mom? Everyone else at my school has a mommy... Where's mine?" He took a seat at the stool, snatching a cookie from the jar and beginning to nibble, his lips immediately drawing up into a smile. He loved cookies, he loved sweets, and he especially loved anything Ivan had made for him.

"Oh..." Ivan wilted considerably. These questions. The hard questions. "Well... That's a hard question, Alfred." He pulled his rubber gloves off and then the water, wiping his hands on the towel. He came closer to Alfred to put a hand on his shoulder. "Well... Sometimes people just have one or the other. And...and sometimes they have two mommies and daddies."

Alfred watched him curiously, still nibbling on the cookie. He seemed to be thinking over what the other was telling him, before finally coming to his own conclusion. "So you like daddies instead of mommies?" His lips drew into a smile. "I didn't know two daddies could be together!"

"Oh..." Well, that had gone a lot better than he thought. "Yes, I like daddies instead of mommies." He smiled, rubbing Alfred's back and then returning to the dishes. "Well, they used to not be allowed to. But now everything is getting much better and I'm allowed to love whoever I want now."

Alfred finished up the cookie and smiled. "Can daddies marry other daddies too?" He stood up, stepping to Ivan's side, watching him scrub the dishes, but not really offering him any help. He rest his chin on the counter, watching him curiously.

"Well... It depends on where you live. Here we can get married, but I couldn't marry another daddy in the state next to us. A lot of people don't like it." He shook his head. It was hard explaining something like homophobia to a young child.

Alfred's mind was on something else instead. He grinned excitedly, moving up onto the tips of his toes. "Well, when I'm all grown up and a daddy, I'm gonna marry you!" He gave an excited nod of his head, reaching out to hug him around the arm.

Ivan couldn't help but laugh. "Well, we'll see about that in the future." He knew that it was common for children claiming they wanted to marry their parents, it was just a phase that Alfred would grow out of. "Someday you might find a mommy or daddy that you want to marry instead."

Alfred shook his head, ducking it under Ivan's arm and hugging him tight. "No! I only wanna marry you. No one's as good as you. No one's a better daddy than you." He rest his chin on Ivan's side, looking up to him with a grin.

Ivan laughed and hugged Alfred tight. "Whatever you say, lapushka." He ruffled Alfred's hair and went back to the dishes, humming a Russian folk song as they stood there together. He was so glad that he had Alfred with him.