Venturing inside, Russia looked around the large house with curiousity, not realising he was still hugging the fluffy blanket in his pale and boney hands, "Oh wow..." he mused, looking in wonder at the beautiful paintings on the walls. America placed his hands on his hips, grinning as he watched the fourteen year old look around the hall, "This is your house?" he asked.
"Yep! My house!" America confirmed.
"It's so nice," Russia said, entering the living room as he continued to walk on, looking at the large flat screen television that was rested neatly on top of a cabinet, "What's that?" he asked to which America walked over to it.
"Oh! That's a television, you know how you have paintings?" America asked and Russia nodded, "These are like moving real paintings, look I'll show you," he stated as he flicked on the television of which the episode that was currently playing was something called 'Innapropriate Jesters" to which the episodes seemed to focus on a group of adults pranking and messing around with eachother to which the young Russian focused on the screen for a while before he understood what was going on and began to let out small laughs which led off into bigger laughs. This came as quite a surprise to the American beside him, Russia had never been one to show his emotions strongly, if the adult Russia was here he would give nothing more then a light-hearted chuckle, but this little fourteen year old Russia was giggling and laughing like crazy.
"You really like that show, huh? I love it too, it's so funny," America said
Russia nodded, "It's funny, they're playing pranks with eachother," Russia stated as he shyly sat down on the leather couch and continued watching the television. America glanced over at the ash haired boy, smiling at him.
"Wow.. Who knew I would find Russia so.. loving.." America thought to himself as the teenager got comfortable but nervously.
"Russia,"
The boy looked back in reponse to hearing his name called like a puppy to his master.
"I'm going to make some dinner for us, okay? Do you like meat?" he asked..
"I like every food apart from peas," Russia responded.
To which America grinned and nodded, "Okay, take your shoes off okay, you'll be uncomfortable otherwise and if you dont want to watch this anymore you can flick through the channels using this remote," America instructed, holding up the remote control to the television and setting it beside the Russian boy who in turn nodded in repsponse and gazed back at the television with wonder. As America had walked into the kitchen and browsed through his phone for recipes for an actual dinner instead of an order from the pizza place or mcdonalds, Russia had actually began to get a little more curious of what was in America's house. Getting up quietly from the leather couch, he walked around the entire place, it was pretty big so it took a while to get around and he even found hidden places and secret pathways, or at least he thought they were secret, not thinking that America would know about them.
After gliding through the halls and rooms of the downstairs, he started to make his way up the stairs to see what was up there, he never was in such a big house in his life and he felt like he was a king or something.
"Russia!" America called to ask the teenager what foods he liked, however when there was no response he walked into the living room to find him not there. A little confused he called out his name again but there was no response other than hearing the light footsteps from upstairs, "He must be looking around," he chuckled to himself.
Which Russia was doing, until he had reached another door, opening it, it seemed to be a small storage room and he looked around, curiously of some old things on shelves and then at a new cabinet that had much newer things on top and in the drawers. When curiousity got the best of him, he opened the top drawer of the cabinet and looked inside the metal crater. Russia moved the papers aside which had documents of meetings, laws to be enforced and other such important things, he didn't take much interest in it and shut it. Then he went down to the second drawer, opening that one he looked in only to find two guns in there, semi-automatic pistols to be exact. He raised an eyebrow, picking one of them up and looking at it curiously, turning it around in his hands until he held it how it really was meant to be held.
"What's this?" he whispered, forgetting there was noone in the room with him as he turned it around to look at it.
America decided to head up the stairs to see where he was and also ask his original question, looking down the first hall, he noticed one by one all of the doors were open and assumed the last one that was opened would be the room Russia would currently be in. He began to make his way over to the storage room and looked in with a grin, only for his grin to fade into a look of pure horror as he saw the fourteen year old with his finger on the trigger and looking down the barrel of the gun to see what was inside. "RUSSIA!" he shouted, making the boy jump and ultimately pulling the trigger on the gun.
Along with the loud bang of the bullet being fired, it clattered to the ground and America felt all the blood drain from his body as he heard it, it took him a few moments to realise what happened and at first thought the Russian teen had shot himself in the face and collapsed dead. Which honestly would not be fatal, it would for a human however they as countries would not die, but it would certainly leave a scar and leave them completely out of animation for a day. Instead there was just a very frightened and shaking boy on the floor, looking at the object on the ground.
America ran over to him, kneeling in front of him and checking over his body to make sure he was okay, "DUDE! ARE YOU OKAY?! ARE YOU HURT?!" he asked loudly and after a few moments Russia was able to answer him, with tears in his eyes from fear of being in trouble and being startled that much.
"I-I-I'm fine," he stuttered, America let out a relieved sigh.
"Don't ever do that again! That's a gun it can kill you!" America snapped at him, holding onto his shoulders as he shook him, to which Russia whimpered and nodded.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't kn-know," he stuttered, biting his lip and wincing as he feared America may hit him. It wasn't until America saw this did he calm down and stopped shaking his shoulders.
"A-Ah... I'm sorry, dude. I panicked, I forgot you don't remember anything so you probably don't know what a gun is do you?" America asked and in response Russia shook his head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, they're just really dangerous dude and I don't think you want to be shot in the face do you?" he asked and Russia shook his head in response.
There was a moment of silence between the two but after a few moments America slowly wrapped his arms around the teenager, taking him by surprise and glancing over to Alfred, slowly wrapping his own arms around Alfred's neck, "So.. I originally came up here to ask if you wanted anything for dinner in particular.." he stated, pulling back after a moment.
"O-Oh.. Dinner? Can we have more of those sweet things?" he asked to which America chuckled.
"Sorry, buddy. Britain would get mad if I let you have more, I'm surprised you didn't get a stomach ache actually too many of those can do that and I guess since you've never had candy before it would affect you," he ruffled his hair playfully, "I guess you're just lucky~ You can have some more after we've had dinner," he explained, looking over to the clock on the wall for a moment and studied it, "I think bed time should be at eleven at the maximum, so after dinner, I can show you how to work a cellphone," he said, "Sound good?"
Russia smiled and nodded, "Yeah, sounds good," he responded to which America grinned back at him and motioned for him to follow behind, making their way out of the room, America quickly flicked the light off and shut the door carefully behind him, making a mental note to get a lock for that room.
"Do you like vegetables?" America asked and Russia nodded.
"Mhm I love vegetables," he responded.
"That's good, because we have a lot of veggies for dinner and I don't want to deal with trying to trick a teenager into eating it," he laughed as did Ivan a little as they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen to which the timer had began to beep and Russia backed up a little in response to the noise, looking around cautiously to see where that sound was coming from and if it's origin is something that would hurt him. Alfred only let out a chuckle and explained what it was to the fourteen year old, holding up an alien head timer that was now silent due to him stopping it. Russia looked at it intently for a moment before reaching his hand up to take the timer from him to which Alfred let him, letting him look at the timer a little closer whilst he spent the time getting the dinner completely finished and ready. It took a few minutes but it was soon done and he wandered over to the table holding the plates whilst he looked back at Russia and asked him if he could bring the utensils over, to which Russia nodded, placing the timer down on the marble counter and pulling out two pairs of knives and forks and walked back over, handing one pair to Alfred and placing his own by his plate.
"Thanks," America said, taking the pair and sitting down, waiting for Russia to join him which he eventually did, seating himself on the white chair and looking at the food stunned for a moment. This did not go unnoticed by America and he looked at him confused, "Is something wrong?" he asked, "Is there something you don't like?"
"No, I just.. Never really had a full meal like this before, Mongolia gives me stale bread a lot of the time," he explained to which America frowned a little at hearing that, it must've been a nightmare for the Russian country at this age.
"Well.. No more stale bread! As you live here you're gonna eat properly," he exclaimed, lifting up one of Russia's arms, "You need some meat on your bones, you're pretty much skin and bones, you don't have any muscle at all it's worrying, dude.." he explained, sighing a little at the teenagers thin state.
"Th-Thank you," Ivan stuttered as he pressed his fork into one of the cooked potatoes and chewed off one side of it.
America smiled at him for a moment before eating his own food, engaging in small talk with the boy as they ate, every now and again looking at the time to make sure there was enough time to teach him how to use a phone before bed too which there would be. They talked for what felt like only ten minutes had turned out to be two and a half hours even when they were finished eating their dinner.
"Hmm.. We have one hour and a half left, I'll clean the plates, there's a box in the bag on the desk beside the couch, if you open that you'll find the phone inside, but you have to be extra careful with it, it's fragile," America explained and with a grin, Russia stood up, rushing into the living room to where the said phone was, excited to see more of the modern technology. It had only taken America roughly five to ten minutes to finish cleaning up before he came in to help the teenager. Sitting down next to him and the leather couch he leaned over, watching Russia turn it back and forth in his hands curiously until Alfred had taken it and turned it on, starting up the device and the boy watched with curiousity, his eyes lighting up as he saw the colours on the screen.
It would be an hour for America to explain a lot, not everything but a lot to Russia about the phone, the internet, messaging, games, apps and ecsetera. Not one question didn't leave the boy looking at it in wonder as though it was magical but he supposed that was natural for a kid who was living in an era where drinking water was fetched by the river. Then again, most teenagers did think of it as magical but those were the lazy kids, Russia actually had a valid excuse... For a few minutes Alfred watched Russia play on the phone and get used to it until he understood fully when he looked at the time again and realised it was getting to that time where the teenager would need to start getting ready for bed.
"Alright, dude. I'll put this phone on charge, it's getting kind of late and I think you should bathe and get ready," he explained, looking a little disappointed that he would have to give up the phone for a while and be ready for bed, he handed the device over to the American obediently and stood up with him, "I will go run the bath since you probably wouldn't understand how to, and then I need to figure out where you can sleep..."
"C...Can I sleep with you..?" Russia stuttered.
"Huh? With me?" America asked a little surprised.
Russia nodded again, "I feel kind of... scared... and lonely on my own at night.." he explained, shuffling slightly in his spot as he spoke.
America could only smile in response and nod, "Of course you can, I don't mind," he said to which Russia's eyes lit up at the answer, "Okay," he said, beginning to head up the clean stairs of the house with Russia following behind like a lost puppy, "In here is the bathroom," America explained, opening the door and entering once he had reached it, "On the rack over there is the towels which you dry yourself off with," he explained, "The toilet where you.. uh.. you know, if you need to pee or something," he pointed to the toilet, "Then just press that metal thing on the side once your done," he explained, "Then there's soap and," he leaned over handing him the clear liquid in the bottle but with a pink tint to its colour, "This one is the shampoo which you wash your hair with, just scrub it on your hair for a minute then wash it out, and then put in this one," he held out the conditioner bottle which looked like a pink cream to Russia, "This is conditioner, you put this on after but smooth it through your hair to make your hair smoother," he continued, pointing out things he was sure the teenager wouldn't know much of and in fact it was quite a bit for the Russian teenager to take in but he repeated what America said, almost perfectly.
America nodded, "Okay," he said, turning off the taps of which he was filling the bathtub with warm water, "I'll leave you to get undressed and have a bath in privacy~ If you need help just shout, we're both guys here so don't worry," he laughed, nudging the teens shoulder a little to try and make him a little more comfortable as he left the bathroom and went to his bedroom to play video games, besides he was in close range of the room so he'd be able to hear Russia if he needed help.
Ivan smiled as the door shut, undressing from those strange looking clothes, folding them neatly and placing them along with his scarf and cap on top on the counter side to keep them from getting wet. Climbing into the bathtub carefully and sitting down, he sat there awkwardly for a moment before relaxing into the warmth of the water, usually with Mongolia, he'd be awoken from his sleep with a bucket of cold water thrown on him, only for guards he didn't know to force him out of his clothes and wash him down and like America said they were all guys. However, America was someone he felt he could trust, Mongolia and his soldiers, guards whatever he called them.. They were just mean on everything they did that involved him. He felt like he could lay in that bath for hours, just relaxing until he felt he needed to leave it as it would begin to cool and be too cold to be in especially in this time of year.
For around twenty minutes, America was playing a fighting game, something to do with war no surprise as he loved shooting guns, but looking at the time he decided to check on Russia and stood up, walking over to the door he tapped on the wood with the crook of his finger, "Hey dude, you okay?" he asked, listening to the movement of the teenager who was now stepping around the bathroom.
"I'm okay!" Ivan called back and he was, he had finished cleaning and washed his hair like he was asked, cleaned himself with that soap and body wash and obeyed everything America had pointed out to him. Picking up the folded clothes and trying to keep himself covered with the towel, whilst shivering from the cold at the same time, he made his way over to the door and unlocked it, looking around the corner of it shyly.
America grinned at him, "I got spare PJ's I think they'll too big on you though... But it's better than nothing right?" he asked and Russia nodded as America took the clothes from his hands. "I'll go put these in the washing, you get dressed in my room," he said pointing in the direction of the only open door down the hall, "The PJ's are on the corner of the bed," he let out a chuckle and Ivan looked at him confused, "Ah- It's nothing, just that if you were an adult still those PJ's probably would be too small on you," he explained as he left him to get dry and dressed. Walking down the stairs and into the room of which the washing machine and tumble dryer was, he wondered more about Russia, what had happened to him at this age to make him so temporarily, shy, quiet and timid, compared to the strong, out-going and fearless Russia as an adult they were so different. He would have to ask him about it once he reached upstairs.
Taking what was left in the hamper and throwing it in the washing machine along with the clothes the teenager had worn previously that day, he shut the door and started it up, setting its timer and heading out of the room and back upstairs, gently knocking on the door, like a silent ask for permission to come in. After a few seconds of moving around he heard a gentle 'come in' in that thick Russian accent, hearing that, he did come in, entering the room to see that he was correct and the shirt had gone over the teenagers hands that he could see until the boy began rolling them up to rest just about on his boney wrists and the trousers dragged along the ground but he kept pulling them up so he wouldn't trip over and he hopped up on the bed sitting down on the edge and looking at Alfred expectantly as though waiting for some sort of order.
"I guess I should've picked you up some PJ's as well, Oh well.. We can do that tomorrow," he smiled a little and nudged the boys shoulder, "I think I've got a surprise for you soon as well," he said gently, "But you have to wait until near the end of this month," he explained and the Russian's eyes lit up excitedly to which America gave a light hearted chuckle, "Come on, let's go to bed," he said, pulling off his uniform and pulling over his own PJ bottoms covered in onomateapeia from comic books, climbing in the bed next to Russia who was beginning to nuzzle himself into the warmth of the blanket and soft pillows and memory foam.
"Mnn... I've never layed on a bed so comfy before.." he whispered, smiling as he shut his eyes.
America gave him a small sad smile, remembering that question he wanted to ask the teenager, "Hey uhm.. Russia?" the boy opened his eyes, "Do you mind if I ask... Why... Or what happened with Mongolia, why are you so happy you're not near him," he asked and the teenagers eyes stayed locked on him for a moment as though he was thinking back to what happened.
"I..." he sat up, "He... did things...Horrible things to my place and all the humans there..." he started, staring off, "I saw Mongolia's men kill newborns and children, men and women, and the women that were left over were.. well... So they would have Mongolian offspring... I was too scared and I didn't know what to do whilst everyone was fighting so after a while I just tried to run away but before I could that's when he had grabbed me and I think that was when everyone knew who had won." he looked off, to the side, "What could someone as weak as me do against someone that strong and big," he asked, though it was a rhetorical question, gripping tightly onto his shirt he trembled slightly at the memories and America looked at him in sadness, "He just picked me up by my shirt and then there you go I was taken away from everyone and my sisters... From there he just used me as a slave, to fetch him and his guards water, to grow it for them and hunt it and if I come back with no animal to eat they would beat me and leave me locked up without food or water for three days then I was to redeem myself in... ways..." he said, looking utterly distraught at the memories, he was ready to continue until America had grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug, rubbing his hand up and down the teenagers back in a comforting motion.
Russia was surprised at first until after a few moments he realised what he was doing and he hugged America back even tighter, burying his face into his chest as his shoulders wracked with the sound of a sob escaping his lips. At first America was worried he had hurt him or scared him but upon feeling the teenagers skinny arms around his waist, he realised it was from either relief or overjoy from feeling love for the first time in far too long.
"You're safe now,"
