A/N: Sorry it took so long, just busy with school and ugh car troubles. Anyway I hope to make up with a pretty long chapter. Thank you so much for the reviews and support. You'll get to learn a little bit more about ice skating! Woo!

The next morning, Alfred's first morning workout with Ivan.

"So...What's the mornin' workout gonna be like?" Alfred asked, shivering as he stood outside the ice rink with Ivan around 6 in the morning.

He was ordered to meet the taller boy there, but Alfred knew they wouldn't be getting on the ice, they just placed their bags inside and walked back out. Which must mean they were going to work out somewhere else, he hoped they just went inside. He was freezing cold, and in a bad mood.

With the new 'diet' his mom was forcing on the family breakfast turned into eggs, toast and an orange. That. Didn't. Cut it.

Alfred's stomach lurched unhappily, making him shove his hands deeper into his pockets and lean forward. Ivan raised an eyebrow at him, and Alfred covered up by leaning back, pretending to do a little stretch.

"Well...we will be going on a jog. We need to get rid of the excess pounds, da?" Ivan asked with a giggle.

Alfred pouted, and just cracked his neck. "Fine~ lets go. I'm freezing." He didn't feel like fighting right now, not this early in the morning.

"So determined, I hope this side of you will last." Ivan said, then started to run, Alfred followed beside him.

"Dude, I'm just frickin' hungry, mom put the family on a stupid diet." Alfred hissed, Ivan kept quiet but smiled as they continued their run down the empty streets.

It was apparent Alfred was sore from yesterday, he was knitting his brows in concentration, and balling his fists. He was struggling, but his pride not to lose to Ivan pushed him forward. Ivan watched him from time to time, and for a moment he felt worried. There was working hard, then there was over working yourself. Since it was Alfred it also served as a shock, he thought Alfred would be the lazy type who would whine if he had to even run across the street.

Did Alfred really love figure skating, or was there some other motivator? What was going on in that head of wheat gold that was fueling his ambition? Ivan looked up ahead, and noticed a park bench next to a water fountain. He slowed down, and looked over to Alfred, who was bent over, his hands on his knees. Ivan didn't notice they've been running for a good thirty minutes straight, it was a good thing he decided to have a little break, for Alfred's sake.

Alfred walked around for a moment then went over to the drinking fountain to get a drink.

"Uhh...so what's next?" Alfred asked, as he pulled his arm across his chest to give it a little stretch.

"We'll continue with a walk." Ivan answered.

"A walk?" Alfred didn't hate the idea, but it made him nervous for some reason.

"Da, it's obvious you haven't been taking care of yourself, and didn't ice yesterday. Anymore training would be a waste." Ivan stated and started on the park trail.

"Like hell! I totally did the icing, I'm just not used to being folded into a pretzel!" Alfred snapped.

"You over exaggerate, Fredka." Ivan chuckled, and pulled his scarf tighter around his neck. The air was chilly after the run.

Alfred eyed him for a moment then his eyes fell on the scarf. He stared at it, then looked at Ivan as a whole, the scarf seemed to fit the man, then seemed so out of place at the same time. The soft sensual pink clashed horribly with the ice giants domineering personality. It was made by his sister, he had two sisters Alfred's never seen or heard of. He hasn't seen any signs of having parents, and for some reason Ivan gave off the vibe he lived alone.

"Weird." Alfred muttered.

"What is it Fredka?" Ivan asked, he was a bit on edge, hoping Alfred wasn't going to go back to the origins of his scarf. Things might get...messy.

"...Have you ever noticed how big your nose is man?" Alfred blurted out after a moment of hesitation. He guessed Ivan had some family problems, and Alfred had some of his own, so he wasn't going to pry. Not like he cared.

Ivan socked him in the arm, brutally. "Fredka~ You are such a rude beast, I shouldn't have been so kind."

"Hey, I was just pointing out the obvious!" Alfred wanted to attack, and punch that huge nose, but his legs felt too stiff.

"Uh-hu. I see then." Ivan pinched at Alfred's stomach, making him let out a manly 'eep'.

"No touchy!" Alfred said, jerking away.

"I was just...pinching the obvious." Ivan retorted.

"..."

"..." Ivan stared at Alfred's flustered face that refused to make eye contact with his.

"...Touche." Alfred muttered looking away, he didn't have the energy to kick the commie's ass, if he did he would be smashing the man's face in.

" How mature Fredka." Ivan said with a grand smile. They walked out of the park, and down the street they ran earlier.

Alfred kept beside him, and mocked the other by mouthing out 'How mature' to himself before rolling his eyes. Then what could be thought of as a content atmosphere, loomed over the two as they walked back to the ice rink.

Ivan using the spare key, opened the doors, and they went to get changed in the barren locker rooms. Alfred made sure to go down to the furtherest row of he finished getting dressed, to his great disappointment, Ivan was outside the locker room, waiting for him.

"Lets go to school." Ivan said, before grabbing his bag.

"Can't you go-"

"Oh, take these." Ivan handed Alfred a bag of white pills.

"What the-"

"Anti-inflammatory." He knew what Alfred was thinking, why would he give him some random drugs.

"Oh, cool, thanks." Alfred awkwardly tucked them in his backpack, he didn't understand why Ivan was trying to be nice and give them to him, maybe they were laced with something, yeah that was it.

"Now, we can go."

"Huh? Oh yeah." Alfred forgot his argument about not wanting to walk together, and headed out the door.

Ivan followed along, and thought they would have another quiet, and pleasant walk, he much enjoyed the one from earlier, but he forgot that once Alfred had some of his energy back it went right to his mouth.

"Damn! I forgot about the quiz! This is gonna suck! I'm so gonna fail! I could ask someone for the notes, but...ugh! Maybe I should ditch! I could probably go hide somewhere else in school or like...in the gym!" Alfred paused to rub his belly as it gurgled unhappily. "I'm starving too!"

Ivan was on his last nerve, and grabbed Alfred by the back of the neck. His ici figures sent a surge of goosebumps down Alfred's whole body, and he stopped mid-step.

"Stop, talking." Ivan muttered darkly before releasing his grasp. He walked past Alfred, and smiled a dark sickly smile. "You are much more pleasurable to be around when you are quiet."

Alfred was going to retort about how dirty that comment would be out of context, but decided to hold his tongue. His stomach grumbled again, and he tried to hug his growling belly. He was cold, colder then before, and sore. He was pissed, especially at Ivan who practically man handled him.

"Fredka did you-"

"Shut up Braginski, you're better to be around when you're quiet." Alfred snapped, he was proud he threw the man's statement back at him, but it didn't make any of his discomfort go away.

"Fredka." Ivan muttered, he felt the urge to hit Alfred, but knew if he wanted to gain Alfred's trust he would have to hold back. They walked the rest of the way to school in silence.

They kept quiet through all their classes, and Alfred made sure to run out when it was lunch. He found his brother, and they ate together with Toris, his brother and Kiku.

"How's practicing with Ivan?" Matthew asked, before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Not bad, accept he's there." Alfred muttered, staring at his plain health food with a look of depression .

"Is he so bad?" Kiku asked.

"Ugh, well...not that he's bad, well he is bad! It's like...he knows how to get under my skin, and just piss me off. I mean he can act normal one second then complete serial killer the next." Alfred groaned out.

"He's just not used to you." Toris piped in softly.

"He also just doesn't know how to interact with people too well." Eduard added

"Huh? How you know?" Alfred asked, taking a bit of his packaged salad.

"Well...I did ice skate...with him." Toris said shyly.

Eduard and Raivis nodded as well. Alfred looked at the brothers, and noticed they all had some type of injury. Raivis being the worst, his clavicle was sprained, along with his ankle. Eduard had blown both his knees out, but he was able to hide the knee wraps, and supports under his pants.

"Dude! No way! That must of sucked!" Alfred yelled, giving a look of pity, and he wondered if Ivan was the cause for their broken states

"It was... harsh and scary, but when you see him...see him out on the ice. You'll see." Toris said with a light smile, and held his hurt arm

"Whaddya mean?" Alfred asked, what was going to change if he saw Ivan skate? Was it that amazing or something?

" You have to see it, until then, I think it would be best to get along with him." Toris said.

"Yes, that would be wise Alfred-san." Kiku pipped in, fearing for his friends safety.

"He is pretty scary, and socially awkward, he just doesn't know how to relate to other people or he doesn't want to since-." Raivis said, Eduard poked his clavicle sending a bought of pain, a warning for him to keep his mouth shut.

"That's a bit sad." Matthew muttered.

"Don't worry! I'll win him over, and transform him into a normal human being!" Alfred declared with a thumbs up.

"Oh Alfred, you are funny." Eduard exclaimed with a chuckle, clearly not believing Alfred of all people could make Ivan seem normal.

"Oh...Al?" Matthew interjected softly as he tugged on Alfred's sleeve.

"Yup?" Alfred looked over with a grin, and his smile widened. There in Matthew's hand was a candy bar.

"A thank you, this diet will be tough and mom is really serious about this, so...I thought...If I could help you...In any way." He handed the candy bar with a smile. "I'll buy you some candy once in a while, I still get my allowance."

Alfred took the candy bar like a giddy child, and hugged his brother, little hearts seemed to radiate from him and float around the air. Kiku and Toris just smiled.

"Dude! You rock! Haha." Alfred started eating the candy bar.

"I should tell you, Ivan really does love ice skating, he really works hard. It's pretty much...the only thing he has." Toris replied sheepishly.

"Wait, what?' Alfred asked mid-way through his candy bar.

"I can't say, just, try to make friends with him, ok?" Toris asked tilting his head.

"Do I have to?" Alfred whined.

"Haha, I think you'll be a very positive influence." Toris said, or rather hoped.

"You think so?" Alfred asked, his confidence rising. He loved it when people thought highly of him, and what's even more, he loved it when people thought he was a good person.

Alfred finished his candy bar, and took the rest of his lunch. He gave a short goodbye and ran off. When he was gone, Matthew turned to Toris with a small frown on his face, Toris just chuckled nervously.

Alfred found Ivan at the desolated spot they ate lunch at before, and ran over to Ivan. He threw his backpack to the ground.

"Fredka?" Ivan asked curiously.

"Dude! Look-"

"I'm sorry." Ivan said shortly.

"Huh? Wait! You can't apologize!" Alfred shouted.

"What are you talking about Fredka?" Ivan stood up, he had pushed all his pride to the pit of his stomach to apologize, and now Alfred was angry with him? He felt his self control slipping, becoming violent.

" I came here to say sorry! You can't steal my thunder!" Alfred whined.

Ivan's mouth fell open in shock, then spread into a smile. He shook his head slightly, wondering how with all the millions upon millions of people, he was stuck with Alfred? He started to chuckle then used his scarf to cover his mouth to keep his laughing down.

"Why would you come say sorry to me?" This most be some sort of prank.

"Cause as the hero that's what I have to do, forgive others even when I don't want to." Alfred reasoned.

"Again with calling yourself a hero?" Ivan tilted his head.

"Hell yeah! And I'm going to be your hero!" Alfred exclaimed giving a grin and thumbs up.

"Thank you Alfred...but I don't need a hero. I just need a partner." Ivan retorted.

"Well you get both, lucky you." Alfred sat down, and continued to eat his salad.

Ivan looked at him. "You'll willingly eat with me?"

"Hmmm...Sometimes ok? I do have other friends and stuff." Alfred said, stabbing a lettuce leaf with his spork.

Ivan sat down, and continued to eat his own lunch while secretly staring at Alfred.

Xoxoxoxoxo

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Finally the two weeks of pure hell have come to a close, which meant now it was time for the real stuff. Now! Alfred F. Jones! Was going to learn how to figure skate! Alfred walked in beside Ivan, and followed the taller male over to the skate rental shop. Alfred was excited, not like he's never been on ice, but now, now he was going to learn how to be one of the awesome figure skaters.

Ivan smiled at the man, and requested the ice skates, the man gave a nod before he went to the back to go find a pair in Alfred's size. For now, Alfred was going to have to use the rental's until his custom skates were finished, but he didn't really mind.

The man came back, Alfred was beaming excitedly. Ivan was smiling as well, and he took the skates from the man, giving a short thank you. Ivan turned to Alfred with a smile, and handed him the white ice skates with pink blade guards on them.

"Hu-Hu, here you are Alfred." He said, chipper as could be.

Alfred was smiling as he received them, he looked at the pretty ice skates then back up to Ivan, still smiling.

"Hahaha~" Alfred held the ice skates above his head, still smiling, then threw them harshly at Ivan with a snarl.

They hit Ivan in the chest, and simply fell to the ground, Ivan blinked and looked at the ice skates that fell, then back up to Alfred who was glaring at him darkly.

"What is wrong, Fredka?" He tilted his head a bit to further express his confusion for Alfred's sudden out burst.

"What is wrong! Dude! Don't think I don't know what you're trying to pull?" Seriously, this commie was as sick and twisted as ever.

"I am confused, please explain what is wrong. I will try to fix it as best I can."

Alfred picked the skates up by the laces, and shook them in Ivan's face. "White Ice skates! Those are for girls!"

There was a short pause. "…You will look good in them." Ivan retorted with a smile.

"You! Ass!" Alfred dropped the skates, lunged for Ivan, and shook him by the collar, making sure to avoid the scarf. Ivan laughed, obviously pleased with his little joke, and the reaction it brought out of Alfred.

"Stop laughing you damn, Russian bastard!" Alfred hissed.

"Fredka, Fredka, calm down. If you would look over there." Ivan pointed to the rental shop, where the clerk was holding a pair of black skates. "You will see your real skates."

Alfred did look over, but didn't release his hold on Ivan's shirt collar. He looked back to Ivan questioningly.

"Did you…just make a joke?" He asked.

"Da." Ivan nodded, and was soon becoming tired of Alfred's grasp on him. "Now would you let me go? You should go get your skates as well, da?"

Slowly, Alfred released Ivan's shirt, and ran over to pick up his skates. They were old, worn down and smelly, but Alfred felt a sudden bubble of excitement.

Alfred finally strode out onto the ice after who knows how long, he glided around, sometimes he turned and went backwards. He lifted his hand up and did a little stretch before eying the coach. He went over to the wall, Ivan came along after him.

Coach Winter handed Ivan a piece of paper then gave a nod. Ivan took it, and left back out to the middle of the ice rink. Alfred watched for a moment then looked back at Winter, feeling somewhat nervous.

"So...uhh..."

"Compulsory figures." Winter stated.

"Wha?"

"Compulsory figures, being able to make shapes on the ice using your blades. We will start with those. Do you know about the inside and outside of the blade?" Winter folded his arms. and looked down at Alfred. He knew what to expect.

"Yeah, kind of...it's like how you lean on the blade right?" Coach Winter was slightly impressed. but the very definition was not accurate enough.

"Good, I'm glad you're not a total loss. Please go make a circle, make sure you pay close attention to your blade work." Alfred pouted then strode over to do his circle, it was a horrible mess of scratches.

"Damn, let me try again!" Alfred went back out. and tried to draw another circle, it was better but still sloppy. "One more time..."

Ivan looked over at Alfred, he didn't know if he should feel pleased or frustrated. It was fun to see Alfred messing up, but Alfred was also his partner, and he needed him to be in top form. This was embarrassing.

Coach was not too pleased either, and took Alfred over to the side to explain about what the inside and outside of the blade was. He lectured for a few minutes, but knew none of his words were getting through that thick skull.

"Ivan, please show Alfred the proper technique." Winter called out.

"Woah, I get it! I get it! I just need more practice!" Alfred said, his pride damaged.

"No, it's better to learn from example." He motioned Ivan to start and held Alfred's head to make him stare at Ivan's skates.

"Watch closely at the blades, and how he shifts." Alfred, not having a choice did so. It didn't look like much, but it was definite Ivan was shifting ever so slightly.

Alfred stood up, and while glaring at Ivan tried to mimic his earlier movements. Alfred despite his lack of common sense was not what someone would call stupid. He didn't do well in school because he didn't try hard enough, but when it came to hands on learning he excelled farther then his brother and friends. He was someone who lived to do, not sit behind a desk.

He knew his body, and just needed the right amount of encouragement to actually focus and try. The coach took notice and called Alfred over. He successfully made the circle.

"Good, now use the concentration you had, with everything you do on the ice, practice until you can do the figures on impulse. " Winter ordered, and Alfred quickly skated back to do the figures again.

Alfred sighed in frustration, but when he looked over to Ivan he noticed that look of utter concentration on his face. He looked so calm and composed, it was as if had become the ice itself. He glided across the ice, and he slowly bent forward and lifted one leg to form a parallel line with his body and the ground. He used his other leg to guide him, then he went into a double toe jump, landed it gracefully, then right into a single toe jump, both perfect.

He looked upset though, as if he had just fallen or someone had mocked him. To Alfred it looked perfect, he wouldn't say it though, but he knew skill when he saw it. Why was Ivan so upset? Most be his dumb communist training, but it was interesting to see. He really cared a lot for ice skating, this program must mean so much to him.

Xoxoxoxoxo

oxoxoxoxoxo

Compulsory figures: This is an example of a very complicated figure, maybe watch the first couple minutes, you don't need to watch the whole thing to understand, it gives a nice diagram of the figure being skated. (Don't worry, I won't be doing any compulsory competitions for them...it's hard but very boring to read or watch) http :/ www. Youtube. com/watch?v=NJDOxzANY1s

Toe loop jump: Ivan started with a double then right into the single. It's a fun little jump, and the video will also explain about the inside and outside of the blades. I pretty much wont be bringing that up anymore. I was just introducing it. http :/ www. Youtube .com/watch?v=SaecLU_69Ak (remove spaces)

I hope these help, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry again it took so long!