AN: And, after 2.5 years, I'm back with an update! I'm so so so sorry about this. I was suddenly hit with motivation and figured I should finish this up before I started any new stories.

Important! I re-wrote chapters 1-6. They're pretty much the same (plot-wise). I just fixed typos, minor plot-holes, and inconsistencies.

It had been a few days since Alfred had seen the bruises on Natalia. When he'd gotten home that day, Matthew had to convince the American not to go get himself killed by confronting Ivan. More interesting, however, was the fact that Matthew urged him to ask Natalia to be his official girlfriend.

"She's all you ever talk about!" he cried, "Just do it!"

"Are you kidding me?" Alfred exclaimed. "You really think she'll say yes?"

Matthew nodded, "Look bro, if she wasn't at least slightly into you, there would have been some sort of sign."

Alfred nodded, "I guess you're right…"

"I mean, she's slept in your bed, gone on a date with you, almost kissed you, and slept on your shoulder. I think she's into you."

A grid spread across the teen's face. "What've I got to lose?"

He pulled out his phone.

Alfred: Hey!

Natalia replied a few minutes later.

Natalia: Hi

Alfred: Want to hang out tomorrow after school?

He had a plan. A great plan actually. The two of them would hang out, take a walk or something, grab a bite to eat from somewhere cheap, and he'd ask her out officially while walking her home. It was probably the least-awkward way to do this.

Natalia: Sure!

Alfred: Cool! See you tomorrow :))

Natalia: See ya :)

~oo~

She was really getting the hang of texting, Alfred thought so too. Even if they didn't message each other often, it made sense because of Ivan. She told him that she only keeps her phone on when he's at work. Even then, it's on silent.

She was looking forward to spending more time with Alfred. In fact, she was beginning to think she liked him. She'd never had a crush before. She was only basing her suspicions on what she overheard Lilli and Liz talk about during class.

'How could someone like him love someone like you?'

'He's using you. This is all a joke to him!'

'He's going to abandon you. Just like everyone else.'

These thoughts needed to stop! "Alfred likes me, right?" She whispered to herself. "Right." She answered.

~oo~

School was, as usual, boring. Natalia spent most of it spacing it out and daydreaming about childhood, her time with Alfred, and what life would be like without her siblings. She was trying to replace the negative thoughts with positive ones, and for the time being, it was working.

She had agreed to meet Alfred outside of the back entrance so they could walk to a local ice cream parlor. She'd been there once as a kid.

"Hey!" Alfred grinned, walking up to her.

"Hi." She smiled back. "So? Ice cream?"

He nodded, and they were on their way.

It was a perfect day for ice cream. It wasn't too cold for it, but it wasn't hot enough to melt it right away when they got outside. Alfred knew this 'date' idea was a good one.

Once they left the ice cream shop, they made their way to the park where they talked. Natalia got a mix of chocolate and vanilla while Alfred got a double scoop of the cherry, lemon, and blue raspberry mix.

They talked about random, happy things. Natalia had a sort of fascination for 'traditional' clothing, hence her long skirts, while Alfred (obviously) loved the laid back 'jeans and a t-shirt' look. Surprisingly, they both really liked rock music.

Oh, Alfred loved spending quality time with her! He was falling for her more and more.

"You were a gymnast?" Alfred gaped, "That's so cool!"

She shook her head, "Not a real gymnast. I only did it until I was 11."

"Still! That's amazing. You should try joining again next year."

"No… I'm far too out of practice." She smiled, "I'll think about it."

After a while, the two finished their ice cream. "Natalia, can I ask you something?" Alfred gulped, 'Just stay cool.'

"Sure." She said, looking at the sun which was now beginning to set.

"Okay, this might be.. totally weird and I'm sorry if I read this situation wrong, but…" He took a deep breath, "Would you wanna maybe… be my girlfriend?"

She nearly fell over. Her mouth fell open in shock. She wasn't expecting that at all! 'So… he does like me?' "I-"

"If not, thats totally cool. I mean, I still love being your friend. Just thought I'd ask because well, I really like you and-"

"Yes." She cut him off, "I'd love to be your…girlfriend." She smiled.

Alfred nearly jumped with joy, "Really!" He picked her up in his arms and held her there. "I'm so happy!"

"I am too." She was grinning as well.

His expression turned serious. "One more thing."

"Hm?"

"Could I kiss you?" He blushed.

Natalia's face turned just as red as his and she nodded. "Mhm."

Alfred put on hand on her cheek and leaned in. When their lips touched, it felt like magic. It was short and sweet. When Alfred finally pulled away, the two were beet red.

Natalia touched her lips. "Wow…"

Alfred nodded in agreement.

The two walked to Natalia's home in a comfortable silence. Both were still in shock over their first kiss and the fact that they were a couple now.

It felt surreal.

~oo~

Unbeknownst to the two, there was another figure in the park with them.

"Tsk, tsk." Ivan sighed, "What did I tell her about sneaking around?" He stood up off the bench and made his way home. He was going to have a talk with a certain little sister.

~oo~

Natalia went up to her room. Her siblings were still at work, so she had a while before they came back. She couldn't contain her joy. She hugged her pillow and screamed before rolling around in her bed.

A boyfriend! Wow! She never would have imagined that her, of all people, would get so lucky and date Alfred. Sure, he was slightly annoying at first, but he had proven himself to be a really amazing guy.

'I'm not alone after all.'

'Someone cares!'

She laid in her bed, basking in the happiness until she heard the door slam shut. Instantly, the smile was erased from her face.

There was a knock at the door, and Ivan walked in.

Natalia stiffened, "Hello big brother."

"Hello sister." He was smiling and holding something behind his back.

"How was work?" She asked, nervous.

Ivan shrugged, "Fine. I suppose. No one complained and I was let out early!" He giggled, "Decided to walk through the park on my way home."

Her face fell. 'Oh no.'

"Do you want to know what I saw?"

She shook her head no.

"You don't?" Ivan shook his head. "We've talked about this… you lying to me."

She stayed silent.

"I think we need to have a talk."

"O-Okay." She straightened.

Ivan gestured for her to follow him downstairs. "How about we have a drink?"

~oo~

Several drinks later, Natalia was finally beginning to ease up around her brother. Vodka tasted like shit, but he kept refiling her glass and made comments when she didn't finish quickly enough.

Needless to say, she was pretty drunk.

Up until this point, Ivan had only spoken to her about school and his job. He even mentioned a few of their childhood memories. Natalia had to admit, it was a bit… nice.

"So." The conversation changed, "About today."

Natalia looked up.

"It is perfectly normal for a girl your age to experiment with boys and dating," he began, "Alfred Jones, however,… he is… scum."

'Here we go'. Natalia frowned, not sure what to say. "I like him."

"Boys, they only want one thing." Ivan nodded, "You follow, da?"

Natalia nodded, "I know…"

Ivan's face then darkened, "I'll not see my little sister whoring herself out to Alfred Jones."

Her eyes went wide.

"He's bad news. The worst kind of guy." He spat.

"You- You don't know him!" She yelled, the alcohol in her system clearing getting the best of her judgment. "I'm not a whore! All we did was kiss!"

Ivan wouldn't have it. "You'll have nothing to do with him!" he barked, "You're not to see him anymore."

Natalia couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Brother…"

Ivan growled, "What? I'm being nice right now. If I really wanted, I could go bash his face in right now. I wish I had done it back in high school." He frowned. "If I had known he would corrupt you like this…"

Natalia wanted to scream! She had almost been tricked into thinking this was a nice brother-sister bonding time, but all Ivan was doing was lecturing her! Sure, this was probably more 'normal' than what he usually did, but the girl wanted nothing to do with it.

Still, it was wise if she didn't talk back. Ivan could snap at any moment here.

He slurred, "I don't want you to become like your mother, Natalia."

She shook her head. "I'd never." Ivan grinned darkly, and Natalia knew it was time to leave. She stood up, "I need to go to bed. It was nice talki-"

Ivan whispered. "You look just like that whore. Hair, eyes… everything." he looked her up and down, making Natalia shiver.

A vodka bottle was thrown as she made her way out of the kitchen, just barely missing her. It shattered to a million pieces, prompting Natalia to run the rest of the way to her room.

"Kolkolkol…" Was heard from the hallway.

She quickly got under her covers and, on the brink of tears, waiting for Ivan to take his anger out on her.

He never did, and after what felt like hours, Natalia fell into a deep, alcohol-induced, sleep.

AN: Since I haven't updated in so long, reviews at this point would mean a lot to me so I know if there's still interest in the story.

Hope you enjoyed!