So here's the thing, I got a lot of amazing reviews for the last chapter. That is why I decided to post this early as a thanks for so much response. I also need to send a shout out to the anon who left me what was probably the lengthiest review I have ever received. Thank you each and every one of you, it was most appreciated goslings. Now enjoy!

Ch 7 Running to the Future, but Fell into the Past

Amelia blew some air out of her mouth as she walked down the sidewalk in Moscow with a shopping bag in hand.

She'd managed to occupy herself for the afternoon and had discovered an actual Hard Rock café which had been flipping sweet. Shopping had kinda diverted her, but she wasn't a shopaholic or anything so she'd gotten bored with it pretty fast.

It was her fourth day in Russia and it was sucking balls. In most other countries she usually had some haunts that she frequented or friends to annoy for awhile but over here there wasn't a whole hell of a lot to do without people to do it with.

Ivan hadn't contacted her even though she'd sent him a text that was funny as hell when she'd arrived.

Baaaack in the USSR! :D Maybe I'll C U around

"Classic," she laughed to herself.

Sure he'd responded but that had been the end of it. Jerk hadn't even jazzed it up and added any emoticons; all he'd said was that he was super busy, blah, blah, blah. That was just awesome. She couldn't stop thinking about the guy and he just brushed her off.

She whipped out her phone for about the hundredth time and saw that the only messages she'd received had been from Arthur and Michelle O.

"Screw it," she muttered dialing his number while she felt her palms begin to sweat. She never got nervous on the phone, she'd been one of the first people to install a phone after its invention; not to mention the first to try a prank call.

She listened to the dial tone impatiently and was just about to hang up when she heard the click of the phone being answered.

"Amelia?"

She startled but recovered by laughing loudly.

"Oh yeah America's in the house!" she said in greeting. "What's up Braginsky?"

"Not much," he said quietly. "I made Latvia cry and gave Lithuania an anxiety attack so it's been a normal day I guess."

"Sounds rad. Listen can I come over for dinner?" Amelia said quickly.

There was a pause and she crossed her fingers hoping he'd say yes.

"Certainly," Ivan remarked sounding not in the least bit sarcastic. "On the condition that you do not insult my ethnic food since I ate those hot dogs of yours."

"I make no guarantees man," Amelia stated. "What are we having?"

"Soup and pirozhki," Ivan stated, as he was cut off by the American on the other end.

"Dude pirozhki really? I love those!" she said excitedly.

"Do you even know what that is?"

She smiled and closed her eyes; she could hear his warm quiet laughter and crap focus Jones!

"Duh, Kat made it for me one time," Amelia scoffed. "Give me directions to your house and I'll head over."

When she finally arrived at the house outside of the city, away from the bustle of Moscow she had to admit it was a nice house. It wasn't huge, but there were lights on inside and it looked warm against the chilly night air. She stepped out of the chauffeured car with her duffle swung over her shoulder and waved back at the driver who took off, leaving her alone as she stepped up the stone walkway to the home. She snuck around the back deciding to scare the shit out of Ivan because she could and stealthily made her way around the house until she was in the back. She was giggling like a fiend as she lifted her head to look into the home. From what she could see the room she was looking into was the dining room and-

"What are you doing in the shrubs?"

The shriek that left Amelia's mouth would have been enough to get most people arrested for noise violations.

"Hush little one, it's only me," he said, clearly trying to surpress a laugh while she glared at him.

"Whatev! I just about had a heart attack!"

"Well your terrible eating habits were bound to catch up with you," he murmured with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Huh?"

"What?" he said innocently.

"Let's just go inside, I'm starving," she complained as he eyed her bag.

"You bring that for dinner?"

"Dude dinner is code for sleepover," Amelia said walking ahead of him inside.

"No it's not," he protested behind her.

"Are you saying you don't have a place for me to crash?" she asked as she set her bag down on the hardwood floor of the front room.

"I am saying you are a presumptuous pain in the ass."

"Yeah I get that a lot," she laughed turning towards Ivan who was regarding her with distress. "Dude, I didn't think it would be that big of a deal."

He sighed and she relented.

"Look I just want a night away from the embassy okay? I'll be quiet-I won't bother y-I mean I'll try to give you your space so please?"

Ivan felt his resolve fall as she stared at him with those impossibly blue eyes, pleading with him to let her stay.

"Alright, one night," he replied uncertainly. "Now sit, dinner is almost ready."

"Thank you," she said in relief. "Um I don't really like cooking…at all, but do you need help?"

"No really, it's almost ready," he assured her. "Would you like a drink?"

"Sounds good," she said plopping down on the cushy wine red couch.

He nodded and headed back into the kitchen while she took in the lay out. It was filled with old world charm, lots of textures, different colors, and old things that made it feel cozy rather than stuffy.

A coke can sailed through the air and she caught it in her outstretched hand. She snapped open the can and took a long drink. It was cold and sugary just like she liked it. Like she liked it…

She choked slightly on the soft drink as she realized that Ivan must have gone out and picked these up for her before she had arrived.

He stepped in with two plates loaded with food and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch as Amelia cleared her throat and took a seat.

"Aww man that smells good," she said loudly as she tried to forget about the coke and focus on the rest of the evening.

"It's a wonder you survived, growing up on British food," Ivan remarked as he dug into the food.

"It was either that or Francis. I could have turned into a total puss being raised by that fruit," she retorted around a mouthful of food.

"Somehow I doubt that," Ivan remarked. "You are made from stronger stock, like me."

He focused on his plate although he felt her eyes on him. This was why he had not wanted her to spend the night. He became strange around her. He did things he would never normally do like buying those disgusting soft drinks and trying to ignore her warm body beside him. Although with her around he was not lonely and perhaps that made it worth the troubling feelings.

Her knee nudged his and he realized she was trying to get his attention.

"Earth to Ivan," she said with a soft smile. "Dude I said your food rocks."

"Thank you," he replied.

The passed the rest of the evening in relative comfort. Ivan worked a bit while Amelia fooled around on her lap top or phone. They would talk occasionally through the night.

Once she even forced Ivan to watch a funny video she had found. He didn't exactly have the same humor as her so most of it was lost on him, but she was including him, sharing something with him that she thought he might like.

(Section Break)

"Hell yes WWII is over gentlemen," Amelia said excitedly waving her milkshake around in her hand. "Now it's time to kick back and relax!"

"Easy for you to say," Francis remarked. "None of the fighting took place on your territory so you do not have any clean up to do."

"You wanna run that by me again?" Amelia said in such a serious deadly tone that it took all of the other Allies by surprise. "You call Pearl Harbor not on my territory?"

She stared stonily at the French man before her face lit up in her typical sunny smile while Yao rolled his eyes.

"I for one am just happy to be saying goodbye to you Westerners. You're asses," he stated.

"Same goes for you heathen panda chaser," Arthur muttered.

"Don't get too mad bro what if he cuts off your tea supplies and you get so caffine deprived that you decide to overthrow the monarchy?" Amelia snickered.

"I hate you all," Ivan piped in quietly with his small unsettling smile.

"Suck it America," Arthur shouted turning red in the face while Amelia smirked and sucked down her shake.

"I thought she already had!" Ivan responded in a deceptively friendly voice.

Arthur turned to Russia in horror and Amelia snorted into her shake so hard that the top exploded off. Yes none of the Allies had forgotten that time on the island when Amelia had crawled into Arthur's tent one night for some 'we're about to go to war sex'; but none of them had actually mentioned it out loud.

"Now see here Russia! You may be big and come from the seventh circle of hell but that doesn't give you the right-"

"It's okay Iggy, he's probably just butthurt that Yao kicked him out of his tent," Amelia said, with a light tone that didn't match the hate in her piercing blue eyes.

Ivan's face fell at that and Yao's mouth fell open. Amelia stared at Ivan defiantly. She had no doubt, now that the Axis powers were defeated that this would be her new villain to fight and the sooner everyone got that straight the better.

"How the hell did you know about that?" Yao whispered in horror.

"Oh that was just a guess. Dude, if not even a fellow Commie will give big bad Ivan some lovin that must mean nobody will!" Amelia laughed right before Ivan shoved his pipe against her throat and pinned her to the wall. Her body flailed as she fought for air while the other three Allies started shouting and attempting to pry Ivan off.

Ivan's vision had gone completely red. He couldn't hear anything except the blood rushing through his head. The only thing he saw was the woman in front of him struggling to draw breath as she flailed. With one last effort to free herself, Amelia's leg swung up and hit his groin so hard that he toppled over while she coughed roughly.

She stared at Ivan with tears in her eyes as he moaned in pain.

"Don't…ever…touch..me," she bit out before stepping over his prone form and taking off despite Arthur calling after her.

Russia was a formidable opponent. He always seemed to know the right way to hurt her. The others could annoy her to no end, but he was the only one who seemed capable of touching on sensitive issues that burned her. And it seemed she was just as capable if not more so of retaliation if his violent reaction was any indication.

Amelia jolted up in bed panting and sweating. She scrubbed her hand over her face and shook slightly from the dream. She had no idea why she had dreamed about that. She had lots of reoccurring nightmares but they were about major past events like assassinations, Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, or 911.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, feeling the need to get up and walk around. There was no way she was gonna be sleeping for a little while until she calmed down.

She opened the door quietly and stepped into the darkened house in her purple striped bottoms and white tank top.

She jumped when she noticed Ivan sitting on the couch, his body twisting so that he could peer over the back of the couch as he looked up at the night sky through the window. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively. Normally she wasn't afraid or one to retreat, but this whole situation between them was turning weird and that dream was just a reminder of how much history they shared. Most of it bad and maybe it was just too hard to get past that.

"Did you have a nightmare as well little one?" Ivan said quietly.

She shouldn't have been surprised that he knew she was there, but she was.

"Yeah something like that," she stated. "I guess a lot of us get those huh?"

"Da," he sighed turning himself so that he faced her.

His hair was mussed and he was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and his ever present scarf. He looked different from that Russian adversary she'd faced in her dream, but he was still the same person.

He turned on a small red glass lamp and blinked against the light while she continued to stand uncertainly.

"We could watch movie if you do not want to sleep," he said. "I finally got a dvd player."

"Thanks but I just got up to pee," she told him. "So I'm just gonna go do that."

He watched her go feeling slightly disappointed. He almost wished she would have stayed up and just talked with him.

"What are we doing," he wondered out loud to himself.

(Section Break)

The next morning Ivan was surprised to find that Amelia had gotten up before him. True he enjoyed sleeping in but he figured that she would outlast him.

He prepared tea for the two of them in his traditional samovar and watched Amelia sitting outside against a tree in his yard from the kitchen window. He left the teas on the counter and grabbed his coat before stepping outside.

He approached her slowly like one attempting to get close to yak; he had childhood experience with this and didn't want to make the mistake of encroaching on a strong startled creature.

He crouched in front of her as she paused in fiddling with her phone.

"You are avoiding me," he said simply.

"I so am not," she said refusing to meet his eyes.

"So being in my country merely puts you off and makes you act this way," he replied willing her to look at him. "Where is your courage little one? I have seen you rush into a glorious battle with no fear in your eye and yet now you will not answer my question."

She looked up at him defiantly and he smiled at her.

"What the hell are we doing Ivan?" she asked him, chin jutting out and brows furrowed.

"Currently sitting on ground freezing our tuckuses off," he stated.

"I mean us hanging out," she said. "Does it bother you?"

"Somewhat," he stated.

"Me too," she said. "I mean being casual friends is just yankee doodle dandy but this…"

She broke off and started fiddling with her phone again.

"This feels different then just palling around," she stated daring him to disagree.

"Perhaps it is," he acknowledged. "What did you dreamt last night Mia?"

She let the name slip and pushed ahead.

"I dreamt about pissing you off and you trying to choke the life out of me," she said honestly.

"Ah," he replied thoughtfully.

He did not immediately disagree or try to reassure her. He was silent for a moment thinking and she looked to him expectantly.

"I will not say I am changed man. I am who I am, a country built on blood and hardship. I am capable of many terrible things if I wish to do so."

He had the surprise to see her smile before it faded.

"You tell it like it is, I'll give you that," she replied.

"I do not desire to hurt you," he stated. "For as often as you irritate me to no end and get under my skin I don't wish for anything unfortunate to happen to you."

"We hated each other," she began. "It's the fight that kept me going through the better part of the last century."

"It was the same for me," he replied taking her hand in his to keep her from playing with her phone. "But you are asking yourself if we can overcome this and trust in one another da?"

She nodded and he made her pulse pound when he held her face in his hands.

"I do not know," he said quietly. "But I feel compelled to try."

She closed her eyes as his face moved close to hers knowing what was to come and that it was going to force them to move forward.

His mouth settled on hers as he made a noise of approval and her hands shot up to cling to his forearms. It was the softest, lightest of touches. Like a snowflake landing on her skin. His lips were slightly chapped against hers, his top lip surprisingly full. Every slide of his lips on hers sent shivers through her body and sighs of pleasure pulled from his lips.

He felt himself drowning in America, he could taste coca cola on his tongue and found he loved when it was from her lips. He kept the kisses light and chaste knowing they could not give in fully. There was much to talk about, feelings to sort through and trust to be built up before all of that.

Amelia had never really been one for kissing, but this… She knew it would be like this if they ever came together. The pressure of his mouth was light, but each touch was laden with pleasure and sent heat curling low in her belly. If they could create sparks like this with some soft kisses, what would happen if they were less cautious with their physical contact?

She flicked her tongue against his parted mouth. He groaned and sucked the appendage, making her moan before pulling away. He watched her eyes dilated and vivid and realized his own expression was probably just as hungry if not more so.

He planted one last soft kiss on her mouth to stamp out the burn they both felt before standing up.

"Let's eat some breakfast and then you should return to the embassy," he said willing her to understand that they needed time apart though he wanted nothing but to keep her here forever. A thought that frightened him enough to know it was best to go slow though it would be difficult for him.

She nodded and took his hand when he extended it.

Alright, so yeah that happened. When she talked about getting a text from Michelle O., I of course meant the beautiful Michelle Obama. I can totally see those two hanging out and it makes me want to write a one-shot. I really wanted to put the flash back in because I wanted to show that even though Amelia and Ivan are can be good and comfortable together they are multi-faceted and have some darkness in them as well. Just my thoughts