Yao hardly deserved the harsh comments Natalya had made about him, or the threatened violence, as he called the Ukrainian woman with an explanation much later, complaining that he had got lost on the way and apologising profusely.
Iryna was understanding about it but decided it was probably easier for her, and judging by her younger siblings' moods, safer for the Chinese man to avoid setting up a second date. Especially given the profanity a certain Belarusian was yelling in the background of the phone call. So once she had ended the call and Ivan had managed to somewhat calm Natalya down, they were back around the dining room table and the hypothetical drawing board.
The Ukrainian woman was warily watching her siblings as Ivan began to list the 'available' Nations, while Natalya scowled, ready to unleash a disapproving rant at any given moment.
"England?" Ivan suggested.
"Possibly marrying France. Which says a lot about his common sense." Natalya cut in.
Iryna rolled her eyes at the added comment. This could end up just being a long day full of the Belarusian's less than complimentary opinions of all their fellow Nations. She tried to tune out, but could still hear them engaging in a rather heated discussion.
"Japan?" Was the next on the list of suggestions and for a while, Belarus appeared to be considering this.
"He does not trust me. He has travel warnings against me...Just because I wanted to take one little knife through customs..." She muttered after a pause, petulantly dragging up an old grudge she had never got over.
Russia sighed. "Sestra, Dear, if it makes you happy, I will have words with him about that at some point. But it's irrelevant now, da? This is about matchmaking Big Sister, not sorting out your...Issues." He tried to reason with her.
"Hm...Fine. I will let it slide for now. For Big Sister's sake. But afterwards...I need to have a discussion with him." Was Natalya's eventual conclusion to her dilemma. Not wanting to continue that discussion and unleash all Natalya's pent-up rage, at least not while he was still in the room with her, Ivan wisely abandoned that subject for the time being and turned his own attention back to their eldest sibling.
"So, Irunya, what do you think? We can help arrange a nice date for you and Japan, da?" He suggested with a smile.
Well, Iryna mused to herself, at least her opinion was actually being asked for by her over-zealous siblings this time. So they really did mean well. She looked at Ivan's innocent smile as he did his best to do something helpful for her. Even though their endeavours to actually solve the problem she had, quite without considering all these consequences, originally complained of, they had begun to cheer her up and make her feel more loved, even if it wasn't in the way she had hoped and they had planned.
Her heart warmed, the Ukrainian woman returned her Little Brother's smile as she nodded in agreement at him, for once not too worried about the idea of Belarus and Russia arranging her date for her due to her good mood. Besides, the dates themselves hadn't been bad so far, it was more a series of unfortunate coincidences and her siblings' taking them the wrong way and overreacting that had caused the dating problems so far. She was just unlucky and they were just a little overprotective. Especially considering they were the ones who had decided to 'match-make' her in the first place.
But perhaps sooner or later her siblings would be successful in trying to 'help' her. Glancing from Brother to Sister as they determinedly began making plans, it was obvious they wouldn't give up until they got some kind of satisfactory result and technically, they had been more successful with her love life than she was alone, seeing as she had actually been on some dates since they decided to 'help'.
She stood up and slipped out of the room quietly. The two younger Nations were clearly deeply engrossed in their planning now and didn't need her there. She supposed she would go and check on her niece, who seemed to have been quite forgotten in the mist of the match-making, then perhaps take a rest for a bit. Sweet of them as it was for them to offer their help, it'd be nice to take a break from the subject of her love life and the zealous enthusiasm of her somewhat intimidating siblings.
Natalya glanced up as she watched her Big Sister wander out of the room, then turned her attention back to their planning. "So, Big Brother, how shall we organise this date for Siastra?"
Ivan shrugged, unsure, "I don't really know Japan that well, and besides...I'm not a date planner, Nata. You're the one who usually does that. You just drag me along..." He muttered at her, rolling his eyes slightly at her question.
"I do not drag! It's not my fault if you do not volunteer to take me on enough dates so I have to take action myself!" The indignant Belarusian objected, "Anyway, you always have a lovely time once you give in and do what I want." She smiled in a way that Ivan considered slightly unnerving. He wondered if, with that reference, she was thinking of her 'proposal'. Well, one of many proposals, but the one that had actually worked...While it was true that, after his initial annoyance that his own Little Sister would fail to consult him at all and merely resort to political manipulation to arrange a wedding and 'notify' him later, he had talked things through with her and realised they did love each other very much, resulting in several years of marriage which he couldn't honestly say he regretted...
Snapping out of his reminiscence, he had to admit he couldn't see Natalya's approach helping fix their older siblings' love life. He shook his head at her, trying not to let her see his bashful grin at the emotional memories her seemingly unimportant words had sparked, "Da, well, maybe, but that's irrelevant, Bela. We still need to try to plan a good date for Big Sister."
"Hmm...Very well, we can talk about us later, Darling," Belarus eventually agreed, mumbling something under her breath about Ivan 'owing' her another, uninterrupted date at some point. Then she grabbed a notebook off the table and started furiously scribbling plans, while the Russian man watched her, slightly nervous. He could only hope Natalya's scary enthusiasm resulted in something good for Ukraine...And that she was actually planning a date for their sister, rather than making plans to drag him off somewhere again.
He glanced over at her with a look of mild concern, but Natalya's blonde head remained intently bent over her notebook as she wrote as speedily as she could. content that she wasn't about to spring some inane plot on him, Ivan relaxed and let himself lapse back into the memories Natalya's mention of the beginning of their relationship had stirred up...
It was a perfectly normal day, March 25, 1996, to be precise, and Ivan Rusovich Braginsky woke up in normal circumstances. He was still in his own bed, exactly as he had gone to sleep, and the house was still unchanged and silent. In many ways, the silence bothered him a little, making him feel very isolated and alone, but in one way, it was a comfort. It meant his Little Sister hadn't invited herself over in night again.
It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Natalya's thoughtfulness and the fact she came every single day to keep him company, but he was getting fed up of having to repair the door after she forced it open. Besides, she didn't just come to keep him company. She came to make the insistent, never-ending demand of him. The demand that told him to marry her.
He didn't understand his Little Sister anymore. Once, in a long-ago era he could just vaguely remember, she had been a normal sister and one of his few close friends. Then she had slowly become more and more obsessively clingy. And from somewhere in the strange depths of her mind had arisen the idea that she should marry her own brother.
Why? He wished he knew that. Why would she want to marry him? According to the majority of the rest of the world, he wasn't a very nice person and would most likely break his Little Sister's precious little heart. So she confused and scared him with her insistence. Why did she want to put herself at such a risk? What had he done at some point that had driven her to this strange madness?
She chased him, chanting and waving weapons around, just for what? To get upset because he didn't love her the way she wanted him to.
And in the quiet privacy of his own thoughts as he lay in bed, Ivan wondered about that, too. How did he feel about Natalya? Obviously, there was no chance that they would ever be together. She was his Little Sister and he wouldn't see her heartbroken. She deserved to marry someone who would be a good husband...And he didn't think he could do that if everyone around him always left. There must be some problem with him that meant it wouldn't work.
But beneath that...He was aware that he cared deeply for Natalya, as a sibling and as a friend. When she wasn't being too...extreme in her attachment to him, their personalities balanced out and they got on very well. There was also a small part of him that had to admit that she was a very beautiful woman. If she wasn't his sister and if he was a better person, a person he'd wish on someone else...
The Russian man growled and shook off those thoughts. That was a stupid and pointless route to go down. He sat up and hauled himself out of bed in a foul mood. This wasn't improved when, after getting dressed and trying to wake himself up properly, he went downstairs to be greeted by a letter from his boss. Seriously, who even sent post to arrive at that time in the morning?!
He snatched it up and skimmed over it, not really paying attention. Then he caught a glimpse of Belarus's name and sighed, backtracking. What was Sestra up to this time?
Oh. Oh...He tried to find a sufficient way to express his feelings and failed, his mind somehow both blank and racing at the same time. How had she pulled this off? How had she managed to get her boss and his boss to agree that it was a good idea for them to get married without even asking him?! And how...How dare she?!
He tried to be annoyed, on principle of not being asked, if nothing else. But he was secretly a little relieved. It stopped him having to mooch around thinking about that matter whenever he was in a bad mood and having dark thoughts again. He'd just have to try not to hurt her. While keeping up the pretence the whole world, his poor Little Sister included, had come to believe. That he didn't want any part of this-
Russia's inner monologue paused. The door had just creaked open all by itself. There weren't many people who came to visit him these days, and even fewer who wouldn't bother knocking. Either General Winter was sticking around a lot longer and getting a lot more invasive these days, or Belarus had turned up.
Still wrestling with a few thoughts on the sudden engagement, he didn't look up straight away. Not until her footsteps came down the hallway, pausing in the doorway. He heard her simple greeting, "Brother."
Now, the Russian looked up, violet eyes landing on his youngest sister. "Belarus. This is your doing, da?" He held up the letter like an accusation, still trying to pretend he was annoyed by it all.
This seemed lost on the Belarusian woman, who merely smiled slightly and spoke, "Ah, it reached you. I was speaking with my boss the other day. He was speaking with your boss. Everyone is thinking it is a good idea. We should be married soon, Brother, Dear."
Ivan sighed. "You were never thinking of asking me?!" He said indignantly, or as close to indignantly as he was able to manage with at least half his mind still working out a lot of emotional thoughts.
Natalya's face flickered and, shockingly, tears welled up in her eyes. "I did! Again and again...But you never want me." She mumbled, sniffling. Quickly turning away, the Belarusian hid her tears. "If our wedding is not making you happy, I guess I will leave you now. I shall call it off since I cannot please you." She answered.
The Russian man's heart beat faster and for a moment he couldn't breathe. Natalya never cried. Ever. Nor did she ever give up, for anything. Could it be he was wrong? For he'd never thought his sister was truly in love with him. He'd always believed she was a confused young girl, messed up by their rather hectic history, and motivated only by loneliness and perhaps encouraged by devious politicians. But if he'd only known...He would have married her in a heartbeat.
It would have silenced all his inner fears of being left by the Dear Sister he had grown to love and adore almost as much as she loved and adored him, if in a slightly less scary way. He wouldn't worry that if he agreed to marry her, she would end up unhappy, and leave.
Knowing she really, honestly meant her constant proposals, and seeing her this emotional over it...It changed everything.
She didn't know that though. She needed to. He tentatively stood up and walked to his crying sister, pulling her into his arms.
"Da, I know...I'm sorry...I didn't realise, I never realised!" He told her, his voice strained as he tried to emphasise it enough, but never felt he had or could. "I do, Sestra, I do want you. I love you, Nata." He whispered to her.
Stunned, Belarus stopped crying and raised her head, Sapphire eyes meeting Amethyst as the siblings stood in surprised silence, only now coming to terms with the truth of their relationship. "Really? Then we can be married...married...married...married...?" She asked softly, the final word seeming to echo as she repeated it, again and again, to stress her point, as she so often did.
It was a regular question. Over and over she asked it. But this time was different, special, precious. It changed her life for the very, very best. Because, this time, right here, in reality rather than some sweet dream, Ivan actually nodded. And soon after, on April 2, 1996, they were married.
"Brother, plans are made!" Natalya's voice broke through Ivan's thoughts at long last when, after several long minutes of writing, she looked up at him expectantly.
The Russian man blushed slightly at being caught daydreaming, especially given what his daydreams had been about. But he smiled at his wife and turned his attention back to her. "Da? Then we should ask Japan...And notify Big Sister that we're finished." He pointed out.
"Hm..." She considered that, and conceded, "Okay then. You go and talk to Sestra. I will send Japan a message. I need to talk to him about the travel warnings anyway..."
Ivan rolled his eyes and began to walk away. He hadn't survived this long around Natalya without learning when to drop the subject and leave her thinking whatever twisted thoughts she was thinking.
Natalya got up too, and for a moment he glanced back nervously, wondering if she was following him around again, but she had just wandered over to the computer. She gave him a questioning look. "What? I will email him. I'm fed up of high phone bills."
"Whatever makes you happiest, Sister, you do that," Russia answered her with an innocent smile as he edged out of the door, avoiding further questions on why he had watched her with suspicion for a few minutes, "I'll go and talk to Big Sister, da?"
Belarus nodded as she typed her login into the computer and opened up her emails. There was the usual tedious junk from various people, a few messages from her boss she really ought to have checked sooner but scrolled past yet again and, as if on cue, an email from Japan.
It was Natalya's curses that brought her siblings running downstairs, and incidentally woke up her daughter. Ivan hurried to attend to Nastasya, while Iryna turned her attention to the irritated Belarusian. "What's the matter, Sestra?" She questioned.
"I can't make plans for you without some moron coming along and ruining them, can I?!" Belarus growled indignantly, jabbing a finger at the screen in a rude gesture. The Ukrainian woman, sure she wasn't going to get anywhere just asking her frustrated sister for more information, peered at the email herself.
Reading the email, intended for Greece but accidentally send to Belarus instead, and gathering that Japan was dating the Greek now, Iryna shrugged. "Oh well, you did your best, Sister, it was a very sweet thought!" She rallied, smiling and hugging Belarus in hopes of calming her down.
Natalya submitted to being hugged without much protest, though she was still glaring at the screen as she muttered through gritted teeth, "Da, and now we'll just have to try again!"