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Things are gonna start getting bumpy...can you guess what's going to happen?
Morning came, and as Ivan predicted, Alfred had been only a little tired. He'd poked fun at Alfred for trying to act tough the night before and not drink Ivan's blood. The blonde merely shrugged Ivan's teasing off and ate his breakfast. A couple minutes later, Ivan escorted Alfred to his college. The snow was relatively deep, so Ivan had insisted on Alfred wearing some thermal boots to keep his feet warm. The Russian vampire just so happened to keep a spare pair at his home, though he personally never needed to use them. The cold didn't affect Ivan like it did humans.
After a trek through the snow covered city and slightly dangerous and slippery streets, Ivan dropped Alfred off at his college, kissing his lover on the cheek and wishing him a good day. They parted, heading in their separate directions for the time being. Ivan stalked off to find something to preoccupy himself.
-x-
This had to be it. Natalia was certain that she would find Ivan here. Paris was a bright beacon for all vampires and usually attracted most of their kind. Ivan had to be here somewhere. How many more places could he be? Natalia had all but searched all over Western Europe. She'd been to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, made a trip up to England, and then finally back into France. Along the way, she had ran into a pair of vampires; German vampires. One was a tall blonde man who was muscular and stern while the other was a slightly obnoxious albino vampire with distinct features. They weren't involved with Natalia's business in the least, but that hadn't stopped her from interrogating them. As usual, they said that they didn't know any vampires by the name of Ivan. Natalia briefly thought about attacking the albino vampire after he'd made a remark of how obsessive she sounded, but refrained from doing so upon observing the taller, blonde vampire. Natalia was strong, but the German, with all his thick muscles and cold, icy blue eyes pretty much screamed raw strength and brutality. So she left them alone and went on her merry way.
She traversed through the city, keeping her deep blue eyes open for any signs of Ivan. After exhausting her search in the main part of the city, Natalia turned her search to the sidelines of Paris. Rows of houses and fancy flats lined the streets here. It practically screamed high class. So far, all she had found was numerous children and some teenagers playing out in the snow. She was just about to give up searching for now until she saw him.
There he was, rolling around in the snow like a carefree child with what appeared to be a blonde human. A human…a weak, brittle little mortal in the arms of Ivan like they were long lost lovers. Natalia quickly regained her bearings after the initial shock and bounded into the shadows where she couldn't be seen. From there, she observed Ivan and the mysterious blonde mortal. They were playing in the snow, building little forts of ice and dumping handfuls of the white, cold powder on top of each other's heads. Their little war breaking for the moment, Natalia was surprised whenever she saw Ivan bring the blonde into a hard, passionate kiss, all tongue and teeth. The edge of the blonde's jacket dipped a bit and Natalia could see the vast array of purplish bruises and bite marks. They littered the blonde's neck, numerous in numbers and fresh.
What the hell was Ivan doing? Natalia had no idea.
Although the thought pestered her, Natalia knew she couldn't attack Ivan out in the open. And that blonde…that weak, little human…what was his standing with Ivan? What were they doing? Natalia watched as they stood up from the snow and began dusting each other off. They begin walking toward one of the flats. That must have been Ivan's home, Natalia deduced. Good. At least she knew where he was staying at the moment. Deciding that she needed to fall back and formulate a new plan, Natalia slinked off into the crowd of people unnoticed.
She didn't know who that human was, but they were obviously close to Ivan. Very close. Yes…Natalia's lips pulled into a wicked smile. If that human were to die…the amount of pain it would cause Ivan would be unbearable. Keeping her wicked smile plastered to her face, Natalia thought of what her next move was going to be. Whatever it was, it would involve that human's death and then Ivan's shortly after.
Alfred was currently in Ivan's kitchen heating himself up some warm milk, having wanted a warm beverage. He was humming a catchy pop song and swaying his hips as he stared intently at the microwave screen as it counted down from one minute. They'd just come inside from playing outside near Ivan's building's yard. Some kids had been out too, but they mainly left Alfred and Ivan alone, being intimidated by the large Russian.
Today had been a pretty good day for Alfred, aside from being a bit tired when he woke up this morning and the slight ache he felt in his lower back after his and Ivan's activities last night. The Russian asshole had the nerve to tease Alfred about being tired and looked pretty damn smug and pleased with himself at the barely noticeable limp Alfred had. That aside, his classes went by pretty fast and he got a good grade on an essay he wrote for one of them. He met Ivan at the café and they ate lunch. Well…Alfred did. They talked for a good hour before Alfred dragged the Russian to his flat's building's front yard and promptly started an intense snow war with the Russian. They'd played and messed around in the snow for a good four and a half hours. Alfred would be leaving for his dorm in half an hour or so, after he cuddled and warmed up with Ivan.
Speaking of which, just as he'd stopped humming and swaying his hips as he heard a familiar ding indicating the milk was done. He also felt an arm wrap around his waist and cool lips press against his neck before The Russian lifted his head up to bury his nose in Alfred's soft, golden blonde hair. "Hey, what's up?" Alfred asked, tilting his head up at an odd angle so he could Ivan's face upside down.
"I'm going to miss you tonight." Ivan muttered sadly. Alfred had to return to his dorm in a small bit, and Ivan would be forced to spend his first night alone since they'd made up with each other. He knew he couldn't hog Alfred all the time, but he sometimes wished he could. "I honestly have no idea what to do whenever you're gone." Alfred disapproved of Ivan feeding on others. As easy as it would be to do it without getting caught, the Russian vampire still didn't like the idea of going against Alfred's wishes. Pulling Alfred into the living room by his waist and making sure not to jostle him too much so he wouldn't spill his warm beverage, Ivan led them to the couch and pulled the blonde into his lap. Nuzzling against him, he relaxed against Alfred's warm and pleasant body, breathing in his scent. The smell of snow mixed in with Alfred's usual aroma, making it more vivid and crisp than usual.
After being led to the living room and plopping down on the Russian's lap, Alfred began sipping at his drink. At Ivan's confession Alfred grinned up at him, teasing the Russian despite the milk mustache he was sporting. "Do whatever you did before ya met me. I mean I know life is dull and monochrome without my awesomess around. But surely you had other ways of entertaining yourself all these years." Seriously, what did Ivan do besides 'hunting' or reading? The Russian never really struck him as being social...
Alfred found his mind drifting off on the matter as he drank more milk, adding on to the little mustache he was too lazy to lick off right now. His other hand idly played with an end of Ivan's scarf, the material seemingly faded and slightly fraying at the ends. "Hm, where'd you get this scarf Ivan? It seems really old and important to you." Considering how carefully he treated it and seemed to appreciate it when Alfred treats it just as carefully. This had actually been something he'd been curious about for a while...
Ivan gave Alfred a small, sad smile. "Katyusha made this for me. It's been repaired and sown into hundreds of times since then. I try my best to take care of it." Ivan lifted the other end of the scarf, running his fingers over the worn cloth. "It's the last remnant of my sister. I promised myself that I would keep it for as long as possible. I never imagined it would last over a thousand years. Then again, Katyusha had told me that she put all her heart and soul into it. Maybe that's why it's so strong, because she was." Ivan gave a slightly choked laugh. Clearing his throat, he tried changing the subject before he became too emotional. "Sure, I had ways of keeping myself busy. But you must realize that since you've came into my life, everything else pales in comparison."
Alfred gave Ivan a small smile and stroked the paler blonde's cheek with the back of his knuckles in a soothing fashion. He hummed out, "If she's anything like you big guy, I'm sure she was hella strong. 'Sides, us older siblings wouldn't leave our baby bros hanging, even in death." He gave him a wink and a brighter smile. "Would you mind telling me more about her sometime? She sounds nice from what you've said so far." he really did want Ivan to tell him more about his human days and his family. Whenever he did, he looked melancholy and pained, but behind that there was a definite warmth in him as he spoke of his sister. He wouldn't press the Russian though, considering the emotional wound he felt over her murder.
Now Alfred often stroked his own ego, his last statement about life being dull without him a testament to that. Alfred also loved it when others stroked his ego. Ivan, however, always seemed to know what to say to both flatter, fluster and embarrass the American with his compliments, turning his face into a tomato...at least in color. Alfred rubbed the back of his head, smile turning bashful as his cheeks glowed a soft pink. "T-Thanks, big guy. You seriously flatter me too much though, man. My head just might get bigger if you're not careful."
Ivan kissed Alfred's forehead as if for emphasis on his next words. "Don't worry. If you get too meat-headed about yourself, I'll be sure to knock you down a couple notches." At the scowl he received from Alfred and the way the blonde puffed his cheeks afterwards, Ivan burst out into laughter. "I'll tell you about my…family…some other time. Today has been a fun day, and I'd rather not ruin it by getting all melancholy on you."
Alfred blew a raspberry at him, "You're a big bully." He quickly withdrew his tongue though, not wanting Ivan to capture it between his fingers again. Finishing the rest of his milk, he finally licked off the milk mustache on his upper lip. He smiled brightly and encouragingly at Ivan. "We did have an awesome day didn't we? And I'm ready to listen whenever you wanna tell me buddy." He poked Ivan's nose with his finger, watching and laughing as Ivan's eyes crossed to follow the finger and his nose scrunched up. Leaning up he pecked the Russian on the lips.
"I suppose I could tell you now…" Ivan mused quietly. "Like I said before, Katyusha and I were the only ones alive at the time of my turning. Our parents had died…I don't remember my mother. She died at my birth. My father was a very rough and cruel man. He would beat Katyusha over little things whenever we were younger. But like I said, Katyusha was a strong woman. She held strong against father's beatings. She made sure he never touched me. I was only a child at the time, so I didn't know what I was seeing. I know I didn't like it though. A few years later, father died and Katyusha and I took over the farm. And the rest is history." Ivan said matter-of-factly. "I know it's not as exciting as you may have wished, but that's my human life in a nutshell."
Alfred nuzzled Ivan's neck through the scarf, "I'm sorry to hear that... your sister was really brave" Alfred frowned. He hadn't expected that. Alfred never got how people could hurt kids, especially their own children. Alfred personally loved kids as Ivan witnessed when he tried to coax some into not being intimidated by Ivan and it was cool to play with them.
Alfred was thankful to this Katyusha however, for not letting their bastard of a dad touch Ivan and protecting him. Alfred liked her. He wished he could have met her. She sounded very kind and sweet. Leaning back into Ivan's chest he asked, still fiddling with Ivan's scarf absentmindedly. "I'm sure you have some good memories with your sister! Any embarrassing stories she might of told me about lil' Vanya, like siblings are infamous in doing when their sibling brings home a boyfriend or girlfriend~?" Alfred asked, tilting his head back as he teased the vampire. Sure they were going back down memory lane and remembering painful stuff as well as good stuff, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have fun with this! "I'll tell you some that Mattie would have told you if you guys had met!"
Ivan racked his mind for any good memories. There were very few if any good memories Ivan had of his past life. Life a thousand years ago wasn't nearly as entertaining or exciting as today. Ivan blushed wildly at a certain memory. "I'm not sure about me, but Katyusha had a bit of a…problem…with her chest. It often got in the way of a lot of things. Including farm work. She couldn't see her feet whenever she walked, so she was constantly stumbling over things." Ivan laughed a little remembering Katyusha tripping all over herself. The poor girl's large breasts were really more of a curse than a blessing. "I…uh, well there was this one time that Katyusha and I went into a small town to sell some crops. A skimpily dressed woman came up to me and started conversing with me. I was only about 12 at the time. She tried to lure me into a brothel. Of course, I had no idea where I was going or what the woman was going to attempt to do. Luckily, my big sister found me in time. She threatened to beat the woman black and blue for attempting something so low and vile." Ivan grinned at the memory, remembering clearly Katyusha's threatening glare.
Alfred raised an eyebrow, "...Puberty must have been a bitch for her then. Ever have to beat off ogling guys with a stick?" He found it amusing that "big" apparently ran in their family, and he wasn't necessarily talking about Ivan's body size either. And at hearing the brothel story, he couldn't help but laugh hysterically. Imagining the Russian's younger self being too doe eyed and innocent to understand where he was being taken to. "Hahaha! D-Did she tell you later where that woman was taking you?" Alfred was covering his mouth at the possibly horrified expression little Ivan might of had if Katyusha did indeed tell him. Violet eyes wide and mouth agape, a clear look of trauma in his eyes, like a little kid finding his mom making out with "Santa Claus" kind of trauma.
Ivan sputtered a bit. "N-No! I mean…not right away. She told me afterwards. Can we not talk about that? That was embarrassing and awkward. Now Alfred, I do believe that you owe me a story of your own." Ivan smiled deviously, glad that he would be getting a little bit of revenge for his embarrassing confession.
Alfred pouted, "Aw...that would have been funny!" He then looked up in thought and licked his lips a bit to moisten them. "Damn, if Mattie were here, he'd have field day. I kid not, my bro had more dirt on me then I had dirt on me! Let me see, what would be a good one?" Alfred grimaced when he thought of the perfect one. Well at least the perfect one his brother would have told Ivan, " Okay, um Ivan…ever hear of Dora the Explorer?" He asked curiously, if not this would be even more embarrassing to explain.
Arching a pale brow, Ivan nodded, not following Alfred. "Yes. It's a child's show meant to both encourage group participation and teach Spanish. What of it?" What? Did Alfred still watch it or something? That wasn't too embarrassing…
Alfred nodded and laughed nervously, "Well, I first saw the show when I was like five or six and have been terrified of it ever since. And when I say terrified I mean terrified. Just hearing the freaking opening would make me start bawling when I was little! It took me to like age ten to stop having nightmares of Swiper breaking into the house and swiping the our stuff even when I said 'Swiper no swiping!'. Now it just sorta creeps me out, but when I was younger...freaking terrified." Alfred huffed explaining his irrational fear of a child's cartoon show. He looked up at Ivan after a long silence. He blinked at the Russian who was biting his lip hard, looking ready to burst into a giggle fit. Alfred blushed, "Don't laugh! I mean, think about it! She was like a little girl and her parents let her walk all around a forest alone, with a talking monkey in boots. There are alligator infested lakes and a fox bandit that tries to steal stuff! And somehow this little girl who randomly starts speaking Spanish has the power to talk to animals and stop the freaking bandit most of the time just by saying 'Swiper no swiping!' three times! What did she do to that fox to make him so obedient!? And don't get me started on how scary Dora is herself. Her eyes are soulless I swear! Not to mention how that blue arrow thing, like, stalks her." Alfred grumbled his reasons for fearing the little Latin TV show character when he was little, and how it creeped him out now.
That was it. Ivan burst into a fit of giggles, unable to hold it all in. He heard Alfred give a groan of annoyance. But in all honesty, that was just so absurd! It was a child's cartoon, for god's sake. Not some twisted, guro depiction. Ivan held his side whenever he felt the burn from laughing too much start to settle in. "You…thought Dora the Explorer…was scary?" He managed to gasp out between his laughs. Ivan caught the sullen expression on Alfred's face and felt a pang of guilt course through him. Okay…so maybe he shouldn't have laughed that much or that hard. Alfred hadn't poked too much fun at his story, so he shouldn't be giving Alfred such a hard time. Patting the blonde affectionately on the shoulder, Ivan managed to quell his fit of laughter. "I'm sorry Fredka." He stated, a little breathless. "I didn't mean to be so obnoxious about it. I understand it was only a child's fear."
Alfred just sulked as his boyfriend laughed at his childhood fear. He knew he should have just told him about how he sneezed in the middle of his first kiss, then at least he would have been able to laugh with the Russian at his fail. When the Russian apologized, he just mumbled, cheeks red in embarrassment. "It's cool, I would have laughed too if I wasn't the one with the fear." He then gave Ivan a serious look. "You have to promise to keep that a secret, or I'll stake ya vampire boy. No one outside my family knows about that!" Alfred would just about die of embarrassment if that fear was revealed to anyone he didn't tell himself. So far that was only himself, Mattie, and Ivan and he planned to keep it that way.
"I won't tell anyone, I promise." Ivan kissed him on the cheek and then on the lips. "You wouldn't stake me….would you?" Of course that wouldn't work, even if someone tried it. Vampires were much, much harder to kill than people thought they were. The only way to kill a vampire for sure was to decapitate them and burn the body. You could spill their innards out onto the sidewalks before them, and they could still survive from that. Feeding healed wounds as if they were never there before, so almost anything could be mended. Even severed limbs, aside from the head of course.
Alfred blinked in surprise, "That would work!?" He questioned with his mouth gaping in disbelief. Really, Alfred had just been joking about the stake thing. He hadn't even considered the possibility of it working, thinking it to be something untrue like a lot of the vampire myths.
Alfred snapped out of his shock and hurriedly tried to reassure his boyfriend. "N-No! I'd never do that to ya Vanya! I was just joking, I didn't think it would actually work!" Alfred twisted and adjusted himself on the Russian's lap so he could hug the Russian around his middle and press a kiss to the side of his neck, where a sliver of skin wasn't covered by his scarf. "I'd never try to hurt ya like that..." he mumbled. Well he would defend himself if Ivan ever tried to hurt him, but that went without saying. Besides, he doubted the Russian would try to hurt him this late into their relationship.
Ivan laughed softly, running a hand through Alfred's hair. "No silly, that doesn't work. It's just another one of your human's little myths to help them sleep better at night. It takes much, much more than that to kill us." Pressing his lips against Alfred's hair, he murmured sweetly. "You don't have to tell me that. I already know. Just like I would never purposely hurt you." Ivan threw in the 'purposely' because he wasn't sure whether or not he could keep himself from accidentally hurting Alfred. Mortals were, after all, incredibly fragile. Almost like glass… Ivan turned his attention to the digital clock sitting on the end table near them. "It's getting late…" Ivan mumbled almost sadly. Alfred would definitely have to leave soon, as much as he wouldn't want him to.
Alfred exhaled in relief. Well, at least he knew Ivan couldn't be knocked off that easily. He then smiled brightly at Ivan's sweet words, despite the admittance that he could unintentionally hurt Alfred. The American wasn't scared of that anymore though. He was sure he could handle whatever was thrown at him. He may be human, but Alfred could be as tough as nails at times too.
Alfred laughed a bit at Ivan's tone at it being late. Looking over his shoulder, he saw he should indeed start heading back if wanted any hope of eating, doing some assignments and getting to sleep at a decent hour. Alfred nodded and looked back at Ivan's almost sulky expression. "Yeah, I probably should be heading out in a minute. Don't worry though big guy, you'll see me for lunch at the café right?" He winked and gave Ivan a chaste kiss on the lips. He pulled back with his normal, bright grin on his face. "I had an awesome and fun time with you to day, and thanks for sharing more about your past with me big guy. I know it must be hard for you." His grin turned more appreciative as he reached his hand up to brush against the vampire's cool cheek and go up to run through his platinum locks.
Ivan closed his eyes at the sensation of Alfred's gentle fingers carding into his hair. He gave the blonde his usual small smile back. "I had fun too, Fredka. And it's no problem. I like that I'm able to share everything with you." Ivan opened his eyes, meeting Alfred's aquamarine ones with his violet ones. "Do you want me to walk you home?" Ivan knew what the answer would be. And even if Alfred said no, he'd just pressure the blonde into caving so he could do it anyway. Ivan didn't like the thought of Alfred walking out alone in the evening time, let alone in knee deep snow.
Alfred snorted, but smiled fondly at the Russian and gave his head an affectionate scratch. "Nah, I'll be good on my own big guy. 'Sides, I can take down anyone who tries to mess with me!" It was sweet that Ivan was concerned for his wellbeing, but it wasn't like he was some teenage girl. Besides, it was only like six thirty, granted he stayed an extra thirty minutes then intended, but still. It was only starting to get dark so Alfred would be fine.
The Russian vampire gave Alfred a worried look, his brows furrowed and his lips brought into a tight line. Finally, he sighed, giving in. "Alright, fine. Just please be careful. I know you can handle yourself Alfred, but I still worry." After all, the world was unknowingly full of vampires. And Alfred seemed to be the mass to which most of them were gravitating towards. "Can I have a kiss before you go?" Ivan pointed to his lips. He and Alfred both knew he wasn't referring to a small peck on the lips. Aside from a slow make-out session that morning in bed, they hadn't kissed like that almost all day.
Alfred smirked a bit at Ivan's request, deciding he would tease the Russian a bit, despite how the Russian will probably get revenge for the teasing. "But you already kissed me after our snow war! But, I'll be generous and give ya another one big guy." He wrapped his arms around Ivan's neck, adjusting himself on the Russian's lap once more so he was straddling him. Leaning in slowly, he got only a few millimeters away before changing course and planting a big kiss on the tip of the Russian's nose, even playfully nipping it before drawing back to watch Ivan's reaction to his teasing.
"Alfred…" Ivan wrinkled his nose. He pouted a bit, his lips tugging downward in a frown. If Alfred thought he was the only one who could pout, he had another thing coming. He sent the blonde a pitiful expression, his violet pools filling with a look of sadness. Ivan saw Alfred's expression falter for a second and smiled inwardly.
Nope, nope, nope, nope. Alfred was not going to fall for it. He felt his expression falter. NOPE, Alfred perfected the pout! It was his, Ivan just can't take that from him! Biting his lip, Alfred tried to keep his eyes hard and unwavering while he stared into saddened violet pools. He must resist it...! With a huff, the American gave in. He was going to give Ivan a kiss anyway, he didn't need to pout and make Alfred cave. "Fine, you win." Leaning in once again, he slanted his mouth over Ivan's now smirking lips. He felt Ivan trace Alfred's slightly chapped lips with his cool tongue, slipping it inside Alfred's warm mouth and slowly exploring every inch of his mouth. Alfred hummed into the kiss in approval, lightly nudging Ivan's tongue with his to get him to wrestle his tongue with Alfred's.
Ivan moved his lips slowly and sensually over Alfred's his tongue poking into the other's mouth and eliciting a reaction from the blonde's. Cool pale lips slid over pinker, slightly chapped ones, leaving a trail of wetness wherever they travelled. Ivan sucked on the blonde's lower lips as he always did, making Alfred moan lightly against his mouth. Pulling away with a small suck, Ivan gave Alfred's lips one last lick. "Mm, thank you, darling."
Alfred just smiled, licking his own lips. Wiggling off Ivan's lap, he stood up and leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of Ivan's head. "No problem Vanya. See ya tomorrow at the café?" He asked as he offered his hand to help the Russian up, knowing that the Russian would at least walk him to the door. And as predicted, Ivan accepted the hand and was pulled up before being lead to the door by Alfred. Ivan opened the front door with his free hand as Alfred turned to listen to his boyfriend's response.
"Mmhmm. I'll be there like always." He pressed one last kiss to Alfred's lips before seeing the blonde off. Ivan watched Alfred until he disappeared from sight and then closed the door. Sighing, the Russian retreated to his room where he had a book waiting to be finished. Tonight was going to be a lonely night, especially after last night's events.
Natalia watched with the eyes of an eagle as Alfred walked out of Ivan's flat. She waited until the Russian vampire closed his door before moving along. The Belarusian vampire trailed Alfred closely, debating whether or not she should strike now or wait until later. Eventually, they reached a couple of conjoined buildings and Natalia deduced that it must have been a campus of sorts. Alfred was just about to walk into the building. Natalia was caught between wanting to take action now and fear of being caught if she tried. Biting her lip, she concluded that she wouldn't be able to nab Alfred out in the open like this. It was still relatively early in the evening, there were still people about, and the campus was in the open. And it's not like she could just follow Alfred up to his room or something.
No…this called for a more discreet course of action. Natalia nodded to herself, mentally making a note to come back here tomorrow. Tomorrow…she would take care of the mysterious blonde human tomorrow. And then afterwards, it was Ivan's turn. She smiled wildly, her sharp fangs shining against the evening light.
That night, as Alfred made his way to his dorm, he didn't notice the shadowed figure following him to his campus. Nor could he sense the figures dark intentions as they disappeared into the night. Alfred walked into his dorm, taking off his jacket and the boots Ivan lent him. He would admit they were super warm. Much better suited for winter than Alfred's converses. He settled into his normal week day routine: make instant ramen (since he hadn't been in contact with Francis at all last week, he didn't get any leftover meals to heat up), did some homework and finally went to bed around ten o'clock. As Alfred tried to get some sleep, he found the lack of a Russian boyfriend to snuggle against very displeasing. The slight pang of loneliness wasn't too bad though. He'd see Ivan in the afternoon and they could hangout some more and maybe drop by Arthur and Francis's apartment. The reason he'd bring Ivan along is to throw the vampire under the bus so to speak so he isn't the one Arthur's indignation and wrath over the obvious marks littering his neck (and other places) were. Alfred smiled a bit at the scene that formed in his head and snuggled into the pillow a bit more, content with how everything seemed to turn out in the end.
The next morning, Alfred woke up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and turning his alarm clock off. The American felt extremely well rested and the slight ache in his lower back from their previous love making a couple nights ago gone. Going through his normal morning routine of grabbing a Pop-tart for breakfast, taking a shower and all that jazz, he found himself walking around campus, heading towards his first class for the day. He pulled out his phone and began texting Arthur, telling him that he and Ivan would come over later. Putting his cell phone in his pocket, he looked up just in time to realize he was about to run into someone, but didn't have enough time to react. The collision sent both parties tumbling to the ground, "Ow, damn it that hurt." Alfred mumbled to himself as he got up off his bum, dusting himself off. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention!" he apologized, looking down at the person he crashed into and offering a hand. He saw probably the single most attractive woman he's ever met in his life. She had deep blue eyes, fair skin, long platinum blonde hair that had more of a yellowish tint then Ivan's, and a slim figure. She was wearing a black, sleek winter coat, magenta dress, black stockings, a black string choker and a a head band with a bow on top the same color as the dress. The beautiful stranger smiled politely and accepted his offered hand.
"T-Thank you." Natalia replied in a pseudo-bashful voice. She let Alfred help her up. As soon as she was on both feet, Natalia's hands went to her head. She swooned a little bit, making herself stumble purposely as she faked a fainting spell. "A-Ah…I don't…I don't feel so well…" Natalia whispered, faking being short breathed. Alfred's face was instantly covered with concern, his mouth opening to say something. She felt him steady her by grabbing her arm with one hand and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It must be my sugar. I…I need somewhere to sit down so I can check. I have insulin in my bag." She motioned to the bag that, in fact, did not contain any medicine for sugar problems, but rather a rope and gag.
Alfred quickly scanned the area, muttering a few curses in English when he didn't see any conveniently placed benches or tables. Looking back the beautiful girl, who actually looked to be his age, he smiled at her sheepishly. "There isn't any benches around here. Um, I could take to my dorm. It's close." Alfred offered, hoping she would trust him considering he was a stranger and he could take advantage of her weakened state. "Oh, I'm Alfred F. Jones by the way." He tagged on quickly.
"N…Natalia…" Natalia muttered out weakly. For a moment, she saw Alfred's eyes go wide. He shot her a look of pure terror, his face portraying an expression that only the most horrible nightmares could cause. Had she said something too much? Did her name give away her identity? Ivan…did Ivan trust this 'Alfred' enough to have told him about her? Natalia tensed, ready to strike at Alfred the second he showed any signs of trying to escape. But the blonde's horrified expression merely melted away, and he gave an uneasy laugh, putting on a strained smile. Natalia relaxed a smidgen, waiting for him to speak.
Alfred felt cold terror pass through his being when he heard her name. No, it's not possible! This had to be a coincidence, right? Natalia was a popular name in the states, so why not here right? Besides, she couldn't possibly be this seemingly sweet girl. Alfred was just being paranoid and shouldn't jump to conclusions just because someone has the same name as Ivan's tormentor and creator. Alfred's eyes, which had widened in recognition and fear, returned to normal as he continued walking towards his dorm and held her arm in a firm and steady grip in case she swooned again. Alfred gave her a hesitant and strained smile, letting a nervous laugh come out as he tried to explain his moment of panic. "Oh, um sorry. My boyfriend had a...bad experience with someone named Natalia. It just shocked me to here you say your name was Natalia too. So um, are you an exchange student too?" He tried to push off his little moment as not a big deal and tried to bring up a more friendlier topic of conversation while he escorted her to his dorm room.
"Mmhmm. I'm a student from…" Natalia tried to think of a place inconspicuous that would match her accent. She couldn't tell him Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus…that would be too suspicious. "…from the Czech Republic. They suggested that I come to this school recently, and since the semester was about to end, I figured I could start here next semester." Natalia used her knowledge of usual colleges to her advantage. It sounded believable. They finally reached Alfred's door, which was at the end of the hallway. Natalia pretended to use the wall for support while Alfred brought out his keys and unlocked the door. After the Belarusian vampire heard the door click open, she allowed Alfred to help her inside. As soon as the blonde closed the door, Natalia lost her sickly façade, instead choosing to smile at Alfred. "Thank you." She spoke in English, watching as confusion crossed the other's face.
Alfred blinked when she suddenly switched to English. "You speak English?" Alfred asked a bit baffled. Why didn't she speak it from the get go then? Maybe her French is better? Alfred felt suspicion well up inside. She looked less weak all of a sudden, like it was an act. "Well um, you're welcome. You look thirsty. Do you want any water?" Alfred asked, eyeing her as he headed to the mini-fridge in his dorm, planning on getting her a bottle of water.
"Hmm yes, I am a little thirsty. I've done a lot of travelling, you see." Natalia stood up from where she had taken a seat and followed Alfred. "Though…I don't think water will do much to sate that thirst." She noticed how Alfred froze, his back going tense and the mini-fridge's door being left open. The nervous laughing was back on his part as he turned to face her with two bottles of water. Natalia smiled, letting the fainting hint of fang show. She walked closer to Alfred, reaching out and dancing her fingertips along his bare neck. "No, water will not do at all…I'm looking for something else…"
Alfred tensed more, alarm bells blaring in his mind. His smile took a bit of an edge. Was she implying what he thinks she was? He couldn't jump to conclusions. "I'm sorry Natalia, but I'm taken. See?" He grabbed her hand in a firm grip and pointed to one of the many bite marks on his neck. Avoiding eye contact in case his suspicions were correct, he hoped she got the message. If she was a vampire, she would recognize the bite marks for what they were immediately. In case she wasn't though and this was just someway of picking someone up then, "Like I said before, I have a boyfriend " No need to tell her he actually swung both ways. He didn't see it considering he was avoiding eye contact, but Natalia's eyes took an icier edge and she was struggling to keep herself from snarling at reinforcement of his and Ivan's relationship.
"Ah, I see." She mused quietly, her voice stiff and hard. She withdrew her hand from Alfred's neck, her hands surprisingly hurting from the blonde's hard grip. Humans usually weren't so strong… Natalia smiled sweetly at Alfred. She allowed her teeth to show completely now, her fangs out in the open for the other to see. Alfred gasped, drawing away from her. In a quick flash of movement, Natalia reached out, grabbed Alfred's jacket, and sent him flying across his dorm. He connected painfully with the wall, knocking down some decorations and jostling the entire dorm room. Natalia stalked over to where he lie on the floor, holding his side. She sneered at him, her eyes freezing over like ice. "So you and Vanya are together, huh?" Natalia spoke Ivan's name with intense bitterness. She pressed her foot against the side of Alfred's head, applying a small bit of pressure. A groan of pain could be heard underneath it. "Well then…that's no good, is it? No…you see, Alfred, you seem to have inadvertently thrown yourself into a rather sticky situation. Because of your little relationship with your little vampire lover, you won't be living much longer." Natalia walked over to where she had set her bag down, pulling out the gag and rope. "Because I do plan on killing you. But I'm going to do it in front of him, so I can watch him slowly crumble. I want him to know the full extent of the pain he has caused me." Natalia turned around in time to see Alfred struggling back to his feet, a glare plastered on his face now. He looked ready to spring at her. "If you try defying me, it will only cause you more pain. I can do this all day, you know."
Alfred gritted his teeth in pain and anger, his usually warm blue eyes narrowed and dark with rage. It seems his early suspicions were right. This was the Natalia that caused Ivan so much suffering. Alfred let out a bitter laugh. Like he was going to go down without one bitch of a fight. "Funny, I heard a much different story from Vanya. Something about you being a crazy and psychotic bitch that was so obsessed with him that you forcibly turned him into a vampire, dragged him around like a pet, and then killed his fucking sister because she was in the way of you two." Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to press her buttons, considering Alfred was at such a disadvantage. He was especially regretting it since she let out snarl and rushed at him. Alfred found himself pinned to the wall, his hands above his head in Natalia's painful grip. Alfred let out a hiss of pain, he was pretty sure if she squeezed any harder his wrists would break.
"So that's what Vanya told you, huh? Figures he would try to glorify himself like that. He always was so self-centered. All he cared about was that goddamn sister of his. Katyusha this, Katyusha that, I wonder if Katyusha is okay?" Natalia's voice took on a hysterical edge as she gripped Alfred's wrists a little harder. The blonde let out a full out groan of pain as his bones threatened to give out on him. "I gave him everything and more. And he still spat in my face and kicked me whenever I was down. Well…as they say, revenge is a bitch, and I'm commonly known for the being one of the biggest bitches in the world. And you, Alfred-" Natalia hissed out his name, her fangs lingering dangerously close to his neck. "-are going to be my means of vengeance."
Alfred glared hard at the clearly mentally unstable vampire. Alfred wasn't going to play the helpless hostage, nor was he going to allow himself to be used to harm Ivan. Alfred growled out in both anger and pain, "Like Hell I'll let that happen." Despite knowing his odds of escape were slim at best and the painful pressure on his wrists, Alfred let his right leg coil back before slamming his foot into the deranged girl's stomach. Natalia's grip loosened up as she doubled over slightly, not having expected the kick to have so much strength behind it. Alfred took the slight falter and hissed as he tore his wrists free of her weakened grip. Funny how she fell for almost the same thing Ivan did when he cornered him in the alley way.
Seeing no way around Natalia before she recovered, Alfred instead tackled her and was planning on quickly getting up before making a dash for the door. Unfortunately Natalia, though weaker in terms of physical strength compared to Ivan, recovered faster and was much nimbler then the Russian. As they hit the ground Natalia quickly flipped over their positions before Alfred could even twitch to try and get up. She was now sitting on his chest, teeth still bared and two arms wrapped firmly around Alfred's delicate neck, squeezing just hard enough to deprive him of oxygen. She may be weaker than Ivan, but she was still infinitely stronger then Alfred. As Alfred gasped for air silently, he clutched at Natalia's slim wrists and tried to pull her hands away. His world slowly faded as oxygen failed to reach his brain, causing him to lose consciousness. He was unable to hear any of Natalia's last words or register her actions before his arms when limp and his vision turned black.
Natalia took her hands away from Alfred's already bruising neck. As much as she would like to tear him to pieces for the little stunt he pulled, she still had a plan to enact. Grabbing the rope and gag she'd dropped before the fight, Natalia tied up Alfred's arms and legs. Not wanting to take any chances in case Alfred woke up, she secured the gag in his mouth to make sure he wouldn't be making any noise. Next, she ripped the bed sheets off Alfred's bed and wrapped him up in it. It would look slightly suspicious if she was caught carrying something that large wrapped up in sheets, but it would be a lot more suspicious if someone caught her carrying a full grown man bound and gagged. Natalia roughly set Alfred down on his bed before yanking out a piece of paper from a nearby book. She grabbed a pen sitting on the table and wrote in her neat and elegant scripture. Satisfied with her words, the Belarusian vampire left the note sitting in the middle of Alfred's bed. Hoisting the unconscious blonde over her shoulder, she opened his window and escaped from the dorm building with Alfred as her hostage.
