A/N: A big shout out to everyone who reviewed, one by one…I find doing this quite fun—
DV, thanku! I'm glad you loved that! I miss Matt, though…. :(
AnimeApprentice, you're right—Leonardo DiCaprio resembles Alfie a lot more than Brad Pitt…I can't get enough of Alfie! (*screaming and pulling hair*) And thanku for appreciating my chappie-naming skills!
Surprised much, Hoff? *evil grin*
Thanku Em, for your continued support!
Ehehehe…Scarlett, by the time MFN's done it'll be all sorts of twisted—this way, that way and upside down, too…but I'm glad you took the time to review…it means a whole lot to me.
Awww, thanks, PAngel! Tomfoolery aside, that really means a lot to me—to know that although my games aren't a 100% legit, you guys still enjoy reading them.
All of you, thank you for taking the time to review and tell me that you appreciate it…I know this sounds all Grammy-awards type, but I really, really go through each day looking for your reviews, and I value each and every one of them.
And to all the Americans and Canadians reading this, a belated HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
Disclaimed: Don't own Hetalia.
This one's for the two guys in my life who listen to me rant day and night—Austin and Tushar. You guys say the same things others say, but it makes me feel all the more better, listening it come from you guys. A girl's lucky to have two best friends like you.
My Friend Natalia
Chapter 20
Nat's brain was a contrast in itself—her mind was tremendously active while being astonishingly blank. And as she blinked at Alfred, trying to settle what he'd said just in, the only thing she could think of was—
I need to go have dinner.
"What?" she squeaked for what was the fifth time.
"I'm an amateur box—Natalia, this is the fifth time we're going through this! I really need to go!"
He really did look like a guy who had to run—he was shifting his weight continuously from foot to foot, as if he wanted to pee. But Nat wasn't letting him go boxing or peeing or otherwise until she got to the bottom of all of this.
"Does Matt kn"—
"He does…not…look, Nat, it's damn complicated, and I'll tell you later, but I have to go!" Al spun around and ran a few steps before turning back. "You are going home, Nat."
That did it for her. He couldn't hide stuff from Matt—which invariably came down to her—and tell her what to do. "Net."
Al hurried up to her and grabbed her arm. "Nat, look. You need to go home—these guys are dangerous"—
"I know exactly"—
"No, you don't"—
She grabbed his arm, and stopped him short. "I was one of them, Alfred. I know what it means to be them."
"Fine. Fine. I don't want you here"—
"Does your mom know?"
"Are you going to tell on me?"
Nat was offended, and her face made it quite clear to Al. "I do not go between a son and a mother."
"Okay, I'm sorry. Nat, go home, please."
She grabbed his jacket lapel and dragged him closer. "Next time, I'm coming."
His blue eyes were wide and startled, and he searched her eyes. All he saw there was finite determination and a 'try-and-deny-me' dare that he'd gotten used to seeing in those unusual blue eyes of hers. Slowly, a smile grew on his face, a smug grin that he knew irritated her. He saw that, too, in her eyes. And that just fired him up. "Maybe."
He watched her eyes flare up again, and he grinned some more. "How about wishing me good luck?"
"When I watch."
He made a distressed face, but his eyes were mocking her. "Aw, come on. What if they beat up my face?"
She didn't have it in her to act—she was as black and white as they came. "I would very much regret having missed it. I am coming next time."
"Let me"—he yelped quietly when she suddenly let go, putting him off balance. He took two steps back, and shook himself slightly. "Go home, Nat."
"I do not have to—You do not have to tell me to go home, just as I don't have to tell you to go and lose."
He made a face, and broke into a smile when she rolled her eyes. "G'night," he said, touching a finger to his brow. She did the same, put her helmet back on, and drove onto the road, making her way back home.
She was greeted by delicious smells from the kitchen as soon as she opened the front door. She removed her shoes, helmet and jacket, and began removing her socks, just as Toris walked down the steps.
"Sestra. You're home," he said, standing before her as she stuffed her socks into her shoes. She nodded at him, removed her home slippers from the rack, and slipped her feet in. When she looked up, she saw Toris grinning at her, just the way he always had. When they were in Russia, she used to come back home just to see him smile, just to taste the dinner sestra made, just to play with Ravis and just to listen to Eduard sing. And then, they would turn around and welcome Ivan after a long day's work, listening to his stories of work, cleaning up after him, and doing as he said.
All before we decided to leave, Nat thought. She kissed Toris' cheek as she walked past him, knowing that he'd be looking at her strangely, but she just didn't care.
She walked into the kitchen, and saw Eduard, Ravis and Kat singing at the top of their voices about some old ditty Ivan had taught them while they were on the ship—he himself had picked it up from the sailors. And once the sailors had heard Eduard sing, they themselves taught the young boy everything they knew, joined in by the other passengers on the ship.
She was going to call up both of them—Ivan and Matt. She missed them both more than she cared to admit.
"Oh, Nat! S priyezdom!"
Nat smiled at her sister. "Rad, chto vernulsya," she replied as Kat held out a spatula holding a bit of gravy. Nat dipped her finger in and tasted. "Salt."
Eduard passed her the salt shaker, he and Ravis still singing. Toris came in just as the third verse started, and opened the third verse dramatically. Nat and Ravis started laughing, listening to Toris' out-of-tune rendition, but nobody minded. Nat hummed as the four around her began singing loudly, and she got to setting the table. Toris and Eduard joined her, and when Kat began bringing the food in, Nat moved to help. Ravis got off the counter, and began serving everyone. Before the song was over, they were all sitting at the table, ready to eat.
They sang the last two lines, and applauded each other's performance. Nat felt tears forming in her eyes, and she could see tears forming in her siblings' eyes as well. It had been too long since they'd all sat down and had food like this, smiling at each other, enjoying each other's company. They began eating in silence, like they always did, but this silence was relaxed and comfortable, without the hurry of moving conversation.
That was, until Kat dropped the bomb.
"Moi brat'ya i sestry," Kat said, calling out to them, "tomorrow, you shall wake early."
All of them frowned and looked at her. Toris spoke. "Poetomu, sestra?"
"We are going to Mass tomorrow."
Eduard choked on his food, Ravis dropped his spoon to the ground, Nat's jaw unhinged and Toris looked like his sister had morphed into a fire-breathing dragon. And with uncanny coordination, they all squeaked, "Chto?"
Kat looked at them, the beginnings of irritation beginning to show. "We are Christians, and"—
"We're Christians?" Toris asked Nat, and she shrugged. "I didn't know we prayed to God."
"I want to be Buddhist, like Miss Wang," Ravis commented, and thumped Eduard's back twice, thrice, until he coughed out a piece of chicken. Eduard's gasping and rasping was the only sound on the table, and all eyes were trained on Katyusha's irate face.
"We are going to mass tomorrow-voprosov bol'she net!" she declared loudly. "No dinner for those who don't come. No dinner for entire week."
All of them blinked at Katyusha, who was attacking her plate of food with a vengeance. This was their first time seeing this side of their elder sister—no one had expected her to be so…determined on going to church. In fact, the very fact that they were going somewhere public was shocking, since it was not too long ago that Katyusha hated going anywhere out.
Nat took one long look across the table, and sighed. "Fine, we're going," she said sternly. "But if we're struck down, it's sestra's fault."
After that, everyone was in a hurry to leave the table.
They cleaned up the dishes, and Nat ran to her room, locking herself in, and took her phone out. She jumped into bed, and speed-dialled Matt.
'This number is not available at the moment. Please try again later. Thank you.'
Frowning, she tried three more times, but it wasn't connecting to his phone. Troubled, she called up Ivan, who picked up after the fourth ring.
"Hello."
"Privet, brat. How are you?"
"Natalia! Da, da, how are you?"
Nat smiled a little. "I heard how you scored a goal in your last game. Pozdravlyayu."
"Spasibo. How is everyone?"
"We're going to church tomorrow"—
She was interrupted by something she thought she'd never hear—his genuine, full hearted laughter. Her shock kept her from stopping him, then her curiosity, but irritation finally won over.
"Bol'shoy…stop it."
"Izvinite, izvinite, Natalia," Ivan apologized, but he still continued to laugh. Somewhere between his chortles, she managed to get a sentence in. "Where is Matt?"
"You want to talk to him?"
"His phone"—
"Oh, da, da. We were all boating when we were in Skattsy when that durak got up and fell in. He lost his wallet and his phone in the lake, and he stank like a fish. Do you want to speak to him, sestrenka?"
"Da."
"Wait…" Ivan calling out to Matt was muffled, and Nat counted up to nine before the phone was shuffled between hands.
"Hello."
"Privet, dear friend."
She clearly heard Matt gulp over the other line, and her ire grew. "H-Hello, Nat"—
"You are so screwed, dorodoy drug. YA ubyu tebya."
"Nat, I'm sor"—
"Doesn't cut it, tovarishch. Try again"—
"I missed you."
Nat sighed, and settled into bed. "I missed you, too. You should've called."
"I should've. I didn't. I'm sorry."
This was why she adored and felt like murdering him—he never ever justified himself, and people never gave him the space to justify himself, either. "What are your days like, now?"
As she listened to him, it was clear that he didn't have time to raise his head, let alone call. His day started at four in the morning, when the entire team woke up and trained in the chilly weather outside till about seven. They ate six small meals during the entire day, full of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, with nearly zero fat and no alcohol. They trained till the afternoon, then took naps or watched tapes. In the evening, they trained on weekdays, roamed around in the weekends, and after their dinner, they would discuss strategies and run through plays, and they'd be flat by the time they hit their bed by nine.
"It's tough, da?" Nat murmured. "How come you aren't asleep?"
She could hear him grin over the phone. "We staged a mutiny."
"Huh?"
"We didn't wake up before five thirty today. So Coach Tino gave us the day off—well, half of it. We slogged the entire morning, and our evening was off, so nearly everyone went outside to shop and stuff. Ivan rented a movie, and we were watching. Diego wanted to go get ice-cream, so we're waiting for him."
"Isn't that bad for you?"
"We eat once in a while, Nat—and we got Coach Tino's permission. That matters."
Nat grinned. She loved it when he talked like this—uninhibited, passionately. "What's the movie about?"
Matt began grumbling to her, and she realized how much she missed him—she missed his quiet presence, she missed how he could keep her grounded, she missed the steadiness that came with him. But she missed seeing him smile. That was what she missed the most.
She heard her brother tell him to stop watching the movie if he didn't want to, and Matt replied to something in Russian, startling Nat.
When he got back on the phone, Nat asked him, "You know Russian?"
"I know swear words." Nat laughed, and he continued, "It's hard not to learn when your brother's always muttering in Russian."
Nat grinned, and something in her stomach pinged. "What does 'YA dumayu, chto ya lyublyu tebya' mean?"
"Wait, what?"
The fuzzy feeling in her stomach grew warm. "Golden words will not be repeated, Matthew. Ask Ivan."
"Nat, what aren't you telling me?"
I think I love you. "We're going to church tomorrow."
"When did this happen?"
"Sestra wants to go to church, we are going. Is it good, going to church?"
"It's peaceful. I like it—Oi!"
There was heavy shuffling on the phone, and Diego's voice came through. "Senorita, I'm really sorry to"—
"Diego, durak, give it back. I want to say goodnight"—
"Natalia! Mi amigo—how are you?"
"Irritated. Now give it to Matt."
"I'm"—
"Giving it to Matt. Diego, please."
There was a short silence on both ends. "How are you, darling?"
Diego's voice was soft and kind. "I miss him. I miss my best friend."
"I'll give it to him. Good night, Natalia."
"Good night, Diego."
The phone exchanged hands, and Matt's voice calmed her down. "What happened? Diego seems serious…I can't put my…Nat, what happened?"
"Nothing. Good night, Matt. Don't forget to call."
"As soon as I get a phone. Good night, Nat. I'm giving it to Ivan."
"Good night."
"Good night."
Ivan got the phone, and her brother's voice felt familiar and steady to her. "Goodnight, Nat. Tell your sister I'll call her up."
"Don't call up when we're in church. Do you think God will strike us down?"
"I don't believe in Him or Her, Nat. But I really hope He comes of help to you."
"Brat…"
"Spokoynoy nochi, sestrenka."
"Spokoynoy nochi, bol'shoy brat."
Nat cut the call, and put the phone down next to her, letting Matt's voice play in her head, his soft voice being the last thing she could hear before she fell asleep.
The whole church didn't hush, like Nat thought it would. People just looked at them, and smiled at all of them—Nat just nodded in return, while the rest of her siblings smiled back sweetly. They walked into church, not knowing what to do, so when Alice called out to them, they felt relieved.
"Katyusha, Nat—come here!"
All of them walked into the pew, and Nat's eyes locked with brilliant blue eyes, and she raised an eyebrow. They shuffled in, and Nat found herself sitting next to Alfred. He looked at her, and she saw the bandage on the side of his face. "No black eye, no broken nose?" she whispered. "I'm disappointed."
"He just caught me once, Nattae. I was done in ten minu"—
Nat snorted. "As if."
"You don't believe"—
"Stop whispering, Al!"
"Sorry, mom," Al replied, and they watched as the pastor got onto the dais. "Not ten, but I won it."
"How much?"
"Money? Pittance. But it's great fun."
"Getting beaten up in such settings does not define fun."
"For you, maybe, but I love the rush. It's not for the money—I have enough of that. It's just something I do."
"What about all the sports you used to go coaching for?"
"I prefer being a lone player. I can't explain it, Natalia, but that's the way it is." He turned to her, and read the message clear in her eyes. "I'm not saying that all the money my parents spent was for waste. I do make use of that. It's just something I…"
"Don't explain," Nat said. "I get it."
They kept quiet for a while, listening to the pastor's soothing voice. Nat looked down the row—she and Al were sitting at the edge, Kat was sitting between Alice and Toris, Eduard was next to him, and Francis was between Eduard and Ravis, who was sitting next to her. She played with Ravis's hair while she looked at the pastor.
"When's the next one?"
Al looked at her with a slightly pained expression. "You aren't letting go of me, are you?"
Nat just smiled smugly.
"Fine. I don't know when, exactly, but I'll take you with me next time."
Smug and content, Nat sat back.
-x-
"Katyusha."
Kat turned around, and found herself staring into sleepy, olive eyes. "Ray! Privet."
He smiled at her. "I saw you in Mass today."
"I saw you sleeping today in Mass," Kat said, and found herself giggling at his lost expression.
"You are Christian, Katyusha?"
"I used to be. I do not know. Wait, I shall introduce you to my family. Come with me."
Ray caught Kat's wrist softly, gently. "They look busy."
"They'd love to meet you, Ray," Kat said gently, turning her grip that their hands were clasping each other. "Come on."
Kat led Ray by the hand, and walked to where her siblings were standing. "Nat, Tori, Ravi, Ed, meet Heracles Karpusi. Ray, these are my brothers and sister, Toris, Ravis, Eduard and Natalia."
"You gave her the cat," Nat observed. "Sonya."
Ray nodded, and looked at Kat. Her sweet grin had him smiling as well. "Do you like her, then?"
"Da. She's soft and cuddly and very"—
"She's very cute," Toris said, and smiled when Ray turned to him. "Thank you."
The eldest of my younger brothers. We found him first, amongst a group of beggars. They drugged their children so that they always slept. He was barely four, and his mother was drugging him. Ivan dragged me away the first time—he said I wasn't to get involved. It was not my business, he said. A week later, when we saw it happen again, Ivan couldn't keep quiet, and neither could I. He told me to go and complain to the police that they were using…you call it 'Ice' over here. I was to say that they were using Ice, while Ivan kidnapped the children. He gave all the children to the gang overlords' wives, who took good care of them. We left Toris behind, but Ivan had loved him the most. And then, when I found him, bleeding in an alley…I couldn't leave him behind. Ivan was angry—Natalia was staying with us by then. He didn't want to take care of another child. But Toris…we couldn't leave him behind twice.
Ray knew why they couldn't leave Toris behind. Even though Toris mostly kept a poker face on, his smile was enough to tell Ray that Kat couldn't leave a sensitive and vulnerable child behind like Toris.
"I want a dog," Ravis said and pouted, yelling when Nat twisted his ear.
Ray looked at Kat, who was smiling regretfully at Ravis. "It's a big thing, brat," Kat explained. "I don't"—
Ray looked at Ravis. "A friend of mine has a dog who gave birth three months ago. He's been able to give all of the pups away except one. Would you like to go see the pup?"
"Ray"—But Kat kept quiet, looking at Ravis beaming at Ray. "Of course! I—If sestra allows," he said, and turned to his sister for approval.
Kat sighed. "Go, then." She turned to Ray. "Can cats live with dogs, then?"
"Strays can't. But pet cats can be taught to."
Kat turned to her brother, giving him the sternest expression she could. "One pup. That's all."
He beamed at her, excitement radiating from him. He turned to Ray. "When?"
"We'll go this evening."
"Da! Spasibo!" Ravis exclaimed, jumping up and down with joy. Ray got a small smile from Nat, and blinked at the startling beauty of Katyusha's younger sister.
"Would you like to join"—
Nat stepped down on Toris' shoe, and turned to them. "We'll go ahead. Mr Ray, drop her home, and make sure to come in. Let's go."
At the last bit, all of them said their goodbyes to Ray, and began walking away, wondering what was wrong with Nat. She shooed them on further, and then turned around to take one last look at her sister, smiling at the powers of the female intuition.
With the image of Katyusha's hand clasped in Ray's, she walked away.
-x-
"Eat with me, Katyusha."
It stunned her how his eyes were full of simplicity and…it wasn't innocence. It was honesty. He was simple and honest and it stunned her to know there were simple, honest people in this world. She trusted him more than she had any other man who wasn't one of her brothers, but she didn't trust him completely. Rather, she didn't trust his reactions. She trusted no man's reactions.
And Ray was a man.
But there was something different about Ray…she wanted to be with him.
"Tomorrow," she said softly.
"In the afternoon. It's important."
Kat frowned, and took a step back. She didn't like the sound of this. "What is it?"
"I have to tell you something."
"Tell me now."
He took her hand, and began walking briskly. Kat stumbled the first few steps, but caught up before he could stop. She slipped her hand out of his, suddenly feeling cold. She pulled her shawl closer to her, and walked behind Ray. She didn't like this. She did not like this at all.
She looked up, and realized he was taking her back to the church. There was nearly nobody around—they had all gone back home for Sunday brunch. Kat hadn't eaten anything, but yesterday's heavy dinner held back most of the hunger pangs she was feeling. She had never seen Ray so…active. He always looked lethargic, and he mostly was asleep—he had a bad habit of falling asleep whenever she was in the middle of saying something. This behavior of his was rather…confusing.
He pushed open the doors, and closed them behind Kat. Kat took a few steps forward—the church looked so different without all the people in it. It was…serene.
"Come here," he spoke quietly, and she turned to see him standing by the last pew. She frowned slightly, and slipped into the pew. She sat down, and Ray sat before her.
"Ray"—
"Are you hungry?"
"I have time for food later. What is it?"
Ray took a deep breath, and started. "I hail from a small town by Athens, a few miles away. My father is the priest who has kept the old traditions alive, and my mother is a farmer. They met on the other side of Greece, near the coastline—they had never told me where—and, at the time, my mother was a nun. She fell in love with my father, who was passing by, and denounced her religion, since she believed she couldn't be faithful to it. She ran away from the Church and my father, and settled down in our town. My father was a wandering nomad priest who went from village to village"—
"Ray"—
"Please. My father moved from village to village, telling people the practices of yore, telling old stories to their children and telling people that God wasn't there to judge us—he was there to protect us and love us, and bring bad times to us so that we came out from them, stronger than before. People loved my father, but my father only loved two—the One God, and my mother.
"They found each other in my hometown, and got married. I have three sisters and four brothers, and I'm the eldest. I have my father's nomadic blood—I've roamed around for the past ten years. I believe in what my father says, and I've tried to understand the different religions and their Gods. I've tried to not wrong anyone, but Katyusha, mou glykó, I have wronged you."
All thoughts of confusion and hunger were lost, and all that was left were the icy fingers of fear. "How have you wronged me?"
"Katyusha, I was the priest you confessed to that day."
Katyusha blinked, not because of her confusion, not because it was taking her time to register his words—Kat had an extremely sharp mind, and it didn't take her long to realize what he meant, or the enormity of what lay behind those few words. No, her mind was working beyond that, further ahead, and she realized one thing.
Her worst fears had come true.
But…
She looked at Ray, who was profusely apologizing again and again. She opened her mouth to call out to him, to stop him from apologizing, but the words gushed out before she could formulate them.
"Do you hate me?"
It didn't take him too long to stop. He looked up at her. "What?"
She took a deep, shuddering breath. She didn't want to know his answer, but she had to. "You know everything about me. Do you hate me?"
He blinked at her, confused himself. "Why are you asking me this?"
Urgency was creeping in now. "Do you hate me, Ray? Yes or no?"
Ray stared into her face, unable to understand why she looked anguished and torn. But all he owed her now was complete and utter honesty. "You are my hero, Katyusha. I will never be able to hate you."
One by one, the clogs inside her started vanishing—the fear in her head, the fear paralyzing her body, the barriers around her heart, the barriers surrounding her emotion, her soul. And the pain and the love and the hate and anguish of all her life came gushing to her, changing into happiness as his words reverberated in her head, again and again.
You are my hero, Katyusha. I will never be able to hate you.
Tears formed in her eyes, poured down her cheeks, but they were not of sadness—they were of joy, relief, and the peace that she got from hearing those words, the peace that she got from being in the House of the Great Lord.
You are my hero, Katyusha. I will never be able to hate you.
Kat sobbed into her hands and Ray watched her, but he knew those weren't tears of the agony those pale blue eyes carried the last time he saw them. She kept whispering something again and again, and when he realized what it was, he drew her to him, wanting to lock her up somewhere deep inside him so that nobody could hurt her anymore.
"Spasibo, Ray," she whispered, again and again, "Spasibo."
And they sat there, in the last pew of the Church, surrounded by the cleansing atmosphere, feeling baptized by the tears of joy that they cried before the Holy Lord Himself.
A/N: Not much action in this chapter…hopefully, when I get around to writing the next one, there will be more.
For those of you who still don't know why Kat was crying, it was because she was scared that Ray would hate her for her past. And when she found out that he didn't find her repulsive…she's suffered a lot of trauma in life, guys. And Fate's rewarding her with a kind of guy some of us have to search our entire lives for. And she was—is—grateful.
For all of you waiting for hands-on AmeBel, it'll probably be there in the next chappie—probably. Idk…I know you guys won't do it, but it'll be helpful, knowing what your AmeBel fantasies might be so that I can incorporate it into MFN.
I was reading the chapter called 'Cubans and Steamy Cubicles', and I was gushing over 5 reviews then. Thank you, all of you, for bringing this author's self-esteem up and giving her 110 reviews. Thank you all, so, so very much.
I miss Jani and Adei… ;(
If you guys liked this even a little, I'll be happy.
Love,
R. K. Iris.
