If you don't know by chapter 23 the whole disclaimer drill, where the hell are you and what is wrong with you? Any foreign languages were obtained via Google Translate and there will be a guide at the end. I don't anticipate there being many more chapters here as we're coming to the end. Anyway, enough of this A/N, on with the fic!

Spring slowly crept up on Valdez, moving the town from scenic winter wonderland by the ocean to rain, wet and cold. Much of the days were passed with Alfred and Ivan looking after Fredrick and Yvonne while Katyusha kept up the household and Matthew worked on the store with Gilbert. However, things had gotten tense lately as Gilbert's brother Ludwig had recently taken up his offer and come into Valdez to help run the shop. While Matthew could handle Ludwig, it was the fact that a friend of Ludwig's decided to come along with him, a young Italian by the name of Feliciano who had proved over enthusiastic. This would often lead to jars broken and shelving tipped, much to Matthew's frustration who would have to clean it up or repair something he broke. One of these days Matthew came home frustrated.

"Dude, Matt, what's wrong? I have hardly ever seen you this mad!" Alfred asked as he was feeding Fredrick while Katyusha was cleaning.

"Nothing but..." and at this he let loose. "Where does Gilbert get off letting Feliciano work there too! Ludwig said nothing beforehand of it, and just tried to make like he followed him all the way. Yeah right, like you can follow someone 4000 miles without them realizing eventually!" Ivan offered him some of his vodka. "Thanks."

"Did you just give Mattie vodka, Vanya?" Alfred whispered panicked to him.

"Da, he seemed like he had a bad day at work and that would calm his nerves." Ivan shrugged.

"White liquors make him a ranting drunk..." Alfred gulped. "The only thing you can get to calm his nerves is whiskey or beer."

"Prosti" Ivan blushed as he held Yvonne.

"You didn't know. But be ready." Alfred smiled nervously.

"Well it's not like Gilbert has me trapped there!" Matthew said. "I could take the family back to Idaho with you guys or maybe start my own business or something if he thinks having an uninvited Italian spaz wouldn't hurt him! I was the one who saved him a lot on his start up cost and made sure he made it through the first year. Which by the way is the toughest for businesses back in the mainland, let alone the frontier! UUUUURRRP!"

"Maybe you need to cut back." Ivan said taking his vodka from him.

"Yeah maybe you're right... it's just uggghhh! What I did for him! I could work with Ludwig but not Feliciano." Matthew sighed.

"Need Natalya to take care of him?" Ivan smiled darkly. "I would hate to see you get shoved out of your job because of someone who sounds like an idiot."

"Nah, that's fine." Matthew panicked. The idea of being in debt to Natalya for something like that scared him. Right now they were at a tense peace of 'you leave me alone, I leave you alone' and that was the best Matthew could hope for. "When are you heading to Seattle?"

"End of April. Ticket says the 29th." Alfred said.

"We'll see you off then." Katyusha said wiping her hands off. "Dinner is ready boys, and I need to see to my little ones." With this they headed over and ate. After Kalina passed, she had taken up the role of matriarch pretty well, tending to the housework, making the food and having everything running smoothly. It was a role she had taken to quite well and Ivan even said that this was what she was perfect at. This was much the scene with varying degrees of annoyance at Feliciano until the end of April when Ivan and Alfred were leaving for Seattle. As the month drew to a close, the temperatures warmed up, bringing with it not the usual snow but cold rain. As they headed to the town docks that day, Alfred whispered, "I won't miss the cold rain."

"You can say that again Fredka..." Ivan said as they headed to the docks.

"Now you two, don't pull a me and let me know when you get to Mother and Papa's." Matthew said as he hugged his brother and brother-in-law close.

"This is the easy part Mattie." Alfred said taking off his brother's hat and ruffling his hair. "You don't need to worry about us. If we survived that whole trek, I think I can survive going back to Mother and Papa."

"Sure you can handle warmth Ivan?" Matthew smiled.

"Well you seem to take to this place's cold." Ivan said shoving Matt affectionately. If he's good enough for Katyusha, I guess he's okay by me. He thought as Katyusha gave them both a large pail filled with some food.

"I packed these for you two so you don't have to eat whatever is on the ship." Katyusha said hugging the two men. "But I also made sure it was things that would keep too in there so if you want you can wait until you are heading back to Idaho. I will miss you so much Vanya. Make sure to write."

"Don't worry sis, we will." Alfred said. He had taken to calling Katyusha 'sis' much like he called Ivan 'big bro' and she seemed to think it was adorable so he kept at it. However something had been eating at him for awhile. Everyone said he and Ivan acted like brothers but when Kalina was talking to them last, she said that they had seemed like they were acting closer, even going as far as to say he seemed closer to Ivan than his own brother. But honestly they had traveled a year alone together so that was to be expected, or was it?

"All aboard to Seattle!" the porter called.

"Well, we have to get on." Ivan said, breaking up the scene.

"I will miss you." Katysuha said hugging her brother one last time.

"And I know where you are going and who to contact if I don't hear from you. I know how long it takes to get from home to Seattle after all." Matthew teased back.

"I took the Seattle route you fool." Alfred said.

"But you told me how long you took." Matthew teased. "See you again Al, You must send me a picture of Papa with what I told you to get him and see if he does indeed ditch those capes."

"You will owe me 5 bucks if he doesn't." Alfred said.

"You're on!" Matthew smiled.

"Matvey, gambling with your brother?" Katyusha said sternly.

"I won't hold him to it sis, don't worry." Alfred waved as they stood on the docks, boarding the ship. As it pulled out the harbor, they waved them off until they could not see a single person they knew on the docks from the distance they were. Looking at their ticket, Alfred spoke up. "Okay so we're on room 1207." He said as they walked the corridors to the small cabin. Looking out the porthole, the rain was picking up as a spring storm was blowing in. "I think I will be staying in right now..."

"Too wet?" Ivan asked.

"Yep. And I am sure the docks will be slick so I don't want to go out in a situation like that." Alfred said. He was still slightly traumatized from falling in the ice all those months ago and after hearing what happened to Ivan's father, he didn't want to invoke any worry on him. Besides, there was a conversation he had been waiting to have when they were totally alone and this seemed to be the best place of any, as no one would bother them. Not knowing how to go about it, he started it casually. "Sooo Vanya, what do you think Idaho will be like? I mean you said the farther south you'd been was Seattle?"

"Da." Ivan said sitting on the small bed in the cabin. "Dyer than Valdez, warmer."

"Yeah it is those." Alfred said. "Think you'll be able to handle it? We'll be getting to my old home back in about May or so, so it will be pretty warm at in comparison to what we have been in."

"That would be nice." Ivan smiled. "And you've lost your color since I've first met you. You look like a ghost."

"You may gain some." Alfred teased. "Anyway, I promised Mattie I'd get our father a good prosthetic arm in Seattle. That was one of the big things we promised and intend to keep." Ivan nodded. "But I've been thinking about what I am going to do the rest of my life."

"And that is?" Ivan asked.

"Well I don't know. I tossed a few idea around, but I can't think of anything to really get excited about. I mean when I started this, I was nervous as hell but excited. Like it promised an adventure."

"Well you certainly got that." Ivan laughed.

"Yeah but I mean I'm going to be 20 in July. My brother has a family and good job already. And I am taking a small fortune back to my parents to be what? The ranch hand for the rest of my life? I've got no one waiting for me back home, other than Mother and Papa of course. And it's not like there wasn't girls asking about me, I just didn't care that much. I didn't think of them more as a friend honestly." Alfred paused knowing this was going to sound stupid and likely get a rejection or make things awkward but he could just say it and be done with. "Well here goes nothing..."Alfred put his hand behind his back. "I think I have grown to like you beyond a brother Vanya. I think I love you. I don't know what the rest of my life will hold but the only thing I am certain of is that I want you there with me." Alfred blushed, looking at his feet. Ivan blushed looking at Alfred. Frankly he was thinking much the same thing for awhile but didn't know just how to express it. "I can understand if you don't want to do that. I know how people are with things like this and don't like having to hide feelings and all...It may just be some sort of thing of me being too clingy and getting too attached to you and if that's something you don't want-" with this Ivan pulled Alfred close and kissed him. His eyes widened in shock but closed in happiness.

"Nyet, none of that sounds silly, or stupid. I do hope you realize with how people are you can't go around screaming that you love me more than a friend in public." Ivan said looking at Alfred.

"I know. Some people suck but as long as I can have you, let them think we're nothing more than friends attached at the hip." Alfred sighed. "Who knows what may change in this new century we're looking upon."

"I could not picture the rest of my life without you Fredka. You've grown on me too much or maybe me seeing you in that saloon was a sign of something much bigger and we were like Mama said, moved by the saints above into each other's paths. No matter where you go, I will be there for you like I always have." With this he kissed Alfred on the forehead.

"So, to a less sappy topic, what did you think of doing? Katy told me that you tried a life at sea like your father but you got sea sick. Which reminds me, why aren't you queasy now?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know, maybe the pace these boats go and the routes they take aren't as rough as Papa's fishing vessels and I am not on the deck setting nets and things like that you have to do so that may be part of it. I didn't do any captaining on the boats I was on after he died. I was only 18 at the time, you think they are going to make me captain just because of who my father was? No. I had to earn it." Alfred nodded. "But no, much like you I hadn't thought that much farther ahead than the rush, which I should have as it was that, a gold rush. It would end eventually."

"Katy said we'd have good stories to write that people would love. You could try that." Alfred laughed.

"We'll see." Ivan smiled pulling Alfred close.

The ride to Seattle was rainier than the ride from Seattle last summer which didn't bother Alfred or Ivan as it gave them more time to themselves in their cabin after they had finally confessed what they had been thinking about for the past few months of the journey. The ship sailed into the wharf and they headed into the city, seeing less people wanting to heard north as when they left, but it was still busy, being a major shipping and transportation hub in the Pacific Northwest. "Okay I want to find a store that sells fake arms and then get going." Alfred said. "I can't wait to see the look on Papa's face." Walking through the city, they finally came across a store that sold medical devices where Alfred found an arm that with the right amount of pressure applied to the device, would move and could even hold things like a knife and fork with some ease. He paid and left, and led Ivan back on the route he took to get to Seattle in the first place.

"It seems this time around, I am guiding you." Alfred teased winking at Ivan. It was his way of showing affection in a public that wasn't too fond of other displays of affection.

"Well I guess you are then solyshinko." Ivan said ruffling Alfred's bright blonde hair. The next month was filled with teaching Ivan how to survive in the high basin, how to find water when it seemed there wasn't any and that each morning to dump your boots out to make sure you wouldn't step on a snake by accident.

"Snakes?" Ivan asked after being told this when they had crossed from the forests of Oregon into the dry aird mountains of Idaho.

"Yeah. Be careful. But they aren't as bad as you may think if you just watch yourself." Alfred said as he kissed Ivan on the cheek. Being on the trail where there was not a human soul for miles, they could be more affectionate and often were before they fell asleep for the night. Ivan often fanned himself with whatever he could as he wasn't too used to heat like this but Alfred seemed to be readjusting, after all he was born and raised in this area. Pulling out a map he looked over the trail he had drawn when he was heading for Seattle. "Okay we passed Boise a few days ago, so we're nearly there."

"Thank goodness. I could use with some more water." Ivan said.

"You're going to need to adjust a lot to this." Alfred said as he kissed him.

"You can say that again."

"Well I know to not head to Arizona in the summer until you adjust to Idaho. They're much hotter down there."

"We'll worry about traveling again when we get your parents their gold and your father his arm." Ivan said.

"Good point." Alfred said. "Although if I look at this map, we should be there by sunset."

Alice stood at the clothes line pulling off the pins holding the drying sheets and folding them before placing them in the basket. Francis was standing beside her, looking at the sun as it slowly dipped behind the mountains to the west. It was now the end of May. "Alfred should be coming home any day now. He said he left at the end of April."

"Mon ami, Alfred will be fine. He knows this area like the back of his hand." Francis said as he wrapped his arm around Alice.

"Well I still worry." She pushed her glasses up.

"And our boys had to get your vision." Francis said. "I hope my petits enfants get their mother's vision." He squint at the western side of the farm to see two figures walking their way. "Sacre Bleu, no way..."

"What?" Alice asked holding the basket of laundry. "What did you see?" She now squinted in the same direction. "My lord!" She said tossing the basket on the ground and running up to Alfred. "I never thought this day would come!"

"And you leave me to pick up your mess!" Francis sighed, putting the laundry back in the basket. "Couldn't wait a few more minutes for him to come up here?"

"MOTHER!" Alfred yelled as Alice came up and in a surprise of strength, held him close and twirled him around, including the pack he was carrying. "Can you put me down?" Ivan laughed and Alfred cast him a dark glare.

"I'm just so glad you are finally back home. I was so worried." She started to tear up. "I wish Matthew had come with you too but I understand he has a life of his own now. She took Alfred's hand and then turned to Ivan taking his. "You must be that Ivan fellow Alfred spoke so highly about. Come quickly now, you must be exhausted and I must know all about what you went through!"

Language Guide

Since there was a request in previous reviews, I will post it here. Obtained using Google Translate:

(in order of first appearance)

Da-Russian-Yes

Prosti-Russian-Sorry

Nyet-Russian-No

solyshinko-Russian-sunshine

petits enfants-French-grandchildren

Mon ami-French- my love

Sacre Bleu-French- damn it

So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. Now mind you like I said before, the era that this is set people weren't as affronted by casual (hugs, expression of feelings and fears etc) between two men but what we think of as loving PDAs now were verboten in public and people were more like that old aunt you have that thinks a gay couple in public is two friends or brothers, that cliche. If they didn't know, they didn't care. Didn't approve of it, but they didn't hunt it out either. Watched some of Thomas from Downton Abbey to get an idea of it too, so you may want to look there for that's why the affection levels are where they are in this. If I was playing with modern rules then I could have had the affection come out earlier. History folks. But that aside, the fun fact of why Matthew goes ranting on white liquor and only relaxes with whiskey or beer is that those are the two most associated with Canada. And do not get into a fight with a Kentuckian on which one is better. They will tear apart one who likes Tennessee whiskey over Kentucky Bourbon let alone a Canook's. Drinking fun facts aside, remember to read (well you just did) and to review. Ciao for now,

otherrealmwriter

aka

Realm.