I do not own Hetalia okay? I am so glad to see you guys really liked this one. So I plan to update it more and more. Anyway, enough of this A/N, on with the fic!
Natalya woke up to a snoring Alfred laying over her, drooling. God, I love this fool…. She smiled as she rolled her eyes and moved him off her. Being an early riser she would put her gift out and see what he did, but know to act surprised when they finally went down so that Alfred would be happy. She looked over at the cookies that were set out, smiling at the fact that he thought to leave out some of the pampushky that Ivan had made. Fredka can be petty with Vanya at times, but with sweets, he is not. Pulling the gift, she had gotten him from under the couch, she tied a bow around it and smiled. It had taken her a lot of time and dealing to get but she knew just how to pull some strings and was able to find the item. She didn't know what she was proud of more, the fact she could find a bat signed by all the members of the Yankees the year Alfred was born or that it was given to her by a patient who had made a breakthrough with his case who had worked for the Yankees back in the 90s as the assistant traveling secretary.
"You really should get that husband of yours up. I know he wants to open the gifts first thing but I also want to call Katyusha before it gets too late. They are 7 hours ahead of us in Kiev. So it would be about…." Ivan looked at his watch. "3 pm there."
"That is if she can talk. She may have to work today." Natalya said as she brushed her legs off. "You know as well as I do the Christmas holiday isn't observed the same day here as there."
"Well we won't know until we try and did you not say Alfred has to call his brother and his parents, who are in Berlin and Paris? Because they are 6 hours ahead of New York." Ivan said.
"I'll get him up." Natalya said. "Be ready if he's wearing a stupid ugly Christmas sweater."
"Things like that make me question how you fell in love with him in the first place." Ivan said to himself.
Meanwhile, Natalya headed up to the bedroom to open the door, to find Alfred tangled up with, indeed as she expected, a very ugly Christmas sweater. Rolling her eyes, she smiled and headed over to where Alfred was and helped him pull the scratchy sweater over his head and smiled at him. "Oh, hello there Nattie. Merry Christmas." He said looking at her.
"Schastlivogo Rozhdestva" Natalya said. "Big brother wants to get to opening the gifts. Once that he wants to call Katyusha and then we can call your family." She noticed him trying to ask why Katyusha first. "Kiev is 7 hours ahead of New York, Berlin and Paris are only 6 and you know that back in Ukraine, Russia and all those that the public holidays aren't until New Year's."
"Yeah, that makes sense. Shame she couldn't come as well." Alfred sighed.
"I know, it would be nice to have the whole family together. But there is at least big brother and I have not seen him in years. I hope this will be a very nice holiday for the both of you. It's not like much we have had back home." Natalya said pouring on the sob story for Alfred, knowing he was very susceptible to stories like that.
"Fine. I just hope Ivan likes what I got him. He can be kind of hard to shop for…." Alfred said.
"No gag gifts like you do your brother?" Natalya asked.
"Nope. Even though I thought about it…." Alfred pouted.
"Well, I will say this then, at least you tried then." Natalya said as Alfred put a pair of reindeer antlers on her head. "Seriously?" She asked.
"Come on, it's the Christmas season!" Alfred said as she took the antlers off.
"Fine, I'll wear them." He said taking them from her.
"I love you." She said rolling her eyes. "That's the only reason I am putting up with this foolishness." With this they headed down the stairs to where Ivan was sitting on the armchair that Alfred liked sipping a large mug of tea that both knew was full of jam. It was something that had to pick more up of than usual since Ivan had come to visit with the amount he had put in his tea.
"God my mum would go ballistic if she saw how your brother has his tea." Alfred said.
"She's such a purist on how the Brits do their tea." Natalya sighed as she sat down on the couch and Alfred sat by the tree.
"Excuse me?" Ivan asked curiously.
"Nothing much." Alfred sighed. "Just my mother would kill you for how you do your tea. She goes ballistic on sweet tea. Which yeah, it's just tea with A LOT of sugar but come on. But we'll deal with her disdain for how you do tea later. It's Christmas. So do you see what Santa left you Nattie?" He said as he picked up the smartwatch and handed it to her. "Should make your life a lot easier at work, so you don't have to keep fumbling for your phone and it looks like a watch not some sci fi communicator which is why you hated them in the first place."
Natalya took the gift and looked at it with a smile. Both Alfred and Natalya knew the truth of these gifts, but it was fun to pretend. "This is nice." She said as she looked at the silver watch with a smile. "It may indeed do what you say. And it has step tracker and other fitness functions."
"Yeah. Handy huh?" Alfred smiled kissing her on the forehead.
"Very." She smiled. "And Santa must have found something you would find very nice too." She said as she handed him the case which had the bat in it. "A bat signed by all the Yankees the year you were born."
"Now I know Santa had to pull something special to be able to get this." Alfred winked.
"Why yes, if you would believe it, I was given it for treating someone who used to be assistant traveling secretary for the Yankees back in the 1990s and he figured I would like it, why, I would not know but I knew you would." Natalya smiled.
"So, you regifted the main gift?" Alfred teased. "Nah, that's brilliant Nattie" He pulled her close and kissed her. "I love it."
"And don't think I forgot about you Ivan." Alfred said as he put a box in his hands. "Now I didn't know what you would like exactly but I know you like your vodka, Nattie even told me this, and well, this looked like a nice thing for it."
"Well, it is certainly thoughtful." Ivan said. "I will have to be careful packing it back home, but I think I can do that." Ivan then got up and grabbed the box that had his gift for Natalya he had bought during his shopping trip with Alfred. "Now baby sister, I got you this that both Alfred and I agree is pretty."
"Oh, you helped him pick it out?" Natalya said.
"More like he showed it to me after he bought it," Alfred said, remembering the incident when Ivan had showed it to him. God what's he going to say when she finds my gift from Macy's…. Alfred thought but then shook the dread from his mind as Natalya had opened the box and looked at the dress inside. "So, you like it?"
"Yes." Natalya smiled. "It is quite pretty. Thank you big brother."
"We should head out around town tomorrow and you should wear that." Alfred smiled.
"Yes, that sounds lovely." Ivan said as Natalya found a gift from Alfred and handed it to him. "Ooooh what did you get me?" Noticing the smaller package, he tore at the paper and saw it was a deep brown wallet. He noticed that it was just as it was in the store. "A wallet?"
"I noticed yours was beat up pretty bad. I figured you might like this new one. Be able to take traveling across oceans and flying a lot better." Alfred blushed. "I mean I guess it's a back up in case you like the one you have…."
"I think he may have gotten you the same…." Natalya said as she saw a box that was about the same size from Ivan and handed it to Alfred who opened it up. "Yeah, but he's taken the plastic off…. and put a 5-ruble bill in there…."
"And you put nothing in mine." Ivan said.
"Dude, it's a new wallet, what's the deal?" Alfred asked.
"O, Bozhe" Natalya sighed. "Fredka, in Russia, it is a SUPERSTION" she said with emphasis on this word at Ivan. "That if you give someone a wallet as a gift, you not putting money in there is wishing bad financial futures."
"Oh god." Alfred said, eyes growing wide. "Dude, I am not wishing you anything like that! I didn't know."
"Oh, he knows," Natalya scolded. "But honestly if you believed the superstition, giving an American one ruble is quite the, how you say Fredka…. when someone is being rather rude…."
"Dick move?" Alfred suggested. "Why?"
"Exchange rate for one. That is about the same as if you just stuck about two nickels in his." Natalya explained. "So, if he really held to the superstition or tradition, he'd have put a little more in there."
"Well, I guess it's cool for a collection of money from around the world I guess…." Alfred said, trying to smooth things over. It was Christmas after all.
"And don't be petty. It's a superstition I didn't bother teaching him because frankly, it is just that, superstition. Unless there is a reason that you'd be concerned as such." Natalya said, the professional psychologist side coming out. "Are you having a hard time with your job back home? Running the risk of being fired?" She teased.
"Nyet!" Ivan said. "I am one of the top in the company and we are going strong. I have no fiscal worries at all. I was able to pay for Katyusha's lawyer for her divorce easily and you know ones proficient in law in multiple nations are not cheap." Ivan smiled.
"Exactly, so do not use a silly old superstition as a reason to be rude." Natalya said as she grabbed the box from Macy's that Alfred had gotten for her. Opening it, she blushed and put the lid down quickly. "Seriously Fredka, you couldn't have given me this in a more private setting…."
"Oh." Alfred said when he saw Natalya's face. "Well, I guess I wasn't thinking like that…" He then moved closer to whisper in her ear so Ivan would not hear. "But you could show me how that fits later tonight as I know you would look so damn hot in it." Natalya gave him a light slap and put the gift, still in the box with the others.
"Was there a problem with that gift?" Ivan asked, as Alfred now turned red.
"Oh, it is nothing that would concern you." Natalya said, trying to save Alfred from embarrassment. "Just something new for the bedroom." Alfred grew redder. Natalya's comment could have been taken innocently but Alfred always had a way of accidently letting things out and Ivan could figure it out easily.
"So, you told me the truth when I found you in the women's department." Ivan said.
"Well duh." Alfred said rolling his eyes. "You seriously need to find yourself a girlfriend."
"I am fine by myself…." Ivan said. Truth was he had not had a date in years and was getting lonely and that's why he was so critical of Alfred and Natalya. He was jealous of what they had and wanted for himself. However, he was rather shy when it came to making the first move so often said nothing to someone he was interested in getting to know better. Natalya was looking at him with skepticism. Damn her studying psychology. She is too good at it sometimes. "Why don't we call Katyusha? See if she is available?" He said changing the subject.
"Oh yeah." Alfred said. "It's been a while since I've been able to talk to Katy. Mind if we do it on speaker? I got to get the turkey started."
"No, you don't." Natalya corrected as she looked at her phone. "Says here is best to cook it at 350 for 4 hours. Yours often comes out dry. Not burned like when your mother tried to do it, but it is dry. And to be honest I would rather eat Christmas dinner around 5 or 6 after the sun sets."
"Fine." Alfred said. "But I'll make breakfast."
"Fine." Natalya said. "I will let you know when I have a hold of Katyusha so you can speak with her too."
"And we have to get ahold of my brother and parents." Alfred reminded.
"I know I know!" Natalya said. "I love you though." She said, realizing she came off rather rude.
"No fuss babe. Now, just to make a good hearty breakfast everyone will love." Alfred smiled as Natalya dialed Katyusha.
Translation Guide:
(Obtained Via Google Translate)
schastlivogo Rozhdestva-Russian-Merry Christmas
O, Bozhe-Russian- Oh god
So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. I don't know how fast I can update this, what with work and school and I am getting to a big project soon so that will eat up a lot of my time as I am trying to juggle a busy job and studying for one final course before the project for my degree. Real life huh? Sucks. Fun fact, the wallet superstition is one from Russia, if you give something that holds money to someone in Russia, not putting money in is seen as wishing ill fiscal fortune. Anyway, remember to read (well you just did) and review. Ciao for now,
Otherrealmwriter
Aka
Realm.