I do not own Hetalia okay? I am glad so many of you like this story. I don't know how fast I can update before January again, and then it'll be really busy. Anyway enough of this A/N, on with the fic!

Alfred looked at the road ahead of him while playing with the radio. Katyusha was a rather quiet passenger who seemed to be pleasantly looking out the window at the scenery as it went by. It was a little bit of a drive to the city where most of the stores where they could do most of the shopping was a bit of a drive so Alfred stopped at a gas station to pick up some snacks for the road. He figured that Katyusha could use something to drink. "You feeling okay Katy? Morning sickness not bothering you too much?"

"Surprisingly no," Katyusha replied with a smile.

"Well I am going to get something to drink from the store here while I fill up." Alfred said. "Didn't realize this was so low on gas. Are you thirsty?"

"You don't have to get me anything." Katyusha said as Alfred had headed into the gas station himself. He's going to get you something to drink anyway, that's just how he is…. She thought as she stood at the door of the car and smiled. It was nice to at least get up and stretch your legs when you were going on a long drive. As she looked at the parking lot, Alfred came out and handed her a bottle of ginger ale.

"Figured you might want it. I don't know if you're still having issues with your stomach being upset but this is always good." Alfred said as he began to pump the gas for his car. "So where do you think you want to shop for little ol' Mattie anyway?"

"Oh there's this place called Rustic Baron. It's a lot like the place I used to work at, only they have a lot more different types of things." Katyusha said as she pulled an ad from her purse. "And they have a great deal on a nice flannel jacket for Matvey and then I guess we will have to go to the nearby department store. My cholovik needs a handsome new wardrobe with new suits and everything if he becomes an anchorman. I would not be a very good wife if I did not give him what he needed to look his best on the job."

"We don't even know if he's got it yet." Alfred said.

"He's been called back for a screen test and from what it seems the station manager really likes him. I have a good deep feeling he'll get it." Katyusha said.

"That's good. I hope he gets it too." Alfred said. So I am going to be used to fit suits and the like for Mattie. Nice. This is going to be fun. Knowing there was still more of a drive coming up, he changed the conversation back to the topic of the baby. "So, when are you going to find out if you're having a boy or a girl?"

"This next coming doctor's appointment we should be able to see. " Katyusha said as she put her hand on her abdomen and smiled. " Speaking of children, Vanya mentioned your idea of adopting. "

"He did, did he?" Alfred asked. Lately Ivan had been avoiding the conversation and was not going much of anywhere. He seemed to be trying to stave it off as if Alfred would drop it. And if he was honest with himself, Alfred didn't know what he wanted to do about it either. It seemed like a wonderful idea and he did kind of like the image of having a kid of their own, even if they were not though blood.

"Da" Katyusha said. " And if it is of any thought to you, I think that you and Vanya would make lovely parents. You could keep up with them at least. "

"So what's Mattie think of his little bundle huh?" Alfred asked. He knew that Matthew was under enough stress as it was when it came to trying to find a job to ask him about the other thing on his mind.

" Well he was quite shocked when I told him. And excited a little bit. But at the same time he had been let go not too long before that. When he was still working at the company we did talk about it a little bit and he kind of liked the idea but like Vanya is with you, he was scared of it. I mean I did have a little sort of parental experience after our chudovyy dyadʹko died. It was not easy to make sure that Vanya and Natalya didn't get sent back to Russia. We had been assured that our citizenship was in fine status by the time he did pass but I was still scared. And if not that, there could always be someone who would throw them into the foster care system. I heard horrible stories about what happened when kids are put in there and knowing them both, Ivan and Natalya would easily find themselves in trouble and the wrong side of the law. Last thing any of our family would have wanted for them was to get wrapped up in the Bratva or something like that. Oh there it is." She said pointing to a sign with a red windmill on it. They are the place that competes with my former store and well, they are better. Free popcorn and coffee for the guests. Figured you would like that Fredka. I know you must be dreading this." Katyusha said.

" Oh I am not. " Alfred smiled.

" No need to lie to make me feel better. Vanya told me how much you hate clothes shopping. You'll go to the store, pick a few things off the rack in your size and then go. You spend more time looking at jeans and t-shirts than you do proper clothing. " Katyusha said in an almost reproachful way.

" Well if you had to deal with my dads you would not like it too much yourself. Dad would always complain about something I picked and then he'd get yelled at by Papa for dressing us like enfants pauvres and then it would be a huge fight. One year Matt had talked Papa into buying all his clothes from Hot Topic. You should see his 10th grade year book." Alfred laughed.

"He never told me about that one." Katyusha laughed as she grabbed a cart to find Alfred had left her and stood in line with a bunch of people, mainly children and their grandparents to get popcorn and coffee. He then took the cup in his hand and drank it and popped the corn into his mouth as he looked to find a cross Katyusha standing by the jackets tapping her foot. "Seriously?" She asked as she looked at him. "How does Vanya put up with you when you do things like that?"

"Ask him." Alfred sassed as Katyusha took him by the ear and turned him to follow her.

"Come with me. I could have easily done this all on the internet but I hate shopping for clothes on the internet anyway." Katyusha rolled her eyes. "You can never tell if they fit well or not." She then grabbed a few red flannel shirts and then turned to Alfred, taking his coffee and popcorn and handed him the shirts. "Try these on. Zaraz." She said.

"Well where is the fitting rooms to do so?" Alfred sulked.

"Over there." Katyusha sighed. "And don't just put the shirt on over yours. I want to make sure it is perfect. And enough of yours and Matvey's laundry has gotten mixed together so I know that you two are a near perfect fit of each other."

"Fine. I'll do it for you." Alfred sighed. "You could teach my dad some things on shopping."

"The things I could teach your parents would fill a library if the way they act every family gathering is any indication of anything." Katyusha sighed. I hope Vanya is having a much better time than I am with Fredka...

Meanwhile, Matthew had pulled into the mall parking lot on the other side of town with Ivan in the passenger seat. They had decided to take Matt's car as it was a little better on gas and headed to the large sporting goods store. He had planned a whole new snowboarding outfit for Alfred to go along with their trip he had planned for over the new year. It was rather short notice that Ivan had the idea so he couldn't plan somewhere warmer, but that could always be a later thing. As they headed to the winter wear section, Ivan turned to Matthew and sighed. "Has Katyusha told you of something Fredka brought up?"

"Just what exactly?" Matthew said, turning his eyes from a hockey jersey he had liked featuring his favorite player. Ivan noticed what he was looking at and nodded.

"Fredka is thinking of adopting. I think it's a little too soon, but at the same time I do want to. So how do you deal with the idea of being a dad?"

"Well, I am getting used to the notion myself. At least with adoption you have time to process the idea from start to finish. It's not a surprise." Matthew said. "But one thing I was told by someone Katy worked with when I told him about it, you never will be fully ready. This guy had 3 grandkids by this point. So all I really can do is just hope Gilbert liked me enough to give me that job, that he does have the pull he claims and then I don't have to worry about how I will support Katy and the kid." He then turned to Ivan, "The blue ones would look better." Matthew said as Ivan handed him the snowboarding clothing.

"Go try them on." Ivan ordered.

"Fine." Matthew sulked as Ivan looked back and forth and put the jersey that Matthew was looking at in the cart and then placed his long brown jacket over it. Who says I cannot shop for Matthew now too? He smirked as Matt came out. "I have good freedom of motion on here. I could easily score a hat trick in this."

"Good. You may put it in the cart." Ivan said as Matthew suddenly noticed he was not wearing his jacket. "What?"

"You're not wearing your coat..." Matthew said.

"I got hot." Ivan said simply as Matthew shrugged and changed back. Matthew placed the clothes in the cart and Ivan headed towards the boots. "Yes, your feet seem to be the same size. I will save the receipt anyway but I don't think that will be an issue."

"Huh?" Matthew asked.

"New boots, obviously." Ivan said rolling his eyes.

"I got this. Yes, my feet are about Al's size and I know which boots work great for snowboarding. I do know all about winter sports and the like." Matthew said. "Just what else would Al like here?"

"Oh there were a few shooting accessories he has had his eye on I was thinking of getting too." Ivan said.

"Well you take a basket." Matthew said and Ivan cut him off.

"You take the basket." Ivan insisted. "I don't want to put my coat back on and carrying it around is too much work."

"Fine, when I'm back I'll find the perfect boots for Al. I'll meet you at the restaurant in this place. Be convenient for lunch." Matthew said.

"Sounds fine." Ivan said.

Alfred headed out of the store with an exhausted sigh. After waiting for what seemed forever in the checkout line, he was able to get everything he and Katyusha needed for Ivan and Matthew's Christmas. Katyusha was confused why Alfred had gotten a pickaxe for Ivan but he said that he had complained about his old one, and was still confused what he would do with it, but she sighed knowing that Alfred must have had some intention with it. Once the gifts were in the car, Katyusha then directed Alfred where to go. "That store over there. I will get my Matvey the best suits that would be perfect for him." Alfred moaned. He remembered how hard it was to get the perfect flannel shirt and how many times he had to try on shirts of the different same size and she had found something wrong with the fit of most all of them until she found the one she was going to give him. It was going to be a nightmare with something like a suit she was thinking that he would be on television. She was quite excited at that idea and wanted to have him look really good. "Now do you have a problem Fredka?" Katyusha asked annoyed.

"No, not at all." He said quickly and got in the car to drive over to the department store. He then found a spot and Katyusha quickly got out and Alfred ran to keep up. God I thought she was a few months pregnant but damn she is pretty determined. He looked around and saw that she had headed to the men's wear section and saw the suits that were on a holiday sale. She had grabbed a few red and white ties and threw a set of separates into Alfred's arms. "You know the drill."

"I know." Alfred said as he rolled his eyes with his back facing her.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Katyusha said annoyed.

"How did you know?" Alfred sulked.

"Vanya and Natalya did the same thing when we were shopping for clothes. I can tell." Katyusha said. "Matvey doesn't do that as much though." So why don't you just shop for this with him "And the reason I don't shop for this with him is because these are intended for Christmas. It would ruin the surprise."

"You're going to be a great mom Katy." Alfred laughed with a sigh as he tried on the requested outfit and "You don't take anything from anyone like that."

"Well that's good that you think so." Katyusha smiled. Alfred opened the door to the dressing room and Katyusha sighed tapping her foot.

"What do you think?" Alfred asked.

"Not bad…. It's nice on you but it doesn't have the right air for Matvey." Katyusha said as she took a picture of the suit. "Just in case Vanya needs an idea…."

"Uggghhhh." Alfred moaned. "I swear if he had his way, half my wardrobe would be given away."

"I don't know how professional it is for an adult engineer to have a Batman tie." Katyusha said. "He does have a point."

"Most of my job I can do from home so they don't care, or I just have to look nice from the waist up." Alfred said as he took the next outfit from Katyusha and tried the mahogany brown three-piece suit on so Katyusha could see how it looked. "I cannot tell you how many meetings I have done with a nice shirt but no pants on."

"I really did not need to know that. I hope you don't do that when I am home." She said crossly.

"Unless I am in the office and I locked it…." Alfred said.

"Well you have some decency." Katyusha said. "But this isn't your color." Alfred gulped. "But it suits Matvey. We'll take this one." She said as she handed a few other suits for him to try and repeated the process until she had a few suits that were perfect in her mind. With this, she headed to the register to purchase, much to Alfred's relief. As they headed to the front, he saw a few nice maternity dresses and he remembered what Matthew said about her size so he looked to Katyusha.

"You got this from here?" He asked.

"Yes, I will be fine." Katyusha smiled. "I'll meet you at the car if you need to finish something." With this, he ran over, grabbed the dresses, trusting what Matthew had said on his wife's size and quickly snuck to a register until he saw a few things that both Matthew and Ivan would like and then stood anxiously at the register while the line formed in front of him. Come on, come on, I have a lady waiting in a car. He whined in his mind before his turn came and he paid and left, running to the car to find Katyusha sitting in the passenger seat knitting. "Oh hello Fredka." She smiled.

"There was a line…." He said. "Anything else you need?"

"Nothing I cannot handle myself or online." Katyusha smiled as she put away her knitting needles and put her seatbelt on.

"Do you want to get something for lunch?" Alfred asked.

"I can make something at the house," Katyusha began.

"Nonsense!" Alfred said. "You got to get something in you. You're eating for two after all. We'll spin by McDonalds over there!" with this, he started the car and headed to the restaurant. They got their food and Alfred ate greedily. "You know Natalya is going to Lithuania with her boyfriend for Christmas?"

"I haven't been informed yet." Katyusha said as she sipped her drink.

"Yeah she called Vanya the other day and told us." Alfred said. "I still have to see what my dads are doing but they usually would want to come to our place. Especially with you and Mattie being here too. But I'd have to call them and make sure."

"Does Vanya have a preference?" Katyusha asked.

"Haven't asked him." Alfred said honestly. "I'll call them tonight and see. I mean their place isn't like mine but I am sure we can work something. I don't know. I had Thanksgiving planned for months but Christmas, I haven't had much for Christmas."

"Well talk to them and we can plan from there. I do want this to be nice for Matvey. I mean he's had it rough. I have a good feeling about that job but no matter what I want him to have a good time. Poor man has had his confidence shaken when he didn't need to. He often compares himself to you."

Alfred paused. "He does?"

"Yes." Katyusha said. "I don't know why. I have told him time and time again he's great but he brushes it off like I am his wife, like I am supposed to say that or because I love him so he thinks I am biased. I am not. Trust me if he wasn't I would be onto him. I have had bad boyfriends before. One was too absorbed in his work and the other, well I just don't know. Matvey is the best man I have known. And if he wasn't I wouldn't have married him. I do not like seeing him so down. But the appointment is next Friday and we should know if it's a boy or a girl."

"What do you want it to be?" Alfred asked.

"Healthy is all I want." She said.

"What about Mattie?" Alfred asked.

"He wants a girl." Katyusha said.

"Oh boy." Alfred said. "But yeah, I'll call Dad and Papa when we get back and figure out Christmas. Whatever we do do, I can't wait to see how you and Mattie like the stuff Vanya and I got you."

"I am sure you'll like the same." Katyusha said.

Translation Guide:

(Obtained via Google Translate)

Cholovik-Ukrainian-husband

chudovyy dyadʹko-Ukrainian-great uncle

enfants pauvres-French-pauper children

Zaraz. -Ukrainian-Now

So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. Thank you guys so much for your response on this fic! It makes me feel so good to see you guys liking it so. The store Katyusha and Alfred first go to is based on a chain called Rural King and they really do, at least before this craziness of this year, give free popcorn and coffee for customers. They're big in the Midwest of the US so you may not be able to go there if you are in certain areas. But anyway remember to read (well you just did) and to review. Ciao for now,

Otherrealmwriter

Aka

realm.