I do not own Hetalia, okay? Hopefully you know that by now. Thank you all who have read, faved, alerted and reviewed this. It really helps me out and makes me happy to know you like my work. Anyway, enough of this A/N, on with the fic!
"Why are we going to Matt's?" Alfred moaned with a huff.
"I told you dorogoy, Katyusha wanted us there for a birthday party for him." Ivan smiled as the twins smiled in the back. They knew the full story but were told to not say anything by Ivan as they wanted it to be a surprise for Alfred as well. Ivan was worried one of the twins would slip up and tell Alfred, but they had not. They were wanting to see how big Charlotte had gotten and their new dog Kumajiro. Katyusha had sent pictures, but Nikita and Dimitri really wanted to play with the dog and Ivan and Katyusha promised a party they would love full of hamburgers, hot dogs, and other goodies that the twins and Alfred and Matthew would love.
"His birthday was yesterday." Alfred pouted.
"And yours is in two days." Ivan said simply.
"You and Unkie Matt are twins but don't share a birthday?" Dimitri asked.
"Yeah, it's funny…" Alfred said. "I don't know the full details, but apparently twins can be born days apart…."
"Huh, that's funny." Nikita said.
"Yep. Your Uncle Matt's is Canada Day, and mine is Independence Day." Alfred explained.
"Your parents will be there Fredka, and I think Katyusha mentioned something about an aunt of yours?"
"Huh?" Alfred said as they pulled into Matthew and Katyusha's driveway and saw that this time Arthur's car was the one driven, but it kept making him wonder about the aunt that Katyusha had mentioned. Natalya and Toris were likely to be there if they weren't already. He knew that his dad had brothers and he had seen two of them and there was one that he knew Arthur would not speak of that he knew from what Francis told him. It was when Ivan turned off the car, he remembered who that aunt could be. "Tante Lucille?" Alfred asked as he saw Lucille standing in the doorway.
"Oh, mon cher neveu, ça fait beaucoup trop longtemps. Tu as tellement grandi!" Lucille said as she headed towards Alfred and gave him a hug, a surprisingly strong one from what she looked like and then looked over to the back of the car where Ivan was helping the twins out of their booster seats. "And you must be the twins that your grand pear told me so much about."
"Lucille, must you say, 'grand pear'?" Francis moaned. "French is your native language."
"Well, I think it's adorable." Lucille said as the twins looked at her nervously. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not sure you know who I am."
"No…" The twins replied simultaneously.
"Well, I am your grand-tante Lucille, the little sister of your Grandpear." Lucille smiled as Francis rolled his eyes. "I have heard so much about you two from your grandparents."
"Really?" Nikita asked.
"Really. Now let's go over here and you can tell me all about yourselves. Grandpear says you like baseball Nikita?" Lucille asked
"Yes!" Nikita smiled.
"And you, Dimitri?" Lucille asked as Dimitri hid behind his sister. "I was told you like dinosaurs and know a lot about them."
"Yeah?" He asked looking at Lucille.
"Well, I got you this triceratops. I don't know your favorite…." Lucille admit.
"This one is pretty cool." Dimitri smiled.
"Fredka, why don't you head over there with your aunt and catch up. I need Vanya's help here on the grill." Katyusha said.
"I'm better there than he is!" Alfred said running after Katyusha who abruptly pulled Ivan aside and pushed Alfred back. "You need to go in there with your aunt! Get to know her and your niece better!"
"I will see you later." Ivan said as he quickly snuck a kiss in on Alfred's cheek.
"That is sweet, but I need you out back." Katyusha said as she tugged Ivan away.
Alfred looked on amazed. He knew that Katyusha could be forceful if she wanted to be, but it always amazed him, even back when he and Ivan hated each other, just what she could do and pull over him to get Ivan to do something. Then again Katy did practically raise him and Nattie when their great uncle died, his sisters are the only family he has left, and he feels duty bound to protect them and stay close. But this was Katyusha's plan and if she needed Ivan to help out, then so be it. He was not about to push the issue and then make what was Matthew's (and his unknown to him at the time) birthday party a mess. Sighing, he headed over to Matthew who was holding Charlotte and looking over as the twins played with Kumajiro. "Happy birthday bro." Alfred said as he playfully noogied his brother. "Don't want to mess with the hot news star too much,"
"Oh, stop that." Matthew sighed rolling his eyes. "I am not the heartthrob you and everyone else make out to be."
"I have been asked out by people, mainly girls, of all ages thinking I was you." Alfred sighed rolling his eyes. "And don't deny you aren't happy deep down that I'm being mistaken for you."
"You would not believe how much maple ice cream Carlos gave me after he realized that he beat me up instead of you. What did you do to him anyway?" Matthew asked annoyed. "Be gentle with Kuma you two." He said as he put Charlotte over his shoulder to burp her.
"We will Uncle Mattie…." Nikita and Dimitri replied simultaneously.
"It still amazes me how they do that…." Alfred said.
"Oh, you and Mathieu did that all the time Alfred, at least when you were little." Lucille said.
"We did?" Alfred and Matthew said at the same time.
"Oh, that takes me back…." Francis laughed.
"Okay 'grandpear….'" Arthur scoffed.
"Come on, do you not remember when the boys were little?" Francis teased.
"I do, but by god, it feels so long ago." Arthur sighed. "I'm having a hard enough time accepting I have grandchildren and thinking about how Alfred and Matthew were back then,"
"Do you have anything planned for the 14th?" Lucille said with a smirk.
"Oh, I don't know…." Arthur said. "I don't wish to discuss it here."
"What's the 14th?" Alfred asked as he noticed Francis look at him annoyed. "Oh. Yeah, Papa gets older."
"The way we've celebrated you three's birthdays, three within two weeks, I was always exhausted by the time July was over for that reason!" Arthur sighed.
"Hey Al, you know that Dad likely forgot the 14th was coming up…." Matthew whispered as Alfred sniggered.
"God if he ever did, Papa would be furious. I'd pay good money to see that." Alfred whispered back. "Papa can't deal with getting older too well, but lord help you if you forget his birthday…."
"Oh, ho ho ho…." Francis said. "I can still hear you two boys. I am not so old I lose that I need a hearing aid. And it is not just the celebration but how well your father and I know each other, what we have been through, how long we have been at each other's sides, I would think that it would only be proper that one remembers their spouse's birthday."
"Yeah, I guess, even though Vanya still has a hard time with me throwing him a birthday party or anything like that." Alfred sighed.
"Katy's the same way." Matthew said. "I think she said it was because growing up birthdays weren't seen like we do."
Meanwhile, Ivan was helping Katyusha prepare the food for the party tending to the grilling like Katyusha had asked him to so there was enough hamburgers and hot dogs. She had planned it to be the perfect summer celebration. "You know it is Fredka who handled this since we had gotten together. He has everything perfect when he makes hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill…."
"Oh, I know but it's not your birthday party but Matvey and Fredka's." Katyusha reminded him. "I needed you to do this for me while I get the decorations set up and set out the other dishes."
"Is Natalya coming?" Ivan asked.
"Yes." Katyusha replied simply. "She does get along better with Matvey than Fredka…." she added with a slight frown.
"Well, they are getting better." Ivan sighed. "And the twins love her and Toris."
"I know, I heard about how they stole your phones to call them when they were busy with finals." Katyusha laughed. "I am so proud of what they both have done. I think Toris will take good care of Natalya. What about you?"
Ivan sighed. He did have faith that Toris could do it, but he was still skeptical. "I honestly don't know."
"Yes, you do." Katyusha scolded. "You are just very protective of us. I had a similar talk with Natalya before you and Fredka got married. Trust me, she wanted to bring a butcher knife to the wedding when you first told us you two were engaged. If all she was a sourpuss and take Alfred's piece of cake saying he was fat enough was the worst she did, then it's a good thing." Katyusha smiled as she placed a bowl of potato salad out on the picnic table in the backyard. "Wasn't Fredka so nervous he spent the start of the reception in the restroom?"
"Not exactly because of nerves." Ivan corrected. "It was because of the fact that Francis, Antonio and Gilbert had planned his and Matthew's bachelor parties…."
"Oh." Katyusha said in surprise. "They did our housewarming and baby shower, and it was quite tame."
"Well, according to Arthur, the one who I could trust on how out of hand it got, Fredka and Matvey convinced them to keep it tame which resulted in them challenging Fredka to eat too many very spicy chicken wings and drink a little too much. Although when I asked Arthur about what happened to him, he denied anything did, but Fredka told me his father cannot handle his liquor. Kept asking if he was protestant or catholic."
"Hmmmm…" Katyusha smirked. "Maybe I could talk Francis into doing something similar for Toris…."
"Katyusha…." Ivan scolded.
"What?" She asked innocently. "Is it a bad thing I would want Arthur there to be the wet blanket he can be and then have him get drunk to see how poorly he holds his liquor, or do you have how you say dibs on being the wet blanket for Toris…."
"I swear, you two will drive me mad…." Ivan sighed.
"You love us dearly though." Katyusha smiled.
"I do feel like I must keep you two safes." He reminded her.
"And you are. But Natalya and I are grown women with lives of our own. Just being there for us is good enough," Katyusha said.
"I suppose you are right." Ivan sighed.
Natalya headed to the house followed by Toris. "Are you sure we can come in without knocking?" he asked.
"I text Katyusha before we did, she knows we are coming. She's setting up outback." Natalya said.
"Hello!" She said as she headed in and looked around.
"Oh!" Katyusha said as she noticed Natalya and Toris come in, holding gifts. "I see you brought presents for the boys."
"Yes." Natalya smiled. "Honestly Toris was the one who came up with a good gift for Alfred."
"Well as long as you brought a gift for him too, that's all that matters." Ivan said. "I have all the burgers and hot dogs grilled."
"Burgers?" Alfred said sitting up.
"Hot dogs?" Nikita ran after him.
"Oh boy." Ivan sighed.
"Aunt Natalya!" Nikita said as she was distracted from the prospect of hot dogs to see her favorite aunt. "How have you been?"
"Nikita!" She smiled as she picked up the young girl. "It has been a while."
"Yeah. Papa says you are very busy." Nikita frowned.
"I am, but seeing my favorite niece makes it all worthwhile." Natalya smiled.
"We need to get Aunt Katy and Uncle Mattie Candyland." Dimitri said.
"They don't, have it?" Toris asked.
"Nope. And I really wanted to play with Great Aunt Lucille." Dimitri pouted.
"I wanted to have Kumajiro play." Nikita said.
"Kumajiro?" Toris asked.
Matthew got up and welcome in Natalya and Toris. "Glad you guys could make it. I didn't know that my aunt Lucille would show up. But Katy assures me there's enough for this barbecue she planned so I will trust her." He then took a deep breath
"Oh my, little Charlotte made a mess. I'll handle that for you." Lucille said as she came up and picked up the young infant. "She looks so much like you my dear nephew."
"Wait…." Natalya said noticing Lucille. "I saw you speak at my college a few years ago. You're Lucille Bonnefoy."
"You didn't make the connection with the last name and Papa's last name?" Alfred asked.
"You honestly expected me to know your father's last names?" Natalya sighed. "You know that your papa is the one of your parents I don't like."
"Oh, Francis can be rather obnoxious at times." Lucille admit. "I have spoken around a lot in my career."
"Natalya just graduated with a business degree, has a good paid internship while working for a MBA." Matthew explained.
"Wow, that is a very busy young woman." Lucille said as she laid Charlotte down on the changing table. "But you do need to think about what you want from your life. Work can't be it all." Natalya looked as the older woman changed the infant like nothing bothered her.
"But you are very busy yourself with your group and all that." Natalya said.
"Yes, and I find it very enriching myself." Lucille said as she put Charlotte on her shoulder. "But because of work I haven't seen my brother let alone my nephews in years. Last time I had seen either Alfred or Matthew as their weddings and before that they were 13. All because I was working so much. I never had time for a real family of my own. Don't get me wrong I love the job and it makes me happy, but you are still young, and I do not want you to be my age and regret having a family or not or something bad happen between you and that lovely young man with you there."
"Aunt Lucille, Nattie! Come on! I'm hungry!" Alfred said.
"Oh boy." Lucille sighed. "Coming."
Toris walked in and took Natalya's hand. "Everything okay Talya?"
"I hate that nickname so much, yet I love it so." Natalya said as a few tears came out from her eyes. She had recalled what Katyusha had told her during her pregnancy scare and now, Lucille, a businesswoman who she had admired herself when she had attended the seminar she had given when she was in college had complimented her work and had given her something to think about. What did she want? Toris is a good man. I would not mind spending the rest of my life with him, or else I would not have agreed to marry him. But the prospect of having a family with him…. isn't something I am that opposed to. I do have a life to live and the biggest thing to have is no regrets. She wondered as she followed Toris into the backyard.
"I am so glad you all could come." Katyusha said as she took Charlotte from Lucille and smiled. "Today we celebrate both Alfred and Matthew's birthdays."
"So that's why you brought me here?" Alfred said as he looked at Ivan smiling and putting burgers on a plate while putting some food on plates for the twins.
"Exactly." Ivan said. "Katyusha and I both wanted to do well for our spouses and our family."
"You're so sweet Vanya." Alfred said as he ran over with the plates of food and kissed Ivan on the cheek.
"Ewwwwwwww" The twins said as they looked at Natalya and Toris. "Gross."
"Yeah, that's gross." Natalya said as Lucille laughed.
"And I have a brilliant firework show planned for tonight as well. Francis and Arthur agreed to handle the artful display and it is all for you two, Alfred and Matthew." Katyusha said. "I know if I did not have you Matvey, I would not have what I do. A beautiful house, a lovely daughter and of course the most attractive and wonderful husband any woman could ever ask for. I love you so much."
"Katy, you're too sweet…." Matthew smiled as she kissed him.
"I could say much the same to you Fredka." Ivan smiled. "Even if we wanted to kill each other when we first met."
"I told you they were so alike…." Katyusha said as Matthew laughed.
"Remember when I said I thought they liked each other…." Matthew whispered back.
"Seriously?" Alfred asked.
"It was obvious to us both for the longest time you two really cared and loved each other." Katyusha laughed.
"It was more than obvious to me when I heard how you told Arthur about how much you 'hated' Ivan when you were first roommates. It was much like when we first met ourselves. I could have changed the names and it was the same situation." Francis said. "Oh, and we have an announcement. We will be working with my sister's company to buy that bed and breakfast and moving a little closer to be with you all."
"Really?" Matthew asked.
"Yes son." Arthur said. "We had discussed it and Lucille's company will have the funding and your papa will run the place. We had thought about this, and I will still work at the university for a few more years but this is something that we agreed would be a great new thing." At this Francis pulled him close and kissed him deeply.
"Guys, not in front of the kids…." Alfred blushed as he hid in Ivan's scarf.
"And by kids you mean their sons as well as grandchildren?" Ivan rolled his eyes. "You've seen much worse those two do."
"BY ACCIDENT!" Alfred said.
"Would you rather they tell more embarrassing stories about you? They need to know all about their dads." Natalya laughed.
"And I will do the same when you have kids of your own." Alfred assured
"As if I had something like that story you could…." Natalya sighed. She smiled as Katyusha prompted them to sing happy birthday for both Matthew and Alfred and opened the gifts and just enjoyed the evening. Lucille's words playing in her mind, that she need not work so hard to impress anyone and she would need to know what she wanted. If I keep working so hard, I will miss out on so much, and Toris is working so hard himself for his goals. Nikita kept getting Natalya to play with her and play with some sparklers as the night grew and the firework show began, Nikita sleeping on her lap. This is so precious. I love it so…. She thought as Ivan and Alfred took the twins and put them in the car to drive them home for the evening.
"She likes you." Ivan smiled as he buckled Nikita in her car seat.
"Yeah, you're actually good with kids Nattie." Alfred said. "Oh, and thanks for your gift. I could really use that neck pillow at work."
"That was Toris." Natalya admit.
"Well, your name was on it, and it is handy for when I am staring at the computer all day. It's straining work." Alfred said.
"Fredka, we need to get home so the kids can get some proper sleep." Ivan said.
"Well see you later." Alfred waved. "I am sure the twins want to play Candyland. Aunt Lucille needs to come by so they can play with her. They wanted to so bad."
"Well, I will make sure to stop by." Lucille said. "And to you Miss Natalya, I would love to talk to you about working with my partnership. I have grown to like you."
"Thank you, Ms. Bonnefoy." Natalya said looking at Lucille's card.
Translation Guide:
(Obtained via Google Translate)
Dorogoy-Russian-darling
Tante-French-aunt
Oh, mon cher neveu, ça fait beaucoup trop longtemps. Tu as tellement grandi! -French- Oh my dear nephew, it has been much too long. You have grown so much!
grand-tante-French- Great aunt
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Otherrealmwriter
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