Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. All interactions, especially the Russo-Japanese war interaction, are fictitious.

Hey guys! Thanks for reading this fic and giving feedback on it, I really appreciate it :) I hope you guys like this chapter! Read on!


"All passengers heading to Toronto, Canada with a departure time of 10 AM, please go to gate B9. I repeat…"

Matthew's head snapped up at the sound of the lady on the intercom and brusquely walked to the gate. He checked his watch and waited ten more minutes until they began to board the passengers. Unsurprisingly, all of the nations were platinum members and most bought either business or first class seats.

Matthew normally didn't like to travel in extravagance. But when he spent practically half of his life on a plane, he had a mind to make sure it wasn't spent in misery.

"First class boarders!" They called. Matthew, along with many other nations, formed a neat line and slid into their seats with practiced ease.

Since the Canadian was one of the last to arrive, he ended up boarding last of the first class, not that he really minded. He checked over his ticket and skimmed for his seat.

A6, A6, A6… In truth, he was really just looking for Ivan since he knew they were seated together. His eyes quickly spotted the platinum haired Russian doodling in his notebook and took a seat next to him. Matthew shoved his suitcase under his chair and gave Ivan a friendly wave.

Ivan smoothly closed his notebook and nodded in greeting. "Privyet, Matvey. Your brother isn't joining us?" Ivan curiously asked.

Matthew tightened his seatbelt and offered his usual smile.

"Something came up and Al had to take a flight to DC. He'll probably fly over in a few hours."

"I see. It's a pleasant surprise that we're sitting next to each other. I didn't expect that at all."

Matthew snorted, "Me neither."

They were up in the air about half an hour later, and Matthew couldn't help himself from asking.

"What were you drawing?"

Ivan's violet gaze snapped back onto the Canadian, and he pulled out his notebook from before.

"My sketches aren't very good, it's more to soothe my mind. Would you like to see?" Ivan asked, he didn't mind at all. Matthew mumbled a "don't mind if I do" and flipped through the notebook. When his eyes landed on the first drawing, his breath was taken away.

While they weren't in color, they were by no means bad in any way shape or form. Ivan's buildings looked so real, it was like they would pop out of the paper at any moment. The landscapes were so serene, he felt at peace just looking at it.

Matthew continued to flip through the drawings and curiously tilted his head when he looked at the last few. One was a sketch of a cute girl with a determined look on her face while she drew on a drawing board. She had numerous pencils splayed all around her, and if he looked close enough- he could see bandages around her fingers.

The next drawing was of three girls clinging onto Ivan with angry expressions on their faces, but Ivan's face was perfectly relaxed. Matthew would go as far as to describe it as happy.

And then the last sketch was of four girls, one of them was being held by a nurse. They were all crying in front of the palace, and Matthew could see an older man's regretful gaze from a window of the palace. When Matthew inquired about the drawings, Ivan merely laughed and shook his head.

"Well, it is no big deal. I will tell you."


-Tsarskoye Selo, 1903-

"Ivan! Let's play!"

A four year old Maria tried to pull Ivan's attention from Anastasia. Ivan's smile broadened, "You are very active, and very strong." Ivan commented and rose from his chair. He pulled over one of the nurses to watch over the youngest princess and allowed Maria to tug him along the halls of the palace.

"I brought Ivan to play with us!" The little girl happily announced to her two older sisters.

Olga and Tatiana briefly looked up from their needlework and dismissed her.

"We can't play right now Maria. Maybe later."

The girl deflated a bit and released Ivan's hand and sulkily sat down next to her busy sisters. Ivan raised an eyebrow and absently rubbed his chest. He was going soft from being around Anastasia too much.

"Maria? Come, I'll play with you until your sisters are finished." He beckoned in Russian. The young girl perked up and bounded over to him. She hugged his arm and squealed with delight when Ivan easily hefted her over his shoulder.

"You like to rough house quite a bit." Ivan remarked when Maria tried to force him to take a step by pushing him. They were in Ivan's room since Nikolai had guests. He also knew it was best to keep out of sight until they left.

Meanwhile, Maria was having the time of her life trying to force him back. Ivan stood with an amused look on his face until the girl gave up.

"You are like an elephant." Maria said with awe. Ivan chuckled, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He playfully asked.

Maria sat on his bed and made an exaggerating gesture with her arms.

"Good! Very good! Elephants are big, and strong, and are very good looking." She said with enough sincerity to convince Ivan that elephants were truly large and majestic creatures. Ivan pat her on the head and pulled up his chair from his desk.

"I see, thank you."

Maria looked around the room and decided to explore. After several minutes of watching her amuse herself with his clothes, the nation deemed her harmless and turned his attention to his drawing on his desk.

Ivan looked at his rough sketch of Buckingham palace and absently began to add more detail. Rough circles became windows, boxish figures became detailed guards, and little tic marks became flowers.

After about half an hour of drawing, he was startled by a gasp from Maria.

"What's this?" The girl grunted as she hefted up Ivan's old saber and struggled to pull the heavy piece of metal from its scabbard. Ivan nearly had a heart attack and snatched it from the girl's hands. "It's dangerous." He gruffly told her and placed the old thing on top of his dresser.

"It looks old." Maria observed.

"Da, It's very old." Ivan confirmed and shut his closet.

Why did he even have such a thing in his closet anyway? Ivan shook his head and returned back to his desk. Maria waddled over and gasped again when she saw Ivan's drawing.

"Wow. So pretty." She said with awe while she ran her hand across the pencil marks. The drawing was better than any photo she'd ever seen.

Maria sharply retracted her hands when the pencil marks smeared and guiltily looked at Ivan. "I'm sorry Ivan. I broke it." She revealed the thin layer of metallic dust on her hands.

Ivan couldn't stop a softer smile from coming onto his face and wiped the girl's hands down with a towel.

"It's fine. I can make another one." He grabbed his ruined sketch and tossed it in the trashcan without a second thought. Maria seemed horrified though and immediately saved the crumpled piece of paper.

"It's broken. I'll fix it." She said with determination. The top of her head barely reached the top of the desk, but she somehow managed to smooth the creases out before she folded and pocketed the rough sketch.

"Teach me how to draw." She demanded with unusual force. Ivan twirled a pencil in his hand and pursed his lips to stop a strange smile from coming onto his face.

"If you wish." Ivan complied with her wishes.

Maria jumped for joy and tried to climb onto Ivan's lap, but the nation stopped her. He tried to ignore the look of disappointment on her face and instead placed a rug and two drawing boards on the floor.

"It's easier this way, da? We start with the basics. Shapes." Ivan pulled out two pieces of paper and handed a pencil to the little girl. Maria attentively watched when Ivan sat down on the floor and slowly drew a near perfect circle.

Ivan motioned for her to try and snorted when her circle looked like something had kicked it.

"That's not nice!" Maria pouted, obviously angry that Ivan had laughed at her. The Russian merely pat her head and motioned for her to try again.

"Do not worry child. Geometry is not so hard." He happily teased her. After showing her a few shapes to practice, Ivan left the princess to her own devices and cracked open a book to read.

Ivan didn't expect Maria to draw until she popped a blister on her finger.

"Maria, you must take a break." Ivan placed the sniffling girl on his bed as he wrapped a bandage around her right middle and index fingers.

"N-No! I-I broke y-your drawing. I-I have to fix it!" Maria yelled. Ivan clicked his tongue in disapproval, and the girl immediately quieted. Although he was pleased that Maria had a strong set of morals, it was unacceptable for her to raise her voice.

"It will take many years for you to be able to fix my drawing. You should take it slow." Ivan wrapped a little bow on each bandaged finger and lightly pat her cheek.

Maria stubbornly picked up the pencil with her left hand instead, "I'm going to keep practicing." She mumbled while she took to the paper again.

Ivan rolled his eyes and moved to take it away. Maria glanced up at him, "I'll stop before I hurt my fingers again. I promise."

She held out her pinky to display her sincerity. Ivan couldn't stop his usual smile from melting into a softer one and firmly grasped her right pinky with his own.

"I take promises very seriously da?" He checked the time on his clock and stood up from the floor. "I believe your mother will be very unhappy with me if I allow you to stay in my room any longer. I'll give you this drawing board and some of my pencils so you can practice."

Ivan plucked the board from her tiny lap and expectantly opened the door. The warmest smile spread across Maria's chubby cheeks and she happily followed him back to the nursery.

"We're back Anastasia! Ivan taught me how to draw!" Maria excitedly ran over to the nurses who were amusing the youngest princess with toys and goofy faces.

"Vanya!" Anastasia's voice cooed at the mention of Ivan's name. Ivan placed Maria's drawing board against a wall and walked over to greet his princess.

"Hello Anastasia. You are behaving well today." Ivan remarked. The girl's bright blue eyes lit up and grabbed Ivan's gloved finger. The nurses offered Anastasia to Ivan, but he quickly declined.

"I shall take my leave. Maria, drawing in the dark is not good for the eyes. A princess does not look attractive with glasses." Ivan chimed before opening the doors to leave.

When Maria didn't respond, Ivan turned his head and his smile turned sinister.

"Maria?" He sweetly repeated.

The girl jumped and hid behind the nurses, "Yes! Yes, I understand Ivan." She shouted with a furious blush. Satisfied with her response, he left the children to their own devices.


-Tsarskoye Selo, 1904-

Ivan took a long walk in the palace gardens. The weather was a bit chilly, but it wasn't unbearable. He absently brushed his gloved hand along the well trimmed hedges and observed the dying flowers with a crooked smile.

Winter always brought death with it, no matter how beautiful the flower- they all met the same fate.

His inner poetic ramblings were interrupted when he ran into the eldest princess.

"Ivan, help me with my French." An 8 year old Olga demanded as soon as she caught sight of him. Ivan raised an eyebrow and stopped a few yards away from her.

"Hello to you too, Olga." Ivan greeted with his usual smile. Olga rolled her eyes and walked over to him with her French books clutched to her chest.

"Oh great representation of our Russian empire, would you be so kind as to depart some of your worldly knowledge on this confused little soul?" Olga dramatically bowed and extended her rather heavy looking French books to him with both hands. Ivan snorted and flicked her on the head.

"Women curtsy." He playfully reprimanded. Although he knew Olga was just joking, it didn't hurt to remind her. The eldest scowled and lightly kicked the nation on his shin.

"Please Ivan, I didn't study yesterday and I have a speaking test today." Her request came out as a demand, and it made Ivan sigh with disapproval. "You must be more diligent in your studies, and dedicate more time to your persuasive skills." He lightly chastised.

Olga grinned when she detected the resignation in his voice and handed him her lessons. Ivan skimmed over the lessons and beckoned for Olga to walk with him. A gentle breeze rolled over the garden and the peaceful estate echoed with French and laughter.

Ivan was mildly impressed with Olga and how quickly she picked up on French. She was very smart- if only she actual put in some effort.

"Hello." Olga practiced in French. Ivan pretended to tip a hat on his head and repeated the greeting. A pleasant breeze swept through the garden and Olga contently sighed.

"Wonderful weather we're having. Although it could be a bit colder." She commented while absently looking up into the azure sky.

Ivan withheld his laughter, "Yes, I agree. I often wish that I was in Siberia." He mused. Olga's lips tensed as she tried to hold in her laughter as well.

"I see, how fares the state of your house?" Olga inquired. Ivan rolled his eyes and let out a long and regretful sigh.

"It's too quiet some days and too noisy other days. I must constantly look after a shrieking devil, bandage blistered fingers, and teach a procrastinating princess her entire day's worth of French lessons in a scant thirty minutes. It's perfect." Ivan said with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

Olga snorted and snatched her French lessons from the nation. "I'll hang you for treason." She joked in Russian.

Ivan's smile widened and he lightly pinched her cheeks.

"You would have to be Tsar to hang me." He openly challenged.

Olga batted away his hand and stuck out her tongue before rushing back into the palace for her lesson. He fondly watched as the girl dashed into the palace and shook his head.

While her temper could be better, he found that the princess had a unique quality that he couldn't ignore. Perhaps it was her humor? Or maybe her fearlessness, it was probably a mixture of both.

As soon as Olga disappeared from sight, Tatiana appeared from the bushes and shyly smiled at the nation. Ivan raised an eyebrow, was he being stalked? Hesitation flickered across Tatiana's grey eyes before she handed Ivan a sunflower she had hidden behind her back.

"Can we… walk?" Her Russian was soft, but had a subtle confidence and clarity to it that befitted a royal child.

Ivan smoothly pocketed the yellow flower before he knelt down on one knee and dramatically held out his hand. "If the good Tatiana would be so good as to accept my invitation for a walk." He kneeled down to the naturally introverted child.

Tatiana giggled and innocently slipped her hand into his as they walked along the gardens. Ivan could tell his presence, for some reason unknown to him, had some sort of calming affect on the child. It was odd, considering how a few years ago she would tremble whenever he approached her. What had changed?

The girl slid her hand out of Ivan's and displayed unusual energy. She animatedly talked to Ivan about silly things a little girl would talk about. Things like true love, or faraway castles and knights.

She would occasionally talk about things well beyond her years, like the affairs of the state she overheard from her father's ministers. However those comments were limited in both understanding and detail, much to the relief of Ivan.

Tatiana was too young to think about such burdensome things.

"Ivan, why does only Anastasia call you Vanya?" Tatiana asked while she kicked a rock along the pathway. The question surprised Ivan, and he merely shrugged in response.

"My sisters also call me Vanya. It's like how the nurses, your friends, and your parents sometimes call you Tatya or Tanushka." Ivan explained.

Her grey eyes flickered with an unidentifiable emotion and she became quiet. They walked for a while in silence until Ivan decided to break it.

"Why do you ask?" He inquired.

The princess shrugged, "Only people who are really close call us that right?" She ventured. It clicked for Ivan, and the nation struggled not to burst out laughing. She was jealous of Anastasia.

"Anastasia calls me Vanya because to her that's my name, my sister can be blamed for that." He assured her that it held no real special meaning.

"Oh, so you don't like Anastasia?" Tatiana asked in a mixture of disappointment and some sort of childish relief. Ivan hesitated and debated her question.

"If you wish you call me Vanya, you may." Ivan took a stab at what Tatiana really wanted. Her ecstatic expression was all he needed to see and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Children were so indirect these days.

"Then you must call me Tatya!" Her radiant expression made Ivan afraid to decline, and he accepted. "I do ask that you call me Ivan when in public." He added as an afterthought. Tatiana obediently nodded and scampered off to the palace.

Ivan was once again, left to his own thoughts in the peaceful silence of Tsarskoye Selo. His peaceful silence turned out to be short lived, and before he knew it two angry girls attempted to wrestle him to the ground.

"You meanie! Why do you like Tatiana more?" Maria and Olga demanded. Ivan grunted when Maria managed to climb onto his neck and Olga latched onto his arm.

"This isn't behavior befitting of princesses." Ivan tried to sound as angry and serious as possible, but it didn't work. Why, when these princesses were being so unreasonable and annoying, why was all he could do smile?

"Ivan! Are you listening to us?" Olga demanded. Ivan tickled the two of them to tears on the ground and ruffled their hair. "Yes, Yes, I am. You may call me Vanya as well if you wish."

"Olya." Olga firmly extended her right hand.

"Mashka." Marie extended her left. Ivan smiled and shook on it. "Vanya." It was strange, how such a small thing could cause them so much joy. But it wasn't unpleasant at all.


Several months after the announcement of the Russo-Japanese war.

Ivan shakily inhaled and tried to reign in his anger in front of the children. He was in a spacious room filled with books, and filled with the royal family and court.

"I told you that the war was hopeless Nikolai. You refused to listen to neither your court, nor me. And now you want me to fix your mess?" Ivan's voice was light, but his purple aura was threatening to overtake the room.

Nikolai sat at a table with his wife and children next to him, and his court officials behind him. "As a nation, you must serve your country, and your Tsar. It's your duty to help us." He said evenly.

Ivan gave a sharp bark of laughter and drummed his fingers on his desk. Duty? It was only in front of this other ministers that he put on such bravado.

"My duty? I have no such duties. I have helped the Romonavs since the first ruled over this country. I will represent our interests in European meetings, and continue to help the impoverish citizens of Petersburg. In the past I have even disposed those who threatened your lineage.

"Perhaps you skimmed over the policies your late grandfather passed in conjunction with the other nations- but us nations and our rulers formed an agreement that we would no longer directly participate in fighting."

Nikolai sighed and leaned back in his chair, "And why? You nations have fought alongside our people for centuries. Why the sudden change of heart?" He challenged. They needed to send him over to the warfront to repel the Japanese from their shores. But now the nation decided to be stubborn?

Ivan scoffed and crossed his arms at the obstinacy of Nikolai on this matter. "Times have changed Nikolai. Back then it was necessary for our peoples' survival. The war now is nothing but skirmishes of boundaries. Back then we fought with our rulers, but now we've decided not to fight for them.

"The kingdoms you humans built must last with as little help from us as possible." Ivan spoke as if he was trying to explain how the world worked to a child. Because in his eyes, that's what all of these debating humans were.

"Ivan, you have no say in this. You have to go to the warfront, tonight." Nikolai's tone left no room for argument. Ivan gripped the wooden table with silent anger, and bid his smile not to give out.

"I have every say in this. Request for a treaty Nikolai." His voice became frigid, and the room's temperature dropped a few degrees.

The Tsar became ruffled and glared at Ivan, "Do you dare challenge my authority? My power?" He raised his voice, and a few of the guards at the door bristled. Ivan slammed the table and abruptly stood from his seat.

"Do you dare challenge the authority your ancestors gave me? Why are you so adamant about sending me? It makes no difference!" Ivan growled. A flash of guilt in some of Nikolai's officials made Ivan realize something, and his rage gave way to his purple aura.

"That's it, know that you will have to sign a treaty. You are just petty, you want me to kill as many of them as possible to save face. Is that right?" Ivan bitterly smiled. It was funny really, how petty humans were.

Ivan didn't give Nikolai a chance to respond, and merely stepped back from the table. "I see, I understand- Tsar. Japan has failed to adhere to our nation's policies, so I could justify my participation." Ivan racked his neck.

"Then why give us such a hard time about it if you already have reason to interject?" One of the ministers cried.

Ivan's smile turned icy, "It is not a reason to interject. It's simply an excuse. I was hoping to be the better nation, however it seems it's not possible." The nation looked at Nikolai's carefully guarded face and shook his head.

"I do this not as a nation bound by duty, but as a longtime friend. Do not ask me of this favor again." Ivan frostily left the room to make preparations to head out.

Ivan balled his hands into fists as he strode along the halls. Just when he thought that mankind had actually advanced, they let him down. He angrily lashed out at an unsuspecting mirror and looked into his cracked reflection. He heaved a great sigh and knelt down to pick up the shattered remains of the mirror.

There wasn't anything Ivan could do. As nations of an advancing human society, they tried to repurpose their lives. Instead of participating in war, they were supposed to make diplomacy. But here he was, off to play the role of a soldier. Just like a dog.

Ivan grimaced and tossed the shards into a trashcan. "You shouldn't go." A voice said from behind.

Ivan instantly recognized it as Tatiana's and slightly bowed his head. "I must. I said I would, so I will." Ivan kissed the back of her hand and moved to leave.

"No! Ivan, don't go!" Maria barreled into his back and clutched onto his jacket.

"Are you going of your own violation? Or is father forcing you? I thought you had more spine than that." Olga caught up with her two younger sisters. Ivan was surprised that they even had the courage to speak to him after his exchange with their father.

"Olya, I believe you know the answer. However I still agreed to go, so I must." Ivan wiped away Maria's tears and tried to detach her from his coat. Maria's blue eyes were puffy and she refused to let him go.

"Don't die, I don't want you to leave. I still have to fix your drawing!" Tatiana and Olga worked together to pry the younger sibling off of Ivan. The Russian closely observed their faces. It didn't seem like their father had sent them.

So had they come by themselves? Ivan entertained the idea for a while and was a bit happy by the notion. Ivan kneeled down to speak to the three girls.

"Olga, take care of your sisters. I will be back, but you need to act a bit more mature." Ivan tucked a strand of chestnut blond hair behind the girl's eyes. He didn't know what possessed him to say goodbye to these children, but in his heart he felt that it was right.

"No! No! No goodbyes! Goodbyes mean that you won't come back!" Maria hiccuped. Ivan cast them all a strange sort of smile and pulled them in for a group hug.

"Now, I will not die. I am very strong, and very scary. No soldier will want to try and make me angry." Ivan joked and pinched Tatiana's solemn cheek.

"I promise I will come back." Ivan assured them and stood back up. All of his previous frustrations were replaced with a foreign feeling. He absently rubbed his chest and ruffled their hair.

"Be good girls." Ivan winked at them before he disappeared into his room.

He rummaged through his things and packed everything he needed in a faded leather backpack. A change of clothes, identification, a pan, some fire steel, a pen and a journal. Ivan equipped a dagger onto his belt and locked all of his drawers before he was ready to leave.

Ivan opened the door and raised an eyebrow, "Girls? Shouldn't you be in your rooms?" He remarked when he saw all three of them loitering around his door.

"We'll see you off. As good luck." Tatiana said a bit sadly. Ivan clicked his tongue in disapproval, but didn't have the heart to tell them to go away. Wherever he went, the three trailed behind him. The female servants giggled when Ivan and his little pack of puppies followed him as he finished up old business.

Finally, he was outside and got into the carriage that was waiting for him.

"VANYA! VANYA!" His carriage door stopped closing halfway and the Russian's head poked out of the black vehicle. There he saw Anastasia being carried by a frantic nurse who was trying to balance the safety of her ears and the safety of the toddler in her arms.

Ivan stepped out of the carriage and nearly dropped Anastasia when she practically jumped into his arms.

"Anastasia, that's dangerous." His reprimand was drowned out by her crying and she desperately clung to her scarf.

"No Vanya. Bad Vanya. Vanya no say goodbye." She hiccupped into his neck.

Ivan gently grabbed the back of her head and kissed her on the forehead. His purple eyes had a new emotion in them and he affectionately wiped the tears off of her face.

"Ah, little one. I'm sorry. Goodbye, Anastasia. I'll see you soon, da?" Ivan gazed into her distressed blue eyes, and was taken by her impossibly sad- but hopeful smile.

"Da, see you soon Vanya." Her voice broke in the middle and she cutely wiped her tears- and snot on his scarf. But Ivan was used to it by now. He handed her back to her nurse, who politely curtsied. Ivan nodded and left in the carriage. The four children watched long after the horses disappeared from sight.

Nikolai watched the entire scene with a mixture of guilt and concern as his wife fretted over their infant son in the cradle. Ivan's departure was accompanied by a symphony of tears from his children.

Their love for the nation was almost disturbing, perhaps he wasn't spending enough time with them? Maybe he needed to decrease the amount of time they spent with Ivan.

Ivan's words of unspoken betrayal rang in the monarch's ears, and he wouldn't be able to silence them until he confronted the nation once again after the war.


The plane touched down onto the runway of the airport and the nations hurried to their taxis. Matthew didn't have to rent a taxi though since he already had his car in the airport parking lot and invited Ivan along with him. The Russian declined at first, but Matthew insisted, and he eventually relented. Ivan tossed his small suitcase into the trunk and placed his briefcase in the back seat.

"Sorry about bringing up the last..." God, how awkward did Matthew feel when he thought about it.

Ivan waved his worries away and buckled his seatbelt. "It's nothing. Just a little friction between Nikolai and me, it was a common occurrence. Thank you for driving me to my hotel." He casually thanked.

Matthew started the engine and backed out of his parking spot, "Not a problem, we're staying at the same hotel anyway." He carefully merged into the city streets and casually steered with one hand. Ivan curiously tilted his head, "Hotel? I thought you had an apartment here?"

"Yeah, but the conference is actually in the hotel. Plus Kumajiki hates going outside in the city."

Ivan looked around the car and his smile broadened, "Speaking of the garbage disposal, where is he?"

Matthew rolled his eyes at Ivan's reference to his precious polar bear, "It's Kumajiga, and he's right here-"

The Canadian his sentence midway and seemed puzzled when they came to a stop light. They continued to drive along to the hotel, until Matthew fully realized that Kumajiro was MIA and slammed on the breaks. The car behind them honked and violently swerved to avoid hitting them, and Ivan lunged to hit the caution lights.

"Oh no, Kuma!"


Sorry for how long these chapters are ^_^" I can't seem to make them shorter. I hope you liked the chapter, you guys are awesome :)

As always, criticism and thoughts about the chapter are always appreciated. Make sure to favorite this story if you liked it and follow it to get regular updates :) Thank you so much for reading!

~Preuss