Chapter 11: Misunderstandings
Word Count: 7,847
Sorry for the delay~ But almost 8K! W00t~ Drama happens. Enjoy.
"Alfred, what are you doing?" Ivan asked curiously, watching the blond, he had been for a long time just to see what the other was up too. He was just...sitting there though, bowel of food in front of him, staring blankly into it. He hadn't seen Alfred with a blank expression before, he'd seen upset, confused, happy, excited, nervous, worried...pretty much every human emotion available had been shown on his husbands face at one point or another.
It would have been amusing how Alfred jumped at the sound of his voice if it wasn't some what worrying. "Oh dude, Ivan, I didn't see you there." Alfred smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
Ivan pursed his lips together a moment before letting them fall back naturally into a small smile as he walked over and sat next to Alfred at the table, glad to not see Toris anywhere. Once he was settled he looked at the other. "What is the matter?"
"Huh? Pfft, nothing, I mean what would make you think that?"
"You are a terrible liar." Ivan sighed.
"Only when I'm not under interrogation."
"Well that is...confusing." Why only then? It would make it easy for a spy or something. Ah, he couldn't question everything the blond did, he'd probably run himself in circles. "You can tell me though, I do not want to see things bothering you."
"That's sweet of you to say." Alfred smiled at him, it seemed light but then became strained. "I guess it is about you...it's just that...ah...England called last night and said that he got a counter spell, something about fairies or maybe stealing from Romania or something. Anyway, to kind of...put you back to normal."
"Oh..." Ivan blinked, not really sure how to feel about that. On one hand he could go back and be with Czar Ivan the III and he did enjoy the time period it was very much, with his great ruler, new land, Lithuania no longer bullying him, no being owned and being his own country. It was just so fun and exciting. But on the other side of things...he wouldn't see Alfred for a very long time. Hundreds of more years probably. "Is it not a good thing?" He asked Alfred, trying to push his own thoughts aside. Sure, Alfred probably wanted future Ivan back...and if Alfred wanted he would go. Just the thought put a hole in his heart.
"Well yeah I guess it is. I mean, England brought up some good points, what with magic always having a negative side affect, which it probably does, I mean it's not as reliable as technology. But it is kind of messing up the whole time space thing I guess and it would be good for you to go back so things that happen now can come true, of course that's probably already shot to hell. And it would be good to have the old Russia back, you know, it the way that having things that are sort of familiar are comforting...in their own way." Alfred said slowly, seeming to struggle with how to put it.
"I see." Ivan said, not quiet sure what 'time space' was, but not caring enough to question it as he looked away. "So, you wish me to go back?"
"Well...I get that it's probably for the best. But fuck, I've always been rash. I get that you're going to have to go back and Russia's going to come back too, and sooner would be better then later."
"I understand, it makes sense, if you like future me better...we barely know each other in my perspective. I suppose you wish for me to get out of the way." Ivan muttered, scratching at the table before he saw warm hands be placed over them. He looked up to the other carefully.
"What? No, it's not like that, I don't want to get rid of you! I kind of want you to stay here longer...just you know hang out for awhile more. I mean I really like you." Ivan blushed, enjoying the words quiet a bit, sure it wasn't much and the other wasn't a poet...but it still made his face heat up and heart act funny, strange warmth filling him. He wished his hands were free so he could hide his blush with his scarf. "I just...know that it's kind of stupid and that you're probably home sick."
"I am what?"
"Um...missing your home."
"I do miss my time. But England can probably do the spell any time, yes? I do not mind staying longer at all. It will not effect the time too much more then it already is, yes?"
"Well yeah, if you miss your time you can go back. I mean, just because I'm being selfish doesn't mean you have to stay."
"Hm, well I can also be selfish." Ivan hummed, leaning forward and kissing Alfred gently, sending a silent thanks that they weren't sitting that far apart. Pulling back while it was still sweet, Ivan's smile softened at Alfred's own expression, that was confused before it turned happy again. There wasn't a big huge grin, it was actually quiet a small smile, but there was this light in his eyes that showed joy.
It didn't take long before Alfred stood up a bit, leaning over and pressing their lips softly together once more before pulling back, smiling. Ivan smiled back, leaning forward again but found a finger against his lips, blinking at the blond. "But, we have to get you some clothes, this time for real." Ivan pouted against the finger but nodded, honestly he saw nothing wrong with his clothes, but he supposed it was abnormal clothes for his time.
"Oh, I had a question about that."
"What?"
"Is it common for woman to walk around almost naked?"
Alfred blinked a couple times before laughing loudly, hanging his head and shaking it, "Oh my god, that was so great."
"Um..." Ivan said hesitantly, not quiet sure what the other was saying.
"I'm sorry. It depends on the country." Alfred said, waving his hand and stepping back again, still chuckling. "But um yeah sometimes."
"Why?"
"Eh, best not to question it. I don't really know why. Just how things are now I guess? Oh oh, is it true about the ankle thing?"
"What?"
"Ah never mind that's more England's thing I think." Alfred said, waving it off. "Come on, let's go."
"So how long do you want to stay? I mean Toris got me more of your currency, cause I hate waiting in line for banks so we don't have to worry about that!"
"Well I was hoping to see some of this world and get to know everybody." Ivan said, thinking a moment, "So...perhaps a year? That is not too long yes?" He had been away from home longer then that before and for less pleasant reasons. But perhaps it was selfish to want to be away from his home country for so long.
"A year huh? Well yeah, that seems good. We'll have to get a lot of clothes but I think it will be good."
"Ah...I do not need too many clothes." Ivan blinked.
"Sure you do. Maybe a months worth? That'll probably be good right?"
"...how much is that?"
"Like a different outfit everyday, including pajama's." Alfred said, raising his eyebrows at Ivan.
"Um...that seems a bit much." Even for a rich country, it was something he only heard that royalty and the most wealthy nations had.
"Nah, it's fine. Might be a bit to carry in one load but I'm sure we can manage."
"Well if you say so, I still think it is a bit too much. Do...do most people have that much?"
"Ah...I'm assuming so, yeah."
Wow...that was shocking to hear. "Okay then I guess." Ivan muttered.
"Okay, so most of these clothes should be around your size, if I'm remembering right...and if this is in the order I'm thinking of."
Ivan looked at the jeans, humming in interest. "What about just like two weeks?"
"Hm?"
"Well it's just a month is a lot of clothes. I would be happy with just a week even."
"Eh, two weeks then, okay?"
Ivan nodded, feeling a bit more comfortable about the amount. Just a months worth was a bit too much to comprehend. "Alright." It was much better.
Alfred chuckled a bit, putting a hand on Ivan's head and ruffling the his hair. Ivan smiled, but shook his head, batting the others hand away. Alfred went back to grabbing a few different of the jeans. "Not that I mind you wearing that...though it kind of looks like a dress."
"It is not!" Ivan huffed. "And I have pants under this! Else I would freeze."
"Still looks like a dress." Alfred grinned at him.
"Only females where dresses."
"Um...well some guys where dresses."
"What?"
"Nothing, you can deal with that culture shock later. Here, let's go try these on." Alfred said, once again walking back to the changing rooms.
"What do you mean men wear dresses? Like actual clothing that are designed for women?" Ivan questioned, following Alfred quickly.
"Ah...yeah. Pretty much."
"Why?" Ivan asked, tilting his head to the side. "Is that...normal now or something?" He wouldn't be too surprised really.
"Well not normal per say, but yeah, it's not uncommon. Some men just dress in woman's clothes. Some are flamers or drag queens, um...those are gay men who sometimes express it through woman clothing or um...some guys just like to wear them or um...some think that if woman can wear jeans, they should be allowed to wear dresses. It's hard to explain. There's many reasons somebody could do it. But...those are the most common I think."
"I did notice some woman wearing pants. But ah...some men are queens?"
"Oh no, not like royalty, not that I know of anyway. It's just...ah...oh here, go in and try these on, sorry I can't remember which one fits."
Ivan nodded, walking inside and closing the door, looking around the small space before sitting down. It was still strange place. Still, he started pulling off his own pants. "So, explain this then." If he kept the blond talking, then he couldn't leave (again). And he really did want this to be explained.
"It's just sort of what they're called now, there's no reason behind it. They're just normal guys, no royalty usually. There are also transvestite which is like really similar, but drag queens are usually gay as far as I've heard it."
"So one is happier about dressing like woman but the others are not?" Ivan questioned, grabbing the first pants, trying them on. Eh, too tight. Throwing them to the side he grabbed another pair.
"Oh right, no, sorry. Gay has a different meaning. Pretty much when somebody is gay means that a guy likes...well other men."
"What?" Ivan asked, looking up at the thin door Alfred was standing on the other side of, "That is acceptable among humans now?"
"Oh...it wasn't where you were?"
"Well...other then the Roman Empire no. I mean...you were not allowed to marry or anything, just during battle it was acceptable...to have such...relationships." Ivan blushed, grabbing another pair of jeans.
"That makes so much sense." Alfred laughed slightly, "Okay well, yeah it's acceptable...somewhat. It depends on where you live. Like I know here in Russia it's still kind of closed views on that. Getting it made so that it's illegal almost. But like my brother, he's pretty open about it, people can even get married there."
"I see...that makes some guess I suppose...it is still a little strange."
"Yeah, it's kind of an issue in my country at the moment as well, mostly just the marriage thing. I mean, they can still sort of get a partnership...but it's not really the same as marriage you know? But yeah, I thought that like back then people didn't really care, I mean...just with you know, meeting you and stuff."
"Yao explained to me that countries could have romantic relations even with other men. It took me awhile to accept that. But it does make sense...I hardly know any females beside my sisters after all."
"Yeah, you got that right. Not very many countries are female. I mean, I'm not complaining too much. All the woman who are countries are usually pretty fucking scary sometimes. I mean, there's your little sister and then Hungry can seriously do some damage if you piss her off. I mean, not that I can't handle anything...but I have this thing against hitting girls y'know? So it's like...difficult."
Ivan opened the door, "These fit the best. Hungary is Female? How strange." He said, handing the pants that had worked, clothed in the familiar ones "You should not have too much resistance just because they are female."
Alfred took the jeans, smiling at Ivan, "Yeah, but I haven't ever been to war with any of them really...so I haven't had to worry about it too much anyway."
"You should still get over that. It could prove harmful." Ivan blinked, not understanding how Alfred would show resistance to a female if they attacked. He knew his sister could do a lot of damage even though she usually was sweet.
"Ah, I'll worry about that." Alfred smirked, "Come on, let's go find some more of these."
"Can I still keep these clothes?" Ivan asked, following Alfred back to the area with clothes.
"Huh? Um...yeah if you want, but I wouldn't suggest walking around with them on."
"That makes sense I suppose. I will wear it around the house then. I am most comfortable in them."
"Yeah, I get that, that's fine." Alfred said, looking at the jeans he was holding before looking at the folded ones, grabbing seemingly random ones to Ivan.
"So tell me, if two men can marry, how do they have children to succeed them?" Ivan questioned, still fascinated with this new discovery.
"Well um...there are a couple ways to do it. But they can have a child of their own. Even if they aren't married sometimes."
"Two men can have a child?"
"Yeah. Usually by adoption, it's really expensive and takes a lot of paperwork now. Ah, I'm assuming you know what adoption is right?" Ivan nodded, he could guess from the context. "Oh good!"
Ivan stared blankly at Alfred awhile. "Did we ever have a child?"
"Huh?" Alfred asked, looking confused. "Oh well...if you look at it a certain way I suppose...kind of? She's a state of mine now, but she used to be a part of you. If that makes sense. You adopted her. A part of her still considers you her motherland."
"I have a little girl." Ivan sniffed, tearing up. "I am a mother!" Alfred stared at Ivan a moment, he really had to stop putting idea's in his head. Last thing he needed was 'become one with Mother Russia' spewing from Ivan's mouth.
"Um...dude, you okay?"
"I am just so happy."
"Um...okay..." Alfred said uncertainly, but Ivan did seem happy. He decided not to question it as he returned his attention to grabbing a shirt, holding it up to Ivan's shoulders. Ivan blinked, looking up at him curiously. "I don't know what size you are in these either."
"Don't I change to see?"
"Eh, this is quicker." Alfred said, putting the shirt back. "What type of shirt do you want though?"
"...one that I can wear?"
"Ha ha. Seriously though."
"It sounds like this is a question to trick me then." Ivan huffed.
"Okay look, there's shirts that have long sleeves, some that cover your neck, some that are short sleeved, and some with like no sleeves basically." Alfred said, pointing at each type of shirt, "And different ones have like different patters and designs and stuff."
"Well, I do not understand the designs of now, but I like the idea of the shirt that has long sleeves and covers my neck."
"But... you already have a scarf to do that."
"One can never have too much on their neck." Ivan nodded, grabbing at the shirt hanging from a strange triangle thing hanging onto a shiny rod thing. He frowned when it did not just pull off.
"Alright, if you want it I guess." Alfred said, pulling it off for him. How is that Alfred could do such acts so simply and easily without showing any effort and no matter what Ivan seemed to do he could never mimic the same actions. "How many do you want?"
"I'll just have those."
"You are going to die of heat."
Ivan laughed, smiling at Alfred, "Oh you are so silly, that is not possible." Cold could kill, but warmth was something very good, it could not possibly kill.
"Yeah it is! Pfft, whatever." Alfred rolled his eyes, "Don't say I didn't warn you when we go somewhere warmer." Then again, if Ivan was too hot he might take off his shirt! Maybe turtle necks wouldn't be such a bad idea then... He pulled them off. "Guess that means you also want jeans huh?"
"I want pants."
"Yeah, same thing really."
"I thought so, but I had to be sure." Ivan nodded, watching as Alfred grabbed several, his arms sufficiently full, but he just went on to buy strange looking undergarments and socks. He was happy when Alfred finally payed for everything, though he wasn't too sure how much it was or the equivalence to his time. He didn't know how the market was really, but his guess was that it was different. It was never the same anyway it seemed. Still, with no way of knowing he was excited to go and do other things. But no, Alfred made him go and get some boots that fit him, which was nice. And then they had to go back to the house to drop off the stuff - and he had to change as well.
Then they could actually go out and do things. And that was exactly how he found himself in his current position. "Ivan, relax a little, haven't you done this before?"
"No! Not like this." Ivan said, squeezing Alfred arm tighter to him, being pulled along behind the blond. "I'm going to fall and freeze to death."
"You aren't going to freeze to death. I told you, the ice is really thick, just trust me alright?"
Ivan sighed. "I do not see the fun in this. Who would flail around on ice for fun?"
"Honestly, hearing you say this is just like... mind boggling." Ivan pouted slightly and looked back at his feet that had 'ice skates' apparently to help people who wished to die. Who would want to go across ice for fun? Sure, he had gone across ice, he'd fished through it, walked/slid over it, and traveled over it on a sled. But it was dangerous and many people had died through the ice.
"Why would anybody do this? I do not understand. I could die." Ivan muttered, not letting go even as the blond stopped and turned, taking his arms off. Ivan started panicking a moment.
"Calm down, I'm not going to let you go." Alfred smiled, holding both his hands in his, "Just calm down, you are not going die, just keep your feet straight a bit okay?" Alfred smiled, "I can't believe I am teaching you how to ice skate. Your older self loves it, so I guess I just assumed you would know about it. I forgot you are from the dark ages or something." The blond chuckled, starting to skate backwards, leading Ivan across the ice.
"Ah! No, how are you doing that? You will crash."
"People will get out of the way, don't worry. I have done this before, it will be fine." Ivan still felt very anxious about the whole thing, but let Alfred pull him along. He did notice that there was a lot of children, but there were also people who were older then them. Still, only the very small children seemed to be having problems which made him very self-conscious that he was being pulled by his lover unless he fell. But it did prove that Alfred wasn't lying when he had said that it was a common thing to do now.
"H-how did you learn this?" He wanted to know how anybody would think of doing this and then learning it.
"Well you were the first to start teaching me."
"I did?" Ivan blinked in confusion, "I will become good enough to teach others?"
"Ivan, you will become god-like at this, and I am not even kidding."
Ivan smiled at that, "Well then... I guess for now it is not so bad to learn then." He muttered, and he was feeling better since he wasn't falling at all. He looked down and moved his feet a bit, smiling when he was still pulled by Alfred, who continued to skate backwards. He looked at Alfred's feet and how they moved. Moving his foot up he slid it back on the ice. He felt unsteady, but Alfred's grip kept him straight. He kept at it until he felt somewhat steady about it, smiling, "I think I am starting to get it. I still do not know why anybody would think of this suicide, but it is nice." It really was, it gave some sort of thrill, he doubted he would have a different reaction if he started being able to walk on air.
Of course then Alfred let go. "Ah! No, I did not mean for you to let go!" Ivan panicked, feeling the ground give out under him as he flailed. Thankfully, he felt Alfred catch him from behind, slowly setting him right.
"Hey, I won't let you fall, okay? Don't freak out or you will fall, okay?" Alfred once again let him ago. Ivan stood there a moment, careful not to move but he sighed out, still feeling Alfred's presence close to him. Well the other had caught him just then so there seemed to be truth in Alfred's words. The real reason he moved though was because just standing still made him very unbalanced. At least he sort of knew how to move forward thanks to Alfred, it was still unsteady, but at least he was actually moving on his own.
And in a couple of minutes he had gotten it enough not to be falling over himself. It was easy then, to move along it, even going backwards really wasn't as hard as he had originally been thinking. Though after a little he did notice he didn't know something. Grabbing the edge of the 'rink' he smiled up at Alfred, "This is fun! But how do you stop?"
"Ah it's much more fun seeing you run into things." Alfred teased, smiling. Ivan shook his head, looking around.
"Why are so many people getting off?" There was still another couple and a few children, but that was about it.
"They are going to smooth the ice out soon."
Ivan tilted his head curiously, wondering what Alfred meant by that, but his attention was drawn to a small girl who was doing... well it was like a fast spin but she was bent over in a very flexible way, "What is she doing?"
"Oh, looks like she's a figure skater. They do a lot of tricks on the ice. It's a sport actually. I got us hockey skates though, which aren't made to do that so don't... try it."
"I was not planning on it. I still almost fall while just moving normally." Ivan smiled, "But that would be nice to learn."
"Believe me, you'll learn it." Alfred smiled before his eyes lit up. "Hey, let's race!"
"What? Race? You mean on the ice?"
"Yeah, we'll go around it and see who's faster."
"I am still new at this... but I think I can still beat you."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes." No, not really, Ivan was sure he would lose, but it sounded fun and he hadn't actually fallen over for a good while now, he was confident that he could go around the ice at a fast pace without any problems.
"Alright, I will count to three and after that, when I say go we start, ready?" Ivan nodded, letting go of the railing as Alfred stood next to him. Most the people were in the middle. They probably wouldn't run into anybody. "Alright... One, two, three... go." As soon as Alfred said go they were both off. Much to Ivan's glee even halfway around they were still neck in neck. Maybe he could win then! He bent more as he moved, finding that helped to make him go faster and get ahead of Alfred just slightly. Ivan felt a slight tugging on his scarf and moved in front of Alfred. The pulling stopped thankfully and he made it to the end. Alfred must have fallen pretty far behind.
Grabbing onto the edge to yank himself to a stop - not very pleasant, he would need to learn how to stop other then this. Looking back he started laughing when he saw Alfred was getting up. The blond sent him a scowl before slowly skating over to him. "It is not funny! That hurt!" Alfred pouted, rubbing his hands together that he had caught himself on. "I don't laugh when you're having trouble!"
"I-I'm sorry, it is just so funny." Ivan chuckled, but let his laughter die as the blond kept pouting. "Come now, it is not so bad, yes?"
"Like hell! It's your fault for moving in front of me! I had to come to a stop so I wouldn't run into you! So this didn't count."
Ivan huffed, "You pulled at my scarf as soon as I started getting ahead of you! You are a dishonorable opponent."
"What? No I'm not!"
"You are just upset that I won and you have been doing this skating thing longer then I have! And I did win."
"No you didn't! I told you, the only reason you won was because I didn't want to hurt you."
"Fine. If that is what you want to believe." Ivan glared before skating away from Alfred to the other side of the circle. If Alfred wanted to be childish, he could be alone in that department. Ivan wasn't going to talk to him while he was being this stubborn. It had only been a game. Ivan made what Alfred had called 'figure-8's' in the ice, small ones of course so that he wouldn't get close to Alfred, not that he looked towards the blond. Still, it had become less fun without somebody he knew to enjoy it with. He didn't stop the mindless pattern before he felt somebody tap his shoulder he looked up to see Alfred. He instantly glared.
"We have to go, they have to re-make the ice."
Ivan crossed his arms and looked away. "I do not care for your magics. I do now want to leave."
"We can come back later."
"I am not moving." Alfred sighed in annoyance before grabbing Ivan around the waist and dragging the other off the ice. "No! Let go! I hope you are eaten alive by some large demon!"
"Stop it, you are acting like a child."
"You are the one being childish by trying to trip me up and blaming me for your betrayal! All because you wanted to win a friendly game."
"I didn't try to trip you up!"
"Liar! I felt you pull on my scarf, you were going to make me fall! You got what you deserved! God chose a good punishment for you!" Alfred let him go once they were at long wooden rows where people sat. Ivan sat down there since he couldn't stand on normal ground with the strange shoes and Alfred had let him go. Honestly he was tempted to just crawl back onto the ice, but he had to act dignified with his future people about. He forcefully pulled his feet out of his shoes, putting them aside and pulling on a pair of boots they had bought earlier. He didn't want Alfred helping him with anything. "I do not need your help either! With anything!"
"You are so childish sometimes." Alfred muttered as he started changing out his own shoes. Ivan glared, sure it had something to do with him before tightening his scarf and standing up. Alfred stood up once he was done and walked outside the place after returning the borrowed skates. They went to the car that Alfred had been using recently. The blond walked over to the other side of the car he usually got in, Ivan stared at his side of the demon blankly. There was the joint that made it open itself to the world, but he was sure he wasn't suppose to tear it out... so how did he do this? "Still say you don't need my help? Come on Ivan, you can't even open the door."
"I do not need your help!" Ivan snapped, looking back at the demon, "I can walk back." He decided out loud, turning in a random direction that he thought would be the way and starting to walk.
"Damn it Ivan, you can't walk! It's over a mile away through a city you have never been in."
Ivan had no idea how much a mile was... hopefully not too far... it sounded intimidating the way Alfred used it. "I do not care!"
"Ivan, don't make me kidnap you because I will."
"I have no idea what that word means, but try anything against me and I will hurt you." Despite his words he found that he was once again grabbed by the waist, except this time the ground left his feet. He growled and instantly started flailing. His strength seemed to have no effect what-so-ever on Alfred before he was forced into the demon and the exit closed. Instantly curling up in the seat and glaring at the blond who walked back around and got in the drivers side. "I hate your stupid demons." Ivan instantly snapped. "And I am not talking to you until you stop acting so childish!"
"You are the one acting childish!"
"I am not." Ivan sneered at the word.
"Makes sense though, considering that you look younger and you already acted like a child in this time."
Ivan stiffened when the demon started growling, what if it ate him because it knew it's master was angry at him? He didn't want that. Though he wasn't about to apologize to save himself either. Though he did let the argument lull for the time being. It was deathly silent as the demon brought them back to his future house. He was relieved when Alfred did actually let him out of the car. He stepped out carefully as Alfred closed it. "I am still angry at you."
"Why won't you just drop this?" Alfred groaned out before walking towards the house. Not wanting to be left outside at the mercy of Winter, Ivan followed.
"Because you nearly caused me harm on purpose and then lied about it just because you wanted to win a game! Why would I not be upset?"
"It is not that big of a deal!" The blond said, opening the door to the house. Ivan stepped inside and closed it himself.
"I am still angry at you."
"If you're that angry then I can just go back to America and you can spend time with your sister, I'm sure she'd take care of you."
Ivan hadn't even noticed that he had slipped the silver weapon - the one he had found in his older self's clothes - into his hand before he was swinging it to hit Alfred right in the back of the head. There was a dull unpleasent sound and then Ivan's eye's widened, knowing instantly that had been a very bad move. He didn't want to hurt the idiot. He brought the weapon back, holding it close. There was some fresh blood on it, it seemed that this had an effect on Alfred.
The blond had turned around to face him. Honestly Ivan hadn't seen the other angry before but he knew that was what he was faced with. He took a slight step back. It might be the knowledge that he had a disadvantage of strength in this world but he was suddenly very afraid of Alfred. The blond stepped up to him, face darkened and his entire being radiating anger and power. It honestly reminded Ivan of Mongolia which did not help his fear. He didn't dare even move as Alfred stood right in front of him.
"Alfred!" Toris's voice snapped the blond's attention away from Ivan, who had never felt more grateful towards the brunette before that moment. Alfred didn't move for a long moment before he just walked out of the room and up the stairs without a word. Once he was out of sight Ivan leaned against the wall, shaking slightly. How could the smiling cheerful blond cause him so much fear? They were suppose to be married and Ivan had just hurt Alfred with the same strength it took to kill a human. That was enough grounds to break up any marriage between countries. He didn't want that though, sure he was angry at Alfred, but he liked the blond far too much to even think about doing that.
Toris was next to him soon, "Mr. Russia, are you alright?" Ivan nodded wordlessly, putting the pipe back in his coat shakily. He noticed that somebody else was there, looking up he nodded his head slightly in respect towards his future boss, who looked very displeased. Ivan slowly stood up without any support, starting to mess with his scarf. How was he going to fix everything with Alfred? His boss said something, not that Ivan really caught what he said. He left right after though and when Ivan looked up Toris looked troubled as well.
"W-What did he say?" Ivan asked quietly. It was his duty to know what his boss's wanted, future or otherwise.
"Well he came over to inform you that there will be a meeting in a few days, taking place here in Moscow, but other countries wish to meet you." Ivan nodded, "And he said his worry for what would happen to the country if it went to war with America."
"It will not happen... will it?"
"I do not know, Mr. America can be very forgiving in many things, but he seems to take any attacks towards him very personally. So I would think that he would."
"Excuse me." Ivan muttered before going down to the stairs that still had the light on. He didn't know why he wanted to go down there since it was so cold, but he did and crawled in between the boxes so that anybody who would try and find him wouldn't be able to. While he wasn't as small as he used to be, he was still good at hiding when he didn't want to be found. He buried his face completely into his scarf, feeling tears prick his eyes. This was not what he wanted.
Alfred hissed angrily. "Sorry." Toris muttered as he finished with helping the blond with the small head wound on the back of blond hair. There was quite a bit of blood, but head wounds did bleed a lot. "Would you like anything for dinner?"
"Does it matter? Do whatever Ivan wants. I should probably get ready to leave anyway. It was a mistake to think we could get along. Even when he doesn't even fucking remember anything. We still end up like this."
"Perhaps. You are both bad at overcoming miscommunications. But I do not think Mr. Russia will be joining us for dinner so you may as well request something you want."
"Why's that?" Alfred muttered as Toris stood up.
"The last I saw Mr. Russia was after I gave him the news that you may declare war on him."
"Yeah, I saw his boss was here. Perfect timing if I ever saw it." Alfred muttered, running a hand through his hair before wincing. "Guess he'll be avoiding me from now on huh? Better reason to leave... but his clothes are still in here."
"Well if you wish to give them to him you may. Or I could if you want, I will understand. I did see him run into the basement close to tears earlier."
Alfred paused for a moment, standing up to pick up one of the shirts laying on the ground. He sighed quietly after a bit. "No... I'll give it to him. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear I'm not going to declare war. I get that he's not used to this age and customs. Though I'm going to get a lot of shit from my boss for this." He would be finding out thanks to Ivan's boss. Rubbing the back of his neck he heard Toris walk out. Alfred hesitated a moment before putting the clothes down and going downstairs, looking around a moment before finding the open door leading down. Toris certainly was a sly one, pretending his main interest was finding out what to make for dinner. But in the end he never did get that answer. Because his main goal had been to see him and Ivan to make up. Matthew was similar in ways.
Though he highly doubted that Ivan was in tears. The man had a heart of stone.
Ivan stayed laying there on his back, staring at the ceiling that had cobwebs, boxes piled around him. He rubbed at his cheek. It was still very cold down here and the few tears that had escaped through his defenses. He wanted to go upstairs where it was warmer, but he didn't really want to see anything living at the moment. Feeling depressed did that to him. Sighing out, he traced the small little cracks along the roof above him. Though soon the ceiling was no longer what he was looking at but a bright head of blond hair and blue eyes. Ivan stiffened up instantly, though not moving for awhile. Silence went on between them before Ivan spoke. "How did you find me?"
"I heard you."
"I did not hear you."
"I can be quiet sometimes."
There was another long silence. "You are going to kill me now...?"
Alfred gave a half-smile before shaking his head, "No. I'm not going to go to war against you either." He said, reaching his hand down. Ivan hesitated before accepting the hand, letting the other pull him up.
"I... am sorry about hitting you." Ivan muttered as Alfred let go of his hand. Ivan moved out of the boxes surrounding him. "I was not thinking when I did. Even if you deserved it a little."
"What?" Alfred growled.
"No, I mean... I do not want to fight again. But you were not being as nice as you usually are."
"Us having a disagreement is no reason to hurt me!"
"I did not mean to hurt you. I was just reacting! You were going to give me to my sister even though you know how bad that is!"
"I didn't mean Natalia, I meant your older sister. She's a lot nicer and probably wouldn't be affected at all by how you look different."
Ivan blinked a couple times. "You... did not mean Natalia?"
"No, I'm not that evil." Alfred muttered, crossing his arms and looking away.
"Oh... I-I see." Ivan said, looking down and playing with his scarf as his vision started getting blurred again.
"Why are you crying?"
"I am not..." He muttered, rubbing at his eyes to get ride of the tears. "I am just not used to... you do such terrible things to me."
"Says the one who hit me." Alfred sighed out, Ivan didn't respond but soon he felt arms wrap around him. Ivan buried his head into the others chest, hands moving to tighten into Alfred's jacket. He felt a hand running through his hair. "Don't cry. It doesn't seem right."
"I cannot help it. I am such an idiot. I hurt you for nothing it turns out and you will probably break off our relationship because I did not think. You are the nicest and brightest person I have met and I do not want to lose you yet. I have never trusted anybody as much as I do you and I just feel so stupid, you scared me so much when you were angry. It only adds to the confusion of what I think of you."
"Don't say that. You're not suppose to fear me. Not ever."
"I do though, and it makes me realize how stupid it is to trust so easily."
"Hey come on," Alfred moved and cupped Ivan's face, forcing him to look at him. "I know we had a fight, but I wouldn't have hurt you in any way. So don't be afraid of me. Please." At least Ivan's tears had once again dried, he didn't ever shed very many. The feeling of betrayal was something he hadn't felt in a long long time, mostly because he didn't trust anybody. He didn't say anything to Alfred though. "You could always see my darker sides so easily." Alfred muttered bitterly to himself, "Come on, there's got to be something I can do to show you don't have to fear me right?" He smiled at the Ivan.
The shorter shook his head. "How can I? If you betray me in something as simple as a game how can I trust you in more serious things?"
"Seriously Ivan? This again?" Alfred growled.
"Well how can I? Answer me that!"
"I didn't even try to slip you up okay? I was starting to slip and tried to grab something. When I realized that it was your scarf I let it go so I didn't take you down with me!"
Ivan was silent for a moment. "Are you serious Alfred? Why did you not just say that to begin with?"
"Well I was pretty pissed off you were laughing at me." Alfred pouted.
"This whole mess could have been avoided!"
"I know, I know, I'm an idiot."
"Yes you are."
"Hey!"
"But I am too so I suppose I can forgive you."
Alfred smiled, bumping his forehead against Ivan's. "So... we forget this whole mess?"
Ivan nodded. "Yes. And next time I laugh at you just assume I am happy for you."
"I'll try. Come on, Toris is making something or another I think."
"Oh wait, he said that there would be a meeting here for me to meet some of the other nations now in a few days."
"Probably not a world meeting on such short notice. They only rush the more important ones for that sort of thing." Alfred said, rolling his eyes. "Well my boss will probably be calling me tomorrow morning with a couple things to talk about. But we'll worry about that later, alright?"
"Yes. I am hungry now though. You are not still angry?"
"Nope. And don't worry about making me angry, that's really hard to do. Of course... you did attack me."
"I said sorry. Now move past it like you promised!"
"You were the one to bring it up." Alfred chuckled before kissing Ivan's pouting lips. "Come on, lets see what Toris decided to make."
"Okay, I will meet you soon." Alfred tilted his head before nodding and letting go of Ivan and walking up the stairs, glancing back a couple times. Ivan sat down and pulled the book out of his jacket that he had neglected to read in advance, he regretted that now. It may or may not have helped avoid all of that. Sitting down he flipped through the page, skipping the entry meant for today since it held no new information. But he would be sure to continue reading from now on!
The next few days were pretty relaxing, nothing happened though. We went ice skating again! But after we made up from the fight we went back to normal after that. It was very relieving and enjoyable. I should look out for misunderstandings from now on. You can go ahead and read further ahead if you want. I apologize in advance, but I cannot warn you anymore about what is going to happen. I do not understand half of what happened myself, and the other half I do not wish to remember, even in warning, but I will tell you to stay away from
Damn this burning! He made a mental note to himself to never burn this book. The true reason behind why it was burned still a mystery to him, but nothing was worth it. He hesitated a moment before flipping to the next page, it was blank. In fact, the entire rest of the book was completely blank. He frowned, closing it. So that was it? Putting the book in the box he had found it he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread overcome him. Even if nothing was written and he was not unused to the future being a complete mystery he could not shake the feeling. He just hoped it didn't have anything to do with losing Alfred.
