For those who are actually reading this fic, sorry for the long wait! DX On the other hand, thanks for sticking around and reading this!
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Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Hetalia.
Chapter 4: Who are you and what are you doing here?!
"M-M-M-MADELINE BROUGHT HOME A G-G-G-G-GUY?! Il ne peut pas être vrai!"
"…" As much as Ivan wanted to say something back, whether to assure the crazy Frenchman that his daughter wasn't in any danger of him trying to form a relationship with her or if he just wanted to shut the man up, Ivan was doing his best to continue calmly sipping his tea.
"It isn't as good as мой старший сестра, but it's still a pretty good hot drink. Now if only my arms could warm back up…And as much as I don't want to be intruding on Maddie or her сумасшедший father, maybe I should try and start up that fire."
Just as Ivan was starting to move to put his tea down on the little coffee table and was trying to get up off the comfortable loveseat, Maddie came back in, looking almost as white as Kumajiro. If not for her red and white scarf, she probably would have ended up blending in with the white blizzard outside. Snow was sticking to her soft wavy hair, her glasses, her scarf- snow was sticking to her all over. And while she would have been a bit warmer with a jacket or gloves on, she needed to be able to quickly grasp the grocery bags, and bulky winter gloves wouldn't let her do that. Putting the jacket on would have let more snow blow into her father's car's trunk and onto the perishable items.
So with slightly trembling fingers, Maddie made it to the kitchen countertop quickly enough and raced back out, not wanting to completely track snow all over the place. And with her entrance and exit through the kitchen door, Francis was snapped out of his state of shock and momentarily put his shock at the back of his mind, deciding to focus solely on getting the food put away.
A minute later and Maddie was back in the house with another armful of bags; two minutes later and those bags were emptied and put away. After another five minutes, all the bags of food were in the house and Maddie was starting on the fire. Although her movements were shaky and slightly off due to the frigidness of the outdoors, she was still able to get the fire started in the brick fireplace, setting the safety cover in front she let herself sit down and enjoy the warmth of the starting fire.
"Oh, il est vraiment à la recherche d'un hiver rigoureux cette année, eh papa?"
"Vous avez raison, ma petite crêpe. Eh bien, je l'ai déjà commencé à travailler sur un ragoût et quelques petits pains faits maison. Bien sûr, je peux en faire une soupe et ai fait quelque chose d'autre si vous le souhaitez?"
"Ah, ce est très bien papa! Votre ragoût est délicieux, et honnêtement qui sonne comme le repas parfait pour le dîner de ce soir. Je vais faire la salade?"
"Mais bien sûr! Vous êtes mon aide, après tout. Et tandis que je ne faire assez pour notre invité ... ... euh, vous deux n'êtes pas amoureuse, droit?! "
"EH?! Papa! Je peux vous assurer qu'il est juste un client! Eh bien, il est un invité pour le moment, mais qui est tout simplement parce que ce serait cruel de lui envoyer dans ce temps."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Francis let a soft smile decorate his face as he set about getting the bread rolls ready. They wouldn't be completely ready until sometime between lunch and dinner, so they would be used for dinner and perhaps tomorrow afternoon.
"I'll probably be making something different for lunch tomorrow. I'm not so sure that this stew will be enough for all of us if we want seconds…" and knowing his daughter and Kumajiro, not to mention himself, seconds would be greatly appreciated.
"Madeline!"
"Yes papa?"
"Would you mind helping me cut up the rest of the ingredients please? Or do you need to warm up a bit more?"
"…I'll help."
Smiling to herself, Maddie took another sip of her slightly cooled tea before getting up off the carpeted floor and, after sending a quick glance towards Ivan who looked like he was close to snoozing, joined her father in their kitchen.
"Do you think it'll be ready by dinner time, papa?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Oui, I know it will and the rolls should be ready by then as well. As for lunch, I'll make us all a quick soup. But first, I need to get the stew cooking! Now! Please dice those vegetables and once you're done with that, start cubing the meat please."
"Oui papa."
And so the father-daughter duo prepared their meals for lunch and supper, all the while helping Ivan doze off since Maddie had a rather soft, pleasant voice to listen to while her father had a deep, rumbling voice that wasn't hard on the ears either. Put that together with the smells of cooking coming from the kitchen and the little sounds of knives on a cutting board or water being put into a pot, Ivan didn't notice as Kumajiro found his way up on the loveseat on Ivan's lap, deciding that would be a nice place to snooze for a while- at least until food was ready.
An hour later and Ivan was woken up by the smell of food. Blinking the sleep away from his eyes, he stretched a bit, letting his back and shoulders pop before letting out a satisfied grunt. Looking down at his lap, he saw that the polar bear from before… "Kumajiro?" was on his lap still snoozing.
Letting a quiet chuckle slip out, Ivan was about to gently move the bear from off of him before Maddie came into the living room, a soft smile on her face.
"Kuma, the food is ready," and instantly the bear was off of Ivan and racing towards the kitchen.
"Ivan, I hope you don't mind eating vichyssoise. My papa is very good at making it, and it warms the body right up. Ah, um, i-i-if you need to, the t-t-t-t-toilet is rightdownthehallonyourleft!Whenyou'redonepleasecomeandjoinusinthekitchen!" and with that Maddie ran back into the kitchen, her face a flaming red.
Ivan would have laughed out loud at how funny it was, but at the mention of the toilet, he was quick to get up and make his way down the hall. Once his business was finished, he joined them as Maddie had asked of him in the kitchen.
Now with only three people sitting at a table, no matter where you sit you will still be sitting next to everyone else. Francis was slightly upset about this since it meant that no matter how hard he tried to rearrange the seats, Ivan would still somehow wind up sitting next to his daughter. Sure, he'd also be sitting next to Francis, but Francis couldn't block him off from his daughter!
"Argh! Darn cette table ronde! Je devrais avoir obtenu un carré d'un lieu ... maintenant mon pauvre Madeline est assis juste à côté de cet étranger!"
Maddie didn't mind it too much- she was still a little embarrassed though that she had offered to a grown man the right to use the toilet…Even if it's in her own home and she has that authority, it doesn't make it any less awkward when the man you're talking to looks somewhat amused by the fact that you need to instruct him where to go.
When Ivan sat down at the table, both Francis and Maddie jumped a little. For Francis, it was because the bowls of soup were rattled a little. For Maddie, it was because not only did she realize that Ivan was a tad larger than their table, but also because since he was well built, they were practically brushing shoulders every time one of them took a breath.
After doing their pre-meal rituals of sorts, they each dug into the delicious looking soup. Maddie was savoring the warmth and deliciousness of the meal while her father enjoyed the look of bliss on her face. Ivan enjoyed the familial feeling that was practically radiating off of the soup, and when he finally took his first spoonful, his taste buds did a little happy dance. Kumajiro was enjoying his serving of soup as well, just on the floor.
In seemingly no time at all the meal was done and the soup was finished off. The smell of bread baking was wafting through the entire room, and Ivan had to admit that he couldn't wait to taste the rolls if they tasted just as nicely as they smelled. Maddie was quick to reassure him and Francis let a little laugh escape his lips at how his daughter wanted to make sure that any and all negative thoughts of his cooking were quickly dispelled.
A few hours later of quietly watching the news for weather updates, and switching between Discovery channel and the History channel, mixed with some extra quiet time for reading and the little group was sitting at the dinner table once more, eager to feast on Francis' stew and homemade bread rolls. To top it off, Maddie made everyone a cup of hot chocolate as they all sat down to watch the latest hockey game.
Ivan was surprised to see the soft-spoken Canadian getting all riled up by the game, and Maddie was also surprised to see the strong yet quiet Russian getting riled up over a hockey game.
"At least he/she has good taste," they both thought while letting the game keep them captivated.
Five missed goals and three points later and Francis put his foot down. It was time to head off to bed and get snuggled under the blankets. It was also time to ready the pullout couch so that Ivan could sleep somewhere for the night. While Francis was wary about letting a stranger stay at their home, he couldn't deny a fellow human warmth and shelter from the frigid weather outside. There was that, but there was also the undeniable fact that his daughter had opened up to the stranger, if only a little and if only because of hockey.
"Perhaps this is a good encounter for Madeline…well, I'd better go to sleep soon if I want to wake up in time to see her making her pancakes!" and with that last thought, Francis Bonnefoy headed up the stairs to his own room for the night.
Translations: All translations, except for those pointed out, are in French!
Il ne peut pas être vrai! = It can't be true!
мой старший сестра = my older sister's (Russian)
сумасшедший = crazy (Russian)
Oh, il est vraiment à la recherche d'un hiver rigoureux cette année , eh papa? = Oh dear, it really is looking to be a harsh winter this year, eh papa?
Vous avez raison , ma petite crêpe. Eh bien, je l'ai déjà commencé à travailler sur un ragoût et quelques petits pains faits maison . Bien sûr, je peux en faire une soupe et ai fait quelque chose d'autre si vous le souhaitez? = You're right, my little pancake. Well, I've already started working on a stew and some homemade bread rolls. Of course, I can make it into a soup and have something else made if you'd like?
Ah, ce est très bien papa! Votre ragoût est délicieux, et honnêtement qui sonne comme le repas parfait pour le dîner de ce soir. Je vais faire la salade? = Ah, that's just fine papa! Your stew is delicious, and honestly that sounds like the perfect meal for dinner tonight. I'll make the salad?
Mais bien sûr! Vous êtes mon aide, après tout. Et tandis que je ne faire assez pour notre invité ... ... euh, vous deux n'êtes pas amoureuse, droit?! = But of course! You are my helper, after all. And while I did bring enough for our…guest…uh, you two aren't romantically involved, right?!
Je peux vous assurer qu'il est juste un client! Eh bien, il est un invité pour le moment, mais qui est tout simplement parce que ce serait cruel de lui envoyer dans ce temps. = I can assure you he's just a customer! Well, he's a guest for now but that's simply because it'd be cruel to send him out in this weather.
Oui = Yes
Argh! Darn cette table ronde! Je devrais avoir obtenu un carré d'un lieu ... maintenant mon pauvre Madeline est assis juste à côté de cet étranger!= Argh! Darn this round table! I should have gotten a square one instead…now my poor Madeline is sitting right next to this stranger!
YAY! :3 I updated it…hehehe, that makes me happy. :3 For those of you who have been waiting for it, here it is! For those of you who couldn't care less…uh, here it is and I hope it entertained you for a bit. Sorry if the translations were slightly off! Please review!
