Hello! We are Cat and Bee from RusCanWonderland on Tumblr.
Disclaimers, Notes & Warnings:
We do not own Hetalia or any characters within.
Warnings: Witchcraft, Tarots, death, mild body horror, implied witch trials
Notes: This is mostly for us warping the perception of religious society. In this story witches have been part of polite society for centuries and certain Christian denominations of the church, instead of condemning them, protect them. Based loosely off of Practical Magic.
The head council of the Coven was alerted immediately to the idea that their recently appointed acolyte had fallen into an infatuation with one of the eldest fledglings under Arthur's care. With careful, but gentle blessing, the Coven agreed to allow the courtship of the two to continue forward, but underneath the traditions of the witches.
"A house will be appointed to you," the eldest witch explained, her long gray hair slung over her shoulder in a loose braid. "And in this house, you and your witch will be granted access to do whatever you want. You may paint it, you may build, you may reshape and reconfigure, but you may not live anywhere else but with each other. Though the winter, you will learn to care for your witch and learn how your witch cares for you,…. you will fall madly in love or discover the error of your ways. By the first days of spring if you are truly meant to be, the council and the priest will personally bless the union…and you may decide if you are truly ready to bond with a witch."
With the gentle but firm words of the elder, Arthur had taken it upon himself to personally escort Matthew to the front of the cottage where he left him in the hands of the pending acolyte. "May you live in understanding and walk with each others hearts," the older witch told them, an almost worrisome look on his face as he kissed Matthew's forehead.
Matthew drew Ivan's arm to his side and together they moved through the empty garden to inside the tiny home. A small kitchen and dining nook, a living area that fit a fireplace and two chairs, a bedroom and a tiny closet bathroom were all that was inside. If two in love could not make it living together side by side, it showed not only to themselves, but to the rest of the Coven that their souls would never survive as one.
For a few weeks, both witch and acolyte gathered food together and worked to make sure that just in case of an overnight snowstorm they were prepared. But none such phenomenon affected the village; and as the nights grew colder, the two only proved to get closer.
Gather the handle of a wooden bucket into his palms, Matthew lifted it out of the linoleum sink and moved to the front door. Most of the other witches had retired for the evening, but the street lanterns burned bright and warm, making Matthew's understandable fear of the dark lessen. He dumped the contents, a mixture of spice and herb that he hoped would preserve the land should it freeze, over a patch of greenery that he felt certain were useful plants. Bageshri meowed at his feet before hurrying inside to curl up beside the warm fire, her black fur slightly damp from the low hanging mist surrounding the area.
Matthew sighed, breath evident in a gentle puff in the cold air, as he stepped off of thee front porch and drew his cloak around his arms. It was longer than his usual fledgling cloak, but it was cold, and the velvety piece provided encasing warmth that Matthew adored. Head tilting up towards the stars, the blonde couldn't help but smile at how beautiful the night was, enchanting and mysterious.
Ivan approached just as he saw Matthew gazing at the stars, smiling as he hoisted a bundle of timber down from his shoulders, leaning forward to nuzzle his nose and lips against Matthew's own in a gentle kiss. He loved Matthew, and it was obvious despite his shyness and undoubtedly naive nature. He knew that he loved Matthew and he doubted that love would do anything but grow. He was uncertain of what a bonding was, but certainly later he would find out. The human paused as he pulled back slowly, recalling the gift he had purchased Matthew which now rested heavy in his pocket.
It was not unusual for witches to have technology, it was simply that their lives didn't revolve around it the same way that humans tended to. Ivan himself had a general dislike for most things that made unnecessary noise and trouble, such as phones and laptops. But they had their uses and so in the kitchen Ivan had essentially given Matthew his own laptop, as the blonde tended to look up things more than he would. Ivan would email his sisters daily, as Natalia enjoyed smashing out messages to her big brother and Katyushka worried constantly.
In the last two weeks of living with Matthew, Ivan had noticed that the blonde had wistfully been looking at the Apple website, browsing through ipods and pursing his lips in want. Ivan smiled as he pulled back from the blonde, leading him inside and depositing the bundle of timber before the fireplace before he turned to Matthew and smiled. "I went by the post today." He murmured, reaching into his coat pocket and removing the small brown wrapped box. "I got this for you."
"You spoil me so," Matthew breathed, collecting the box into his hands. "What is it?"
The bear that Ivan had given Matthew had been faithfully stationed on the sill of the window in the bedroom they now shared. Sometimes, the blonde would cuddle the soft toy, but his new favorite pastime had easily become curling against Ivan and lavishing in the warmth the acolyte admitted.
Matthew was notorious for making Ivan food and treats at least once a day; but usually the human had little snacks and things of that nature to keep in his pockets while he worked. The fiery redheaded woman, most commonly seen with Arthur (everyone had a sinking feeling the two were related but couldn't stand each other enough to actually admit it) had teased Matthew constantly as everyone became more and more aware of the little things Ivan would have to eat almost all the time by saying: "You know a witch is in love when they stand in front of the oven more than the cauldron".
Matthew didn't deny a thing when the rumors met the ears of the little fledglings and Peter or Lili or even Michelle would come and ask him questions whilst eating whatever leftovers of sweets the blonde witch had.
Carefully, Matthew slowly opened the brown paper while all the while shooting glances towards Ivan. "You know..you really don't have to do this….get me presents and things…it's already gift enough that you…-" the blonde was silenced by his own little gasp, eyes raking over the shiny box of a little red ipod that he had his eyes on for weeks now.
"Ivan!"
Ivan smiled down at Matthew, tilting his head to catch the blonde's expression. "You like it? I wasn't sure this was the one you wanted… And it took a bit of arguing but I got them to send it to the village post and not the city…" The older male looked uncertain for a moment. "I put some music on a card for them to put on it for you… I couldn't understand the Theban descriptions and there were no translations, but I think it has some incantation practices?"
"You put…you put lessons on there for me?" Matthew asked, looking wide eyed and completely touched. "And music….what kind of music?"
"Just…" Ivan rubbed the back of his neck. "Things that reminded me of you…"
Matthew thought for a moment before he extended his hand to gather Ivan's fingers into his. "Will you….would you listen with me?" He smiled, warm and gentle as he tugged him gently to the door and outside into the cool night. Matthew was careful to open the box, laughing softly at trying his best to set it up and turn it on correctly before he slid it into Ivan's hands.
Ivan nodded as he smiled and pulled Matthew onto the porch swing that they had been given with the house. He helped Matthew with turning on the device and let the witch figure the touch pad out himself before they both took one of the earbuds and Ivan wrapped his arms firmly around the blonde.
They sat like that for hours, arms curled around each other and faces tucked close together. It was only when it got too cold for either one of them to stand it anymore and they reluctantly untangled their limbs and retired for the night.