= 7 = Aha…no reviews. I guess that's what I'm supposed to expect when I add OCs… OTL

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Resourceful Business

"So you're going to work with him, after all?" The Iranian woman said, unpinning her head scarf so she could pull it down. Her long dark brown hair erupted out of her hijab and she fluffed it up a bit so it wouldn't feel so strange. She stared at the nation who she considered to be a sibling, despite having no blood relation. She blinked her green eyes once and stared at Turkmenistan straight in the eye. "You're working with Russia?"

"Well," Ruslan paused, "He was the one who started the offer, but he's paying a pretty good amount so—"

"Ruslan," his 'big sister' interrupted him, "just make sure he's not trying to trick you. Ivan's a pretty crafty man!"

I know… Ruslan said in his mind. He didn't like how Iran would treat him like a child on occasion. He could think for himself. "I'm being careful," He responded.

Ziba smiled at him, "Good. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you, Ruslan." Ziba wrapped her arms around Ruslan for a brief moment, and smiled back at him when she released him. Ruslan was still a little confused about everything, and despite the fact that Ziba wanted to help in any way possible, there was something he couldn't bring himself to tell her: He loved her. But he had to hide it. Even if he didn't, she probably wouldn't notice anyway. She was so oblivious, sometimes…

"I know," Ruslan replied solemnly, his voice quieter than usual. It was the reason he never referred to her as a sister. If he got it in his mind that instead of a friend, she was a blood-related family member, he could never think of anything other than his 'incestuous' relationship with her, even though it was only one-sided. But Ruslan had trouble with words, and trouble with relationships, and so he never really knew how to express himself. "I'm just trading with Ivan because his economy is better than mine. I've got what he wants, so maybe there's a way that we can both win."

Iran advanced father into his house, gently patting Gara on the head. When Ruslan started talking again, Ziba would still be listening, but not turned to focus on him.

"It's not just Ivan," Ruslan added, "Ukraine, Germany, China and even the United States want to trade with me. It just seems that Russia is the easiest for me to deal with, at this point."

Ziba turned around to look at him out of the corner of her eyes, and nodded. "Well, alright then," Ruslan remembered how often Ziba and Ivan could get into fights, even when they were trying to work together. Ziba hated it that Ivan had sort of corrupted all of her little brothers—all of the Central Asian nations. Ziba was a very passionate older sister, and very protective of her brothers. She would have assumed that Ivan could have felt the same way over his two sisters. But apparently, not. In a way, Ziba was a little angry that Ruslan was getting noticed by all of these bigger nations. It would be harder for her to protect him, but Turkmenistan was growing up. He would become a bigger nation, and prosper from all of his natural resources.

There was a strange silence in the room as mixed feeling conflicted with each other. Ruslan never knew what to say, not even to 'his sister'. She had always looked out for him and protected him, and through the elapse of time, he had managed to fall in love with her. He glanced at her form as she was still kneeling down to stroke the black sheep's soft fleece. Wrapped up in a dark purple robe that concealed most of her form. Her boss wanted her to cover up more than ever, but she missed the days when she had more freedom. Back then, Turkmenistan was still a part of the Soviet Union, and didn't have a whole lot of knowledge of the world around him.

Ziba played favorites, and always loved to have her little brother, Ruslan, around. She visited him often and loved to trade things with him. She helped jump start his country, and sort of raised him after the Soviet Collapse. But she was still blind to his hidden feeling for her.

"I'm going over to Ivan's house tomorrow," Ruslan said, catching Ziba's attention. She turned around, and blinked a few times.

"You are?"

"He invited me," Ruslan responded. "So I'm going to go over to his house."

"But Rus—"

"I'll be fine," He interrupted her, feeling stronger. Because of his height, and his status among nations, he always felt so small. Everyone seemed to be taller than him, and his small triangular eyebrows would furrow even more. "I'll make sure nothing bad happens."

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Okay, sorry for such a short chapter, but I'm seriously brain dead for this one. If you've even bothered reading this far, thank you. I'm still going to continue this, but I don't know for how much longer. Ideas and suggestions would be most appreciated by this point.