I do not own Hetalia, okay? I know it's been a little while since I had updated this one, but I will do so. I don't have much to say here on this one honestly, so enough of the A/N, on with the fic!
At lunch Ivan had walked down to the café he liked to have lunch in and got himself a bowl of soup of the day. "Ukha…..." He said as he took a deep smell of the bowl. "Not what I was expecting…...but not bad…." He said to himself sitting down and looking at his phone smiling at all the pictures Alfred had sent him. He had been rather frequent with the emails and texts, knowing that Ivan was busy with work but he couldn't help himself and that's was what Ivan had loved, his personality and just how he was when he had given his heart to someone and to think he had given that heart to someone like me….. Ivan thought as he took a spoonful of the fish soup. He knew that in his mind that it would mean the world to Alfred that this was happening, but he still felt like he should get him something. As he looked at the rest of the bowl, poking at some of the left over potatoes, an idea hit him. "I should call Katyusha about this. She and Natalya both deserve to know, and she might have some ideas." Ivan said. Katyusha also seemed like the safer bet when it came to telling the news as she was less likely to come bursting down his boss's door demanding he change his idea. And just how she will react when she does meet Alfred finally, Ivan shuddered and then turned his mind back to the sister that wasn't scary, or at least as scary and clingy to him.
After finishing his lunch, he walked by the shops on the street to see if there was something that really spoke to him. He sighed as the old shopkeeper looked up at him. "What is young man?" The old woman said.
"Oh, I have a darling love a far distance away. I forgot to get them something for Valentine's Day and was looking for something special." At this, he felt a hand smack him across the face. "Ouch!" Ivan said.
"You are bound to make her feel lonely since you said she lives so far away." The old woman said.
"Sorry…." Ivan said.
"Don't say that to me, say that to your darling when you send her the gift." The old woman said. "Now how far do you have to send this gift."
"They live in America…." Ivan sighed. He hardly wanted to say he was in love with an American man, not to an old woman in a country that wasn't friendly towards their love in the first place. Good thing I am being assigned over there, they don't give a fuck…. Ivan thought.
"Interesting." The old lady said. "I hear more stories of Russian women marrying American men than the other way around…." She spoke. "But none the less, you must make her feel special."
"Well, what would you advise?" Ivan said.
"Well, you know the girl better than I do." She replied back. Ivan rolled his eyes. "Well think of gifts you treasure the most, what made them special to you?" His mind went to the scarf he wore all the time. It was gift from Katyusha when they had next to nothing and all she could give was handmade gifts. Looking around, he saw a set of paint and some craft kits. "Hmmmmm…." He said as the idea came into his head. He had always had sort of a skill with painting and crafting and the idea to create some matryoshkas Ones where he would paint versions of himself and Alfred. Fredka is dear in my heart. I think he would really like this. He would make songs for me. They come from the heart, so it is only fair I reciprocate in kind. "I think this will be my purchase." Ivan said as the old woman rang up his purchases and he headed back to the office to finish up his work for the day and then call Katyusha when he had gotten home. It would be the practice he would have for when he did tell Alfred. Besides, this would be his chance to see if she was with Dimitri and maybe talk to him before she formally introduces him. It is Valentines after all. I do hope he did do something for her…. Ivan thought.
Putting the supplies down when he got home, he decided to call Katyusha. "Vanya, what is it? I have to leave here soon." She said with a slightly annoyed tone.
"Why do you have to leave?" Ivan asked almost demanding.
"Because, Dimitri is taking me out tonight. It is Valentine's Day after all."
"I know," Ivan began.
"So how is Fredka? Your little darling." Katyusha said.
"Fine." Ivan blushed. "Listen,"
"Have you been snooping on Dimitri's computer?" Katyusha said. She heard a slight yelp from Ivan. "Of course."
"How did you know?" Ivan said.
"I know you Vanya." Katyusha sighed. "You have always been one to keep an eye on Natalya and me, especially since she had gotten involved with that gang. And I know I have had plenty of bad romances before, but Dimitri is different." At this Ivan scoffed.
"I heard that before. Forgive me for being skeptical." Ivan said. "I am supposed to make sure you and Natalya are safe as the-" Ivan began as Katyusha cut him off.
"Look." She said sternly. "I do appreciate what you do. I really do Vanya," Katyusha sighed because she knew that Ivan only wanted her to be safe. "But you cannot stop bad things from happening to us. Just be there for us when things happen." She smiled. "But you had something else to say."
"Uhhhhhhh..." Ivan began.
"Come on now, spit it out." Katyusha said.
"Fine." Ivan said. "I was given the American assignment. It won't be for a little while that I do move over there..."
"Oh Vanya!" Katyusha said happily. "I know how much you wanted this and how much Fredka will be delighted to hear it. And don't worry" She added. "I will look after Natalya and of course you and Fredka would be able to see us at any time."
"Of course." Ivan said. "Just how should I tell him? I mean I know it is pretty much secured but how long will it take, and will he do something stupid and careless if I tell him? Oh, so many worries have just hit me!"
"Calm down little brother." Katyusha said with a motherly tone. Sure, he was an adult now and had his own life and own decisions to make but he would always be in her eyes that young boy upset that his only friend, his pet hamster, ran away. The bullied little boy who grew up and then became a frighteningly big man who was very soft inside. He may have been cruel sometimes but she knew that he meant well. "I know there is a lot on your mind. This is a very big thing to happen, but it is a good thing. You will be able to be with your dearest Fredka now. Sure, it may be some time before you can live happily ever after, gazing into his eyes as you two both ride off into the sunset in each other's arms" At this Katyusha laughed as she could hear Ivan's embarrassment and stuttering over the phone. "Well, I must go. Have fun."
"But big sister…." Ivan sighed as he heard the phone click and a long drull buzz after. "Fine." He sighed. Looking over at the paint your own matryoshka kit he had purchased, he saw there was no definitive pattern on there. He then saw his phone and looked at some of the pictures he had on it. At this he smiled. I know just how to decorate these and in them I will put a letter with what I have to tell Fredka in there.
Lien, Leon, Roderich, Lukas and Christensen sat in the lobby of the record studio. Emma had called them in and wanted to get the legal paperwork taken care of and to get them to work out the finer details of the contract. This was it, the big time and they were actually going to be making something of themselves. I just wish that Alfred was here…. Lien thought as she looked over at Leon. He was the main reason that they had this chance again and it would be bigger than if they had just went without a new front man. He's okay with this, he wished us luck and just wants to see our show front row if we get big. She thought as Emma came out with the contract. "So, here it is if you want to review it. Let me know if there is anything you want to change." Emma said. "I do hope you will find it very fair and agreeable."
Roderich went to grab the contract when Leon took it and began to skim it. "My xian shen taught me well about legal contracts and I am studying business myself in school."
"Well, we had been down this road before." Roderich said as Lien rolled her eyes.
"Chill." Lien said. "Leon knows a bit about contracts, and we know what did us in before. We're a band, we're supposed to work together." I can see why Alfred got annoyed at him…. Lien thought.
Leon looked it over and thought about some of the things that Lien had said caused their old deal to fall though. "I see that A and E records are the ones promoting and setting up venues for our band to perform at. Will we get a say on the venues?" Lien looked over as she took the contract and read over it herself.
"Of course." Emma said. "Obviously you won't be at the big venues just yet. But we will run them past you with typical crowds and customers so you will not be caught off guard by some of the practices that you had seen before. And if you hear of a place looking for acts like yours, then please let me know."
"And this digital media part, what are you doing to make sure the companies that offer the singles up like on Spotify or Soundcloud pay us our fair share? They are notorious for paying artists very low? It also says the label gets a percentage." Leon read.
"You're good." Emma smiled. "So, we do get 10% of digital music sales. This is from ad revenue from sites like YouTube, sales on iTunes, Spotify and Soundcloud to be sure. Because we are managing you, you will be paid through us."
"So, the money goes from these third parties to you, to us?" Leon asked.
"Yes." Emma smiled.
"How will we be able to keep track ourselves of the sales? How can we trust that you won't do us like the other company did?" Lien said as she looked over Leon's shoulder. Roderich picked up the contract and looked over it himself as well.
"That is a decent question, as I see nothing to make sure we know how much our sales are before you have your share taken out." He spoke.
Emma thought about this. They were right, it was not fair for them to not have access to this information. She had loved this band, and they had lost some of their charm from the CD she had bought at the thrift store, which was true. While Leon had made a good replacement lead singer, Emma could not deny this, she had hoped that Alfred would come back. Leon was good himself as a front man and while his style was different from Alfred's the rest of the band worked well with him. And there were a few factors one did need to consider in a front man that while Emma did not make it a top priority, Abel did certainly think of it when he was looking at new bands to sign and that was visual and sex appeal and Alfred did have it. Lukas had told her that the look on the album cover she had seen was not how he normally looked, and he had shown her a picture of that and agreed that the old company did not need to ruin his vibe. And Emma did have to admit, that while it would be incredibly unprofessional and if discovered would be seen as something awful to get ahead, she did want to spend some time alone with him. Some of the old pictures, even with the hair dye did show that he had a nice body, and she couldn't help but let her mind wonder to what it would be like to have him in bed with her. And if she was dreaming about him, then many other women, and men, would be having the same daydreams and would pay good money for the chance to be closer to their eye candy. But as Abel had told her when she had told him that Alfred wouldn't be coming back, and that Leon was a suitable replacement as the sound was not affected and Leon was pretty handsome in his own right, business was business, and one cannot live on daydreams alone. If one can salvage something and make it work, there was much more value. "Business is business" she said to herself.
"We will make sure you have access to our data and recording entries in the fiscal books and report your shares of income from all of your songs, media sales, digital revenue like from YouTube watches of performances under our label and merchandise profits and sales."
"And for merchandise, will we have a say in what our band sells and what is made and how much it costs the fans and where it is sold. Both on brick and mortar and ecommerce platforms?" Leon read again, causing the rest of the band to look at him amazed. Lien had just seen him as a younger replacement for Alfred and a decent rapper and performer in his own right, but this was what gave her more respect for him. She knew that Alfred would go to bat for them when they were back together as a band, but he wasn't as knowledgeable about things like this in order to ensure they got the best deal possible. However, even though it was just his first year, Leon knew his way around a business contract and a dealing. Leon stared down Emma and Abel as they had turned to themselves speaking with each other. Sure, Roderich had a fair understanding of investing himself as he was a trust fund baby as Alfred had joked, which Lien had agreed but this, changed a lot of things for him. It seemed that Roderich respected Leon more and which the more impartial part of Lien, who often sounded like her auntie in her mind had to agree.
"How about this, while we as an agency have final approval, you will have a chance to preview the process as we do know that using the usual fast fashion methods will not appeal to fans and while they do cost a little more initially they can allow for better profit margins in the appeal." Abel said as Emma nodded.
Leon looked over to the rest of the band. Lukas seemed to be okay, Christensen had not really care, he just wanted to get the deal signed. Leon then looked to Lien and Roderich, the two of the band who seemed to have the most to negotiate when it came to the deal.
"If you think it is fine," Lien said. "I'll trust you."
"You did good…." Roderich said. "If it suits your needs, I'll sign. Would be nice to be able to throw this back in Father's face. That there was a deal I was a part of that did involve my music that grew to be profitable." Leon looked confused as Lien rolled her eyes.
"Major daddy issues that one." Lien said as Roderich looked offended.
"I do not have 'daddy issues'" he said as Leon ignored him.
"I will sign it." Leon said. "And will want us all to have a copy for reference and we all reserve the right to renegotiate as time sees fit and bring in outside counsel if needed."
"Naturally." Emma said as she and Abel signed. At this the rest of the band signed and looked at Lien.
"I have one condition." She spoke.
"What?" Emma asked.
"We send Alfred a copy of our CD when it drops. Free."
"Sure." Emma smiled.
"You have a deal." Lien said.
"Good." Roderich said. "I am meeting a woman at the gym today, quite good at boxing but likes music."
So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. I don't know how fast I can update but I will. Work and school really ramping up now and I want to make way for a lot of my fics. So, remember to read (well you just did) and review. Ciao for now,
Otherrealmwriter
Aka
Realm.
