With a push Alfred flew out onto the ice, his arm extending behind him and holding Natalya's hand, pulling her onto the ice alongside him. With a kick of her heel she approached his side, her arm moving up and looping around his own as the two began to skate in unison.
The two slowly rounded the rink once, passing by children and the parents making sure none of them fall and hurt themselves. They moved out of the way of a man quickly flying around the rink, maybe training for a sport or simply exercising.
On their second lap Natalya rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes and letting him guide them. He took them around the curve at the end of the rink, looking down at her once they were moving straight. "Something on your mind?"
With an exhale she opened her eyes and kept her gaze forward. "Big brother is being distant with me. His government keeps him in secret talks for hours and whenever he is free all he ever says to me is asking if I'm keeping up with my military drills."
His expression grew serious and he slightly slowed down. "Nat. This doesn't mean anything good. They're not just drills they're- "Don't," she cut in, looking away from him. "I know what you're going to say I don't want to hear it."
With a deep frown he picked up the pace again, looking down at his feet in thought. He wants to be optimistic but he trusts his intelligence on this one. But anyway he shouldn't make her upset, she clearly doesn't want to think about it. Raising his head he perked up and grinned again, the two going back to skating in silence for a while.
He observed the face resting on his shoulder, noting how her brows were still knit together with stress. Maybe he should try to cheer her up somehow. "You know, I knew something was bothering you the second you called. You're usually not the one to set up dates out of the blue like this."
She didn't say anything, glancing up at him with sharp eyes. He gave an easy smile in return, his pleasing expression disconcerting her as she looked away, her expression cracking. "It's funny. From stories I've heard you'd spend hours intricately planning hundreds of date ideas for you and Russia. Why don't I get special treatment?"
A small smirk slipped onto her face, appearing increasingly sadistic. "I suppose when I finally get what I want I simply don't have the same craving for it anymore. I don't need nor want to go on a million dates with you." To which she got a big pout from him. "You just gonna ignore the fifty or so dates we've set up together this past year?"
"One year one month two days nine hours sixteen minutes and thirty two seconds to be exact," she said lovingly, rubbing her face against his shoulder. As if that wasn't one of the most insane things she's said to him. He gave her a surprised look, only to respond with, "actually it's one year one month two days nine hours seventeen minutes and five seconds."
"Where the hell are you getting an extra thirty seconds?" She wondered, ignoring the lunacy of now both their statements. He gave her another weird look. "How are you measuring? I consider when we first looked at each other the start of our date."
"I measure it from when you took my arm in yours," she replied, gesturing to their linked arms while hugging it tighter. "I find it very romantic." Alfred hummed at her words. "Really huh? I find looking into each other's eyes much more romantic. Seeing each other all dressed up and stuff." Thinking back to their first date he couldn't help but grin widely in amazement. "I can't believe it's already been a year, it went by so fast."
"You're telling me. A year feels like a day to me, it's like I only started liking you yesterday," she said, acting nonchalant. "What?" He responded, genuine shock in his voice. She looked up at him and tapped the side of his face with her hand a few times. "Don't look so sad I'm only joking. This is very new for me as well so thankfully it's been slow moving."
"Jeez, don't scare me like that," he sighed out. She just giggled in response and hugged his arm again, before pulling away and holding his gloved hand with both of hers. Their arms extended fully as she drifted away on her skates, now in front of him as she very slowly started to spin the two of them in circles.
With a confused grin he let her spin him, his feet adjusting to ease into the spin, all while he stared at her face, A large yet gentle smile plastered to it as she led them in their little dance. Her eyes never removed themselves from his own, her large lashes batting at him and her pale cheeks reddening under his gaze.
"Maybe looking into your eyes is romantic after all," she reconsidered, a cute giggle bubbling in her throat. He started to blush himself, nearly losing his balance before catching himself, his hand curling around hers in a stronger grip.
"How'd you learn to ice skate by the way?" Natalya wondered, shocked that Alfred was articulate enough to stay on his feet. She could vividly picture Alfred being the type to slip and fall on his ass and face over and over but unwilling to stop until he gets the hang of it. Yeah she was sure it was something like that.
She let go of his hand and moved her hands to her hips, slowly moving backwards away from him. He pushed forward to follow her, trailing her around the rink. "I've played hockey against Mattie for years. I'd get my ass obliterated if I didn't know how to skate well."
She put her hands behind her back and moved her feet a little bit, increasing her speed and increasing the distance between her and Alfred, tilting her head toward him. "I would say I'm impressed, but compared to figure skating it's so brutish."
He laughed and tried to follow her, but she increased her speed more. Just out of reach. "You're acting weirdly coy. What are you up to?" He wondered with a laugh. She ignored his question and spun around, skating away from him as she started to skid around the ice on her own, doing perfectly executed twirls and elegant jumps, making sure he watched her the whole time.
He slowed to a stop as she went in circles around him, watching her zip around and do tricks like a ballerina, a smile still on her face. She was enjoying this a lot. He saw as she gained as much speed as she could, drifting right in front of him and snapping into a spin, going round and round like a high speed top, her balance and form beautifully done.
Then she balanced on one foot and stuck the other leg behind her, her upper body forward as she started to slow down, until she finally came to a halt with her face flawlessly stopping inches from his.
There were multiple eyes on her from others on the ice rink, but she kept her eyes secularly on Alfred, moving her leg back under her and slowly approaching him, her smile now a smirk and her face now close enough for him to see the fiery look in her eyes. "That is real skating."
He looked somewhere between awestruck and beyond puzzled. "Really. What's gotten into you today?" She shrugged as she returned to his side. "Nothing in particular. I felt like showing off. Big brother used to figure skate with me but he's done so less and less over the years."
"Russia can figure skate?" Alfred wondered with a laugh, which was a very bad move. "Is there something wrong with that, Alfred?" She wondered coldly. "No, nothing wrong. But it sure is hilarious to think about. A guy that big and, to be honest not really known for his athletic skill, doing twirls and spins and stuff." And the hole digs deeper.
"Then why don't you do some figure skating? If you're so athletic," Natalya suggested, Alfred shaking his head. "I can try, but I skate like a hockey player. The best I can do is drift or maybe do a 360."
"You can skate well, and you do flips and other athletic tricks. You should be able to do this with ease," she encouraged, not so gently slapping him on the back. His body barely budged from the force and moved forward a few inches. He probably didn't even feel a sting in his back.
"Maybe you're right... Yeah! That makes sense," he agreed, a bad time for him to be gullible. He went forward and turned around, standing proudly and grinning at her. "You ready?"
"I sure am," she said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest. He nodded and adjusted his pose, preparing for a spin. His upper body swung back and forth a few times to build momentum and practice his spin, then with as much force as he could he pushed on the ground with one foot and went into a spin.
Before he could even register what happened his own ice skate was in his view, one leg up in the air and the other suspended somewhere he couldn't see, all for a single moment before he plummeted to the ground, landing on the hard ice with a loud slam, the force rattling through his entire body.
Immediately Natalya let out a psychotically manic burst of laughter hidden behind her hand, nothing like her previously cute giggling. If the little purple dots for pupils were anything to go by.
He groaned and slowly sat up, one of his forearms resting on his knee. "Jeez, been a while since I've seen this side of you. One weird time for that to come out." She gave him a Cheshire Cat grin, unable to hide her amusement. "It's only fair. After disrespecting my brother without having any figure skating experience for yourself."
"Yeah whatever I'll get it this time," he said with just as much determination and optimism, bolting upright and preparing another attempt, only for this time to land right on his shoulder.
Natalya giggled loudly again, observing him try and fail over and over, meanwhile the other skaters cautiously made their way away from the strange couple.
Ukraine hummed a song to herself as she bounded around her house, cleaning the dust from every surface she could find it on. A part of her has come to like chores over the years. It helps give her something productive to occupy her time, distracting her from her stress and giving her a moment to clear her mind.
After wiping down her kitchen counter she skipped toward the living room, pausing as a few loud knocks drew her attention to the door. She eyed the door in curiosity. She wasn't expecting any company today. Scampering over to the door she opened it slightly to peek out, smiling wide and swinging open the door upon recognizing Natalya.
"Oy sestrychka, pryvit! YA rada vas bachyty, ya ne znala, shcho vy pryyidete," she greeted in her own language, extending her arms for a hug. Natalya put a hand out between them, stopping Ukraine. "Da hello sestra." Without looking at her sister Natalya began marching into the house, familiar with it enough to not bother with asking permission to come inside.
Only then did Ukraine notice Alfred towering over her in the doorway, a hand on the back of his head as he stared off into the sky. "America?! You are here too?" She asked in surprise, in her shock leaving her arms still spread out.
At the loud exclamation Alfred looked down at Ukraine, and Natalya turned around to look at them and cringed, fearing the introduction would result in this way. Seeing her arms extended Alfred smiled and leaned down, wrapping his arms around her frame, lifting her up off her feet in a crushing hug. "Aww it's good to see you too."
Ukraine kicked her feet after losing contact with the floor, her eyes wide and hands wrapping around his own back in her shock in being picked up. "Da it is... good to be seeing you," Ukraine said slowly, gradually working up to tapping his back with a hand.
Natalya stared on in horror, quickly speeding toward the two and ripping Alfred away from her sister. "What the hell do you think you're..." she paused, noticing the neighbors and passerby turning their attention to them. She grabbed him by the arm and yanked him inside. "Get inside you idiot!" She ordered through grit teeth, slamming the door shut behind him.
Now free, Ukraine smoothed out her clothes, a small blush on her face as she observed the two begin to argue with bewilderment. She wasn't expecting a bear hug from a man today. In fact she can't remember the last time she was hugged by anyone outside of her family. Except for maybe Hungary or Lichtenstein.
"Don't give me that confused look you just wanted to squash her boobs like a pervert," Natalya accused, jabbing a finger at his chest. "N-No I didn't!" He stuttered, his face beet red from embarrassment and the sudden thought of him contacting Ukraine's chest. "She had her arms open for a hug!"
"That wasn't for you you moron!" Natalya raged, her foot stomping against the wooden floor, her balled fists at her hips. Her long blonde locks bristling up like a cat's. That only left Alfred more at a loss, which was obvious from the strange look he was giving her. "Then who?"
She hung her mouth open at him, like that statement was so dumb it shut off her brain. "Me!" She yelled, thrusting her hands at her chest. "How was I supposed to know that!? You weren't hugging her you were all the way over there!" He yelled back, his arm jutting out toward where Natalya was a moment ago. He didn't sound angry he was genuinely so confused.
"I will strangle you!" She threatened, her curling fingers and sharp nails looking like claws, her hands raising toward his neck. "Umm... sestra?" Ukraine asked meekly, Natalya pausing as both her and Alfred looked at the older sister. "Why have you two come here?"
The two stood still for a few seconds, Natalya's hands still by Alfred's neck before she lowered them, bringing them to her chest and crossing her arms as she looked away with a scowl. Alfred relaxed and rubbed his head again, grinning happily. "Oh duh! Your sister was finally comfortable enough that she felt she could introduce me properly."
"And I regret it already," she spoke up bitterly, hiding her eyes behind her bangs with an ashamed pinkness on her cheeks. "Oh. This is great news. I have been waiting all of the year to see you two together," Ukraine said excitedly, her fingers lacing together.
Alfred then took a step toward Ukraine, drawing the woman's attention toward him and his beaming smile. "Besides, we were already in the area on a— mmph?!" As Natalya's hand slapped over his mouth he expressed his shock, trying to remove the hand gripping his face.
"Nothing! It was nothing," she excused, then turned menacingly toward Alfred, her glare chilling him to the bone. "It was nothing, da?" He nodded rapidly and she promptly let go, giving him one last side eye as she marched away from the two. "I'm going to my room now."
"Alright then. I had just been cleaning it," Ukraine notified them, Natalya disappearing upstairs. Once hearing a door close Ukraine turned back to Alfred with a pleasant smile, silently apologizing for her sister's behavior. He returned the smile and winked, leaning his head toward them to whisper, "we went on an ice skating date."
"Aww, that is most sweet. She does loves the skating, but so rarely goes anymore," Ukraine told him, him nodding along. "Yeah. She told me that." Ukraine stood awkwardly for a few moments, not really sure how to carry on the conversation with Natalya absent, so she decided she should probably finish her cleaning, excusing herself from him.
Alfred followed her as she walked into the living room, looking all around the house as she began to resume her dusting. This house felt a lot more like a home than her other siblings. Russia's family house was too big, looking more like a compound disguised as a house. While Natalya's was much more of a normal house, it felt too sterile and clean, like she barely spends time there, likely preferring to live in Russia's house.
"Did she show you her jumps and twirls?" Ukraine asked after a minute, Alfred looking away from the house's walls and toward her as she cleaned her coffee table. "Yeah. It was pretty awesome. She seemed real proud of it."
"She has been practicing since she was little girl. I was much too clumsy to ever join her but it was most fun watching her," Ukraine said proudly, reminiscing old memories. He crossed his arms and laughed. "Speaking of ice skating I also learned that your— "Alf— America!" A voice called out, Alfred turning his head to see Natalya at the top of the stairs, shaking her head at him. "I talked to you about this."
"Is it something else about your date?" Ukraine wondered, Natalya narrowing her eyes at the back of Alfred's head. The man shivered and looked away from Ukraine with an uneasy grin. "...Yes." She smiled in understanding and went back to cleaning. "It is alright I am not needing to know. It is personal to you two."
With Ukraine occupied in cleaning Natalya walked over and dragged Alfred away by the arm, pulling him down to her height. "I already warned you not to bring big brother up to her," she hissed quietly, looking past Alfred's head to make sure Ukraine wasn't listening. "Yeah I sorta forgot," he responded, then stood back up to full height, walking back over to Ukraine.
Natalya was pulled along, trying to drag him away. "She's busy cleaning. Besides we already greeted her so let's just go to my room." She whispered. He turned his head and gave her a cocky grin. Nothing good could come from that. "What so you can go hide from your sister? You're the one that brought up introducing us as a couple in the first place."
By now Ukraine noticed the chatting behind her, turning around to find the two arguing again. At once they met Ukraine's eyes, Alfred shooting upright and Natalya crossing her arms and glaring at the floor. "I'm going back to my room," she decided, turning to march away. But before she could make her escape Alfred grabbed her by her upper arms and lifted her off the ground, placing her back in her original spot.
She scowled up at him, him looking off and whistling to himself. Then he reached down and took her hand, lacing their fingers together. Knowing Ukraine was staring Natalya wanted to rip away from Alfred's hand, but his grip was too strong. He stopped whistling and turned to smile at her, tilting his head toward Ukraine.
"This is stupid she already knows about us!" She exclaimed, even though she brought them here in the first place. "If you're in such a good mood then you say it," she muttered, but Alfred didn't. He grinned at Ukraine, as if to appease them, then leaned toward Natalya, speaking out of the corner of his mouth. "It's only gonna get more awkward the longer we sit here in silence. Just act natural. Give 'em your poker face."
"Just shut up," she spat. She then closed her eyes, leveling her breathing, then upon reopening her eyes her face was cold and stoic, not daring make an emotion despite the fact she was blushing. "Da sestra. America and I are in a relationship and are in love!" She declared, her hand clenching Alfred's.
"As someone involved with getting us together I figured you deserve a confirmation. We have been together for over a year now and he has proven himself more than trustworthy." Her eyes then grew dark and she glared down Ukraine, her hand now locking Alfred's in a death grip. "Now you can stop being a total bitch about him and I fucking."
Ukraine and Alfred both reeled back in shock, more so him as his face caught on fire, his eyes darting between Natalya and her sister. Why'd Natalya have to go and make things so stressful. Ukraine also looked uncomfortable, mostly out of fear, but hid it under a strained smile. She nodded at her little sister approvingly. "I am so very beyond grateful and proud that you found love, and person you can trust."
Ukraine smiled wide at Natalya, who looked down with an annoyed grumble as tears built up in the corners of the older sister's vibrant eyes. "Whatever. I'm going back to my room," Natalya said curtly, slipping her small hand out of Alfred's and crossing them over her chest, trudging back up the stairs.
The two watched her go upstairs, Ukraine being the first to break away from the stairs and look at Alfred. The man was grinning dumbly at the stairs, then turned back to Ukraine with a red face, rubbing the back of his head and laughing. "Well. That was really heartfelt until that last little bit."
Ukraine laughed and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her index finger. "It is alright. I am more in the surprise that she made it that far without insult. She is not liking to show her real feelings."
"Yeah, I know," Alfred agreed, looking back at the stairs. "Though now I feel like I should've told her that we've already talked about all that... intercourse stuff." She shrugged, going back to finish cleaning, wiping down the dust from her little flatscreen tv. "That is fine. I am more grateful that you did what I had been asking and had been keeping things slow."
Alfred laughed at her statement while investigating the couch cushions, making sure they were already cleaned before sitting down. "Not really by choice. We've mainly just had a long honeymoon phase, so we spend lots of time together but haven't really thought about the future all that much. Or I'd say that, but she's definitely tried plenty of times."
Ukraine gave him a curious look, which made him laugh again. With a mischievous smirk he leaned forward, hiding a hand over the side of his mouth as if Natalya could hear him or see his lips moving from all the way upstairs. "Don't let her know I told you this, but sometimes in her sleep she'll ask me to marry her."
Ukraine covered her lips with a few fingers as she lightly giggled. "That is most cute. Is she speaking in sleep often?" She wondered, Alfred shaking his head. "Not that I've heard. Instead I think she just dreams of marriage a lot."
"That would be fitting for her," Ukraine said with an endearing sigh while she wiped her brow, finally finished with dust cleaning. She turned and gave him a happy smile. "You are a sweet boy."
"I'd consider myself more of a cool, badass dude. But thank you," he said with a dramatic bow. Then as he raised his head he watched Ukraine walk off to the kitchen. "How are you doing by the way?" He asked, catching her off guard with the question. "I am doing alright," she answered quickly, as she looked through a cupboard for mugs. "A little extra cheery now," she added with a curl of her lips.
When he didn't ask another question she focused on collecting her mugs, and from his spot on the couch Alfred stared her down, his grinning face now blank and grave. Should he warn her? Or maybe get her out of here? It was already February, the further they get toward the end of the month the greater the chance it would happen. But what's one more warning when him and his government have already given her multiple?
He tapped the top of the couch cushion anxiously, debating whether he should come out and say it, but before he got a chance he heard loud stomping down the stairs. He leaned his head off the back of the couch to see the upside down figure of his girlfriend approaching him, her hands on her hips.
"Al— America what are you still doing here? Get off your ass and come up to my room," she demanded, while walking over and taking him by the arm. He stood up and went with her with a pout. "I was talking to your sister, no need to be so mean Nat!"
"Don't call me that!" She yelled in embarrassment, Ukraine looking up at the two. "Sestra you two can be calling each other by names, it is only me here." Natalya scoffed and kept her attention on the floor, dragging Alfred along. He gave Ukraine an apologetic smile, then began to walk with Natalya, only for Ukraine to speak up again. "Wait. Would you two be wanting the drinks? I could be making something."
"Nyet," Natalya shot down quickly, just wanting to return to her room. Though Alfred seemed to have different plans, stopping in his tracks and spinning around. "Ooo ooo, I'd love something to drink! You got hot chocolate? That'd be the perfect thing to have after ice skating."
Ukraine blinked at Alfred's excitement, giving him a nod. "I could be doing that. I will get it to you in few minutes." That made Alfred smile like a kid on Christmas, Natalya rolling her eyes and tugging on his arm harder. He stumbled back but then caught himself by clinging to the doorframe between the kitchen and living room with his hand, struggling against her pulling. "Oh, and if you have those mini marshmallows could you add those too? Those are the best!"
She didn't have time to answer him before he was pulled away, being taken away upstairs and leaving her alone in the kitchen. 'So bashful,' she thought to herself with an amused grin.
Her sister came here to introduce him to her properly, yet only wants to hide him away at every chance. Natalya has always been protective, or more accurately, defensive of the things they hold close. Though she can't exactly blame Natalya for being this way. This is their first boyfriend after all.
Collecting cocoa powder and the other ingredients she needed, she made hot chocolate, deciding to make one for her sister, even though they didn't ask for it. Because she knew if she didn't give them any then they would get annoyed watching Alfred enjoy his, and would undeniably get some themself.
In Alfred's cup she dropped in a large helping of mini marshmallows, which she actually was able to find in one of her cupboards. Grabbing both mugs by the handles she went through her house and ascended the stairs, careful not to spill anything out of the cups. Once upstairs she quietly made her way to Natalya's bedroom, pausing outside the door to shift both mug handles into her left hand.
With her right hand she grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open easily, fully expecting it to be locked. Preparing a smile to greet them she poked her head in while opening the door wider, just in time to see Natalya quickly slinking away from Alfred, both sitting off the side of the bed and turned toward each other.
Natalya whipped her head around and looked behind her at the door, her face contorting in immense rage, her face burning like the surface of the sun. "What are you— GET OUT!!!" She screamed, scrambling out of bed and slamming the door with all her might. Ukraine yelped and stumbled out of the way just fast enough to not get decapitated, almost launching the cups of hot cocoa up to the ceiling.
After the door locked she could hear Natalya stomping around inside, alongside loud laughter from Alfred. Then there was some shouting and muffled talking, until finally the door was opened by Alfred, Natalya hiding behind him with a flustered, angry scowl, feeling too awkward to meet Ukraine's eyes.
"Oh sweet you have the drinks already," he said cheerfully, sticking his hands out. Ukraine fumbled to hand him the mugs, noticing that his lips looked a little swollen. Though just as fast as she noticed, she diverted her eyes away from his mouth, not wanting to make the situation more mortifying for Natalya than it already was. "Just be careful, the drinks are still very hot."
Alfred nodded and took the drinks from Ukraine, his eyes sparkling as he stared down at his own drink. "Awesome you actually got marshmallows. Thanks a ton Ukraine," he said while trying to give them a salute, despite his hands occupied with holding the hot chocolate. She returned the gesture with a nod and a smile. "You are welcome."
Ukraine tilted her head to try and look at her sister, Alfred noticing Ukraine's concern. "Sorry about her. We weren't even doing anything bad so I don't know why she freaked out."
"Fuck you," Natalya muttered quietly, too uncomfortable to want to draw more attention to herself. Ukraine's mouth went into a line in sympathy for them. "Anyway I will be leaving you two to the business." With another nod she excused herself and left, Alfred waving her off as she went downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a mug of coffee she made for herself.
Walking to the living room she sat down on the couch and sipped her drink, finally having a chance to relax today. Grabbing the tv remote she turned on the tv, looking for some entertainment to distract herself with. The first channel was the news, which she very promptly skipped, only for the next channel to be another news channel.
She frowned and flipped the channel again, and again it was more news. Every channel she selected was news, all covering the same damned topic. It was so prevalent that she even started getting American and British news channels. It was really starting to stress her out.
Spamming through the channels now she just wanted to hear anything other the bleakness of the day, until finally she reached a channel about flowers and other exotic plants. With a pleased sigh she set the remote down and took another sip of coffee.
She was familiar with this channel, it was always something about plants and the like. Her siblings always teased her for watching the channel, saying it was for old ladies, but she enjoyed it. She was a farmer at heart after all, and technically speaking she is an old woman.
And luckily for her the channel runs all day, so no more news dampening her mood. It would serve as a nice distraction until dinner time. Though thinking about it she may have to start preparing dinner earlier than normal. She doesn't have company over very often, and certainly not someone of Alfred's appetite, so she'll have her work cut out for her.
She took one last drink from the mug and set it on the coffee table, relaxing into the couch. That's something she can worry about later. For now all she wants to do is watch some pretty flowers grow and rest on her comfy couch.
After a few hours she got up from the couch to start working on dinner. She let the tv run while she cooked so she had something to watch and listen to, knowing that cooking for so long would start to bore her. It also helped that every so often she'd be visited by Alfred, who'd watch her cook and strike up conversations with her, until he either returned to Natalya's room or was dragged away by them.
She began to wonder what they were doing up in Natalya's room for so long. It's obvious that they were kissing at one point, but she thankfully hasn't heard any inappropriate noises come from the room, so she could only hope that they had spent the time talking, or maybe cuddling.
Alfred said they were in the honeymoon phase, so they may also be minding their own business and simply being in the same room because they like to be near each other.
That's what it appeared to be, given the bits and pieces she learned from Alfred during his times talking to her. At some point he came downstairs and stayed there, saying that Natalya decided to take a nap after her day of ice skating. It was nice having someone to talk to, but she got the feeling that Alfred wanted to urgently tell her something. Warn her of something. Something she already knew and did not want to hear again.
Luckily he was mindful enough to not say anything, and soon enough dinner was done, her going through the risk of waking up Natalya, the girl naturally being grouchy as she came downstairs to join the other two.
The three sat at Ukraine's dinner table, Alfred across from Ukraine and Natalya grumpily sitting in a chair moved impossibly close to Alfred's, like she was glued to his side. Ukraine noticed that ever since those two came here Natalya very rarely left Alfred's side. It was a sight Ukraine has seen plenty of time from the girl, but to see Alfred as the one in Natalya's grip was truly bizarre to witness.
"This food is really good, I don't really have this kind of food very often," Alfred spoke up suddenly, Ukraine grinning at him. "You're welcome. Be feeling free to get more, I made extra just in case." He laughed and put some more food in his mouth. "Oh I will," he said between bites.
Ukraine then shifted her eyes to her sister. "And what are you thinking sestra?" She asked, only for her smile to drop. Natalya had already dropped her fork and was currently snaking her arms around one of Alfred's, glaring at Ukraine like they were a dangerous enemy.
Ah, so even with a different obsession it seemed Natalya was still worried that she would try and steal him away from them. Ukraine lowered her gaze, startled by Natalya's hateful stare. She had hoped that after all she did to support Natalya through their heartbreak maybe their bond had grown stronger, but perhaps it was a mere stint during a crisis of love and obsession.
While she likes to believe she knows her sister's thoughts better than most, she doesn't quite understand the complexities of their obsessive nature, and especially how Natalya sees her as a constant threat to whatever relationship they are trying to obtain.
She never wanted to make Natalya feel insecure, or think she'll steal away her chances at love and happiness. She didn't ask for a body that attracts men so much. Her mouth wobbled a little and she stabbed her fork aggressively into her meal, stinging heat rising in the skin at the edges of her eyes.
Yet before she could pitifully cry into her dinner, she was drawn to Alfred as he opened his mouth wide, preparing to shovel a large bite of food into his mouth. But as he raised his arm the girl wrapped tightly around his arm raised up with it, Natalya's eyes wide in surprise as she was lifted up.
Alfred paused before he could take his bite, slowly turning his head to Natalya, who was now eye level with him. "I don't mind you holding onto me but you're kinda making it hard to eat, dudette." He said impatiently while lowering her back down and moving his fork to his left hand, wanting to resume eating.
She scowled at him and crossed her arms again, feeling like she had been embarrassed once more. He cracked a smile and raised his fork again to finally eat the delicious food, but seeing her sitting and avoiding her food he stopped again, setting the fork on his plate. "Hey, you've barely touched your food. Is it bad or something?" At the mention of the cooking his attention flickered over to Ukraine, who was also looking oddly gloomy now.
"It is fine," she spat, looking like she wanted to stab the food with a knife rather than her fork. With a shrug he quickly bit the food off his fork and started hovering the utensil near her plate. "Well, if you don't want to eat it then more for me I guess." Though just as his fork was about to come down she slapped his hand away, her anger now directed at him. "Don't touch my food! You've got enough to scarf down over there!"
He retreated the fork and hummed in amusement. "Oh so you do want to eat. Good you were about to miss out on the tasty food!" She scoffed and picked up her fork. "Shut up I know what my sestra's cooking tastes like." Then she slowly started to eat, her face still knit in anger but appeased by the food.
And just like that the anger was now off of her and Natalya was eating dinner. Ukraine couldn't believe it, her eyes staring between the two. Alfred looked up from Natalya to her, giving her a little wink. She was stunned. She didn't even see where he stopped being oblivious and realized something was wrong. Or did he know the whole time?
He then nudged Natalya with his shoulder, her scowling up at him with food in her mouth. "Speaking of your sister why not thank her for the food? She spent hours making it while you got to go take a nap." Natalya glanced over at her sister, meeting their passive expression.
Natalya then looked back at Alfred with a cold expression. "I don't need to bother saying anything. I'm eating it aren't I?" She argued, to which he tilted his head side to side a few times. "Mmm... I mean yeah. But it'd probably make her feel better." His gaze was back on Ukraine, the older sister growing a little unnerved. How'd he manage to weed himself into their family drama so quickly? They only just formally met as the sister and boyfriend of Natalya.
"Screw you," Natalya muttered, trying to focus on her food. She knew immediately he was trying to play with her emotions. "What? You're acting like you don't like it, aren't you worried that'll make her sad?" He looked between the two sisters, Ukraine considering speaking up to tell Alfred to stop. She doesn't need to hear a thank you she knows Natalya enjoys her cooking. But Alfred continued anyway.
"I could always give you the puppy dog eyes again," he threatened with a smugness that made Ukraine believe this was a reoccurring threat. Natalya blushed like a school girl and whipped her head from him to her sister and back again, all anger in her eyes gone and replaced with utter humiliation. "D-Don't talk about that out loud!!"
"Then say what you think, before you make the poor woman cry," he said, gesturing toward Ukraine, who was too on the spot to say a word, opting to stay out of it and let this play out.
Natalya hung her head, grinding her teeth and trying to kill Alfred with the glare she gave him from the corner of her eye. "You're testing your fucking luck!" She whispered with seething rage, grabbing her plate and going back to eating to calm down.
Afterwords the table was left in awkward silence, or at least for the two sisters it was. Alfred giddily ate his food and kicked his feet under the table, like he didn't have a care in the world. And soon enough everyone's plates were cleaned and ready to be taken to the sink.
Ukraine stacked her plate up along with the numerous dishes between Alfred and those that held the food to begin with, but as she reached Natalya the younger woman was slow to hand her the plate, their head staring at the empty place her food used to be. "The food was... good," Natalya praised to the best of their ability.
"But it could've used more salt," she quickly tried to critique, only for a sound like that of a maraca drawing both of their attention, Alfred shaking around a salt shaker with a wide smile. "That's your own fault. Your sister already provided it."
With her bangs hiding her eyes Natalya grit her teeth, finally getting fed up with him as she elbowed him right in the funny bone, causing him to yelp and fling the salt shaker from his grip, rubbing at his tingly arm. "Whatever," she murmured dismissively.
Ukraine chuckled a little bit at the pair's antics and took the plate, walking over to the kitchen sink with all the dishes. That dinner was certainly... a spectacle to witness. It was definitely fascinating to be a part of, but she has to admit it's more than a little terrifying that Alfred is willing to argue back against Natalya to this degree. Even Russia would think twice of setting them off.
After dinner the three nations went back to their previous routine, Natalya going upstairs, Ukraine back to watching her show, and Alfred bouncing between the two to hang out.
Around an hour after the end of dinner Ukraine was sitting by herself in her living room, the room in complete silence outside of the sounds coming from the tv. Finally for once today she had a moment to truly settle down for the night.
But just as she was becoming completely engrossed in her show, a freezing cold, horrifying feeling shot up her spine.
From upstairs Alfred waved off Natalya, promising to come back soon. She only grumbled from where she sat on her bed. "Whatever. Don't take a million years this time or you're sitting on the floor."
He nodded at her and closed the door, skipping down the hallway and leaping down the stairs two steps at a time, jumping down the last few stairs and landing gracefully on the living room floor. As he rose up he stared over at the back of Ukraine's head, who was facing toward the tv, not bothering to look at the commotion behind her.
He laughed and marched over to her. "Jeez you're still watching that? At this rate they're gonna cover every plant that exists." His joke went off with no reaction, him raising a brow while getting closer to her. Once beside her he looked down at her face, her eyes blankly staring at the screen, her face making a strange expression.
He put his hands on his hips and leaned a little closer. "Hey. Did you hear my joke? Ukraine?" He called out, his smile plastered on his face as he waited for her to turn her head and meet his face. But when she didn't even react to the noise by her head his smile sank, looking between Ukraine and the tv with confusion. "Is the program really that good?"
He took a step back and observed her for a moment, growing more unnerved by the strange behavior. "Um... are you alright? Ukraine?" He asked with more urgency, it finally settling within him that something was terribly wrong.
His face went serious, as he reached forward and snapped his fingers in front of her face, with again no reaction. "Hey! Ukraine..! Ukraine!" He finally shouted, putting his hand on her shoulder and shaking it. She flinched under his touch and whirled her head around to look at him with fearful eyes.
"...You ok?" He asked with concern, cracking a small smile. He noticed that her face was even more pale than normal. Registering that it was him she sighed in relief and smiled back at him, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "Ah, America. I am supposing I had... zoned out for the moment."
"You sure?" He asked disbelievingly, removing his hand from her shoulder and putting it back on his hip. She nodded rapidly, trying to look him in the eyes with a confidence she was currently lacking. "Da, I am sorry. It was not intention to be worrying you."
"Haha! There's no reason to apologize dudette you were just looking freaky is all," he said lightheartedly, which was slightly working in calming her nerves. With his hands still on his hips he quietly watched what was playing on the tv, wanting to figure out what was so captivating about it for Ukraine.
Unbeknownst to him Ukraine was beside him gazing down at her shaky hands, her face hardening, her mind clearly far away from what was happening in the quiet living room.
"What are your plans with my sestra for tonight?" She wondered, a grim seriousness in her tone. He scratched at the hair on the back of his head, blushing a little bit and trying to laugh off the awkwardness. "Oh I uh... well I'm thinking maybe just chilling for the rest of the night. But if she wants to do something more that's up to her."
"I am meaning if you are staying the night or not," she clarified, too distracted to even find what he said uncomfortable. He made an audible drawn-out "ooooh..." at the misunderstanding. "Yeah ok that makes sense. We don't really have any plans but I was thinking maybe leaving tomorrow morning? Then flying either to her place or mine. It's up to her though."
Ukraine nodded curtly, her eyes narrowing and her hands clasping together to stop them from trembling. "I am thinking you two should be leaving and going back to your home," she stated sternly, catching Alfred by surprise at how rude she sounded. He laughed good-heartedly and tilted to the side to face her more directly.
"Hey I know your sister's been real tough to deal with tonight but we aren't getting kicked out, right? That seems pretty cruel coming from you." She didn't face him, a trail of sweat streaking down the side of her face. "Nyet."
Feeling like he was missing something he frowned and tilted more to try and observe her and figure out what was up. Until finally an idea broke out into the front of his thoughts, the worry he's been having all day striking back at him.
Springing up straight he himself began sweating, as he stepped closer to her with dread filling his chest. "Hey wait is it..." he tried to say, only to stop once she turned and faced him, terror and panic momentarily flashing in her eyes. He was frozen as she blinked and looked down again, swallowing the lump in her throat. "You two should be going soon."
His feet were stuck in place, opening his mouth a few times he tried to speak to her, but he didn't know what to say. He should've warned her again. Or did something more, anything to prevent this. He knew it was going to happen soon, but held out hope there was still some time, that maybe Russia would have a change of thought and realize what he's doing is really stupid.
"I-I... we could take you with us. We can all go back to my country," he offered quickly. One desperate last offer. Her face remained blank, trying to hide the distress she was currently experiencing. "I will stay. I am needed here."
He wanted to argue, but knew deep in his heart she was determined to stay. And if he were in her position he'd do the same. So with no more words he marched away, going to let Natalya know they were leaving. And despite Natalya's questions about why they were leaving so late and protesting against being in a plane late at night where Alfred could possibly fall asleep at the yoke and crash into the ocean, the two gathered their things within a few minutes.
At the door Alfred opened it and prepared to leave, waving at Ukraine. "Alright we'll be going now! Thanks for having us," he said cheerfully, for Ukraine's sake. The older sister did her best to appear okay, returning the smile he gave her. "Be feeling free to visit again. It is nice to be having the company."
Natalya just nodded at her and turned to the door, about to leave silently. Once she was at the door Alfred poked her arm with his elbow to get her attention. "Hey, why not give your sister a goodbye hug?"
She scowled at him, fed up with this weird fixation he's had with sibling affection today. "She already hugs me whether I want to or not. And I see her all the time so what good would a goodbye hug do?"
He shrugged, not really wanting to waste the time in coming up with a justifiable reason she couldn't argue with. "It'll make her happy, just humor me or I pick you up and bear hug both of you." She glared in defiance to challenge him, but as he stared back at Ukraine, who was barely keeping it together, he placed his hand on Natalya's back and pushed her toward her sister.
Natalya stumbled forward, then spun on her heel and gritting her teeth at him. "I'm going to kick your ass just you wait!" She screamed, though as she faced Ukraine her anger was subdued into a more straight face. "Whatever let's just get this over with," she grumbled and held her arms out, hugging Ukraine.
Ukraine slowly hugged her sister back, burying her face in the hair on top of their head. "I'm not blind, something is bothering you. Are you ok?" Natalya whispered very quietly, so Alfred wouldn't hear. Ukraine's eyes widened, then grew watery as she hugged tightly, unable to say anything.
Rather than get annoyed Natalya let it happen. "You can tell me whenever you're ready. As you did for me," she continued, remembering what Ukraine did for her at her lowest moment.
Finally the damn broke and Ukraine's emotions came pouring out, hugging Natalya tighter while tears poured out of her eyes. After a few seconds she sighed in a moment of peacefulness, even as the horror within her head was more on her mind than ever.
"I'm so proud of you sestra," she said fondly, her voice cracking as sobbing started to choke her. Natalya groaned in annoyance, though the way her sister praised her struck a cord deep within her heart. Despite her initial reluctance she let the hug play out. "Quit being so sappy you're going to soak my head," she said once the two siblings broke apart.
Ukraine nodded and wiped her tears with her palms and wrists. "I-I know. I can- *hic* cannot be he-helping it... *hic* sometimes," Ukraine murmured between sobs, Natalya rolling her eyes but rubbing Ukraine's upper arm supportively. "You big baby."
Once Ukraine composed herself she cleared her throat and smiled at the two. "I will be happy to be having you two in my home in future. I am hoping you are enjoying the rest of your night."
With Natalya back at his side Alfred grinned and placed a hand on her upper back, which she backed out of and crossed her arms, looking away from both nations. "I play on it. We'll definitely stop by again." Though if his worries are right he won't be able to come back here, for who knows how long.
Natalya left the house first without another word, Alfred watching her go before looking behind him and giving Ukraine a serious nod, following after Natalya and closing the door behind him.
Now alone Ukraine stood in the kitchen for a moment, sullenly looking around the room. Clearing away lingering tears she went back to the living room and sat back down on the couch, finally having the courage to look at the news. And that's where she sat for the rest of the night, fighting her nerves to try and get some sleep.
But knowing what was to come there was no chance of that happening. And so she stayed up and waited, the hours going by and the night dragging on. She called her boss, her government, anyone that needed to be notified of what was about to happen, and she waited. Until early into the morning the sky was lit up with the light and loud booms of explosions raining down in Kyiv.
Oy sestrychka, pryvit! YA radyy vas bachyty, ya ne znav, shcho vy pryyidete. -
Oh sister, hello! I'm glad to see you, I didn't know you would be coming.