Archive of Our Own

The first time it happened, Alfred really didn’t think much of it. It made him a bit suspicious, but not enough to cause him any real annoyance. 

It was a meeting day and Alfred always dreaded those. He wanted nothing more than to skip out and go do something more exciting. It’d be much better than getting yelled at or having to suffer through long boring presentations. However, it was also the first meeting since he and Ivan had started dating. 

Nations dating wasn’t really that big of a deal, as long as they kept it out of public eye for the most part. To most of them, dating each other was much less of a hassle and heartbreak than dating humans. It wasn’t as if Ivan was Alfred’s first date. Hell, he wasn’t even Alfred’s first significant other. 

It was, however, the first with Ivan specifically. On and off again relationships were extremely common with nations. And not just in the field of romance: friendships and rivalries were the same. Their lives were much too long and their situations much too strange. Change was inevitable and frequent. Alfred couldn’t even count on his fingers how many times Arthur and Francis had gotten together and broken up. And it wasn’t always based around what was going on at home - sometimes it really was just them as people. 

Needless to say, this was a meeting Alfred didn’t wanna miss. Especially if it meant holding hands with Ivan under the table, pretending like no one would notice when, in reality, it was extremely obvious. Nudging the other’s foot or knee with his own, sending him quiet smiles throughout the talks. It was always the little things in relationships that Alfred loved the most. 

However, on occasion, Alfred could be a bit of a romantic. He got it from Francis. He wasn’t as lavish as Francis or as soft and sweet as Matthew, but he had his moments. 

For this moment specifically, he stood outside the meeting hall with a hand behind his back. He watched and greeted as people filed in one or two at a time. Once he saw Ivan, he grinned and started towards the large man. 

“Привет, дорогой,” Ivan greeted him and leaned down to peck Alfred on the cheek. Alfred recognized the word ‘dear’ and was pretty sure the other word was a ‘hi’ of some kind. His Russian was pretty rusty at best. 

“Heya hot stuff!” Alfred beamed in return. He pulled his hand from behind his back to reveal the rose he’d been holding. 

Ivan looked down at it, a bit surprised at first. He gently took it from the other and a warm smile formed from his lips. “For me?” he asked, looking from the flower back to Alfred. “That is so sweet. Thank you,” he gave the other another peck on the lips in return. 

Alfred chocked that one up as a success. 

The two walked in together to join the others for the meeting and they did, in fact, hold hands under the table. 

Meetings never lasted just one day though. Oftentimes they spanned a weekend to a full week. Sometimes, if things were really heated,  they could last a month. But time was weird for them, so this wasn’t much of a strange occurrence. 

What really threw Alfred off, two days into the meeting, was the third morning when everyone was filing back into the room. This was most likely going to be one of those meetings that went into a week but wouldn’t be too long overall. 

He walked into the hall finishing the last bite of his sandwich, when he noticed Ivan had gotten there before him. The large man was standing next to the door much like Alfred had a few days ago, also with his hand behind his back. When he noticed Alfred coming up, Ivan started towards him with a smile. He pulled the hand from behind his back, revealing a large bouquet of roses and greeted the other like he did the other day. 

Alfred was, admittedly, taken back by the action. He wasn’t expecting such an openly romantic gesture from the other. It wasn’t that he thought Ivan couldn’t be romantic. It was more that Ivan often did his romantics when they were alone; no prying eyes to catch such an act of emotional vulnerability. 

He took the flowers from the taller nation and looked down at them. The bouquet was much bigger than the single rose Alfred had given him the day before. For the smallest moment, Alfred almost felt as if his gift was inadequate. He shoved that thought to the back of his mind just as quickly as it appeared. Instead, Alfred smiled up at Ivan and placed a kiss to his cheek. “This is super gay, Ivan.” 

“I believe that is the point, Солнце,” Ivan chuckled in reply. 

The rest of the meeting was pretty easy. It went into the next week but not long enough to drive Alfred up the wall. 

Once the meeting was over they all found their way back to their own homes and lives. Alfred went back to his own house and placed the flowers into a vase. He looked at them with an unknown emotion. It felt like the mush of two thoughts he couldn’t completely pick apart. Instead, he pushed it aside and went back to life. 

He had been planning to visit Russia again for a while. It was always timing that caught things wrong. Alfred seemingly always had something he had to do. When he wasn’t working, it always seemed as though Ivan was . Their lives just didn’t seem to overlap the right way. This wasn’t really a new issue with Alfred and relationships; nor was this a new issue for any relationships among the nations. Sometimes it felt like they were worlds apart from one another. 

When they were finally able to find a good time to meet up, Alfred quickly booked his flight and started packing. There was no way he was missing even the slightest opportunity. However, he didn’t want to come empty handed. It had been a while since they'd seen each other face to face. It was pretty easy to figure out what to bring. Boxes of chocolates were just a classic. Maybe Alfred was a little old school, but if ain't broke don’t fix it. 

After travel, Alfred stood outside Ivan’s door with a large smile plastered to his face. It didn’t take long for the door to open and the large nation to greet him. Alfred was thankful that Ivan had reassured him they’d be alone for the weekend. Not that he had anything against Ivan’s sisters or the Baltics; it just always seemed to be a hectic household when they were around. Not that Alfred had ever had an issue with hectic: he was a ball of energy and excitement. It was more an, admittedly, selfish desire of wanting to be the hectic thing in Ivan’s life for a few days. 

He gave the other a dorky grin that was seemingly trademarked by the American with how often he used it and how unique it was to him . Alfred knew that smile was able to bring a similar one out of Ivan. Maybe his was less dorky and more sincere. Ivan never was very sincere in his emotions or actions in public or to those he didn’t trust. Alfred of all people knew how hard it was to gain that trust as well. It often surprised him that he had it in the first place, knowing their rocky history. Because of this, Alfred reveled in those smiles of honest emotion. After all, Alfred did always love the little things in relationships. 

Ivan moved to welcome the other into his home. Once they were both through the door, Alfred presented the box of chocolates. Just as the rose had, this gift seemed to catch Ivan off guard. 

“First the rose and now this?” he questioned with a humored smile as he took it. “One would think you were still trying to court me.” 

Alfred almost laughed at that. Instead he gave a chuckle and a shake of his head. “What can I say? Guess I never let go of those dumb romantic movies I use to watch with Francis.” 

The rest of the day was equal parts calm as it was active. They both still had work they’d have to do throughout the week. Thankfully, they were all small things that could be taken care of swiftly with a computer; thus leaving the rest of the day open for them. This would be the case, at least, had it not been for Alfred’s short attention span and determination to distract the both of them. 

Once the work was finally done, they sat on the couch and decided on a few ideas for what to do through the week together. Ivan more than once chastised Alfred for his shameless suggestions (as if he wasn’t marking them down in his mind for later). They settled on a few things to go see and do, but ultimately kept the week open for flexibility. As for that night, they decided on a restaurant and headed out for an early dinner. 

Everything was going well for the first day. They still had their arguments and snide comments here and there, and Alfred assumed that part of their relationship would never fade no matter what. Some banter was more light hearted and fun, but other remarks were more pointed and left a few stings. There was something about that, though, that Alfred liked. That the two of them could fight and be at odds, yet at the end of the day they were still close. Dating or otherwise. 

When the check came for the meal, Alfred had already started digging around for his wallet. He looked up when Ivan lifted a hand to stop him. 

“I will pay for this. After all, you have already greeted me with a gift, yes?” 

Alfred didn’t have the thought to reply as he watched Ivan lay down his own money for the bill. Something didn’t sit right with Alfred about that. Was this some kind of payback? Payback was a weird word to use in a sense of dating. But, for them? Maybe it was something like that. Maybe Ivan felt he had to return gestures in such a way. Or maybe it was something else entirely. He frowned at the table as if it had insulted him. He bit into his lip as the thoughts started to swing around his brain at a pace that was hard to keep up with. 

Ivan called out to him, bringing Alfred back into the world. “Ready to go?” he asked. 

Alfred only nodded in reply and the two set off for home. 

They had a fight. This wasn’t anything new. They fought all the time. And just as many times before, it got physical. Alfred sat in his house, arms crossed and brows angry. Matthew had come to help the other clean up. To be fair, his brother was overreacting. Alfred had come out of it pretty clean save for a black eye and a good few scrapes on his knuckles and lip. Though, the busted lip put worry to another injury. 

“Open,” Matthew commanded. His voice was always soft and sometimes hard to hear. However, he was good at barking orders especially towards Alfred. 

“I know what you’re going to do and I-” he was unable to continue from Matthew grabbing his mouth and prying it open. 

Just as they both had suspected, there was a loose tooth. One of his top front teeth hung by a thread, threatening to fall. Alfred looked up at Matthew with pleading eyes, only for the other to return the gaze with something along the lines of “shut up or I’ll punch it out”. Matthew pulled a pair of tweezers from his first aid kit and gripped the tooth. With one harsh pull it snapped out, causing Alfred to fling himself back out of Matthew’s hands with a call of pain. 

“Dude!” Alfred hissed as he rubbed his hand over his mouth. “My fuckin’ tooth!” 

“Don’t be such a baby,” Matthew replied, putting away his things and throwing the tooth away. “It’ll grow back.” 

Alfred knew the other was right. As nations their bodies worked so much differently from humans. After about a week or so any wounds inflicted will have completely healed. The tooth would grow back, there would be no scar on his lip, and he’d look good as new. It was just a fight between nations, nothing severe enough to permanently impact the body. Still, Alfred rolled his eyes and gave a mumble of, “Still hurt”. 

“You’re lucky I had business at your house recently so I was able to come over.” Was he though? Alfred didn’t dare say that out loud. “What was it even about this time?” 

Alfred gave another rub over his mouth in thought. What was it about? He gave the other a shrug. “Can’t remember.” That wasn’t anything new and Matthew’s annoyed glance only confirmed such. Alfred then gave a grin in response. “I do know that I left him with a broken nose though!” 

“Why are you proud of that?” Matthew hissed, causing Alfred to sink back into his chair with a pout. Matthew shook his head and grabbed his stuff. “Just please make up with him soon. I really don’t need to deal with you post break up.” 

Alfred scoffed at that and crossed his arms. “We aren’t gonna break up over a fist fight. At least I didn’t break any bigger bones this time.” 

“Or have any of your own broken,” Matthew added on pointedly. 

To be fair, Matthew had a point. It was best to get things situated soon, or it would be harder to do later. He gave it a few weeks before calling Ivan up that way they both had time to heal and cool down. 

They had different ways of making up depending on the situation. When they actually bothered to remember what they were fighting about in the first place, they did sit down and talk it out. People often pegged Alfred as immature or hard headed and Ivan as repressed or robotic. And maybe there was some honesty to those accusations, but they were still both adults. Adults with emotions and, most importantly, trust in one another. 

However, they didn’t remember what caused this fight (Alfred had asked Ivan and the other responded the same way he had earlier) so, instead, Alfred found his way to Ivan’s house for some quick but sincere apologies. followed by a steamy make-out make-up session. Maybe Alfred was more like Arthur than he wanted to admit. No way - he was thinking too much into it. 

The next morning Alfred was the first to wake up. He gave a yawn and a stretch of his limbs before falling back down on his arm. He looked at Ivan, still asleep beside him. He knew Ivan didn’t really have the best track record with sleep and wanted to let him have the extra hours or so. When they had first started dating, Alfred noticed the way Ivan slept. He was always so stiff in his slumber, almost as if he was ready to jump up if need be. The two could hardly sleep together, as Alfred’s constant shifting through the night would only wake him endlessly. These days were different, though. Now Alfred leaned over and brushed his hand against Ivan’s face with all the emotion one can put in such a gentle gesture. Ivan didn’t even so much as stir. Alfred wondered if Ivan only slept that soundly and deeply around him, or if this change had gone into his regular routine. Obviously, for the health of his lover he hoped it was the latter. Still, a selfish part of him wanted to know that it was his presence that made Ivan feel so relaxed in his own bed. 

When Ivan did finally wake up, it was to the smell of food coming from his kitchen. He followed the scent almost immediately. In the kitchen was Alfred with a pan in his hand and a plate of pancakes on the counter. 

The blue eyed blonde turned to Ivan as he entered. Alfred gave him a smile that could rival the sun itself. “Mornin’ sunshine!” 

Ivan only chuckled at his boundless energy. He moved closer to place a kiss on Alfred’s cheek. “Good morning. You made breakfast?” 

Alfred nodded as he put the pan into the sink for later. “I felt bad for breaking your nose this go ‘round. Also I thought it’d be nice.” 

Ivan let his smile twist at the reminder before going back to pleased. “It is very nice. You do so many sweet little things, some days I can hardly keep up.” 

Alfred laughed at that. He wasn’t fully sure what the other meant but he just gave a humored shrug at it. “It’s the little things in relationships, I guess.” 

Ivan gave a nod. “Yes,” he replied. “The little things.” 

Alfred decided to stay for the rest of the day. He’d have to go the very next morning, but it wasn’t too bad. Any time spent with Ivan was nice. They hung around the house and were content in each other’s presence. At some point during the day, Alfred ended up falling asleep on the couch with his head on Ivan’s lap. They had been watching some kind of show, but he wasn’t really paying attention. 

When he woke up he smelled something warm and good . He also noticed Ivan was missing from the couch now. Alfred sat up and yawned. He looked around for the other before getting up and starting towards the kitchen. 

Ivan was working on something in a pot as Alfred walked up behind him to take a look. 

“What’s this?” 

“Solyanka soup,” Ivan replied without taking his eyes off his work. “I thought it would make a good dinner for us. I also cut up a loaf to go with.” 

Alfred’s gaze followed a tilt of Ivan’s head towards a cut up bread loaf on the counter. “You didn’t have to make dinner,” he chuckled with a smile, wrapping his arms around the other’s waist. 

“You made breakfast,” Ivan responded with a grin. 

Alfred felt his smile drop a hair. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “I did.” 

Five years. That really wasn’t a very long time for nations. Because of this, it wasn’t like a five year relationship was as impressive as it would be for a human couple. Of course, it was nothing to sneeze at, it just wasn’t much of an accomplishment. Over those five years, Alfred had picked up on a trend that made his blood run cold. He shot up at his desk when the realization finally smacked into him. He quickly called Yao and yelled for the man to come over as soon as he could. 

The older nation sat across from Alfred with tea in hand. He was annoyed that the other had called him so suddenly. Not that he didn’t enjoy time spent with the younger man, he just hated the suddenness of it all. 

“Well?” Yao questioned the other before taking a sip from his cup. “You called me with some ‘important stuff’ to speak on.” He moved his hands to put emphasis on Alfred’s own words. 

“I think Ivan is challenging me.” 

Yao almost dropped his cup with how fast he snapped to look at the other. He’d heard many idiotic things come from both the man before him now and the others. However, this definitely took a place near the top of his list. “Do you want to explain this thought or am I supposed to follow?” 

“It keeps happening!” Alfred cried out, throwing his hands in the air. “Every time I do something like romantic or whatever for him, he comes around with, like, a bigger gesture of gay!” 

If Alfred hadn’t been so absorbed  in his own thoughts, he would have recognized Yao’s “are you a fucking idiot” face staring back at him. Yao bit back the blunt insults before they were directed at the other. “Alfred,” he gritted out, “What the hell are you talking about?” 

Alfred’s hands only started to move more wildly as he spoke. “I’ll, like, do something for him or give him something and then like, the next day or something he does something for me in return! But it’s always bigger and nicer!” His hands were pushed into his armpits as he crossed his arms over his chest. Yao would have laughed at the concentration so engraved in Alfred’s features if it weren’t for the absolute asinine batshit coming from his mouth. “He’s like, romance one upping me at every turn!” 

“You’re an idiot,” Yao finally let slip. He sighed and put his cup down on the table. “Why did you call me about this? Why not speak to Ivan yourself or, better yet, complain to your brother?” 

“Well, you’re, like, Ivan’s best friend.” 

That caused Yao to shift a bit in his seat. He’d never made that kind of  connection himself and to hear it from the other’s mouth made him feel a way he’d have to sort through later. 

“I need advice,” Alfred continued. 

“On?” 

“I need to make a date so fucking romantic that there’s no way in hell he can one up me. If he wants to play this game then I’m gonna win it.” 

Yao looked at Alfred’s prideful grin at his oh-so-ingenious plan and came to the realization that the F in his name stood for Fucking Dumbass. 

When Alfred had called Ivan and said he had a special surprise, the older was skeptical to say the least. It wasn’t that he thought Alfred would do something bad or to upset him; he just couldn’t push the fear of the unknown from his chest. Either way, Ivan found his way towards America and knocked on Alfred’s door. 

When it opened and Alfred pushed himself out the house, Ivan didn’t have a moment to greet the other before a blindfold was shoved towards his face. “I need you to trust me!” 

Ivan grabbed Alfred’s wrist a bit tighter than he had intended as he hissed out, “ What ?” That fear of the unknown sparked in his chest again. 

Alfred sighed and lightly kicked at Ivan’s leg to get him to let go. He complied and the blonde dropped his hands. “The surprise. We gotta drive there. Like all day I’ve been trying to figure out how to get you there without spoiling it and I chose blindfold.” 

“I don’t like your choice,” Ivan breathed out as he attempted to calm himself. 

“Aw, come on, just trust me. We’re only like a twenty minute drive away,” Alfred explained as he started pushing the cloth towards Ivan again. “Ten if I speed, which I do anyways, so.” 

Ivan grabbed his wrist again, this time much softer so as not to leave even more of a bruise than what was already forming. He moved the hand out the way so that he could look Alfred in the eyes. He chewed on his words for a moment before noticing the pleading look the other held. He sighed. “No longer than ten minutes. I will be counting.” 

Alfred broke into a grin then laughed as he was allowed to tie the cloth over Ivan’s eyes. “Okay, okay! Ten minutes! Promise!” 

The drive was silent save for the music playing between them. Ivan kept his hands on his legs, his body stiff and rigid. He didn’t like having his sight taken from him. He hated being at the mercy of another. Even if he did  trust Alfred, he still hated it. To Alfred’s credit, he wasn’t oblivious of this fact. Less than three minutes into the drive (Ivan was counting) he felt Alfred reach over and take his hand. His thumb ran over the back of Ivan’s hand so gently and with such reassurement that Ivan could feel himself relax into the car seat. 

It really did only take ten, maybe twelve minutes for them to arrive at their destination. 

“Okay, I’m gonna help you out of the car and then like, take my hand and follow me, okay?” 

Ivan didn’t have time to respond before he heard Alfred leave the car and then his own door opened. 

Alfred led Ivan, hand in hand, for a walk that lasted at least three minutes. “This has been longer than ten minutes,” Ivan spoke up. 

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” Alfred’s hands fell to Ivan’s shoulders to halt his steps. “Stand here for a sec.” 

Ivan did as he was told as he heard Alfred walk away. He took the moment to try and feel around for his surroundings. He knew they were outside. The wind had been gently blowing against him the whole time. They had to have been at some kind of park or field, as he was definitely walking on grass and not some kind of concrete or bricks. After a moment he felt Alfred’s hands again. They moved through his hair to untie the blindfold. 

Ivan opened his eyes as the blindfold fell from his face. The brightness of the sun caused him to squint and try to get used to seeing again. After a few blinks he opened them fully and got a good look at his surroundings. That fear that had been sitting on his chest the whole time suddenly evaporated and turned into something brighter, warmer. Ivan stood in the clearing of a large sunflower field with what looked like a picnic setup only a foot away. He tore his eyes away from the beautiful scene only to look at an even brighter smile. Alfred was practically beaming at him, stars in his eyes that sparkled like fireworks. 

“You -,” the words got caught in Ivan’s throat. 

Alfred took his hands and pulled him towards the blue blanket to sit. The moment the basket was opened, Ivan could smell the scent of his own home. Whatever was in there was warm and fresh and, from the sight of the tupperware, homemade. 

“You did all of this?” 

Alfred gave a nod, still grinning like the sun. His grin only fell when Ivan moved forward to take his lip into a kiss. They stayed like that for a moment. Hands moving from cheeks to hair, from shoulders to backs. When they pulled away, Ivan had such a soft and genuine smile directed at Alfred that the blonde’s chest ached. 

“This is so beautiful. And the sunflowers,” Ivan chuckled. “You know they are my favorite.” 

“Yeah,” Alfred chuckled. He looked away with a sheepish grin, suddenly feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush. “If I’m being honest, I’ve had all this planned out for a while. I just had to wait for the fields to be in bloom or whatever.” 

“The wait was definitely worth it.” 

“So,” Alfred dragged out as he scooted closer to the other. “Does that mean I win?” 

“Win what?” Ivan asked with a humored raise of his brow. 

“Your challenge!” 

“What challenge?” 

There was a pause. They looked at each other for a moment as if trying to understand what the other was saying. 

“Your romantic challenge?” Alfred tried to explain. “Every time I do something for you, you return it with something, like, bigger and more romantic!” 

Ivan couldn’t help but frown in confusion. “I do not understand. I never put forth a challenge.” 

“Uh, yeah dude. You totally did.”

Ivan looked at Alfred as if to ask him to explain. 

“Wait so you… weren’t trying to one up me these past five years?” 

“One up you?” 

“Yeah!” Alfred cried and threw his hands into the air. “I’d like, get you a gift or something sweet and like right after you’d do some big romantic shit as if to one up me!” He let his hands fall back to his lap, then gave a tilt of his head. “If you weren’t trying to challenge me then what was that all about?” 

Ivan suddenly looked uncomfortable. His face grew red from embarrassment as he looked to the grass, avoiding eye contact. “I was ah… copying you.” 

Alfred blinked. “Huh?” 

“I have not been in that many romantic relationships despite my age,” Ivan admitted as he began to explain. “When we first got together I was afraid that I would do this all wrong, so I followed your lead. The little gifts and gestures of affection. I mimicked them so that you would understand that my feelings were mutual.” Ivan finally looked up at Alfred with a flustered smile that bordered on nervousness. “You make me feel so cared for that I wanted to make you feel the same.” 

Alfred only sat there for a moment in silence as he took in and unpacked the information given to him. He then shoved his face into his hands with a loud groan that almost startled Ivan. “Dude, I feel like such an asshole!” He let himself fall forward so his face was in Ivan’s lap. 

Ivan couldn't help but chuckle at the dramatics. He rested his hand on Alfred’s head and threaded his fingers through his hair. 

“This whole time I thought you were like, romantic fighting me or something.” 

“Why would two people fight romantically?” 

“Dude,” Alfred responded flatly as he turned in Ivan’s lap to look up at the other. “ How many times have we broken each other’s bones over the dumbest shit? I dunno man, this just seems pretty on brand for us.” 

That pulled a genuine laugh from Ivan. He put his hand to his mouth as his shoulders shook pleasantly. 

Alfred gave his own chuckle and smiled. “Guess I was kinda being a dummy. Sorry, man.” 

“Yes, you are a dummy,” Ivan nodded in agreement after his laughter had subsided. “But, you are my dummy and I am all right with this.” 

Ivan suddenly let out a sound of shock when Alfred pushed him down to the grass. “Man shut up! You’re not supposed to agree with me! You’re supposed to tell me how romantic and cool I am.” 

Ivan opened his mouth to respond but all that could come out was the bubbling laughter that filled his body. He wrapped an arm around Alfred and pulled him against his chest. With the sun shining down on the both of them and the wind softly playing in their hair, Ivan smiled. Maybe he too enjoyed the little things.