Chapter Text
As the wind blew cold outside, Ivan had grown lonely as his house was virtually empty now. His teeth slightly chattered as the heat was seldom present in the house; the fireplace lacked fire, because both him and Natalia didn’t wish to gather firewood in the harsh weather conditions. The only other person who was with him was Natalia, but he would not turn to her for as much as warmth. To put it into simple terms without excluding the main point, she scared him. For a long time all she had spoken to him of was “Marry me, become one with me, big brother!” her long, unevenly cut nails scratching at the wooden door. He hadn’t ever obliged to such request, and he knew he never would; no matter how much his younger sister had done to convince the man. He looked outside his glass window as he sat up from the old, creaking bed. A gust of wind amongst the snow passing by with a loud hushing noise comparable to an exhale of sorts. Ivan grabbed a bottle of vodka from his nightstand, half-empty from the night before, and took a few sips before wiping his mouth with his hand.
”Big brother, what must you be doing in there?” Ivan felt a cold chill travel down his spine, one that could freeze him faster than the excruciating frigid temperatures of the outdoors.
“I-I was taking a nap, Natalia.” He said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “Glad to see you’ve woken up. I was going to give you a proposal.”
Ivan sighed, it better not be a marriage proposal, or else he’d want to claw out his entrails and lie in his own pool of blood before accepting that. He would never become one with her. Every time she tried to persuade her brother, he always repeated the same thing in his head, like a mantra if sorts, “I’m never going to marry her. I’m never going to marry my sister, no matter the benefit.” Hundreds of times to keep himself sane enough to remember to reject her advances, which had become more and more convincing, and yet, deterring, as she had tried again each time.
”What is it? What is your proposal?” He queried, a hint of frustration in his words as they escaped his chapped lips. “Brother, if you marry me—“
“No! I refuse to accept whatever offer you make. Go away!”
His sister, more persistent than ever, continued her failing campaign to get Ivan to marry her from the other side of his bedroom door, voice raised enough to be heard clearly even if he covered his ears.
”Big brother, if you marry me, we’ll become stronger, together! More powerful than any nation seen!”
”Go away!” He repeated, as tears began to stream down his face. No matter how much he tried, she would never leave him, which frightened him all the more. On one hand, he knew joining her would make the days of endless begging to wed end, but on the other, he would have to actually spend his life with her and be her husband. His sister’s husband. So he had to continue to refuse, no matter how much it drained him.