Invisible

Part Two: Growing Tensions

At the end of the conference, Ivan invited Matthew to come stay with him in the USSR, and Matthew agreed without a second thought, thought that was probably a dumb idea. But why should he care? The Russian had been nothing but kind to him so far, and to finally have someone other than Kuma to talk to was kind of amazing.
So here he was on a plane, watching the scenery as they flew over eastern Europe.
Occasionally Ivan would look at one of his sisters and ask where they were, though Matthew was fairly sure that was 100% for his benefit. Ukraine seemed to always know exactly what each location was, as well as the history of the land.
Once they landed in Russia, he could tell everyone was suddenly anxious. He supposed that the satellite nations all wished they were back in the air, where Ivan seemed a little uneasy unless his nose was buried in a book.
But at least he doesn't panic like Al when they hit turbulence. He thought to himself.
There was a brief drive from the small private airfield, and then they were there. Matthew stared up at the house in amazement. It was huge, several stories high, he guessed.
"Enough room for all the Nations." Ivan whispered very quickly to Matthew before taking his bags and slinging them over his shoulder.
"Wow." Matthew said, unbelieving. Sure, some Nations had large houses, but this...
This was a castle.
He watched the five satellite nations split up as they walked into the house. Ukraine and Lithuania headed towards the kitchen, Ivan informed him. The other two Baltics and Belarus were headed to their rooms.
"I will show you to your room for now, da?"
Matthew nodded, following him closely. It would be easy to get lost in a place like this.
"I didn't build a room for you, because I didn't know you existed. But I built your brother a very nice room, and you may have it," Ivan stated after they'd gotten out of the earshot of all the others.
"Thank you." He said, though he was a little confused.
As they walked down the halls, he saw each room had a Nation's name on the door in their native languages. Matthew guessed Ivan took the phrase "All will become one with Russia" pretty seriously.
Ivan showed him to a room on the top floor, and Matthew was surprised to see that it was right across the hall from Ivan's.
In big letters, in plain English, it read
The United States of America
Alfred F. Jones
Matthew wasn't sure if that was sweet or scary.
Across the hall in Russian, it read.
CCCP
Иван
That was strangely simple compared to the rest of the house.
When Matthew opened the door to Alfred's room, he was surprised by the inside.
He saw a painting of an eagle by the bed, and a map of the US framed on the wall. There were several heavy blankets on the bed, and a phone as well. As he continued to look around, his confusion grew.
I thought Ivan hated Al. I know Al hates him.
Ivan sensed the awkward silence. "All the rooms are like this. I didn't want other countries to forget their lands." He finally stated, in order to break the silence.
"I thought you would want them to forget their lands when they became one with you." Canada said, and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, as if that could take back the words he had spoke.
"Nyet. I need them to still work, and help me take care of their lands. They can do that better if they remember them, at least a little." Ivan said, barely perturbed by Matthew's lack of social grace.
Matthew remembered walking past the door that read in Mandarin China Wang Yao and the one that read Cuba Carlos Machado.
He thought I shouldn't have come to himself.
"Matvey, are you alright?" Ivan asked, suddenly sounding concerned.
"Huh?"
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Oui, just a little disoriented." He replied, trying to absorb everything around him.
Ivan nodded. "It's understandable. I will bring you dinner when it is ready. Until then, I suggest you stay here. The house is very large, and until you know it well, I don't recommend exploring it too much. There are dangerous things in Russia."
"Okay."
Ivan left the room, and Matthew investigated the dresser drawers, finding them full of clothes tailored to fit Alfred, from the looks of them.
The shirts fit him just fine, but the pants were a little too big everywhere. Al had muscles that Matt just didn't have.
Ivan came back with dinner to see Canada in his old ragged pants and a new shirt before him. "I think we can do better than that." He stated.
Ivan came back with different sets of pants, until finally Matthew found some that worked. Ivan nodded, and then came back with a huge stack of jeans and dress pants matching the shirts in Alfred's closet.
It's almost like wearing uniforms. Matthew thought, matching items up and putting them back in the closet. And it was. The outfits literally matched. The only difference was the sizes.
"You can stay however long you like." Ivan said, smiling. "Just let me know when you need to leave to take care of your own affairs."
Matthew nodded, and then smiled right back at Ivan. He guessed that when the Russian was smiling from genuine happiness, it was just infectious.
"Alright. Thank you, Ivan."
Ivan nodded, and then left.