Ivan trekked across the snow covered ground, cutting his way through the yard to reach the house faster instead of taking the ridiculously winding driveway Alfred had built. He was tired after a week long of work and although seeing Alfred would certainly be a drag, Andrew would be sure brighten his mood as well.
The moment he opened the door, he was tempted to close it, again. In the front room, Alfred had stacked a few chair's on top of one another and was standing on his tip toes to reach the light fixture. A small toy was lodged into it and he was carefully leaning forward, the toy just brushing his fingertips.
"Alfred. What are you doing?"
"Huh?" Alfred tried to turn around, throwing himself off balance. He managed to grab the hanging lamp just in time, but all the chairs toppled down, leaving him stranded in the air, "Dammit!"
"You really need to stop getting yourself into such precarious situations," Ivan sighed, picking up the chairs and pushing them out of the way before holding his arms out, "Come on, then. I'll catch you."
"No way!" Alfred argued, "I don't trust you!"
"I didn't fail to catch you last time, did I?" Ivan pointed out. Alfred frowned, remembering when he'd been building this very house and had fallen.
"Both times are your fault in the first place," Alfred argued, "You showing up keeps distracting me."
"I had no idea," Ivan smirked, "I suppose I should be flattered."
"Not like that!" Alfred growled.
"Look. Alfred, do I really need to get Andrew in here to talk some sense into you? There's no other way down."
"Go get me a ladder," Alfred suggested.
"I'm not dragging a ladder through his snow," Ivan refused.
"Then stack the chairs back up."
"That was a stupid idea to begin with." Alfred glared at him. Finally he reached for the toy and dropped it into Ivan's outstretched hand.
"Don't break that," Alfred warned, "It's Andrew's. Put it over there." Ivan placed it on the side table that Alfred had implied and returned to where he was, waiting patiently.
"You next."
"You better not drop me."
"As tempting as it may be, you have my word."
Alfred swallowed and closed his eyes. Counting to ten, he let up his hold and fell, landing in Ivan's arms as promised.
"God, you're an ass," Alfred let go of a breath, wrapping his arms around Ivan's neck so he couldn't drop him, again.
"If you have such a fear of heights, I don't understand why you keep climbing up to such high places," Ivan informed.
"I'm not afraid of heights," Alfred argued, "I'm just not fond of relying on people I don't particularly trust to catch me when I'm in free fall. That's all."
"I'm not so bad that I would let you hit the floor," Ivan pointed out, "If we're gonna make this work, you're going to need to learn to trust me."
"Do you trust me?" Alfred demanded. Ivan, startled by the question, opened his mouth and then closed it, again.
"...No."
"Well, then there you go."
Just then, the door opened and Andrew came in, carrying bags on either arm. He paused in the doorway, a smile spreading across his face.
"Dad! You're home!" He cheered, dropping the bags on the ground. Ivan set Alfred down before opening his arms for a hug, which Andrew was happy to comply with.
"What'd you even buy while you were out, anyways?" Alfred picked up one of the bags, shuffling through it. He pulled out a can of tomato sauce.
"Well, I was thinking since it was our first official dinner together as a family, we should make it together," Andrew explained, "I wanted something simple so neither of you would get frustrated and decided pizza would be perfect. We can all make our own separate sections and everything."
"Oh... You didn't have to go buy this stuff, Andrew," Alfred walked over, ruffling his hair, "We could have done it."
"Yeah, well... I was out and you gave me a hundred dollars for some reason before I left," Andrew shrugged, "I figured I might as well."
"You gave him a hundred dollars?" Ivan demanded.
"Don't judge me on how I spoil my child!" Alfred snapped.
"I'm all for spoiling him, but a hundred dollars?" Ivan said.
"Guys... Come on," Andrew interrupted, "Not right now. I think it'd be a good idea if we made pizza, now." Alfred and Ivan exchanged an angry look, but decided to brush it off and Alfred went to collect the bags.
"You're right. Let's get this show on the road!"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"You've got tomato sauce on your face, Andrei," Ivan stated, standing back a ways as Alfred and him spread the tomato sauce and sprinkled the cheese. Andrew brought a hand to his face, trying to wipe it away.
"No, it's on the other... Hold on a second," Ivan grabbed a napkin and cleaned his face, making the boy wince in distaste.
"Dad. It's fine," Andrew insisted, pushing him away, lightly, "Mom's a lot worse than I am, anyways."
"There isn't anything he can do about this one, though," Alfred smirked. Just to spite, he took a spoon of tomato sauce and put it on his nose before tossing it into the sink and returning to his cheese.
"Is that a challenge?" Ivan growled.
"Maybe it is," Alfred laughed. Andrew contemplated whether he should interrupt, but Ivan was quicker. He took Alfred by the wrist, spinning him around and trapping him against the counter.
"Well, then I win," Ivan grinned, wiping Alfred's face clean. He was frozen in place for a moment, heat beating rapidly in his chest. Surprise gave way to anger, though.
"Pfft. That doesn't count. You cheated," Alfred pointed out, pushing Ivan away and turning back to his pizza with a red face.
"You know what they say. All is fair in love and war," Ivan walked back to his spot, smugly.
"Mom," Andrew poked her shoulder, "Are you alright? Your face looks red."
"Yes, Andrew," Alfred waved away his concerns, willing his face to return to it's normal colour, "I'm fine. I'm incredibly angry with your stupid, good for nothing, father..."
"Oh. Okay," Andrew shrugged, returning to his own pizza.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"I think this is better than ordering pizza," Andrew stated, a piece of pizza in either hand, "We should make our own food more often."
"Heh... Maybe. I'll think about it," Alfred offered. He'd very nearly burnt the pizzas tonight, if Ivan hadn't stepped in and turned the oven off. He supposed it was to be expected, considering who made most of the meals in his childhood, but at least he was still a better cook than Arthur.
That wasn't much of a bar, though.
"Your mother is a terrible cook," Ivan explained, "He just doesn't like to admit it."
"I am no such thing!" Alfred argued.
"You are barely better than Arthur," Ivan returned, simply.
"I'll have you know I- Mmph!" Ivan shoved a piece of pizza into his mouth, successfully shutting him up for a moment."
"You really shouldn't do that," Andrew said.
"But can I? Certainly," Ivan returned, "In any case, I think there's something more important we should discuss."
"What's that?" He paused mid-bite.
"I want you to start learning Russian," Ivan explained, "Nations have been known to pick up languages much easier than humans-"
"Well... Except for Southern Italy, but I personally think he was trying not to learn Spanish on purpose," Alfred interrupted, "I mean, it's not even that difficult really. Even I know it. I even have a word that's for words crossed over between the two. It's called Spanglish."
"Alfred. I'm talking."
"Oh. Whoops. My bad."
"Anyways, I don't believe it will be incredibly difficult for you to learn, but it will certainly be necessary," Ivan continued, "You will definitely be spending every Tuesday and Wednesday in Russia - No exceptions. While I want you to feel free to go where you please and not to feel as though you are trapped in my house, you also need to understand things are very different in my homeland than in America and you will need to know how things work and how to communicate with other Russians before you do so." Andrew turned to Alfred, waiting for his side.
"As much as I hate it, he's right," Alfred admitted, "I absolutely cannot work less than three days a week - Even that's going to come back to bite me, later, I'm sure. While my boss takes care of most of the paperwork for me, I know Ivan isn't so fortunate and he will be working during the day. If he's going to be caring for you, he'll need you to be around. I also don't want you getting in trouble just because you didn't know better. If things really don't work out, we'll talk to your aunt or uncle about talking on extra days or I'll bring you to work with me, but I'd much rather not have to worry about that."
"Alright," Andrew nodded, once he was finished talking, "I'll give it a shot."
"That's a relief," Alfred breathed, "Almost worried you were going to throw a tantrum over it or something."
"Why would I do that?" Andrew questioned.
"Because that's what he would have done," Ivan answered.
"Don't act like you wouldn't have!"
"I think you forget I already know English and I'll be coming here, regularly, to stay with you both on the weekends."
"Yeah nobody asked you."