[Fan Fiction] Stackable Families
FINALLY. A FIC WITH SHINY NEW CONTENT! *sighs happily because OH MY GOD SOMETHING WITH CONTENT HOORAY* Yes, this is a fic for Russia's birthday. A LATE fic. Too bad. >3<;;; Beh. I haven't written for Russia in a while, and it kind of shows, but I still think it came out really cute... I wanted to do something with Nikolai/Kaliningrad and Russia for a change instead of just Niko being with Daddy Gilbert forever. Even if Ivan isn't quite as involved in Nikolai's life as some others are, Niko still sees him as his Mommy, or at least part of his family. ;w; Even though he sometimes wishes that Anya, the woman who takes care of him in Kaliningrad, was his mommy and not Ivan...
http://desearu.deviantart.com/art/APH-quot-like-a-family-quot-fanart-183234515 <-- This, as always, is Nikolai, if you haven't seen him. :'D
Enjoy!
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Ivan wasn’t expecting to do much on this particular birthday. Perhaps he would call some of his “old friends” for a little birthday chat, and then (of course) finish the day off with as much of the best vodka as he could take, but other than that, his schedule was more or less clear.
Naturally, when he heard knocking at his door, it came as a great surprise. It was even more of a surprise to him when the person on the other side of the door was Nikolai, better known as Kaliningrad, the "son" who preferred to spend his time with the other parent: Gilbert.
The little boy was holding a medium-sized box in his mitten-clad hands. He looked up at Ivan with the very same little smile that Ivan himself often wore. "H-Hi, Russia," he said, the stammer giving away his nervousness under the smile. As much as he liked his "mommy" (not that he would ever call Ivan that to his face), "Daddy" was obviously his favorite parent, and that wasn't something that Ivan particularly minded. He had a bit of trouble knowing just what to do with this child, and since Gilbert was the one with infinitely stronger paternal instincts anyway, he delegated most of the responsibilities to the Prussian, who happily accepted them.
"How nice to see you, Nikolai," Ivan replied, though the statement was only about 90% true. As nice as it was to have something interesting pop up in the middle of his rather boring day, some part of him was a little miffed about that "something" being Nikolai. He barely knew how to accomodate or entertain the child normally; why would he know any better on his birthday? "Why don't you come inside? It's cold out there."
With a nod, Nikolai entered the house, clutching the box tightly to his chest as he did. Once he was inside and comfortable, he chirped, "Happy birthday, Russia!" Some of his nervousness had dissipated now that he was actually with his "mother," but he wouldn't be able to calm down till his gift was opened and accepted. "I-I got you something for your birthday. I hope you like it." He held the box out for Ivan to take.
Ivan stared at the box and the boy for a moment, and then smiled despite himself. "Oh, thank you, Kolya! That's very nice of you." He set the box down on a table and opened it to find a stacking doll inside. It was wooden and somewhat crudely painted; the paint was rather thinly applied in a few places. In fact, the whole design was rather simple, which begged an obvious question. "Did you paint this?"
"Uh-huh! That's supposed to be you, Ma- er, Russia." Nikolai stood beside Ivan with his hands behind his back, curiously looking over to see just what Ivan was doing with the doll.
At that moment, Ivan wondered why he thought the doll could have been anything else. The "body" of the doll was painted to match the long coat Ivan always wore, and the face had two distinct purple dots for eyes. Even the doll's bangs had been painted precisely like how Ivan's were (or at least, as precise as a child with a simple paintbrush could get). "I see! I can tell you put a lot of effort into this."
"Thank you!" Nikolai promptly said, in the same polite tone Ivan typically used. "Can you open it up and see the others? Please?"
"Of course, of course," Ivan replied with a chuckle. He opened up the first doll and took the second one out of it. He couldn't say he was terribly surprised by this one's design; it was obviously Gilbert: white hair, red dots for eyes, the body painted to reflect his favorite white shirt and black pants. It seemed to have been painted with a little more care than the one before it; the paint on it was thicker and let less of the wood underneath show through. In fact, the improvement was overdone in a few places; there were a few small accidental-looking blobs of dried paint here and there. "This one is Gil- er, Daddy, right? It looks very good."
Nikolai's demeanor seemed to brighten a bit. "Uh-huh! Now look at the next one!" He was rocking back and forth on his heels with excitement, eager to see what Ivan would have to say about the others.
Ivan gave the doll painted to look like Gilbert one last looking-over with a smile before he opened it up and moved on. The third doll had overalls, short, blonde hair, and a headband, making the person it represented an easy guess. "This is Auntie Ukraine, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is!" Nikolai gave a little hop to punctuate his sentence. "Look at the next one, the next one!" The fact that Ivan had recognized and approved three of the five dolls made him quite happy, and he couldn't wait to get to the remaining dolls.
"I am, I am. Calm down, Kolya." Ivan opened the Ukraine doll to reveal the fourth doll. This one ended up being something of a puzzle. It had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a blue outfit, but no other outstanding characteristics that would make it recognizable. After scrutinizing it closely, he gave up. "Who is this supposed to be?"
Ivan's failure to recognize who this doll portrayed visibly dampened Nikolai's mood. "Um... i-it's Anya. Y-you know who I mean, right?"
It took Ivan a moment, but eventually he realized who Nikolai was talking about. "Ah! Of course, of course. I see. It does look like her." He frowned when a new thought came into his head. "I assume you left Auntie Belarus out of this?"
"Uh... uh-huh." Nikolai looked away, a bit ashamed and afraid of how Ivan was going to react. Some part of him feared that there would be consequences for leaving out one of Ivan's sisters and replacing her with someone who wasn't even a nation.
There was an awkward, tense pause as Ivan turned the mysterious doll over in his hands and stared at it with a frown. Suddenly, the tension vanished in a puff of smoke as the smile returned to Ivan's face and the pleasantness came back into his voice. "Don't be so worried, Kolya! I don't blame you for your decision one bit." He really didn't blame Nikolai for that choice; Natalia hadn't been much better than frosty towards Nikolai, and it was obvious that the boy was intimidated by her presence. If he found his younger aunt too creepy to include in his "family portrait," that was acceptable. Ivan thought that he might have done just the same thing in Nikolai's position. As much as he cared for his sister, he had to admit that she could be a bit... unnerving at times. To both of them.
As for Anya, she was the woman given the task of caring for Nikolai back in Kaliningrad. Ivan knew that she had a rather maternal and caring personality. She was the closest thing that Nikolai would ever have to a mother. With those facts in mind, it made sense that the boy would include her amongst the layers of the stacking doll. Nikolai sighed with visible relief when Ivan seemed to approve of this doll along with the others, and the tension was dispelled. "N-now look at the last one."
Ivan did so, and the tiniest doll was the easiest guess yet. "And this is you, Nikolai!" The doll had the same white hair as the boy in front of him, and even the eye-dots were the same mix of red and purple as Nikolai's eyes.
"Uh-huh!" Nikolai's eyes followed Ivan's hand as he set all the dolls down in a line. "Do you like them?"
Ivan looked all the dolls over once again before he gave his response. It went without saying that he had a massive collection of stacking dolls, but these would be a worthy addition to the collection, even if they were far from the most impressive. It really was a little family portrait, if one from a child's point of view: himself, Gilbert, Ukraine, Anya, Nikolai. For some reason, it made him happy to receive proof that Nikolai considered him "included" in his little family, every bit as much of a family member as Gilbert and Anya. Finally, he spoke. "Yes! Yes, I like them very much! Thank you for the birthday present, Kolya!"
For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, identical smiles beaming from similarly round-shaped faces. Then Ivan did something unexpected: he reached forward, rested his hand on Nikolai's head, and tousled the little boy's hair. Such physical expressions of affection from Ivan were rare. For some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to touch Nikolai; not even he knew what caused that kind of aversion. Perhaps Nikolai looked too much like him, or too much like Gilbert, and that set something off in his mind; he had no idea. Nonetheless, he would be lying if he said he didn't care for the boy. In fact, he cared for little Nikolai quite a bit.
Nikolai stared back at Ivan with surprised red-purple eyes, and then giggled and took his "mother's" hand off his head and held it. "I'm glad you like 'em, Ma- er, Russia."
Ivan stood up, not pulling his hand away from Nikolai. He moved the stacking doll that looked like Nikolai in between the ones that looked like him and Gilbert. "Look, it's our little family," he said, bemused. He then moved the doll of Nikolai back to the end, and the gesture gave him an idea. "Would you like to help me arrange these in the collection, Kolya?"
Nikolai's response was the most enthusiastic so far. "Uh-huh! Yes, I would!"
"Follow me, then." With that, Ivan re-stacked the dolls together, and led Nikolai into the display room filled with all the other little Russian doll families.
http://desearu.deviantart.com/art/APH-quot-like-a-family-quot-fanart-183234515 <-- This, as always, is Nikolai, if you haven't seen him. :'D
Enjoy!
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Ivan wasn’t expecting to do much on this particular birthday. Perhaps he would call some of his “old friends” for a little birthday chat, and then (of course) finish the day off with as much of the best vodka as he could take, but other than that, his schedule was more or less clear.
Naturally, when he heard knocking at his door, it came as a great surprise. It was even more of a surprise to him when the person on the other side of the door was Nikolai, better known as Kaliningrad, the "son" who preferred to spend his time with the other parent: Gilbert.
The little boy was holding a medium-sized box in his mitten-clad hands. He looked up at Ivan with the very same little smile that Ivan himself often wore. "H-Hi, Russia," he said, the stammer giving away his nervousness under the smile. As much as he liked his "mommy" (not that he would ever call Ivan that to his face), "Daddy" was obviously his favorite parent, and that wasn't something that Ivan particularly minded. He had a bit of trouble knowing just what to do with this child, and since Gilbert was the one with infinitely stronger paternal instincts anyway, he delegated most of the responsibilities to the Prussian, who happily accepted them.
"How nice to see you, Nikolai," Ivan replied, though the statement was only about 90% true. As nice as it was to have something interesting pop up in the middle of his rather boring day, some part of him was a little miffed about that "something" being Nikolai. He barely knew how to accomodate or entertain the child normally; why would he know any better on his birthday? "Why don't you come inside? It's cold out there."
With a nod, Nikolai entered the house, clutching the box tightly to his chest as he did. Once he was inside and comfortable, he chirped, "Happy birthday, Russia!" Some of his nervousness had dissipated now that he was actually with his "mother," but he wouldn't be able to calm down till his gift was opened and accepted. "I-I got you something for your birthday. I hope you like it." He held the box out for Ivan to take.
Ivan stared at the box and the boy for a moment, and then smiled despite himself. "Oh, thank you, Kolya! That's very nice of you." He set the box down on a table and opened it to find a stacking doll inside. It was wooden and somewhat crudely painted; the paint was rather thinly applied in a few places. In fact, the whole design was rather simple, which begged an obvious question. "Did you paint this?"
"Uh-huh! That's supposed to be you, Ma- er, Russia." Nikolai stood beside Ivan with his hands behind his back, curiously looking over to see just what Ivan was doing with the doll.
At that moment, Ivan wondered why he thought the doll could have been anything else. The "body" of the doll was painted to match the long coat Ivan always wore, and the face had two distinct purple dots for eyes. Even the doll's bangs had been painted precisely like how Ivan's were (or at least, as precise as a child with a simple paintbrush could get). "I see! I can tell you put a lot of effort into this."
"Thank you!" Nikolai promptly said, in the same polite tone Ivan typically used. "Can you open it up and see the others? Please?"
"Of course, of course," Ivan replied with a chuckle. He opened up the first doll and took the second one out of it. He couldn't say he was terribly surprised by this one's design; it was obviously Gilbert: white hair, red dots for eyes, the body painted to reflect his favorite white shirt and black pants. It seemed to have been painted with a little more care than the one before it; the paint on it was thicker and let less of the wood underneath show through. In fact, the improvement was overdone in a few places; there were a few small accidental-looking blobs of dried paint here and there. "This one is Gil- er, Daddy, right? It looks very good."
Nikolai's demeanor seemed to brighten a bit. "Uh-huh! Now look at the next one!" He was rocking back and forth on his heels with excitement, eager to see what Ivan would have to say about the others.
Ivan gave the doll painted to look like Gilbert one last looking-over with a smile before he opened it up and moved on. The third doll had overalls, short, blonde hair, and a headband, making the person it represented an easy guess. "This is Auntie Ukraine, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is!" Nikolai gave a little hop to punctuate his sentence. "Look at the next one, the next one!" The fact that Ivan had recognized and approved three of the five dolls made him quite happy, and he couldn't wait to get to the remaining dolls.
"I am, I am. Calm down, Kolya." Ivan opened the Ukraine doll to reveal the fourth doll. This one ended up being something of a puzzle. It had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a blue outfit, but no other outstanding characteristics that would make it recognizable. After scrutinizing it closely, he gave up. "Who is this supposed to be?"
Ivan's failure to recognize who this doll portrayed visibly dampened Nikolai's mood. "Um... i-it's Anya. Y-you know who I mean, right?"
It took Ivan a moment, but eventually he realized who Nikolai was talking about. "Ah! Of course, of course. I see. It does look like her." He frowned when a new thought came into his head. "I assume you left Auntie Belarus out of this?"
"Uh... uh-huh." Nikolai looked away, a bit ashamed and afraid of how Ivan was going to react. Some part of him feared that there would be consequences for leaving out one of Ivan's sisters and replacing her with someone who wasn't even a nation.
There was an awkward, tense pause as Ivan turned the mysterious doll over in his hands and stared at it with a frown. Suddenly, the tension vanished in a puff of smoke as the smile returned to Ivan's face and the pleasantness came back into his voice. "Don't be so worried, Kolya! I don't blame you for your decision one bit." He really didn't blame Nikolai for that choice; Natalia hadn't been much better than frosty towards Nikolai, and it was obvious that the boy was intimidated by her presence. If he found his younger aunt too creepy to include in his "family portrait," that was acceptable. Ivan thought that he might have done just the same thing in Nikolai's position. As much as he cared for his sister, he had to admit that she could be a bit... unnerving at times. To both of them.
As for Anya, she was the woman given the task of caring for Nikolai back in Kaliningrad. Ivan knew that she had a rather maternal and caring personality. She was the closest thing that Nikolai would ever have to a mother. With those facts in mind, it made sense that the boy would include her amongst the layers of the stacking doll. Nikolai sighed with visible relief when Ivan seemed to approve of this doll along with the others, and the tension was dispelled. "N-now look at the last one."
Ivan did so, and the tiniest doll was the easiest guess yet. "And this is you, Nikolai!" The doll had the same white hair as the boy in front of him, and even the eye-dots were the same mix of red and purple as Nikolai's eyes.
"Uh-huh!" Nikolai's eyes followed Ivan's hand as he set all the dolls down in a line. "Do you like them?"
Ivan looked all the dolls over once again before he gave his response. It went without saying that he had a massive collection of stacking dolls, but these would be a worthy addition to the collection, even if they were far from the most impressive. It really was a little family portrait, if one from a child's point of view: himself, Gilbert, Ukraine, Anya, Nikolai. For some reason, it made him happy to receive proof that Nikolai considered him "included" in his little family, every bit as much of a family member as Gilbert and Anya. Finally, he spoke. "Yes! Yes, I like them very much! Thank you for the birthday present, Kolya!"
For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, identical smiles beaming from similarly round-shaped faces. Then Ivan did something unexpected: he reached forward, rested his hand on Nikolai's head, and tousled the little boy's hair. Such physical expressions of affection from Ivan were rare. For some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to touch Nikolai; not even he knew what caused that kind of aversion. Perhaps Nikolai looked too much like him, or too much like Gilbert, and that set something off in his mind; he had no idea. Nonetheless, he would be lying if he said he didn't care for the boy. In fact, he cared for little Nikolai quite a bit.
Nikolai stared back at Ivan with surprised red-purple eyes, and then giggled and took his "mother's" hand off his head and held it. "I'm glad you like 'em, Ma- er, Russia."
Ivan stood up, not pulling his hand away from Nikolai. He moved the stacking doll that looked like Nikolai in between the ones that looked like him and Gilbert. "Look, it's our little family," he said, bemused. He then moved the doll of Nikolai back to the end, and the gesture gave him an idea. "Would you like to help me arrange these in the collection, Kolya?"
Nikolai's response was the most enthusiastic so far. "Uh-huh! Yes, I would!"
"Follow me, then." With that, Ivan re-stacked the dolls together, and led Nikolai into the display room filled with all the other little Russian doll families.