Wall of Flowers -Pre RusAme-

Summary: Alfred pays Ivan a visit just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and helps drive away the loneliness he feels.

Pairing: Pre-RusAme

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Alfred pulled his coat more tightly around him as he dashed out of the airport, with only a small bag with his toiletries and a change of clothes slung over his shoulder. He called a taxi, thanking his lucky stars that Russia had been willing to teach him his language before their friendship – and their diplomatic relations – had fallen apart.

He gave the driver Russia's address, hoping that he hadn't moved in the many years since he'd last visited his home. Bouncing in his seat, he watched as the landscape changed from urban to suburban to borderline rural.

The sun was touching the horizon by the time they pulled up to the house. He quickly paid and got out, immediately turning and following the path to the front door. The house was oddly silent and dark, none of the laughter and chatter he used to hear flowing from its walls.

He sighed and knocked, knowing that it would be heard in the silent house. As he'd half-expected, no one answered, and he turned the handle, knowing Russia never bothered to lock his door. It opened silently and he quickly stepped inside and closed it behind him, feeling some of the shivers subside as he escaped the freezing wind.

He hung his coat in the hall closet before going through all the rooms downstairs. There wasn't a single trace of life except for the broken glass in the kitchen and the liquor cabinet with its door half torn off. He ignored the them for now, instead heading up the stairs. He made a beeline for the master bedroom at the end of the hallway, feeling a tinge of sadness at all the empty rooms.

He heard the clink of glass just as he reached the door, and steeled himself for whatever he might see inside. He gently pushed open the door, stopping just inside the doorway.

Russia was lying on the bed, a handful of vodka bottles littering the floor while he clutched another.  The room was a mess, clothes and various papers littering the floor. As he watched, Ivan took another swig from the bottle before snuggling deeper into the sheets, the bottle dangling dangerously from his fingertips.

Alfred moved forward and knelt beside the bed, gently pulling the bottle from his grip and placing it aside.

"Ivan."

Ivan shifted but kept his eyes shut, frowning a little. Alfred moved closer, leaning over Ivan as he brushed the hair out of his face.

"Ivan," he said again.

Violet eyes fluttered open and met sky blue. Ivan shot up, swaying only slightly as he did so. Alfred barely managed to pull away in time, feeling his hair flutter as Ivan missed him by mere centimeters. His eyes were dulled but clear, and his coordination was perfectly fine as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Evidently he was just tipsy, and not drunk, despite the number of vodka bottles he'd gone through.

Ivan looked at him and snorted, reaching for the bottle Alfred had set aside. Alfred grabbed his wrist and stopped the movement, making him frown.

"Why are you here, Amerika? Going to rub it in my face?"

"No."

He pressed Ivan's hand into the sheets, giving him a look that spoke of consequences should he try to reach for the bottle again. He stood up, wincing a bit as his knees protested, and turned his back on Ivan, going around the room and picking everything up off the floor. Dirty clothes went into the wash basket, while he hung the few clean ones in the closet. He picked up all the papers off the floor, and put them into some semblance of order, stacking them on the desk.

Ivan just watched him for a while as he worked around the room. After a few minutes he asked, "What are you doing, Amerika?"

Alfred threw a pair of pants in the basket. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm cleaning this mess up."

Ivan sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Okay, let's try this again. Why are you here, Amerika?"

"I thought you could use the company."

Ivan growled and grabbed Alfred's wrist as he walked by, making him stop his cleaning. "Why would you think that? And why would you voluntarily come here?"

Alfred stared at him. "How did you..."

He scoffed at the surprised look Alfred gave him. "Don't give me that look. With our history, the other nations would have tried to keep you from coming here, not encourage you. Since my phone isn't blowing up right now, they don't know that you're here yet."

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Note to self: never try to slip anything past a Russian."

He pulled out of Ivan's grip, sitting down beside him and pulling up his knees to rest his head on them.

"You really can't figure out why I'm here?"

Ivan crossed his arms and looked at him, silently telling him to get on with it. Alfred sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm here because before we declared ourselves enemies, we were allies... and good friends. And because despite all the taunts, and threats, and misplaced hatred between us, I still cared about you. A lot more than I should have."

He turned slightly, facing Ivan directly as he said, "I care about you, Ivan. Despite our relationship over the past few decades, I never stopped caring about you. If that isn't a good reason to be here, then I don't know what is."

He straightened up and held out his arms, giving him the option to turn away if he truly wished it. "You don't have to be alone, Ivan."

Ivan only hesitated a moment before he allowed himself to fall into Alfred's embrace. As those strong arms tightened around him, he felt a little of the loneliness disappear.

"Why? Why would you still care about me after all I've done?"

Alfred ran a hand through Ivan's hair, feeling him relax a little more at the caress. "Because I learned to look past your faults and see the warm-hearted sunflower-lover underneath them."

He continued running his hand through the strands as he said, "I blew off my boss to come here, you know. He almost ordered me to stay, said it wasn't safe, but I still came. Turns out I cared about you more than I knew."

It was quiet for a few minutes as Alfred held Ivan in his arms, giving him all the comfort he needed without saying a word. Eventually Ivan pulled away, copying Alfred's position from earlier and resting his head on his knees. He looked so much like a downtrodden child in that moment that Alfred felt a strong pang in his heart.

"You may care, but no one else does."

Alfred blinked and stared at him. "What makes you say that?"

"My family left, didn't they? And everyone else is afraid of me."

Alfred looked closely at his face, at his expressive violet eyes, and Ivan pulled back slightly under the scrutiny.

"You really believe that," Alfred said, surprised.

"There's no evidence otherwise."

Alfred's eyes grew wider. "Have you left this room at all?"

Ivan felt his cheeks heat up. "Not unless it was to get more vodka and use the bathroom."

Alfred grabbed his arm and jumped up, dragging him out the door. He mumbled under his breath as he led him downstairs, Ivan unable to catch anything other than "oblivious" and "idiot" – usually one after the other. He raised an eyebrow but kept his mouth shut, curious about what Alfred was going to show him.

Once they reached the bottom Alfred turned around and said, "Close your eyes."

"But wouldn't –"

"Close them. It will be much more impressive if you do."

Ivan looked at him suspiciously but closed his eyes, not really surprised when he felt hands cover them for extra protection. He followed the direction the pressure on his back sent him, stopping somewhere he guessed was about halfway down the hallway. He was turned to the right, and if he was right he was now facing the wall where the staircase was.

The hands fell from his eyes, and he heard Alfred say, "Open them."

He did, and felt his breath catch in his throat. Laid out before him was a painting of a field of sunflowers, looking so real he was tempted to reach out and touch the petals. He recognized his older sister's style in the strokes of the flowers, while Natalia's was evident in the clouds of the blue sky and the birds playfully weaving through them.

"They love you too, you know. Just because they left doesn't mean they stopped."

He glanced at Alfred, and felt his heart skip a beat at the beautiful smile on his face. It was small, but beautiful and so much more real than those huge smiles that showed all his teeth.

He couldn't help but smile back.

As he looked back at the beautifully painted field of sunflowers on his wall he gripped Alfred's hand tightly, feeling the other lace their fingers together.

"Thank you, Alfred."

"No problem." The smile returned, but this time Ivan could see a mischievous spark in his eyes. "What kind of hero would I be if I couldn't even make a man smile when he needed it?"

He felt his lips twitch upward again as his heart filled with warmth. Maybe, just maybe, he'd cared about Alfred more than he'd known, too.