"Ivan?" I stood at the door of his office. He glanced up briefly before retuning to his work.

"What is it, Natalia?" He said in monotone. I inhales to steady myself.

"Do you love me?" He stopped typing and looked at me with incredulity, "At all. At this point, I do not even care how it is." I was growing desperate. Any love would satisfy me now, sisterly, friendship or even in the way one loves a pet.

He put his forehead into his hands and rested his fingers in his bangs. "I assume you wish for the truth."

"Of course. I would not bother to ask you otherwise." He took his hands away and looked me in the eye. I knew the answer then.

My body went lip and I gripped the doorframe tighter. "You don't." His face shifted.

"Natasha," He stood up and started to walk towards me.

"No. Do not call me Natasha." He stopped and I stepped forward. "Nicknames are for people you care about."

"I do care about you! How could you say I do not after all these years?"

"Easily. I'm just part of the package." He faltered as I turned and headed down the stairs. I heard his heavy footsteps as he followed me. I glanced back for a moment to see him with his hand on the rail.

Softly, "I'm sorry." fluttered down to me. I set my face to its default blankness and left his house.

I jerked the bottle from its place in my wine rack and rummaged in one of the drawers. My kitchen was lit only by the night sky as I pulled the corkscrew from the drawer and opened the bottle. Taking a swig I sighed and threw the corkscrew back.

"This is ridiculous." I muttered to myself. Here I was, alone in my home, rejected and drinking straight from the bottle. "I have more dignity than this." But where to go be drunk if not my own home? Honestly I didn't even want to be in my own country. "Where to go if one wishes to get drunk?" I sat the wine down and left the kitchen. Russia would be the obvious answer in normal circumstances. But better not to return to the scene of the crime. "No where Slavic." I decided as I climbed the stairs and went to my room.

I walked to the world map on my wall and searched it. I let my eyes wonder from my home to the west. I dragged my finger across the map, skipping right over Poland to Germany. That was an option, but then again, he did occupy me once. But I left my finger on Germany as my eyes went north.

"Hmm, Denmark. Small, little interaction, but close enough." I smiled as I went to change and leave.

The flight was short, as it always was for Countries. It was late afternoon as I arrived in the capitol. "Perfect." I breathed.

The weather was nice and perfect for bar hopping. I passed though the first three bars without having to by a single drink. Men already drunk trying to flirt their way to my bed, one can only let them hope.

I had quite a few drinks by the seventh bar and I was feeling delicious all over. Sitting down at a booth in the back, I waited for either an employee to come by to ask me what I wanted or a drink from another hopeful. Which ever came first was fine by me. I leaned back into the old booth. The seats used to be fluffy and soft, but now there was only a thin layer of stuffing between me and the wood. I began to drift off into my buzz.

"Natalia Arlovskaya? Is that you?" My eyes shot open as he slid into the opposite side of the booth.

"Mathais? What are you doing here?" His look questioned my sanity, then it dawned on me. "Oh right, it is your city, isn't it?" He laughed and waved for a waitress.

"Gimmie two Carlsburgs please." He said cheerfully as she left.

"What if I didn't want a beer, Mathais?" My brow quirked as I heaved myself up straight.

"Who said one of them was for you?" My bottom lip fell. His face was completely serious for all of two seconds before his laugh filled my ears. "Your face, is perfect. So worth it." He spoke between burst of giggles.

The woman brought back two large mugs of beer and placed them in the middle. Mathais nodded and winked at her. Her pale face flushed as she walked away.

"What a charmer you are." I said as I looked back to him. He picked up one of the mugs and chugged half of it in one gulp. He sighed and slammed it back on the table. The beer sloshed around, but none of it spilled out.

"'Course I am. Aren't you in love with me yet? I mean look at this foam 'stash." He puckered out his top lip and tried to examine what the beer had left behind. I couldn't help the smile that followed.

"Not quite yet, sorry." He stopped looking at himself and to me instead. His smiled and shoved the mug closer to me.

"The drink, two more and you're mine." I had to admit, he was rather good. Too bad neither of us was serious.

"Ha, you think I haven't drank already? And then you think it will only take two?" I couldn't help myself, "You poor soul." He pulled pack with a closed mouth smirk, his face tilted slightly away.

He leaned forward again. "Honestly, I don't think I'd have to make you drink at all. Even if I did, I'd still out last you. You're way too small."

This is were I began to truly enjoy myself for the first time that night. "Oh but you are so wrong. I have Slavic blood, remember?"

"And I'm Danish!" As if that statement meant more than mine.

"Very good, I'm glad that you can remember." He frowned.

"A Danish man, especially me, can out drink a small little Belarusian girl. It's fact."

"Wanna prove that 'fact', Mathais?" My eyes focused and my grin widened. It was game time now. No one gets away with a drinking challenge. Not even Ivan could. I always won. He threw an arm on top of the booth top and spread himself out across the seat.

"Yea, I'll prove it alright." He lifted up his hand and called the woman back, "I'm gonna need another round of Carlsburgs." I grabbed my untouched drink with both hands and began to chug as she left to fetch more.

Eight rounds later and I was more than just feeling good, but Mathais was worse. "Whaddya mean he said he didn't love ya?" The bar was almost empty, but we had yet to be kicked out.

"That's what I mean!" I slammed my mug down, we were both speaking the language of the drunk. To most others we would sounds like children babbling. "H-he wouldn't say anythin'. Just looked at me with this sad babe face." Mathais shook his head, but the action was exaggerated.

"That was stupid. Why'd he say o to such a pretty lady?"

"He thinks I'm creepy." I frowned, my eyes were tearing up.

Mathais' mouth dropped, "No! You are not! He fell forward and put his hand to my face. Thumbing away a tear he said, "Don't listen to 'im. You're great. I'd take ya in a second."

I sniffed. "No you would not be doing such a thing." A warning bell went off in the very back of my mind. It was screaming that I was drunk and this wasn't going to end well. "Why would you take a not pretty girl that is to be called a creep?" I looked into his eyes and for a moment I felt like someone cared.

"B'cause. You're not a creep, and you're the prettiest girl I know." He smiled as his forehead met mine. He nuzzled my nose with his own. Some part of me was shocked, the other was just happy to make human contact.

"Naaah, you do not think that." I pulled away from him and rested my head on the booth. Staring at an empty table in the middle of the bar I continued, "You're jus' drunk." He frowned.

"Nuh-uh. Ya are though. Come on, they're gonna kick us out." I looked back to him adn then to my glass. I quickly grabbed it and drained what was left.

"Fine." Once out side I realized it was cool and tried to rub away the goosebumps. Mathais noticed and with chunky motions clamped his arm around me.

"There. Ya be warm soon. Where're ya stayin'?" My head lolled back on my shoulders as I sighed.

"I have not the clue."

He shrugged and directed us to the right. "My place it is." A couple moments later and I registered what he said.

"Noo, I do not want to burden."

"Too late!" My feet were knocked from beneath me and I was being lifted. I glared at him, now that we were eye level. But then I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. "Daniya. You must be one lonely bastard if you're kidnapping the world's stalker."

He laughed. And I couldn't help but notice how pretty it was, deep and musical as it bloomed into the early morning. "You could call it that. Or maybe, I'm just desperate for a pretty girl in my bed," He coughed, "I mean house." I tried to punch him in the chest, but it ended up being more like I gently landed my fist there.

I heard him struggling in his pocket. So I wormed around in his arms and shoved my own hand in it. Brushing by his hand I easily snagged a ring of keys. I dangled them in his face. "Want these, Mister Danish man, sir?" He chuckled and knocked his forehead to mine.

"Gimmie." So I kissed him instead.

The sun was right in my face. I scrunched my face tight together and rolled snuggled closer to the warm body next to me. His (no way could it be mistaken as female) arm, which was slung across my waist, tightened its hold and pulled me closer. I sighed softly.

But then I froze. I gripped the bicep my hand was on lightly. That was a man's bicep. That was another human. In a bed. With me. My head hurt and I was confused. Cautiously, I opened an eye, but the other followed immediately as I found myself wrapped up in Mathais.

A vicious snore escaped him, I yelped and tried to jump back. But I found that his arms stopped me. At the sound of my voice though he sat up, pulling me close to him as he did so.

"Wha? What, wha's happenin'?" He glanced down and examined me through bleary eyes. "Belarus?" His face relaxed. "I'm still sleepin'." He sighed as he laid back down and went back to snuggling with me.

Shock left me with wide eyes and stiff muscles. I tried my best to remember the night before. But I only got to us laying in bed, kissing before it got fuzzy. "We kissed. . " I murmured in awe. I hadn't kissed anyone in years.

I studied Mathais. His face was kind of a rectangular shape, with cheek bones that made for pleasing angles. A bit of scruff had grown on the lower half of his face. His hair had fallen, whatever he used to stick it up had worn off, or whatever it was hair products did. It made his face softer and more real. I decided then that I liked him. And that I was going to enjoy resting in his arms.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty? Wanna wake for me?" His voice was a whisper, which was rare and nice of him. Anything louder would have stirred my head too much.

I stretched, as much as I could with his arms still around me. "Why?" I left my eyes closed, but moved my head closer to where I thought his was.

"'Cause I wanna see them pretty eyes." His voice was almost sickly sweet, but I couldn't refuse a smile. I peeked one eye open. He was nudging his head to the side.

"Nope, more."

"Mmmm." I groaned with mock reluctance. "Fine." His blue eyes were wide awake and sparkling.

"Hungry?"

"No, I'm Belarus." He sighed.

"She'd kill you if she heard that." I just stared at him for a moment.

"She loves me, why would she kill me?" He only shook his head and sat up, releasing me in the process.

Propping myself up on my elbow as he stood, I noticed he was still in the pants from last night. That was a small comfort. Even if I did enjoy sleeping with him, I didn't want to be a one night stand.

I rolled over to stare at the ceiling. "Mathais?"

He turned back to look at me, his eyes were wide and every action screamed 'casual' and 'relaxed'. "What, elskede?"

I wasn't sure entirely if he meant the Danish, but I continued. "Not to be too forward, but is this like a one night stand? Without the sex?" I let my head fall to the side to see his face fall and I couldn't help but to read a little too deep into it. He looked down to his feet and slowly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Depends. ."

"On what?" Sitting back on the bed with his back to me he spoke softly, almost lower than a whisper.

"On what you want it to be." I couldn't help but feel like this was something he had put some thought into already. Not like he had planned it, but as thought he had wanted this badly and now was the part where he stood to risk losing it.

But was he really leaving this in my hands? He was so venerable, so open. I was scared, a rare occasion in my life, to make the wrong decision. I pulled myself from under his sheets and crawled the foot over to sit beside him.

With my hands in my lap and my eyes on the wall I said, "I would like for this not to be a one night stand." I heard his body shift, but I kept my eyes focused. The house was silent for a few, anxious moments.

I was growing nervous, when I felt his arms wrap around me and we both fell back onto the bed. "You really mean it? Like actually and for real?" I chuckled.

"Would there be a point for me to lie?" He mumbled something nonsensical before crushing his lips into mine. He was warm and comfortable. The kiss had a certain feel of success to it, like when you find something you've been looking for, for a very long time.