Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Collection
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It had been many, many years since Ivan had started his world-wide campaign. He had started conquering the smaller, weaker countries first. They had been pathetically simple and easy to defeat; most of them surrendered when they saw him, having been utterly terrified of him for a long time. But he really had no use for sniveling cowards. Oh yes, they were fun to torment at first, but Ivan grew bored of them very easily and he, eventually, froze them all and put them in capsules to ensure that they were never, ever fade away. They may not have been alive, what with being frozen and all, but they were still part of his collection and he would not allow time to ravish them.

The stronger countries, however, were the most fun to capture. France, although not nearly as strong as Germany or Britain, fought valiantly and well, considering how much of a coward he actually was. Ivan enjoyed trampling him and watching him beg for mercy. Paris still burned to the ground, though, and the Russian watched gleefully as tears fell from France’s eyes. After seeing his beloved city burn and crumble before his very eyes, France came willingly. But he was quite annoying and Ivan really didn’t care too much for him, so he was frozen immediately and placed in a capsule in his prized collections room. That room was reserved for Ivan’s most prized possessions and France, being the country that he was, was one of them.

Italy was another. Although protected by Germany, he was easily captured. All Ivan had to do was threaten to gouge Germany’s eyes out with a plastic spoon and force feed them to him before Italy gave into him, sobbing like the pussy he was. Of course, all Ivan could really remember was that Italy just would not stop with the talking. It got most annoying and he was so relieved when Italy was frozen. Naturally, once the northern part of the country fell, the southern part fell, only Romano swore more and was far cruder and annoying.

But once he had them both, Ivan soon gained Spain, who only wanted to be beside his beloved, little Romano. Neither Spain nor Romano had places in his prized collection room; no, that room only had seven capsules and those were only for the seven special countries he wanted to proudly display.

Before Germany, along with his brother, Prussia, tried to, vainly, assault him in the hopes of rescuing Italy, Ivan managed to defeat Sweden and Denmark, both of whom had been worthy opponents, stronger than he had imagined, but they fell just like all of the others. Finland, after seeing Sweden fall, soon handed himself over, not wanting to be far from the other Nordic country. Although they, like all of the others, were dead now, frozen in time and space, Ivan put them in capsules on opposite sides of the room, ensuring that they would be kept apart for all time. Childish? Yes, but so very fun, no?

It was only after Norway and Iceland had been frozen and sealed within their eternal prisons did Germany and Prussia met him head on in the battlefield. Oh, it was a wonderful fight, full of gunfire and bloodshed and screams and killing, but neither of them had the strength of Mother Russia. None of them had her vast size and grace and number. Prussia fell first and soon after that, so did Germany. The annoying albino had a capsule at the very front of the large storage room Ivan used for most of his collection. While Prussia may have been annoying, he was a great fighter and Ivan respected that.

Germany, naturally, was placed alongside Italy in his special collections room.

Despite being neutral and on no one’s side, Switzerland couldn’t not fight Ivan off, not when he had come after both him and Liechtenstein. The little girl had cried and begged for him to spare her big brother’s life. Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Much like Finland and Sweden, they were kept apart in the storage room, and Ivan could only laugh cruelly at that.

Austria, even with Hungary’s assistance, had been easily defeated. With Germany having long since been captured and frozen, who else would come to their aid? The Netherlands and Belgium soon followed after them. And that was when Ivan captured France and burned Paris. Britain had fought him on numerous occasions, having aided other countries before he managed to escape. Ever elusive, it wasn’t until Hong Kong and China were in Ivan’s grasp that he finally came out to play.

Speaking of China, that had been one of Ivan’s favorite fights. China had been most stubborn and resistant to him, having Hong Kong to back him up and keep him going. He had been full of spirit and spite and was positively beautiful, although his beauty didn’t surpass his. And when China surrendered, bloody and defeated, Japan challenged him. He lost, but it had been a good fight. Not as good as the one he had with China, but Ivan could not complain. In the end, Japan had been a very interesting and difficult opponent, his strategies and tactics almost equaling Ivan’s own. Still, it had been a magnificent fight and afterwards, Ivan had to break out his finest vodka to celebrate the capture of Hong Kong, Japan, and precious China.

But his high spirits were quickly squashed by Britain, who had come to him, ready and raring for a bloody battle. And it had been a very bloody battle, indeed. By the end of it, Britain had lost his left eye and most of his uniform had been stained a beautiful red color due to all of the blood he had lost. However, he hadn’t been frozen immediately after Ivan had defeated him. Oh no, Britain knew things, of that Ivan was most sure of, and he alone held the answers that Ivan sought.

Chaining him to a cold, metal table, too strong for the Brit to break out of, Ivan spent endless months torturing him. Chunks of flesh mere missing from his body as well as most of his fingers and toes, but that mattered very little to Ivan. All that matter was that Britain refused to tell him anything, anything at all, about America, about Alfred, as Ivan so affectionately called him. None of his questions received answers, not one.

Where was Alfred?

Why was he running?

Why wouldn’t he fight?

Was he with his brother?

Where was his brother?

Was he dead?

Had someone killed him before Ivan had gotten hold of him?

Who had killed him?

Was he being hidden somewhere?

If so, where?

Britain said nothing, he merely cursed at him and spat in his face, quite literally and rudely, an action for which resulted in him losing his genitals. Hearing his screams during that one had brought a very large pleasure smile to Ivan’s face, but his anger at not knowing where his beloved Alfred was outweighed his pleasure. It was not long after that that Ivan frozen Britain and sealed him away along with France, China, Japan, Germany, and Italy. While he may have been incredibly disfigured, Ivan hadn’t started his collection because he thought that the other countries looked pretty; he wanted them for himself, so that they would be one with him, and how better to be one than to rule them all?

With Britain now frozen and sealed away, there were only two countries left: Canada and Alfred. Ivan knew that neither one of them were in Europe so he traveled across the sea to North America. Knowing that they were probably not in the cities – after all, they would want to stay away from their people to avoid them getting hurt or killed – Ivan traveled to more secluded parts of the continent: the mountains and forests.

He had found Canada first. Ivan had thought that he would, something within him told him that, in the end, it would only be himself and Alfred as it was meant to be. So, finding Canada first didn't bother him too much. What did bother Ivan was the fact that Canada was just as tight lipped about Alfred's whereabouts as Britain had been. Ivan soon became bored and annoyed at having his questions go unanswered, but he didn't torture Canada, not like he torture Britain. No, instead of tearing hunks of flesh from his body or amputating body parts, Ivan told him what he was going to do to Alfred once he caught him, making sure to go into great detail about every single little thing. Watching Canada grow angier and angier as he spoke was very entertaining, especially when Ivan had only planned on doing half of what he had told the other blonde. After all, he had absolutely no intention of sawing Alfred's arms off or gouging his eyes out with a plastic spoon or making him eat his own fingers. Why would he? Alfred was far too beautiful, too perfect, to be disfigured. He was Ivan's sunflower and he would do nothing to hurt him.

But Canada didn't need to know that, so Ivan did not tell him.

When it became very obvious that Canada wasn't going to be usefull - and that was something that Ivan saw quickly - he did what he had done to all of the others: frozen him and sealed him away. Being as how he was Alfred's brother, Ivan stored him in the last empty capsule in his prized collections room. Ivan knew that Alfred would want to visit him often as well as his other friends. Although he wouldn't be able to talk to them, they were dead and frozen after all, he could still visit, which was sure to bring a pleasure smile to his face. Oh, he knew that Alfred would probably be mad at him for a little bit, what with him killing everyone he knew and geld dear and all, but he would eventually realize that he and Ivan were made to be together forever, to rule together and be one. It was never Ivan's intention to conquer and rule over Alfred, but to rule side by side as equals.

Ivan just needed to find Alfred and talk to him, show him even, to make him see the light. After all, sunflowers grew stronger and lovelier in the light.

After sealing Canada in his capsule, Ivan continued his search for Alfred, for his beloved America and sunflower. He looked everywhere in North America, checked every cave and crevice, stalked every forest, waded through every tide every river, pond, lake, and ocean had to offer. And when he came up empty handed, Ivan moved to other parts of the globe, to Europe and Asia and every island there was. Still, Alfred could not be found.

Something inside Ivan told him that Alfred had never left North America, that he was hiding still and running away from him. Never one to doubt his instincts, Ivan returned and continued his search. It took him a very long time to find Alfred's trail, but when he did, he never let it go. Actually, he quite enjoyed their cat and mouse game and he allowed Alfred to believe that he could be rid of Ivan for good. Naturally, that was a futile hope.

Ivan eventually became bored with their cat and mouse game and started pursuing him relentlessly. Oh, how he loved watching Alfred run, panting and sweating as his legs carried him as fast as they could throughout the thick forests and harsh mountains. But his legs would only work for so long before Alfred's body would tire out from sheer exhaustion. Although Alfred was a nation, even his body had limits and, surprisingly, he was pushing Ivan's body to his own. However, Ivan was far stronger and more experienced than Alfred was

In the end, Ivan had chased Alfred to North America's own taiga forest. While not as lovely or as impressive as his own, it was still quite beautiful and befitting their final length of the chase. He watched with gleeful eyes as Alfred stumbled and fell onto the forest ground, sweaty matting his beautiful, silky hair to his face and making his clothes cling to his body. His chest rose and fell with each and every pant and his glasses, Texas, were hanging low on his nose. If he moved in just the right way, they would fall off completely and Texas would be lost forever in the taiga.

"Ah, Alfred. Growing tired from all the running, are you?" Ivan asked him, smiling pleasantly.

"You...you would know, wouldn't you?" Alfred said in between gasps for breath. His lungs must have been burning; Ivan would let him rest once they returned to his home.

"What are you talking about? I could chase after you for all time," Ivan told him and he meant it. He would chase after Alfred for as long as it took to make him come to his senses.

"You stole everyone," Alfred accused him, although his exhaustion took all of the heat out of his words. To Ivan, he just sounded incredibly tired. Perhaps a long rest, then, when they got home. "You fought them, forced them to bow down to you, and you...you're keeping them as trophies. What kind of sick person does that, Ivan?" He was still panting and the look on his face, full of fear and uncertainty and apprehension and exhaustion, pulled at Ivan's heartstrings. Did Alfred not understand him? All that he had done he had done for him and he had no intentions of making Alfred bow down and being another frozen relic.

"They are part of my collection, now, Fredka. They are part of Russia forever now," Ivan explained to him, wanting the younger nation to see the light of day. "You can see them whenever you want when you return with me."

"You killed them! They are dead, all of them, because of you, you sick fuck!" Alfred cried, tears shining in his eyes, making them far brighter than they usually were. The very sight of it took Ivan's breath away. "Francis and Arthur and...and Matthew..." A sob escaped his chapped lips and Alfred's tears began to flow free. "Why, Ivan? Just tell me that much."

"I already told you, my sunflower. They are part of me, now, part of Russia. We are all one now," Ivan said, his voice soft and sweet like honey. "All that's left is you. You will become one with me now, da. And together, we will be the greatest country there ever was."

"You say that as though we'd be a partnership," Alfred said, releasing a humorless laugh as he did so. Ivan took a step forward and watched as Alfred tried to scuttle back. His exhausted body made that practically impossible and soon, Ivan was crouching down beside him, gazing into his eyes. "We both know you'd control everything."

"Oh, but that is not so, my dear sunflower. I very much value your opinion and we would be a partnership. It would not just be me on top of the world, but both of us. Together. Side by side," Ivan told him. "If I just wanted to add you to my collection, I would have an eighth capsule in my prized collection room instead of seven. But all of my capsules are full. So you see? I've always intended for us to rule together as one."

"You say that now..." Alfred grumbled, glaring tiredly into Ivan's violet eyes.

"And I will say it later, da," Ivan reassured him. "Come with me now. It is time to go home." He extended a hand to the younger nation.

"You mean it's time for you to take me to my prison," Alfred stated, staring at the offered hand as though it would burn him if he touched it.

"Nyet. I don't want you to be my prisoner, Fredka. I want you to be mine and only mine," Ivan explained to him, wishing so very badly that Alfred would stop being so bling and would finally see the light. When the other blonde didn't reply he continued.

"You cannot deny that there is an attraction between us. After all, what was the Cold War but straining sexual tension, da? There has always been an attraction between you and I, Alfred. Although we are indeed different, we are also more alike than not," Ivan said.

"How are we anything alike?" Alfred growled at him.

"We are both crazy strong and super powerful nations. Your physical strength alone almost equals my own. We both have had turbulent pasts full of war and bloodshed. Neither of us were very well liked by the other nations and we've both been quite lonely ever since we became countries," Ivan replied. "Don't you realize yet, Fredka? Can you not see it clearly now?"

Ivan watched as Alfred considered his words. There was still suspicion in his expression, but the more he thought, the more he began to see how right and truthful Ivan's words really were. He hadn't been lying when he had told Alfred that they were similiar; he hadn't been lying ever since he first started speaking. As unusual as it was for him, Ivan was being painfully honest with the blonde before him. And it was all for Alfred, so he better appreciate it.

After considering his words for a long while, Alfred finally looked back at him. While his eyes still held suspicion, they also held understanding and sympathy. It may not have been the undying love Ivan knew Alfred was capable of giving him, but it was a start and a better one than he had hoped for. Perhaps it would mean that things would go smoothly and Alfred would come willingly without Ivan having to use force.

"I suppose...that we've both been pretty lonely almost all of our lives," Alfred conceded.

"Even in a room full of subordinates, the loneliness did not ebb," Ivan told him. And it was true. Even when his house had been full of people, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia...he still felt incredibly alone. The only time he ever felt as though he were not was when Alfred was around, and that was a factor that only made the Cold War that much worse for him.

"Yeah, I was like that too," Alfred admitted, his eyes looking down as he recalled moments from his past. "No matter how many 'friends' I had, no one really wanted to be around me. And when they did, I still felt alone."

"You don't feel that way with me," Ivan said, stating it as a simple fact and not a question. Alfred looked up at him, his blue eyes wide and bright, making him look so very young and vulnerable. Ivan did not like his sunflower looking so vulnerable and fearful.

"No, I don't. Even before the Cold War it was like that," Alfred said.

"Come with me, Alfred. It's time to go home," Ivan said, offering his hand once more.

"Are you really not going to freeze me and lock me away?" Alfred asked him, still skeptical. Ivan couldn't blame him. He was Russia after all.

"When we arrive at the house, you may count the capsules yourself. There is not one for you and there never will be," Ivan answered him.

"And...and I can see them...everyone...any time I want?"

"Yes, any time you want," Ivan said.

"Promise?" Alfred asked, sounding so very childlike and young. Ivan couldn't blame him; much like himself, his past was also full of people who had proven they couldn't be trusted.

"I promise," Ivan swore.

Summoning as much strength as he could muster, Alfred lifted his arm and grasped Ivan''s gloved hand. Their hands fight perfectly together, like pieces to a puzzle. They seemed to form an alliance all on their own, a symbol of what was surely to come.

Ivan lifted Alfred to his feet. Wrapping an arm around Alfred's waist and drapping the younger nation's left arm over his broad, muscular shoulders, Ivan led his prized sunflower towards the rest of their lives.

At long last, his collection was now complete.