At the end of the conference, Ivan invited Matthew to come stay with him in the USSR, and Matthew agreed without a second thought, thought that was probably a dumb idea. But why should he care? The Russian had been nothing but kind to him so far, and to finally have someone other than Kuma to talk to was kind of amazing.
So here he was on a plane, watching the scenery as they flew over eastern Europe.
Occasionally Ivan would look at one of his sisters and ask where they were, though Matthew was fairly sure that was 100% for his benefit. Ukraine seemed to always know exactly what each location was, as well as the history of the land.
Once they landed in Russia, he could tell everyone was suddenly anxious. He supposed that the satellite nations all wished they were back in the air, where Ivan seemed a little uneasy unless his nose was buried in a book.
But at least he doesn't panic like Al when they hit turbulence. He thought to himself.
There was a brief drive from the small private airfield, and then they were there. Matthew stared up at the house in amazement. It was huge, several stories high, he guessed.
"Enough room for all the Nations." Ivan whispered very quickly to Matthew before taking his bags and slinging them over his shoulder.
"Wow." Matthew said, unbelieving. Sure, some Nations had large houses, but this...
This was a castle.
He watched the five satellite nations split up as they walked into the house. Ukraine and Lithuania headed towards the kitchen, Ivan informed him. The other two Baltics and Belarus were headed to their rooms.
"I will show you to your room for now, da?"
Matthew nodded, following him closely. It would be easy to get lost in a place like this.
"I didn't build a room for you, because I didn't know you existed. But I built your brother a very nice room, and you may have it," Ivan stated after they'd gotten out of the earshot of all the others.
"Thank you." He said, though he was a little confused.
As they walked down the halls, he saw each room had a Nation's name on the door in their native languages. Matthew guessed Ivan took the phrase "All will become one with Russia" pretty seriously.
Ivan showed him to a room on the top floor, and Matthew was surprised to see that it was right across the hall from Ivan's.
In big letters, in plain English, it read
The United States of America
Alfred F. Jones
Matthew wasn't sure if that was sweet or scary.
Across the hall in Russian, it read.
CCCP
Иван
That was strangely simple compared to the rest of the house.
When Matthew opened the door to Alfred's room, he was surprised by the inside.
He saw a painting of an eagle by the bed, and a map of the US framed on the wall. There were several heavy blankets on the bed, and a phone as well. As he continued to look around, his confusion grew.
I thought Ivan hated Al. I know Al hates him.
Ivan sensed the awkward silence. "All the rooms are like this. I didn't want other countries to forget their lands." He finally stated, in order to break the silence.
"I thought you would want them to forget their lands when they became one with you." Canada said, and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, as if that could take back the words he had spoke.
"Nyet. I need them to still work, and help me take care of their lands. They can do that better if they remember them, at least a little." Ivan said, barely perturbed by Matthew's lack of social grace.
Matthew remembered walking past the door that read in Mandarin China Wang Yao and the one that read Cuba Carlos Machado.
He thought I shouldn't have come to himself.
"Matvey, are you alright?" Ivan asked, suddenly sounding concerned.
"Huh?"
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Oui, just a little disoriented." He replied, trying to absorb everything around him.
Ivan nodded. "It's understandable. I will bring you dinner when it is ready. Until then, I suggest you stay here. The house is very large, and until you know it well, I don't recommend exploring it too much. There are dangerous things in Russia."
"Okay."
Ivan left the room, and Matthew investigated the dresser drawers, finding them full of clothes tailored to fit Alfred, from the looks of them.
The shirts fit him just fine, but the pants were a little too big everywhere. Al had muscles that Matt just didn't have.
Ivan came back with dinner to see Canada in his old ragged pants and a new shirt before him. "I think we can do better than that." He stated.
Ivan came back with different sets of pants, until finally Matthew found some that worked. Ivan nodded, and then came back with a huge stack of jeans and dress pants matching the shirts in Alfred's closet.
It's almost like wearing uniforms. Matthew thought, matching items up and putting them back in the closet. And it was. The outfits literally matched. The only difference was the sizes.
"You can stay however long you like." Ivan said, smiling. "Just let me know when you need to leave to take care of your own affairs."
Matthew nodded, and then smiled right back at Ivan. He guessed that when the Russian was smiling from genuine happiness, it was just infectious.
"Alright. Thank you, Ivan."
Ivan nodded, and then left.

Ivan sat in silence in his own room, and wondered why he was doing this.
He isn't America. He'd probably reject you or be too terrified to do anything.
Ivan sighed. He'd once been very close to America, and they'd kept their relationship a secret. Warm nights in each other's bed, exchanging little smiles when they could. It had been part of the reason why he'd wanted to sell Alaska to him. He could trust Alfred to take care of the small colonies in the massive piece of land that had once been Russian America. When the Civil War had come, and Alfred was laying there in misery, only Russia supported him fully.
But they hadn't been able to speak much since the first of his revolutions, and it had all snapped when Stalin took over.
How many nights, Ivan wondered, had two Nations a world away from each other, cried themselves to sleep?
But even though he would likely fall apart within the next few years, Alfred no longer seemed to hold that sort of affection for him. That, he supposed, was what hurt the most. He'd had to push him away all these years, and now, when soon he wouldn't have to anymore, Alfred was no longer willing to come back.
Matthew didn't even look the same. Sure, the hair was pretty similar, as well as the shape of their faces but Matthew had big dark violet eyes, not the brilliant sky blue that Fredka had. Where Alfred was loud, and constantly voiced his opinion, Matthew was quiet, and gentle.
Soft and sweet.
Ivan shook his head, angry at himself. Matvey is practically a child. And you only want him because he reminds you of Fredka.
Finally he fell asleep, still unsure why he'd allowed the young Nation across the hall from him to fill the empty space in his half-frozen heart.

When Matthew woke up, he was more comfortable than he had been in years, and despite Ivan's advice, he began to explore the rooms of the house. He'd made maps for a living for a long time. If anyone was to avoid getting lost in this maze of a house, it would be him.
Alfred was the only non-communist nation who had a room on the top floor. Matthew was curious as to why Al deserved such a big honor. He could see that the rooms up here were much bigger and nicer than the ones further down in the house. Ukraine and Belarus were the only satellite nations who had their rooms on the top floor as well, he noted.
As he explored, he found that each room did indeed have a map of their home country, and a door sign in their native language. Some had it in two, such as Seychelles, who used a mixture of English and French, like he did.
Then he nearly ran into a small girl.
He recognized her from the flight. Belarus. The Baltics had called her Nat, Sofia simply said "Sister!", and Ivan had called her Natasha. Almost a pet name for the fierce young woman in front of him.
She looked straight through him, and then reached a hand out, waving it as tough to see if anything was there. He took a step back, afraid she might touch him. She terrified him.
I wonder if Ivan meant her when he said there were dangerous things in Russia.
Finally, she muttered to herself, and then began to walk upstairs. He followed from a very safe distance.
She reached Russia's door and knocked. "Vanya?"
Matthew heard the man groan, and then the door opened a crack. "Natasha, it's very early..."
"Something is in the house. A spirit. Something that shouldn't be here. I wanted to ask if I should try to call the General."
Ivan paused, and then looked out of his room.Matthew was pressed up against the wall, freaking out, and shaking. Ivan looked at him, and then looked back at his sister. "Nyet. The spirit is friendly, but very hard to see. I think it will leave us alone as long as we don't bother it."
She shrugged. "Alright, Vanya. But if it follows me again, it'll get a nasty wake up call." Then she turned and stared at what she perceived as an empty space, but Canada knew she was looking directly at him. Finally she walked away, and once she was out of sight, Matthew ducked into the room, and then hid under the covers on the bed.

Ivan brought him some crepes a while later, specially made.
"Don't worry, Matvey. She is just paranoid. She will calm down soon." He said to the trembling figure under the covers.
Matthew stuck his head out from under the huge red, white, and blue blanket. "Are you sure?"
"Da. She is always like this."
He watched Matvey crawl out from under the covers, and then he took the plate of crepes from Ivan's hands, and dug into them. He looked healthier than he had at the conference, his face less drawn, though he was still very skinny. Ivan wondered if he'd finished growing, or if he'd have to find the boy more new clothes as he began to fill out.
How has nobody seen you before? Not even the men who should have raised you remember you.
He kept his thoughts quiet, and then he handed Matthew a new blanket, a red and white one. "This will remind you of your home, da?"
"Yeah. Thanks." He said, and now that he had eaten, he looked almost more exhausted than he had before.
There was a long moment of silence, and then Ivan stood.
"I will be working at my desk in my room. If you want to keep me company, you are welcome."
Ivan left, and began to fill out some paperwork. About half an hour later, he heard the soft footsteps, and saw Matvey stumble in, wrapped in the red and white blanket.
"Maple." He heard the boy say softly, almost like a curse word, when he stubbed his toe.
Then he collapsed into Ivan's bed, curling up in his own blanket and under Ivan's duvet. Soon he was asleep, and his quiet breathing relaxed Ivan as he worked through the political affairs of his union.

The entire day passed, and Matthew didn't twitch once.
Ivan pressed a hand to Matvey's forehead, concerned. There was no fever.
Perhaps it is the time difference. He thought to himself.
Ivan shrugged, but eventually he had to get ready for bed. He thought about carrying Matthew back to his room, but realized that he had no desire to explain why he was moving an invisible spirit into America's room to Natalia or Sofia.
He changed into his warm night sweater, and soft pants, and then put his scarf back on. He'd feel naked without it.
He crawled into bed, and soon he could feel the Canadian snuggling up against him under the duvet, though he was still asleep.
He carefully draped an arm over him, and knew he would soon fall asleep. It was a nice difference from Toris. Toris always faced away from him, and wasn't much of one for cuddling, at least not with Ivan. But Matvey was right there, and he was so warm. He wanted to reach down and kiss him, and nuzzle his face, but that would not have ended well.
Finally Ivan felt himself slip into a restful sleep.

Matthew woke up the next morning with his face pressed to Ivan's chest. He paused, wondering what he should do. He didn't want to wake him, but he also was a little confused as to why he and Ivan were in the same bed at the moment, and a smidge panicked
Then he felt Ivan stirring next to him, also waking up. Matthew looked up and saw Ivan's eyes flutter open. They looked at each other for a few moments, and then Ivan spoke.
"Good morning, Matvey. You have been asleep since noon yesterday, when you came in here and just passed out on my bed. Apologies for not returning you to your own. My younger sister was outside."
"I was asleep all day and night?" Matthew asked, surprised. Had he really been asleep that long?
"Da. Are you feeling well?" Ivan asked him.
Matthew thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling fine. I just wanted to sleep, I guess."

As Matthew began to explore more, he learned more about not only the other satellite nations, but more about Ivan himself, just from his silent observations.
The Baltics were just below the top floor, along with several nations that had took steps towards communism over the past few decades.
He quickly guessed that this was Ivan's way of ranking the world according to Communist ideals, though if that were the case, he didn't understand why Al had a room on the top floor. Al was the exact opposite of any sort of Communist utopia.
As he continued down the floors, he came across a room with a door hanging off its hinges. The metal plate was faded and scratched, but Matthew could still read it.
Ostdeutschland
Gilbert Beilschmidt
He looked inside the room. There was a torn map of East Germany, and glass scattered all over the floor from the frame. The mattress had been ripped apart, and the dresser had been set on fire, though it had been kept from spreading to the walls. The blankets were destroyed.
He couldn't understand why Prussia's room was destroyed. Next to Gilbert's room, Ludwig's room was intact, though the map was only of West Germany. It didn't make sense at the moment.
Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, and turned to see Ivan next to him, staring at the ruins of the room as well.
"How long have you been watching me?" Matthew asked, startled.
"Since you walked down into this wing." Ivan replied.
Matthew knew he shouldn't ask, but he heard himself say it anyhow. "Why'd you destroy Prussia's room?"
Ivan stood in silence, and then spoke.
"He left for West before the last conference. This was my reaction."
"Would you do this if I left?" Matthew asked, suddenly scared. He hadn't signed an alliance with Russia, and he knew that their political relationships were just as strained as Ivan and Al's. He was just here because he was lonely, and Ivan was the only person who could talk to him.
There was silence as an answer when he asked this question.
"Ivan?"
More silence.
"Vanya?" Matthew said, leaning against Ivan.
"I don't know what I would do if you left forever. You will have to leave eventually, Matvey. Your own country needs you, and I know that of this moment, they have no wish to join me. Not even my own family wishes to be with me anymore. But if you left forever, I do not know what I would do. I... I would miss you." He finally responded.
Matthew stood there, leaning up against Ivan, feeling the warmth of the the larger man. He had never had anyone hold him, or take care of him. No one besides Kuma to cuddle up with.
Ivan suddenly pulled him close, and Matthew could feel the shakes of Ivan's body. But when he looked up, there were no tears coming from those violet eyes. Ivan was afraid.
Afraid of losing him.
That realization alone made Matthew just as emotional. Someone cared about him enough that they were afraid of losing him.
He wrapped his arms around Ivan, and they held each other like survivors from a shipwreck until they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Russia released him, and then turned, standing tall. But Matthew still clung to him, glad for his invisibility.
Latvia came up the stairs. "Mr. Russia, dinner is ready."
"Thank you, Latvia. You are excused."
Latvia left, and Russia turned back to Matthew. "I will be right back."
Matthew nodded, and slowly released Russia, who then headed downstairs to eat dinner and return with some for him.
Matthew sat down in front of Prussia's door, in shock. Russia had done this.
But Russia cared for him...
Finally he stood up and stumbled back towards his room, unsure what he knew about this man who had finally given him everything he had ever wanted.

More time passed, and soon Matthew followed Ivan almost everywhere inside the house, and even sat in the back of the room during some meetings he had with his boss. Ivan didn't mind. Matthew was quiet, and he always left when asked. They both valued their time together.
Matthew didn't run away from Ivan everytime he snapped and wanted to destroy something. Most of the time, he was even able to calm Ivan down before it got to that point, just by laying a hand on his arm and looking up at Ivan with eyes that asked him to calm down. Ivan didn't know why those purple eyes made him calm down, but they did. He felt awful for showing his darker sides to the younger nation.
But when that wasn't enough, Matthew simply would stand in the back of the room and wait for Ivan to calm himself down.
Ivan kick-boxed when he was angry at his government. He didn't want to take it out on anyone around him with Matvey nearby, and soon Matthew grew rather fond of it himself, when he started joining Ivan during these stressful days.
The satellite nations were growing even more restless, and they both knew it.
The Union was collapsing.