Hey guys! Yep I popped out another one but this time Ivan's the girl. Whoohoo!

I could say something else but nah, please enjoy!

DISCLAIMER

Ivana was a top Russian model. Her long pale blonde hair was soft and unique to her family name, Braginsky. She had long succulent legs that many men swore never ended and supple breasts that could make any face-man a boob-man. However it wasn't her boobs, legs, or hair that received everyone's attention when they first met her. After craning your neck to look up at the tall Russian you were met with the prettiest set of purple eyes that the world had ever known. And they were natural, that was to be sure.

There was one thing that made Ivana imperfect, just one thing: her personality. No one ever talked to her outside of work and all were nervous to even be around the Russian when it was time for the photo shoots. It wasn't that she was rude or callous in anyway except… She was. Ivana was over-polite and insulted anyone who got in her way. The model used her towering form to her advantage and threatened anyone with it as much as she pleased.

No one spoke to her unless it was necessary and certainly no one smiled at her. Ever. Thusly this new situation left her confused.

"Hi! I locked myself out of my apartment so I was wondering if I could get to your balcony and then climb over to mine because I always keep my balcony unlocked for just these such occa-"

Ivana blinked at the man before her. She had been surprised when there was a knock at her door a few minutes ago but she deemed that it was just someone who was lost as usual and ignored it. The knocking didn't stop though and eventually turned into banging. Annoyed as hell Ivana opened the door after she grabbed her lead pipe that settled nicely in the umbrella stand by the door.

What she opened to find was the man before her now. He was tall but still shorter than she was and he had the loudest mouth. She scowled at him, not even bothering to be nice but that didn't seem to faze him as he rambled on. Ivana took a good look at the stranger and decided that his hair was a mess and his eyes were hidden by the oldest looking glasses she has ever seen. Not only did he look like he rolled out of bed during the 1940's but he even had the bomber jacket to make her suspicious of time travel.

"So can I use your balcony?" the man asked with a 1,000 watt smile.

That smile was so unfamiliar to her that it took Ivana a couple of seconds to respond. "Нет."

"Net?" The blonde repeated in a confused tone. Then his eyes widened in realization before Ivana could correct his awful Russian. "Net! Oh! You're worried that I'll fall. Well we are on the top floor but it's okay, I've done this before. Sorry to bother you though, Sadik is usually there so I usually hop on his balcony but don't worry I'm a pro at this! No need for a net!"

She wanted to throttle him. "Нет means no."

"No? Then why didn't you just say no?" the man asked with his head at a tilt. It was then that his eyes landed on the pipe in Ivana's hands.

'Ah, now he will go away,' she thought with glee as she turned up her menacing aura. Finally this annoying man will leave. No one could stand her purple aura of death (as Fausta so kindly called it).

"Sorry dude did I interrupt you while you were working on your plumbing? You do know that we have buildings and grounds people for that right? No need to dirty those gorgeously large hands," he commented with a smirk.

"Leave." Ivana said before slamming the door shut. That should get rid of him and it did. There were no more noises from the other side of the door, which made Ivana very very happy.

.:~*~:.

The next time Ivana stepped out of her apartment she was surprised with a little bouquet of sunflowers on her door step. She almost stepped on the precious flowers but thankfully noticed them. There were only three in the bouquet along with a little note.

Sorry for the other day. I didn't mean to upset you.

I got in my apartment after breaking into Sadik's, man was that fun!

My name's Alfred by the way. Did you just move in?

~Alfred the Hero!

P.S. I still think your hands are gorgeous. ;p

Crumple. Ivana crushed the little note in her hand and growled. Alfred was insufferable. If he could break into Sadik's apartment then why not break into his own? What an idiot! And what did he mean by asking if she just moved in? She had been here for years! Insufferable little man with no life!

Ivana took a deep breath before looking down at the delicate flowers in her hand. However he was lucky. Who would ever think about sending sunflowers instead of roses? Sunflowers were her favorite so he at least got something right. Unintentionally.

.:~*~:.

There was another knock on her door and Ivana looked up to see what time it was. 5:30 PM her clock read. Time for Alfred. Delicately putting her book down onto the coffee table Ivana stood up to walk to the door. This had been happening a lot lately. At 5:30 PM on the dot Alfred would knock on Ivana's door and ask to use her balcony and every time Ivana would say no and then slam the door in his face. This never resulted in anything bad for Alfred never got angry at her but instead always left three sunflowers the next morning and a note about his escapades. They usually entailed breaking into Sadik's apartment or sleeping out in the hallway.

Ivana had come to enjoy these little visits. No one ever talked to her and they certainly didn't come to her everyday just to see her. Alfred always looked so happy to see her and it made something in her chest warm at the thought. Tonight she was finally going to take a step forward. Tonight Ivana planned to actually test the blonde's intelligence; this would determine whether Alfred was actually worthy of a relationship.

"Howdy neighbor! So you see-"

"Нет, but you may come in," Ivana said quickly and succinctly. She turned around and walked over to the table that held a chessboard. "You may play chess with me. Now."

Rich laughter came from the jovial American as he stood there in the doorway. When he realized that she was serious he quickly jumped in the room and shut the door. "Sweet! I'm finally allowed in! But do we have to play chess?" Alfred whined the last part however he obediently padded into the living room after her.

"Sit," she ordered. Ivana waited for him to choose a side. Alfred sat on the white side, which made Ivana smirk a little. He would be the one to make the first move. "Now move." She wasn't going to explain the rules, he should know them already and if he didn't then Ivana would enjoy watching him flounder. Surprisingly Alfred moved his pawn without even skipping a beat.

After a few moves Ivana realized that Alfred was extremely intelligent. Every move that she made he made a countermove that she didn't see coming. After losing both her bishops and all of her pawns Ivana began to counter attack. With effort she won the first game but after that Alfred won and then they tied each other for the rest of the night. The silence was refreshing in its own way. It wasn't a silence made because of fear but because of competition.

At one point Ivana looked up to study Alfred, trying to get a reading from him and it struck her how handsome he was. His hair was the color of sunflowers and his cowlick a rebellious petal. With Alfred's glasses falling off his nose his azure eyes could be seen without obstruction. It was as if Alfred was a sunny summer day rolled into one person; refreshing personality, warm smile, sky blue eyes, sun kissed skin, and sunflower hair.

"Checkmate."

Snapping out of her daze Ivana looked down at the board with a glare. Damn. He won again. This personified summer day before her bested her in one of the only games she knew how to play. She looked up to see Alfred staring at her lazily.

"Stop looking like a gonof from Front Street," Ivana growled. While she didn't mind losing to her neighbor she still minded losing.

Alfred laughed airily and slowly stood up. "As you wish. Sadly I think I should leave. Don't models need their beauty rest?" he teased, "Although I don't think you need it. You're gorgeous as sin to begin with."

Ivana blushed and tried not to look at Alfred as she led him to the door. "Sleep well in the hallway."

He turned to look at her with a confused expression.

"I told Sadik to change his locks since a rat keeps getting into his apartment," Ivana said with a small smile. Alfred's eyes widened and before he could say anything Ivana closed the door and locked it. She could hear him laughing in the hallway and just shook her head. Of course she had lied but it was worth it to see his shocked expression. Very cute.

.:~*~:.

"What's this?" Ivana asked as she looked at the foreign object in her hand.

"You don't know what it is?" Alfred asked with a cocky grin. He had suddenly showed up on her doorstep excited to show her something. As per usual he let himself in without asking and plopped down on the couch next to her to present his gift.

"No I asked what it was because I was testing you," Ivana said with a roll of her eyes. Sometimes this man could be so dense. Of course she had no idea what it was otherwise she wouldn't have asked.

"It's never cool to test the hero. Besides, your childhood sucked if you have no idea what this is," Alfred said as he took the object back. "Then again you did live in Russia and not the good old U.S. of A. so it's to be expected."

Ivana raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? America is such a paradise?"

"Duh," Alfred said as he placed the object on the table and leaned back into the couch. "Capitalism kicks commie ass everyday."

"That's funny because I remember Sputnik kicked American ass very nicely," Ivana said lightly as she stared that foreign object, trying to guess its use. Seriously Alfred needed to tell her about it already.

"Yeah I guess I would have forgotten about that with Apollo and the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and all," Alfred replied with a shrug. Their playful banter always made his day and it was no different now. Usually no one talked back to Alfred, it was nice to be challenged. Strong women were hot.

"You'll never tell me what this is will you?" Ivana asked in exasperation.

"Can I use your balcony?"

"Нет."

"Then no."

"Damn it."

.:~*~:.

Curse today. It was New Year's Eve and Ivana had no party to go to. Of course she had been invited to a business party that she should probably go to but she didn't want to deal with all of the stuffy people and cold glares. She still had plenty of time to be fashionably late in order to see the ball drop but she had no one to go with. Her co-workers, associates at best, would expect this but lately… Lately Ivana thought that she deserved to go to a party with a date on her arm.

"Date?" Ivana asked the darkness of her apartment. The word felt weird on her tongue. She liked it.

There was someone banging on her door and she looked at the clock. Alfred hadn't come at 5:30PM as he usually did, which did not help her melancholy mood. Hoping that the obnoxious person was her obnoxious person Ivana got off the couch and answered the door.

"Happy New Year's Eve!"

Ivana genuinely smiled down at the energetic blonde. This is what she needed. She needed the light that contrasted with her darkness. "Need use of my balcony?"

Alfred laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I was just checking up on you. I've gotta go out of town for the next month or so and I wanted to say I'll see ya next year!"

This shocked the Russian in more ways than one. Usually when someone left her side they never informed her first and for some reason she felt a pang in her chest. He turned to leave and something inside her made her desperate. She had to stay with him, he couldn't leave yet.

"Нет, you cannot leave. You are coming with me to a business party now," Ivana said succinctly and turned around to get ready. "You will wear decent clothes that won't humiliate me and meet me here in an hour." She shut the door on the blonde and rushed to get ready. For a reason she did not know yet she had to be perfect for this party. She just had to be.

Meanwhile Alfred laughed at her antics. "Funny way to invite me to a party," he chuckled and walked over to break into Sadik's apartment and get ready for his beautiful next door neighbor.

An hour later Ivana walked out of her apartment, fully dressed and accessorized. When she turned to see Alfred staring at her in shock she blushed. "Y-you look s-stupid with your mouth open like that," she chided.

It's not like Alfred could help it though. She looked damn gorgeous. Her pale blonde hair was up but it wasn't, some of it draped over her back, which was bare by the way. She was wearing a lilac dress that went mid thigh and swooped low just enough to see a tease of her ample bosom. Over all she looked awesome in his opinion and he thought she couldn't get any prettier. Of course he voiced this, making her blush more.

"Party. Now," Ivana ordered as she tried to erase the ever increasing blush she had.

"So… Is my outfit really that bad?" Alfred asked Ivana as they stepped more into the room, chocolate fondue in hand.

When Ivana and Alfred had entered the large apartment where the party was taking place no one really took notice of them until Alfred grabbed Ivana's hand excitedly and pointed out that they totally had an awesome chocolate fondue fountain. Instead of growling at the blonde Ivana surprised everyone when she told the blonde that fondue was nothing to get excited over. She was also looking away with a blush, which freaked everyone out as well.

"It could improve," Ivana said as they walked towards the couch in the center of the apartment. On the way there she stopped to talk to designers and fellow models. Alfred staid by her side and waited patiently, much to her surprise, for her to acknowledge him. People stared at Alfred, scrutinized him and found nothing too extraordinary. In fact many found him distasteful with his boisterous nature and hideous fashion.

Eventually they made their way to the couch only to be interrupted by many agents inquiring after Ivana's current status. Alfred had known that Ivana was a model but he didn't know that she was this famous. It was a whole new world to him, a world that he didn't know if he liked. Whenever Ivana turned away people would glare or insult her in some way. This resulted in Alfred glaring at them, promising them silently that he would destroy them if they continued. Not knowing who he was they just ignored him, wrong move. After cataloguing their names and faces away Alfred gently touched Ivana's elbow.

"Hey can we get some air out on the balcony?"

"What is your obsession with balconies?" Ivana asked curiously although it came out in a cold tone, making her cringe.

Alfred pouted rather cutely and continued to poke her elbow, "Please? Pretty pretty please with whip cream and sprinkles and cherries and hot fudge and caramel and-"

"I understand," Ivana said with an exasperated sigh. Truthfully though she was glad for the separation. It seemed as if everyone in the room was staring at her and she didn't like it.

"And gummi bears on top." Alfred finished with a grin. With a smile of her own Ivana let herself be led to the balcony, out of the reach of the accusing glares. A rush of fresh air hit them as they stepped outside and it made Alfred sigh. "This is one of the reasons why I like balconies."

Ivana breathed in the fresh air and sighed contently. "Just one?" she whispered as the count down to the end of the year boomed in the background.

Alfred side glanced at her and smiled, "That and you're here with me."

The Russian blushed. Alfred had turned to look at her head on now and her blush still had not gone away. Why this warm loving man ever took an interest in her boggled her mind but before she could ask him why she felt something warm on her lips. She was being kissed.

Kissed.

By Alfred.

Ivana's mind shut down as one of the blonde's hands reach up to pull her neck down so he had better access to her mouth. It was a slowly steady caress of his lips upon hers. A warm bubbly sensation coursed through her and she hesitantly responded. She almost laughed when she could feel Alfred's excitement at her sudden reaction. He pulled her closer and only when they finally couldn't breath did he let her go.

"Happy New Year Ivana."

.:~*~:.

It had been a couple of weeks since Alfred left on his business trip. It also had been a few weeks since that kiss on the balcony. Ivana was so shocked from the kiss that the ride home was a blur. However she did remember the sweet kiss goodbye that Alfred gave her before turning in for the night. This all left her highly confused. Were they in a relationship now? He hadn't called her at all so did that mean that they were done? She couldn't let Alfred go. He was just so sunny and warm and she… Did she love him?

"Stupid," Ivana grumbled as Feliks decorated her cheeks with blush.

"Like, excuse me?" Feliks asked as he popped his hip and gave her a pointed look in the mirror. Toris looked up from his clip board in a panic. Feliks and Ivana always fought but when it got too intense Feliks would always run behind his lover. Toris did not want to deal with that today.

"Feliks…"

"Feliks you are gay with Toris, да? You are the girl." Ivana said while staring at Feliks intently.

Toris' mouth fell open and he was going to reprimand the scary model when Feliks giggled. "Like oh my god yes! Toris so totally tops my cute little ass," Feliks said with glee. "Do you like need some girl talk?" Ivana nodded as Feliks did a little flip of his hair. "Ok so you totally came to the master! So way proud of you!"

"Feliks this isn't appropriate-"

"Uh as if Toris! This is way appropriate! Girls need to stick together! Like don't stop in the name of love and all that jazz," Feliks said with a flourish before turning to a very confused Ivana. "Tell me like, everything." He said as he sat down in the make-up chair next to and crossed his legs over one another, leaning in to listen to her every word.

"How do you know if… How do you tell someone you might lo-like them?" Ivana began with a slight blush. She didn't think that this would be so hard but Feliks and Toris seemed very happy together so she thought that this was where she could get the best advice. She began to play with the fringe of the scarf she was wearing for the shoot that day, hesitant to continue.

"Like like-like?" Feliks encouraged.

Ivana then went into the painful explanation of everything that happened between her and Alfred. She confessed how she thought that they could be something more and that she was scared that he'd leave her for someone more likeable. By the end of it Ivana was blushing like a tomato, near tears, Feliks was crying, and Toris was dumbfounded.

"Oh," sniffle, "my," sniffle, "god!" Feliks wailed. "He totally has the hots for you! This is just like so freakin' kayut!"

"Are you talking about Alfred Jones?" Toris interrupted.

Feliks and Ivana looked shocked at him but he held his ground. "Да…"

"Whoa, like Alfred F. Jones? Toris' bestie?" Feliks asked with a large smile. "So totally perfect! Toris baby tell us what to like do! What's like the total best way to confess?"

Toris was going to remind Feliks how unprofessional this all was until Ivana turned to look at him. In all his years of working with her he had never seen that look. She looked lost and absolutely desperate. He had no idea what Alfred did but it was a miracle. Alfred made something manifest in Ivana that Toris wanted to see more of. She was finally connecting with someone and Toris be damned that he'd take that away from her.

"Alfred is blunt and straight forward. He does not and will never understand subtly. You must be frank and direct otherwise he'll never understand," Toris said.

"W-what does Alfred like?" Ivana questioned.

Toris gave her a puzzled look before saying, "Video games…"

Feliks tsked and turned to look at Ivana. "Like obviously Toris, Ivana totally has no idea what Alfred does." Ivana's eyes widened when she realized that it was true. Sure she and Alfred had had discussions before but when they talked about personal lives Alfred never mentioned work. He would always mention his family and how 'bat-shit crazy' they were but never his work.

"Alfred's a famous game designer. He's a stockholder of Bioware, Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation, Alienware, you name it. Anything to do with video games Alfred's got his hands in. Kiku, his business partner, has been telling me about how odd Alfred's been acting lately."

"Odd?" Ivana asked. Did she do that to him? This certainly explains how Alfred could afford living on the top floor of her apartment building.

"He's not sleeping in the office anymore. Alfred's actually going home. He's also been rather energetic. Having a life outside of work is something that Alfred, and if I dare say you, need," Toris said with a soft smile. "Just tell Alfred what you want and I'm sure he'll be your hero."

"Like brain storm!" Feliks yelled. Ivana jumped and looked at the blonde. "I like totally got it! Check it before you wreck it! You could totally give him a Valentine's Day present!"

"Like chocolate?" Ivana ventured. Wasn't it the male who usually did the gift giving?

Feliks rolled his eyes. "Way to be cliché. I mean dressing up in sexy underwear or like, serving him dinner naked!"

The blush returned full force to Ivana's face and she couldn't breathe for a minute. Serve Alfred naked? Would he even like that?

Toris sputtered before smacking his clipboard. "Feliks! No!"

The Polish man pouted. "Why?~ I was like totally planning to do that to you…"

Toris rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. His lover, sometimes… "Ivana any romantic gesture would do for Alfred but please don't do anything you're not comfortable with."

Ivana nodded and then turned around to silently contemplate in her make-up chair. Once Feliks was done with the make-up and Ivana left for the shoot Feliks turned to his lover. "Do you, like, really think it'll work? I mean, it totally looks like something completely serious could happen between them."

Toris smiled and leaned down to gently kiss Feliks' temple. "I think if Ivana follows my advice then she and Alfred will be just as happy as we are."

"As if. We totally rock each other's socks. They like totally wish they could be that lucky," Feliks said with a giggle. He hugged Toris around the middle and sighed. "As if."

"So what dinner are you making me naked?"

.:~*~:.

Valentine's Day had finally come and Ivana had nothing. She couldn't figure out anything that would make Alfred happy. Buying him video games made it feel like a birthday rather than a romantic gift and he had probably already played the said game, or invented it. So Ivana sat there in the darkness again wondering what she was going to do. That's when she heard a thump and a little yell from next door.

Immediately Ivana walked up to the wall that she and Alfred shared and pressed her ear against it. Alfred was in his apartment and she didn't know? Why didn't he come over to say hi? Ivana's shoulders sagged and she crouched down into the fetal position as she tried to figure out what she did wrong. A few minutes went by before Ivana saw a slip of paper slide underneath her door. Wiping away the tears that had gathered in her eyes she went over to inspect it.

I'll be there to pick you up in an hour.

You don't have to dress up if you don't want to, you're beautiful either way. :)

~Alfred Your Hero!

Quickly Ivana took back every evil thought she had of Alfred and went to get ready. She decided on a simple white dress attire that accentuated her long legs and colorful red jewelry. It was perfect and Ivana really wanted Alfred to like it. So she spent the remaining minutes sprucing herself up, making sure everything was perfect. This was her chance to confess her love. Yes love. She wanted to date Alfred, she wanted to grow with him, and become someone that she and Alfred could be proud of.

There was a low whistle and then, "You look mighty fine."

Ivana turned to her balcony to see Alfred leaning against the door jam, his ankles crossed. She took a moment to appraise his now tan skin; his business meeting must have been somewhere warm. He wore a light red shirt with purple pinstripes and tailored black pants. He looked damn sexy and he knew it. With a slow grin he sauntered his way into her apartment and took up her hand to kiss it.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day," Ivana whispered with a slight blush adorning her cheeks. They looked at each other for a long time before Ivana cleared her throat. "So where are you taking me?"

Alfred smirked and still holding her hand brought it so their arms were linked. "To the balcony of course." She didn't believe him until he jumped like a seasoned pro to his balcony. Ivana just stared wondering if he really thought that she would follow him. That is until he turned around and held out his hand. "Come on gorgeous, I won't let you fall."

Ivana must have been mad because she closed her eyes for a second and then opened them to look into Alfred's azure eyes. She reached for his hand and with shaky legs she was able to cross over to his balcony. They could have used the front door she pointed out in a trembling voice but Alfred just chuckled and claimed that this was more romantic. Once safely on the balcony Ivana fixed her dress, blushing at the thought that she probably just flashed millions of people below in the streets.

Before she could berate Alfred he grabbed her hand and led her into his apartment. Just on the inside, near the balcony door, was a table set for two. Everything was candle lit and there was a cart full of delicious looking food. She turned to Alfred in surprise.

"You can cook?"

He laughed and shook his head, "That's the first thing you say?" His eyes held a certain mirth and Ivana blushed in embarrassment. "The answer is no. Francis cooked for me because I am sad to say that I can call checkmate but I can't even flip a burger on a grill." He began to make his way into the apartment but Ivana wouldn't move. Alfred looked behind him to see what was wrong.

"I think I like you," Ivana whispered in a shy tone. She had no idea what came over her. She was a strong woman with a cut throat job and a flawless body, so where did all of her confidence go?

With a soft smile Alfred walked back to her and reached up to gently plant a kiss on her lips. "I think I like you too."

A genuine smile grew on Ivana's face as tears fell from her eyes. "You really like a girl like me? A woman whom everyone despises and wishes were gone. You like me when I order you around, you like me when I'm cold, you like me when I beat you at chess, you like that I'm taller than you?" she sobbed as her mind tried to catch up to her feelings. She covered her face with her hands and cried.

Warm arms wrapped around her and a soft voice whispered, "Yes I like a woman who is strong and doesn't care about what other people think. Yes I like that you order me around only because I know that you're really just trying to get my attention, yes I like how you're warm and soft inside, yes I love it when you beat me at chess if only I can beat you back, and my favorite thing is how tall you are. Hell your legs are amazing why should I begrudge them?"

Alfred kissed her hands and rested his forehead on hers. "So would you really like me? A loud obnoxious American?"

Ivana gave a chuckle and then sniffled, "I suppose." She slowly lowered her hands so she could stare at the man before her. All she could see in his eyes were admiration and a soft glow of love, something she'd been missing for a long time.

With a soft smile Alfred gently put a stray strand of hair behind Ivana's ear. "So my Russian balcony climber will you join me for this Valentine's Day meal?"

"Mmm… Will there be many more in the future?" Ivana asked with her forehead still leaning on his.

"Oh yes. Many many more."

And many more~ :'D

Hope you enjoyed it! Happy Valentine's Day!

See ya!