"Hmm?" Alfred hadn't even looked at the menu himself. "Well, I'm getting a burger. Though you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. It's all pretty good." he told him. A young waitress came over and stopped at their table. "Can I get you two anything to drink?" She asked.

"I'll take a coke." Alfred told her, giving her a smile. She nodded and wrote it down. Before turning to the other man at the booth.

"And you sir?"

That information didn't much help Ivan decide and he sighed a little before the waitress came over. He glanced up, remembering to smile at her. "Just a water, thank you," he said before turning his attention back to the menu. He didn't want a burger. Perhaps just a salad then. "Do you come here often?" he asked when the waitress left to get their drinks.

The waitress nodded as she wrote down the order before heading off. Alfred nodded to Ivan's question. "Yep. All the time. Been coming here ever since I was a kid. The waitstaff mostly know me by name by now." he told him, smiling a bit at the memories of when he was younger. Those had been good times.

"So you are from here?" Ivan asked. He appreciated learning a little more about the person who lived with him if only to be on the safe side. Alfred's smile struck him and he forgot what he was going to say for a second. Was his smile that bright before? "I...I'm afraid I don't eat out very often."

"Yep. Lived here my whole life." Alfred responded. "I eat out a lot. Never really been big on cooking. That was more my brother's thing. Besides, when the food is good, I don't mind going out." It was always nice to go out and meet new people and have a meal with them. Just being around people in general was fun.

Natalia killed a lot of Ivan's natural desire to go out and make friends. Something about a crazy girl with love delusions ruined that. He always preferred a home cooked meal though, being able to taste the effort and love that went into the meal even if they had nothing but cabbage and beets to cook. "It's nice to be out after so much time," he admitted. "I forgot the sunshine could be so bright."

"Forgot how bright the sunshine is?! Dude, we're going to have to fix that. Nobody should stay cooped up inside long enough to forget that." Alfred said. At that moment, the waitress returned with their drinks. "Are you ready to order? I'm guessing you want your usual, Alfred?" she asked him.

"You bet'cha!" He exclaimed, grinning at her. She nodded and wrote it down before turning to the other man.

"I stay cooped up for a reason," Ivan muttered. Alfred should know that, but then, he didn't seem to care much about Natalia possibly showing up. Maybe that would change when he met her. At the waitress's question, he handed over his menu. "Just a salad for me." It seemed like the simplest and safest option to go with.

The waitress nodded and wrote it down. "Alright. Your food should be ready soon." she said, giving them both a smile and heading to the kitchen.

"So... Tell me more about you." Alfred said, not liking silence and not knowing what else to say to start a conversation.

Ivan drew vague sunflower designs on the tabletop with his finger. It surprised him that Alfred waited this long to ask. After staring out the window, he switched his attention back to Alfred. "Did you look up anything about me? I'm not sure where to start." He didn't mind sharing though since it would be more efficient for them.

"I prefer to get my information about my clients straight from my clients. It helps me connect with them better when speaking directly to them and in turn helps me do my job." Alfred told him. "Tell me about Natalia. When did she start stalking you?" That would be a good place to start in his opinion.

"January 19th, two years ago," Ivan answered. "You could say that was the trigger event. The finals for a small figure skating competition. Yes, that is where the final straw happened." He shook his head and took a sip of his water. "Of course, I can see now that she was already sick before, but I didn't notice it, not until she saw the one thing that meant we could never be together."

"What did she see?" Alfred asked, extremely curious. He couldn't even begin to imagine what could have happened. But it was at a figure skating competition, so nothing to interesting he was sure. The waitress came over and set their food in front of them. He gave her a smile as she walked away before taking a bit from his burger.

Ivan didn't like talking about it much so he waited until well after the waitress left and no one stood within earshot of their table. Sinking into his scarf, he finally answered. "She saw me sleeping with one of the male skaters," he muttered. What other event could so assure a woman that she had no chance with her crush. From the start, he never had an interest in the fairer sex.

"That's it? That's not really a huge deal." Alfred said. Though he supposed, to someone who was crazy like Natalia was, it was a big deal. "Since she's your sister, why does she think she'd actually be an option for you?" he asked. He'd seen different levels of obsession from different people. But nothing like being in love with your brother.

"Not a big deal?" Ivan echoed in a hollow voice. "At least where I am from, seeing such things is quite shocking." How could it not be a big deal? To him, everything about what happened that day was a big deal. "And haven't we already established that Natalia is not sane..." he added with a sigh. He knew he shouldn't have started talking about this.

"It's not a big deal here at least. At least, not to me." Alfred said. He took another bite of his food and picked up some fries, shoving them into this mouth. "Was she showing any signs of craziness before the incident?" he asked. It would help him if he had an exact timeline to be working with.

Ivan had noticed that Americans were more...okay with gay people, but that did not change his own comfort levels with it. Thankfully, he didn't need to keep talking about it. "Looking back, yes. She was a little possessive, clearly very fond of me. But not so violent and...insistent. As we worked closely, it seemed quite normal back then."

"It's normal for siblings to be closer when they are younger. But after a certain point, you've got to start doing your own things. It helps them develop into functioning adults." Alfred said. He thought of his own brother. The two of them were close until about high school. That's when they started getting into different activities, though they were still close.

Ivan still felt irritated hearing advice from Alfred. Exactly why did he think he had the right to offer it when it wasn't asked for? Such thoughts were rude. "Yes well, that's all fine. You seem to forget I've already quite well learned from my mistakes," he complained with an icy smile and a stab to his salad.

"You don't have to snap at me dude. I was just saying." Alfred said. He was silent for a moment, just focusing on eating. "... Do you want a fry?" he asked, holding one up as a peace offering. As much as he enjoyed a good fight, getting his clients to hate him wasn't very helpful for his job.

Ivan pouted, but dropped his argument. It wasn't like anything Alfred said was wrong. He just didn't like to hear it. When the other offered a fry, Ivan just stared at blinked at it for a second. "Eh? I...suppose so." He took the fry and nibbled on it. Not his favorite food, but it felt wrong to say no. He recognized the gesture as one of peace. In some vague attempt to return it, he held out a crouton. "For you."

Alfred gave Ivan a smile when he took the fry. He stared at the crouton that the Russian held out to him. ".... Thanks?...." he said, taking it. It wasn't a food he liked, like anything that went with a salad. But he ate it anyway. "So.. What about your other sister? What's she like?" he asked.

One side of Ivan's mouth quirked up. "Kateryna? She is quite different. Where Natalia and I find our feet easily on the ice, she was always far more a clutz." Even so, he loved her dearly for it. The older woman always tried very hard at everything. "Big heart. Er...big chest over all. I miss her."

"Kateryna, huh." Alfred found himself stumbling over the name. "So she's a clutz on the ice? I understand that. I've never been very good on ice skates. That's more my brother's thing." He took another bite of food. "If you miss her, why not call her and invite her over?" he asked. From what he'd seen at the house, Ivan didn't have people come over. But it didn't make sense to him not to invite a sibling over. Well, Natalia he could understand.