Goddammit you wanted to go on a hike. One of those long ones, that lasted overnight forcing you to camp. Yeah.. One of those. It made your legs restless just thinking about it! Up a mountain, with pine trees, cool breezes, and a whole lot of serenity. It seemed like the perfect idea, get away from all of this nonsense. All of the yelling, the disagreements, the threats, the arguments, and... Well actually just all of the loud people. Yes, only nice and peaceful trees. You, sitting amongst the trees, hot coco in hand, and the peaceful silence of nothingness. Actually, that sounded kind of lonely.
Your eyes lazily search the meeting room for your perfect partner. There were several no's that were already apparent in your head as you passed across the faces. One in particular stands out as you pass over him. Your nose crinkles a bit as you look at the speaking Brit. 'Definitely not,' you murmur in your head. His personality wasn't the type. You glance over a bit to take in America. 'Him? Serenity? That's a laugh.' You mulled over everyone in the room internalizing what was wrong with each and every one of them. No one seemed to fit, which made you sigh loudly.
"Am I boring you? _?" England looks at you, eyebrows frizzy as he almost yelled your name. You couldn't get a yes or a no in before another voice obnoxiously overpowered all in the room.
"Dude, you're boring everyone," America rolls his eyes and waves his hand at England. England crosses his arms and you can see his face start to heat up... Great.. Those two were about to get into it, again.
"I'm sorry that you find actual problems boring, America! Here, I have an idea, let's all listen to how burgers are going soon to be extinct!" Panic rolls across America's face.
"R-really?! What! How is that! Eng-
That was your cue to tune them out. Your eyes again in search for a partner to take with you. You could overlook some rather unsightly cons of the most obvious candidates if they even agree to it. Your cheek rested in your palm. You glance distantly over everyone again, silently giving even more reasons to say no.
"Aah~ 'ello _. You seem distracted. Anything I can 'elp with?" France pulls out a chair next to you, since everyone seemed to lose interest in the meeting once those two got into it. The whole attendees seemed to know this battle would be fought for a long while. You look over at France.
"Hi, France. Do you know anyone who likes the outdoors? Like mountains and quiet.. And Peace?" you ask, hoping that for some odd reason he'd know someone.
"This meeting isn't peaceful enough?" he jokes. Your blank stare makes him chuckle at his own joke. "I'm guessing not." You watch as he puts on his thinking face. It is when you stare at him, waiting for an answer that you realize he is quite the attractive man. Your good friend was the charmer of hearts, but you could tell why now. The nicely shaped face, with wavy, soft looking hair. His bright blue eyes, wow he was actually quite the looker come to think of it. How have you not noticed this before? Oh right.. As your eyes looked down to his lips, you saw what kept most of your admiration away. That chin hair. The scraggly, too long for stubble, but too short by your standards to actually be called a beard. It always made you want to pluck them out or shave it for him. The snapping of his fingers makes you break from your thoughts. Your eyes flicker up to meet his gaze. "I've got it." He looks over at you, to which you raise a brow. You hadn't actually expected much.
"Hmm," you hum, your lips ready to shut down his idea entirely before he can utter the whole name.
"Canada!" he sounds enthusiastic and loud when he says it. Your brows furrow.
"Who?" you ask, there is a moment of silence.
"Yes France?" you turn your head to follow the voice.
Oh that sinfully, beautiful face. His lovely looking, creamy skin~ Those cute supple cheeks, and bright round eyes. Were they lavender? Oh how tall he looked as his legs gracefully, yet timidly moved passed one another as he slowly started stepping in your direction. Your eyes dragged agonizingly slow over his body. From his clean, shined shoes, all the way up to his pretty little head. Not to mention, everything in between. He moved so delicately and his footsteps were so quiet. You could see he looked like a sturdy man, not burly yet not too slender, rather caught between France and America. Nice broad shoulders scrunched up against his body as he tried not to bump into anyone. His silky looking blonde hair waving behind him as he dodged around people so gracefully. What really surprised you was how his body language contradicted his actual appearance. It was really a shame, that you had never seen him before.
"Is he a new country?" you whisper over to France quickly as the Canadian made his way to the two of you. You had to ask, though judging from his appearance, he wasn't too new. France laughed. Your brow furrowed as you looked at him.
"No, _ he isn't. He's been here a long while. He's older than you," France says. Your eyes widen and your cheeks flare up in embarrassment. He was older? Where the hell has he been? Before you could say anything else, France averted his attention from you to Canada.
"Hello Canada, why don't you come sit over here? _ wanted to ask you something," France says, smiling gently.
"I'm ok, thank you. I don't want to steal anyone's seat," oh god his voice. It was so quiet and gentle. It sent chills up your spine.
Your head seemed permanently glued in the opposite direction of Canada and right into France's. 'Who the fuck is this guy?!' you screamed in your head, eyes focused on the wood right in front of France. There was silence for a good while before France snapped his fingers in front of your face. Even as he did so, your body refused to move from facing that one direction.
"_, didn't you want to ask Canada about being your hiking partner?" his smile fled and a forced one replaced it. You looked up at France, panic settling in your eyes. You see his expression flicker for a moment before he smirks. Oh, he knew. You could tell from that stupid smirk of his. He knew exactly why you couldn't move.
"Hiking partn-" Before Canada can finish, France gets up and pulls out his chair. He interrupts Canada rather quickly.
"I believe I need to comfort the crying England. 'ere Canada, take my seat."
"Oh no, it's ok. I'm alright with standi-."
"I insist!" France grabs Canada by the shoulders and steers him over into his seat. Your eyes are glued to France as he forcibly sits Canada down in his seat. For some reason, this guy is making you sweat. Could it be the account of his soft and pretty looking hair? Or his bright shining eyes? Or how he squeaked when France pushed him down. Naah. None of that. Noooone of that. It wasn't like just looking at him you felt a spike of desire ignite in your belly.
It is quiet and France hasn't left yet. When it becomes clear that neither of you are going to speak, France sort of grumbles before smacking you in the back of the head as he walks off.
"You are the one who asked me to bring him over because you were too shy!" he lies loudly as he walks away. Yes, you will be the one to murder France.
"W-what!" you almost yell, before finally turning to look at the man sitting next to you. Oh, you wish you wouldn't have. Seeing him, that cute, innocent, expectant looking face, just begged you to hug him and never let him go. So, immediately your eyes avert to the ground.. er.. his lap. "Haha, so hi, Canada. I'm _," you say, offering your hand. It was a bit weird that you offered and continued to avoid eye contact.
"Hi, _. It's nice to meet you," he takes your hand in a firm, yet gentle grip.
People always say you can tell who a man is by his handshake. It was a nice handshake, that you lingered on just a bit too long. You didn't realize how hot your palms were.
"Nice to meet you, too." You wondered how much muscle lied underneath his pristine looking suit. You pull back and sit up, awkwardly glancing up every now and then.
"Uhm," he hesitates. Canada clears his throat and rubs the back of his head, looking around. You both could feel the awkwardness in the air and it showed. "So, you want a hiking partner?" he asks, finally. You look up at him, trying to shake whatever is keeping you from being your normal self. By the way, this never happened and it was driving you crazy. Talking to a male country? No. These feelings of nervousness and desire that was almost uncontrollable? Yes.
"Aah," you sigh out. "Yeah. France recommended I ask you." Canada blushes, which you catch. Oh. you catch it. Why did you have to catch it? The redness fades rather quickly though as he turns his head to see France patting the almost sobbing England.
"That was really nice of him," he turns back, looking quite flustered. "B-but there are a lot of others that are better at things like that like Switzerland or Australia.. Or even America," you listened as this country gave a list of reasons why others would be better suited. "Besides, I don't think I'd be very good company."
You give him a lifted brow, your skepticism showing. France was your "father" for a long while. Even if you just recently gained independence as well as your own opinion of things, it was hard to believe France would lie to you. However, you found Canada's lack of self-esteem and confidence endearing. It seemed to suit him. You guess because of it, that is what made you find yourself again, seeing as there was no reason to be nervous. All you had to do was talk more with him, then you'd be able to better understand these feelings and overcome them.
"Why, are you shy?" He shakes his head.
"It's not really that. People just tend to overlook me or not hear me altogether," he says solemnly. That broke your heart.
"Are you usually quiet, then?" you ask, assuming that was the case.
"Yes, I'm trying to be more assertive, though! So that doesn't keep happening," you see a flare of confidence in his eyes. You can't contain your smile. This guy seemed perfect. He was completely fit for the job!
"That's enough for me. When do you wanna go?" you ask, nonchalantly. On the inside, you were cheering loudly as you had found the perfect hiking partner. You calm down on the inside, at least his personality was deemed tolerable by you, you just needed to test his knowledge. France did recommend him, so you doubted it would be anything less than great.
"W-what?" he asks, looking at you confused. He seemed so shocked.
"The whole point of me going is to get away from-" you look at the commotion of the meeting and gesture toward it, "-this. I don't want anything like this there. And you seem to be quite the opposite."
His eyes follow as he observes chaos. With his mouth slightly ajar, he nods.
"Ahh. Yeah, I can see why you want to get away," he says quietly. Canada turns to face you, again. It made your heart beat so fast to have him look directly at you. Most of the time, the other countries would look to France before looking at you. Since you had, not so long ago, been one of his territories. "Well, if you are ok with me, I won't say no." You smile at him, you can't help it. Welp, that was rather easy and he seems like a pleasant guy. You silently observe and admire as he gets excited. You can see his hands curl into fists as he elbows the air. You smile wider as he lights up like christmas morning. "I haven't been on a nice hike in a long time." Then his bombardment of questions came along. "Where do you plan on going? When? Is it going to be an all-day sort of hike? Do you plan to camp? Have you ever hiked before?" It sort of made you dizzy, yet excited to hear him go from quiet to passionate very quickly.
With the rest of the meeting turning out to be unproductive for serious matters, you and Canada managed to get everything planned out. He, in fact, invited you to hike to his cabin with him. You agreed quickly, once he told you of the settings. He was so polite and generous about everything. In the end, it was a rule that you were only allowed to bring the essentials (hiking clothes and a tooth brush) and he would provide the rest. You were actually surprised at how nice this guy was. He seemed like he would make you have a great time. He offered so many things to you and asked you a lot about yourself. However, the meeting was coming to an end and you had a lot of paperwork to do, so you had to cut it short with him. You promised him, you would answer all of his questions when you went on the hike.
You shut your rental car's door, jumping as it sounded so loud as opposed to this peaceful little house, further tucked away from civilization than you expected. Before you could even lock your car, you hear the familiar voice.
"Hey, _," you look up to see Canada, fully prepared to go, at the door of his house. You could see the backpack on his shoulders and holy shit it looked packed full of things. It had to have weighed a ton! The backpack itself looked like you could fit into it if you curled up a bit.
"Hi, Canada." It made you feel better to see him out of the suit. He looked more comfortable and confident as he bounded down his little porch.
"Good morning, _!" You could see the weight of the backpack slowly lift and then hit his back with a harsh sound. He didn't seem to notice as he walked over to his car, which you parked right next to. He opened the trunk and your eyes followed the muscles in his arms as they rippled from him lugging the pack into it. You had to look away immediately before he caught you staring. He let out a sigh after it was in the back. You really couldn't help it, come on. After being a French territory for most of your life, his habits tend to rub off on you.
"Um, _?" you shake yourself out of your thoughts and look back at him, eyebrows raised in an expecting manner.
"Yes?"
"You have hiking clothes, right?" he asks. You can feel your face heat up, but you refuse to blush. His eyes look you up and down, being skeptical of your attire, though to your imagination it felt like he was admiring you through your clothes.
"Are these not ok?" you ask, not really sure if shorts and a tank top were ok. "I mean, I figured it'd be hot walking and so I..." your voice trails off in embarrassment. At least you knew you wore the right shoes.
"Those are ok, for when we get to the cabin and stuff, but eh.." he laughs nervously. "Um, I think I may have some old clothes that you could wear if you want," he says, shutting the trunk and motioning you to follow him. "Come on." As you follow him, you look down at your clothes. Were they really not suited for it?
"So, why is this not ok to wear?" you ask, feet curiously taking steps. You can see the inside of his house, it was really nice. It was a decent sized home, very peaceful. It didn't look too cluttered, but wasn't completely empty.
"Well, when we start out on the trail, there is a lot of dense brush and if you don't wear the right pants, your legs get all scratched up. Sorry, about the mess. I learned that from experience. And from there after that, there is poison ivy, so that's why you need long sleeves or a jacket. Though it's best to avoid it altogether, but for that we have to go all the way around," as he's speaking, your expression gradually twists further into a fearful look. "And there is this muddy part we have to go through, and if we don't go quickly through it, we can get stuck. That I learned from experience as well. Kumahodo had to pull me out."
"Who?"
"Me," your head turns quickly around until you look down to see the small polar bear following you two through the house. You follow Canada up the stairs to his room. You smile a sheepish smile at the bear. "Who are you?"
"I'm _," you say.
"Not you, him," he points to Canada.
"That's-" your brow furrow as you try to tell the bear.
"I'm Canada," Canada whines, turning to Kumajirou.
"I'm Kumajirou," Kumajirou introduces himself to Canada. Canada lets out an exasperated sigh and hunches over. You let out a little laugh. Canada looks at you, frowning with an open mouth.
"_, it's not funny. He does this every time he sees me." You try to hold back a smile.
"Right, sorry." After a moment of grief, he stands up straight again. Canada opens his closet, to rummage through as you look around his room. It seemed nice and neat. There was a king sized bed, a desk in the corner. His bathroom looked clean from what you could see. He was an organized person from what you could tell. He wasn't bad at decorating either. Your attention snaps back to him when you hear a squeak.
"Kumajirou!" Canada squeaks. You can only see the legs of the bear as he crawls into the closet. "Get out of there!" Speaking of closets, then you wonder, what kind of things does this guy hide? Well your question is answered immediately, when he slowly slides the bear out from the closet. In Kumajirou's paws, are some.. questionable magazines, dangling open. Canada freezes, before his face goes completely red and he calmly takes the magazines from the bear's paws. He gently, stuffs the material back into his closet in a hurry. You try to hide your smile as he glances over at you, to see if you are paying attention. You quickly avert your eyes and pretend to be looking at something else in the watch as Kumajirou leaves, you swear you see his little mouth smirk a bit as he passes you.
It's adorable how Canada tries to play it off, clearing his throat and pulling out pants and a jacket from there. You look back, pretending to be abruptly interrupted.
"W-will these work?" he asks, face still red.
The pants seemed a bit big and so did the jacket, but you'd figure they would work. You walk over and take the clothing from his hands.
"They should, but I don't want to mess them up," you say, they looked well taken care of and if you went on the hi- The hike. Good thing you remembered, then again. How could you forget. "Wait, wait.. you said there is poison ivy, and dense brush, and mud pits?" you put a hand on your hip. His face finally fades back to its original color. He lets out a nervous laugh.
"I-It's ok, don't worry! I'll go first so you don't get hurt and you can follow me," you see him pause and look down at the ground. He looked like a little kid that was about to get scolded. "I mean, if you don't want to go anymore, I can understand. I didn't warn you properly, I'm sorry." God, he looked so forlorn when the possibility of you declining was spoken.
Though you had your doubts, you reluctantly agreed. It was very much worth it, to see how excited he had gotten. Even though you had wanted a peaceful, relaxed hike, it was the exact opposite... You had managed to run, right into the thorny bushes that he specifically warned you about. You were trapped for a long while. He had to work his way around the thorns as they stuck to your clothes. You ended up being virtually unharmed save for a few pokes here and there. You told him that you wanted to go around the poison ivy, since your luck with the brush was bad from the get go. Well, that proved to be a mistake, not only did the trip take twice as long to get a quarter of the way through the whole trail itself, but you came into contact with the muddy area he was talking about. And in there, you lost your pack and your boots. He offered you his shoes, which you initially declined deciding you could tough it out. When Canada dropped his glasses, you ended up turned around in the wrong direction. Looking back to find it, you both saw a trail of blood leading right from your feet. Apparently those bumpy rocks, were a lot stabbier than you thought. It was at that point, that he put down his pack and put you on his back. You protested about the backpack, saying you could still walk, even though your feet ached something awful. Canada just ignored you when you said that.
The two of you were just past the halfway point, when you started laughing. He didn't seem too amused, though.
"What's so funny?" he asks, voice wavering.
"This was a complete disaster, huh?" you giggle. You hear him sigh.
"I didn't mean for it to turn out this way," he apologizes. "It's not that bad, eh?" you couldn't see his weak smile, attempting to turn it into a decent situation. He seemed to not be able to read the mood. You look down at your feet and see the blood had stained his pants, the ones he had lent you and the ones he was wearing.
"Shit!" you say, struggling to get down. Canada starts freaking out with you.
"What?! Stop moving! I'm gonna- m-might drop you!" he panics. You lean back, trying to move your feet away from him and stretch them straight. Even with his warning, and the fact he was bent over backwards, his grip was steady. This country refused to drop you. "_!" he squeaks, loudly. "Stop!" his voice was strong and loud. Canada repositioned himself and gently let you down.
"I'm bleeding on you," you frown, looking up at him. You felt very guilty, you didn't mean to freak out over it, but you had. Canada turned to look at his clothes. He shuts his eyes and lets out a sigh.
"The ones on your pants are from me," he says, showing his bloody fingertips. Your head jerks back. "You're more important than the clothes, if we don't get your feet cleaned up and bandaged, they might get infected. You can rest at the cabin while I go get the forest rangers to give us a ride back," he says. Canada turns around and kneels down again. "Come on," his voice was soft and gentle. You hesitantly get on his back, again.
You ended up falling asleep on the way back, only to be prompted awake by the sweet voice.
"_?" it was soft, almost a whisper. You slowly open your eyes to see the Canadian above you, leaning with his beautiful face just a bit too close. You groan, you can feel the throb in your feet. You sit up, which makes him stand straight up quickly, so you don't butt heads.
"Yeah?" you were also sort of groggy.
"So, I kinda forgot where the ranger station is," he bears his teeth in a nervous frown. You could see the regret in his eyes as well as how he was fidgeting. "So you might have to wait a bit longer than expected," he warns. You look out of the window and see the sun, low in the sky. You sigh, but give a weak smile, after all of this crazy day, you were exhausted anyway. Your body was screaming due to being overworked, and your feet ached terribly.
"That's ok. I mean, we both planned to stay here for the night anyway, right?" you say as you look back at him. You can see how dirty he looked as well. His hair clung to his face in sweat, and he had mud and blood all over himself. It was sort of funny, he kind of looked like he was running from a killer or something. As you smirk a bit, musing from your imagination, you see his brow furrow.
"What are you thinking? No, I was just wanting to know if you'd be ok here, while I go search for it. It gets a little lonely around here at night." Now it was your turn to give him a look.
"Canada," you say, giving him your serious look. Your subtle smirk turns into a frown. "You aren't seriously going out there in the dark are you?" you ask. He crosses his arms.
"I got you into this mess. Besides, there aren't any bears or mountain lions around here. At least, I have never come across one... I just have to go get my pack and it'll be fine." Your mouth twitches a bit. 'He.. This guy,' you chuckle soundlessly.
"I won't die if we stay overnight," you reason, not wanting to endanger him any further. Today's injuries had been enough for a good, long while. He uncrosses his arms. You can see he doesn't like this idea much, but something inside him agrees. You can tell he is exhausted and by the growl of his stomach, hungry as well. You see him scratch his cheek.
"I should at least go get the backpack, it isn't too far." His head turns to look out of the window. You could see his brain working out the details of such a trip. For some odd reason, your hand moves on its own and grasps his. It was a split second before you pull back instantly, rationalizing with yourself. You see him stiffen after you touched him, then relax.
"Uh, sorry," you pause for a while, "Seriously, Canada. It can wait. You said you had supplies here anyway, right?" you ask. He just nods and walks over to a close chair and sits down. You can see his whole body practically melt onto it. He was really tired as well. And you wouldn't blame him, pulling you out of the brush and mud, then carried you the rest of the way here.
"Yeah," he sighs out. It was obvious he hadn't been on a hike like this in a long time.
"So, you can just whip something up for yourself, yeah?" you suggest, wincing as you sit up so you can face him better all the while not wanting to get blood on his couch, anyway. His hearing seemed to be in tiptop shape because he sat up straight after hearing that.
"Right!" he gets up. As he walks away, he answers your question. "Well, all I have is canned food. So if you don't mind that. I can make something for both of us," you can hear him open a few cabinets, before the sound of water running the kitchen.
–
There was something about this position that was a subtle turn on to you. It was as if he was waiting on your hand and foot literally. His hands were touching your feet. No, they were caressing your feet. And what skilled hands they were. They were gentle with your soles as he soaked them in the steaming hot water. You were surprised when he placed them so carefully into the tub as he worked with his first-aid. His hands felt so wonderfully soft. They were strongly kneading into your sore flesh, working the dirt and small pebbles out.
It must have been the steam getting to you. Your face felt hot and you involuntarily shiver, head tilting back just a bit.
"Did I hurt you?" he asks, eyes snap up to you, checking your expression for any pain. You shake your head no. When he deemed that wasn't it, "Are you cold?" he asks.
"Canada I'm fine!" you almost yell, a big smile on your face. "My feet are the only thing that are sore, but that's a given because of all the walking! I can't even imagine how you feel. You carried me like half of the way here!" you say. You cover your face in an attempt to hide your blush. "I should be the one taking care of you!"
You hear him give a hearty laugh.
"Hey, you shouldn't even be worried about that," he says. You watch as his head kind of looks down at your feet. "I shouldn't have even brought you to this trail. I knew it'd be a bit dangerous and I didn't warn you from the beginning. I'm so stupid," he says lowly, cursing himself. You feel for him and how hard he was on himself.
In reality, your feet weren't that bad. It just looked bad. They weren't that hurt and you doubt they'd get infected. They would heal up in no time, especially with the way he was handling them. He was so cautious when touching your feet, you'd think he was dealing with glass. Your lips twitched up into a sad smile. It was rather charming how he valued your safety and well-being. You wondered, 'Is this the kind of guy he is?' Caring, quiet, cute, strong?
"Well, it wasn't the most peaceful walk-" his head sinks further.
"I'm sorry." You try to keep your smile back.
"I liked it, though," this time you let your mouth curve upward. You see his head slowly lift up to look at you in surprise.
"Really?" he asks, eyes oh, so hopeful. You nod enthusiastically, which made him giggle. Up until this point throughout getting to the cabin, you saw his subtle body language. How he was stiff and almost robotic. You feel like you broke through some sort of barrier. You see him slouch a bit, allowing all the tension to leave his shoulders. You start to laugh, thinking of your adventures.
"Yeah, like when I lost my boots. You weren't kidding when you said we had to move quickly. How is that even considered part of the trail?" you ask. "It should be considered a hazard around the trail." Canada blushes.
"Uhh.. About that-" he murmurs. You almost screech out in mirthful anger.
"What!" your voice raised louder, but you hoped he would understand you were being playfully angry.
"Neither was the poison ivy or the brush!" he blurts out. You look at him with an open mouthed smile, you couldn't believe it!
"What?!" your body jerks and water splashes onto his shirt.
"Sorry!" he apologizes, face getting redder. "The actual trail is to keep me in shape," he says, hands out of the water and off of your feet.
"What!" you almost yell again, it was sort of all like a big joke to you. 'I mean, what the hell! I wasn't going to take the trip seriously in the first place. I still had a lot of fun. What the fuck Canada!' you wouldn't be able to deny that you were a bit actually angry.
"I'm sorry!" he repeats again. His ears were starting to shade as well. You could see tears start to fill up the corners of his eyes. He did a bad thing, and you could tell. "I got carried away! Which isn't like me at all! Just when you said you wanted to go with me, I got so excited! I wanted to do everything I could!" he blurts out. 'Shit shit shit, I don't want him to cry!.. And he really wanted to just go with me?'
"It's ok. It's ok!" you say.
"I ruined it!" he wails.
"Nonononono, no you didn't!" you protest. You really didn't want him to start crying, so you hop up, not realizing your feet were still confined to a bucket of soapy water. Getting up, turned to be the worst thing you could do as you teetered forward. Your arms flailed as you uttered grunts and Whoa's. Canada's reaction was quick, but at the angle you were leaning, it was too late.
You both sputtered to the floor with oofs. You ended up skidding way farther than you should have because you tried to avoid falling on top of him. The water in the small container splashed all over his pants while you sported a lovely wood burn and probably a bruised side.
You started laughing immediately, seeing his face as he fell was probably one of the most hilarious moments during this whole ordeal. He scrambles up, apparently not finding it funny.
"Are you ok?" he asks, going to pick you up. You let him help you up, still laughing.
"I'm sorry!" you say between laughs. "Y-yes, I'm fine."
You couldn't help but look at his face, in all of its distress and picture his wide eyes as he grasped onto your legs. Canada just stares at you, his frown slowly melting into a smile until he was laughing just as hard as you were.
The rest of the night was magical for you. It seemed that you two actually got a long better than you expected or even hoped. You both had your heart to hearts. Canada admitting everyone ignoring or mistaking him for America most of the time, even his close friends. You reciprocated with telling him about living in France's shadow and since you had gained independence, everyone still looked to him first before actually asking you. Both of those things got you and him into a bad mood, which was lifted when you promised not to do the same. In return, he promised the same. That brought the mood to a flat line, until he suggested playing a few games. As it would turn out, Canada is quite the funny guy around you. With the rest of the evening, playing out well. The both of you didn't get to bed until three in the morning, laughing and enjoying one another's company.
You had gone your separate ways from there and you had loads of work to do, which was probably about the only reason that you hated being your own country. You made as much time for Canada as possible, which was about only one phone call for about half an hour a week. Even though, you were independent, you still spent most of the time consulting with France or in general discussing and spending time with him. In that month before the new meeting was scheduled, you were talking about Canada, nonstop to your former "father." He seemed interested throughout, but you saw right through him and decided to stop talking about how much fun you had. After all, you had been talking about Canada for weeks.
A month later, the next meeting came. The morning for the scheduled meeting, France grasped your shoulders and looked you straight in the eye. He seemed so desperate.
"Please, no more!" he begged as you stood in the meeting room. You hadn't even said a word to the country. "Please! _, just ask him out! You obviously can't stop talking about him!" France pleaded.
You blushed and quickly glanced around, being relieved that you didn't see him.
"France, I don't even know him that well," you say, raising a brow. He saw the blush on your face.
"Then at least admit, you want to fuck him," he says, that famous smirk and a mysterious glint in his eye.
"WHAT!" you scream, earning the attention of everyone.
"So help me, if you utter another word about your hike with him, I will go sit with England for the rest of the meeting and force you to sit right next to him." You smack his hands off of you.
"Ok, so what? I like him, and?!" you whisper scream. "I don't know him that well."
"Then ask him out!" he whispers just as fiercely at you.
"I don't know him that well!"
"Then get to know him!"
"I-" you really had no valid reason to say no, but you just felt like you should.
"Ve~ _ has a crush?" Italy just somehow appeared from under the table. You derp for a moment, wondering what the hell he was doing under there.
"Que?" you can hear Spain's voice. You feel dread start to creep up on you as it seems like everyone was so interested. "_, is this true?"
"Oh, it is so very true. Yet, ze poor thing doesn't want to admit it," France smirks, as the other two pressed for details.
"_, you've never shown interest in anyone! Who is it! Is it a human?" Italy questions. Spain seems skeptical.
"No. _ would never. Too smart for that. It has to be someone like us," he says, bringing his hand to his chin. You let the silent crocodile tears run down your face.
"Why?" you whine. You didn't notice France disappear until you hear his voice and turn around.
"Speaking of! Here Canada is!" France announces to the little group. You see Spain and Italy look at him.
"Who is this guy?"
"I'm Canada," Canada says, frowning deeply.
"Is this seriously the guy?" Spain seems to disapprove. Italy just takes to studying the man that stood in front of them. You felt like dying. You felt like you were drying up under the spotlight and suddenly it was too hot.
"Disperse!" you say loudly, chopping the two in the head. "We will discuss this later! Please don't embarrass me!" you say, voice pleading the two to leave. France still seems to be lingering just out of reach, hand clasped to Canada's shoulder. He had an evil smile on his face. Your eyes glare at him as you silently tell him, 'Don't do it. Not again.'
"What was that about?" Canada asks, watching the two walk away while giving him looks.
"Oh nothing," your hands lift up to calm his interest.
"Ah, _ was just telling them about 'ow much fun she had with you," France states, maintaining eye contact with you. You plead with your eyes. You beg. You would get on your knees if it weren't so demeaning in front of Canada. Then France turns so sensually to Canada and whispers in his ear, just loud enough for you to hear. "_ wouldn't shut up about it for the past month. Mon dieu, it was quite an earful~" You could see Canada blush. You expression remained stone cold. He shyly glanced up at you as your face became unreadable. You wanted to take France's stupid shitbeard and choke him with it. You wanted to turn on your heel and march right out of the building. You wanted to tell England, that France enjoyed wearing dresses and slept with baguettes that when alone he admits that England is better in every way. You wanted to curl into a shell and die. Maybe a jet pack so you could crash through the ceiling all the way to the moon and stay there.. Forever. "It was also specifically mentioned, how cute you are, Canada~ How _ liked how strong you were, carrying her all the way to the cabin. How she ached looking at your body-"
"Frog!"
Just in time... Just in the nick of goddamn time! Oh, how lovely did it sound for a boot to come crashing right to the back of his french head.
"Welp, I am fucked" you mutter. You turn to look at the red-faced man as England dragged France away. "I can't even.. I'm not going to try and defend myself," you say before turning on your heel and walking right into a corner to stare at a wall. You plan to stay there until the meeting starts.
Throughout the meeting, you kept a straight face, but on the inside your thoughts were running wild. Questions whizzed through your brain until the end of it. You were so embarrassed with yourself, that you didn't even want to speak to him. You knew you should apologize for being inappropriate though. You felt so angry and stupid at the same time. In other words, you were in a bad mood. You made sure to watch him throughout the whole meeting, in case he decided to duck and run. He seemed normal, given he was quiet through and through. You followed him, like a creep out of the room.
You make sure not to follow to close, but you assume he knew you'd be wanting to explain yourself. Canada waited patiently outside on the steps. When you saw him, he was sitting down, partially leaning on the beam. You could tell he was waiting, so you sat down next to him, staring at the ground in shame. Things were about to get even more awkward. How were you even going to explain yourself. It was silent between the two of you as he stared off at the bustling city. You kept glancing at him, until you sighed out, figuring it was time to fess up.
"Ok, I am a bit of a pervert," your voice was low as you admitted it.
"I figured that much," he retorts back. "I guess hanging out with papa will do that to someone," he says. You feel like you fell right back in love when he said that. He doesn't even realize he's doing it, huh? Calling France papa. Your ravings inside your head die down when you think of how France may or may not have gotten off on that. You shivered at the thought. Canada seemed to notice this. "You don't have to act disgusted. I know how you really think now," he says, sighing and looking at the ground. That tone. You felt guilty and sad for him, he sounded so disappointed. "It was a bit low though. Pretending to want to go on a hike and spend time with me.. Just so you could get into my pants." You weren't that much of a deviant. "It just upsets me that papa was in on it, too."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I assure you, that's not the reason I wanted to go with you," you try to defend yourself. You see the canadian shoot you a skeptical look. "Ok, it.. Well.. Ugh!" you were so frustrated. You stand up and offer him a hand, with a guilty smile, you start up, "Why, don't we get some coffee or something, I'd rather not talk about this here."
Canada gives you a look before hesitantly taking your hand. You hoist him to his feet and within a little while, you two make your way into a quiet cafe. You order your drinks and when they arrive you take a long sip. You set your cup almost heavily down with a sigh. You could see his weary eyes on you, they made you fidget. Nobody ever looked at you like that, distrustful of your every move. He breaks eye contact when he takes a drink.
"Do you trust me?" you ask. "Rather can you trust what I say?" you ask. The man across from you puts his cup down.
"Yeah, I think so." You sigh with a smile and felt relief wash over you.
"Ok, then. Well... I did want a hiking partner. I asked Francis-err France, about who he thought would be a good guide or whatever it is. He recommended you. Before you called out to him, I didn't even know you existed," you can see a dark cloud form above him.
"Expected." You let out a puff of air from your nose.
"But," you hesitate before sighing. "When I saw you. God, I'm going to sound really stupid. When I saw you, I was," you could feel yourself grow uncomfortable, so you decide to take a sip to gather your thoughts. You put your cup down, feeling a bit refreshed before looking back at him. He was listening pretty carefully as he usually would interested to know more about you and who you were, like back at the cabin. You could feel your face get hot.
"Why're you blushing?" he asks, curiously. You want to kick him hard in the shin for saying that.
"I thought you looked so cute, I just didn't know what to do! I wasn't even able to properly look you in the eyes when I first saw you. That's how attractive I thought you were.," you blurt out. "I didn't mean to think dirty things about you! I'm sorry! It just sort of happened! I mean, don't you fantasize about someone you think looks really, really striking?" you ask, face growing hot and body getting uncomfortable. "B-besides, I know you do! So you can't get upset at me for being a pervert! With those dirty magazines Kumajirou brought out!" you accuse. You see his awestruck face, turn red as well.
"You saw those! I thought-!"
"I pretended not to! I didn't want to embarrass you!" you squeak back. "I mean you played it off rather well, so I figured, ya know. Why make a big deal of it, everyone does stuff like that!" You see him, grip his cup rather harshly, crinkling it a bit.
"Well, I'm not the one who said those things to Papa in the first place!" he argues back. There he goes again, stopping you in your tracks with 'Papa'. But it wasn't a distraction for long.
"And then you go saying things like that! It's too cute. You should get arrested for it!" you feel like you are just blurting out whatever is on your mind. "I didn't actually say those things to France, he just knows me too well!" you say. "He just.. Somehow, knows what I'm thinking. Knows my body language, I guess I do spend too much time with him," you say, calming down in realization. You take a deep breath and sigh as Canada remains red faced. "Hey, look, Canada. I'm sorry. I.. This got way off from what I was originally going to say," you sort of laugh to yourself. "I did want you to go with me on the hike because I thought it'd be interesting to get to know you. I may have fantasized a bit and you can hit me for doing that if it makes you feel better, but it wasn't my intention to try and get you into bed. I just sort of had so much fun that I wanted it to go further and find out.. Other things about you. I guess, way more intimate than what I should have for us just meeting. It really was innocent intentions to begin with and still is. But I'm sorry," you apologize. You can see his face gradually change throughout.
Canada sighs. He glances down for a moment. You can see the beginnings of a smile creep onto his face as his cheeks fade back to their normal color. His grip on the cup loosens.
"Ok," he says, now looking up at you with a tiny, shy smile.
"Ok?" you question, scratching the side of your head.
"I forgive you," he says and then is quick to respond with. "I-I'm sorry as well. I thought those were well hidden. A-and sorry for assuming that you were trying to just have sex with me."
You laugh whole heartedly. You lean back in your chair as your shoulders shake.
"I'm not that much like France," you say. "I'm definitely not as pronounced with it. I haven't even done it yet," you say, waving your hand at him. You see Canada give you a look, but shake his head.
"I don't believe that. With Papa around..." he says, "But I'm not going to argue with you." Your laughter dies down and you see him smile. This was the last sigh and it was a sigh of content. "I'm glad I decided to listen rather than avoid you altogether."
"Yeeaaah, I would have followed you," you say. "That sounds really creepy."
"Only a little bit," he muses.