"Come find me, da?" the Russian questioned, lounging on one of the two leather chairs, long legs stretching to the other side of the small ottoman. To his left, Canada sat curled up in an identical leather chair blinking at the other man's request, controller in hand.
"Where are you?" the Canadian whispered back, continuing the mine the dirt blocks outside his virtual house.
"If I knew, I wouldn't have to ask," Ivan replied dryly, "Come find me."
"Just keep walking around, you'll find your way back eventually."
"HeT, I found a cave I want to explore. Bring me weapons, torches, pick axe, and wood," Russia nodded and sealed himself behind a stone block wall to await Canada's arrival. Canada sighed in exasperation returning to one of his many chests inside his house. He gathered up Russia's requested materials before a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"How will I find you?" Matthew questioned, honestly puzzled on how he would locate the other nation's Minecraft character. Ivan gave him a sideways glance, an unreadable expression etched on his visage.
"By using a map, obviously," Russia responded, slight irritation creating an edge to his already gravelly voice. Matthew snorted heavily at Russia's response.
"I know that! I don't have one," the Canadian replied, his voice barely raised above a whisper. Canada's frustration only fueled Russia's enjoyment for this game. At first, Russia resisted Canada's proposal to play the game, especially since Canada borrowed it from America.
'This is why Americans are so lazy,' Ivan thought, giving the cover an overlook before handing it back to the dejected looking Canadian. The usually passive nation only stared at the returned video game before looking up at Russia determinedly.
"No, eh. We are going to play this game," Canada demanded, his voice still nothing but a whisper. Ivan refused again, however somewhat taken aback by Canada's assertiveness. After at least fifteen minutes of bantering back and forth, Russia finally gave in to Canada's persistent pleas.
Now he found himself squeezing into one of his smaller leather chairs, playing the Xbox with the Canadian. Ivan fiddled with the controller before responding to Canada's distress.
"Then make one," he stated simply, grinning when it sparked another annoyed noise to emit from Canada.
"I'm trying, I just need more iron to make a compass to make a map."
"There's some in my chest, use that."
A few heartbeats later, Canada produced a map, holding it out in front of him.
"Um," he began, staring intensely at the map onscreen, "Are you the white chip or the green one?"
Russia sighed once again to express his annoyance before pressing the select button to check the color of their pieces. At the beginning of the game, Russia spent a significant amount of time just checking out buttons while Canada , on the other hand, instantly began work on his house. This was probably the primary reason that led to Canada having a house and Russia's lack of adequate shelter by nightfall.
"I am the green one," Russia replied, growing impatient with the amount of time it's taking Matthew to locate him.
"On my way," the Canadian stated proudly before setting off to locate the missing Ivan. Russia glanced down at the other nation's screen discreetly, watching the blonde's character stumble around the world, attempting to follow the map. It was all quite amusing, especially when the usually patient Canadian let out a long sigh of exasperation. Ivan turned his head slowly, casting his violet eyes on Matthew, taking in the frustrated expression. Canada looked adorable when angered, Russia would admit. The way his light colored eyebrows, normally sitting neutrally above his eyes, where furrowed down in irritation coupled with the glassy, focused look on his purple eyes, turning a shade darker than normal, made the Russian smile. It was not everyday when Comrade Matvey showed this impatience and Ivan would relish in every minute of it.
Thirty minutes passed before Canada's character stumbled into the dark pit Russia sealed himself in.
"It's dark in here, eh," Canada observed, selecting the torches from his inventory, "Where are you?"
Russia hummed softly in response, digging himself out of his stone barricade. A low growl sounded throughout the cave near Russia.
"Be careful, Matvey, there are monsters."
"I see. It's just a zombie though," Canada chuckled quietly to himself, "Alfred is scared of zombies. He's totally prepared for a zombie apocalypse, he's got an underground bomb shelter with countless weapons lining the wall and everything!"
Matthew giggled at the memory of listening to his brother yap about his zombie safety plan, as he set up a torch to see the zombie. He selected the sword from his inventory and attacked the zombie.
"Your brother is an idiot," Russia stated blankly, not as amused as Canada with America's actions. Canada frowned slightly as his character picked up the rotten flesh left behind by the zombie.
"Yeah, he can be rather stupid," the Canadian admitted, thinking back on recent acts of stupidity Alfred displayed, "But he is my brother, eh. Even though he gets on my nerves, I'll still love him. Like you and your sisters, eh?"
Russia shuddered at the thought of "loving" Belarus, then gave a small shrug.
"Doesn't change the fact that he's stupid," Ivan remarked. Canada sighed before nodding, knowing the Russian would argue until he got his way.
"Give me supplies," Russia demanded once the cave was clear of monsters for the time being. Canada gave Russia all of the supplies he had demanded then followed Ivan into the cave.
"We should build a fort, da?" Ivan questioned, finishing the mining of a cluster of iron ore blocks.
"Underground?"
"Da."
Canada blinked. The two had been surrounded by the bland sight of gray stone blocks for at least an hour now, and the blonde yearned for the sight of color again. However, Russia seemed to be enjoying the game at the time, and Matthew did not wish to chance ruining it.
"Oui, that's fine."
Russia nodded and the two began mining out a shallow niche in the stone cave wall. Once the fort was wide and tall enough for the two to maneuver comfortably and set up chests, Ivan finished off the shelter by installing a door. The Russian looked around the small building, frowning slightly.
"What's wrong, eh?"
"Not enough lights."
Matthew looked around as well, nodding in agreement at the one light in the corner.
"Oui, I agree."
"Good. Put more up, da?" Russia ordered as he retreated from the fort with the intention of lighting the outside. Ivan surveyed the front of the fort, deciding how many lights should be set up in order to give off sufficient lighting, but not alert anyone else to their safe house. Ivan decided this number would be two. He set up one torch on the left side of the door then one on the right side of the door before stepping backward to look over his handiwork. Once Russia had finished the lighting on the outside of the fort, he moved back to the inside with the purpose of checking on Matthew. He was greeted by a blinding barrage of yellow.
"I set up the lights, Ivan," Canada stated happily when Russia entered. Ivan nodded, taking a moment to adjust to the bright screen, smirking.
"Hm. More lights, Matvey," the Russian decided. Canada gaped at him.
"What? Where else would I put them, eh? On the floor?"
"Da. Do it."
Russia turned, heading back out of the fort so Canada could have more room to place torches. Canada sighed, his pride in the work he accomplished deflated noticeably. All he wanted to do was keep Ivan happy and intrigued, maybe even impress him, Matthew was definitely expecting a better reactions to his diligent work. However, the Canadian is a pleaser, so instead of making a fuss, or pouting, he just set up more lights for Russia. Eventually Canada had filled the entire space with lights, except for a narrow passageway leading from the door to the back of the shelter. He huffed a breath of relief as he admired his accomplishment, before calling Russia back in.
"I finished setting up the torches. There's absolutely no more room to put anymore, eh," Canada remarked as Ivan's character entered the fort, surveying the massive amount of torches that had been set up. There was a long, tense silence between the two nations, Russia judging the interior of the fort and Canada hopefully awaiting praise.
Finally, it was the Russian who broke the silence.
"HeT," he began, "There are too many lights, Matvey. Take them all down, da?"
Those words hit Matthew like a slap in the face and it took him a moment to process the command. After all this time and effort he'd given to set all of the torches up, Ivan wanted him to take them all down? All of them?
'Non! If he wants them down all of a sudden, he can take them all down,' Canada thought bitterly, irritation clearly boiling inside of him. Russia knew the effect his command had on the Canadian; he could not help but smile childishly. That's what pushed Matthew over the edge.
"Non, Ivan. How aboot you get your lazy ass over here and do it yourself, eh?" Canada whisper-yelled back, frustration evident in his soft voice. Ivan rolled his eyes, thoroughly enjoying the burst of negative emotion from Matthew.
"Da, I will," Russia stated, already beginning to clear the floor of the multitude of torches. Matthew's character shoved past Russia's character and through the fort's door, Canada fuming the whole while.
"I will show you perfect light fixture, Matvey," Russia remarked as he started the monuments task of destroying the torches.
Ten minutes ticked by, Ivan was still working on the lights, and Matthew continued to mull over Russia's dissatisfaction of his lighting.
"Matvey, I have finished. Come look," Russia's voice once again pierced the heavy silence between them. Canada heaved a heavy sigh before turning from the wall he was currently mining in to return to the fort grudgingly.
"I'm on my way, eh."
Canada took a deep breath, his expectations high, after all, America had shown him some kick ass Minecraft creations before, like the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or some well known symbol from some kind of video game his brother obsessively plays. All were spectacular. If Russia had taken it upon himself to actually construct something in the game, then it must be great, right?
Canada felt his excitement growing as he opened the door to the fort. It swiftly dissipated as he gazed around. Canada stared in disbelief at the inside of the shelter. Only two lights were set up, one close to the door, the other at the back. Russia made him set up all of those torches just so he could take all of them down but two?! Two lights was his idea of 'perfect'? Canada's voice, barely audible, finally echoed through the air.
"Just two torches?"
"Da."
Canada released a heavy growl, cursing, softly, obscenities about Russia in French before setting down his controller.
"That's it. I am so done, Ivan," he whined, his agitation obvious. Canada stood up from his leather chair to emphasize his claim, turning away from Russia, his eyes lit with rage. Russia smirked, highly amused, as he watched the infuriated Canadian storm off into the kitchen.