*Hey. My second Hetalia fic on here. Intense friendship, but can be seen as slash, whichever you prefer, I'm not picky. Now let the chaos begin!*
"I-I'm not sure about this, Mattie…" the Italian said slowly, tone etched with caution and worry for his well-being. He certainly didn't want to fall flat on his bum. That would hurt a lot, and he didn't want a sore bottom for the rest of his visit.
Plus, it was freezing!
"Oh, come one, Feli!" the Canadian pleaded, clasping his gloved hands together, batting his eyelashes, and jutting out his lower lip in an adorable pout. "Please? Pretty please? With sugar and hot fudge and pasta on top?"
Feliciano gasped, "You fiend! Y-you know that sounds del-licious!" He pointed an accusing finger at his friend, before having a shiver rake down his spine. He stuck his own mitten-clad hands back underneath his arm pits. Unlike Matthew, who was used to the cold and only wore one layer of clothing beneath his signature red and white maple leaf hoodie, the dark-haired redhead was doubled up in three layers, complete with a black, puffy insulation jacket that made him look like a giant, burnt marshmallow, but kept him warm.
Matthew smiled that gentle smile of his. Feliciano's shivers calmed significantly to the occasional tremor, and his falsely annoyed expression melted. He beamed back at him, saying, with only a slight stammer from the cold, "A-Alright… But –"
"I'll catch you, don't worry about falling," Matthew assured. He outstretched his two arms to the other from his spot resting on the thick, frozen lake below the embankment Feliciano insisted on staying put on.
The Italian fidgeted in his ice skates, wiggling around his toes to make sure they weren't frozen. He could still fell them. He nodded, pulling the ear flaps of his hat further down and tying the two strings connected to the ends together before stuffing them inside the fluffy, hand-knitted scarf Matthew had made him for his birthday two years before. He took the blonde's hands, entwining their fingers as Matthew eased him onto the ice.
Feliciano let out a sound of fright, wondering how he was suppose to balance on two blades. "It's okay, Feli," Matthew soothed, bringing them steadily to the center of the lake. "Just take a deep breath, let it out, and stop tensing. It'll just make you think you're about to fall."
Feliciano nodded, letting out a breath he had had no idea he had been holding. His muscles relaxed, and he attempted to glide on the skates without Matthew's help. It worked. Barely, but it worked, and he squeaked as he caught himself, almost in the split position.
Matthew chuckled, holding onto his arms. "You're doing great, eh? Just think of it as roller-blading. You've done that before, right?"
The auburn hair nodded proudly, slowly getting up to full height, grinning broadly at the comparison. "Veh~ Of c-course I have! It's one of my favorite past-t-times!"
"Well, then just picture doing it on ice," Matthew instructed, "Balance yourself." Feliciano kept his stance steady, flailing slightly before catching himself in an uncomfortable position. His feet were shoulder width apart, but his knees were pressed together, and his arms were up in different directions.
Matthew skated in a circle around him, hiding his amused smile and laughter behind his hands. Feliciano's nose and cheeks, of which were already flushed from the cold, turned darker. "It's not f-funny, Mattie!" he exclaimed, trying to right himself. "And it's not as e-easy as you make it s-sound, either!"
"Sorry, Feli," Matthew apologized, skidding to a halt in front of him. He still had that smile on his face. "But it's just so fun seeing you get all flustered!" To emphasize this point, he gently poked the Italian's nose, causing him to stumble back with a squeak. He would've fallen flat on his back if Matthew hadn't grabbed hold of his hands and kept him upright.
Feliciano's blush darkened. Bowing his head in shame, he groaned, "I am s-so not good at this…"
"That's okay, Feli," Matthew promised. He pulled him up to a standing position, holding onto him as he ushered him back to the embankment. "Not a lot of people are. We can try again tomorrow, if you'd like?"
"N-no, thanks," Feliciano stammered, allowing himself to be towed after the Canadian.
Matthew tsked. "Not adventure seeking at all, are you, eh?"
"N-no way!" Feliciano said, sounding almost surprised his friend had even suggested the idea. "I don't do 'adventure s-seeking'. Doitsu says I'm always t-too goofy and too hungry to even t-try, anyway."
"Is that exactly what he said, or is that just what you heard him say?" Although he kept his tone light, Matthew knew that some of the things Ludwig tried to teach Feliciano just went through one ear and out the other. The Italian simply wasn't interested in military training and warfare. It just wasn't his thing.
"Well," Feliciano started, blinking in thought. "I-I think it w-was something about 'why can't you listen f-for once, Italy? This is r-really important! All you care ab-bout is pasta!' You know, th-the usual."
Matthew sighed, rolling his eyes playfully. "Come on; we better get you back to my place before you catch pasta madness – Feli, why are you kissing the snow? It'll just make you colder!"
"But, Mattie, its solid ground," the auburn hair expressed, hopping up from his hands-and-knees position and shaking off the snow beard he had gotten, sticking his hands back under his armpits. "A-and solid ground is my f-friend… plus, they always d-do it in the movies."
"Yeah, well, it wasn't buried beneath two-and-a-half feet, so come on," Matthew prodded, grabbing Feliciano's arm and pulling him along, plodding through the snow, in between the clusters of frosted pine trees to his backyard. His home was a few miles from the nearest town, but he didn't mind the isolation. There was plenty of beautiful scenery, and he had a bunch of stuff to do, indoors and out whenever he didn't need to attend world meetings and Parliament.
It was nicer to have someone to talk to besides Kumajiro, though.
Feliciano practically crashed through the back door, breathing in heavily with a wide grin on his face. "Sweet, sweet warm air! How I've missed you!"
Matthew chuckled, walking inside and closing the door behind him. He tugged off his gloved and kicked off his boots as Feliciano sprawled out on the multicolored carpet, rubbing his cheek on it. "Take off your extra clothes, eh? You could over heat yourself."
"Sorry, Mattie." Although he really didn't sound that sorry at all. He rolled over onto his back, lifting his legs into the air and kicking off his rubber snow boots, having them topple to the floor covered in slush in the process. He was thankful water wouldn't stain when it melted. He slipped off his hat, whimpering with a pale blush as his curl was jerked. Matthew walked into the kitchen, Feliciano smoothing out the rest of his hair, careful of his curl.
"You want some hot chocolate?" the blonde called from his station at the kitchen counter.
"Oh, yes, please!" Feliciano said, excited at the prospect of the other's drink; it was so delicious, he couldn't even explain it with words. "With maple syrup! Your maple syrup is amazing! And marshmallows!"
"Alright, alright," Matthew chuckled.
Feliciano hauled himself to his feet, shrugging off his poofy jacket and peeling off his second and third layers, hanging up the coat on the rack near the back door. He folded the clothing, setting it down near the boots underneath the rack as Matthew's polar bear waddled its way down the stairs. Once that was done and Kumajiro had instead plopped himself down beneath the coffee table, beginning to doze off yet again, and he could still see Matthew working on the beverages in the kitchen, Feliciano hurried back into the living room. He leapt up onto the sofa, bouncing up slightly on impact with a giggle. Kumajiro sent him a lazy but scolding glance before tucking his head back into his paws and starting to snooze.
He yanked the blanket off the top of the couch, wrapping himself up in it and sighing at the fluffiness. The scent of chocolate wafted to his nostrils, causing the Italian to follow it with his nose, resulting in him ending up laying flat on his belly, squirming in an attempt to get at it.
Matthew chuckled at the sight, Feliciano propping himself up again. He handed the wriggling redhead his steaming cup, complete with the fresh maple syrup mixed around inside and a mound of mini-marshmallows on top, who popped one of them into his mouth instantly, smiling in content. Matthew's own mug had brown sugar sprinkled on the whipped cream monster that was on it, also with maple syrup.
"Let me in there," he said, sipping his drink. It left behind a whipped cream mustache, of which Feliciano laughed at and Matthew calmly licked off his upper lip. The Italian scooted over, opening up his cocoon without spilling his chocolate. Matthew sidled up inside, holding his mug close to his chest as Feliciano tucked him in all nice and cozy, snuggling up to his side and munching on a handful of marshmallows.
The Canadian felt around for the television remote, snatching it up from its hiding place between two of the cushions and flipping the electronic on. The screen blinked on in attention, showing a pirate's ship with black paint and sails. Dirty looking men were mulling about on deck, with a… stranger looking one at the helm, guiding her through the now calm waters.
"Veh~ I love this movie!" Feliciano cooed, cuddling closer to Matthew as it began to lightly snow outside the windows. The flakes were big and fluffy. "Johnny Depp plays one of the lead rolls, right?"
The blonde took another sip of his hot chocolate, nodding. "Yeah. The Pirates franchise has another movie coming out, actually. It has Black Beard in it."
"Ooh, Alfred won't like that," Feliciano mused, watching with amusement as the captain at the helm pulled out a compass that really didn't seem to be working.
"No, he won't." Matthew was grinning at the prospect; his brother did always get scared easily.
They watched the movie unfold in silence, until Matthew could hear Feliciano's light snores escaping his parted lips. The film was almost over, and the snow didn't really seem to be picking up much of a heavy fall, so he decided to turn in. He flicked the T.V. off, having the living room succumb to darkness, tossing the remote on another cushion as he picked Feliciano up. The auburn hair unconsciously wrapped his arms around the other's neck as Matthew bundled up the blanket and tossed it to the side, much like he had the remote. With that, he smoothly made his way out of the living room to the stairs, calling out a soft, "Goodnight, Kumakichi."
"Who?" the calm voice replied, sleep induced, drowsy.
Matthew just ignored him.
*D'aww! The fluff! It's so fluffy! Like Feliciano's marshmallows! Anyway, like I said, you can take this as slash or heavy friendship. Feli's like a bunny… MATTIE! (runs away) Review please!*