In which Matthew takes the time to slow down.

Day one of Hetalia rare pair week 2k16 – Sports (oh no, my worst subject). I was going to do FraPan all week, but then I couldn't think of anything for them for this day so CanUkr came to mind and I immediately thought of the figure skater/ice hockey player dynamic. I know little to nothing about either, but I'm trying my hardest, I swear (I honestly just researched all of this, so if it's wrong, I apologize). This is shorter than I would've liked, but. It ended up being a sort of human-verse, though (and probably OOC children but). xD Also, what are titles apparently. .


It awes Matthew how different two people can be on the ice.

He grew up with hockey, a skull rattling sport that knocks out people and their teeth. He's used to brute force, quick movements, and being able to stand his ground. Matthew Williams has suffered through concussions and even losing a tooth when he was younger and all his adult teeth had yet to come in.

It isn't like he hasn't seen figure skaters before. He catches them practicing sometimes on the ice rinks and pauses to watch occasionally. They're a change from the hockey players he's accustomed to. Figure skaters are graceful and flexible and daring in a different sort of way.

Still, none astound him quite like Yekaterina.

They're out today on a sort of date that neither actually refers to as a date because they're both too shy to. It isn't uncommon; they sort of tip-toe around each other a lot. Matthew knows he's meant to make the first move, but he can't help but feel she's way too good for him.

It's rather funny to him, actually. She doesn't see herself as beautiful, but Matthew can't bring himself to take his eyes off of her. It's freezing cold and the nearby lake has frozen over enough for them to go skating. Yekaterina's already out on the ice and Matthew forgets to tie up his skates the rest of the way in favor of half gaping at her.

It's funny to him, because beautiful doesn't even begin to describe Yekaterina Braginskaya.

Normally, she's scatterbrained and perhaps a bit clumsy and overly apologetic, and he loves that side of her dearly. But on the ice she looks confident and free and moves with the most graceful movements that Matthew has ever seen. She's in her element here, no doubt about it. Yekaterina looks relaxed as she cuts smoothly across the thick ice and makes a clean leap, twirling midair and still managing to stick the landing. She's certainly a figure skater, that's for sure – Matthew himself would wipe out if he dared to attempt something like that.

Confusion briefly flickers through Matthew when she abruptly halts, but she's staring at him and he snaps back to reality.

"Matvey, come on!" She's laughing, and Matthew abruptly realizes he barely even has his skates on.

"Sorry, Kat," he says quickly, rather embarrassed.

Matthew hears her skate closer as he laces up his own skates with practiced speed and takes her hand when she offers it to him. Yekaterina pulls him onto the ice and releases him so he can steady himself. She skates back a few paces, smiling warmly beneath her scarf.

"Hey, Kat," he starts once he balances himself and looks up, "how do you do all of that stuff?"

She makes a full loop and then drags to a T-stop, halting a bit in front of him. "What do you mean?"

"The leaps," he tries, "and when you, eh, pull your leg up and all those fancy tricks."

He knows he sounds stupid, but she doesn't laugh. Yekaterina just smiles and skates forward to stand directly before him, offering out her hand.

"Do you want me to show you?"

Matthew supposes it can't hurt; he just hopes he won't wipe out. He nods and accepts her gloved hand.

"Technically," Yekaterina starts, bringing her leg up over her hand and reaching back to hold it with her free hand, "this is called a catchfoot. When it's over your head, it's usually for the Beillmann spin."

"The-"

"Beillmann spin."

"I don't..."

She laughs, "It's okay, Matvey."

Yekaterina goes on to explain where he should keep his weight in order to maintain his balance – that part isn't hard for Matthew; he's used to balancing in the middle of an adrenaline driven game. He has more issues with actually getting his leg up. As it turns out, he can't actually get his leg any higher than nearly parallel with the ice before he starts wobbling and Kat, skating backwards still, has to return to two feet to keep both of them balanced.

"I'm no good at this," Matthew decides, huffing as he brings his leg down again.

Yekaterina releases his hand and comes to a halt, watching Matthew as he skates around her. He's used to hard movements, colliding with other players and focusing on getting the puck to the goal before it can get swiped. Despite the fact that they're both ice sports, they're so different and it baffles Matthew.

"It's okay," Yekaterina is saying, "it takes a lot of practice. Do you want to try again?"

He hesitates, and finally nods. "One more time."

The Ukrainian woman lights up and takes his hand once more, pulling him back into a smooth path across the frozen lake. She's going backwards again and this time he sets his expression in determination, watching as she brings her leg up behind her easily. This time, he gets his leg higher and bends his knee, reaching back to grip his skate so he can pull it up further.

He almost has it when he staggers on his other leg and his skate tips forward. He yelps and Kat lets out a little shriek, unable to balance them out in time. She drops her leg abruptly as they topple, but Matthew manages to shift his weight quickly enough that he ends up being the one hitting the ice. Yekaterina lands on top of him with a surprised little sound and a dazed expression.

The sky, Matthew concludes, is quite pretty during this time in the winter. His head hurts from the impact with the ice, but at least Yekaterina isn't the one who hit the frozen surface. She lifts her head, hands braced against his chest.

"Oh," she says suddenly, as though just then realizing their rather odd position.

Her face blazes red, but Matthew speaks before she can start to apologize.

"Kat?" He asks, turning his blue-violet eyes to her.

Wide eyed, Yekaterina blinks back down at him. "Y-Yes?"

Their noses brush, but Matthew isn't really thinking about what he's saying. His thoughts are more occupied by how pretty she is when she smiles.

"Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

"Oh, Matvey," she laughs, leaning closer to brush his bangs away and kiss his forehead, "you've hit your head too hard. Of course I will."

Kat crawls back and gets to her knees so she can help Matthew sit up. He's dizzy, but he's half blaming it on the giddy feeling that rises into his chest at Yekaterina's acceptance.

"Hot cocoa?" Matthew asks, as they both get back to their feet and head towards the bank.

"Hot cocoa," she agrees, smiling a heart-stopping smile.