Whoa~! How's it going, my precious kotenok? Oh, how I hope you like this chapter! Our dear Ivan will finally be making his official debut for this story in this chapter! To warn you, there will be just a little cursing in this chapter, so if it bothers you, please accept my apologies. And I'm sorry if I haven't responded to people's reviews or PMs, I've been busy this week with schooling and stuff. Hetalia is the sole possession of the beautiful Hidekaz-Kun~! Okay, now into the third chapter we go~!
Drip, drip, drip. The sound of rain falling to the concreted ground was the only thing Canada could hear besides his and Kumajirou's breathing. It had been raining for twenty minutes and Canada had finally motivated himself to move. The cold rain soaking him and Kumajirou. He needed to get them both under shelter and out of the rain, or one or both of them might catch a cold. Thinking about his animal friend, Canada took off his suit jacket, and wrapped it around Kumajirou's body. With a final sigh, Canada lifted himself off the ground, leaning forward to pick up his companion.
He walked out of the alleyway and looked around to see if he recognized where he had run off to. Thinking back on it, Canada realized he would no longer be able to go back to the hotel room. He had offered to pay for it, or even pay for half of the bill, but France had refused his help and paid for it all himself. Matthew thought about where he could stay the night. 'If I ask Alfred he'll surely say yes, well, that's only if he's still in a fight with England. I could tell him about what happened and he would let me stay, but I don't want to bother him, plus he'd probably go beat up France.
He took out his wallet and looked to see if he had brought the right credit card he would only use for nation business. Luckily for him, he had considered the day before he left for France whether he should bring the card with him and had decided to put it in his wallet.
Putting his wallet back into his pants pocket, Canada realized he did not know where he was. He had not been to this part of Paris before, and could not tell which way would lead him back to the hotel. He glance both ways to see which would be best to take. Deciding to just go right and see where it would take him, Canada headed for the way that was lit the brightest. After Canada had walked for twenty five minutes with no trigger of recognition as to where he was at, he decided to find a decent place and go inside to ask for directions. Walking further, Canada realized the city life was starting to become quieter, meaning he was walking further and further away from central Paris. He stopped and looked around for at least a place to rest a bit, buy something, and then ask for directions. He would probably have to ask to use the place's phone to call a taxi because he had decided it would be best not to be out in the rain any longer.
Looking around, his eyes came across a few boutiques, a movie theater, a fastfood restaurant and a pub. Canada looked closely at the pub, thinking about how amazing it looked. The whole building had been designed with either a warm mahogany wood, worn grey stone, or a dark tan stone. On the top of the entrance was a sign with a beautiful cursive font. The grey lettering formed the name, "La Pub Gris Esprit," meaning The Grey Spirit Pub in English. The entrance way was surrounded by four separate columns, all of them being made of the tan stone. The beautiful stained glass windows were a yellow, brown colour. As he walked closer to the door, Canada could almost smell the mahogany, the natural and slight lemon scent flowing into his nose.
Canada held Kumajirou closer to himself, knowing that some pubs did not allow animals. He grabbed onto the silver door handle and pushed the door open, the sound of a bell ringing alerting the bartender there was a new customer. Canada coughed a bit, walking forward towards the bar, and asked if it was okay for him to have Kumajirou in the pub. Glancing at the jacket wrapped bear, the bartender took a moment and thought. He thought the man in front of him must have really cared for the bear, not many people would put their own jacket on an animal in that type of rain. He laughed, stating it was his first time ever seeing a soaked man holding a polar bear in a jacket at his pub. He nodded and said as long as the bear did not bother anyone he was allowed to stay inside the pub. Canada smiled lightly, saying a quiet thank you when sitting down at the bar.
Asking for a Caribou, an alcoholic drink consisting of red wine, whisky, and maple syrup, Canada looked around the dimly lit pub. He noticed there were not that many customers in the pub. Only two middle aged men sitting near the back of the pub speaking of things unknown to Canada, a woman at the opposite end of the bar, a man in between Canada and the woman, and the bartender. Taking a closer look at the other man, Canada recognized him to be the personification of Russia, the man whom's room he had accidentally mistaken as his brother's earlier the same day.
Canada coughed slightly and looked around at the detailing of the pub. The bar as well was made of mahogany, the many alcoholic bottles lined the shelving behind the bar. The shelving background was actually a mirror, and Canada could slightly see his reflection between the bottles. He looked horrible. His eyes were puffy and red, his nose the same colour. His hair and clothes were dripping wet, and his blue shirt had become slightly see through. 'It's a surprise he didn't denied me entry into the pub solely on my appearance.' Canada mentally scolded himself after thinking such a thing. Not all humans are like that.
The bartender approached, handing Matthew his drink with a smile. Canada thanked him and took a swallow of the alcoholic drink. The burn of the whisky and slight bitter taste of the wine were masked by the sweet taste of the maple syrup. He sighed, the maple syrup relaxing his system almost automatically. Taking another sip, Canada glanced back at Russia. He was drinking a glass of straight vodka, not unusual for the russian. He had also taken off his large coat when entering the building, it must have been soaked from the tough rain. It was strange, seeing Russia without his coat on. The man was much leaner without the extra layering, and the muscles under his dress shirt were much more noticeable. Before he could stop himself, Canada was fully checking out his fellow nation. Looking him up and down, Canada tried taking in every detail of Russia's body without his bulky coat on.
Canada did not notice it, but Russia had realized he had been staring at him for a while. Russia glanced at himself, wondering why he had become such an interesting sight to the smaller man. He took a long swallow of his vodka, turning his body so that he was facing Canada. "Is there something on me that has caught your attention? Why have you been staring at me?" Russia asked. Matthew blushed, embarrassed that he had forgotten he had been staring. He tried to say something back, an apology maybe, but all that came out was incoherent sounds. "Speak up, I cannot understand you." Russia said, curious as to why the young looking man had been looking at him so intently.
Coughing, Canada sat up, looking towards the older nation. "I'm incredibly sorry, Russia. I just have never seen you without your coat on. You normally wear it everywhere, well, everywhere I've seen you at. Not that I've seen you enough to say that you wear your coat to every location you go to. That's not what I'm saying. I'm sure you alternate what you wear, and you do not wear just that coat. Not saying that coat isn't good enough to wear everywhere, it's a nice coat. I'm putting my foot into my mouth. I'll just be quiet now, excuse me." Matthew sighed, noticing an aura of malice beginning to surround the bar. 'Well, if he's going to beat me up, I might as well get drunk enough so I can't remember the rough pounding I'll surely get,' Canada thought, slightly irritated with himself for being so weak. Looking towards his glass, he took a deep breathe and downed the rest of the drink. He gently placed the glass back onto the bar, and called out to the bartender who was talking to the woman across the bar.
Ordering another Caribou, Canada leaned forward onto the bar. He crossed his arms together so his head could have a slight cushion underneath it. Matthew looked to his right to see Kumajirou in the bar seat he had sat him down in. "Kumahiro, today's the worst." Canada said, his own aura spreading across the bar, this time it being of a depressed kind. Kumajirou looked up at Canada, snuggling deeper into the jacket surrounding him. As if falling back into the normal routine, Kumajirou responded as he usually would. Canada hearing the bear ask again who he was caused him to grawn. "I'm Canada," he sighed, lifting his head so he could take sip of the newly placed glass of alcohol.
Over hearing the man say his name, Russia realized just who the man that had been looking at him was. "Comrade Canada?" the deep russian accent reached Matthew's ears. He jolted up right, looking towards the source he was sure the voice had come from. Surely enough, Russia was staring at him, he face showing a hint of realization. "Ah, this makes sense. No wonder you knew of my nation status," Russia looked at Canada, his childish smile slipping onto his face.
"Yeah," Canada simply replied, taking another drink of his Caribou. His gloomy aura becoming even heavier than before. 'Of course Russia wouldn't remember you. He probably thought you were some homeless guy that came into this pub to get out of the rain and drink. Well, part of that statement is true.' Canada's thoughts started becoming darker and darker, each thought giving him motive to take more sips of his drink. Before he realized it, Canada had drank his second glass, and had already asked for another unconsciously. He glanced at Kumajirou, silently apologizing. He knowing the bear did not like it when he drank. Canada took out his pen and one of his spare pieces of paper from his notes folder he had kept in his jacket. He jotted down the location of the hotel, Alfred's room number, his personal phone number for the tab, and an apology to the bartender. Turning towards the bear, he leant down slightly so he could give it to the bear. "Okay, Kuma, if I get too out of it, give the man behind this counter this paper. He'll know what to do."
Sitting up, he grabbed the glass and took a swallow of the drink, finally feeling the alcohol's numbing effects on his senses. He sighed in relief. His could practically feel the stress he was going through melt away with each sip. Canada sat straight up, feeling a strange burst of confidence hit him. He wanted to talk to someone, anyone. It did not matter who, just as long as he could gain someone attention longer than five minutes. Looking around, he noticed his options were slim. He could walk all the way over to the two men, but they were already in a deep conversation with each other. The woman across from him seemed quite interesting with her red hair and sarcastic attitude, but she as well was already in a conversation with the bartender.
Canada looked at Russia with determined eyes, the light violet colour holding a slight spark. He grabbed his drink, and lifted himself up from his seat. He walked until he was about a seat away from the one next to Russia and stopped. Glancing from Russia to the floor, he questioned whether what he was doing was a good thing to do or not. He took a deep breath and continued, taking the seat right next to the russian.
Russia heard someone coming closer to him. Their footsteps coming closer before they stopped a bit away from his seat. Fighting the urge to look up and see who the person was, Russia decided it would be best to just pay attention to his drink. When he lifted the glass to his lips, he noticed how the person had continued walking and had taken the seat beside him, sitting his glass in front of himself. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes, noticing the person that had moved next to him had been Canada. How could he have forgotten. Canada was also in the pub, he had talked to him not even five minutes ago. Looking straight towards Canada, he waited for the canadian to say something, wondering why the young nation had moved seats closer to himself.
Canada smiled at the russian, though it was a bit strained. "Hello, again. I was wondering if you would like to have some company tonight?" Canada questioned, taking a sip of his drink while keeping eye contact with Russia. The alcohol was really doing its job. His shyness had been replaced with a sense of confidence. He also did not feel the least bit nervous around the intimidating russian at all. Still looking at the older nation, Canada could see the wheels in his head turning. There was a moment of silence before Russia replied with his childish smile and a slight nod. If Canada had been in a more sober state, he would have realised the russian had nothing more than schemes on his mind. Hell, if he was sober, he probably would not have moved closer to the man and caused schemes to form in his head.
Russia silently chuckled, finding the young nation's behaviour slightly interesting. Not many nations, drunk or otherwise, would even dare to ask to accompany the russian for the night. It intrigued him a bit that the canadian's demeanor showed no signs of hesitation or fear. 'He must not handle his drinks well. Heh, what an unlucky nation, to so willingly come close to me in such a state. He's so vulnerable and trusting of those around him. Well, he is relatively young for a nation. He must not know what can happen to those that trust easily. Da, unlucky indeed.' Russia thought, ideas of ways to take advantage of Canada running through his mind. He looked at Matthew and smiled a bit wider. "Da, but do tell me, why is my company soak and wet with rain?" Russia asked, generally curious as to why the canadian looked the way he did.
The question caughted Canada off guard. He looked at Russia a moment before taking a long gulp from his drink and answering his question. "I walked from the meeting building to here. The rain started and that's what got me all soaked and stuff. I'm surprised I haven't started sneezing yet." Canada said, rubbing his nose with his shirt's long sleeve.
The answer Russia received shocked him. The meeting building was at least six miles away, and the rain had been going on for about an hour and a half before Canada had gotten to the pub. Looking at Matthew, Russia wondered if he should dwell deeper into the younger man's time before he got to the pub. 'Maybe there's something I can get out of him that will become useful later. Da, let's dig into his life a bit and see what we can use.' Russia thought to himself, grinning. "Really? Why did you walk all the way here? The meeting was hosted a bit farther than six miles away from this pub. It must have been tough walking from there to here in this type of rain. Why didn't you call a taxi over to drive you here?" the older man questioned.
Canada sighed, looking into his glass while thinking of an answer. He looked at the man beside him and responded back with a sad look in his eyes. "I wasn't really thinking of where I was actually heading when I left the meeting building. I just saw this place and wanted to get out of the rain and so I came in. If it wasn't raining so bad, I'd probably still be walking. But weather like that isn't good for Kumamija's health, and it's not good for my state of mind either." Canada ended with a laugh. He thought back on how he was before entering the pub and calming a bit.
Russia thought over what the canadian had said. 'State of mind? What does he mean by that? Heh, this is getting a bit interesting.' He could not help but be curious at what had caused the young nation to want to get away from the meeting area so bad. "You say 'state of mind,' what do you mean? Did something happen at meeting?" Russia wondered out loud, putting a fake layer of concern on the questions.
Canada could see it. The wheels turning in the russian's head. When he had heard the new questions, Canada shifted his gaze back to his drink. He did not want to talk about it, but he knew that he could not keep it all bottled up inside. It would only make him feel worse. Maybe if he vented out his feelings to someone, he thought, maybe it would make the situation more clear and take away some of the stress and hurt. He laughed. As if that would actually work. There was no way he would tell someone about what happened. It would make him seem weak and vulnerable. And that was the last thing Canada wanted Russia to see him as. Swallowing the last bit of his drink, Canada decided it would be best not to go into detail of what happened. "Well, it's a weird situation, really. Me and Alfred took a taxi this morning, and the taxi driver tried to hit on me. That's why I was a bit late this afternoon to the meeting. I had to deal with the creep pestering me about going out with him for wine or something. Anyways, after I got inside, I figured the man would just give up and leave. Well, my thoughts were wrong. The guy was outside the building when I was about to leave and waste time until Francis finished his other 'meeting'."' Canada said, laughing and putting verbal quotations around meeting. "I ran back inside and went through the back entrance, running for a while until I was sure no one was following me. Then it started raining and I realized I didn't know where I was, and so I continued walking until I found this pub. I guess you could say the situation with the cab driver just creeped me out and scared me. I'd be paranoid as shit if I was still out in the rain," Canada simi lied. He had successfully avoided the moment with France, and had come up with a valid explanation or excuse for what he had said.
Russia listened intently, intrigued by the story the nation beside he was telling him. He felt there was still things missing from the boy's story. Why hadn't he just stayed inside and ask for security to secure his safe return to the hotel? Why did he have to run through the back entrance when there was a chance of the man going that way and catching him? And why had Canada scoffed when he said France was in another meeting? The story would have made more sense if Russia had not known how the canadian was. He knew the younger nation was smarter than that. That even when put under pressure, he could act out the best solution to a problem. Russia knew there had to have been another factor in this story. Russia looked at his drink in thought, the story just did not fit the canadian. He took the final sip of his vodka, deciding that would be all he would have for the night, and turned his gaze back onto the canadian. "Why didn't you just ask security away from you? The meeting was held in a government building, the security there can escort the man out of the building and off the building's property." Russia asked, wondering as to how Canada was going to respond.
Canada looked down at his empty glass and contemplated on whether he should ask for another one. 'Hell, who cares. I might as well get wasted. I'm already halfway there, and I have Kumahiro there with instructions for the bartender if I get slammed.' "Fuck it" Canada said silently, waving over the bartender and ordering another drink, this time with extra maple syrup. He took some of the ice from his finished drink and started twirling it around in his mouth with his tongue. The solid cube of water numbing his tongue, the stray flavor of maple syrup still lingering on the melting ice. After the bartender returned with his new drink, Canada bit down on the cube and swallowed. The cool sensation going down his throat, chilling the burn the whisky slightly left.
Canada glanced at Russia from the corner of his eyes, not the least bit surprised at the questions. He had thought of doing that too, but then thought it would be best to look for France so he could deal with the civilian and no authorities would have to be called. He inwardly laughed, wondering how to respond. 'I'll just use the scared card.' Canada thought, taking a few more large swallows of his drink. "I was afraid, you know. I wasn't really thinking of what would be the best thing to do. It was either fight or flight, and I chose flight, all the way from there to here. I'm sure the hoser didn't follow me. I ran really fast and took a lot of twists turns. There's no way the damn frenchman followed me." Canada said, his speech becoming a bit slurred at the end. His mind started to become fuzzy, and he realized the alcohol was causing this feeling of disorientation. He looked down and giggled, knowing he was in his early stages of being drunk. He reached for his glass but stopped. Laying his head on the bar, Canada did not feel like moving anymore. He just laid there, facing the russian with a dull expression on his face.
He sighed and got off the bar, leaning backwards in the chair. Looking towards the ceiling, Canada thought about what was going to happen next for him. He sat up straight and grabbed the drink in his hand. Chugging the rest of his glass, Canada decided he'd think about it later.
Whelp, another chapter finished! This one took me longer than I thought it would. I think I'll keep it at this pace, an update every Friday, unless school work gets in the way. I hope the slightly drunken anada was okay in this chapter. It won't be until the next chapter that you get to see fully drunken Canada. I hoped you liked it! Tell me what you think, the responses I get really motivate me! Haste la pasta~!
