Chapter Seven
Canada had woken up the next morning when Flicker had gotten out of bed. He had been half asleep when he felt a kiss pressed to his for head. The blond frowned and turned over completely covering himself with the sheets. He heard a quiet laugh before falling back asleep again.
Matthew woke up again a few hours later. He sighed remembering where he was. He didn't feel like getting up, he didn't really see a point. He rolled over looking at the clock. He groaned seeing it was nearly eleven am. He knew he should probably get up and eat. He also really wanted to skate again. He knew it was going to be what kept him sane while he was here.
The Canadian huffed and sat up looking around. He sat on the edge of the bed for a moment before standing up. He grabbed his glasses and put them on. He decided not to change and went out to the kitchen. He didn't really feel hungry, but he knew he should eat something. Matthew picked through the cupboards wanting something simple.
Canada smiled seeing a box of Kraft dinner. He grabbed it and a pot. He filled it with water and set it on the stove. He hopped up onto the counter and waited for the water to boil before putting in the noodles. The Canadian hummed waiting for them to cook. He got off the counter to find a strainer. He grabbed the pot and strained the water. He grabbed the milk and butter and finished making it. The blond took the pot and a dish towel to sit on the couch.
Matthew sat and turned on the tv. He surfed for awhile before finding cartoons and sticking with them. He felt like a kid sitting and eating watching cartoons. He felt full after eating less than half the pot. The blond powered through it already feeling ready for a nap. He set the empty pot on the coffee table and curled up on the couch.
The Canadian ended up falling asleep for almost another hour before getting up. He took the empty pot and cleaned it before walking towards the rink. He sat down on the bench and went to grab his skates. Canada noticed a small box sitting next to his skates and picked it up. It was a simple small white box wrapped with a red ribbon. He flipped the tag over and read the note.
'Thought you might like some music, Schön.' Flicker had written. Canada wrinkled his nose, but pulled the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a pair of tiny wireless ear buds. He picked one up and inspected it. It looked like a normal ear bud, but it had Omnom's logo on the side. He shrugged and put one in. The blond jumped in surprise as a very excited lady greeted him.
"Hello! My name is October. I am an artificial intelligence created by the people at Omnom." October said. "What is your name?"
"Matthew?" Canada replied automatically.
"Hello, Matthew!" October greeted. "I'm able to play any version of any song you would like. Just ask! Or select a mood and I can play songs associated with that feeling. You are also able to set reminders and ask me questions. Your administrator is able to listen in at any time as well. What would you like to listen to?"
"Umm." Canada grumbled grabbing a skate. Given the option he had no idea what he wanted to listen to. "Play something that's older and up beat, please?"
"Okay. Now playing; Norman Greenbaum, Spirit in The Sky." October said before going quiet. Matthew shrugged and kept putting his skates on as the song started. He finally got them on and stepped onto the ice. He only kept one ear bud in still wanting to hear if someone was sneaking up on him. October announced every new song before it started.
Canada hummed skating a lap before turning and skating backwards. He twisted and turned moving easily over the ice. He wasn't going along to the music really, he was just having fun. He smiled turning one more time before stopping to catch his breath.
"Hey, October?" Matthew asked still slightly out of breath. The music stopped and there was a quiet ding. "Can you set a reminder for five, please?"
"Yes, reminder set for five." October said. "Continue playing 'older upbeat music?'"
"Ah, yes please." The blond mumbled. He started to skate again. Canada turned picking up speed and preparing for a jump. He never had problems with getting height, but he knew he had problems with under rotating them. The Canadian did a few single jumps and managed to not fall. He was annoyed with his glasses, they kept almost falling off his face. He lazily skated over to the boards and took them off. Matthew set them down on the boards and skated away again.
The Canadian hummed picking up speed again. He turned skating backwards. He pushed off into the air and managed to spin twice before landing. His landing was a bit shaky, but he didn't fall. Canada smiled readying for another pass. It had been a while since he had jumped. He missed the feeling of flying and the difficulty it took to do one properly.
Matthew pulled around deciding to try a double axel. He landed a double multiple times before and triple as well, but he was out of practice. He kicked off into the air and landed, but he was off balance and fell. The blond laughed lightly at himself seeing he had scraped his hands. He sighed and laid back on the ice with his hands behind his head.
The Canadian hummed happily feeling the cold on his back. He knew he needed to stay positive and keep a level head. For skating and for dealing with Flicker. He sighed sitting up and getting back onto his feet. He skated and readied for another jump, but his music stopped with a ping.
"It's five, Matthew." October reminded him. Canada sighed and skated towards the gate. He didn't really want to stop, but he didn't want to anger Flicker. He sat on the bench pulling his skates off. He wiped them down to get rid of the moisture. He put the ear bud back in its box and put it next to his skates. He heard a wurring noise and looked out to the ice. He spotted what looked like Roombas starting to resurface the ice, zamboni Roombas.
Matthew grabbed his glasses and started to walk towards the kitchen. Every step hurt, his feet and ankles were sore. He hopped up onto the counter to give his feet a break as he decided what to cook. He missed home and wanted pancakes. He hopped off the counter and found the ingredients. He stood up and started to make the batter from scratch. He sighed finding a pan and started to heat it up.
"That smells amazing." Flicker said walking into the kitchen. Matthew looked up and glared as he came closer. The man leaned in trying to give him a kiss on the cheek. He just ducked out of the way and Flicker laughed quietly and sat on the counter to watch him. "How did you like the ear buds?"
"They're pretty cool." Canada said focusing on cooking. "Thank you."
"No problem Birdie." Flicker said with a smile.
"Find something else to call me." The blond snapped.
"If it will make you happy, Schatz." The ginger hummed.