Sorry I haven't been putting many AN's in lately, It's been hectic! And I'm trying to get these out before I have to leave, when half of the time I wake up late, it's not easy! Anyway, I'm writing this LAST NIGHT so I can say thank you to my two reviewers who are making me very happy to continue writing this! It's fun to hear what you think! Thanks, I-Heart-Sesshoumaru13 and Steelgray!
Anywho, on with the show!
Disclaimer- Technically it should be Anywhom. I don't even care about the bad grammar right there! Shame on me!
Chapter 7
Mattie worked on dinner while Ivan explored a little more. He was honestly checking the ceiling in every room of the house, wondering what else he might find. He noticed a small stairway inside the front closet and looked up, his eyes narrowing as he found his way in the dark. He found a light switch and clicked, finding a smaller set of stairs and a few floors that were set up. A small door sat and Ivan opened it, finding it lead to the roof. He wondered when he heard pats on the floor beside him and looked down, seeing Kumajirou looking up at him. "That's my door."
"I won't take it. I just wondered where it lead to." Ivan watched as the bear nodded and came up the stairs, opening the door and looked out.
"I like my door." Kumajirou said softly and looked up at the sky.
"Why aren't there any windows with the door?" Ivan asked and Kumajirou turned before cocking his head.
"The door is hidden from outside. I can get in and out of the house, and no one sees me. If there were windows, people would be able to see in." Kumajirou stared and Ivan watched as the bear tried to figure him out. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm... visiting with Matvey."
"Matvey?" Kumajirou asked and Ivan realized he didn't call him Mattie like everyone else.
"Ah, Canada."
"Who?" large pearly black eyes met his own and Ivan had to sigh.
"The man who gives you food." Ivan stated softly and the bear nodded.
"I like him." Kumajirou said with a face Ivan couldn't help but wonder if it was a smile.
"Me too. Matvey is very kind." Ivan let a soft smile show to the bear, who nuzzled down in the spot he'd been sitting in.
"I am sad though." Kumajirou sighed. "He thinks I forget. It's not him I forget."
"You don't forget him?" Ivan asked, stepping forward and carefully rubbing softly at the bear's head. He was so soft!
"Just his name." Kumajirou said and Ivan realized something. He could talk, but it wasn't crystal clear. To him, the statement 'who are you' could be used to ask a name.
"Do you mind if I tell him you said that? I think it would make him very happy to hear." Ivan asked and he could swear that the small being nodded.
"I wanna make him happy!" Kumajirou jumped up and hopped around like an excited puppy. Ivan reached over and lifted the bear into his arms, who looked up in surprise before Ivan tenderly held him to his chest. Kumajirou was surprised to not be half hanging from his arms like he did from Mattie. It made him a bit uncomfortable, but he decided he'd bear with it for now.
Ivan made his way into the kitchen, hearing Mattie softly hum as he cooked and Ivan slid Kumajirou to the floor. "Matvey, you never guess what a little bear told me."
"A little bear?" Mattie laughed and turned. Ivan could tell he was honestly feeling better from his breakdown earlier. "What did Kumajerry say?"
Ivan laughed at the situation. "He tell me he really likes you, but you make him sad."
"I make him sad?" Mattie stilled, his eyes wide as Ivan sat across from him on a stool that overlooked the kitchen.
"Da. He's sad because you think he forgets you, but it's not you he forgets, just the name." Mattie stared for a moment trying to process when he felt a little tug at his pants and looked down. Kumajirou tugged softly and Mattie couldn't help but smile and bent down, lifting him.
Ivan noticed Mattie's face drift down, becoming completely immersed in the soft white fur. "Is that true, Kumagichi?"
"We play and we laugh." Kumajirou said, shifting around and hugging him. "Matvey is my friend." Mattie let a joyous laugh go, but Ivan noticed his pressed his face further into the fur.
He was crying again, but this time he was happy. Ivan smiled, realizing how much this had actually meant to him. "Matvey, huh? I've been trying to teach you to say Canada for almost two hundred years!" Mattie laughed and the bear nuzzled his head to Mattie's neck.
The evening went fairly uneventfully. They ate and chatted, Ivan and Mattie still getting used to the other. He'd noticed there was another picture on the kitchen ceiling and Ivan waited til Mattie was out, deciding it was worth it to offer to do the dishes to see without Mattie getting depressed like he was in the living room. He did the dishes carefully and looked around, eventually finding the focus point in the far corner of the room. Ivan looked around and realized originally the counter was there, so Mattie could see it from the stove. A picture of Arthur and a very young Alfred greeted him. They both looked thrilled to be alive. Arthur was holding the little American over his head, spinning him. He smiled as he softly made his way out to the living room.
"Your house is very interesting. It'll be fun to see what I find next." Ivan chuckled as he sat on a large couch, Mattie looking up with a little worry.
"Why? What did you find?"
"A small door that leads to your roof. It's cute." Ivan covered his mouth as Mattie hugged Kumajirou again, a grand smile lighting his face. Mattie nodded and released the bear, who curled up on his lap as he sat on a large, very plush looking chair.
"The house caught fire once. It took out the back wing, and I was so scared! I was able to keep it from spreading to the main house, but I lost a lot of things. It was my first office." Mattie said, looking down. "Kumashino was back there when the fire started and honestly I thought he'd died til I found him a couple of hours after the fire was out. He was grey from the smoke, but alright. I decided after that to put in some escapes for him, just in case. There's fifteen escape points for him hidden around." Mattie said as Kumajirou looked up and nuzzled his stomach before laying back down in a ball.
"I only found the one so far. It's like hide and seek in your house, Da?" Ivan watched as Mattie nodded.
"Some people grow up and become adults, some just get better at playing the game, eh?" Mattie laughed and Ivan let a soft chuckle escape his lip.
"Being responsible adult is... overrated sometime. It's better to just relax and play." Ivan leaned back with a soft sigh as Mattie looked up and gave him a weird look before giggling. Ivan watched him, letting a touch of amusement show. "Why do you give me that look? It makes me so curious!" Ivan stated as Mattie covered his mouth to hide his giggle.
"I've discovered you're probably a really good singer." Mattie decided to take the long way about, not really wanting to let him know what he'd discovered about his humming when he was happy.
Instead of questioning him further, Ivan decided to just take his words as a compliment. "I do sing a lot. It's a habit from when I was a child. We would sing before battles, and while we worked to keep up morale. It's good for the heart, Da?"
"Yeah." Mattie nodded.
Ivan remembered when he and his sisters were sitting around one day, waiting for the food to finish cooking and Ukraine told him to sing to keep happy until it was done. He'd heard others singing, but was scared it was something he wouldn't be good at, so he just stared. Ukraine smiled and started the song, Belarus joining in, but after a couple of lines, when Ivan just sat there and stared at the fire, Ukraine had stopped. "Russe, why aren't you singing?"
"I don't know how." He said softly and Ukraine had laughed.
"Your people know how to sing really well. I'm sure you would be good at it, if you try. Just like we're doing. Join in!" Her smile was so bright before she started singing again Ivan couldn't help but to join in, to make sure that wonderful smile wasn't for nothing.
They were so scarce those days, when they were freezing and starving half of the time.
When he joined in the other two dropped off. Ivan had stopped singing when he realized they'd both quit, and he turned, hiding his face. "I'm sorry, I knew I wouldn't be good at it." He hid his face in embarrassment and Ukraine shook her head.
"Russe, your voice is amazing!" She stared and he turned, wondering if she was just saying it. "Please, sing some more!" She watched as he nodded carefully and started singing softly, just letting his words be heard.
He finished the song, watching the fire as soft expressions tumbled from his lips. He listened, trying to hear his voice, but he couldn't tell if he really was any good or not. After the song had ended he felt a warmth on his side and looked down to see Belarus hugging him close. "Big brother is so amazing!" She smiled and Ivan stared, surprised before looking up to see Ukraine with a giant grin.
"He certainly is." She'd said softly.
Ivan realized he was probably making some horribly sappy face and glanced up, seeing Mattie watch him with a smile. Ivan looked away as he blushed, trying to hide his face as he glanced down at his watch. It was still fairly early. "I'm going to go on and get ready for bed." Ivan stood and Mattie nodded.
"Good night, Ivan."
"спокойной ночи, Matvey." Ivan nodded as he turned to walk up the stairs.
He took a shower and climbed into bed, even though it was only around eight thirty. He laid there for half an hour and just glared up at the American flag that he felt just glared back. He couldn't handle it anymore! He cringed as he stood, deciding since Mattie had told him he could change the décor, it would be fine to pull it down, right? He walked around and pulled the staples from the walls and slowly pulled the flag from the ceiling, walking along and pulling out the staples that had kept them attached to the beams as well. He noticed a splash of color as he'd taken down the second pin. So there was another hidden image here as well.
It took nearly half an hour to get the rest of the staples, and he walked around, but wasn't nearly as easily able to find the focus point. He realized about where it should have been when he noticed where the paint was on the beams. This one wasn't done in stain like the others. It was painted on. He found a dark corner and realized the image didn't quite measure up, no matter how far back he was. He glanced around and found a chair. He pulled it over and stood carefully before looking up. His eyes widened when he realized what it was. He had to be almost all the way to the ceiling to see it. Unlike the rest of the images, where it was a whole image, this one was very small, but took up more room. The whole ceiling of the room was devoted to only about a foot of painted area.
It was his own head. Just the scarf up. It was a kind smile he had on his face. His eyes shone, light seemed to shine on him from an unpainted sun. He looked so happy. Ivan stared, completely amazed at the image. He honestly didn't remember even once being as happy as he looked in that image.
It was quite a while before he could coax himself to step down and move the chair back to where he'd found it. As he laid down, after that, he couldn't help but smile and wonder. Before he finally drifted off, he had to wonder if he currently looked as happy as he did in that painting.
He probably couldn't, but it was the closest he'd figured he'd ever been to that joy, knowing that Mattie, the man he grew to get a crush on all the way back in World War Two, had made that image of him.
Mattie slowly pulled the clothes from the dryer, folding them carefully before moving the clothes in the washer over. He couldn't help but smile sadly, seeing exactly how much larger than him Ivan was. It had surprised him, when Mattie really stopped to look, to find Ivan wasn't really much taller than him. Maybe just a couple of centimeters. He blushed as he lifted the clothes, feeling an odd contentment at his current actions. It was just laundry. Why did it feel so different than normal?
He smiled and blushed. He felt happy, knowing he was able to help. He was spending time getting to know a country he'd always been interested in, but never really had the time to get to know. He glanced up the stairs and sighed. He was terribly happy. Mattie had been in a couple of crushes in his life, but no one ever had recognized him when he'd gone to confess. One girl, they'd dated for a month and he told her he'd really liked her and she turned with curiosity, asking him who he was.
That was the last time he'd given himself the luxury to be that free. He'd kept his heart closed off since. He kept his feelings about others at bay, only letting the fear of not being remembered remain. He had seen Ivan for three days and he hadn't once asked who he was. Not even when they'd first ran into each other at the meeting. Mattie knew he was getting his hopes up, but for the first time in a hundred years, he decided to allow it. He'd let himself think about Ivan. Even if it was just platonic, even if they never kissed again, it would be worth it to see those random smiles, or to hear him humming when something made him happy.
He gently laid the clothes on the kitchen counter so they wouldn't be forgotten the next morning before walking up the stairs. He never kept his bedroom door closed, as he never knew when Kumajirou would come in or leave during the night. He closed it long enough to change into his pajamas and laid down, looking up at the ceiling. He smiled brightly before closing his eyes, wondering if he'd be able to sleep around the giddy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach.
Mattie realized something and his eyes opened as he thought. Had he ever really been this happy before? Could he remember being this giddy? He thought back and sighed.
World War Two ending. He was this excited about it being over. He was thrilled that peace was maintained. It had meant something amazing to him, but this was up there with that. It wasn't just the excitement, but the joy.
Ivan, whether he'd meant to or not, was making him so happy with some of the things he said and did.
"Goodnight, Matvey." He heard and looked over, finding Kumajirou curling up in a little ball on the pillow beside him.
"Good night, Kuma." He closed his eyes and this time drifted off peacefully.
Hope you liked! Leave a review and tell me what you thought!
Aurevoir!
Jasmin
