Chapter 10

Ivan ran down and checked to make sure the beets were done and grabbed the car keys for the rental he still had before running out the door. "I'll be back in a bit, Matvey." He smiled as he took off and Mattie turned to the door and smiled, waving. When the door closed Mattie sighed and turned, looking at a fairly interesting conversation he was having with Ellen. He was fairly certain Sam was laughing at him as well. A whole hour long conversation started with a simple line. 'Ellen, how do you know when you're in love?'

So far everything she'd said he'd felt. He understood all of it, even if he had a feeling in the back of his mind that it didn't make sense.

'You're in love with Ivan, aren't you?'

'yeah. I've had crushes before, but it's different. It sounds horrible, and wimpy, but I'm scared.'

'Don't worry. That's normal. Did you think me and Sam met and just looked into each other's eyes and kissed immediately and never left each other's sides again?'

'With you two, yeah! You seem to click really well!'

'He met me a week before my wedding to someone else. We were taking a trip to Vegas for my bachelorette party and Sam was on the bus. We ended out chatting the whole way about hockey. By the time we got to Vegas I was terrified of him. I was scared for my marriage and I wasn't even married yet. We chatted at the hotel, as we were all with a tour group and discovered we had rooms next to each other. We spent most of the week hanging out and chatting. I was supposed to come back the day before the wedding, and told my husband to be and he was so mad I'd spent the week talking to another man that he didn't show up on the day of the wedding, but Sam did. We talked for a while, but it wasn't for a month that I heard from my Ex. He asked me if me and Sam were a couple yet. I told him he was the one for me and he told me he'd been seeing us since, and that he knew we were better for each other than he ever was for me. I was mortified! I was so scared! I couldn't say anything for another month when Sam finally told me he'd liked me from day one. I thought I was going to have a heart attack!'

'Is that true? You were really that scared?'

'Yeah. It's not like some crappy romance novel where people fall into each other's arms and just know they'll be together forever. Real romance must be worked on. It has to be nurtured and cared for.'

'Thanks, Ellen. How in the hell did you become the person I come to for this kind of stuff?'

'Because your family is insane and it isn't hockey.' Mattie laughed at that point and shook his head. 'Just feel it out, alright? When something feels right, you'll know. A kiss, a confession, don't get too eager. Just feel everything out. Try and relax. You have all the time in the world.' Mattie smiled. He did. 'I did find out who you are, BTW. Both you and Ivan. I never would have imagined I would eat dinner with countries, or that I saw Canada all the time. I feel kind of privileged, lol!'

'You know you and Sam are like my best friends, right? I need to do something to say thanks for putting up with me sometime.'

'How about a double date when one of you two finally confess? It was fun last time!'

'I don't really remember.'

'You got completely smashed, admitted you were Canada and Ivan was Russia, then you heard some Japanese song you knew and did a fan dance and passed out on the table.' Mattie stared in horror. That couldn't have been right!

'Are you serious?!'

'Yeah! It was a blast! GTG! L8r!'

A fan dance. Did he even remember it? He walked over to the bar and grasped the sensu fan he had from when he used to practice all the time and walked over to the stereo, repeating, then cranking up the song he knew the number of by heart. MP3 number 523.

He sang along as he walked to the empty center of the room and closed his eyes, singing along as he slowly started the motions. He ran through it like water, but decided to just go through it again.

It was twenty minutes later when Ivan came in, but the door wasn't even heard. He glanced over, seeing Mattie singing, his eyes closed as he slowly and carefully moved with the folding fan, waving it around himself. Halfway through the song the tempo started speeding a little faster, his motions became less careful looking, but somehow more fluid. The fan seemed to move around him as if it were a part of himself. Ivan just watched, honestly amazed by the man before him.

Did Mattie actually have never ending grace? It always seemed like his movements, no matter what he was doing, were so perfect, so exact. Ivan winced, knowing himself to be clumsy at times, especially when there were smaller pathways. When the song ended, Ivan started clapping and Mattie jumped up, letting out a panicked yelp and the fan fell from his fingers to the floor. His eyes shot over to the doorway as his hands clasped over his heart, trying to dislodge it from his throat. "Sorry, Matvey, I didn't mean to startle. That was very good! Da!" Ivan smiled bright enough his eyes closed and Mattie blushed, looking down at the fan.

"Thanks." He spoke softly, scooping it up and Ivan was happy to see a smile on his face.

"I'm going to go change. I'll be back soon." He said as he walked up the stairs, making Mattie curious what he'd gotten.

When Ivan came down the stairs about five minutes later he was in a tan tank top with black jeans. He hadn't bothered tucking the shirt in and walked over, sliding a pair of trainers next to the pair Mattie kept at the back door and he couldn't help but smile. He was making himself comfortable. "So, what to do tonight." Ivan thought as he sat down on the couch, crossing his arms and Mattie shrugged.

"I'm not really sure. We could always go into the city and see if there's something, but I'm not as much to be out and about. I just prefer sitting at home and relaxing."

"Me too. People can make me... nervous." Ivan had to search for the word. He let out a breath and closed his eyes, trying to think of a plan, not noticing when eyes looked over the outfit again, eyes widening as they realized how low the neckline hung. That solid chest that peeked over, his strong arms that laid gently at his sides. Mattie stopped when he realized he was wondering what the skin over his shoulder would taste like.

WHAT?! Mattie startled at his own thought. He turned away, feeling heat in waves roll from his cheeks and walked over to the bar. "Nope, I need alcohol!" He stated as he pulled out a few things and started mixing a drink.

He winced when he realized what he was making. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just thinking about a conversation I was having earlier." Mattie half lied, but he didn't want to think too much about it. He needed to stop thinking like this! When had he become such a pervert?! "You want a drink?"

"Da. It'll be interesting to see what you make." Ivan watched as Mattie broke out a second tumbler and started pouring from three bottles into each and tossed in a few ice cubes from a machine under the counter. He mixed and strained them into two large glasses and Ivan watched as he tossed a cherry into each, though they just sank to the bottom, a red spot on the side of the cup. He tossed straws in and slid it before the Russian, who stared at it curious for a moment before taking a sip.

Ivan took a drink and his eyes widened. A soft buttery taste coated his tongue and he realized this was three alcohols with no fillers. This was a giant cup used to serve a shot. Mattie was planning to drink himself stupid again, but Ivan wouldn't complain. "It's good. What is it?"

"Buttery nipple." Mattie chugged the cup, almost instantly feeling his stomach warm from the drink. Ivan stared, surprised as Mattie literally had the cup empty, except the cherry, in under a minute. Mattie stuck the straw on the small red orb and sucked, making it stick. He lifted it from the glass and grasped the stem before releasing the plastic tube and wrapped his tongue around the orb before yanking the stem and finally eating the fruit.

"Matvey, are you alright?" He asked, worried he was being troubled, and Mattie looked up before nodding.

"Yeah, just... thinking about some things I think I need to slow down on. I'm all good." He said as he washed the cup and tumblers in the sink at the bar before grabbing a beer and walking over to the air hockey table. "Hey, wanna play?" Mattie grinned up and Ivan smiled with a nod.

The games ran insanely short, Ivan realized when he'd lost. 5-1. He didn't mind that he wasn't very good at the game, as he was still having fun playing. Mattie seemed to be working through some thoughts in his own mind, and Ivan had to wonder if the distraction was helping him out. Sometimes the best way to think about something is to get distracted first.

They played for an hour. Ivan never won, but he always tried his best. He ended out having a real blast, and realized as much as the distraction may have helped Mattie, it had worked well as a tool to let him clear and set his own mind on things as well. As the warmth from the liquor set into his system he felt himself relax, finally allowing his mind to wander, to think over things. He'd been scared for the last day. He kept wanting to hug Mattie. He wanted to feel his skin, to feel the warmth that came from him, but he'd been scared.

He was even more scared after he'd woken up and Mattie had hugged him. Did that mean it was really alright to hug him now? He knew he'd said it after the obstacle course, but there was a big difference between saying and doing. He stood up after his newest defeat, though he couldn't even remember how many games they'd played. "I'm gonna go work on dinner." Ivan walked out to the kitchen and took down a large glass of water before breaking out the knife and pulling the beets from the water, which was now dyed dark red. It would look almost purple by the time he was done and Ivan smiled, breaking out the potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots and started singing as he turned on the heat.

He didn't notice when Mattie sat behind him, watching his movements, or started chuckling at him humming again as he cooked. Ivan was completely absorbed by the cutting and cooking. He started singing, the same soft song he'd sang every day when Ukraine cooked. He tossed in the potatoes before starting to finish the work on the cabbage, tossing onions and carrots into a frying pan. Mattie closed his eyes, letting the soothing sound from Ivan wrap around him. It wasn't until about half an hour later, ten minutes before the food was done that Ivan wiped his brow and started on cleaning up, finishing just as the food was done. He smiled as he stirred the soup and smelled, smiling in satisfaction. He turned, seeing Mattie watching him with a smile and stilled. "I knew you'd have a good singing voice."

"How?!" Ivan nearly jumped out of his skin, startled at the look on Mattie's face.

"When you get happy about something you start to hum. It's really cute." Mattie smiled softly and Ivan nodded, letting his shoulders relax. "You really didn't know you did it, did you?"

"Нет. I didn't realize I was singing either." Ivan admitted as he sat down at the table, trying to will his heart to stay in his chest as he spoke. He couldn't serve with his hands shaking as badly as they were right then and hid them on his knees under the counter.

"You have an amazing voice." Mattie smiled, his eyes softly watched as Ivan blushed at the tone and the glance he was receiving.

"Thank you." Ivan said, realizing he had a better chance of serving now than if he sat here under that gaze for a second longer. Ivan knew it was just in his mind. It was just his hopes that made it look so... lustful. He stood and turned, grabbing some bowls and went ahead to fill them. He heard the timer go off and his eyes widened as he reached in, pulling out the garlic rolls that he'd made and the smell made his mouth water.

When a roll and the soup was placed before him Mattie looked down with his eyes widening. "Smells amazing. What is it?"

"Borscht and Pampushky. Try." Ivan let out a proud smile as the took a bite and smiled. Mattie tried the broth and was surprised with what he'd seen thrown into the stock pot that such an interesting flavor could be made. It wasn't as disconnected as it would have seemed. It actually worked really well. Really, really well!

He nibbled at the roll and found it flavorful and fluffy. "It's so good!" Mattie ate, his head rolling to the side as he nibbled the roll and ate the soup, but was otherwise silent. Ivan gave a chuckle, realizing he was more drunk from the drink earlier than he'd thought. Ivan thought about it and realized that cup probably had ten shots in it, so it shouldn't be too surprising to see Mattie this drunk, especially after having a beer immediately afterward. Ivan watched as Mattie ate and laid his head on his arm, mumbling about dancing taste buds before his words became quieter and softer. He passed out right on the counter. Ivan couldn't help but chuckle and walked around, lifting him in his arms. He carried him up to his bed and pulled the blanket down carefully with his knee before laying the sleeping man down. Mattie's hands gripped to his shirt and Ivan tried to relax them, to discover his fingers were locked. He could either fight him for fifteen minutes, or get his shirt back in the morning. He bent down and slowly slid the shirt off before gripping the blanket and lifting it up, tucking Mattie in.

Just this once, he let himself go and carefully brushed back his hair and kissed him softly. It wasn't anything more than a peck, but it made Ivan's heart pound, even though Mattie was completely out and wouldn't even remember it.

Ivan stood in the hallway for a moment and looked around. What to do now.

He frowned as he looked around and noticed a few marks on the walls in the hallway.

Maybe this would be a good time to try and find more of the doors or images!

Ivan felt his face turn to a grin as he made his way into his room, then through the hidden door.