Inside the locker room Ivan was silently shedding his hockey gear and getting himself prepared to hit the showers. The stocky Russian grabbed a bath towel and a bar of soap before walking into one of the stalls and turning the hot water on. Running his large hand through his wet hair Ivan hummed softly, happy to have spent the afternoon with Matthew. It had been some time after all since the two could play a decent game, or even get together with all the drama and madness that had been happening. 'Matvey looked as if he had fun today. I wonder if he would like to go and have dinner along with a movie this evening. Maybe I shouldn't, what if that is too straight forward?' Ivan thought quietly. Pushing the idea to the back of his mind for the moment he finished showering and dried himself. As he pulled up his under garments he heard the soft footfalls of someone entering the locker room.
"Matvey?" The Russian called out as he exited the showers, his slightly dampened towel now draped around his shoulders drying his hair. The violet eyed man looked over at the blonde Canadian and watched for a brief moment as the younger removed his thick shoulder padding. Beneath the pads was a thin white shirt which Matthew took off as well revealing a taut, lean and slender chest. Ivan caught himself staring a little harder than he should have and went back to putting away his showering items and getting out his change of clothes. He was completely unaware that shy Matthew was staring the same way at him.
'Damn, didn't know he was a boxer- briefs kind of guy. Who would've guessed that Ivan would have such a nice round a'- Matthew stopped that train of thought immediately. He did not just check out his friend's, the man he held affection for's butt…did he? A second glance at the other male's firm behind proved that yep, he'd been checking out the Russian's ass. The blonde turned around and pretended to be going through his bag to pull out his own soap and towels to shower. With his arms full Matthew began to walk over to the showers, only to stop when he felt a hand rest gently on his bare shoulder.
"Uh, Matvey I was thinking… would you mind coming to dinner with me?" Ivan asked. The taller male's eyes darted to and from Matthew's face. The Canadian's own face was a slight shade of pink. Without even thinking it through Matthew had agreed to the offer.
"That is good to hear, I will call you at seven, da?" The Russian beamed. Having already finishing getting dressed while the smaller got spaced the elder of the two left the room. But not before bidding Matthew a final farewell.
Heaving a large sigh, Matthew let himself enjoy the small fluttering feeling in the pit of his belly. He imagined this was how many young teenage girls must feel when they like someone.
Not that he was comparing himself to a love struck girl.
A muffled jingle was heard from his duffel bag and Matthew kneeled down to pull it out of the side pocket. 'Francis…' he noted dully. It was yet another message, one which had the simple order of calling him to tell him how the 'date' went. Being alone Matthew saw nothing wrong in getting that phone call over with. Pressing the call back button the Canadian braced himself for the flamboyant exuberance that was Francis. The blonde only had to wait for a few rings before the Frenchman picked up on the other line.
"Oui, hello Mathieu? How did things go? Have you two set up a second date yet? Was there any fondling involved?"- Francis asked excitedly as well as fluently. What the heck did he have like some list or something?
"It went well. Tonight at seven. And there was NO fondling!" The Canadian felt as if he couldn't stress the 'no' hard enough. However it wasn't as if it would matter, the Canadian would say one thing while the Frenchman would think, or hear the complete opposite.
"Really? Not even in the locker room? Which really reminds me of this one time in high school….Right up against the lockers…Mmmm…I'm sorry what were we discussing again? I lost my train of thought, désolé Mathieu." Francis apologized over the phone. Matthew's eye twitched.
"Yeah, sure, you done jizzing in your pants now?" the Canadian replied cheekily. The other blonde huffed over the phone, indignant of the other's suggestion. "Seriously though is there a valid reason for you wanting me to call you?"
Francis replied that he wanted to make sure that things had gone well enough for the hope of a second date. Finding out that yes he was meeting the Russian again for dinner The Frenchman squealed with delight and, for a lack of better words invited himself to go over to Matthew's apartment to help him 'get ready'. After hanging up the phone Matthew rolled his eyes; ah Francis and his matchmaking fetish.
When Francis had arrived over had Matthew's apartment latter that afternoon the Frenchman wasted no time in raiding his closet. The spectacled blonde had taken a seat on his bed while Francis threw out various clothing items from the Canadian's walk in closet.
"Did he say where you two would be going?" Francis asked.
"No, he said that he would just call me later, look Francis I appreciate your help, I really do but "-
"Okay, try this here." Francis hadn't even heard what Matthew was trying to tell him only handing him a set of clothes. "Not too formal, not too casual."
Taking his clothes Matthew went to change into what had been picked out for him. A pair of khaki pants with a light blue button down shirt with a darker blue jacket over it.
"Ah, you look very nice mon petit Mathieu." Francis purred brushing a few stray bangs out of the blonde's face. "Well my work here is done for now. Have fun darling." Kissing Matthew lightly on both cheeks before making his exit. He would let the Canadian enjoy his evening out, and would bother him latter.
Matthew laughed to himself after the European man left. He hadn't been so fussed over since his school days. But it was nice to have Francis around (when he was not in a molesting/sexual harassment kind of mood). He smoothed out the clothes as he looked himself over one more time in the mirror. 'I wonder what Ivan will think…Wait don't think about that, all you'll do is get yourself worked up.' The Canadian told himself.
As the hours dwindled away Matthew found himself to be both anxious and excited for the Russian to call. He sat on the couch at around 6:45 pm twiddling his phone in his hand and his leg twitching back and forth. Kumajirou lay at his feet asleep as usual only raising his head when the blonde's cell phone rang, the familiar tune of 'O, Canada'. Matthew let it ring for a few moments before answering.
"Privet, Matvey." Ivan spoke on the other end. "I'm on my way to pick you up you are ready, da?"
"Yes, Ivan where are we going?" Matthew asked smiling as he spoke.
Ivan laughed before replying, "It is a surprise. I'll be there soon, okay?"
"All right I'll see you soon."
Within twenty minutes the Russian was knocking at the front door and Matthew opened it up. Ivan stood in the hallway dressed in black slacks with a black jacket over a white shirt. The dark clothes against the Russian's pale skin tone made him look rather handsome. He smiled at the Canadian and Matthew felt the heat rise in his cheeks.
"You look nice Matvey." The silver haired male complimented.
"Thanks, you do too." Matthew blushed, he had his wallet in his pocket and stepped out into the hall with the other and locked up his apartment. The pair left the apartment building and walked towards what was considered to be the 'downtown' area of the town. The streets were lighted by the various shops and occasional restaurant lights. The evening was cool so a decent amount of people were out and about letting the normally sleepy town come alive. Matthew smiled as they walked getting an idea of where they were going.
His suspicions proved to be true as the Russian led him to the Italian twins' bistro one of the more 'upper class' restaurants. When the pair entered Feliciano led them to a small private booth near the back. The table was covered with a simple white tablecloth and held two sets of utensils along with a small candle in the middle. The younger Italian twin took drink orders and left them in solitude.
"Wow, Ivan you didn't have to do this." Matthew stated shyly. His statement made the tall Russian laugh softly.
"Nyet. I wanted to do this Matvey, as something nice after everything…" Ivan explained smiling at the younger. Feliciano returned with the drinks and took the orders for the food. The evening spent among the two was lighthearted full of laughter and good food. Matthew was happy and completely unaware of the nervous thoughts flashing through his companion's mind.
'The movie could wait for another time… no need to rush, I'm just happy that Matvey seems to be enjoying himself.' Ivan forced his rapid heart rate to slow down and just focused on the conversation.
As dinner drew to a close they split the bill (Matthew simply refused to be paid for, despite the Russian's protests). Though the young blonde didn't protest at all when Ivan asked to walk him home at the very least. It was almost like in every other romantic Hollywood film, a nice dinner, the gentleman asking to walk the other home. The Canadian couldn't help but think it was sweet, if not a little clichéd. The walk was brisk as they continued to talk; the conversation topics were nothing serious but relatively normal. When they finally made it back to Matthew's place they stood for a while longer in front of the door Matthew shuffling his feet.
"Thanks for everything tonight. I had a lot of fun." Matthew thanked.
"No problem Matvey, I had fun as well. I really enjoy being around you." The Russian replied. 'No, I love being around you… but I want to know do you feel the same…?'
The young man's face turned pink at those words, and he subconsciously moved a strand of hair behind his ear.
"Yes, well goodni"- his sentence was cut off as the larger gentle cupped his face turning his head to face the taller male's. Matthew didn't even have the slight chance to ask what the other was doing before he felt a pair of lips rest against his own. Matthew's face was burning but he didn't object to the action, but melted into it. He had wanted this after all, and so had Ivan.
When the other pulled away for both to get air into their lungs he still held Matthew's face close. Resting his forehead against Matthew's Ivan whispered softly,
"Matvey… Will you go out with me?"
'Subtlety be damned.'
OMG… it has been one year since I first started writing this fic. And I only have ten chapters to show for it… sorry folks I personally wish I had written more before the one year anniversary of this any who I've now hit double digits for the chapters yay. Wow, this is the most popular story I've ever written and writing a new chapter for this fic is always a joy, (and a completely different experience from writing a chapter to my other fic) and I'm so happy that others like reading it. It makes me all tingly inside knowing that and so I thank everyone. I thank everyone who has been patient and has waited for me to update but here it is and I hope you enjoyed it! I thank everyone for their kind reviews and the constant support for this fic. Thanks also to the many alerters and favoriters, along with those who give me honest critique on my writing, every little tidbit of advice helps me to improve. So I thank everyone and if you enjoyed this chapter please favorite/set an alert/ review! ~ Sandshinobi00