Canada opened the door to his house so fast that the bang echoed in the silent house. His heart was racing and worry was etched on his face. Dreadful thoughts pooled in Matthew's overactive mind as he imagined the worst case scenario of his dear brother.
"ALFRED! ARE YOU-" the Canadian screamed as he stopped halfway upon seeing the scene in front of him.
The living room was in shambles; there were a few blood stains on the floor, which made Canada's heart sink deeper in guilt. His eyes did notice a note taped to the wall in front of him. He still felt uneasy and panic increased in his mind as he came to a shocking conclusion.
"Alfred is not here..." he said in disbelief.
Canada marched quickly to the note and snatched it up close to see a message. It read:
Hey broha! Sorry about leaving so soon...had some unfinished business I have to take care of. Don't mind the blood...some crazy person was after me but I dealt the situation with my hero powers! Talk to you soon!
Alfred the Fricken Awesome!
Canada felt relief calm down his heart for a moment before he felt puzzled at the turn of events. Confusion now painted on his face. Canada was glad that Belarus did not murder Alfred...but the real question was what had really happened. Canada, still holding the note, walked towards the blood stains and inspected them to find that they were very small...the size of a paint splatter. Kumajirou was standing in the doorway, seeming to be nonchalant about the whole situation.
"Is Hamburger boy kidnapped?" the polar bear said, breaking the Canadian's train of thoughts.
Canada replied with his eyebrows furrowed, "No...I think Al might still be alive...I hope he is okay though..."
Canada had concluded this from the evidence he had collected. America must be alive if he wrote the note to tell his twin that indeed he was okay. There was not much blood on the floor, so it seemed likely that Belarus had not stabbed him to death.
"Yeah...I hope I'm right about this," Canada reassured himself.
Having that sliver of hope, he looked at his pet bear. Kumajirou did not reply. Deciding to catch some sleep, he went back to his room. Canada checked the time to see it was really late and he needed some sleep for tomorrow. He looked at the messy room and another sigh escaped his lips.
He decided to clean it up in the morning. Canada quickly changed into his pyjamas and headed to bed. He tried his best to sleep, even though he felt a gnawing sensation in the pit of his stomach, dreading what is to come.
Meanwhile in Russia's bedroom
Russia was already sleeping with a grin on his relaxed face. He was dreaming of the demise of his beloved enemy, America, and in his dream everyone was one with him! It was so beautiful, and America was giving out a speech how he was at fault for all the world problems. Ivan shifted closer to his sheets and his lips parted slightly, making him appear vulnerable and adorable at the same time.
He was in deep sleep and unaware of the person watching him with keen interest. The intruder was beside his bed, peering almost close enough to the heavy sleeper to fall on top of him.
"I have dealt with the pesky rat..." the soothing voice murmured, eyes looking at Russia so lovingly as to soothe a baby to sleep.
"He gave in much too easily...Now he will stay away for good...da?"
Belarus was so close to his face that she could have given him a quick peck on the forehead if she had so desired. The Slavic woman restrained herself, making sure not to give herself away if Ivan did wake up. She was grateful that Ivan did not change the locks...it would be very difficult to get in.
"Soon...we will get married and live a blissful life..." Belarus smiled creepily as she stepped back. Still watching over him, she exited the room silently.
Natalya was glad that her Big Brother was a heavy sleeper. She had been doing this all of last week without Ivan noticing, just making sure that he was hers.
The next morning at Canada's house
The next day, Canada was up early in the morning preparing breakfast for himself and Kumajirou. He was almost done flipping the last pancake when he heard a growl.
"Hungry! Need pancakes!" the polar bear said, already starving.
Canada replied, "They almost ready, eh?"
He placed the last pancake on the plate for his bear and three pancakes for himself. He walked towards the dinner table, set the plates on top, and quickly headed back to fetch the syrup and cutlery.
Kumajirou's head pop up, looking at Canada's stack hungrily. He hopped on his master's chair, snatched a pancake and munched greedily. By the time Matthew returned, he saw his breakfast half eaten and his bear on the floor with his belly enlarged.
"Kuma!" Canada huffed as he places the syrup down and approached his bear, "You could have waited for a few more seconds."
Kumajirou pouted cutely and Canada smiled, knowing well he could not stay mad at him.
"I'll give you one of mine." Canada grabbed his and gave it to his bear. Kumajirou ate it and muttered a 'thank you'. Canada went back to eating his food.
After twenty minutes of eating. Canada was finishing up cleaning up the dirty dishes when he remembered what he wanted to do this morning.
"Oh no! I forgot to call Al." Canada quickly dried his hands and rushed to his land line to make the call.
Matthew held the receiver and was getting impatient as he heard the dial tone play on. Luckily for the Canadian, he soon heard a cheery, loud voice ring in his ears.
"United States of America speaking, who it this?" Alfred answered the phone.
"Al! It's Matthew...Are you okay?" Matthew cried out in worry.
"Who?" his twin replied.
"Alfred...it's Matthew...Canada...your brother." Canada was dumbfounded that his brother had forgotten him...again.
Alfred didn't say anything...which clued Matthew that Alfred did have no idea.
"Hello?...dude...if this is prank call, I will hunt you down and I will find you!" the American threatened, already assuming it to be a prank call.
"It's Matt..." Matthew said quickly and used his 'nickname' that Al called him, hoping it would trigger his memory.
"Mattie! Dude, bro! What up? Sorry about that." Matthew could hear sheepish laugh from the phone.
"What happened to you...I came back home only to find you gone," Matthew asked, already feeling irritated about America's forgetful moment.
There was a few seconds of silence before America answered back with a jokingly tone, "Oh...bro...about that; some nut case was after me...but I dealt with it."
"How, though?" the Canadian questioned. He could hear the slight hesitation in his answer.
"With my awesome hero powers!" Al said it as if it was the answer for world peace. Canada did not believe a word of it.
"Al...It does not explain much," Canada said, which made Alfred a bit nervous.
"Yes it does!" Alfred quickly interjected, which made Matthew suspicious.
"...Al...What really happened? My place is a mess and there was some blood on the floor..." Matthew explained, trying to coax Al to tell the truth.
"Yeah...dude, about that, I sorta almost got stabbed..."
Canada gulped at this revelation. He stayed silent, encouraging America to continue.
"Just when she was about to stab me...I pushed her off...somehow I got hurt, my right arm got cut...but it was tiny so it did not faze me, hahaha."
"So what happened next...wait, who was she?" Canada played ignorant, knowing well who the attacker was.
"It was the Commie's younger sister! Belarus!"
"Okay...then what happened?"
Al was quiet, which made Matt slightly scared.
"Al...tell me what happen...please?"
"Okay...I gave in...I begged like Italy but without the white flag and all that jazz. She seemed satisfied with it and left. It was totally not heroic at all."
"Hahaha," Matthew giggled at the truth the American told.
"Dude, so not cool..you know super heroes don't hit women and children! I can't hurt her...you know Iggy raised me as a gentleman though..."Alfred explained as he tried to hold onto his dignity.
"Somehow she was like my kryptonite...you know, like Superman's weakness...or something."
"I'm glad that you're okay, Al."
"Don't worry! I'm always fine because I'm the hero!" Canada could hear his animated laugh at the other end. The Canadian rolled his eyes at his twin's ignorance.
"So, I was wondering if you want to come over and–" Canada asked, wondering if America would come to his house after that ordeal.
"Dude, no way! And encounter that crazy ass bitch!...I'm outta here," America snapped, which made Canada cheer mentally.
"America?" Matthew called out.
Canada heard the dial tone. He placed the phone back onto the receiver; he had a huge smile on his face.
"That will teach him!" he smugly said as he went back to the kitchen to clean up. Kumajirou walked towards his owner and asked what happened.
"Let's just say that Al won't be coming here for awhile now."
"Yay! He was annoying!" the pet spoke happily. He added, "He smells like grease..."
Canada just laughed at his witty bear.
"Can we play?" Kuma asked, seeing how his owner had nothing to do for the rest of the morning. Matthew first paused to think if he had anything else planned in his day. He remembered he had some files to read, which he could push aside.
"Sure!" Canada chirped and went upstairs to grab a ball.
Meanwhile at Russia's house
The Baltics were doing their daily chores. Latvia was busy tidying up the living room. Lithuania was cleaning up the dishes and Estonia was upstairs in his room on his computer paying the bills online. The nerd was actually hiding from Russia. His gut was telling him he was in for it!
"I think I went too far..." he cursed himself for trying to take advantage of the Russian. He was trying to do his work until he heard a knock on the door.
Estonia had a feeling who the guest was. He exhaled a big breath and went to answer the door.
There stood Ivan, with a closed-eye smile that made Eduard's blood run cold. He muttered out a weak 'hello' and Russia nodded in greeting, still saying quiet.
Ivan briskly entered his slave's room and Estonia left the door ajar. Estonia was about to ask what happened when a voice cut him off.
"Estonia...close the door."
Estonia's heart was beating frantically. Still trying to stay calm, he obeyed the order. His back was facing Ivan and he could feel Ivan's eyes melting through his back. He shakily closed the door and waited for his impending doom.
He closed his eyes and was waiting for the pipe to make contact with his face. A few moments later, he did not feel anything. He slowly opend his eyes to see Ivan with a confused look on his face.
"Estonia...why did you that?" Ivan did a small pout.
The geek was shocked that Ivan did not make any move. He hesitantly answered, "I was waiting...for you to hit me?" Estonia sounded crazy. Was he begging to be punished?
"Da...I was not going to hit you...though I should have for what you did yesterday," he chuckled and he opened his coat to bring out something.
Estonia flinched, now thinking that Russia had tricked him and was about to strike until his mouth fell open and eyes widened at what he saw.
Russia was holding a small box. He shoved it in the Estonian's arms and he shyly opened it. Shock evident in his face, he said, "This is the new modem for the internet you promised."
Estonia was still in shock and still grasping the situation. He could not believe it.
"I always do what I say..." Ivan smiled and Estonia did not seem to flinch.
"T-Thank you," Eduard thanked Russia, and Russia nodded back.
"Da...now you must help me with something." Ivan's smile widened a bit, much to Estonia's displeasure.
He ignored his feeling, now happy with his high-speed internet.
"You will be in charge of getting rid of Belarus," Ivan said simply.
He was about to walk away. Estonia turned around to see the Russian about to exit.
"When I command you, get her away from me. Your siblings are involved."
Russia exited the room without a word. Eduard was still baffled by the display.
He sighed heavily in relief, glad that he would not get hurt. The realization hit him like a truck slamming to an old lady crossing the road.
"He won't hurt me because Belarus will do it for him..."
He screamed and his two siblings heard from two floors down.
"What's with the screaming?!" Toris yelled out, panic on his pretty face. He almost dropped a china plate in fright.
"No yelling!" Latvia pleaded aloud, tears forming in his eyes. He did not like when people were screaming. He was starting to shake due to his nervousness.
Russia had a grin on his face. He had killed two birds with one stone. Belarus will be out of his way and he had gotten his revenge on the Estonian.
He was in his room, lying on his bed. He was done with his workload, so he had time to think about the progress of his lessons.
"I kinda feel bad for doing that to Estonia." He felt a pang of guilt plague his beating heart.
He knew he could have handled the situation nicely. Ha had fulfilled his promise...sorta. He still remembered the oath to be kind, but lately he had noticed that he was relapsing back to his violent tendencies.
He turned his body on his right side, his face staring at the wall of his bedroom. Ivan had a blank look in his face, but his mind was thinking constantly.
"Matvey will be angry for dirty trick...but Estonia was being mean!" Ivan said to himself in a childish tone.
He did a small pout and his mood became gloomy as he thought about his student.
"I'm sad that this will be over." A frown appeared on his face.
His amethyst eyes scanned the wall, searching for an answer for his problem.
"What should lesson be?..." Ivan thought hard. He was running out of ideas of what to teach Matthew.
He knew from the lessons he had taught that Canada did not need much improvement. It was only a matter of time before Canada would end his services too. This made Ivan upset and...scared.
He had finally managed to get a friend and as soon as he was done using him, he would forget him and abandon him. The insecurity in his heart made him doubt his friendship with the arctic nation.
"Matvey is not like that...he won't leave me..."
Ivan sat upright on his bed, his shoulders hunched and his head resting on his palms. His elbows were placed on top of his thighs, making him look smaller and lost in thought.
Doubt and insecurity overwhelmed him, and soon he growled in frustration.
"What can I do?" Ivan stood up and went downstairs to get some vodka; vodka always helped Russia cheer up. He entered the kitchen to see it abandoned. Lithuania was probably in the laundry room doing some folding. Russia went to the top shelf for some vodka to discover that he had run out.
"Of course...I stopped buying vodka because Matvey always brought some for me." That thought made Ivan more depressed and he headed back to his room to sulk.
At Canada's house
Matthew was sitting on the couch, watching some TV. He was tired from playing fetch with his bear for almost an hour. It was midday, and Canada made a few phone calls to his boss while Kumajirou decided to take a nap before lunch. But before that he finished his reading to discover that he had a file missing!
Canada started to panic and was frantically searching everywhere for the file in his home. He felt so irresponsible for losing it. After thirty minutes looking, he sat on the couch. Still worried and upset, he growled in frustration.
"Arghh...I wished that it would turn up on its own...I can't recall where I last placed it." His hand ran through his silky, wavy hair in an attempt to calm down.
He did a small pout and soon decided not to get too worked up about it. He rationalized that if he stayed upset, it wouldn't help the situation or locating the file. He exhaled a deep breath and continued to watch TV, hoping to preoccupy his troubled mind.
His mind was thinking of possible places to search until he randomly thought about his bear. His eyes saw a public zoo ad with a screenshot of two polar bears sleeping on ice. Matthew smiled at the scene, already forgotten about the stress of the missing file.
"For someone who sleeps a lot, he has plenty of energy to run, eh?" Matthew thought humorously as his eyes were still glued to the TV. He was lost in his own thoughts when there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Coming!" Matthew rushed to open the door.
"Papa?" was Matthew's reply. He was surprised to see his former caretaker.
Francis Bonnefoy was standing at Matthew's door with a handsome smirk on his mature face. He stood tall and was well dressed in his navy blue cloak shirt and red pants that added appeal to his charm.
"Bonjour Mathieu...It been awhile since we last chat, no?" the French man greeted with a smile, making Matthew feel embarrassed.
"Please come in..." The Canadian gestured his guest into his home. Francis seated himself on the brown chesterfield while Matthew sat across from his right side sitting on the love seat.
"I know you are surprised to see me..." France said, breaking the silence. Matthew looked at him with a soft smile.
"I know...not many people visit," Canada commented, and it did made France feel guilty. A small frown was evident on the Frenchman's face...but soon his face turned solemn and his hand went to open his coat to dig up a piece of paper. Matthew's eyes widened in surprise.
"I have come to return something to you...maybe this will help." Francis handed Canada his Manila file that had gone missing. Canada sighed in relief.
"Merci Papa...I was looking for this all afternoon..." He opened the file to check if all the contents were present. His Papa smiled, glad that he made his son happy.
"Where did you find it?" Canada asked, and Francis responded knowingly with a smirk.
"I found it in the hallway...in front of the meeting room England and I were in." Hearing his Papa mention the Brit brought back a painful memory to the Canadian. He clutched the file tight enough that paper wrinkled, leaving irregular shaped creases.
Francis took notice of his son's distress and asked, placing his hand on his shoulder, "Mon petit Mathieu...what happened? Why are you upset?" Francis had a worried look on his face that made Canada shy away. He turned his head down, unable to face his Papa.
"It is...nothing..." the Canadian lied, but France knew his son well enough to see he was hiding something. Francis assumed it was something he said.
"How did you know it was mine?" Canada whispered, and Francis took a moment to pause to think for an answer.
"I saw your name on the file, mon petit," France answered, making Matthew feel silly for asking. Francis did remember his visit with the Englishman, and the file had rekindled his memories.
Flashback/kcabhsalf
"Arthur, do you mean to say that you will never acknowledge him as an independent nation? Are you that cold-hearted?"
"To be honest, I always hated the little wanker. I'm surprised I never annihilated him when I in power back then. I could have saved up my resources for something better."
"I can't believe this, mon dieu!" the Frenchman yelled at his rival. He rose from his seat and places his hands on his hips defensively. His expression was a mixture of shock and disgust at England.
England was sitting down, his leg crossed over and his face hard and serious as if to challenge him. Francis was in disbelief. He was getting furious at Arthur's attitude.
Francis could have continued his argument, but he knew from his past history with the Briton that it would be pointless. Still angry, he decided to insult him as a way to get back at Arthur's insensitivity. But it fell on death ears...only to be replaced with a harsh statement by the Englishman.
"At least I don't accept defeat quickly." England smirked and sneered at the Frenchman.
Francis muttered an offensive curse in French so cold that England could tell that it was not something pleasant. It did not faze him the least, since he was already satisfied with the burn France had felt with the low comment.
As he exited the room and shut the door, his eyes caught a sight down the hall. The Frenchman turned his head to see a bob of gold wavy hair similar to his.
He did a small smile; he would recognize that sexy hair from a mile away. It was Mathieu...but he was now wondering why he was here.
He soon noticed a file on the floor near his right foot. The Parisian bent over to pick up the file. His eyes scanned the paper to see that it did belong to his son. This made the Frenchman more confused; he could tell that his petit lapin would never leave his file. It did not seem like his son at all for him to be so careless with his belongings.
A sudden thought made the Frenchman gasp.
"Sacre bleu...Did Mathieu...overheard my conversation?" Francis now had a worried expression on his handsome visage.
He muttered out, "I must get to the bottom of this..." Now with fire in his ocean blue eyes, he headed towards Matthew's direction until he laid eyes on a maid walking past him that appeared to have smiled at him.
Francis was already distracted and, abandoning his mission, went to follow the lovely brunette. He turned around and called out to the very attractive woman, "Call me! ~" He blew a kiss to the young lady, and she was charmed by how handsome the male was. She blushed shyly and waved back.
"Score!" was France's final thought before he approached her, wrapping his arm around her. Francis spoke sweet nothings to the young maiden and the Parisian knew she was smitten. He led her to a secluded meeting room, planning to thoroughly enjoy her.
Being French did have its advantages!
End of Flashback/Kcabhsalf fo dnE
"Mon Cher...is there something wrong?" Francis leaned closer, making Canada blush at the proximity.
Matthew lowered his head. He was afraid that looking into those sapphire eyes would force him to admit everything. He stuttered out, weakly, hoping that his Papa would drop the subject, "No...w-what m-makes you say that?" It was a stupid question to ask...but it slipped from his lips. Regret filled his heart. He despised getting his hopes for someone who was probably just pretending to show concern for him until he was forgotten again.
Francis smiled genuinely and Mathieu felt lips press on his forehead in a comfortable gesture. Loving arms wrapped around the Canadian, and he felt the parental security he had missed out when he was taken away from his Papa. He missed this!
"Mon Petit Lapin...You can tell me anything that is bothering you?" Francis cooed to the younger male, still holding him. Matthew felt his eyes water at France's words. His heart was overwhelmed by this new-found reassurance.
His hand shyly return the hug back. Francis was surprised but soon felt his son relax. The Frenchman waited for Matthew to calm down before he inquired again. Matthew looked back, his eyes having the courage to see the Frenchman's he whispered his response.
"It...was England," Matthew revealed, and continued speaking. "I was heading into the meeting room to discuss our immigration policies with him until...I-I overheard him saying bad things...about me."
France hated when he was right. He might as well try to cheer him up. He released his hug and stared deep into Matthew's watery eyes.
"He is a delusional fuzzy-browed, scone-eating, tea-loving jerkface, who does not deserve someone as special as you, mon petit Mathieu."
Hearing those words from his Papa, he smiled and thanked him. Matthew chuckled mentally at his Papa's insults but still smiled at Francis.
"Merci...Papa." Relief washed through his heart and Francis felt content at placating his son. Too bad he had to ruin the heart-felt moment by being 'France'.
"Ahh." A small gasped escaped the Canadian's lips as he felt a hand caress his buttock.
"PAPA!" wailed the Canadian, already peeved that he had ruined the tender moment. His Papa had a perverse smirk on his face. His eyes filled with lust.
"I cannot help it...l'amour asks for it," he said simply with a wave of his arm. Canada pouted at this. He remembered the times when he lived under France that he would have his moments of getting too touchy for Canada's comfort.
"I don't miss that at all," Canada thought sadly as shifted his seat further away to make sure it did not happen again.
"Ohonhonhon." The Frenchman laughed and spoke again. "Mon Cher...you are too adorable, no? Whoever has you would be the luckiest, don't you agree?"
"R-really? I-I hope so..." Matthew shyly said, feeling embarrassed and already thinking of a certain Russian. France took a split second to see his son already flustered.
"Mathieu...are you seeing someone?" One eyebrow elevated slightly on his masculine forehead.
Canada stuttered out, already feeling exposed, "W-what m-makes you say that?" Canada prayed to the heavens that Francis would stop snooping. Francis had a twinkle in his eyes as a devilish plan formed in his mind, which made the Canadian's stomach do flip-flops in anxiety.
"You know, mon petit lapin..." France placed his right hand on Matthew's lap, making him feel a bit at ease. This kind touch made Matthew feel suspicious of the Frenchman. Francis leaned closer, but not enough for their noses to touch each other.
"You can tell me anything...we never had much time since England took you away."
Francis's face reflected pity and remorse. Canada already felt his heart being stabbed by the Frenchman's guilt trip. He could feel his eyes on him, drilling into his soul. His thoughts tried to supply him with an excuse, a lie, something to get his Papa off his back. His musings were interrupted when his Father continued speaking.
"I feel as though you don't trust me enough to be a part of your life!" France exclaimed as he stood up melodramatically, which made Canada get up from his seat, unsure of what to do.
"Wait...Papa...I...It's not like I don't trust you...I very much trust you," Canada meekly explained, trying to make France see his sincerity.
Francis turned around, deciding to continue his charade a bit more.
"Non! I cannot be sure...You say that, but you rely on someone else!" He sobbed, already trapping his boy with his plan.
Canada was at lost for words. He felt guilty. He sighed, having already accepted defeat. Matthew could feel a headache coming on.
"I really need to think of better excuses," the Canadian sadly thought. As he called out to his Papa, "Ok...I will tell you...please sit," Canada saw the victory smirk plastered on the Frenchman's face. He felt peeved at Francis's dirty trick, but he would have found out eventually.
"Ohonhonhon...do tell me all the details, oui?" Francis sat quickly with his legs crossed and his left arm planted on the armrest. Francis inched closer to Matthew curiously.
"I really hate him!" Matthew thought darkly as he sighed.
The Canadian paused, trying to collect his thoughts. Meanwhile, Francis was still waiting with his eyes locked on the smaller male.
"I sorta have a small," Matthew admitted shyly, still avoiding his Papa's face, "crush...on R-Russia..."
Francis's face did a 180 flip. Matthew still did not hear his father's reply so he raised his head slightly to see his Papa's shocked face.
"Oh no, is it something I said..." A troubled thought formed in Canada's mind. He felt stupid and now scared. Maybe his Papa would go against his decision.
"Maybe he is like Al...hating former Soviets." Canada frowned at his hypothesis while he tried to think of something to say, anything to make the whole conversation normal again.
Francis smirked and commented back, "Mathieu...this is a quite a development, no?"
"I do not mind if you crush on Russie...He is very attractive, and I thought you would fall for Prusse," Francis pondered. Matthew felt dumbfounded at this reveal.
"S-so...you don't hate Russia or have anything against him?" Canada asked, already feeling relief at Francis's support.
"Non...I do not hate Russia, unlike the others...I do understand why they do because of his past, but I do have a soft spot for him." Matthew had never expected that answer, especially coming from Francis Bonnefoy!
Canada showed a small smile, which Francis reflected back. Both males savoured how their bond was gaining strength.
There was silence until Matthew said, "T-thanks."
France replied, "You're welcome," and stood up to take his leave. Matthew's day was turning out great!
"Oh...mon petit...do tell me the lovely details when you try to ask him out," Francis said last as he showed himself out.
Matthew felt his face grow hot. Embarrassed and caught off guard by the Frenchman's comment, he whined out lamely, "Papa!" Matthew could hear his typical laugh echoing in response, which added a darker tint to his cheeks.
Kumajirou overheard his master's conversation with the Frenchman. He was awake when Francis entered and he felt protective when he was around. Matthew always attracted the weirdoes.
"Pervert's gone...why did you tell him about vodka breath?" the pet questioned, and Canada felt indignant at his bear.
"Kuma! How long were you there?" Canada asked, to which Kuma-bear replied, "Since Pervert came."
"Well...he was very persistent..." he explained, and Kuma shook his head.
"Too sentimental...you try being like Vodka breath," Kuma suggested, and Canada felt insulted but understood what the polar had to say.
"Maybe you're right..." Canada shrugged and decided to head to the kitchen to get himself a drink.
"You hungry, Kumajirou?"
"No...I want Maple syrup!"
Matthew chuckled. He grabbed the bottle and walked towards the chesterfield with his pet following along. They decided to watch an old sitcom to pass the time. He checked his watch to see that he had some time left before he would need to get his room ready for his student.
Since Belarus wouldn't be after him, he could have Ivan come to his home again.
At Russia's house
Russia was downstairs with a hard look on his face. In front of the Russian was his trio of housemaids: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They all had fear painted on their faces, unsure of what Ivan would say to them.
The Baltics did notice the mood swings of Ivan. Toris had accidentally walked into his room to deliver his lunch when he saw Russia sulking. Vanya was too lost in thought to notice Lithuania place the tray on his bed and leave.
Another occurrence was when Latvia was bringing clean linen to change Ivan's bed sheets and his eyes widened at the sight of the elder man not drinking vodka. Raivis could tell something was bothering him if he was not drinking. He left his master alone with his thoughts, feeling sympatric towards him.
Lastly, Estonia experienced the worst of the Russian's odd behaviour after getting his modem from him; he was extremely bi-polar. He kept asking him to do unnecessary things and was extremely calm about it, which put the geek slightly on edge.
The Baltics were patiently waiting for Russia to speak to end this escalating fear building up inside their slim bodies. Russia appeared to be fine; his face was neutral and his lips were pressed in a thin line to show that he was thinking long and hard about something.
Russia commanded with a low voice that made Latvia tremble quickly, while Estonia and Lithuania flinched in response, "You three will be in charge of distracting Belarus...da." The way Russia said that left no room for objection.
Toris was the first to speak out, a bit hesitantly, in an attempt to find out the reason why. "Mr. Russia...Why should we do that...Isn't she fine the way she in her room?"
Russia was confused for a nanosecond before he spoke back in a sickly sweet voice that made the Lithuanian's spine tingle in fear, "Because...Estonia promised me he would after I fulfilled his promise," Ivan explained and Estonia grumbled at this while Latvia looked baffled at what Russia meant.
He further added, "I have somewhere to be, so I don't want Belarus to follow me...or we can say that something terrible may happen to all of you, da?"
Latvia shook more violently, and Toris gave a small gasp in response as his eyes widened in fear and face went ghost white. Eduard was getting uncomfortable by the implications of Russia's threat and clenched his fist tightly around the hem of his shirt. Ivan smiled at their reactions; he missed seeing their terrified looks!
"I'm starting to wonder why I decide to be nice to people if they will try to take advantage of me!" the Russian thought as he continued to stare with his child-like eyes at his Baltic states.
"Oh right...I promised Matvey I would be nice." Russia pouted at this and sighed, already going back to his depressed state. He was heading towards the door when he heard a voice speak to him.
"H-have a-a good d-day, sir," little Latvia said, which made Russia feel a bit remorseful. He nodded slightly in agreement and closed the door behind him.
Belarus appeared and yelled, "Where is Big Brother?" while glaring at Toris.
Trying to calm down his love-interest with his hands raised in front of him, Lithuania said, "Belarus...Mr. Russia just left for an important meeting...He told us to tend to your needs if you want something."
Belarus frowned at the news and she smiled sinisterly, which made all the Baltics cry out.
"I am sad that Big Brother is not here, but I need some new targets for my shiny brand-new throwing knives."
The younger sibling brought out two knives with both hands and her eyes twinkled in mirth. "I might as well use you three as I wait for my fiancée to come back to me."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Baltic's blood curling scream was not heard by the rest of the other countries due to it being mixed with insane laughter from Natalya.
Luckily for Ukraine...she too was gone to visit her country for important country work.
Meanwhile at Canada's house
Matthew was getting ready for his lesson with Russia. He was setting up his classroom but decided to try a more hands-on approach. He concluded from previous lessons with the Russian that he might apply these concepts if he had the opportunity practice them.
"I hope this will work..." Canada thought as he brought out his student's desk.
He was also very excited to try out new things with Russia. However, anxiety filled his heart and made him slightly nervous; he pondered if this idea would be successful. He shook his head, scaring his doubt away to focus on his next task.
He later went downstairs to retrieve a gymnast floor mat. It was not so big that Canada could not carry it around, nor was it too much smaller than Kumajirou, so it was thus able to accommodate his and Russia's size. After a few seconds, he returned and set up the mat.
"Maybe this will help him understand it better," he muttered softly as he scanned the room to see if he had everything.
Kumajirou was at the corner of the room, watching with keen interest.
"Canada...what are you doing?" the pet bear asked curiously, to which Matthew replied, "I'm setting up my lesson with Ivan." Matthew looked confused, wondering why his pet was asking.
"No, silly...What's with the mat?" the bear corrected.
Matthew felt a bit embarrassed but answered, "The mat is for the trust activities that we will be doing." Kumajirou bored and felt like harassing his master. He had witnessed the two arctic nations getting closer, and it would only be a matter of time before they got into the intimate phase of the relationship.
"No mating with Vodka breath?" the bear said teasingly, which made Matthew feel confused.
The bear's paw pointed at the floor mat, and the Canadian's eyes travelled to see said object. Canada was puzzled at what his pet meant.
The realization struck at him, making him think perverse thoughts of him on his back with Ivan on top, pining his arms and ravaging him with brutal passion-filled kisses. The Canadian's cheeks were now beet-red and he scowled at his bear's dirty trick.
"Kuma! It is not going to happen! Stop thinking like France!"
Kumajirou shrugged, losing interest, and soon his stomach growled.
"Feed me?"
Matthew sighed and muttered an 'okay'.
After Kuma was fed, Matthew was fetching up the two vodka bottles for Russia when he heard knocking.
Knock.
"Coming!" Matthew placed the alcohol on his student's desk and went to answer the door. Russia stood there with a blank look on his face except for a small smile.
Matthew greeted with a friendly voice, "Ivan! How nice to see you, please come in."
Russia entered the Canadian's home and turned to face him. He greeted him with pleasantries and headed straight to his desk. His eyes saw the promised drinks and he made a small pout. His heart felt pinching sensations; he was feeling guilty for breaking Matvey's promise.
Canada took notice of Russia's odd behaviour. His eyes filled with worry, he asked as he placed a hand on his shoulder, "Ivan...is there something wrong?" Canada eyes searched for clues about what was upsetting the Russian.
"Is it the vodka? I know the brand was not the same–"
"Nyet...it is not," Russia interjected and added with a smile. "I'm fine, da."
Canada did not believe him, but he did want to coax the truth out of his student. He patted his shoulder in a comfortable gesture and looked at his face.
"Are you sure? We can always talk, right?" Canada's lips formed a soft smile, and that made Ivan's heart clench tightly.
His discomfort was evident in the Russian's face, and the smaller male frowned slightly.
"Da...we do lesson now." Russia face returned back to his usual masked expression. Canada led the way and Russia looked surprised at the floor mat.
"What are we doing?" Russia asked.
Canada answered with a bit of a stutter, "I will explain in a bit...but first I-I want to actually discuss trust with you." Canada stood facing Ivan.
Ivan seemed satisfied with the answer and did not say anything else, which cued the Canadian to continue.
"Trust is very important in friendship." Canada spoke softly, but his voice was stern and serious, making Ivan's ears perk up upon hearing his wisdom.
"Anyone can make friends, but to maintain your friendship with anyone is a challenge," Canada continued, and Ivan nodded in understanding.
"So I will be doing some trust activities for you to practice so you feel comfortable with others." Canada brought out a stool and set it beside the mat. Ivan's eyes sparkled with curiosity, wondering what the Canadian had in mind.
"I will do an example of a trust fall." Canada explained the activity and told Russia stand on the matt.
Canada got up on the stool with his back facing Ivan.
Russia took off his shoes and removed his shoes. He later did what he was told, slowly starting to get what Matthew was trying to accomplish. He giggled with a smile.
"This does seem fun!" Russia's arms stretched outwards, appearing to catch the Canadian's fall.
"When I say 'I trust you' I will fall, and you must catch me, ok?" Matthew explained, and Russia nodded. Just before Matthew was about to begin, he felt strong arms pick him up. Matthew 'eeped' at the unexpected action.
"Mr. Braginski?" Matthew stuttered out; he felt flustered at being carried bridal-style. Russia did not seem to mind; he was enjoying this.
The Russian stared at him, a bit confused, but happily said, "Da...I catch you."
Matthew looked at Russia's eyes. Feeling heat tingling on his delicate face he stuttered out, "Mr. Braginski...you didn't let me fall yet."
"Mr. Williams, you said 'I trust you' so I assume you are ready." Russia frowned at this and the Canada chuckled at his student's eagerness.
"It is okay...we try this again..but this time wait, eh?" Matthew smiled and Russia agreed.
Russia gently placed Matvey on the student's desk and the teacher thanked him for his deed. He turned his back towards him, his arms stretched out in a 't' shape. Russia was prepared to catch Canada when he told him the keyword. After a few seconds, Matthew said the phrase and fell, but luckily for the smaller nation, he landed in large, strong arms that made the boy feel warm.
"You caught me..." he said in amazement, and Ivan smiled.
"Da...I promise Matvey I would."
They stayed like this for a few seconds, just staring into each other's eyes, until a voice interrupted them. Matthew knew that familiar voice.
"Are you about to mate now?" the pet bear asked, and Matthew felt speechless at his bear's vulgar comments.
Russia had a look of surprised and contentment. He did not mind Kumajirou's comments, since he was more than happy to see his master's embarrassed state; it was an adorable sight for the Russian male.
Matthew asked to be put down and Ivan released his hold. The Canadian went to his bear to scold him about embarrassing him in front of his guest. The bear just nonchalantly shrugged, seeing no harm in what he had done. He thought his master had an overactive imagination.
Russia just did a small, creepy smile at the scene. From his few visits, he had discovered that he was fond of Canada and his pet polar bear's banter! It was very interesting!
After a few more minutes, Canada felt much better. His face showed signs of vindication at succeeding in his revenge on the bear by threatening to take his maple-flavoured salmon away if he continued to misbehave. This bluff worked, and Kumajirou stayed silent. Russia could see the bear's eyes twinkle; he had a plan to get back at his master.
"I'm so sorry...I had to deal with Kumajirou before we continue," Canada apologized sincerely, and Russia told him it was fine.
"Now I will do the same for you...I will try to catch you," Canada said simply, and Russia was unsure.
"Matvey...are you sure?" Russia asked, his face had a mixture of uncertainty and skepticism.
He knew that Canada was the second largest nation...but Russia was the biggest. He was actually afraid of crushing the smaller male; he appeared to break easily if he was not handled with care.
Matthew attempted to ease Ivan's worries. "You seem to doubt my strength...Perhaps if you allow me to demonstrate, I can show you, eh?"
Russia was taken aback at how well Canada could read his mind. He smiled teasingly so as to challenge the arctic nation's claim.
"Da...we see," Russia said as he climbed on the student's desk with his back facing Canada.
Matvey was getting ready to catch him, already determined to prove him wrong. Russia played along, but a small part of him was still scared of hurting him.
There was silence and Russia was planing on taking him by surprise. Matthew placed all his focus on the Russian, until he heard Kumajirou call out to him.
"Canada...losers say what!" the polar yelled out quickly, making Canada's concentration shatter into pieces.
Matthew replied, his eyes leaving the Russian's back for split second, "What?"
Canada did not hear his bear's snide remark, instead feeling pain and a heavy weight crush him.
Ivan was the first to speak, since he did not feel any pain (Canada had cushioned his fall). He recognized this soft fuzzy feeling, especially from those times when he sat on the poor boy during those long world meetings. He smiled, relishing the feel of Canada's body until he heard a whimper.
"Maple..."
"Ahhh...how nostalgic." Ivan was lost in his daydream until Canada spoke out a bit louder this time.
" R-russia...get off!" Russia's musing stopped and were now replaced with concerned. He shifted his body so he was face-to-face with Canada.
"I told you it did not work," Ivan said smugly.
Canada muttered back, trying to explain himself, "It was not my fault! Kuma played a mean trick!" Ivan believed him but laughed at the idea. Matthew's cheeks tinted a rosy pink, feeling Ivan's hot breath on his face. The Canadian took notice of their positions and it made him think back to the dirty scene of him and Ivan making out.
The Canadian's cheeks went a shade darker. Russia observed this and smirked.
"Is Matvey thinking about something naughty?" the Russian joked.
The other male replied back defensively, "No!...Um–could you get off me? I would like to finish up this lesson." Russia chuckled and did what he was told. Canada stood up and checked himself to see if he was okay. Ivan had his smile on and was waiting for Canada to continue.
"You can go and I will catch you," Matthew said confidently. Ivan hopped on the desk and did the same position. Matthew prepared himself for the impact.
"I trust you," Ivan said as he fell backwards.
Matthew did grab the Russian, but he found that he was a bit heavier than expect. He still somehow managed to pull it off. He did not carry Russia bridal style, but he held up his torso while his legs rested on the matt. Matthew was still standing, so it was successful.
Russia spoke out, "Comrade...you did it." The older male had to look up at Matthew face. The other smiled; he was amazed at himself that he had done it.
"Well...I'm surprised too, but it shows that you underestimated me, eh?"
Russia did a childish giggle. "Da."
Matthew released his arms and Russia asked, "What are we doing next?"
Excitement filled his voice. Matthew enjoyed his student's participation; it made teaching him so much fun!
"The last part is to do comfort talk," Matthew stated, and Russia smiled.
"Why do I need to know that?"
Canada sighed. "Mr. Braginski...you may be able not to say creepy things, but it is not the only way to make friends."
Russia looked confused, but Canada continued speaking. "Learning how to comfort others is a great way to show that you care, and are thus reliable! Remember the list?"
Russia thought back to his first lesson with the damn list mocking him.
He frowned at the memory and muttered, "Da."
"Also, this will help out with your project!" Matthew beamed and Ivan felt nervous when the topic was discussed. He had not even thought about his project, which made his frown even more upside down.
Matthew picked up on his student's worried face and asked, "Mr. Braginski...is there something wrong?"
Canada could make an educated guess that it had something to do with the project. He did not want to force Ivan to tell him; maybe it was pride that prevented him from speaking? Canada was unsure.
"If it is about the project, I can assure you that you will do great! And with this lesson, I know you can!" Matthew smiled and it did cheer up the Russian.
They headed back to the classroom and Matthew was in front of Ivan. Ivan sat down and waited for the Canadian to begin.
"So, for this exercise we will try to comfort each other. An example would be to say nice things to others to make them feel better," Canada explained, and Russia nodded.
"So, I want you to say something to me to try to make me feel better, ok?" Matthew said and waited for Russia to speak.
The Russian pondered what to say. He did a closed-eye grin and said, "Mr. Williams is soft...He make a great chair!"
He had enjoyed landing on Matthew with the trust fall activity. Matthew was slightly peeved at what he said; he couldn't decide if it was a compliment or an insult.
"Mr. Braginski...I don't think that it is a good idea to tell me or others that they are furniture."
Russia pouted childishly and whined, "This is too hard."
Matthew decided that he should do the reverse and show him how it was done.
"Mr. Braginski...people may misunderstand your intentions, but deep inside I think you are a wonderful person, and with some gentle guidance from me you can be happy." Matthew just felt stupid for saying that; he wanted to crawl into the ground and die of embarrassment.
Ivan Braginski blushed a rosy pink at what the Canadian had revealed. He had never heard a compliment in his entire life; he mostly heard ugly rumours and snide remarks about his insanity or supposed cruelty to others. But listening to Canada's feelings for him made his heart pump happily, making him feel like he was going to puke.
"Spasibo...Mr. Williams." Ivan turned his face away, not seeing Canada's small smile.
"See, now you try."
"I think...that you make me feel warm and I don't want to hurt you, unlike the others...When I see their stupid faces it does bring pleasure to me to pound them into dust!" Ivan sang the last part, making Canada gasp.
Beside that ending, Russia did say something remotely sweet. Canada blushed at the compliment. He never received them because of his invisibility, so he feel embarrassed when anyone said something positive about him.
"Thank you." Russia smiled back with a real one that made Canada's heart melt.
"I think we are done for today. Ivan, my advice is when you are talking, don't say anything negative at all; it ruins the purpose." Canada patted his shoulder and Russia nodded.
"I will try, da...but it sometimes slips out." Russia went to pick up his vodka, but he hid it from Canada's view.
Matthew did notice this but did not say anything. Russia went to Kumajirou and gave him his salmon. The polar bear was gnawing on his food and he went back to speak with Matthew about his news.
"Comrade," Ivan called out to Matthew and he stood there. He wanted to tell him about the last meeting, but he was too scared to admit to him that it would all be over.
"Never mind...Have good night." Russia showed himself out.
"Russia, wait!" It fell on deaf ears, and he heard the door close in answer. Matthew knew that something was wrong, but what if Ivan did not trust him enough to tell him what was really bothering him?
"Vodka Breath sad?" Kumajirou had witnessed the scene and he was confused too. Matthew sighed and his face was painted with worry.
"I think so...Ivan."
Owari
A/N: Hey there readers! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Unfortunately this story will go on hiatus for some time because I will be starting classes next week, so I don't think I could handle third year at university and updating this story. But do not fret! When I get used to my busy lifestyle I will update this story. I still have a few more ideas for the following chapters. So please be patient and understanding of my situation. Don't forget to leave lovely reviews for my plot bunny to gnaw on for more inspiration.
Oh, another announcement...If you guys continue to review and if this story reaches 100 reviews, I will post another one-shot as a reward. This time it is a fluff, but the next 50 reviews will be another smut and the cycle repeats. If this does not encourage you to review...then I am clueless of what to do. Lastly, I posted a new poll, so I want your vote on my future smut. Details are on my profile page, so check it out!
Ja ne!