Thanks to SansTheLanguage218 and Related to Moon for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 34: Ice Cream
Canada was in a good mood after his piano lesson with Austria, and he was pleased to hear that he was doing well. Though the conversation with Hungary was a little awkward…
Canada shook himself out of his thought, and decided to distract himself with thoughts of what to do next. But then…
"America!"
Canada flinched. It had been a while since anyone (other than England) mistook him for America, and he felt a little hurt at that. And to make matters worse, it was Cuba, in his angry voice. Which meant that Canada would get beaten up for sure.
Canada turned to face his inevitable fate, seeing Cuba running towards him. He didn't bother with explanations. They didn't work, anyway. But to his surprise, Cuba came to a stop, eyes widening slightly.
"Oh, Matteo," Cuba said. "Sorry. I was chasing after America. I thought I saw him running down this hall…"
Canada smiled. Cuba had noticed in time. And he only mistook him for America because he was already chasing America…
Wait.
"Why were you chasing America?" Canada asked.
Cuba sighed, before he turned around. Canada's eyes widened when he saw the ketchup and mustard smeared on the other's back.
"How?!" Canada asked. "Why?"
"I have no idea," Cuba sighed. "But hey, you're lucky I saw it was you just in time. It would have been really bad if I didn't. Again."
"That's okay."
"It's just, you looked like America from behind. He was wearing a red hoodie as well."
Canada blinked in confusion. America didn't usually wear red hoodies, which was one of the reasons why Canada liked them. It was one of his multiple attempts to distinguish himself from America.
He beamed as an idea struck him. It would help cheer Cuba up and it would give him something to do.
"I was just about to get some ice cream," Canada said. "Do you want to come?"
Cuba's face lit up, and he eagerly nodded, before looking down at his shirt.
"Let me just go change first," Cuba said. "Come on. My room's this way."
…
America sulked, watching the two from around a corner. He needed to remind Canada that he would always be in America's shadow. That no one would remember him, except for America, of course.
He had even gone through the trouble of finding out what colour shirt (or in this case, hoodie) Canada was wearing and then angering Cuba, in the hopes that he would beat Canada up, as he usually did.
Why, why did Cuba notice in time, when he never could before?
He needed to find other ways to remind Canada that he was invisible, and therefore inferior to America.
…
Cuba laughed as he chatted with Canada. They had gone to a nearby ice cream parlour and were talking about all the things that had been happening recently.
Cuba was happy to know that Canada was making new friends. He knew that America was toxic to the other, and was pleased to see him flourishing without America.
That was one of the reasons why Cuba hated America: because of the way he treated Canada. But when he went into a blind rage, well… There was a reason why it was called a 'blind' rage. He would mistakenly take it out on Canada.
He was just glad that he never mentioned why he was mad at America. That would have made the resulting apology to Canada even more awkward.
Cuba knew that a lot of nations were interested in Canada, and he just wished that one of them would make a move already. While he had no romantic interests in Canada himself, he still wanted to see his friend happy. And it would certainly help boost Canada's confidence if he knew that he was the object of someone's affections. That he wasn't as invisible as he thought. That people genuinely cared about him.
Cuba wasn't exactly sure who he liked to see with Canada. Perhaps he should discuss it with Mexico. She was something akin to Canada's sister, after all. And he had learned that if he didn't apologise to Canada and she found out, well…
It took forever for those bruises to heal.
The only three he could say that he knew well enough to be able to judge were Spain, Romano and Russia. Russia was very fond of Canada, but a bit too eager to possess him, because Cuba could see that Russia desired possession above all else. He wasn't too fond of Spain for history reasons, but he knew from watching Spain in the past that he was a caring and devoted lover. On the other hand, he also had a bit of a scary-possessive side. And Romano… Canada brought out the good in Romano, and Cuba was actually curious about how it would go long-term.
"So, Carlos," Canada said, shaking Cuba from his thoughts, "how did you know that it was me this time?"
"Oh," Cuba said, trying to think about it. "Well, you weren't trying to run away, and you didn't have an obnoxious look on your face. Plus, there's the hair."
Canada smiled in relief. He should really thank his uncles for casting the spell on him. Even Cuba in the middle of a blind rage had managed to recognise him.
…
"So, do you agree?"
Japan stared at Vietnam for a moment, before he nodded. The corner of her mouth twitched, and she turned to leave.
"Thank you, Japan," she said. "I appreciate this."
Japan sighed, thinking about what Vietnam had asked him to do and why. She had asked him to make nikujaga, and that Canada would be coming as well. She didn't want Canada to be alone with Korea, which was why she had said it.
It would seem that he would be cooking for himself, Vietnam, Korea and Canada. He didn't even know that the other two were friends with Canada.
Of course, he had met Canada before, mostly while he was with either England or America, but he got the impression that the other two didn't want him anywhere near Canada. This would be a good opportunity to get to know Canada without England or America's interference.