A/N: Ah, romantic evenings. With the candle lights and the soft music and the rose petals on the bed. And the fact that Ned can't plan them for shit :D.

Warnings: Ned trying to be romantic and failing at it, so she gets some help from an outside source. This prompt takes place somewhere before they get together. I tried to find out how Kumajirou usually speaks, but I couldn't find it at the moment, so I'll just have him be snarky and a little bratty with Matt, and a bit nicer with Johanna. Also, lots of talking between Kuma and Joey.

Romantic evening

"You're pretty much my last hope now, Kumajirou," Johanna said, scratching him behind his ears. Kuma leaned into her touch, letting out a satisfied growl. She smiled at that, Kuma seemed almost like a purring cat when he was like this. She pulled him onto her lap, and continued her handiwork.

"What do you need, miss Tulip?"

"You've been with Matthew-"

"Who?"

"Your owner, Canada. He also goes by the name Matthew."

"Oh, him. Yeah, whatever."

"Indeed, him." She smiled, chuckling a bit. "You've been with him all his life, you know him better than anyone."

"I guess I do," he replied, closing his eyes again. "Hey, miss Tulip, feed me some of that herring you brought."

"Sure. And I'll give you even more if you can tell me what Matthew-"

"Who?"

"Your owner, Canada. I need to know what he likes and dislikes, so I can plan a romantic evening for him."

"Why not ask the caterpillar brows and the scruffy beard with the pretty hair?"

"And be in their debt? Hell no. Plus, they don't like me enough to help me woo their kid."

"How about the loudmouth down south?"

"I'm sure he's a nice kid, but he gets on my nerves with said loud mouth. I'd probably punch him."

"He'd let you do something stupid anyway. Like get him to a football game and then putting him on the spot by getting him on the big screen. Don't do that by the way. He doesn't like being in the spotlight."

"No spotlights, got it. Anything else?"

"He loves the flowers you send him every year. He loves nature in general. Work with that."

"I hear they opened a botanical garden nearby, we could visit that."

"Sounds lovely. Herring me please, miss Tulip."

"Lovely indeed. Here. Okay, onwards to food. What does he like besides pancakes and maple syrup?"

"French cuisine. Game. Hamburgers. High tea. And the usual stuff like Chinese and Italian. Oh and red wine. Lots and lots of red wine."

"Really? He seemed more of a beer guy to me."

"He only really drinks beer during hockey season, otherwise he prefers wine. Speaking of hockey, he's crazy about that dumb game. Try reading up on that, he'll probably talk your ears off about that at some point."

"Crap, I totally forgot about conversation topics. I don't know shit about ice hockey, but I do know field hockey. Isn't that mostly the same thing?"

"Not even close, miss Tulip. Read up on it."

"You're right, better safe than sorry. What else does he like?"

"Those weird animated shows with the dumb hair on everyone. Anime, they're called? He especially loves Naruto. He's better off watching Degrassi, if you ask me. Way better plot."

"Haha, you're probably right. I know plenty about anime, thankfully. What about music and dancing? What genre does he like?"

"Mostly rock, jazz, ballads, chansons. Classical music, too. Pop music so he can dance to that. He's terrible at it by the way. Don't make him dance anything but the waltz or any other classical ballroom dance. Trust me."

"Ballroom dancing huh? Being a kingdom I had to learn all those dances too. That could be a fun thing to do."

"And if all else fails you can always go see a movie or something. I hope you like horror movies, because he had to hold his brothers hands through so many of them he actually ended up liking them. Oh, and more herring, if you would be so kind."

"Here you go. And thank you for your help, Kuma. I think I know what to do when I ask him out."

"Great! Mind filling me in so I know how to dress that day?"

Johanna had almost dropped Kuma off her lap, but quickly caught him before he'd hit the floor and injure himself. After apologizing for handling him so rough and giving him the rest of the herring she turned to face Matthew, who was still standing in the doorway, giving her a charming smile. She tried not to blush too much, praying that he didn't hear everything she had discussed.

"Gah! Matt! How long how you been there?!"

"Pretty much since the beginning." Well, so much for that prayer, she thought before grabbing a little pillow off the couch and lying down, hiding her face behind it. She heard Matthew laugh again as he made his way to her and sat down next to her.

"I heard everything, and it all sounds very fun to do. But I doubt you can put everything into one date. But we can do the rest on the other dates, if you want." Hold on a sec. Did she hear that right? He's already talking about other dates?

She slowly stood up and put the pillow on her lap.

"You… you really want to go out with me?" She asked, still nervous. He smiled as he nodded.

"Of course, why wouldn't I? You're a good person, a great friend, and Kumajingles really likes you, too. I feel honored that you even thought of asking me out." His smile turned into a full-blown grin, and he was blushing as well. That sight made Joey blush more in turn as well.

"Don't say that, Matt. You're the sweetest, kindest, strongest guy I know. Who wouldn't want to go out with you? I should feel honored that you'd accept."

"Aw geez, you're making me blush. I just-"

"Get a room already, you two!" Kumajirou said from the kitchen. "I can feel the heat from your blushing all the way from here. Any more of that and I can start making herring smores!"

"Don't you dare, Kuma! I won't have you defile my herring like that!"

"Then stop blushing and ask him out, miss Tulip. You already know he'll accept, stop being so nervous."

"Yeah, well, I… urgh. Never thought I'd see the day that I'd accept love advice from a polarbear." She turned to face Matthew, scooting a bit closer to him. "Matthew, will you go on a date with me?"

He reached out a hand and grabbed hers, squeezing it. "I'd love to."

A/N: They ended up iceskating, picnicking at the park and then watching a movie that night in the same park with other people.

And Joey came off way shyer than I expected. I did want her to be a little shy because this was supposed to be the first time any one of them would ask the other out. But this works too. I have a feeling that she could have saved herself plenty of trouble if she had asked either one of Matt's relatives, or her own. Hell, even reading a random Cosmo would have done it :P. She's stubborn like that, but it worked out in the end, so yay. Kuma is the best wingbear.

Hope you had fun reading, and reviews are always appreciated!