As the hours passed, America found himself growing more and more frustrated as he stared down at the blank piece of paper in front of him. For the life of him, he couldn't think of a way to apologize to Russia without it sounding forced. He could just go up to Russia and apologize, but that would be super weird and awkward, and Russia would probably think he was up to something. On the other hand, he could try just being nice to him, but again, that would be right out of the blue and Russia would think he was up to no good. He could explain to Russia what made him want to apologize, but Russia would never believe him because who the fuck would? People just don't change their opinions about somebody in a day! This wasn't a Disney movie! This was reality, and nothing was ever that fucking easy. Growling with frustration, America ran his hands through his hair. Damn it, why was apologizing so fucking hard?
Letting out a frustrated sigh, he leaned back into his desk chair and he was blinded by a beam of light hitting his eyeballs. Squinting his eyes, he looked around to see where the beam of light was coming from and was shocked to see that it was coming from the window and that the sun was well above the horizon. Realizing he had stayed up all night without even realizing it, he looked over at the alarm clock next to his bed and saw it was just after eight in the morning. Cursing, he crumpled up the blank sheet of paper and threw it into the waste bin and stood up from the desk chair, stretching his stiff limbs and letting out a yawn. He'd focus on apologizing to Russia later. First, he needed a big old cup of coffee.
Perking up slightly at the thought, he made his way over to the door and when he opened it he was struck by the smell of food. Making his way to the kitchen he saw Russia by the oven making an omelet, with a plate of toast and orange juice on the table. Hearing America's footsteps, Russia looked over his shoulder and smiled at America.
"Ah, so you are up?" He asked.
"Unfortunately." America muttered as he shuffled towards the coffee maker.
Russia frowned as he took in America's appearance. "Did you sleep in the clothes you were wearing yesterday?"
"No." America said truthfully as he opened one of the cupboards and pulled out the coffee container. "I never went to sleep last night."
"You had that much paper work to do?" Russia asked in mild surprise, tipping the omelet onto a nearby plate.
"Something like that." America said with a shrug. Grabbing a nearby coffee cup he added, "I kind of got caught up on a project of mine last night and lost track of time."
"I am intrigued. What could keep an attention span as short as yours occupied for hours on end?" Russia said curiously as he turned off the stove and made his way over to the table.
"Nothing that would interest you." America said casually as the coffee machine started to warm up. Even though America wasn't facing Russia, he could feel the taller nation's gaze on him.
"No, I would be more than happy to know." Russia said with a sly smile. "The only other time I have seen you so obsessed with something was during the cold war and your obsession of crushing me. It is nice to hear that you have moved on to other projects."
'Oh, if only you knew.' America thought bitterly. "Really, it's nothing." America said as he started to drum his finger on the counter. He really didn't want to talk to Russia right now. He just wanted his coffee.
"Is it a secret project?" Russia asked as he took a bite of his toast.
"I don't know." America grumbled. Damn it, why wasn't the coffee coming out?
"Is it a government project?"
"No."
"Can you tell me what it is?"
"No."
"So, it is a secret project?"
"No."
"Then why can't you tell me?"
"Because I don't want to!" America snapped, throwing a glare at Russia, who held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. Realizing that he was being rude, America shoulders slumped and with a sigh he turned back to the coffee machine. "Maybe I'll tell you later, ok? Just please, let me have this cup of coffee before I talk to you." America said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
A flicker of surprise crossed Russia's face at America's behavior, but it was quickly schooled. Finally, America got his cup of coffee and made his way to the sofa, where he sat down and turned on the news, blankly staring at the screen as he sipped his coffee. Russia observed the younger nation for a minute, then growing bored, he turned his attention back to his meal. About a half an hour later, he glanced over in America's direction and saw that America had abandoned his coffee all together and was now laying on the couch with his head on the arm rest watching the news. Russia sighed, and cleaning up his dishes he walked back to his room to get ready for the day.
When he came out of his room about an hour later, he was surprised to see America was still on the couch. Walking over to him, he was surprised to find that the younger nation had fallen asleep. America was curled up in an almost defensive position, but his face looked a lot more relaxed then Russia had seen in the last few days. Russia awkwardly stood there for a second, then he glanced around the room not sure what to do. Should he wake America up? After all, it would be quite strange if he sat there and watched him sleep. And he was his host. Then again, it seemed like he needed it.
Sighing, Russia walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Hero wandered in and ignoring Russia he walked straight towards his food. Great, even the cat was ignoring him. Frowning, Russia looked around the room. He wasn't sure if America had made plans to go out anywhere, but it seemed like until America woke up nothing was going to happen. Even if he did want to step out, he would have to tell America first. Russia sighed again, and just as he was considering hiding in his room for the rest of the morning, a thought came to him. America had said to tell him when he wanted to go out, but he never said to tell him directly. Smirking, Russia got up and walked over to the fridge. He took a marker off the small dry erase board that was on the fridge door and scribbled down a quick message. After he was done, he put the marker down and made his way to the door. After grabbing his scarf, he opened the door and made his way out. He was going to go amuse himself.
Russia's P.O.V.
Russia wandered around the city for a few hours, just observing the people around him. No matter how many times he came to this city, he was always taken aback by how diverse the city was. There seemed to be people of every color and ethnicity, and the amount of languages spoken around him as he passed through different parts of the city were overwhelming. He vaguely remembered hearing once that there were 800 different languages spoken in the city. At one point, he heard someone speaking Russian, but he couldn't pick the person out of the crowd.
Around noon Russia found himself in a small shopping center. Stopping briefly to buy a pretzel from a vender, he looked through the shop windows. Most of the fashions weren't to his taste, but they were still interesting to look at. At one point he spotted a sunflower pin and considered buying it, but one look at the price was enough to change his mind.
As he was looking at a shop that sold baked goods, he felt a tap on the back of his shoulder. Looking around, he was surprised to see America looking up at him.
"Ah, America." Russia said with a small smile. "Did you get my note?"
"What?" America asked with a frown, his face scrunching up in confusion. "Uh, I don't think I did. But that's most likely because I'm not America."
Confused, Russia took a closer look at America. He noticed that his hair was longer, his eyes were not blue, but Violet, and his face had a softer look to it. And unlike America, this person hunched his shoulders a bit and his voice was much softer. Realizing his mistake, Russia chuckled.
"I apologize. You must be Canada." Russia said with an apologetic smile.
"Don't worry about it." Canada said with a small smile. "It happens all the time."
"What are you doing here in New York?" Russia asked with a frown. "The meeting is not for another four days."
"I always come a few days early." Canada said with a shrug. "Me and Al spend a few days together before each meeting, so we can catch up with each other." Glancing around the plaza, he frowned. "Speaking of which, where is my brother? Isn't he supposed to be with you?"
"He is still at his apartment." Russia explained. "He stayed up all night working on a project and then he fell asleep on the couch. I decided to go out by myself instead of waiting for him to wake up."
To Russia's confusion, Canada looked amused by the explanation. "Oh, I see. That sounds like something he'd do. I swear, when his head isn't in the clouds it's buried in a project. You should have seen him during the space race. His office was swamped with rocket designs and math equations and he always had his nose in some scientific paper."
Russia frowned at the thought of America sitting quietly in front of a chalkboard writing out math equations with science papers scattered around him. It didn't seem right to him. "That does not sound like the America I know." Russia said.
Canada laughed softly. "There are a lot of sides to my brother you don't know." Looking at Russia with a soft smile, he nodded his head to a nearby coffee shop. "Why don't we talk about it over coffee? It's a little chilly out here."
"Uh, Da." Russia said, taken aback at the request. They headed over to café, which was rather bland looking, and after ordering their drinks sat down in a booth in the corner of the room.
"So," Canada said calmly as he pulled a maple syrup bottle out of his pocket and poured a generous amount of the sugary syrup into his coffee, "you and my brother are roommates now."
"Da." Russia said, feeling a bit ill as he watched Canada sip his coffee. How could someone drink something so sugary?
"And it seems you two are having trouble getting to know each other." Canada said simply, giving Russia a knowing look.
"Da. Where are you going with this?" Russia asked with a frown.
"Well, I don't mean to intrude, but it seems like you two need some help." Canada said with a sigh. "And honestly, it's kind of sad to watch you two interact. It's like watching a train wreck. So, I thought I might give you some advice, so you can get along with my brother better."
Russia raised an eyebrow at this. "And you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart?"
"Of course not." Canada said with a chuckle. "I'm doing this so I don't have to listen to my brother whine and complain all month about you." Then with a thoughtful look he added, "Not that he isn't trying. In fact, he was asking me for advice last night. I was rather surprised to be honest. It's not often he swallows his pride to ask someone a favor." Looking back at Russia he frowned. "Did something happen yesterday to him?"
"Nothing of any importance." Russia said with a slight shrug. "We went ice skating yesterday. I was able to teach him some of the basics-"
Canada chocked on his drink and started to cough violently. After he had cleared his airways a bit, he looked at Russia in shock. "You actually taught him how to ice skate?"
"Da, I did." Russia said with a shrug. "It took a little while, but he was able to skate around the ice a bit. He was very excited about it."
Canada's expression went from shocked, to angry, to upset in a matter of seconds. "Oh." Canada said emotionlessly. "I didn't think it was possible." Giving Russia an unreadable look, he asked, "Just where did you guys go to skate?"
"We went to central park." Russia said, confused by Canada's behavior. Had he said something wrong?
"Did you take him out to the lakes or to a rink?" Canada asked, his hand clutching the edge of the table a little harder than necessary.
"To a rink." Russia said, starting to get uncomfortable. Thankfully, Canada relaxed a bit at his response. "Oh, good. I don't like it when he's on frozen lakes." Canada said with a sigh of relief.
"Ah, he did mention that." Russia said.
"He told you about him falling into the ice?" Canada asked in surprise.
"He said it was only fair since I taught him how to ice skate." Russia explained.
Canada hummed thoughtfully as he took another sip of his drink. Making a face, he picked the Maple syrup bottle back out and added more. Russia grimaced as he watched. He could feel his teeth hurting just watching the younger nation. "That makes sense. Anyways, what else happened?" Canada asked as he put the bottle away and took another sip of his drink, apparently happy with it.
"We took a taxi to a coffee shop in Hell's kitchen." Russia said, a frown on his face. "The taxi driver nearly killed us, and when I confronted the man he was very rude to me. America threatened to beat the man up, and then we got our coffee. Then he threw a packet of sugar at me to lighten the mood."
"Wow, that sounds really random." Canada said with a chuckle.
"That sums up America perfectly." Russia said with a sigh. "I can never figure him out. One minute he is giving me the cold shoulder, the next he is somewhat nice. He has no rhyme or reason to him."
"Not really." Canada said with a soft smile. "Al may seem like a random guy, but he actually has a reason for everything he does. Even his craziest plans have some sort of logic to them. I'm sure you know this already, but Al isn't the greatest at explaining himself. Something can make total sense to him but can confuse the hell out of everyone else." Canada studied Russia for a moment before continuing. "Describe America in three words."
"Egotistical, selfish, and stupid." Russia said without hesitating.
"Ding dong, you are wrong." Canada said with a eyeroll. "Didn't I tell you that he used to work on rockets? He actually took time to understand all of that stuff, not just memorize the equations. He's also a really good strategist, but only when he feels like it. Egotistical? Sure, sometimes but he's his own worst critic. He's worked hard to try and overcome himself all the time. Selfish?" Canada laughed. "You should ask him what he does in his spare time. It might surprise you."
Russia just stared at Canada in confusion. Seeing he wasn't making much of an impact, Canada sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I guess what I'm saying is don't judge him too harshly. Sure, he can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but his heart is in the right place. Just give him a chance, okay? He may just surprise you."
"I suppose." Russia said with a slight nod.
"I'm not asking you two to become best friends over night, I'm just asking for you to put aside what you think you know about him and maybe approach this situation like you've never met before. Wipe the past away and judge him in the now." Canada said with a smile.
Russia considered what Canada had said, then with a sigh he nodded. "Very well, I shall attempt to do what you have asked. I cannot promise you anything, but I will try."
"That's all I ask." Canada said with a relived look. "So, let me give you a few suggestions on how to get on America's good side. First, talk to him about movies. He loves them. He likes action movies and Superhero movies the best. He also likes horror movies, but he won't watch them alone."
"Oh?" Russia asked in interest.
"Start with action or superhero movies first. Al only watches horror movies with people he trusts." Canada said with a slight smirk.
"I take you are one of those people?" Russia asked.
"Of course." Canada said. "I'm his brother. We do everything together. Another thing you can do to get on his good side is to listen to him."
"About what?"
"Oh, anything." Canada said with a shrug. "America likes to bounce ideas off of people, but the thing is no one is willing to put up with his over excited behavior too long. If you sit down and listen to him he might like you more, and as an added bonus he'll seek you out when he wants to talk."
"I see." Russia said, taking a sip from his drink.
"The third thing America likes is space." Canada said.
"So, I should give him his personal space?" Russia asked.
"What?" Canada asked. "No, well I mean yeah he doesn't like it when people stand too close to him, but I was talking about outer space. He loves it more than cowboys, and he really loves cowboys."
Russia just nodded, but the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. He liked space as well, and it was one of the few things he and America had in common. This was the perfect way to open up a conversation. "Cowboys?" Russia asked in amusement.
Canada rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cowboys. He loves all that western stuff. Still owns a ranch down in Texas if I remember correctly. Did you know he was a sheriff at one time?"
"That does not surprise me." Russia said.
"He was pretty good at it too, until he got hit by a train." Canada said with a chuckle. "He wasn't hurt, but the train had an America shaped dent in it. There was also the fact that no matter how many times he was shot he never seemed to die, but the train thing was the straw that broke the camel's back. People started asking too many questions, so he had to leave town. He complained about it for years. He got a cool nickname out of it though. Unkillable Fred."
"That sounds about right. No matter how hard I hit him he always gets back up." Russia said with a chuckle. "Maybe they should have named him the cockroach."
"Yeah." Canada said, pulling out his phone and looking at the time. "Why don't we go back to Al's apartment? He should be up by now."
"Sounds good." Russia said.
America's P.O.V One hour earlier
America woke up to the low buzz of the T.V. Blearily blinking his eyes, he glanced around and to his confusion he was in the living room. Rubbing his eyes, he forced his now stiff body into a sitting position and glanced at his watch. It was around noon. With a frown, he remembered that he had been talking to Russia before. He had meant to apologize to the Com-, but America thoughts came to a halt. No, he wasn't going to call Russia that anymore, not even in his head. He was going to be better. If he apologized while still calling Russia that in his head his apology would mean nothing. No, he had meant to apologize to RUSSIA but had been snarky to him. Groaning, America flopped back onto the sofa and put a pillow over his face. Maybe if he smothered himself he wouldn't have to awkwardly apologize to Russia.
Just as he started dozing off again Hero yowled angerly from the kitchen.
"Go away Hero." America grumbled. As he closed his eyes again he felt something jump up onto his pillow and actually start smothering him. America let out a muffled cry and knocked the thing off of the pillow and onto his chest. Grabbing the pillow off his face he shot an angry look at Hero, who glared right back at him.
"Hero, why are you trying to kill me?" America asked irritably. "I thought you loved me!"
Hero just meowed loudly again and batted at America's face.
America groaned again and pushing Hero off of him he got off the couch and shuffled into the kitchen as Hero ran over to his food bowl. Meowing again, he batted at the bowl, looking up expectantly at America. Looking down at the bowl, and to his annoyance he saw the bowl was mostly full, with only a small hole in the food that barley showed the bottom of the bowl.
"This is what you're so upset about?" America grumbled as he picked up the bowl and shook it until it appeared full again. Putting it back on the ground, Hero sniffed it and then walked away. "You brat." America huffed as he turned towards the fridge. He needed something to drink. To his surprise, he saw that Russia had left a note on the Dry erase board. Taking a closer look, he read,
"To America,
I am stepping out of the apartment for a few hours. I did not want to wake you up, so I am writing you a note. I will be back.
Russia."
America sighed and shook his head. The idiot didn't even have a key. How did he think he was getting back into the apartment? Opening the fridge, he pulled out the orange juice container and was just pouring out a glass when his phone went off in his pocket. Without looking at the caller ID he picked up the call and put it on speaker. "America speaking."
"Hello, this is Lithuania." A voice cheerfully said back to him. America perked up at the other nation's voice.
"Toris! Hey, what's up dude?!" America asked as he took sat down at the bar, putting the phone in front of him.
"Nothing of interest. I was just calling to check up on you. You know, because of Russia rooming with you." Toris said awkwardly.
"Jeez, is there anybody who doesn't know about this?" America asked with a grimace.
"Unfortunately, no." Toris said with a sigh. "France has been telling everyone about it."
"How did he find out? I mean, it's not like it's a secret or anything but I didn't expect the news to travel so fast."
"Canada told him." Toris said.
"Ah, well that explains it." America said with a shake of his head. "How are the other nations taking the news?"
"Well, China is saying that nothing good can come from this, he kept saying something about bad omens. And France keeps saying stuff about you two "sharing a room" if you get what I'm saying. But other than that, everyone is just waiting for the fall out between you two. A few nations have started placing bets on how long you two can be together without trying to kill each other."
"I admire their faith in me." America said, rolling his eyes.
"So, how are you two getting along? Are you fighting at all?" Toris asked worriedly.
"It's not been too bad." America said, leaning back in his chair. "So far we haven't fought or anything, it's mostly been uncomfortable."
"Oh, well that's not so bad." Toris said in a slightly surprised tone.
"I guess." America muttered, taking a sip from his drink.
"Is something wrong?" Toris asked.
"No." America denied. There was a beat of silence, then America groaned. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know." America said, putting his drink back down and running his hand across his face. "It's probably nothing."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Toris asked kindly.
"No." America said. "But can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"What do you know about Russia? I mean, like, what is he like when he's not around me?" America asked. Toris didn't respond for a few minutes, and America wondered if he had hung up on him. Frowning, he tapped the phone. "Toris, buddy, are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here. I was just thinking." Toris said hesitantly. "He wasn't the kindest person, and he was always intimidating he was around me. He always kept to himself when he wasn't talking to me or the others when I lived in his house. From what I remember, he didn't like people talking about you-"
"What a shock." America said sarcastically.
"-but most of the time he was pretty quiet. He likes to read, and I know for a fact he likes to knit."
America bust out laughing. "You're fucking with me. Russia likes to knit?"
"Apparently he finds it relaxing. He likes making blankets and sweaters. He also like's going to the theater, especially to watch ballet. And he enjoys star gazing." Toris said. "And, uh, don't tell him I told you any of this."
"I would never sell you out like that." America assured him.
"Thanks. Let's see, what else." Toris hummed in thought. "He is a rather strange guy. While most of the time he's rather intimidating, when I was living with him he sometimes was rather calm and nice. I once had a conversation with him where he told me it's his dream to live in a warm place surrounded by sunflowers. He's an early riser, but don't ask me what he does in the morning I have no idea. And he loves vodka, although that isn't unknown."
"So in other words he's a mixed bag." America groaned, putting his head down on the table. "He's so weird, I just don't understand him."
"Well, you are opposites, it's not surprising." Toris pointed out.
"I guess." America said. "I just don't know how to talk to him. Most of the time we just talk about this and that and then we sit in awkward silence. It's weird having him in my home. It's like having a cat living in a mouse hole, it just isn't right!" America gripped. "I just want to feel comfortable in my own house again without hiding in my room like some sulky teenager."
"But you are a teenager." Toris pointed out.
"That's not the point!" America whined. "I don't know what to do! I'm stuck in awkward limbo and I hate it! Help me out man!"
"I'm afraid I don't know what to say." Toris said apologetically. "The only piece of advice I can give you is try and get him to open up a bit."
"Great. That will be like prying open an active bomb." America said with a humorless laugh.
Toris chuckled. "I honestly don't envy you. I have to get going, I have some work I need to finish up before the meeting. Good luck, and I'll see you at the meeting."
"Later." America said and hung up the phone.
Well, had been less than helpful America thought as leaned back into his chair. Even with Toris's information America wasn't any closer to figuring out how to be more friendly to Russia. Sure, he could just go up to Russia with all of this information and try and talk to him, but then Russia would know he had been getting info on him and that would just make him look weird and kind of creepy. He needed to prompt Russia to talk to him about something they both liked.
"Ahhh." America groaned, ruffling his hair with his hands and standing up. Screw it, he was done thinking for a while. His brain hurt from being so serious for so long. He needed to relax. Getting up from his chair, he walked over to the T.V. and rummaged around the video games that were thrown messily in a small basket under the DVD player. He needed something mind numbing, something that didn't require a lot of thought. After a minute, he let out a whoop of joy as he pulled out his old game boy. Turning it on, the speakers started to Tetris theme as the game screen popped up. Deciding the game was better than nothing, America curled up on the couch and starting playing it. The game it's self wasn't too hard, and after a few minutes America was totally focused on the game in his hands. He was so wrapped up in fact, he didn't notice someone was knocking on his door. After a minute there was a sound of keys and the door unlocked and Canada and Russia walked in.
"Al, answer your door when someone knocks." Canada said as he walked into the living room and tapping on his brother's head.
America jumped slightly and looking up his face broke into a wide smile. "Mattie! I wasn't expecting you to be here so early!"
"I decided to surprise you." Canada said with a chuckle, holding up a bag. "I got the ingredients to make pancakes."
America threw his hands up and let out a whoop of joy. "Hell yeah! It's pancake time!"
"No, you stay there." Canada said with an unimpressed look. "You nearly destroyed the kitchen last time I came over."
"I forget to turn off the stove ONCE!" America yelled as Canada walked into the kitchen.
"Once is enough." Canada said over his shoulder as he rummaged around America's cupboards. "We don't need your landlord yelling at us again."
"What happened last time?" Russia asked as finished hanging up his coat and made his way to the couch.
"Al left the stove on while we were eating, and he set off the buildings alarms at two o'clock in the morning. Thankfully the fire wasn't too bad, but the neighbors weren't too happy with us."
"Yeah, the lady who lives across from me still gives me glares." America snorted as he went back to playing his Game Boy. "Not like she liked me before."
"Why did she not like you?" Russia asked as he sat down next to America.
"Hero got out of the apartment and somehow got into hers, and apparently she's allergic to cats. She thought I did it as a prank and tried to get Hero thrown out of the apartment building. Crazy old bat." America said with a shake of his head. "But she's like that with everyone on this floor, so I don't think too much of it."
"She sounds interesting."
"Yeah, that's one way to put it." America said with a laugh. As he played his game, Russia looked over his shoulder to watch, and he got a gleam in his eyes.
"You like Tetris?" Russia asked with a smirk.
"Not everything that comes out of your place is trash." America said admitted with a slight shrug.
"I believe that is the kindest thing you have ever said to me." Russia said.
"Don't get used to it." America said, the corner of his mouth twitching up a bit.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, with America playing his game and Russia watching him. Canada was cooking in the kitchen, humming a Christmas song.
"You need to put that block on the right." Russia said.
"No, I don't." America said.
"But if you put it on the right you'll have room for the next few blocks."
"Dude, I know how to play Tetris." America said, glaring at Russia.
"Clearly you don't." Russia said in amusement as America failed the level.
"Dude, I was just about to beat my high score!" America said in annoyance. Pouting, he pointed a finger at Russia. "You distracted me."
"I was only trying to help." Russia said with a chuckle. "It is your fault you did not listen."
"Fine, if you think you can do better then you try." America said, offering Russia the Game boy.
"My people invented this game." Russia said with a smirk as he took the gaming device. "I could beat your high score without trying."
"Oh, those are fighting words." America said with a snort. "Alright then, let's make this interesting. If you beat my high score I'll tell you what I was working on last night. If you lose, you have to say something nice about me."
"I accept your challenge." Russia said, and with that he started up the game.
For the first few levels, America wasn't very worried about Russia beating his score. He had spent years building up that high score, and he doubted Russia had spent as much time as him playing video games. But as Russia's score kept climbing, he started to get a little nervous. He wasn't ready to tell Russia what he was actually doing last night and had only set up the bet because he was being cocky. The blocks started falling faster, and Russia didn't even look bothered. In fact, he looked a bit bored.
"Dude." America muttered as Russia started to near his high score.
"I told you, this game is very easy." Russia said with a smug glance an America.
"I thought you were just bragging!"
"Russians do not brag." Russia said. "We simply state facts."
"Bullshit. You told me you could eat five pizzas' in one sitting that one time and you only ate three."
"Your American pizzas are not the same as Russian pizza's!" Russia said defensively. "It was not a fair comparison."
"Pizza is pizza. You just can't admit that you lied."
"I did not lie." Russia said, frowning as he tried to concentrate on the game. "You can ask China and he will tell you that I did."
"Why would China know?" America asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"He was the one who ordered the pizza's." Russia explained. "I had wandered into his house while drunk one day and demanded food from him."
America started laughing. "That must have pissed him off."
"Da, it did." Russia said with a slight smile. "If I remember correctly, he had been sleeping and I had woken him up when I had knocked over cooking pans in his kitchen while looking for something to eat."
"But why were you looking for food?"
"I'm not sure." Russia said with a shrug. "I think I ran out of food at my house."
"Wait a second." America said with a thoughtful frown. "You said you were at China's house? But that mean you ate five CHINESE PIZZA'S NOT RUSSIAN PIZZA'S! Yet another LIE!" America yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Russia.
Russia rolled his eye. "It does not matter."
"But you just said that there is a difference in pizza's! So which one is it? Are all pizza's the same or are they all different? Either way you're a liar!" America said smugly.
Russia opened his mouth to argue, then with a frown he closed it. Then he glared at America. "I'm not going to answer you."
"But you already did." America said with a shit eating grin.
Just before Russia could strangle America, the Gameboy turned off.
"Oh dang, the battery must have run out." America said with a wider smile. "Looks like you didn't beat my high score after all. Now ya gotta say something nice about little old me."
Russia considered Killing the loud American and throwing his body into the Hudson river, but instead he sighed. "I need a minute to think about this." Russia said.
"Ouch." America said with a wince. "That actually hurt my feelings dude."
Russia thought for a minute, then finally he said, "You have a nice laugh."
America looked at Russia in surprise. "Huh?"
"You have a nice laugh." Russia repeated.
The corner of America's mouth twitched up, but as he was about to say something Canada called over to them.
"Hey, the pancakes are done! Come and get them hot!" Canada said, holding up a giant stack of pancakes.
"Yes, I live for your pancakes!" America said in excitement as he jumped over the back of the couch and hopped onto one of the bar stools by the bar, spinning a few times for the fun of it.
"Will you be joining us?" Canada asked Russia, as he tipped a few pancakes onto America's plate.
"Ah, no thank you." Russia declined. "I already had something to eat earlier."
"Dude." America said, glaring at Russia and jabbing his fork in his direction. "Sit your ass over here before I slap you."
"America, don't be rude." Canada scolded, whapping his brother over the head with his spatula.
"Ow, hey!" America said, rubbing his head. "Come on, he's never tried one of your pancakes before! I was doing him a favor!"
Canada blinked in surprise, then he turned to face Russia with a thoughtful frown. "What did you have to eat earlier?"
"I had an omelet earlier, and a soft pretzel for lunch." Russia said.
Canada shook his head and grabbed another plate and started stacking pancakes onto it. "That's not much to eat. Come here and have a real meal. Plus, it would be nice if someone new tasted my pancakes. My usual taste tester is a bit biased." Canada said with a smile.
"Not true!" America mumbled through a mouth full of pancakes.
"Uh huh." Canada said, waving Russia over. "Cover your mouth."
Realizing that he didn't have much of a choice, Russia sighed and walked over to the bar, where he sat down next to America, who was now happily covering his pancakes in butter.
"How much syrup do you want on them?" Canada asked, holding up the maple syrup bottle with a soft smile.
"Oh, no th-." Russia started to say, but suddenly he felt America kick him under the table. Annoyed, Russia looked over at America, who was shaking his head slightly. Then America nodded towards the syrup and to him urgently. Glancing at Canada, he noticed Canada had raised an eyebrow at him.
"Uh, I mean just a little please." Russia said, and Canada smiled. "Oh, no worries." As he started to douse the pancakes in syrup, making Russia cringe a bit. "Everyone knows that you can't eat pancakes without a bit of syrup."
"Thank you." Russia said, and hesitantly looking down at the now sickly sweet meal, he took a small forkful and sampled it. To his surprise, he found that it tasted quite good even if it was a bit sweet. "This is very good."
Canada beamed, and America just rolled his eyes, but he smiled. "Well of course they're good. The pancake nation made them."
"That's a new nickname." Canada said with a chuckle as he sat down on the other side of the bar.
"I thought you'd like it." America said with a laugh.
"So," Canada said, taking a bite of his food, "how's your project going Al? Making any progress?"
America suddenly chocked on his food, and coughing violently, he glared at his brother. "Dude! Not here!"
Russia watched in surprise as a frown appeared on Canada's face. "Why not? Don't you have something to say? You could solve your dilemma with three words."
"No, I don't." America snapped a little too quickly, squirming in his seat. "Plus, it's none of your business. I can handle this."
"Clearly." Canada said sarcastically. "I heard from Russia you were up all night working on it. Al, your just over thinking things."
"Yeah, so what?" America asked, desperately trying to tell his brother to shut the hell up with his eyes. "Like I said, this has nothing to do with you! Don't butt in!"
"Hey, you were the one to come to me for advice." Canada pointed out. Shaking his head, he smiled at Russia. "You should ask America about his "project." After all, it does concern-"
Realizing what Canada was doing, America panicked and stood up so fast that he knocked his chair back and clamped his hand over his brother's face. "Will you shut up?!" America shouted almost hysterically.
Russia just sat there in confused silence as the two brothers glared at each other, having a silent argument. After a tense few minutes, America let out a shriek and his hand jerked away from his brother's face like it had been burned.
"Dude, did you just lick my hand?" America asked angerly. "What are you, four?"
"Look, just hurry up with it. Tell him or I will." Canada said with a sigh.
"Tell who what?" Russia asked in confusion. America froze, and Canada smirked. "And that's my queue to leave. Good luck Al. Tell me how it goes." And with that Canada quickly grabbed his bag and ran to the door.
"YOU ASSHOLE! YOU SET ME UP! THIS IS WHY YOU CAME OVER EARLY!" America shouted as he ran after his brother.
"Well, you weren't getting anywhere." Canada said with a scoff. "Honestly, it's not that hard Al. Just apologize. That's what a Canadian would do." And with a final wave, Canada fled.
"I'M NOT A FUCKING CANADIAN!" America shouted angerly.
"I am so confused." Russia muttered. "Were you talking about me?"
"Yes, no, I mean…god damn it." America growled, running an irritated hand through his hair.
"What exactly is this project of yours?" Russia asked, narrowing his eyes at America.
"Look, it's nothing important. Well, maybe it is, but… look it's hard to explain." America said, trying desperately not to look Russia in the eyes.
"What did he mean by apologize?" Russia asked, getting suspicious. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" America defended. "Well, I guess I did do something, but it's not like I did anything illegal."
Russia just gave America an unimpressed look. "That does not comfort me in the slightest."
America made a frustrated noise, then with a sigh he leaned against the bar, refusing to look Russia. "Look, after the taxi incident I did some thinking."
"I'm impressed." Russia said, and America shot him a glare.
"You're not making this any easier you know." America said. "I did some thinking, and I've concluded that I haven't been a very good person to you for the last couple decades. I claim that I can't stand it when people treat people who are different badly, but that's exactly what I've been doing to you for all these years."
Russia eyes were growing wider with each word. America looked away from Russia again, his face turning a faint pink. "And I know that I've been calling you commie for a long time, but to be honest I've only been doing that because I've been a bit bitter towards you. I mean, you haven't been a communist since the 90's. Look, I just wanted to say… I just wanted to say…" America stumbled over the words, struggled to finish the sentence.
Russia just stared at America in disbelief, not daring to believe what was happening.
"I'm sorry." America finally said. "I've been a big fat hypocrite." America's face was fully red now, and he refused to look in Russia's direction. "I just wanted to say that. This doesn't mean I like you anymore than I do now, I just thought maybe I had been a little rude, that's it." And with that, America quickly walked out of the kitchen and to his room, slamming the door behind him. Russia was still staring at the spot where America had just been.
'What the hell just happened.' Russia thought in wonder. Was he dreaming? He pinched the back of his hand, and when nothing happened he sat there in shock. Had America, the proud, never to admit he was wrong American, just apologize to him? Was he messing with him? No, America could be rude, but he would never do something as cruel as to apologize when he didn't mean it. But America apologizing to him?
Russia felt something stir in his chest, and a small giggle escaped him. He tried to suppress it, but he just couldn't stop. It was just so weird, America apologizing. He desperately tried to smother his laughter, not wanting to let America hear him. But, of all the people in the world, America being nice to him. He couldn't help but burst out into laughter, and in a desperate attempt to shut himself up, he stuffed a large amount of pancake into his face. It didn't work. It was another five minutes before he stopped laughing.
"No one is going to believe me." Russia giggled, as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Then he stopped laughing. What the hell was he doing? America had taken the first step in trying to be nice to him, and he was laughing like an idiot. At America, who had probably had to swallow his pride to tell him sorry. And with how big that idiot's ego was, that must have been a big pill to swallow. And he was acting like a jackass. Suddenly feeling ashamed of himself, Russia glanced at America's room. Then seeing America's abandoned pancakes, he sighed.
Picking up the plate, he walked over to America's door and knocked on the door.
"America, your pancakes are getting cold." Russia said awkwardly. He didn't get an answer. "America?" Russia called again. Again, America didn't answer. Sighing, Russia crouched down and put the plate on the floor. "I am putting your food by the door. I will make sure Hero doesn't eat it." He paused for a second, then clearing his throat he added, "And thank you." He heard something move behind the door, but he didn't get a response, which was what he had expected. Standing back up, he made his way to kitchen and picked up his own plate and took it to the couch where Hero was sleeping. Picking up the remote, he turned on the T.V, and if he heard America's bedroom door open and close, and noticed the plate was missing, he didn't react to it.
A/N: HELLO EVERYONE, I'M BACK! I took a break to recharge my writing skills, and to get my life together. So far, I've got my shit together. Still have stuff to do, but I think I'm doing better. So, I wonder how Russia and America are going to be around each other now that wheels are in motion. I wonder if Canada is going to be killed by America. Probably not. The pancake nation was just annoyed by his brothers lack of skills in the art of apologizing.