Thanks to Bakla for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
SlovZeal: Teddy Bear
"Here you go," Samuel said, handing Fletcher a small gift.
The New Zealander smiled when he saw that it was a small stuffed bear. The tenth so far. This was starting to become a habit.
"Thanks, Teddy," Fletcher said.
Samuel looked confused for a moment.
"'Teddy'?" he repeated.
Fletcher's smile widened.
"Since you're always giving me a stuffed bear, I think it's only fair," Fletcher explained.
Samuel smiled.
"If you're going to call me that, then I'll call you 'Lambchop'," the Slovakian said.
Fletcher mulled it over for a bit before shrugging, inviting Samuel into his apartment.
I was contemplating the explanation of couples calling each other almost exclusively by pet names when I decided to do this. I have never heard my parents call each other by name. My dad calls my mom 'vroutjie' and my mom calls my dad 'beertjie' ('vrou' means 'wife' or 'woman', and 'beer' means 'bear', with '-tjie' being a diminutive form, making it a bit more affectionate). We also refer to stuffed animals in general as 'beertjies'. I remember asking my mom about it when I was little, and she explained that my dad would always give her a stuffed animal on a date, so she started calling him that. Considering the fact that they stored them in my room, I understood how often he did it. He still does it for Valentine's Day, and he also got in the habit of giving my sister and I stuffed animals on that day.