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As Ivan left the meeting, his eyes met Matthew. All of the other nations continued walking by, but Matthew stood completely still. He and the polar bear in his arms stared up at the sky—up at the falling snow. Snowflakes fell on Matthew’s hair, decorating it like a crown of sparkling diamonds. Ivan approached him.
“It is beautiful, isn’t it?”
Matthew yelped and whipped his head towards him.
“Sorry,” Ivan frowned, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“N-no, you didn’t… You didn’t scare me. I was just surprised. Sorry…” Matthew’s face was beet red. Ivan wondered if it was more from the cold or embarrassment.
“No need to apologize. I was the one who snuck up on you.” Ivan glanced up, taking in the sight Matthew was previously admiring. Snowflakes fluttered down onto his eyelashes.
“U-um… yeah.” Matthew rubbed an arm. “Earlier I said it was a nice day out, and Alfred called me weird.”
Ivan’s face darkened at the mention of Alfred. “He is the last person who should be calling anyone weird.”
Matthew laughed, but then quickly tried to cover it up with a cough. Ivan liked Matthew’s laugh. Nothing like the loud, ear-piercing cackle of his brother. But something soft and sweet, like Matthew himself.
Matthew sat down on a nearby bench and put Kumajiro down on his lap. Ivan started fiddling with his fingers, wondering if this was his cue to leave. Matthew wasn’t telling him to go away… But then again, Matthew wasn’t one to often voice his annoyance or discomfort.
At the very least, Ivan could stop towering over him. Ivan took a seat… and then realized getting this close would probably make him even more uncomfortable.
Was the bench really that small, or was Ivan really that big? From here, he could see Matthew’s long blond eyelashes, deep purple eyes, and breath as he slowly exhaled.
Ivan looked away.
The snow came down harder. More and more snowflakes adding to the already tall piles on the ground. Ivan tightened the scarf around his neck a little more.
And then something hit his arm. Something cold and soft and a bit wet. Ivan looked over at Matthew, who seemed to be making an effort to not look back at him.
“Did you hit me with a snowball?”
“Hm?” Matthew glanced back with a look of feigned innocence. “Me? No, it wasn’t me. I-I actually got hit as well, so it must’ve been someone else hiding somewhere.”
“But you did hit him,” Kumajiro said.
“Kuma!” Matthew squeaked. “Don’t be a tattletale! I-I mean… It wasn’t me!”
“Really?”
“Yup…”
Ivan realized how bad Matthew was at lying. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching up. He thought about how much he wanted to hear Matthew’s laugh again.
“It was probably Alfred. This is the type of shit he’d pull. I bet he’s hiding behind that bush as we speak.” Matthew stood up and stepped towards the bush. “Alfred, we know you’re there, you idiot! Stop hiding!”
Ivan took the opportunity given to him. As Matthew was turned away, he quickly made a snowball and tossed it.
A little too hard.
The snowball whizzed towards the back of Matthew’s head. He really didn’t mean to throw it that hard! The snowball exploded as it struck. Ivan’s breath hitched.
He waited for the reaction. Waited for Matthew to get upset, in his own passive way, and then leave him. Ivan silently cursed at himself.
Matthew slowly turned around… with a wide grin on his face. Ivan blinked at the unexpected expression.
“Oh, you wanna go?” Matthew scoffed playfully as he placed Kumajiro down on the bench. The polar bear paid no mind, sticking out his tiny tongue and letting a snowflake land on it.
Ivan smirked. “Maybe.”
It was like a switch had been flipped. In an instant they both bent down and began making their snow ammunition.
Matthew was quicker, and Ivan got a ball of snow straight to the face. Matthew cheered.
His celebration didn’t last long. Ivan threw two snowballs—one right after the other—at Matthew. The first one missed, and the second one hit him in the chest.
Matthew gasped and brought a hand to where he’d been struck, as if he’d just been shot by a bullet. “I’ve been hit!” he exclaimed and slowly sank down to his knees.
Ivan chuckled. “What are you doing?”
“I’m dying!” Matthew yelled and then flopped dramatically down into the snow. Ivan laughed harder.
Now it was Matthew’s turn to take the opportunity given to him. Ivan was too busy laughing to notice Matthew creating another snowball. He chucked it and hit Ivan in the chest. Ivan yelped in surprise and stumbled back. Matthew’s eyes twinkled mischievously.
“That is it,” Ivan huffed. He made another snowball and started sprinting towards Matthew.
Matthew shrieked and ran in the opposite direction. Unfortunately for him, Ivan had longer legs and was easily catching up.
And then Matthew slipped.
There must’ve been a patch of ice, or maybe Matthew just tripped on his own feet. Whatever it was had his body falling closer and closer to the cold, hard ground.
Ivan was just close enough to catch him in time.
“Matvey, are you al—”
Matthew laughed. That sweet laugh, like a beautiful, melodic bell. Ivan smiled down at him, noting the way the skin around his eyes wrinkled as he giggled.
“I-I’m sorry I’m…” Matthew could barely get a word in. “I’m totally acting immature right now.”
“It is okay. That was fun.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Matthew’s eyes trailed down, and suddenly his cheeks grew red. Ivan followed his gaze and realized his hands were gripping tightly on either side of Matthew’s waist. His own cheeks became warm.
“What are you doing, eh?” Kumajiro came padding over.
“Nothing!” Matthew squeaked.
“I’m sorry…” Ivan let go. Matthew stood up straight and dusted some snow off of his hoodie. They refused to make eye contact.
“N-no worries.”
A silence fell between them. The two men stood across from each other, neither uttering a single word. Ivan peeked back over at Matthew, who was awkwardly shuffling his feet in the snow.
“He’s scared of you,” a voice in back of Ivan’s head said. “He doesn’t want you near him.”
He frowned. “I should be going—”
“Did you want to come to my place?!” Matthew blurted out at a volume Ivan didn’t even know he was capable of. Matthew’s eyes went wide, and he smacked a hand over his mouth. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt you! W-what were you saying?”
“I…” It took Ivan a moment to register the question. “You want me to go to your house?”
“Only if you want to!” Matthew held out his hands. “It’s your choice! I’m not gonna like, force you or anything! I just thought it’d be nice b-because we’re all covered in snow and stuff, and we’re in my country, and my house isn’t too far away, and I can make some hot chocolate, and we can sit by the fireplace and just chill, and now I’m realizing maybe that was weird of me to ask, so sorry, you can just ignore—”
“I will come.”
“Oh, really?!” Matthew looked up at him with wide eyes. Ivan tried to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat.
“Yes. That sounds nice.”
“Yeah. Okay, yeah, cool.” Matthew gave a thumbs-up. “Well… let’s go.”
“Let’s go. I’m hungry, eh,” Kumajiro said—already walking away.
—
“I have to go get some things and make hot chocolate, Kumayoro. You stay in here with Ivan.” Matthew placed Kumajiro down before making his way out of the room.
Ivan sat on the couch, trying not to feel out of place. He was wrapped up in a fluffy blanket that Matthew insisted on putting around him earlier.
Kumajiro hopped on his lap. Ivan immediately froze, not wanting to risk even the slightest bit of movement in case it would scare the cub. Kumajiro laid down and curled up into a little ball on top of him.
Ivan hesitantly reached a hand out, letting it hover over Kumajiro’s head for a second. After making his decision, he brought the hand down and gently petted the polar bear’s head.
“Okay, I brought— Oh.” Matthew paused and stared down at them.
“What is it?” Ivan asked.
“He’s never… He’s never gone on anyone else’s lap before.” After he said that, he smiled. “He likes you.”
“He does?” Ivan looked down at Kumajiro. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was slowing down, seemingly falling asleep.
“Yeah… Oh, here!” Matthew handed him a towel. “You still have snow on your head.”
“Thank you.” Ivan took the towel from him and ruffled it through his hair.
“Of course! I’m going to go make the hot chocolate now.”
Ivan watched him scurry off in the direction of the kitchen. Some of his earlier uneasiness was starting to dissipate. It was hard to feel tense in such a cozy home. It was dim, and the only light came from a few candles scattered around the room and a fireplace in front of the couch.
Some amount of time passed—Ivan wasn’t keeping track—when Matthew came back with two steaming cups in his hands. He handed one to Ivan, and Ivan took it with a smile.
He honestly preferred hot tea to hot chocolate, but on the drive here Matthew kept talking about his hot chocolate and the “secret ingredient” he put in it. So Ivan felt obligated to try it.
Matthew sat down next to him and wrapped himself in a blanket of his own. They were like two caterpillars wrapped in cocoons sitting side by side.
Ivan was about to bring the cup to his lips but was stopped by Matthew yelling, “Wait a sec!”
“What?”
“I didn’t add the secret ingredient yet!” Matthew reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a small bottle of dark golden liquid.
“Is that maple syrup?”
“Of course it is. Us Canadians put maple syrup in everything.” Matthew popped open the cap. “Not actually, but hot chocolate is good with it. Hold out your cup.”
Ivan did as he was told, and Matthew poured syrup into his drink. Then he poured some into his own cup.
And poured.
And poured.
He poured until the bottle was empty. Matthew blushed as he caught Ivan’s stare.
“I uh… I like maple syrup.”
“I can see that,” Ivan joked. He took a sip of the hot chocolate. It was just hot enough to warm him up but not so hot that it burnt his tongue. He had to admit it wasn’t bad.
It was very, very sweet, though. Almost too sweet.
“How is it?” Matthew looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes. Ivan knew he couldn’t disappoint him.
“Good. It is very yummy with the maple syrup.”
“Yes!” Matthew cheered as he pumped his fist. “I knew you’d like it!”
After that, it grew quiet between them. The only sound filling the room was their sips and the crackling of the fire. Every now and then Kumajiro would mumble something and shift on Ivan’s lap. A quick pat on the head would settle him back down.
Ivan had accepted the fact that Matthew didn’t want him to leave. In fact, he seemed to be actively seeking out his company… Was it just him, or was Matthew scooting closer to him?
“There’s really nothing better than being wrapped up in a blanket, drinking hot chocolate, and sitting in front of a fireplace. Um…” Matthew tapped the side of his cup. Clink. Clink. Clink. “Thanks for coming over. Sorry if it was a bit weird of me to ask since we’ve never really, y’know… hung out before.”
Was it weird? Social cues and etiquette sometimes flew over Ivan’s head. He supposed it wouldn’t be weird if neither of them considered it weird.
“I appreciate you inviting me over. Your house is very warm and cozy. It is very… you.”
Matthew smiled gently. “Thanks. Um… I wanted to ask. What does Matvey mean?”
“Hm?” Ivan tilted his head.
“Matvey. You called me it earlier when I almost fell.”
“It is the Russian version of your name. I wasn’t even aware I called you it.”
“Oh, that makes sense. It sounds nice when coming out of your mouth and—” Matthew flushed. “Oh wait, that sounded weird. God, Matthew, stop being weird... It’s just… well, you can keep calling me it. If you’d like…”
“Okay, Matvey.”
Matthew went as red as a tomato. Ivan chuckled, almost feeling bad for making him blush like that. Almost.
Another silence fell between them, and… yes, Matthew was definitely subtly trying to inch closer to him. Ivan quirked an eyebrow.
“Are you—”
“Do you want to hold hands?”
“What?” Ivan was caught off guard by the question. He was also caught off guard by how much he suddenly needed to know if Matthew’s hands were as soft as the rest of him.
“I-I—” Matthew stuttered. It seemed like there were a million things he wanted to say. Either explain himself or take the words back. Instead he simply said, “Can we…?”
Ivan didn’t respond. Not verbally, at least. He intertwined his fingers with Matthew’s. At that moment it was confirmed: Matthew’s hands were in fact as soft as the rest of him.
“Wow…” Matthew muttered under his breath, staring at their interlocked fingers in amazement.
“Solnyshko.”
“Ah…” Matthew’s cheeks somehow got pinker. “What does that mean?”
“Sunshine.”
“Oh… Cool…”
Ivan chuckled at the response. He decided to have mercy on poor Matthew and stopped with the pet names… for now.
Another silence. As the sun began to set—casting the room in cool shadows—they sat there. Ivan had a small polar bear asleep in his lap, a cute boy at his side holding his hand, and a cup of overly sweet hot chocolate.
Ivan thought about how he wanted to spend every day like this.