This Damn Hat

Chapter 21

Canada P.O.V

A few days have already passed and I couldn't think of anything to give Russia. I've spent hours scrolling through Google but so far, none of the ideas seem good.

I was thinking of making him some pancakes, but I don't think that would be genuine enough. Besides, I don't even know if he likes pancakes.

Actually, I don't know a lot about him.

I frowned. What could I give someone who was practically a stranger to me? We aren't close friends, but I still want to give him a good gift.

I owe it to him. I didn't look past his cold exterior when he broke up with America and never tried to understand his side. I never asked, so I never knew.

I feel really bad. I thought he was a stuck-up jerk who thought about nobody but himself. In truth, he cared about everyone but himself. He distanced himself away from us because he didn't want us to find out how he truly felt. Why did I judge him when I didn't know anything about him?

It's a bit strange, isn't it? I barely knew Russia so I would have no reason to reach out to him. Yet, I feel guilty. I could've done something to stop him from making the choice he did. I could've done something to show him that we wanted him to live.

I may not be close to him, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't care for him.

I still somewhat consider him as a friend, even though we only had a few small conversations here and there.

Speaking of those conversations, there was one of those that stood out. It was really dark that night and me, Ame and Russia were walking home together after having dinner with a friend.

It was a chilly, winter night. America made the mistake of not bringing a thicker jacket despite having a low tolerance for freezing temperatures and ended up barely being able to walk due to the cold.

"H-How the hell can you two stand the c-cold?" America asked, his teeth chattering

"It's probably because we have jackets and can handle low temperatures a lot better than you." I smirked as I handed him my scarf.

"Gee, thanks." He said sarcastically, wrapping the scarf messily around his neck.

"It's better than nothing, right?"

We continued walking with America constantly shivering and hugging himself. A few seconds later, Russia suddenly stopped. Me and America, noticing Russia standing still, turned around in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"Rus, you good?"

Russia paused before sighing, taking off his thick and fluffy jacket. Before anyone could protest, he placed the jacket on America.

"Huh? Rus, what?" America asked, surprised.

I was surprised too. Russia's jacket was the only thing keeping him warm aside from a turtleneck sweater and long jeans.

"Russia, are you sure you want to give your jacket to America? I know he's your boyfriend, but I wouldn't want you to get a cold."

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." Russia waved our disagreements away dismissively. Although, this was an obvious lie since he began folding his arms to warm himself up.

"No, take it back. It's my own fault I didn't bring a jacket, I would hate for you to get sick because of me." America objected.

"It's fine, really. Anyways, it's dark out tonight and we can see a lot of stars. Didn't you say that you wanted to learn about the constellations some time ago?" Russia quickly changed the topic.