Canadian, Please! (A red velvet pancakes fic)

Chapter Five

Matthew sat facing the window on his bed as the bus rolled away from Niagra Falls. He really liked and had gotten used to the roar of the water. It was actually a bit soothing. Like a song, kind of.

Matt interrupted Matthew's thoughts by entering the room they shared. He could hear him as he rustled tumultuously through his suitcase.

"Matthew?" He asked after a bit.

"Yes..?"

"Look."

Matthew turned around to see his roommate holding out a small stuffed bear. "I got you this after dinner last night," he said in a shaky voice, cheeks turned a light pink, "Because you like polar bears."

"T-thank you!" Matthew said, face turned a cherry red, but lit up with a smile.

He took the bear and looked at it happily. He looked up at Matt who was also grinning.

Matthew stopped for a second. "Wait, he needs a name!"

They stopped for a second in deep thought. Matt came up with one in a flash.

"How about Kumajiro...?" He suggested.

Matthew nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I really like that..."

He sat the bear down on his bed and stood up to face Matt. He decided to take a chance and hug him. He mustered all his courage together and wrapped his arms around him.

Matthew was surprised when he felt the arms of Matt on his back. What suprised him even more was his pleasant scent. Maple syrup.

The two fidgeted awkwardly out of the hug after about a second and exited into the main bus room. Mr. Steilsson had the radio set the pop tunes and Oliver was scowling at him, telling him to turn on Katy Perry. Natalia and Vash were nowhere to be found, presumably in their rooms.

Matthew sat across from Matt at the small excuse for a table, proud of himself how brave he was for hugging Matt like that, and how Matt had hugged him back. Thoughts raced through his mind like bullets.

'Did he actually like me back? No, I doubt that. He's probably just being nice.'

His thoughts were stopped by Matt.

"Can you play Crazy 8's?" He asked, pulling out a deck of cards from his pocket.

"N-no, sorry."

"I'll teach you then."

Matthew was suprised by his determination to play a silly card game with him. It was kind of cute..

"You and I get five cards each," Matt taught, dealing five to both himself and his friend. "There will be a card on this separate deck. You will put down a card that either has a five or a diamond. If you don't have anything like that, draw until you do."

Matt flopped a five of hearts. "The eight card allows you to change the suit."

Matthew nodded in understanding and placed down a queen of hearts. He turned out to be quite good at the game, which suprised Matt, who just passed it off as beginners luck.

The game ended with the smaller boy as victor, who smiled proudly.

"Play again?" He asked with a grin.

"Why not?"

They played for what seemed like hours, blocking out everything in their surroundings. Their sixth game stopped when Mr. Steilsson yelled out that they had arrived in Toronto.

It was about five, so they weren't going to go explore until tomorrow, but it was exciting to be in such a cool city. Matthew couldn't wait to see many things- The CN tower, The Hockey Hall of Fame, watch the Maple Leafs play, and other fun things his chaperone had planned out.

((TO BE CONTINUED))