RUSAME - one shots

vodka marshmallows [III]

By the time Ame's s'more was assembled (stale graham crackers, burnt marshmallows, and a piece hacked off of the Hershey's kiss with the fire poker), Rus's kebabs were charred to perfection. Without a word, he handed one of them to America.

"Oooh, it's like a naked burger," he cooed over the steaming chunks of beef, and waved the stick in the air to cool it. "If I eat this that means you gotta try a s'more."

"I would die in seconds," Rus replied drily, tearing a cube off of his skewer and eating it whole.

"C'mooon! You might love it!"

"Let me propose truce." Russia pressed his fingertips together, assuming diplomat stance. "I will try a fired marshmallow as long as you try shashlyk."

"Kay. Deal." They shook on it.

Squinting shrewdly at the marshmallows on his skewering stick, Russia eyed the flames.

"You must catch it alight?"

America tipped his head side to side. "I mean... if you're boring you can do the prissy way where you kinda tiptoe around the coals and get it brown and toasty but not on fire. But I for one think that's kind of cringe."

Russia adjusted the marshmallows on the stick. "Is that because you cannot do it?"

America sputtered and fell silent, and Rus grinned at him sideways before inserting the stick into a gap in the logs, above coals the color of lava. Sure enough, it was possible to crisp the sugar on the outside of the marshmallow into a gentle brown, puffing it up with air and heat and making the edges bubble; all it took was a bit of patience, which explained America's failure handily. But when Russia pulled them out perfect at last, he wrinkled his nose. It was a bland victory.

"You are right," he said abruptly. "Boring. I have better idea."

Unless you were America, marshmallows were disappointingly nonflammable. Marshmallows soaked in Russian Standard vodka for ten minutes, on the other hand, went up like fireworks the second they were within a foot of the flames, in towering, sparkling infernos of blue-purple-orange. America cheered, delighted with the pyrotechnics, as Russia raised the stick to his lips and blew the flames out with a flourish.

"Chert vozmi, da."*

The charred crust, steaming slightly, gave a satisfying crunch under Russia's teeth, giving way to a cloying, gooey center, backed by the familiar underbite of alcohol. America was as good as his word: roasted marshmallows kind of ruled. Speaking of America, there were stars in his eyes that had not gone out since he had seen the marshmallow go up in flames.

"Me next," he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I wanna do one."

Some part of Rus said this was a bad idea, but he speared the next dripping marshmallow on on another skewer stick and handed it over anyway and watched America, with manic glee, set it alight and burn it nearly to ash and then eat the entire thing despite his wrinkled nose in order to save appearances. However much alcohol had survived the purging by fire was, by some miracle sent from the heavens on high, enough to make America drowsy and clumsy and calm but not melancholy like he usually became on any amount of anything.

On the meandering, sleepy trek back to the tent, however, he stopped short and threw his head back all at once.

"Look, Russy," he whispered, looping one arm through Russia's, bumping nonsensically against his chest. "Stars."

Above them in the cradle of the black velvet sky burned a million trillion pinpricks of flaming light, of nerve, lofty and far-flung in cold and singing pockets of deep space known only to themselves, wild, disarrayed, and gloriously alive.

— —

translations:

*chert vozmi, da: this is im pretty sure the literal translation of Hell Yeah im not sure if its correct i dont have enough bars to look it up

a/n: my disclaimers are that I don't Know if they don't Roast marsh mallows anywhere in russia i just found this four year old post in a Trip Advisor forum where some russian people wree like 'no dawg... what would even make you think of that' and also I have literally no clue if Vodka Marshmallows En Flambe would work in any kind of way shape or form so probably dont go and try that at home ngl tbh its liturgy three AM what am i doing anymore bruh

[sry guys i wrote that a/n like literally 2 months ago on this road trip while my siblings had a WWE level brawl in the backseat at 1 in the morning,. dont hold me accountable for anything on here please & thank u]