Chapter 5

( Russia's POV Again)

Russia woke up earlier than usual. He had set his alarm early yesterday night; he wanted to try his best to get there before Germany. He hopped out of bed and walked towards his closet. Russia never really liked dressing formally, but he wanted to make a good first impression. He finally decided on a blue and white- striped sweater and comfortable sweatpants. Not exactly what he had in mind, bit it would have to do. He pit on his clothes and went to his bathroom. He combed through his hair and brushed his teeth. He put on his ushanka and coat and was about to head out when he heard a voice.

"Where are you off to so early?" He asked.

Clearly Russia wasn't leaving without answering.

" I have...something important to do."

" Does it have something to do with your crush?"

"Maybe.."

Ukraine snickered but asked no further questions. Russia went outside and walked to Japan's place. He hoped she was up; they had planned to get to school together the night before.He rang the doorbell. At first there was no response, but he heard rustling inside. The door opened, and Japan was at the door.

"Hey, ready to go?" Russia asked.

"Yep!"

Russia and Japan walked to school. It was chili, and the breeze was brisk and cold. Japan had put on a hoodie, but Russia thought he saw her shiver a few times. He, on the other hand, was always dressed for cool weather. After several minutes they reached the school. Russia pulled open the doors, letting Japan walk in before him. Russia jogged down the hallways and towards the lockers. For a second, Russia thought he saw someone standing in front of Germany's locker. But the country standing by it walked past Russia and Japan with an "excuse me".

Russia opened his backpack and pulled out the note. He slipped it in Germany's locker and backed away. He breathed out a sigh of relief. Now all he had to do was wait.

Russia went through his first class worriedly. What if he didn't accept? What if he wasn't even here today? What if he thought Russia was a creep? Russia put his head in his hands. Japan rubbed his shoulder. He was anxious.

"Hey, everything will be fine. It'll work out, I promise."

Russia nodded but said nothing. He took several deep breaths in order to calm himself down. He had to be confident and hope everything would turn out fine. He tried to focus on his work.

°∆°∆°∆

Russia noticed Japan was late for their class. She was usually there right on time, so he wondered where she was. However, when she finally walked in, she did so with a big smile on her face.

"Where were you?" He asked.

" Outside the classroom. I have good news for you!"

"What?"

" I met someone who knows your little love interest!"

Russia rolled his eyes at Japan's comment, but he was genuinely interested.

" How do you know they know him?"

" They were walking down the hallway together."

Russia wasn't sure why, but he felt his heart wrench slightly. Was he jealous?

That can't be right he thought to himself. It's not like like him..right?

Japan must've seen the look on his face.

" Don't worry, they're only childhood friends. Guy looks like a tofu blob, but he's pretty nice. He said that Germany is really, really shy, but he agreed to do his best to convince him to come meet you!"

Russia felt much better. He felt like he may actually have a change. With this fact, he went through his next two periods with more confidence.

After two hours, it was time for lunch. Russia grabbed his lunch from his locker and headed outside. Japan was going to see if Germany was coming, so he would be on his own for a bit. Russia grabbed the ladder and climbed it. He sat on the roof and waited for the news. Time passed so slowly while he was alone. It seemed like he had been waiting there for such a long time. He began to worry that Germany wasn't coming. Where was Japan?

After several long minutes, Japan came bursting out of the front doors.

" Don't panic, but he's coming. They're on their way now. He's bringing Tofu blob with him to walk him out, but after that you two will be on your own. Just be cool. Relax and be yourself. Don't make it too awkward."

Russia quickly straightened out his coat. He brushed himself off and took a deep breath. Japan left in a hurry. Shortly after, Germany and his friend walked out. They walked right below the part of the roof where Russia sat. He called down to them to grab the ladder to get up. Russia saw the friend help with the ladder, then pat Germany on the back. He then left to go back inside. Germany shakily climbed up and sat on the roof next to Russia. He could feel his heart beating faster. Germany had come up without saying anything, so he decided to break the ice.

" Hi! It's Russia! Remember me from the other day? I wanted to get to know you better!"

"Y-yeah, I remember!" Germany replied.

Germany seemed really nervous. Russia hoped he wasn't stressing him out.

"So uh..you're new?"

"Yeah...I-I moved here a week before school started.."

" What do you think of it so far?"

"It's okay, I guess. I found an old friend of mine."

"That's nice. What do you like to do in your free time?"

Germany hesitated. Russia thought he saw him wince.

"I-I like to draw.." He said.

Russia saw that Germany had a sketchpad in his arms. He didn't want to make Germany any more nervous, but he was curious.

"C-can you show me some of your drawings?"

Germany looked even more nervous. Russia felt awful for asking. Germany pushed his glasses up his face, and Russia felt his heart speed up again.

"S-sure.." He finally said. He flipped open the cover of his sketchpad. Germany showed Russia his drawings. Many of them were birds, but there were others of trees, sunsets, and other natural things. Russia was genuinely impressed by his skills. Everything was so detailed, almost life-like.

"They're beautiful" Russia said. Germany blushed slightly and smiled. He had a shy smile that barely showed his unnaturally sharp teeth.

"You're smile is cute" Russia said without thinking. Germany looked at him in disbelief. Russia pulled his ushanka over his face. Why did he say that? He was out of his mind!

"I-I'm sorry!" He said under his hat.

"Oh i-i'ts fine! He replied.

After Russia had made sure he wasn't blushing anymore, he readjusted his ushanka. He was reaching over for his lunch when he realized that Germany didn't have one with him.

"Did you not bring your lunch?" He asked.

"N-no.."

"Do you want to share mine?" Russia asked, pulling out a thick slice of honey cake.

"O-ok!"

Russia took out a knife and sliced the cake in half. He gave Germany one half. He had only brought one fork. He gave it to Germany despite his protests. Germany seemed preoccupied with his slice of cake, so Russia looked him over. He was rather short and fairly thin. He had this shy and sweet look on his face. Russia wondered if he liked cuddles..

Germany must've noticed Russia staring at him, because he suddenly stopped eating and turned to look at him. Russia, embarrassed, looked away. He sat up and stretched. He put his hand on the roof, and it slid and touched Germany's. Germany looked at Russia and blushed, but didn't pull away immediately. Russia blushed back.

"S-sorry!" Germany said before pulling away.

"Oh no i-it's fine!" Russia replied, still flustered. "Oh, I forgot to ask: what's your family like?"

Germany tensed up.

"D-do you promise not to hate me if I tell you?"

"Yeah."

" My father is Reich."

Russia was taken aback. This sweet country was part of his father's worst enemy's bloodline? It didn't matter to Russia, but still...

"Oh. Well, I don't mind!"

"You don't?

"No, not at all!"

Russia grabbed Germany's hands and held them in his. Germany let out a small gasp in surprise. Russia felt his face getting really hot, but he didn't let go.

" Hey, thanks for coming out here with me. A friend of mine knew your friend, but he said you were shy. I honestly didn't know if you'd actually come."

" It's no problem! I'm not really used to people noticing me, let alone inviting me to eat lunch with them! Thanks for inviting me up here-it was nice."

Germany giggled, and Russia smiled at him. There was a faint ringing coming from inside. It was time to go back inside. Russia's eyes met Germany's, and they held hands for another moment. Germany finally let go and began heading back down the ladder. Russia headed down after him. Germany was about to run inside when he stopped and went back to Russia.

"Hey..c-can we be friends? I know we just met, but you seem really nice and-"

"Yeah, of course we can!" Russia said.

Germany gave Russia a shy smile before heading inside. Russia stood outside for a few moments longer. He sighed happily to himself before heading inside.

°∆°∆°∆

"So, how'd it go?" Japan asked in their last period of the day.

"Really nice! He's really sweet, and he draws a lot. He has this cute stutter, and this really sweet smile, and-"

Russia saw Japan smirk.

"You like him, don't you?"

Russia pressed his face into his coat hood. He couldn't deny it.

" Yeah, I do."

Japan had a look of pure satisfaction on his face.

"And.." Russia started.

"What?"

"We...held hands..Well, more like I held his hands. But he didn't let go, so..."

" Oooooh! You really, really like him!"

" Well, he asked to be friends, so we're just friends for now!"

Japan giggled.

"Okay.."

Russia felt funny all the way home. He didn't think Germany liked him the way Russia liked him. He was going to try his best to keep these feelings at bay. He didn't want to ruin their relationship by scaring him away. There was no doubting that there were feelings there, no matter his much Russia tried to convince himself.

" He's on your mind, isn't he"? Japan asked before they parted.

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you guys will be able to build some sort of relationship!"

Waving to Russia, Japan went inside her house. Russia walked the rest for the way on his own, wondering where Germany lived. When he got home, Russia went to his room. He opened the door to see Ukraine sitting in his bed expectantly.

"What do you want, Ukraine?" Russia asked suspiciously.

" I want to know how your lunch date went!" He replied with a naughty smile.

"It wasn't a date. I just wanted to get to know him better, 1-on-1. But it went well, I think...we held hands."

Ukraine lost it.

"Oooh, Russia's got a boyfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend! We're just friends."

"Maybe to him you guys are. But I think someone has caught feelings."

Russia huffed. He wasn't wrong.

"So, what's your next step, huh?" Ukraine asked.

" I dunno yet..I'll figure it out. I figured I'll take things slow for his sake."

Ukraine smiled but said nothing more. He left Russia's room. Russia laid on his bed and covered his face with his hands. He would text Japan later to see what he was gonna do next. The fact was certain:

He was in love.

(Hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was meant to be out yesterday, but I wasn't done writing it lol. Again, holds/ italics will be added in later tonight, so don't be too annoyed. Hope all the people reading are enjoying the story so far!)

Story word count: 1,947 words