Week 1: Matthew/Ivan

(Here goes nothing~)

Matthew couldn’t help but feel awkward as he waited for Ivan to arrive. He had heard that his date had a liking for sunflowers, though there was something to be said about carrying a giant flower as tall as oneself. And in public, nonetheless. But what was done was done and he could do nothing but hum nervously to himself as he waited.

After forty-five minutes passed by, he began to worry. Did he get the location wrong? Was Ivan waiting for him somewhere else entirely? Where were they even going? Was he underdressed? Overdressed? Why did he arrive an hour early according to his watch—oh.

He laughed; in his rush to get ready, he had forgotten to take the time into account. This wasn't exactly one of his smartest moments. Oh well, as long as he hadn’t made another mistake to mess this up, Matthew would be perfectly fine with looking like a weirdo with a giant flower for a few more minutes.

Ivan clutched the brass samovar tightly, willing himself to keep forward. He had never been on a date. He had courted a female yes, but that was completely different. He had forgone a suite, this was a date not a business meeting, and had settled on a all black button up/slack combo with a gray scarf. He wondered if he was under dressed....

The first thing Ivan spotted was the brilliant yellow of the giant sunflower. He stopped in the middle of the street to stare. It was huge to say the least and was almost as tall as the man holding it. He started forward and came to a stop in front of the shorter man with what he hoped was a kind smile.

"Privet Matvey, I hope I am not late?"

Matthew spotted Ivan perhaps fifteen minutes after he noticed the time. Though he was still nervous, at least he no longer had to worry about getting the location wrong or showing up over or under dressed. Matthew returned the smile at Ivan’s greeting, answering, “You’re right on time, actually!”

He looked at Ivan, then back at the large sunflower for a moment before adding, “This is for you…er, if it’s too much of an inconvenience, I can carry it around, if you like.” Matthew had tried to find a smaller one, but that proved to be surprisingly difficult. He was lucky enough to just find this one.

“So is there anyplace specific you want to go? I’m pretty much open to anything, I think,” he said, smiling again.

Ivan handed over the samovar and lifted the flower out of Matthews hand.

"Thank you~ It is not cumbersome at all~ And I vould not be against Greek if you are up to it." He fidgeted nervously with his scarf while trying to look calm and collected. It was a well honed skill if he did say so himself and he was sure he came across as confidant.

"Greek sounds great," Matthew said, then added, a bit embarrassed, "Um... But I hope you won't mind leading the way." He knew himself too well and could tell when his nervousness would throw off his sense of direction.

Matthew looked at the samovar, the back at Ivan. "Hold on, is this for...?" Well, if this was a gift, it definitely made him seem cheap in comparison. Or maybe it wasn't even for him and in that case he just seemed stupid. Or maybe-

Alright, he really needed to stop thinking like that. Although he'd be nervous no matter what, his thoughts certainly weren't helping. Speaking of being nervous, he wondered how Ivan could appear so calm while he was practically freaking out. Matthew hoped it didn't show.

(gdi, why can't I ever write less Dx)

( I think I write to little!)

"Ah! Ve can look it up on here, my boss got me a new phone~" He pulled out the sleek black gadget and fiddled it with it for a moment before handing it to Matthew.

"I do not think I know how to use it..." Ivan could feel the flush creeping up his cheeks. That brick wall had never seemed so interesting. "And the samovar is for you...I did not know vhat to get you..."

“It is? I love it,” Matthew said, smiling, and though he truly did love the gift, he figured he should be the one paying to make up for it. That is, if they could find the place to begin with.

Matthew fumbled around with the device, frowning a bit. He himself still had a pathetic excuse for a phone, so this was somewhat new to him. He was able to figure it out, though it took longer than he would have liked.

“According to this nifty little map thing,” he said, squinting at the screen, “there should be a place…a block away.” In fact, according to this little map thing, he had passed it without knowing, but he was embarrassed enough as it was without sharing that little fact.

(Naw, you're fine ;3;)

"That is good, ve do not need to valk far~" Ivan pocketed his phone and filled Matthews empty hand with his own. He was glad his gloves stopped his hands from shaking. His date seemed so confident! Ivan smiled and tugged gently at Matvys hand.

"Lead the vay~"

When Ivan took his hand, Matthew had the feeling that his blush was obvious. Despite this, he was able to smile back easily, though he was too much of a nervous wreck to look directly at Ivan while doing so.

"I guess I’ll lead, then!”

Matthew started off in one direction, but once realizing they were going the wrong way, he quickly made a one-eighty turn. He tried to laugh it off, although his laughter sounded more nervous than he had meant it to. Luckily, they weren’t too far from their destination and there wasn’t much room for him to make more dumb mistakes before they arrived.

Ivan chuckled to himself when Matthew did an abrupt about face, leading them back past their meeting place and beyond. He was so cute~

The restaurant was a small hole in the wall kind of place with tables littering the sidewalk and allowing chatting patrons to enjoy the evening air. The crisp mediterranean smells wafting out onto the sidewalk drew Ivan in like a moth to the proverbial flame.

Ivan's ears were assaulted with a myriad of sounds from Greek being shouted across the packed room to laughter and the clattering of dishes and chinking of cups. All in all it was a most pleasant atmosphere not unlike home.

The restaurant was small, which was a definite plus. Matthew had always thought that larger places gave him the uneasy feeling of being invisible in a crowd, so in cases like these, less was more.

They were able to get a table easily and Matthew sat down before placing the samovar beside his feet with extreme care. This involved ducking his head under the table for a moment and on his way back up, he bumped his head against it. He winced slightly though he tried his best to play it off smoothly.

“So,” Matthew started, deciding to completely ignore his second mishap within minutes, “how have you been?”

Ivan hid his smile behind his hand. His date really was adorable.

"I have been well. Summer has been nice, I have hardly need to wear a jacket~"

Bread was immediately brought to the table along with two glasses of water and cutlery. The waiter pulled out a pen and pad before asking what they would like to drink.

"Ah, the house vine is fine...unless you vould like something else Matthew..." Ivan asked fidgeting with his fork. He had no idea what his date liked to drink. It could be maple syrup with ice for all he knew.

( sorry its so late. I've been sick _~_ )

“Wine will be just fine,” Matthew said, nodding. As much as he wanted to tell Ivan that he though his accent was quite possibly the best thing ever, he stopped himself. He didn’t want to seem weird, after all.

Matthew took a look at the menu, thankful that the less familiar items had little descriptions next to them. He was far from an expert on Mediterranean food, unfortunately, and would probably end up picking something blindly if those weren’t there.

“Yeah, summer was nice, too bad that it has to end, though.” Matthew frowned a bit. It wasn’t like he disliked autumn. It was what came after autumn that was the worst. He was sure Ivan knew all about that, though.

(Oh no! I hope you feel better... ;A;)