Week 11: Hendrik/Ivan

He watched Ivan out of the corner of his eye " make sure u niet fall into the canal " to emphasize his point he grabbed the other man's arm before he tripped over the uneven part of the walkway that would have sent the russian over the edge and into the water.

He chuckled knowing that the Russian had been distracted by everything around him.

Ivan quickly looked down at his feet and sidestepped the disaster waiting to happen. "Ah, thank you comrade...I do not think that it vould have made for a pleasant svim." He flushed deeply, embarrassed by his carelessness.

Chuckling he nodded " but some of mijn mensen like aan jump in the canal for celebrations " he saw the Russian blush, knowing the other man was embarrassed he placed a hand on the other nation's shoulder " if het makes u feel better Amerika fell in the canal when he first visited " he chuckled at the memory.

"If he hadn't I vould have thought something vas vrong." Ivan fought to damp the blush down, but the hand on his shoulder wasn't helping much. He fidgeted with his scarf for a moment before dropping his hands uselessly at his sides.

He chuckled " ja I agree " he shook his head at the memory " of course he wanted me aan cover up mijn canals after dat of course I said nee aan dat idea" he noticed the Russian was fidgeting with his scarf, taking his hand off the other man's shoulder " u alright mijn vriend? " he looked at the other nation with concern on his face " are u feeling well? "

"Da. It is nothing." He coughed lightly and slipped his hands in his jacket pocket. There. Now they had somewhere to go. "Are your canals like those in Venice?" He looked at the flowing water again. They didn't look like they were used for sewage...but neither did the ones in Venice...

He nodded at his friend before looking away from the Russian and looking out at the flowing water of the canal " mijn canals are used for transportation aan and from work, celebrations, some of mijn people live in house boats on the canals.. and in the winter mijn canals are used for skating by mijn people "

He leaned up against the railing and crossed his arms as he chuckled softly " u could say dat mijn canals are niets like the ones in Venice "

"Then I vould not mind falling in~" He stood next to the man and looked down into the blue/green water. It was so peaceful here, even with all the hipsters. He should really visit more often..

He nodded " mijn people are known aan just jump in the canal's wanneer daar are celebrations " chuckling a bit he continued " or wanneer het is very hot outside "

He glanced back at the Russian " u should come visit wanneer mijn people celebrate het is very fun or just wanneer u like daar is much aan see in mijn country "

"I don't doubt there is. I am sure I can come up vith a few reasons to visit. The first lady does have a soft spot for tulips~" He leaned over the railing, looking down the canal to see everything. It was so different than anything he was used to. He was completely fascinated by it.

" ah perhaps I will extend an invitation aan u and uw eerste dame perhaps u would both enjoy the fields of tulips dat grow on mijn lands? " he closed his eyes just thinking to himself " spring is a nice time aan see hen but now is nice as well " he chuckled softly " if u like I can take u aan the city's gardens? " he enjoyed walking through the garden's that his city grew.

"I vould love to!" He had never been. Every cite's gardens were different. They had some of the same flowers yes, but it was how they were arranged that made all the difference. With this countries strong floral background he was sure the gardens would be nothing short of spectacular.

He chuckled " alright dan lets go " he pushed off the railing and turned around to head across the bridge " dit way mijn vriend " he looked at Ivan and smiled " I have many different kinds of bloemen ... including sunflowers " he chuckled again knowing how much the other man liked sunflowers.

Ivan snapped to attention at the mention of his not so secret favorite flower. Maybe he could pick one? No of course not. The flowers where there for everyone to enjoy. He trailed a little behind his date, this was a date yes?, lost in thought. He wondered what tulip was Hen's favorite. It would make the perfect thank you present.

Hendrik chuckled he knew he had the Russian's attention, he had known the other man loved sunflowers. he stopped looked at Ivan " let's take the trolley Rusland the gardens are across the city dit way wij can enjoy the gardens longer " Hendrik lead the other nation to a trolley stop and waited for the trolley to arrive.

Ivan glanced up at the sign, trying to puzzle out the name of the stops. He had no luck, and the letters seemed to blur together the longer he stared. He really needed to bone up on his dutch.

"How long vill it take to get across town?"

He watched the Russian from the corner of his eye staring up at the signs and inwardly chuckled ' perhaps I should teach him some Nederland ' He looked to his left and saw the trolley aproching them " het won't take long mijn vriend wij are close enough aan the gardens het should only be 10 minutes or so "

The trolley stopped in front of them and he climbed aboard paying the fare for the two of them he went and sat down in one of the seats.