Stars and Moonflowers in Our Garden(Rusame)

Chapter Thirty-eight: Flustering Thoughts and Headpats

America hummed to himself, getting himself ready as soon as his door was closed. Then he grabbed his letter, putting it in his messenger bag. Once he was ready, he headed out. He got two meals from the kitchen, hoping Russia would enjoy what he grabbed.

He then headed to his office, making his way to his office quickly, stopping by the chamomiles to leave his letter, before getting to his office as quickly as he could.

He opened the door to his office and made his way over to his spot at his desk, checking the clock on the wall. He was three minutes early.

He didn't like that he was just barely on time, but there wasn't much he could do. Though he did feel a bit more accomplished, he'd managed to calm the prince down from a nightmare, and help him sleep easy.

He knew Russia slept comfortably, as before he'd taken the potion from Japan, and woke to the slightest touch. He was a very light sleeper.

He didn't wake to Russia moving his hands under his shirt, meaning it happened when he was in a deeper state of sleep.

He'd ask Russia about why he did that in his sleep in the first place, as he was curious, but also concerned.

Though, he thought Russia probably just slept hugging a bed most of the time. What had caused his hands to wander up his shirt though, he wasn't sure. However, he wanted to find out. If Russia knew why, that was.

After a while of thinking, he was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps headed towards his office. He looked towards the doorway, ready to greet the person who walked through the door. Soon, he saw it was Russia and smiled a little, happily greeting Russia.

"Hey Russia!" He purred, a smile on his face. He wanted to speak with Russia for a second, and allow him to get comfortable, before he started to ask about it.

"Good morning, America." Russia said as he stepped in the room, wandering closer to America. "I uh, I want to apologize again for putting my hands up your shirt..."

America gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk, inviting Russia to sit down. Once he had taken a seat, America decided to get the question out of the way. Why had he put his hands up America's shirt?

"You were asleep, you weren't aware that's what you were doing." America reassured gently, giving him a soft smile before he spoke again. "Though, I have to ask why you did. Do you know what you were dreaming about?"

"I don't know... I don't remember what I was dreaming about. I guess I do tend to wake up cuddling a pillow, I just held onto you like that pillow..." Russia mumbled, confirming America's suspicion.

America nodded and smiled at him.

"Well, don't worry about it." He said, humming a little. "If you remember it, please tell me what it was about cause I'm curious."

Russia nodded and smiled, looking over at him with a fond smile.

"I'm not done with the art piece, so maybe you'll get to see the piece before I get it to Nyx." America chuckled, reaching into his messenger bag and pulling out his unfinished art.

Russia seemed to get excited at that, definitely wanting to see America work on it. So, America happily pulled out his materials and started to work on it.

"Hey, uh- America?" Russia spoke up as America began working on the art.

"Yeah, Russia?" America responded, stopping his work for a second to look at Russia. He wanted to make sure Russia knew that he had his full attention, even if he was working on art or something else.

"Do you mind if I call you Звезды?"

"I don't mind, so feel free to!" America said, going back to his art.

America paused for a second before switching to a slightly flirty tone. "Was your dream about me~"

"Wh-Wha?" Russia sounded flabbergasted and very, very flustered. "Why- why do you think that?"

"Ah, well, you just said that nickname in your sleep. " America said with a small chuckle. "You said, and I quote, 'No, I stay with Stars' when I was trying to wake you."

"I, uh... I don't remember the dream, but I guess the dream probably involved you" Russia sounded embarrassed, or even more flustered.

Which it was, America wasn't sure. But he mentally shrugged it off as he got back to working on his art piece. He gently erased the lines of his sketch and took out his watercolor and a brush before he started to color the image.

" I'm curious, why have you solely been saying the nickname you have for me solely in Russian?" America asked, continuing his work on the piece. "I admittedly would do the same, but with Latin."

"Звезды? Oh, well, it just makes me feel closer to you. And Russian is my first language, so I prefer it heavily." Russia explained, likely looking at him as he could feel someone's eyes on him.

"Thanks for telling me, Rus." America said, a soft smile on his face. "I've been meaning to ask if I could give you a nickname as well."

"Oh, you mean Rus? I don't mind!"

"No, like you, my nickname would be in a different language." America quickly corrected, letting out a quiet giggle. "The nickname would be Mons leo."
(*mountain lion)

"What language is that in? It's not one I've heard before... Well other than from you" Russia seemed genuinely curious about the language. "Also, could you tell me what it means? I'm curious, and you understand what my nickname for you means"

"I uhm... It means Mountain lion" America mumbled, looking away nervously.

"Oh! Mons sounds like Мой or mon, so I thought it meant something like 'mine'." Russia admitted with a laugh.

"It doesn't!!" America yelped, flustered. He stopped using the watercolor so that he didn't mess up the piece.

Russia just laughed a little more, and then he felt someone ruffling his hair.

He felt blush come onto his face, knowing that it was Russia. But, he quickly calmed himself and went back to working on the piece.

He finished the art piece a little before lunch time, so he let Russia look at it as he got both meals for them.

Russia seemed to like art, and once the other was done looking at it, they ate their lunch peacefully.