Requested by: Larklarken27
This bitch is SUPER early but it's dark outside therefore 'tis tomorrow-
Also, this oneshot really shows how Aussie I am with my u's and my s's instead of z's, and trust me - I had a whole frickin' battle with Word and Wattpad because they refused to not be American for like 0.00000000000000000005 seconds. LIKE DUDE, I JUST WANNA CHECK IF I HAVE ANY TYPOS, WHY YOU GOTTA JUDGE MY LANGUAGE?!?
Can Australian English be counted as its own language?
<<Top 10 questions science still can't answer>>
~~~~~~~~
There was probably a good explanation as to why the hell America was flying down the street at 100m/h, but to the odd passerby it wasn't quite clear.
If America was being honest, he wasn't quite sure himself.
But his dogs sure did.
"Rascal, Puppis, slow down!" America cried, trying to dig his feet into the pavement and stop the two excited dogs.
He was out on his usual walk around the neighbourhood with his two medium-sized dogs Rascal, his golden retriever, and Puppis, his border collie. Before you get all hissy like ewwww, Puppis isn't a good name at all! – just shush. He got Puppis when he was pretty young and since she was just a puppy and Puppis is the name of a constellation, he called her that. She was the oldest of all four of his dogs, but she was still energetic and needed walking a lot. Rascal was his second dog, only about 3 years younger than Puppis, and was as excitable as ever. Around his fluffy neck was a purple bandanna – at least that was what America was told. His younger sister, Australia, had gifted it to him and told him that it was purple. She was aromantic and asexual so she could see all colours already, since she didn't have a soulmate to reveal colours with.
America could only see an amber colour, but he didn't mind too much. It was a very soft and calm amber that he actually quite enjoyed seeing – although often he dreamed of seeing colours. He couldn't quite imagine the colours of course, but imagine the world seeming brighter and more open.
As he grew older, however, he began losing hope as all of his family and friends found their soulmates and he got left behind. Despite the single colour that still persisted, he started to doubt if he even had a soulmate after all.
But when he saw that gorgeous amber, he felt a glimmer of hope.
As his two dogs raced around the corner he almost slid onto the road before cashing into a body so large and strong he thought it had been a wall at first. He didn't have a chance to apologise before he squealed when his two excited dogs circled the two of them and twisted their legs together and prevented them from escaping.
"Puppis, Rascal!" America scolded as he glared at his dogs, trying desperately to wriggle free of the leads. "I'm so sorry about that sir they're – "
America stopped immediately as he stared into the stunning amber eyes before him, momentarily lost in thought. His heart began pounding in his chest wildly and slowly but surely, colours bled into his surroundings, filling his vision with vibrant yellows and blues and greens and reds. Everything seemed so much brighter, so much livelier than it had ever been before; like he was seeing everything for the first time. And in a way, he was.
His soulmate was handsome, more handsome than he ever could have imagined. His skin was smooth and colourful: scarlet and navy and pearl. He wore a fluffy brown ushanka and a pastel purple t-shirt (oh gosh it felt good to see purple), plus he was wearing dark blue denim skinny jeans and big black boots - not that foot size matters or anything –
"U-um...hi," the stranger breathed, a ghost of a smile tugging at his shocked mouth.
"...Hi," America echoed.
It made sense now as to why the hell his dogs were freaking out so bad. Animals were much more sensitive to soulmates and could sense their owner's soulmates from up to 150 feet away, which is absolutely incredible.
But I mean c'mon, they could've been calmer about it.
Rascal headbutted America roughly, pushing him into the man he was tangled up with.
"Rascal!" America squeaked, blushing hard as the man wrapped his strong arms around him and laughed.
"Naw, it's okay. He didn't mean anything by it," he chuckled, bending over as well as he could and petting Rascal's soft head.
America sighed, exasperated and scratched Rascal behind the ears affectionately, "I know but he doesn't have to be so difficult all the time."
The man smiled bashfully and scratched the back of his neck, still holding America close to him with one vermilion arm.
"Well, um, I'm Russia – it's nice to meet you?"
America giggled, "I'm America, it's nice to meet you too."
▪▪¤▪▪
"This is so weird."
"Yeah, I know," Russia chuckled as he sipped his coffee.
"I've never heard of soulmates going on dates before getting together," America pondered.
"Neither have I," admitted Russia.
"Well, we can be the first," America grinned, clinking his coffee mug with Russia's as a sort of toast.
Russia chuckled and shook his head, admiring America as the smaller watched the cars drive by out the window. It was an overcast day, so America was surprised when Russia asked him to join him at the café. He didn't mind though.
Once they had finished their coffee and food, Russia offered his hand to America, pulling him out of his chair. Russia let go of his hand as they headed out the door together before reconnecting them, feeling as though something was missing without America. His company just giggled and leaned into him as they walked, trying to contain his excitement.
"So, what's this surprise you were telling me about?" America asked with a smile.
"You'll see soon," Russia answered vaguely.
True to his word, they arrived at their destination just a few minutes later. It was a quaint bookshop with a sign out the front saying Ink & Parchment in big fancy calligraphy. They stepped inside and were hit with the smell of coffee and tea and aged paper.
America gaped, "What is this...?"
"Remember when you were telling me about the bookshop you always wanted to open?" Russia reminded, rubbing his arm bashfully.
"...you didn't."
Russia blushed, "I did."
"Oh my god!" America lightly slapped his arm affectionately, smiling widely. "This is amazing, thank you!"
Russia grinned back, "and that's not all."
"Oh my god, you're killin' me Rus, stop being so nice Jesus -"
Russia led America to a certain section and swept an arm out to gesture towards all the books on display.
"Ta-da!"
"...Wow," America breathed as he stared in wonder at all the books.
They were all either fiction or non-fiction about space and astrology and planets and galaxies and the universe. Every book was hardcover and meticulously cared for, and one series even had the entire solar system, stars and all illustrated on each book's spine to make a complete picture.
Just as America was about to say more, Russia pointed to the roof, redirecting the striped country's gaze. The ceiling of the shop was painted in all the teals, purples, blues, whites and blacks of the milky way, creating one fantastic mural that made it seem as if the store had no roof and was kept in perpetual night.
It was everything America had ever imagined.
No, it was even better than he had ever imagined - because Russia was there to share it with him.
America tackled Russia into a hug with a huge smile on his face, burying it into Russia's neck as the taller laughed happily.
"You really did all this for me??"
Russia wrapped an arm around America's waist and tangled the other in his hair, tucking the smaller's head under his chin.
"Of course."
▪▪¤▪▪
"ORION, STOP IT!"
"JUPITER, DON'T WORRY I GOT YOU!"
Russia dashed over to scoop up a very fluffed up and hissy red striped Somali. The cat swiped a sharp clawed paw at the huge Great Dane America was holding back as he barked loudly and attempted to lunge at the small creature. The pair desperately ripped the two away from each other and America shot Russia an apologetic glance, which Russia just shook his head at, leaving America alone with his dogs as he walked into their shared room with Jupiter in his arms.
They had been living together for a month now and still nothing had changed. Russia had two adorable cats that America swooned over and worshiped, one being a red and brown striped Somali she-cat called Jupiter and the other a Russian Blue she-cat dubbed Lunar, after the lunar space mission his dad (the CCCP) embarked on. Both were quite docile and sweet but soon turned skittish once they met America's four dogs. None of the dogs really liked the cats too much when they first arrived, but Rascal and Puppis soon warmed up to them. Orion and Boba on the other hand were another matter entirely. Orion was a light grey Great Dane with a white splash on his stomach and Boba was a harmless looking, small and fluffy Maltese. Boba was quite shy and anxious, so Orion always took it upon himself to protect her from enemies. When the cats arrived, Boba immediately freaked out and Orion subsequently did too.
It had only gotten worse from there.
"Orion, you need to stop," America reprimanded as the dog before him sat down and panted up at him innocently. "You really scared Jupiter, and look – Boba's fine, see?"
Boba was laying in her bed, looking up at the two curiously. She hadn't really gotten over her fear of Russia's cats but just tended to shy away from them unlike Orion who always went for the throat. Rascal and Puppis were playing outside when they heard Jupiter's yowls and quickly came running, but they couldn't properly position themselves between her and Orion in order to defend her.
America straightened and lead Orion by the collar outside, locking the glass sliding door to banish him outside until he behaved again. Rascal wagged his tail and tried to jump up on America, taking Orion's banishment as an invitation to play.
"Sorry, pupper," America apologised, gently taking the Golden Retriever's front paws in his hands and placing them on the ground. "I gotta go make sure your dad's okay."
Rascal whimpered but stayed put, sitting in his place on the floor and watching America as he quietly opened the door to his and Russia's shared master bedroom and slipped inside, closing the door behind him.
Inside, Russia was sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking a purring Jupiter in his lap. Lunar was sitting a little away from Russia and peacefully sleeping on their white duvet with colourful polka dots. Their room was modestly decorated with white walls, a walk-in closet, light grey curtains and soft beige carpet. There was a cedar wood shelf about waist high under a window directly across from their bed which contained various photographs and sentimental nick-knacks. There were also cedar end tables that held lamps and alarm clocks and the like – as well as pajamas in the cabinet at the bottom of each. On Russia's end table there were some books written in Russian that America had attempted desperately and failed miserably to read.
On America's end table was his phone that was on charge and a Rubik's Cube that he had been gifted by his father when he was young. He could never solve it back then because he couldn't see the colours of any of the small squares, and every time he thought he had figured it out he would bring it to his father or mother and ask. They would always sadly shake their head and tell him he would get it eventually – and he did. Once Russia had come into his life it was actually pretty easy to solve, and he often just found himself fiddling with it for fun.
America sunk into the bed and cuddled up into Russia's side, wrapping his arms around his waist and laying his head on his shoulder. Russia said nothing as he continued to knead his fingers through Jupiter's soft fur.
America sighed and nuzzled his neck, "M'sorry about that, baby."
Russia stayed quiet.
"I know they've had trouble getting along, but I'm sure they'll get there in the end! We've just gotta give it more time – "
"I think we should break up."
America shot up and released Russia immediately, his eyes wide in disbelief, "...what?"
Russia refused to look at him.
Soulmates breaking up was rare, but not unheard of. America had been told horror stories of soulmates having difficulties being together and subsequently severing their bond – a process that is both extremely traumatic and horribly painful.
"R-Rus, you can't be serious," tears began collecting at the corner of America's eyes, his bottom lip quivering.
Russia swallowed and finally turned to look at him, though a part of America wished he didn't. His eyes were tinged red and puffy, as though he had been crying hard in the few minutes they were apart.
The sight made something in him crack and splinter.
"I'm so sorry America," he mumbled, looking back down at Jupiter. "I don't know what to do. They're never going to get along – maybe we're not meant for each other – "
"Don't. Don't say that. You know it's not true – "
"But what if it is?!" Russia swiveled his head towards America, a deep frown on his features. "What if I'm just too broken to be with? What if Orion and Jupiter and Lunar not getting along is some sign from the universe that you've made a terrible fucking mistake?"
A moment passed as Russia fell silent. America slowly moved back towards Russia, gently taking his hand in his and squeezing it. He cupped his cheek and directed Russia's gaze over to him, although the tears in his gorgeous amber eyes made him falter for a second.
"Russia, you're my everything. I don't care if you have a worrying mental state, or a bad past with alcohol or that our pets have a difficult time getting along. That doesn't matter to me, because I know we can work through that together. What matters is you. I love you with all my heart and I don't want you believing you're not good enough – because you are. I know you, and I know that you are the only one for me. I really can't imagine being with anyone but you. Literally. You're my soulmate dude. It's like, not a thing to get with someone else."
Russia chuckled at the dumb joke and shook his head, tracing the back of America's hand with his thumb.
"So...you still want to try? With me?"
America smiled softly and leaned into the taller male, connecting their lips as they had done many times before. They meshed together perfectly in an odd dance and electricity tingled in their veins as they were linked together in the moment. Russia's lips tasted like the salt from his tears, which only made America press harder and more passionately, before breaking them apart as he pressed his forehead against Russia's.
"Of course."
~~~~~~~~
Omg I've just noticed it's always frickin' America saying Russia's wonderful cus he's depressed as hell. Gonna have to change that up for future ones -
ALSO I'M SORRY THERE'S SO MUCH FRICKIN ANGST, THERE'S GONNA BE A FLUFF NEXT I SWEAR