((Have fun man. Let me know if the Canadians really are as nice as they're stereotyped to be :'3))

((I will~ :D))

"Ahh, is good rule." Ivan responded contemplatively, nodding. "I also try to follow this. Is part of why I like to reciprocate when someone has been kind to me. I must confess, is also because I am used to being lonely, but is in my nature to try to treat well those who have treated me well." He explained, feeling a little more confident now that he'd been given an example to latch onto. He quirked a brief smile when his friend nodded his assent to learning of the gift in the car, but he had to let the smile go due to facial ache. Ivan was just peering at the tag machines options, searching for something he felt appropriate, when he heard Alfred's next query. "A-ahh? Confused? Aahhh, when was this?" Ivan responded, a little bewildered and a touch apprehensive. Was this about what had gone through his mind in the toy shop? Alfred had noticed his odd ex
pression then, but Ivan had thought that the American had accepted his explanation. Had he also looked confused? He supposed that he had been, and he wondered whether this would mean that he would ask his question all the sooner. He was nervous, but he did not want to be dishonest with his friend - if Alfred asked more specifically, then he would ask his question... but he wasn't ready to tell him the whole reason for it yet.

Alfred smiled a little bit. "Well, ah. Mostly in the toy store but earlier in the sunflower field too. You seemed a little flustered," he responded as he moved to check out what tag shape Ivan was going to decide on. "I mean you're entitled to your personal thoughts, I just wanted to know if I could help, I dunno...ease your mind a little?" He didn't want his friend to have to deal with really important stuff alone and end up overwhelmed, after all. He wanted to help if he had the chance to at all. After all, that'swhat good friends were for, right? Acting as confidantes when you needed them so you can some things off your chest and out there into the world. He knew the feeling of being overwhelmed fairly well, after all. It wasn't a feeling he wished on anyone.

((I was doing the laundry.))

"O-ohh, I see..." Ivan responded, his mind whirring even as he noticed that Alfred had been quite correct about the selection of tags available. "Ahh, well, I... It is to do with you, so I should tell you. You see, you have seemed more comfortable with the knowledge of my... orientation than I would have expected - even when my exuberance got the better of me when I beheld the field of gold." He began, unable to keep himself from reddening. "Perhaps my expectations are rooted in the culture from which I have come, but I did not expect even you to not be even a little uncomfortable about what I have told you about myself - but nothing changed..." He continued, while Vodka licked his paw in a vague attempt to clean it. "... Can it be that... you, too, are - ahh, not so straight? I know that the question is personal, but that is the answer to your question..." He concluded, his hands too full of cat to fidget. A part of him was glad that Alfred had noticed to ask - as it was natural for a good friend to notice such things, and because it gave him an opportunity to discover whether he was correct. However, there was a large part of him that was simply embarrassed as well. In an attempt to alleviate the awkward by changing the subject, Ivan managed to point at a particular tag despite the cat in his arms. "Ahh, by the way, I cannot operate this with Vodka here, but that is the tag I would like, pazhaloosta."

Alfred blinked when it was mentioned that it was about him, his interest perked until the question was asked. He cocked his head a bit and blinked. "Oh, is that it? Nah, man, I'm 'not so straight'," he said with a soft laugh. "I was kinda hoping that the whole hand holding thing and being comfortable enough to basically lay on top of you was making it a bit more obvious but I guess I need to work on that," he said with a soft laugh, moving to set his current stuff down to step to the front of the machine to start working it. "Do you want it to just say Vodka?" he questioned, looking back over his shoulder curiously. "Or should we put the address on it too in case he does decide to be an outside cat?"

... Now I feel kind of stupid... Ivan thought, blinking at Alfred's frank statement and explanation. "O-ohh, I see... I thought that maybe it was because you are a very friendly person, and, well, I am not so sure about what kind of behaviour is normal between friends in America... I suppose that I really should have guessed, though." He mumbled, flushing even redder in a mixture of acute embarrassment and no-longer-vague hopefulness. If Alfred wasn't straight, after all, then didn't that mean that it was less likely that he'd be upset if and when he found out about how Ivan saw him? Perhaps, if this feeling did not dissipate, he might actually have a chance? That was more than he'd ever had, and he clung to it like a lifeline. "Ahhh, putting the address on would probably be helpful..." He added, responding to the question of what to put on the name tag. "Would a phone number be useful also?" He wondered aloud, trying to distract himself from his own emotions. He'd managed to keep his cool around other people he'd had feelings for, so why couldn't he do the same now? What was it about Alfred that so disarmed him? Then again, he'd known with others that he would not be able to tell them... this was a new situation entirely. He was startled by the ease with which his friend had answered, having not expected to find that the American had been making it obvious the whole time. He was unused to people being so open on this topic, and he wasn't sure what to think - it had been hard enough for him to pluck up the will to tell Alfred about himself, and he'd only managed that because he'd gotten an unusual idea in his head that nothing bad would come of it. "I... need not worry? Spasiba... That is kind of you - I appreciate your understanding."

Alfred nodded and turned to start putting in what was needed, smiling a bit. "Yeah a phone number sounds like it'd be a good idea," he responded before he glanced back at the other. "And I mean holding hands and stuff can be a form of friendship but usually only girls are really comfortable with doing it with one another. It's really weird, even to me," he told him, reaching down to pick up the tag once it was done and had dropped. He moved to pick out the collar in the stuff that Ivan had handed him, attaching the tag before he lifted his hand to show off the collar with a grin. "This look okay to you then?" he asked, looking at the other with a curious tilt of the head. He thought it looked nice, but he wasn't usually a good source of advice onto stuff like this that looked nice. He just kind of fell into wearing whatever he found that he liked.

Ivan watched as his friend entered the relevant details, figuring that the phone at Alfred's house would be the best option, seeing as that was where he was going to live from here on out. He thinks that it is weird? He wondered, nervous, before telling himself that his friend probably meant that it was unusual for him to hold hands, not that holding hands was a strange and to-be-disregarded thing to do. "Oh, okay... Ahh, but you do not mind doing so, da? If you did, then you would not have initiated it so often... da?" He responded tentatively, really hoping that it wouldn't stop now that the American's attention had been drawn to it. The feeling of having a hand clasped in his own was one from which he drew comfort, making him feel warm and safe, and cared for. He didn't want to lose that. His ex
pression, though his features were no longer so flushed as they had been, was poignant in its wistfulness, and it was clear that he cared about what the answer would be. A hand that took hold of his without prompting meant an awful lot, when even his dreams often left him lonely. "Ahh, the collar does look nice with that tag." He added, pleased but still a little nervous. "It will certainly look good on Vodka."

Alfred smiled a little bit. "Oh no, I meant that like, only girls seem to be comfortable enough to hold hands with like, other girls. Most guys aren't comfortable enough for some reason. That's what I thought was weird," Alfred assured the other, reaching out to pat the other shoulder with a warm smile, gently squeezing it before he moved to retrieve the rest of the cat stuff, smiling at the other. "I like holding hands yeah," he responded with a grin before he turned to start towards the car again. "Now then let's get home to clean off that cat and give him his new collar and introduce him to Penny!" he chirped, a slight bounce in his step once again. Like nothing awkward at all had happened to him.

Alfred's smile was as reassuring as his words, and Ivan could not help but feel relieved. "Ohhh, I get it now..." He sighed, the tension melting out of his ex
pression as his friend gave him a pat on the shoulder, and he felt better for the squeeze he received. "I like holding hands also~" He responded, managing a smile. It tells me that I am not alone... He added silently, following Alfred to the car and somehow contriving to get his door open without dropping the cat. "Da, sounds like a good plan~" He replied, seating himself, and depositing Vodka in his foot-well for the time being - at least until he had dealt with his seat belt. He wondered how Alfred was so easily able to shake off awkwardness, as though it didn't affect him at all. It was a mystery, but it was good to see his bounciness unaffected by what had been said. "I am sure that we can make him look like a proper fluffy gentletom~" He giggled, using humour to shunt aside the awkwardness that lingered for him. "Ahh, did you want to see your gift now, or when we arrive?"

Alfred chuckled as he deposited the extras in the back of the car, nestling himself in the front and heading off once they were ready. "He'll look like the most dashing of gentletoms and will be fit to introduce himself to the queen of the house," he said with a grin. That's exactly what Penny was to him; queen of her own castle. He just kind of lived there and made sure she had food. "He'll smell all nice and he'll have plenty of food," he said happily before he gave his friend a soft smile. "And I'll leave that decision up to you," he responded gently. "You picked it out so you should ultimately be the one to choose when to show me, right Kotenok?" He shot his friend a wide, joyful grin before focusing his attention forward again.

Vodka jumped back onto Ivan's lap shortly after the car started, and the Russian began stroking him as he listened to what Alfred had to say. "Heheheh, da~" He responded, finding his friend's phraseology amusing - particularly given that a female cat really was called a queen. He'd never really known quite why this might be, but he assumed that it had something to do with the haughty demeanour for which felines were renowned. If this was the case, though, why tom? It was puzzling, but not important enough to dwell on. "Da, I'm sure that it will be nice for him~" He added. giving Vodka a tickle under the chin. The kitty seemed to find this action pleasing, and licked Ivan's hand, which was an interesting sensation to say the least. "His tongue is all raspy, heheheh." He informed his friend, chuckling. "Ahh, in that case, I will show you when we arrive." He concluded softly, reflecting that it would be difficult to show Alfred anything right now, given that his hands were occupied with keeping Vodka happy. The tom had started batting at his fingers, which was kind of entertaining, and also cute.

Alfred chuckled softly, grinning. "He seems pretty happy already," he observed, glancing at the big pile of fluff that was laying across Ivan's lap. "I can only imagine he'll make himself right at home once we're done cleaning him up." He took a turn, then he grinned rather wide. "Yeah their tongues are kinda like sandpaper aren't they?" he commented. "She doesn't do it much any more but she used to my fingers a lot when she was a kitten. It actually starts hurting after a little while if they lick the same spot repeatedly," he added.  He was also pretty darn eager to find out what Ivan had gotten for him as thanks for what he'd done, even if Alfred hadn't even been expecting anything like that when he'd done it.

((Ehh, no problems. :3))

"Mmm, he does seem pretty happy." Ivan agreed contentedly, giving Vodka a scritch behind the ear as the car bore them homeward. "Probably. I have heard that cats are very good at establishing a place as theirs, after all." He added, glad that they had been accosted by a friendly cat rather than a crosspatch kitty. "It does? I should probably shift my hand a little, then. I don't want to disrupt him, in case this counts as bonding, but I would rather that he did not hurt me." He mused, carefully moving the hand being licked so that the spot being given mildly abrasive affection was a slightly different one. Vodka seemed momentarily taken aback, but he kept right on licking. There were still slight traces of the burger flavour from earlier, and that was appealing to the hungry kitty. He wasn't quite hungry enough to risk biting the hand that might feed him, though. It was not long before they were nearly back at Alfred's, and Ivan watched as they drew closer to the house, deciding to wait until they had come to a complete halt before he pulled out the box.

Alfred leaned back as they pulled up to their home, cutting off the car and giving his friend a warm smile. "Well then, Voka, welcome to your new home!" he said rather happily, grinning even wider. "In a couple minutes you'll get to meet your new kittyfriend and we can only hope the both of you get along," he murmured, tilting his head a bit. "You're both pretty friendly though so I don't imagine you'll fight or anything, you just might need a bit of time to adjust to each other," he said thoughtfully, cocking his head a little bit as he tried to decide on how best to introduce the two to possibly prevent fighting to be on the safe side.

Vodka looked up when the noise of the engine halted, and he glanced in Alfred's direction when the human in question spoke, intrigued by the sound. Deciding to investigate further, the fuzzy tomcat stood up and strode over to the American's lap inquisitively. "I do hope that they do get along..." Ivan stated, though he was also of the opinion that such friendly felines were unlikely to aggrieve one another. He watched, amused, as his new cat attempted to climb onto the steering wheel, before fishing the box he'd acquired earlier and failed to continue hiding out of his pocket. "Ahh, here is the gift which I mentioned..." He added softly, offering it up for inspection. It was a rectangular box, cream with a beige lid, and did not appear to bear any branding. It was simply a container that Ivan had acquired to package his gift, and disguise its nature for the purpose of surprise - just in case the gift was discovered early. His nerves were making a comeback, playing a reprise of their previous janglings, but it was less tremulous than before. He was less worried about a negative reaction, merely apprehensive that it might not achieve a positive one.

Alfred chuckled softly as Vodka decided to crawl onto his lap, stroking his hand along the tomcat's back before rubbing behind an ear. He glanced over at Ivan once he mentioned the gift, reaching out to gently take hold of the box once it was offered out to him. He couldn't help his inquisitive head tilt as he took a moment to look over the box, unable to help smiling at the soft colors that he felt he could very easily associate with his Russian friend. It wasn't hard, given the color of his jacket and the color of his scarf, he supposed, but that wasn't really the point of the matter. Even though Ivan seemed drawn to bright yellows like sunflowers, Alfred just couldn't help but associate him with softer, gentler colors like creams and soft pinks and the like.

The cat appeared satisfied by Alfred's caressing, as he released a rumbling purr, and ceased attempting to scale the steering wheel in favour of settling down and stretching. Ivan couldn't help but notice the gentleness with which his gift was grasped, and he felt vaguely gratified that it was being treated with such care - not that he had thought it would be treated in a cavalier fashion. The head tilt that had accompanied its receipt was kind of cute, and it reminded Ivan again of a curious little puppy. Is... is he smiling about it already? It seems so, but why? ...Ohhh, the box is coloured like my outfit is... Heh, I didn't notice that before. He mused, watching with bated breath as his friend removed the lid. Nestled within crinkled packing tissue, there lay a new glasses case. It was a rich, shiny hue of deep blue, the same as that on the starfield of America's flag. Ivan had thought that this would be an appropriate gift for someone with glasses, even if there was already a case present, as one could then function as a spare in case the other was lost. After all, things got lost all the time, didn't they? Besides, it was a rather nice colour, and one that the Russian had immediately felt would suit his friend well. Covering his nerves with a sly smile, Ivan twirled a finger vaguely - after giving Alfred a chance to react to the case itself - indicating that the American should open the case also.

Alfred blinked when he opened the box and within it lay a glasses case, colored a very much recognizable shade of blue. He grinned before he looked over at the other male. "I actually needed a new glasses case," he said with a laugh. "My last one just kind of vanished, and I'm still not entirely unconvinced that Penny may have hidden it somewhere," he said just before blinking when it was indicated that he should open it up. There was more? What on earth else had Ivan gotten for him?

Resting in serene repose amidst the velvety dusk-blue interior, a tiny posy awaited Alfred's gaze. There were five flowers there, all bound together by a muted-gold ribbon tied in a bow. Two of them were soft-looking pinkish-purple blooms, four petals to a blossom - these were mezereon. Two of them were stalks adorned with little white bells like the skirts of pixies, both elegant and sweet - these were lily-of-the-valley. The final flower was pale purple, also bearing four petals to its name - this was lilac. Ivan glanced across, his smile softening as he waited to see what his friend would say. Regardless of whether Alfred liked them or not, it had been worth getting the flowers for him, and surprising him as well. He was such a giving person, it seemed right to give him something in return. He was somewhat relieved that the first part of his gift was both useful and appreciated, and his smile brightened a little, but he was still nervous about the second part, for all that he felt it worth the risk to give them.

Though Ivan was not conversant with the idea of flowers having meanings, each of the flora he'd selected bore their own definitions, which were actually kind of appropriate. Mezereon, for example, carried the meaning of timidity, and a desire to please. Lily-of-the-valley, that almost-ethereal flower, carried more meanings: humility, sweetness, purity, and return of happiness. The last bloom, lilac, wore what was perhaps the most poignant meaning, however. That particular blossom was defined as being the flower of first emotions of love.

((Does he not get many gifts? He'll just have to get used to it~ Ivan's the kind of guy who likes to give presents to people who are nice to him.))