Red Umbrella - Canada x Reader

Canada x Reader
Red Umbrella
♥

You shivered as you stepped into yet another puddle, pulling your drenched coat tighter around yourself, although it didn't do much as the rain continued to fall. You hated the rain.

To be perfectly honest, the crappy weather was truly matching your mood. Not only did you truly hate rain with all of your being, but you were eighteen, and life was a lot harder than expected. Tons and tons of stress was just crushing you inside. Every day when you returned to your dingy apartment, you fell right into bed and slept because you couldn't handle doing anything else.

It was awful; you wanted a better life than this.

You used to talk to a young man named Matthew. He was shy, didn't speak much, and he was one of your few friends in the city. He'd shown you around after you crashed into him on the street, and the bond just stuck. You often hung out together at a local coffee shop.

Honestly, you felt more for him that just friendship. He was adorable and kind, and his soft spots made him a thousand times cuter. What also a thousand times cuter when he blushed and freaked out a little, like he did when you called him Mattie. He was quiet, sensitive, and all around adorable. He always seemed to be there for you when you needed him.

But, you started to feel like you were becoming a nuisance to him, you always found yourself eventually complaining to him. You wanted him to be able to live his life without having to worry about you, too. He was the kind of person who would do that, start to worry more about others than himself. Besides, you were so sure you would be able to make it.

Well, obviously, you really couldn't. Not with the way things were, anyway. Time would help straighten things out, though, right? Of course it would.

You tried to clear your mind. The steady sound of the rain and the even beat of your footsteps were the only things you could hear. Keeping your head down, your hair dripped, sticking to your face and falling in your eyes. Your wet clothes stuck to you as you shivered from the cold.

Just one foot in front of the other. You would be home soon, and then you could crawl into the warm bed and sleep. One foot in front of the other.

You felt your stomach churn with that weird feeling someone was watching you. Picking your head up, through the straggly strands you could see someone standing on the corner outside your apartment. They were tall and lean with longish, wavy strawberry blonde hair and glasses, holding up a bright red umbrella.

Your heart stopped. It was Matthew. A lump formed in your throat as the situation quickly ran through your head. You couldn't turn around, he had already seen you and was staring right at you, you were so close.

You felt so bad. You realized you had neglected him and he was probably upset; you hadn't even realized how long it had really been until a few days ago. It was too late to do anything. You took a couple steps closer and forced a smile for him.

Something in the soft violet eyes changed behind his glasses, and suddenly he had grabbed your wrist, pulling you into him and wrapping his arms around you. You inhaled sharply at the sudden movement; he wasn't one to do something like this. But his arms were warm and comforting, and you quickly felt yourself breaking down. You tried to hold it back, but a sob escaped and you buried your face into him, hugging him back.

You didn't even know what possessed him to come find you or for him to hug you, but the close, sweet contact quickly rendered you and your emotions helpless as you started to cry into his shoulder. Like how if you had a bad day, you would come running home and your parents would hold you without question, just being there to make it all better. His arms tightened around you and you felt safe just letting it all out.

"I-I'm sorry I'm like this," you mumbled into him, after a few minutes, feeling bad you had been crying to him for so long. Pulling away, you tried to wipe your face with your sleeve, but it didn't help much. "It's just, everything is terrible," you whined, giving off a list of excuses for him. "School is terrible, finding a job is terrible, and just everything else is terrible."

You looked at the ground, waiting for a response. None came, so you continued, "I didn't want you to be trying to find me a job or anything, or having to worry about me because I always complain."

"So you stopped talking to me?"

Your voice caught as you tried to choke out an apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to have to worry about me."

"Next time," he started, "P-please don't try so hard to say goodbye."

Your head snapped up with wide eyes.

"I don't mind helping you. Can't I be here for you?" he asked softly.

Your chest tightened and you nodded slowly, wiping your face with your sleeve. He took your other hand and led you to his car, helping you in and closing the door behind you.

Silence engulfed the car as he drove and the rain pounded on the roof. You curled up on the seat, enjoying just being near Matthew again.

♥

"W-Would you like to take a shower or something?" Matthew asked awkwardly, closing the front door and letting the umbrella drip on the floor.

You shook your head. It was fine here, just the way it was.

He had driven you to his house. It was so warm inside his home, and it had this lingering scent of maple. You felt numb inside, and you couldn't tell if it was from the effect of his home or if you were now empty from being so emotional earlier. Either way, you were greatly calmed and you let everything just wash over you, taking everything in slowly and carefully.

"Well, then, er..." Matthew spoke again. You lazily turned to face him, and he was holding a set of clothes, his face bright red. "Please at least change into these," he finished softly, handing them over to you. Nodding slowly again, you took them and clutched them to your chest.

The two of you stood in silence for another minute before he offered to go make coffee. You nodded lethargically again and he looked at you curiously before disappearing. Starting to blush, you held the clothes to your face. They were soft, of course, and smelled like him.

You unfolded them quickly. An old pair of pants and his favourite sweatshirt. He was so kind. Checking the room quickly, you stripped down, throwing your wet clothes to the floor before pulling his on. The window's blinds were shut and all the doors were closed. You scooped the wet clothes back into your arms, hung the coat on the coatrack, climbed onto the couch, and folded your clothes up, placing them on the floor gently. You then curled up, drawing your knees into your chest and hugging them, enjoying the feeling of dry clothes and the warmth of them, too.

You could've fallen asleep there, but Matthew returned, handing you a hot cup of coffee. It warmed your hands as you wrapped them both around the mug, taking a sip. It was just the way you liked it, and it was even better than the coffee shop's down the street.

You smiled a little and let yourself relax as you drank, enjoying the serenity of the moment as the storm raged outside. Matthew fidgeted nervously next to you.

You eventually finished the coffee, placing the mug on the table in front of you, spinning it around for entertainment. Not that you were bored or anything. Matthew just wasn't one to strike up a conversation, and you were still fine just being able to be with him. Moments like that are the ones that feel like they could last forever. The whole cliche movie scene and all. Real life never works like that, and your point was proven as thunder boomed outside and the power flicked off, scaring the living daylights out of you.

You jumped about a foot in the air, letting out a yelp before the power came back on. The moment was officially ruined as you sat, shivering and feeling tears start to form again from the scare.

Just as you were starting to get a grip on yourself again, lightning flashed and the thunder boomed again. You jumped, again, as the power went out and didn't come back on. Letting out a whine, you curled back up into a ball in the darkness. The couch shifted, Matthew had gotten up. A door opened and clicked shut before opening again and closing again.

"So, c-can you stay here for the night? I-I mean, the weather is pretty bad, a-and, well…" Matthew was stuttering, once again breaking you from your thoughts. He had gotten candles and lit them.

You thought about what he was saying. The howling wind and the torrential downpour outside... was he actually inviting you to stay with him? Yeah, that was what he said, wasn't it?

"…Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I can't just kick you out, not in this weather…"

You guessed so. "Mmm…"

After another break of an awkward silence, Matthew spoke up again.

"So, uhm, you're pretty tired, huh? It's getting late, maybe do you want to go to bed now?"

To mention it, you were drifting off a little. More than a bit. Your eyes were heavy. That coffee must have been decaf, you thought.

You nodded and stood, following him to what you guessed was a spare bedroom. He put the candle on the bedside table and you fell onto the bed. It was fluffy and you pulled yourself upright, scooching back towards the headboard.

"It's nice here," you commented sleepily. "It's like home," you yawned. Being tired, you really didn't know what you were saying, just saying them without thinking.

He smiled softly and took a seat next to you. "So then you'll come to stay for a while every now and then, eh?

Nodding, you wiped your eyes and smile. There was something just so perfect, and you reached out, wrapping your arms around Matthew again. He carefully embraced you back, like you could still break down any moment. Your heart beat loudly in your ears. Or was that Matthew's heart? No way, both of your hearts were thumping so loudly and so fast.

"Hey, is it really okay to hold you?" You asked nervously.

"O-of course." He sounded apprehensive, but his answer was in the positive.

You pulled away a little and looked up at him. You could see him blushing in the soft candlelight. Your chest tightened. You really felt something for this man.

"I-is… is it even okay if I were to say that I think I love you?" you stammered out quietly.

He blinked and blushed deeply.  He tried to stutter out a response, but just nodded when he couldn't form any real words.

"T-then… is it okay to kiss you?"

If it was possible, Matthew's face got even redder. But he nodded just ever so slightly, and slowly leaned down, closing his eyes. You closed your eyes, too.

It was like a dream come true. Time froze around you as his lips met yours, soft and sweet and kind. He was kissing you.

You pulled back first, smiling for real, for what felt like the first time in forever. The sweetness was making you even drowsier as you laid your head back on his chest. "I love you, Matthew. I really, really do."

"I love you too, belle. Je t'aime."

"Je t'aime?"

"Je t'aime," he confirmed. He kissed your forehead before standing, leaving you to sleep.

♥

You awoke with thoughts of Matthew only. You remembered some things about the night before; breaking down, coming to his house. What else? Oh... that... you had kissed him. That's right.

Oh, gosh, you must have been some kind of drunk.

You wandered out of the room, blushing again just thinking about it as you grabbed your clothes, which had miraculously dried in the night, and changed into them. You sauntered over to a window, pulling the blinds back. The sky was grey, the clouds hiding the sun. It was still raining, although a lot less heavily.

You turned away from the window and Matthew was up and about. Sleepily, albeit, as he yawned, but he was awake.

"Er, good morning," you said.

"Good morning." He blushed a little. So he was embarrassed about last night, too. Guess you really did kiss him.

You didn't know what to do. Rocking back on your heels, awkward minutes passed by again. Your stomach growled. Oh, yeah, you hadn't had dinner last night.

"Hm, Matthew?" you asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm hungry. Maybe," you started slowly, "We could go to the coffee house and have breakfast there?"

He smiled at you. "Of course."

You smiled brightly and hurried over to the door eagerly, excited he wasn't being all weird about last night. He followed and you shoved open the door. He held the umbrella for you as you stepped outside into the light drizzle, grabbing your hand and smiling as he stepped under the red umbrella as well, treating you delicately, like a princess.

You smiled back, your heart filled with emotions for this man.

Maybe you could honestly enjoy some time with him before you had to go back and sort out the rest of your life.

Maybe you could learn to love the rain.