And with the next step comes...?

The words would have come eventually, Katyusha knew that...but they still left her flustered and a little short of breath.
Ducking her head shyly, she could only stare at her lap, shocked but happily so. He...he really meant it, didn't he? There'd been a little hesitation, but she was sure that it was just because of shyness. He'd said it in a very matter-of-fact way, there was no way he wasn't serious. She wouldn't be blushing so much if he wasn't being serious.
...Well, maybe she would, actually.
But that wasn't the point! Her heart was pounding and she wanted to say something, ANYTHING in return, she wanted to reassure him that her feelings were mutual--- But when she tried to speak, she merely squeaked a little which made her cheeks even more red than before. Feeling Matthew squeeze her hand, she bit her lip and kept her silence, allowing him to speak again and trying desperately to tone down her beaming smile.
And yet, it seemed that she hadn't quite reached the extent of her blushing. She gaped at him, staring at him and taking in what he was asking her. He...he was talking about an apartment, moving in together---! It was making her head spin and her cheeks were practically glowing red. For a second, she thought she might blow a gasket somewhere in her brain and literally turn into a pile of mush, seeing that she was feeling like one. This was just...
Wow.
...They hadn't been dating for years and years, but Katyusha liked to consider themselves in a fairly serious relationship. For dating, anyways. And maybe this was the next step in becoming closer, stronger--- It was terrifying. Owning a home, living together and sharing a place of comfort...it was a huge responsibility! She couldn't help wondering if they were ready for such a thing.
But...then again, during Christmas...they'd been doing pretty good with just them. Surely it couldn't be any harder than that...right?
"M-Matvey---" she spoke, her voice cracking embarrassingly. Clearing her throat, she tried again, still speaking meekly, "Matvey, I...uh, wow, th-this is..." What was wrong with her? She needed to answer him!
"I...won't say I haven't thought about it. L-Living together, I mean." She took a deep breath, exhaling loudly before continuing, "I won't lie to you, I...I do like the idea. But are you sure about it? Having o-our own place...that's a big deal, isn't it? There's bills and sleeping arrangements and---are you sure you even want to live with me---? Ah, I-I'm sorry, this isn't the way I wanted this to go---I just---! Never mind."
She found it hard to keep eye contact with him and was pulling at the collar of her blouse, the heat in her face getting uncomfortable. Her lap was VERY interesting right now...
She had gone straight from a hopeful but serious mindset back to a shy, unsure state of mind. What was she doing? Yes, the idea of living with Matthew was extremely appealing, but they should think this through, shouldn't they? This wasn't another one of those times where she was thinking too much, was it?
Squeezing his hand back in return, a little more tightly than he'd done, she waited anxiously for his reaction.
Oh gosh, get a hold of yourself, Katya...y-you'll faint if you keep this up!

Matthew’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
What had he done?!
Who admitted to loving someone and then bring up something as serious as moving in together? He was surprised that Katyusha didn’t run away from him screaming.
“W-w-well I thought- I mean-“ Matthew scrambled to reply. “I just- we did all right at Christmas right?”
His bad went rigid and Matt could feel his nerves go haywire.
He sounded to eager, like he was jumping the gun when it came to the two of them. Did Katyusha feel that he was pushing too hard? It hadn’t even been a year since they’d met, and suddenly pulling this out on her Matt realized it was stupid of him to think this idea would go over smoothly. Living in the same house or apartment wasn’t a ploy or anything. Matthew blamed his linier male brain- of course it’d be amazing if he could wake up to Katyusha’s beautiful heart-shaped face every morning. That was something he’d only dared dream about before and he’d be lying if he said the idea didn’t excite him. But mostly he’d been thinking of Kat herself.
“I, er, I, well…” How to say it without getting himself in more trouble… “I was already thinking of moving out on my own. It would be a lot better and more private than the dorms, a-and if we… did, um, move in together, we could find somewhere right near your work so you wouldn’t have to travel as far- not to mention it would be cheaper between the two of us…”
Matthew pulled up their joint hands to rub at the crease forming between his eyebrows. “I’m sorry, maybe this is a bit sudden. I guess I’m just so comfortable being around you that it seemed logical…”
Matthew’s expression turned into a mixture of embarrassment and apology. Kat looked so red, he wondered if she might faint. He detangled their fingers and instead splayed his hand on the small of her back.
“Look, I’m not saying you have to answer right now. Maybe I might not even go through with it. There’s only one more year until I’m graduated myself and then we can sort things out then. I already have the money for a couple months rent on my own so... I just,“ he reached up to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear, smiling sheepishly. “Just think about it, okay? No pressure, no rush, just give it some thought.”
Their heads were so close, Matthew couldn’t help but lean in and slowly kiss her, revelling in exactly how soft and warm Katyusha’s lips were.
-Then suddenly he jerked back.
“I’m sorry-I’m sorry-I’m sorry!” Matthew apologized frantically, “I just dumped all that on you- and then did that- I shouldn’t of-“

Katyusha simply smiled and tugged gently on his tie, bringing their lips back together in a "shut up and kiss me" kind of fashion.
When she pulled away, she had the same reaction Matthew had: she started stuttering and scooted away shyly, a little shocked with herself. Gosh, she’d gotten bold. Pushing her bangs out of her eyes, she laughed sheepishly and avoided his gaze, trying to come up with some excuse for her actions, “S-Sorry, I...um, I...w-well...uh...sorry...!”
...There was no excuse.
Well...this was interesting. Very interesting.
It was a little unnerving how sincere and serious he was about the whole thing...but at the same time, it was admirable. He may be younger than her, but he definitely wasn’t lacking maturity.
Katyusha, on the other hand, was lacking it right now. Rather, she was acting much like a tomato. Or perhaps a big, red, Christmas light. Either way, she was pretty sure she was going to blow a gasket in her head because of how much she was blushing.
She needed to reply, this was important! But...it was like her lips were glued together and whatever words that tried to form were just gibberish. This certainly wasn’t going well.
Instead of replying right away, she carefully moved back to her place against Matthew’s side and mused over the things he’d said. No pressure, no rush... That’s right, this wasn’t happening right NOW. They still had a while until they’d need to discuss whether or not living together would be a good thing. Bringing it up now wasn’t a bad thing, necessarily, but there WAS still time. He’d have time to finish his studies, she’d have time to work, possibly get her own place.
Although, she doubted that would happen...money was needed for that, and she wasn’t sure she had enough money for her own home.
They only needed to plan for tomorrow.
Slow and steady wins the race, after all!
Inhaling a shaky breath, Katyusha looked up at Matthew and spoke softly, hardly able to get the words out of her trembling lips, “...I’ll think about it. I-I promise.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

This is painfully short, I'M SORRYYYYYY, ALJSFWEIOFRAJ @A@

Matthew stared in space.
Kat might’ve said something…
Yeah… she definitely said something…
A ‘yes’, hopefully.
A yes to what exactly, he couldn’t quite seem to remember right at that moment. He was just happy she’d kissed him.
His tie was really too tight now from Kat’s sturdy tug (she really was stronger than she looked) and squeezing his throat; Matthew on the other hand didn’t have a care in the world. His mind was still blown by the sudden assertiveness by Kat. It had left him in something of a daze.
But slowly, the onset of night put those shattered pieces back together.
An evening sunset watch was romantic.
Stranding your girlfriend out in the middle of the dark was not.
“Thank you,” he said earnestly, recalling her shaky words. “Now c’mon, we should be getting you home.” Matthew scooted down off the hood and turned to help Katyusha down to, walking half a step ahead of her in order to reach the car door first and open it for her.
“Here you go, m’lady,” he said with a smile and a bow, closing it securely when she’d tucked herself all in.
Matthew gathered up everything else and placed it back in the trunk, sinking down into the drivers seat with a satisfied huff. The car started with a rumble, the headlights seeming extra bright against the darkening landscape. Matthew felt so comfortable that he slipped one hand from the wheel and laced it back with Katyusha’s, despite being a firm believer in the 2 and 10 o’clock position rule.
Despite knowing that their date was at an end, the smile on Matthew’s face didn’t want to leave. They’d had their first real formal date- not that an expensive dinner, dessert, and a private sunset viewing made their time more valuable. He was always thrilled just to be around her, to have that time to spend together- but he was glad he got to spoil her even though he knew Katyusha wasn’t one to rate her happiness by money spent. He definitely planned to do it more often though. He’d need to find a part time job tho-
BANG!
Matthew grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, startled by the loud noise and how now the car tugged to one side dramatically. They stopped safely on the shoulder, Matt pulling on every form of brake before turning off the engine.
He spun to face Katyusha. “Are you okay? I think it’s just a flat or something- You’re not hurt are you? I slammed on the brake pretty hard…”

---

It's fiiiiine! lol

She'd just been settling in her seat when the loud bang and the sudden jerking of the car left her gasping, clinging to her seat belt as her heart pounded. It took a moment to realize that Matthew was talking, but Katyusha did eventually respond with a bit of a strained voice, "I-I'm alright. I'm not hurt..." Her mind was a little bit elsewhere right now. What had happened?
What had caused that huge sound?
Was it a big problem?
...Were they going to be OK?
No, no, don't think like that! I-It's probably just a flat, like Matthew said...
Alas, her imagination had different ideas. She wasn't going to stay calm, oh no. Why be reasonable? What a silly idea.
No, no.
Instead, her imagination began putting together far-fetched ideas that scared her anyways.
What if it wasn't just a flat? What if they'd hit something, like an animal...or...or a person! Her imagination was making this a very possible thought, despite the fact that they were in a rural area. An animal was always possible, but a person? No.
But that didn't change her thoughts.
What if the person was alive? What if it wasn't an ordinary person, what if it was a mad-man chainsaw murderer---?!
Katyusha then realized that she was clinging so hard to her seat belt that her nails were digging into the material.
...Alright, imagination, time to stop!
Everything was fine, everything was completely fine. This wasn't a horror movie, it was just a flat. They could just get it fixed and be on their way.
She undid her seat belt and stepped out of the car, cautiously looking around at the sides of the vehicle. Sure enough, one side of the vehicle looked off balance. Chewing on her bottom lip, she looked up and asked, "Do you have a spare tire...?"
She couldn't help wondering how long they were going to be out here... She loved spending time with Matthew, but fixing a flat tire wasn't really how she wanted to spend it. She didn't even mind if she was late in getting home; explaining the situation to her siblings would be fine, even if they did get suspicious of her. It would be fine. She just wanted to...GET home.
She still didn't quite know which tire had been the victim, so she went over to Matthew's side, subconsciously rubbing her arms to fight off the coming cold air of night.

There was a sharp click of the door as Matthew stepped out of the car. It was getting slightly harder to see with the dying light but he rounded the car, dipping near each one to see which one had given out.
“Yeah it’s a flat all right. It’s back here,” Matthew said called when he saw the left rear tire. It was almost completely flat. He cursed under his breath.
Great.
Well, at least it wasn’t bad enough that he had to call a tow truck.
Somehow that silver lining didn’t make him feel any better.
Matthew straightened up, rubbing the back of his neck and looked up to see Katyusha rubbing her arms. “Are you cold?”
It was getting a bit chilly…
The ground crunched under his shoes as he walked around to where she was, pulling off his jacket to drape around her shoulders. It looked far too big on her just like his hoodie had all those months ago. She looked so… well, hot in his clothes, though speaking of temperature, Matthew knew his suit jacket wouldn’t be able to fight off the cold for very long.
“Here.” Matthew handed her the keys and smiled. “Go and stay warm inside. I’ll get this fixed in a jiffy. I’ve got a spare in the back. Shouldn’t take long.”
Matthew felt like he was jinxing himself. Sure, he knew what he was doing… kinda sorta. Well it couldn’t be too hard to figure out right?
…Right?
Matthew rounded to the trunk and jerked it open with a nervous yank. There was the spare, sitting on its side, just waiting to be used. It resembled more of a tire-tube for riding down a snowy hill than it did a real durable tire, but it was enough to get them home. He grunted a little as he heaved it out, leaning it up again the bumper. Next were the car jack and tire iron.
Matthew was kind of glad he’d given his jacket to Katyusha. This looked like it was going to get messy.
Rolling up his sleeves and throwing his tie over his shoulder, Matthew got down to business.
Needless to say there was plenty of swearing, in both French and English and whatever other languages Matthew could think of. This tire was quickly tearing his patience to shreds. And it was even harder while trying to maintain an encouraging expression for Katyusha.
He was about halfway through when there was a soft rustle of the foliage behind him. It was enough to make him glance over his shoulder.
That sure hadn’t sounded like wind… Oh well it was probably a bird or something.
“I’m sorry this is taking so long,” Matthew called. He had smudges and smears nearly up to his elbows at this point. Definitely not how he’d pictured this date ending.
“I’m almost finished. Hey,” Matthew said, poking his head up. “We should play a game. It’ll help kill some time. How about one of those question games? Like you ask a question, I ask a question, then you again- and no lying or refusing to answer.” There was a tired, but impish quirk of his lips. “Here, I’ll start: What’s your favourite colour?”

Katyusha shrugged on Matthew's jacket, flushing a little, and took his keys gingerly. She seated herself in the driver's seat, turning on the AC but not closing the car door just yet. Instead, she sat with her legs out of the car, the door hanging open. This way, she could still keep an eye on Matthew.
...OK, so she could do that with the window rolled down, but this was more comfortable.
Actually...maybe this is wasting heat... I suppose I should close the door. But even with the window down...
She huffed a little, staying where she was and watching him get down to work. A smile crept onto her lips as she watched him... Rolled up sleeves looked good on him. It was kind of like he was a real handy-man. ...The look on his face said otherwise, but that didn't matter. He looked a lot more relaxed like this...even if he was fixing a tire, and still wearing his tie. He still looked a lot more casual.
Casual was good. Casual was very good.
Well, so was fancy.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was that even though she'd been really nervous about this ordeal, she felt better right now. She wasn't worried.
Now THAT'S new.
Chuckling softly at herself, Katyusha further wrapped his jacket around herself and perking up at his suggestion. There was a moment of hesitation, before she answered a simple one-worded answer, "Blue." His effort at small-talk brought her small smile back to her lips, and she silently agreed to playing the game. It could be fun! It WOULD pass the time, too...it looked like this flat tire was causing a bit more trouble than they'd thought it would. That thought was a bit worrying, but it soon disappeared. This little game he'd come up with occupied her thoughts. ...Mostly. Besides, by playing this she might learn something she didn't know about Matthew.
...Ah! Right. She needed to ask him something now.
She kicked her legs a little, humming as she thought of what to ask him. She wanted to ask him something that wouldn't be predictable, but...that did seem like the easiest option right now. But that would be boring of her... And yet, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him long enough to think of a good question.
Stupid, sweet, attractive Matthew.
...Alright, easy questions now, harder questions later.
"What's your favourite food?" she asked, tucking her legs into the car and shutting the door, then rolling down the window so she could still talk to him. For a moment, she went rigid when she thought she'd seen a moving shadow...but she forced herself to relax, even if that had broken her relaxed bubble now. From then, the questions went on and she began growing more comfortable, even letting out the occasional laugh. From colours to food, to favourite animals, bad habits, you name it - it was asked.
They were completely engulfed in darkness, aside from the light in the car, but she could hardly care. Even if there was something at the very back of her mind that was bothering her, she chose to ignore it.
Katyusha sat with a portion of her upper body hanging out of the window, resting her head on her arms as she watched Matthew work, searching her head for another question to ask him. "Hmmm...ah, when's your birthday?"

Ah blue~ A good colour for Katyusha.
And it really was. The more he thought about it the more he had to agree. Calm, gentle, serene, and maybe, just maybe, a little melancholy.
Matthew sat back on his heels, almost running a hand through his hair to pull his bangs back from his face. The sweat accumulated by his work had all but completely ruined his hair, hair he’d meticulously tried to slick back but curl by curl he realized it was a battle already lost. He probably had dirt all over him to. This was not how he planned on looking for their date- a silly thought, sure, since he knew Katyusha didn’t care what he looked like. That was one of those clichés that only Kat could say and he honestly believed her. There wasn’t an insincere bone in her body.
But where had all the daydreams of dashingly sweeping her off her feet go? There was no prince charming, just the same gangly, dorky Matthew.
Sometimes he wondered why she liked him as much as she did…
“Birthday?” he said, a little absentmindedly. “Um, well it’s on the first. July first.”
Standing up and brushing the dirt from his hands, Matthew stood, and brushed off his pants. They’d definitely have to go to the cleaners now. Not to mention now having to pay for the car to go into the shop.
“All right, I think we’re ready to-“
Before the word ‘go’ could even leave his lips there was a sudden striking motion, a dark blur bolting from the bushes and heading straight for them. It brushed Matthew’s leg before he could even react, to which he let out a noise half way between choking and a yelp and launched himself onto the trunk in a knee-jerk reaction.
The hell was that?! Was his first thought. Katyusha! Was his second.
In s sort of flailing mess, Matthew hurled himself sideways, sliding across the trunk hood and dashed for the driver side door, flying into it before slamming the door shut behind him. The strange blur moved again. A soft thud and some scratching, then the shape of a fat old raccoon slid down the windshield. It sniffed around for a few moments, paused, and then made itself very comfortable smack dab in the middle of the hood.
Matthew sat there, staring disbelievingly.
“So,” he started, panting heavily with just the smallest hint of a lopsided grin. “Now that I’ve started my heart again. How about favourite animal?”

The first, huh? That wasn't very far off...
Katyusha tossed the date around in her head, losing herself in thought for a moment. Matthew was always spoiling her, she really needed to repay the favour. He was so kind and generous to the point where it was almost overwhelming. It was embarrassing...but she couldn't bring herself to hate it. It just made her nervous: he was using his hard-earned on her, and she couldn't help but think that were more important things he could use it for.
I suppose there’s no use in over-thinking it, that’s just how he is---
The sudden noise that came from Matthew made Katyusha sit up abruptly and turn to see what he was so startled about, but she hardly had a moment’s notice to react. His sliding across the trunk hood and slamming the door already made her flinch quite badly, but the strange little critter on the windshield made her flinch even worse and squeak loudly. She covered her mouth, both in shock and in an effort to silence herself. For a few moments, she simply stared wide-eyed at the racoon, trying to catch her breath. Her heart had nearly burst out of her chest, everything had happened so quickly---and it was just a silly little racoon. Her back relaxed and she sighed heavily, leaning back into the seat and looking up at her dirt-smudged, slightly dishevelled but always adorable, Matthew.
How did he manage that grin even in this state? Oh yes, she could see it there, hiding in the corner of his mouth.
She couldn’t help chuckling lightly, resting her hands in her lap as she smiled and mused over her response.
“Hmm...horses. I love horses! I love to go riding, although...it’s been a while since I have... But horses are my favourite, yes.” She nodded at the end of her answer, as if to make a statement.
Her cheeks had turned a light shade of red, either from the “tussle” they’d just encountered or from the happy thought of riding a horse again. The smell of hay and the rush of the wind in her hair...those were sensations that she could hardly remember. She hadn’t had a chance to enjoy herself like that in such a long time; although, her back was one of the factors keeping her from doing so.
She paused for a moment, breaking free of her thoughts again, before asking in return, “You?”

Matthew turned to study the features of Katyusha’s face. She looked stunning even in the dark.
“You ride horses?” His voice was painted with surprise. “You’ve never told me that before.”
And don’t think he didn’t miss the way her eyes wistfully glazed over for just the shortest of moments. What was she thinking, remembering?
He got so caught up in watching her, he was caught by surprise when she turned and returned the question.
Matthew suddenly became enraptured by the worn details of the steering wheel.
“Polar bears,” he blurted out, face growing hot. “My favourite animal is polar bears because, you know, they’re so strong and wild… n’stuff.”
Very smooth, Captain suave.
What was worse was the fact that the mangy old raccoon still situated on the hood of the car seemed to sense his muck up to. Those beady little eyes grinned at him and Matthew glared back-
And that nasty little cretin upped the ante by swishy its furry tail and stared him in the eye as it moved to use his windshield as a bathroom.
“Oh no you don’t!” Matthew growled under his breath as he smacked on the wipers. The raccoon hissed, sticking his nose in the air and sauntered away.
“I’ll tell you what animal I don’t like,” Matt spoke, turning back to his date with a victory grin. “But I’m guessing you can already tell.”
Their questions continued as Matthew drove them home. Pets as a child, phobias, grossest thing they’d ever eaten. It wasn’t long until they’re hands were linked again. He hesitated letting go when they pulled up in front of Katyusha’s place. He sat for a moment even after he’d cut the engine. It wasn’t until he felt the tug of Kat motioning to get out and he snapped back to reality, rushing out and around the car to open the door.
“Sorry,” he apologized, offering a hand to help her out. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
As they reached the steps up to entrance, Matthew stopped her, chewing his bottom lip. “I have 1 more question. Besides… that other stuff, did you have fun?”

Katyusha gazed up at him for a few moments before a sincere smiled bloomed on her lips. How could she NOT have had fun? Sure, they'd have a few mishaps here and there but...that's what made the journey, right? They'd seemed problematic at the time, but thinking back on them now they seemed more amusing than anything.
Besides, any time spent with Matthew was good time. Even if it was bad time, things were always OK in the end.
Who knew I was so sappy?
"Yeah, I had fun. I-I always do, Matvey." She looked down shyly at her last comment, feeling her cheeks burn red. Her embarrassment got the better of her, causing her to giggle nervously and shuffle her feet. After a moment's hesitation, she looked back up at him with a slightly wider smile and a soft laugh. Sliding her hands back into his like it was second-nature, she stood with Matthew for a few moments longer before standing up on her tip-toes to plant a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth.
Honestly...did he even realize what he did to her? She wasn't one to giggle over a crush, but...he made her want to laugh and smile and be happy about him and being with him and---
Well, it felt ridiculous. And wonderful. It was so dumb.
...And great.
Squeezing his hands, she spoke, unable to rid herself of her smile, "I had fun Matvey, I did. Thank you! You're too kind to me." How on earth was she going to pay him back for this? He'd done so much for her tonight...he'd done more than enough! She had a feeling that throughout their relationship, there'd be times when he'd spoil her. The thought was somewhat frustrating...but flattering at the same time.
Her eyes had strayed from his again and she was taken by another spell of awkward embarrassment. She chose to stare at their intertwined hands, mumbling quietly as she tried to find the right words to express her gratitude. Honestly, what could she say in this situation? There was so much he did and said and it was just...wonderful! It was! Maybe it was the fact that all he had done for her was clicking in her head; it was a little overwhelming, in a good kind of way.
Finally giving up on words, she took her hands from his and wrapped them around his waist, pulling herself in for a tight hug and resting her cheek on his chest. If words were going to betray her, then she'd use body language.
...Proper body language, nothing like---nothing "unnecessary". Wanted, but unnecessary.
And there went her subconscious again. Thinking such thoughts was imporper at this time, all she wanted to do was thank him!
She truly, honestly wanted to show him how happy she was.