Hello again, everyone! Here is yet another attempt of mine to write a multi-chapter fic, lol. I've been reading a bunch of fics throughout summer, and I was greatly struck by General Relativity (on lj) and The Selfish Sickness (here on ff) -ohmygod guys they were so beautiful you should check them out you won't regret it holycrap - that I was inspired to write another story centered on Canada. It's an AU, and makes use of their human names; there is roughly a 3-year age gap between Canada and his brother, America - who is the same in age as England. Initially, I had planned for this to be a oneshot, but well, a lot of relationships start, stop, fade, and intertwine in here so it probably would've been a very loooooong one then hahaha (But even now I'm not entirely sure of how things would work out, I've got a whirlwind of a plot running through my mind and I'm still at a loss at how to follow through with everything hahaha).

Many thanks to the wonderful Whaddapack, my super loyal as fuck guy best friend who tolerated the brewing slash just to help serve as my beta :D HI DUDE IF YOU EVER SEE THIS PLEASE KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU (...as a bro ok) HAHAHAHA. MY GRATITUDE HAS BUT NO BOUNDS.

On a side note, omg guys has anyone here watched About Time? Domhnall Gleeson plays the lead role of Tim Lake and he kinda reminds me of Arthur Kirkland there with his lanky limbs and semi-thick brows and British accent asjkdbglaisfhwq AHAHAHA I absolutely adored it. It's kinda sad but it's also kinda sweet and I liked the musical score quite a bit. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. All rights belong to Hima-papa.

The first time Matthew Williams falls in love, it is with a boy a tad bit older than his age, with thick brows and golden hair and eyes the colour of kelp. He is his brother's playmate (well, step-brother's, if one were to question the difference in their surnames, as his mother decided it would be better for Matthew not to change his family name in honour of his deceased father) and has always been distant and reserved, quite the opposite of Alfred's loud and boisterous nature.

He meets him a month after moving in to the Jones' residence.

Matthew, having taken after his father's weak constitution, is in bed with what seems to be the flu, his raging fever dancing dangerously between the degrees of thirty-eight and thirty-nine. The room is spinning fast around him, enough to tempt him to grab hold of the 'sick bowl' lying on his night table, but that would mean letting go of Kuma—chiro? Kumakichi? He's too sick to remember properly – and he doesn't want to spend even a single moment without his only friend by his side. Instead, he focuses his eyes languidly on some indefinite point on the ceiling, clutching onto the white bear tightly in his arms, like an anchor against the stormy sea, waves of nausea washing over him as his consciousness faded and returned, vision blurring in and out and in and out and in and out and in and –

"Alfred!" he hears someone call out as the door bursts open, the sudden noise startling the ailing child from his whirling thoughts. A child enters the room and hurriedly hastens towards his bed, crouching down low to peek underneath the frame. "Are you in here—oh."Wide emeralds meet confused amethysts, the owner of the voice as equally surprised as the owner of the room.

"I'm sorry! I did not know that someone was occupying this—"

"No, uhm, it's all right… " Matthew offers a faint smile. People usually forgot about him anyway, it didn't really matter that much. He had gotten used to it by now.

"You must be Alfred's new brother," the stranger interrupts him then, "M-Ma…Max…er, Mark…no, uhm…Matthew, right?"

"Who?" the Canadian inquires, his weary eight-year-old mind too tired to process the hasty jumble of the older boy's previous words.

"You are Matthew, aren't you?" he repeats, more smoothly this time.

And Matthew blinks, surprised that someone else had actually been aware of his existence beforehand. It's a nice feeling, though, to be genuinely noticed for once. There's a hint of a blush creeping up his skin, but neither of them notice due to the pre-existent tinge of the Matthew's fever-flushed cheeks.

He opens his mouth to affirm the stranger, but a cough escapes his lips and rattles his weakened frame. Matthew's answer is only reduced to a simple nod.

"You must feel terrible," the boy remarks. "That cough sounds horrid."

"Sorry," Matthew manages to croak out, forcing the words amidst the soreness of his throat.

"No need to apologize." A thin hand snakes itself up his forehead, smoothing out the wisps of his bangs before falling to his neck and then up again to rest on his cheek. Matthew feels his temperature skyrocket at his touch. "You should probably get some rest, then. And, um, your brother is probably still waiting to be found – we were playing hide-and-seek, you see – so I should probably leave now. I'm sorry for the intrusion."

Matthew offers him a tiny wave as he makes his way towards the exit.

"It was nice meeting you, Matthew," he hears him say last before the door clicks to a close.

The fluttering in his stomach is a pleasant one this time, the nausea he had suffered from moments earlier miraculously vanishing as a smile tugs on the corners of his lips. Matthew is drowsy now, so he settles himself by sinking back down in his sheets and tucking the polar bear at his side.

He never quite catches the boy's name, but he contents himself with the fact that it is nothing more than a simple, innocent crush. Nevertheless, the memory of their meeting is enough to cure the child of his ails that night.

Sometimes, Matthew wonders, if perhaps, maybe, meeting him had only just been a dream.

Most other times, however, he reminds himself that it isn't.

keeping things happy and fluffy while i still can hehe :3

please do leave a review, they make my day and i super love them just as i love you guys. not to worry, I'll be updating this one soon hehe :D