Author's Note: This is something that I wouldn't normally write but it's for a friend's friend's birthday. Or to clarify, the birthday of a friend of my internet friend who demanded I let her write this. She did, I'm just posting it. All credits go to Rei Q. And yes I know I misspelled your name but you wanted me to spell that anyway so don't bombard me with capitalization on Facebook m'kay?

As I said, I won't ever think of publishing a NationxReader but again like I said, it's a special occasion. Please pardon the grammatical and/or spelling errors. Please review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. The character Paulo umm... represents my friend's friend. Since she can't write anything but yaoi so... yeah... She/he doesn't belong to me either. Oh, and the OCs mentioned here don't belong to me either.

Canada remembered when he met Paulo. He remembered the first time the human spoke to him. He remembered how much he changed. Well, how much of his outer shell he removed to be exact. He didn't change. He just revealed himself. Canada had to thank this man. That's why he was here. Standing in front of him, a basket of flowers in one hand. He held an umbrella in the other and had a spare hanging on his wrist. It was raining. Hard. Still, Canada had to go. Today was the day they met. February 4th. The day that the fateful hockey game commenced.

Canada remembered that he went in place of his sister. His sister's name was Kyle so it was not much of a hassle to pretend to be her. All he had to do was to pretend he knew the other players which he obviously didn't. Kyle was far better at playing but alas, she got a sprain from her skateboard and was unable to come. In fact, none of these people even knew Kyle personally. They were... internet friends to be exact. Internet friends that live in the same country, the same city, the same neighbourhood and had their houses right beside each other's. However they never met personally. Even he wondered how that happened.

Canada smiled as he remembered the time when he completely kicked his ass. The day they met. But that wasn't the day they became friends. No, far from it. They became friends when he found Canada in the World Conference Building, Parisian branch. Canada didn't know how he got there and never go the chance to ask. One thing he did know was that that was the day a human changed his life. Paulo changed him so much.

"I'm a nation." Canada repeated again. He was sitting in the corner hugging his legs close to his chest. His polar bear, Kumakichi? Kumanuma? Kumakuma? Kumawhatever lying beside him fast asleep. Paulo was sitting cross-legged infront of him. His head resting lazily atop one arm with his elbow digging slightly into his leg. Canada wore a red hoodie with blue jeans. Something that was mimicked by Paulo. They both had slightly wavy hair and Canada swore that if Paulo's features were to slightly change, he'd have another person that looked like him. If Paulo became a little more shy, if his black hair was blonde instead, if his brown eyes were a slight hue of purple, if he had a curl, if he wore glasses... Canada would have a doppleganger.

"I know. You've been telling me that for the past hour." Paulo replied, boredom in his eyes. He had been arguing with the Canadian for the past two hours. It was mostly one-sided with Canada repeating that he was a nation over and over. He initially didn't want to tell Paulo about it but the man was persistent. He kept asking and asking until Canada finally gave in. Was it because the man was tireless? No. It was because he had paid so much attention to Canada when no one else did.

"So why are you still here?" Canada loved the attention of course. He just can't ignore (no pun intended) that the man in front of him was... well... a man. He wasn't a nation. What if some terrorist against Canada found out about him? It would endanger him. Canada didn't want that. "You know you shouldn't be here. You're not a country. What if someone sees you?"

"No one would see me. No one is even here. Except you and me of course." The man answered. "I came to ask you some questions." He continued. Canada must have given him a curious look as the man smirked a little. "Why do you change?" Canada blinked. Everyone changes. So why did the man ask him this? "Everyone and everything changes you know." Canada answered automatically.

Apparently this was not the answer the man wanted. He frowned for a second before that smirk returned to his face. "Yeah, everything changes. I meant you!" He pointed at Canada with the hand that his head wasn't resting on. The nation looked baffled. "You're completely different when you're holding a hockey stick. Screw that shit. You're completely different when you're Matthew Williams." He waited for a response from the Canadian. None came.

"Well, if you don't wanna answer then don't. Just wanted to ask that's what I came here for." He stood up and headed out the door. "Just wanna let you know that Canada and Matthew Williams are the same person. They're just wearing different masks."

With that Paulo left. Canada finally stood up and walked out after him. When he peered into the hallway, no one was there. Except maybe his brother that was waving at him. Canada sighed. As usual his brother didn't- did his brother wave at him!? Canada briefly wondered if it was because of Paulo.

Thinking back, Canada laughed. It was because of Paulo. He opened his eyes. That or Paulo just had a weird ability to make people see Canada. It was weird.

Since that day, Canada and Paulo had been hanging out almost everyday. People took notice of Canada and the (once) ignored nation loved it. Paulo enjoyed himself as well. Why Paulo chose to be his friend out of everyone in the world was beyond Canada. But that made him love his friend even more. And then that happened...

Canada's smile never faltered though a tear slipped past his eye. Soon another fell down onto the damp grass. Then another and another. Soon, Canada was crying. His tears masked by the rain. His smile never faltering. One might say he'd gone insane but no. Canada was perfectly sane. He just smiled though he was dying on the inside.

The day was February 4th, three years after Paulo and Canada met. Paulo didn't show up for his and Canada's outing. They were supposed to watch a hockey game. Canada wasn't going to participate. Paulo discouraged him from playing. "Give the other team a chance" He said. Canada laughed. Of course, if he played the other team would get their asses handed to them by the Canadian alone.

Assuming the other was late, Canada waited a little longer. When an hour passed, Canada became worried. He searched the freezing streets of Canada for the familiar patch of wavy black hair and a pair of spunky brown eyes. He searched until it got dark. Frustrated, his feet carried him back home. Where did Paulo go? Canada approached his house but never entered. Something was posted onto his front door. Canada tenderly took it off and read it silently.

Dear Canada,

I'm sorry I won't be able to show up today. Or any other day for the matter.
I left your anniversary present yesterday in the place Canada and Matthew Williams became just one person.
I wish I could give it to you in person but I can't.
Still, I hope you won't be too cross with me.

Love, Paulo

Canada made a break for the nearest airport. He needed a flight to France and fast.

Canada wanted to stop smiling it made him feel horrible. Smiling like this... it hurt him. It hurt him so much. Yet he knew that if he broke down, Paulo would be disappointed. He continued smiling. He smiled as he knelt down and set the flowers. It was the last thing he could do for him. Smile.

Canada rushed to the WCB* in Paris. He sprinted through the hallways and tore down the door to the meeting room. It was lying there innocently. A small photo album with the Canadian flag printed on it. Canada walked to it and opened it. There was a note attached on the first page. It held an address and... two numbers. Canada wondered what is what for. Perhaps Paulo's house? He never did tell Canada where he lived. He browsed through the pages of the album.

The first half was full of pictures of Canada with Paulo. The memories made the nation smile. The second half filled his head with confusion. It was him with a woman he never saw in his life. She had long wavy brown hair a darker shade than Hungary's. She had brown eyes with glasses perched atop her nose. With every picture, pain shot to Canada's head. He was remembering something he forgot a long time ago.

-Flashback of a Flashback-

He was with the other nations. This was a long, long time ago judging by the state of the buildings. They were ancient. They were laughing and smiling together. Canada wasn't ignored. They were in a meeting as well. Like the time he met Paulo. The meeting ended. Everyone but Canada left, he was still fixing his things. Then a girl entered. She was not a nation. She was lost.

She had something about her that drew Canada in. Maybe it was her personality? The two met everyday. Canada didn't bother counting how long they've been together. He should have. The girl, Pamela, had terminal cancer. The day she died, Canada was beside her deathbed as Matthew Williams. She was with her friends. Pauline and Kyla. The last thing she said before she left the world was 'smile'.

Unfortunately, Canada didn't. He smiled but it was empty. Emotionless. Void. Nothing. Soon, his presence faded. Until no one could see him. He forgot.

-End F of a F-

Now he remembered. He took the album in his hands and took a flight back to Canada. He drove to the address. It was a cemetery. He looked for the two numbers. 232 and 233. 232 died a long time ago. 233 died 60 years ago. 232 was Pamela. Paulo was buried beneath 233. What was strange about the two tombstones was that the people that died died on the same date and had the same reason for dying. Canada was unsure why that information was there but he didn't care. He was too busy crying.

Canada was kneeling infront of Paulo's grave. It had been a hundred years already. The world changed drastically. Technology was far advanced than it was before. Unfortunately, the cemetery was forgotten. Canada was the only one that visited anymore. The basket of flowers were placed in between the two graves. The umbrellas shielded the tombstones from the rain. As a result, Canada was drenched. Today was February 4th. The day he remembered.

-Back in the WCB*-

Canada was late. Two hours late actually. The nations didn't bother with asking where he was. The nation always kept shut where he went. No one dared to ask. Canada changed so much. Everyone especially America, appreciated the change. They had been doing so much better in their meetings since Canada lost his invisibility.

"And so, due to the recent attacks of the sky pirates, I think we should form our own fleet. To patrol the skies and prevent the sky pirates from raiding any more of our cities." America finished. Applause sounded in the room. America gave a small bow and returned to his seat beside England. "Nice job America." The Brit complimented. "Thanks" America replied.

"Alright." Germany's booming voice echoed throughout the room. "Who's next?" Whispered flooded the room. Everyone knew that Canada was next but no one had the guts to tell Germany. He was far too hot-headed that morning and no one wanted to be at the receiving end of his anger. Of course there was a possibility he won't get angry but no one wanted to take the chance. "Canada is." Italy answered. Without the 've's that normally escapes the Italian's mouth.

"Well then," Germany sounded calmer. "Where's Canada?" As if on cue, Canada burst through the doors dripping wet from the rain. All eyes were on him. "You're late." Germany said bluntly. Canada merely nodded and smiled. He headed towards the podium and cleared his throat. "Well, I'd like to begin with this cemetery..."

Author's Note(s): Okay... so... I hope you enjoyed this. Even if there are huge plot holes. This was originally meant to be a 1000 word fic only but Rei got carried away. So I may or may not modify this into a multi-chapter fic so some parts have 'mysterious' qualities if it could even be called that. So... the message below is directly from Rei and it's unedited so expect a lot of swearing in the message below...

R: Okay, first of all... Happy Birthday! I know this shit wasn't what you expected but I seriously can't think of anything else. Yeah... hehe sorry if you expected something else but I still hope you like this fuck. Again happy birthday and I apologize for the shitty writing. I hope I at least got something right in this crap. (check your FB okay?)

Again Happy B-Day!