...

~(WMD)~

This is the sequel for my story "In Search of Maple"

This one will probably be more Comfort/Hurt then Humor but I'll still try to keep it as light as possible. It's also likely that it will be considerably longer then the first story, since it's suppose to last a week not just a day.

AmeCan/F.A.C.E.

'Thoughts' "Speech"

~(TS)~ = Time Skip

-(SC)- = Scene Change

I own nothing but the story~

Warnings for - Grumpy Canadians, Patient Escape, and Wonderful Soapy Nudity!

xXx xXx xXx

How to Cure a Cold

Step 1 - Acceptance

A low rumble sounded from a ways off, signaling an approaching storm. However, that is not what had awoken Matthew. Every few minutes, the bed would shake due to Alfred's sudden coughing fits. He had started around 5 in the morning, and it had only gotten worse. Matthew looked over at the digital clock on Alfred's nightstand. It was 7:00am now. The Canadian groaned. He also had a slight cough and he was sure his fever was back again as well. 'It sure would have been nice to get a few more hours…' Matthew thought to himself as he pulled his sore body out of bed. Maybe he over did it yesterday with all that cleaning he had done.

After putting his glasses on, Matthew walked around to the other side of the bed and stared down at his brother. The American was asleep again, but he was sweating and his cheeks were rosy. Matthew sighed but said nothing as he slipped out of the bedroom and down the hall.

Alfred was shocked awake when something really cold was set upon his forehead. Bleary azure eyes opened and attempted to focus on the person before him. After a moment, his lips formed a soft smile. "Hey, Mattie, …when did you get here?" Alfred asked as he looked up at his brother.

Matthew sighed quietly, then cleared his throat. "I've been here since yesterday. Remember?"

Alfred gave him a confused look, but said nothing. Matthew frowned at his twin. He then picked up a purple bottle from the nightstand and unscrewed the cap. Alfred watched him suspiciously as he poured some purple liquid into the clear plastic cup.

"Drink this, Al." Matthew directed, as he held the smelly purple substance to Alfred's lips.

The American crinkled his nose and turned away. "No way, bro… That stuff smells gross."

Matthew glared down at his brother, he was not in the mood for his childishness this morning. He already had a bad headache and he felt like he had gotten close to no sleep at all last night. Matthew turned away from Alfred as he tried to cover a bad cough of his own.

Alfred looked up at his brother with concern. "Mattie, you ok?"

Matthew turned back and half heartedly glared at him again. "Look. See? This stuff isn't going to kill you." He stated as he held the medicine up to his own lips. He suppressed a cringe, then swallowed the thick liquid in one gulp. "There, it doesn't even taste that bad." Matthew lied as he refilled the cap and held it up to his brother's lips again.

Alfred bit his bottom lip and looked at the purple medicine, then back up to his brother. The look on the Canadian's face left no room for argument. He sighed in defeat, then looked back down to the medicine and opened his mouth slowly. It tasted absolutely awful! The liquid was hard to swallow and burned his throat on the way down. He instantly felt like he was going to throw it back up, when a hand clamped onto his mouth.

"Don't you dare!" Matthew hissed. After a moment, he removed his hand and Alfred glared up at him.

"You lied." He accused as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Matthew shrugged. "It's medicine, it's not suppose to taste good."

Alfred frowned at his brother. "I don't even need medicine. I'm fine."

Matthew groaned, he had heard this so many times. "Just stay in bed and keep that icepack on your head."

That said, the Canadian looked over to his polar bear companion. Kumajiro was sitting at the end of the bed, chewing on a strawberry twizzler. Matthew wrinkled his nose at the filthy bear. "Mr. Kumakichi, you really need a bath." Kumajiro snapped his furry head up and stared at the teen. He then hopped off the bed and attempted to make a quick getaway. The bear felt hands grab him gently under his arms and he was lifted into the air. "Oh no you don't." Matthew said as he carried his small polar bear out of the room. "It's bath time~"

"Good luck, little buddy." Alfred whispered, as he watched them go. The American waited a few more minutes till he thought the coast was clear, then sat up from the bed and tossed the icepack onto the nightstand, carelessly. The teen slid out of the bed and stretched his aching muscles. He was really sore all over; it must have been all of the exercise he had gotten yesterday. After stretching, he turned and picked up his glasses and slipped them on.

Alfred found his remaining clothes hanging in his closet. They had been washed. The teen grinned and took a fresh T-shirt off the hanger. "Sweet! No more pickles." He quietly cheered to himself after smelling the shirt.

Now fully dressed, Alfred crept out of his bedroom and silently ninja hugged the hallway wall as he made his way to the kitchen. He sighed in relief when he found no Matthew. The Canadian was in one of his moods again. He always got this way when he didn't get enough sleep. Alfred smirked to himself as he gathered up his wallet and iPhone. After quickly leaving a note on the counter, he exited the kitchen. 'I'll be back a little later, maybe Mattie will be in a better mood then.' Alfred decided as he stealthily made his way out the front door. 'No more medicine for this hero~'

The American discovered that the engine to his trusty motorcycle was dead, when he tried to start it. "No way!" He exclaimed as he got off his bike and checked the engine. Some of the key components were missing. He groaned and looked over at the beige colored house across the street from his. The teen's eyes glared as he spotted movement from the third story window. A small boy peeked at him from behind a telescope.

"Billy…" Alfred grumbled as he turned away from the house and put his hands into his pockets, moodily. He then started walking away towards town.

"There, all clean!" Matthew beamed, as he towel dried Kumajiro. The small polar bear glared up at him grumpily. He now looked like a damp fluff ball, however he smelled much better and the brown cola patches were gone; though, he still sparkled for some reason.. The teen stood back up, brushed himself off, and dried his hands. "Now that that's done, let's go check on Alfie again. He must be feeling a bit better from that cold medicine I gave him earlier." Kumajiro huffed and padded out of the bathroom, disinterested.

Matthew quietly walked into the bedroom, so as not to wake up his brother if he were asleep. The towel he was still holding fell to the floor, messily, as he stared at the empty bed. "Maybe he went to the bathroom…" Matthew proposed to himself as he walked out of the bedroom and to the second bathroom to check if it was occupied. It wasn't, and the light was even off this time. The teen frowned and walked back into the living room. He spotted a note on the kitchen counter.

Matthew narrowed his eyes as he read the note.

"Going out for a bit. I'll be back later this afternoon. I feel fine!"

"Not this time, Al…" Matthew growled, as he grit his teeth and crumpled the paper in his hand.

-(SC)-

Thunder rumbled overhead as Alfred walked happily down the sidewalk. He was humming 'Everybody loves me' to himself as he observed the late autumn scenery. The teen had already made a list of things to do today in order to avoid going home. "It's going to be such an awesome day!" The American beamed.

A chill ran down his spine as he was suddenly shot with a feeling of dread. He stopped walking and cautiously turned around.

"Alfred! Get your butt back home now!" Matthew actually shouted as he ran down the sidewalk after him.

"Oh, hamburgers!" Alfred yelped as he turned on his heels and fled from the angry Canadian as fast as he could. Houses and mailboxes flew by as they ran past them. "Calm down, bro!" Alfred shouted back to Matthew, in a desperate attempt to defuse the situation.

"I'm going to tie you to the bed, Al!" Matthew shot back, from right behind him. Alfred cringed and tried to run faster. A moment later and he was sent flying.

Matthew tackled his brother with all he had and sent them both tumbling to the sidewalk in a jumbled heap. They lay there for a few minutes, without saying a word, as they breathed heavily. Matthew finally lifted his head from Alfred's chest and looked down at him, still trying to catch his breath. Violet met azure, as Alfred stared back up at him, panting as well.

"You're not going anywhere today, Alfie." Matthew stated through breaths.

Alfred rolled his eyes. "I told you,..." He breathed. "I feel fine."

Matthew sighed. "You have a bad cold, I know you don't feel fine."

It was Alfred's turn to sigh. "I've never had a cold in my life; it's probably just the weather."

Matthew huffed. "Yes, you have had a cold before, we go through this every time!"

Alfred looked away with a pout. "I don't know what you're talking about…"

Matthew glared down at his twin, then took his hand and put it to the side of Alfred's face and turned it back to face him. "Just because you deny something, doesn't make it go away, Alfie." He said as he glowered down at his brother. Alfred blushed suddenly, as he stared back up at Matthew. Loud thunder boomed overhead, and then, as if on cue, rain showered down onto them.

Alfred smirked up at his twin. "Told you it was the weather."

Matthew groaned.

When they finally made it back to the house, they were both thoroughly soaked and shivering. Neither teen said a word as they headed off to opposite bathrooms for a nice hot shower.

'Why is he always so difficult when he has a cold?' Matthew wondered, as he pulled off his wet shirt. He shivered as the cold air greeted his bare skin. 'He's such a hassle, I should have just let him go.' He thought as he turned on the shower to let it get warm.

"I could have had a nice nap while he was gone." Matthew grumbled softly as he dropped the rest of his clothes to the bathroom floor. He shook his head. 'I would never have been able to get to sleep…' Matthew sighed as he stepped into the shower and let the warm water wash over him. "Why do I even care?"

-(SC)-

Alfred had opted to take a nice long bubble bath to prolong his isolation. 'I almost got away…' He thought to himself as he sat amongst the bubbles with a pout. He was flushed again, but the steam was doing wonders for his congestion.

"Should have taken the short cut to town…" He grumbled as he scooped up a handful of bubbles and glared at them. A sudden sneeze caught him off guard, and sent the bubbles flying from his hands. Alfred moaned softly to himself as he put a hand to his aching head. 'Fine, I have a cold. So what?' He finally admitted to himself with a sniff. 'But then, so does Matt. He should just take care of himself, ..instead of worrying about me.'

Alfred yawned deeply and slumped his upper body against the shower wall. "Why does he even care…?"

~(TS)~

Matthew had finished with his shower around twenty minutes ago and was now rummaging through Alfred's cabinets, in search of something other than cocoa. To his surprise, he finally found a box of Earl Grey shoved to the very back of one of the taller cabinets. The box was still sealed. "This must be my silver lining." He said with a hoarse voice and smiled.

'Why is Al taking so long?' Matthew wondered, half way through his cup of tea. "It's been almost an hour." He finished off his tea and set his cup into the sink. The teen then made his way to the hallway bathroom, to investigate.

"Al?" Matthew asked quietly through the door. Getting no reply, he bit his bottom lip in worry. "Alfie, are you mad at me?" He asked a little louder. Still, he received no reply.

Matthew hesitated, then grabbed hold of the doorknob. "I'm coming in, alright?" He waited a moment, then opened the door slowly. His worry was instantly replaced with a look of incredulity.

Matthew sighed as he walked over to the bathtub and crouched down, eye level with the sleeping teen. Reaching over, he gently poked his brother in the cheek with his finger. "Wake up, Alfie~ You shouldn't fall asleep in the bathtub, it's dangerous." He said with a small blush, as he frowned at his twin.

Feeling something poking him in the face, Alfred's consciousness came back into focus and he slowly opened his eyes. When he looked over, he found his brother staring at him strangely.

"Hey, Mattie, you feeling ok…?" Alfred mumbled as he observed his brother's flushed appearance.

Matthew ignored his question and sighed. "Maybe I should call Arthur, he probably wouldn't mind coming over and giving us a hand."

Alfred frowned. "No, don't call him." He whined. "He always tries to make me eat when I don't feel good."

Matthew smirked. "So, you admit you're sick then, eh?"

"What? No, I never said I was sick! Really, I feel fi-" Alfred was cut off when his brother reached over and pinched his nose in irritation.

Matthew had left the bathroom without another word. He grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter and searched through his contact list. Right as he dialed Arthur's number, there was a knock on the front door. The teen looked over at the door curiously, as he heard a familiar ringtone from just outside. Keeping his phone to his ear, Matthew walked over and opened the door. Arthur looked up at him in surprise, his phone also to his ear.

"Hello, Arthur. It's nice to see you." Matthew greeted politely as he put his phone away and held the door open for the British gentleman to enter.

"Quite nice to see you as well, Matthew." Arthur replied. "Dreadful weather today, isn't it?" He continued, as he took off his wet coat and hung it on the coat rack.

Matthew nodded. "It's pretty bad; Alfie and I got caught up in it a little while ago."

Arthur frowned. "Why were either of you outside on a day like this?" He questioned disapprovingly. "How is Alfred? He looked awful last night."

"Seriously, Mattie.. Don't call anyone, ...I don't wanna be babied." Alfred mumbled as he swayed out from the hallway and into the living room, his hand on the wall for support.

Both Matthew and Arthur gaped at him.

The American was completely naked, save for a few random patches of soap suds. His vital regions were just barely covered.

"Alfie!" Matthew yelled semi-loudly as he rushed over to his brother, blocking him from view. "Get back in the bathroom, you're being very rude!"

Alfred frowned, then looked over Matthew's shoulder and spotted Arthur. "Hey, Artie!" He beamed as he failed to read the atmosphere.

"Back to the bathroom! Go!" The Canadian hissed as he began pushing his indecent twin back down the hall, and out of sight.

Arthur finally recovered, once his ex-colonies were out of the room. "I thought I taught you better than that, America! That is not the proper way to greet your guests!" He reprimanded loudly with a deep blush.


xXx xXx xXx

~(WMD)~

I'm throwing in some One-Sided USUK, because I love stirring that cauldron of trouble!

This story is now finished! woohoo... I need a life XD

Don't be afraid to give me feedback on the story~ :)