A/N: Okay, so apparently listening to songs on repeat is good for my muse, because when I put Lullaby by Jack Johnson on repeat and listened to it for a half hour straight on the walk home (and still have it on repeat as I'm typing this [and god, I'm making typos out the wazoo, I need to type more to kick that bad habit that's forming…]) I honestly was bombarded with cute images that demanded to be formed into a story.
It's a cute song, and made me imagine Arthur singing to his colonies (And since I've been in a UKCan mood lately *curses her boyfriend for having Matt's personality… but a British accent* I figured I'd make it into a fluffy Arthur/Matt drabble.) ^.^ Please go easy on me, this is my first time writing the pairing.
Title: Lullaby
Genre: …*honestly wishes there was a "FLUFF" Genre* Family
Characters: Canada/Matthew Williams, England/Arthur Kirkland. Merntions of France/Francis Bonnefoy and America/Alfred F. Jones.
Pairing: Kinda England/Canada
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia - Axis Powers, which is owned by Hidekaz Himaruya, or Lullaby by Jack Johnson and Matt Costa. I also disclaim some stylistic decisions and give credit where credit is due to IlluminatedShadow (whose UKCan fics are the firewood to my interest in the pairing) and MedicalNonsense (Who is just a freaking amazing writer and who I hope will take my horrible attempts to learn from the style as flattery and not an insult).
Word Count: 1,015. 1,225 with the song lyrics.
Lullaby
When you're so lonely, lying in bed
Night's closed its eyes, but you can't rest your head
Everyone's sleeping, all through the house
You wish you could dream, but forgot to somehow
Sing this lullaby to yourself
Sing this lullaby to yourself
And if you are waiting, waiting for me
Know I'll be home soon, darling, I guarantee
I'll be home Sunday, just in one week
Dry up your tears, if you start to weep
And sing this lullaby to yourself
Sing this lullaby to yourself
Lullaby (lullaby), I'm not nearby (not nearby)
Sing this lullaby to yourself
Don't you cry (don't you cry), no don't you cry (don't you cry)
Sing this lullaby to yourself
Cause when I arrive dear, it won't be that long
No it won't seem like anytime, that I've been gone
It ain't the first time, it won't be the last
Won't you remember these words to help the time pass?
So when you're so lonely, lying in bed
Night's closed its eyes, but you can't rest your head
Everyone's sleeping, all through the house
You wish you could dream, but forgot to somehow
Sing this lullaby to yourself
Sing this lullaby to yourself
Sing this lullaby, sing this lullaby
Sing this lullaby to yourself
He always sang the same song when they were unable to sleep the night before he left, the same melody that came flowing from his throat without a thought, the same words that would make Alfred grin as he curled up deeper beneath the blankets and make a small, happy smile grace Matthew's lips. He always sang the same song when they looked up at him, Alfred's lip quivering and the lower half of Matthew's face buried into the fur of his polar bear (which he was still trying to get used to). The same song that would make the beautiful blue and vibrant violet eyes close in sleep.
And it was the same song that he was singing now, running his hands through the two boys' hair as they curled around each other in bed, staring up at him. The same tune, the same words, the same happy smiles as they fell asleep.
"Sing this lullaby to yourself…" he finished softly, leaning down to kiss the two foreheads. Alfred's face turned away, and his lip curled a little, like it did every time he kissed them good night. Matthew's face, as he had grown accustomed to, turned toward him until the slightly chapped lips of his other young charge brushed against his cheek, and he pulled away to see Matthew smiling tiredly up at him.
"J'taime, daddy…" the little boy said softly, and Arthur smiled.
"Love you too, Matthew." The Brit said softly, standing and smiling, "I'll be back Sunday morning before you and Alfred wake up."
"Bet I can…" Matthews's soft voice was interrupted by a yawn as his eyes closed, "…wake up sooner…"
Arthur chuckled, brushing Matthew's hair behind his ears as he leaned down to kiss the boy's forehead again. "I'd love to see you try."
Every time Arthur returned, Sunday morning, at six AM sharp, he would find a softly smiling Matthew and a tray of breakfast prepared for him, and he would wearily thank the Powers that Be that the boy could cook like France, and not like he (He'd kill the Frog if he said anything about it though).
"When you're so lonely, lying in bed, night's closed its eyes, but you can't rest your head…" Arthur hummed to himself, sighing as he moved through the streets of Toronto, on his way to Matthew's house. He was aware that it was July second, the day after Matthew's birthday, but he hoped that Matthew would forgive him.
"Everyone's sleeping, all through the house… You wish you could dream, but forgot to somehow…" He turned off the main street and walked quickly down into the suburban area of Toronto. "Sing this lullaby to yourself… sing this lullaby to yourself…" He passed many quaint painted houses and turned onto another street, leaving many of the houses behind and moving toward the area where the woods started up. There, by the edge of the woods, was a two floor house with a maple tree in the front yard. He walked toward the front door, singing the next few lines of the song. "And if you are waiting, waiting for me, know I'll be home soon, darling, I guarantee… I'll be home Sunday, just in one week! Dry up your tears, if you start to weep…"
"I'll sing this lullaby to myself…" He heard Matthew's voice through the door, seeming distracted, as he raised his hand to rap his knuckles against the door. Arthur paused, blinking as he heard Matthew sing again, the same melody, the same words (well, almost the same words). "Sing this lullaby to myself…"
He bit his lip, listening for a few seconds more as Matthew went into the bridge of the song. Arthur mouthed the words he would say to the boy, had he been singing the song at the moment.
"Lullaby," Arthur mouthed the word as it was sung, "…you're not nearby…" I am now nearby; Arthur mouthed with his eyes half-lidded."I sing this lullaby to myself…I won't cry," Please don't cry... "No, I will not cry…" Don't cry… "I'll sing this lullaby to myself…"
"Cause when I arrive dear, it won't be that long." Arthur continued the singing at a normal volume, hearing a gasp from behind the door and he smirked a bit at catching the younger nation off guard. "No it won't seem like anytime, that I've been gone. It isn't the first time, and it won't be the last, won't you remember these words to help the time… pass…" The door was pulled open and he faced Matthew, whose eyes were wide and staring at him. For a brief second he was speechless and staring right back, shifting on his feet.
"So when I feel lonely, lying in bed…" Matthew sung under his breath, still watching Arthur as Arthur swallowed slightly.
"Night's closed its eyes, but you can't rest your head…"
"I'm all alone, all alone in this house…" the words caught Arthur off guard, and he shifted on his feet again. Matthew's sad smile made Arthur feel slightly guilty, but he pushed on for the end of the song.
"You wish you could dream, but forgot to somehow… Sing this lullaby to yourself… Sing this lullaby to yourself… Sing this lullaby, sing this lullaby… Sing this lullaby to yourself." Arthur finished the song breathlessly, without any actual notes to the last sentence, smiling slightly and chuckling weakly, "Happy belated birthday, Matthew."
"…better late than never, Arthur." Matthew smiled sadly again, opening the door fully and waving the Brit in.
"You remembered the words." Arthur murmured softly, glancing at Matthew out of the corners of his bright green eyes, wondering why they stung slightly at the sentence.
"…to help the time pass…" Matt chuckled a bit, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to Arthur, biting his lip, "I'm happy to see you…"
The stinging was definitely there, Arthur barely thought, before he stared down at his tea and smiled sadly as a single tear traced down his cheek.
"I'm happy to see you too, Matthew..."
Happy to see you too.
A/N: ...*hides face from her fluff*