A/N: Lars is what I see the Netherlands referred to as in quite a few other fanfics, so I decided to use that name. Just to clear up any confusion~

Also, in advance, I'd like to apologize for any historical inaccuracy. :)

In Gratitude

. . .

The first thing that Matthew Williams thought when he first stepped on the grounds of Randstad, Netherlands, was: I should have brought a better coat.

A shade darker from its usual tan, his long parka was already drenched five minutes into the sudden rainfall that had begun. It weighed heavily on the rather small blond, and with Kumashitsuji's added presence(the bear had refused to be left back at his house), Matthew was already tired just a quarter of an hour after getting off the train and beginning his hike.

In the back of his mind, he wondered vaguely if he should be with the other soldiers helping distribute food to the starving Dutch. But the Netherlands had been liberated from its German occupants already, so he supposed one missing person couldn't hurt. Besides, he needed to see Lars himself - just to make sure that the other nation was all right.

The Canadian continued his trek across mostly empty plains(the rain still beating down on him and Kumajunjou constantly pawing at his arm), slightly resenting Lars for being inconveniently living in Randstad. The fact that it was the most densely populated part of the Netherlands didn't help. Matthew hoped to be lucky and find the Dutchman's house on the first try.

"Kumadesunoto, stop it," Matthew lightly berated the polar bear.

"Warm," the creature replied. "Wet."

"It's your fault for not staying home like you should have," Matthew said, frowning.

Kuma-what's-his-name shook his head. "Hungry. Feed me."

"We're finding Lars first." And almost as if on cue, something popped up in the horizon and gradually became bigger as Matthew came closer. Finally, he stopped within a few feet from the row of about eight or so houses, inspecting the first one on his left. The number on the mailbox indicated that this should be Lars's house, but the door was half-opened, the windows drawn, and nobody else seemed to be present in the small clump of houses.

Matthew set Kumaraburesu down and the polar bear padded off to a nearby undergrowth in hopes of finding something to eat. Meanwhile, Matthew made his way up the porch and pushed the door open wider. "Lars?" he called into the waning darkness of the interior as light flooded in. "It's Matthew."

When no reply came, Matthew frowned in concern. He checked one last time to make sure that Kumagura was behaving before going further into the house to search for the Dutchman.

Nearly half an hour later Matthew re-emerged from the house, stopping halfway out of the doorway with a pensive look on his face. He had no success in finding Lars and was even more puzzled when he found the Dutchman's scarf and coat missing, meaning the other was out.

"He's recovering from a famine," Matthew muttered to himself as he watched Kumasaboro pawing at the porch steps. "A famine. Why would he be out?"

That was when he realized that Kumajirou(oh, that was his name) had been trying to get his attention instead of just randomly scratching at the steps. The Canadian shook his head with a small sigh, joining his bear. I guess we'll have to look in the other houses.

"Hungry," Kumajirou stated plainly. Then he gestured with his nose upwards. "Weirdo on roof. Feed me."

"A what on the roof?" Canada questioned, and looked up.

Then face-palmed.

Lars van Rijn only curled up tighter on himself and kept on snoring, sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the world.

. . .

The roof was thankfully not too slippery. "What were you thinking?" Matthew hissed as he carefully made his way across the roof to Lars. "And on the roof, of all places. Oh, maple..." He reached the precariously perched man and gingerly turned him over. A bottle of something rolled down the roof and crashed to the ground. "Lars?"

Lars made a sluggish noise before draping a hand heavily across Matthew's shoulders and soaking the Canadian's jacket even more. "Matthew?" he slurred. "How'd you get up here?"

"Stacked crates in the back," Matthew said off-handedly. "Can you stand?"

"Of course I can," Lars replied, managing to sit up with effort. "Just a li'l dizzy...and hungry..."

Matthew nodded in understanding. "We're going to get off the roof, okay?" he said slowly, making sure that the other understood every word.

Lars only gave a small nod of affirmation, and Matthew set about to getting the both of them down without any broken bones.

And so sometime later, they were finally back down on the ground, and Matthew was having a small panick attack after he felt how light the Dutchman had become(not to insinuate that Lars was fat). Wasting no more time, he called for Kumajirou to follow, already half-dragging Lars along the half mile that they needed to walk.

. . .

Lars snored softly, leaning against Matthew's arm and his upper body occasionally sliding into his lap whenever the train bumped them too hard.

The train dropped them off at a base about forty-five minutes later. After that, Lars had been fed, and then boarded a plane with Matthew back to Canada. The Canadian knew that Lars would be in a better environment in Ottawa as opposed to his starving(but getting better) country. The man was asleep even before the plane was taking off and beginning its flight back to Canada.

Having nothing better to do(Kumajirou was asleep at his feet, so at least there was nothing badgering him to be fed), Matthew looked out the window of the plane, and saw through the small cracks and spots of dust that they were passing over Lars's house. I still don't know why the maple he was asleep on the roof, Matthew remembered, a little miffed.

And suddenly, looking down at the scene again, he found the answer.

The houses, all lined up in a straight horizontal line, each had their roofs painted with one letter each: T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U, with the U only half finished where Lars had fallen asleep in the middle of writing it.

A/N: Based off of the famine that took place in the Netherlands while Canada worked to free it from the Nazis. Canada distributed food to the starved citizens and in return, the Dutch wrote 'Thank you Canadians' on their rooftops. I thought that that was sweet of them, and thus this story was born. =)

Misspellings of Kumajirou's name were intentional. Cookies for anyone who finds the hidden references~

Unbeta'd, so any and all mistakes are mine.