Always Special to Me
A Hetalia fanfiction
By RishiandSquee
[a/n: writing fluff again, this time with Maple Tea. For some reason, I find this pairing simply adorable, and I can't help but write something fluffy with them.]
[I do not own Hetalia. I never will.]
What Matthew found as the World Meeting ended brought a smile to his face. Normally, he wouldn't be able to find such a thing cute, but the person who was fast asleep in his chair, nuzzled in his arms, was sleeping so soundly that he couldn't help it.
Arthur was sleeping like a baby, and for some reason had gone undisturbed by the rest of the countries - even Alfred, who was the one who most often woke the island nation up in fear of embarrassment.
No, he was sleeping. And Matthew thought it was simply adorable.
The northern nation walked over to Arthur and took the seat next to him. He rested his chin on his palm and studied the former empire, contemplating on waking him up or not. After a moment, he reached over and tapped Arthur on the shoulder, a quiet smile on his face.
"Arthur, you should be sleeping at home, eh?"
It took the older man a moment to wake up; the Brit sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning. He glanced up at Matthew and did a double take.
"Ma-Matthew? Is it...the meeting's over already?" he asked, still half asleep. Matthew nodded slightly, unable to erase the smile from his face. He leaned his head down so it was resting on the table alongside Arthur's, and his purple eyes looked at Arthur's green ones. Arthur blushed slightly and sat up, adjusting his tie. "I-I see. Thank you for waking me up, Matthew."
"No problem, Arthur." Matthew hummed as he continued to rest on the table, eyes a bit glazed over.
Arthur's eyes softened at his former colony, "Is something the matter? You look like you have something to say."
"N-nothing, eh," Matthew replied, cheeks flushing a light pink at this remark. "I-I was just thinking how cute you are, a-and how you must have been having a pretty good dream."
The older man chuckled as his face also flushed, "Yes, actually, I was having a grand dream. It was about you and Alfred when you were lads, to be honest. You two were quite the adorable package."
The younger nation blushed even more, "Y-you remember when we were little?"
"Yes, of course, all the time." Arthur responded, looking down at his hands with a quite smile.
"...there must have been lots of fun times."
This statement caused Arthur to look over. His expression softened, and he brushed the hair out of his former colony's face with concern, "Matthew? Is something bothering you, lad?" he asked quietly, "You seem uneasy. You don't have a fever, do you? It wouldn't do for you to get ill at a time like this."
Matthew sighed then sat up, allowing the blood to drain out of his head. He didn't speak for a moment, but eventually his quiet words found voice.
"I...I don't remember much from back then. I don't remember any of the happy times, to be honest. I..it's a little sad, eh? I don't have any of those memories."
Arthur frowned and was quiet for a moment. Matthew shrugged Arthur's hand off his shoulder and also didn't speak. Finally, after fighting the awkward silence, the older man spoke,
"How is it that you don't remember?" he asked, his voice softer then either of them expected.
Matthew fidgeted and sighed, "I...I remember some of the times that Al would get upset cause you were gone, a-and I remember sometimes when France would visit, but...I-I really don't remember any of the happier times, a-and I don't...I'm sorry, Arthur, I shouldn't have said anything."
"Don't be." Arthur murmured, raising his hand again to brush Matthew's cheek. "You've got no reason to be sorry for admitting something. I'm just sorry you can't remember anything, lad."
The younger colony shook his head at the sincere words and smiled weakly, "I-it's okay, eh? I don't remember much of anything before the War of 1812, anyway..." At this, the older man scrunched his brows and bit his lip.
"...you still think of it, then. The war still crosses your mind? It was well over a hundred years ago, but you still remember it?" he asked quietly.
Matthew merely nodded, "Y-yes, I...occasionally. I-it was a long time ago, but I c-can still remember it pretty well."
This caused the older man to sigh once again, a hint of guilt on his face, "I'm sorry, Matthew. I never intended for you to be...dragged into that."
"Don't worry about it, eh? It wasn't your fault."
Arthur shook his head, "I still feel terrible about it." he replied simply.
Matthew continued to smile as he reached over and rested his head on Arthur's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, and I'm fine now, eh? Everything worked out the way it should. It doesn't bother me like it used to."
"...thank you, Matthew. I'm still terribly sorry it happened in the first place, but it's kind of you to forgive me." Arthur said softly, He reached over and patted Matthew's head, "Very kind of you."
"...that war wasn't your fault, Arthur. Al was the one who dragged me into it." Matthew insisted quietly, still resting his head on the smaller blond's shoulder. "He just wanted me to be free, like him...a-and you just tried to protect me, is all. Please don't blame yourself for that, eh?"
The Brit let out a sigh. Despite how much he wanted to accept Matthew's kind words and his forgiveness, something in him still didn't feel right. He made a dissatisfied sound and turned, forcing Matthew off his shoulder. He gently took both of the norther nation's shoulders with his hands and squeezed, "Matthew. I'd rather you blame me then you blame your brother for that. You two were incredibly close back then, and even now...frankly, I expected him to miss you enough to do something rash."
The younger nation swallowed, "S-sorry, Arthur."
"Don't be, lad, it's alright. I'd honestly hate to separate you two again..."
Matthew giggled slightly. He leaned in and rested his head on Arthur's chest, and the older man instinctively held him. "It'd be pretty hard, to do that now, Arthur.. After all, Al is a superpower. He can get whatever he wants at this point."
"...that is true." Arthur replied, a smile creeping on his face. He hugged Matthew a bit tighter. "That is very true."
"...y-you're really proud of him, eh?"
"I am. I'm proud of both of you."
Matthew blushed pink, "I-I haven't done much of anything..."
"You've grown up so much, any guardian would be proud to see that. It makes me happy." Arthur beamed down at the young nation, causing him to blush even more and hide his face into Arthur's shirt. Arthur chuckled and ran his hands through Matthew's hair again.
"...y-you were the one who helped me grow," Matthew said hesitantly, peeking up at Arthur's green eyes. "You were the one who watched me grow up for all those years, eh?"
"Yes, thank you, but I'm not the only one. Francis and Alfred also had their parts."
Matthew continued to blush, and hid his face again, "W-while I love the both of them very much, you're different, Arthur. You helped me grow for a long time, a-and while I love Papa and Al, they weren't with me all the time when I was growing up. Papa...left when I was still a baby, a-and Al left when he rebelled, but you stayed with me the whole time, Arthur. You...you're special."
"...thank you, Matthew. You'll always be special to me, too."
.end
