First Hetalia Fic, so hope whoever reads it likes it. Canada is older than America.
Disclaimer: Do not own Hetalia
Trying New Things
Matthew was always surprised when his brother came to visit. They talked on the phone regularly and at the end of the conversation his brother would always ask why they didn't "hang out" more. Being the polite Canadian that he was would constantly respond with the same sentence; "Yea, I don't know why. We should get together soon!" Meanwhile, the purple eye nation knew perfectly well that the reason they never hung out outside of the world conference was because of Alfred. Canada knew his younger brother loved him but he couldn't seem to remember to make time for his northern counterpart. Of course he never blamed Alfred for this, he was a busy nation and Matthew honestly didn't mind being alone. So when Alfred told him on their last skype call that he would be stopping by the next day, the Canadian smiled and said he couldn't wait. Of course he was fully prepared for his usual forgetfulness. Even though he was used to being ignored by all the other nations except Francis and Arthur, who only talked to him at the world conference if America was nearby, it still crushed his heart every time his brother forgot him. He went to bed that night wishing things could be a little different, not by much of course, he would never ask for that, just enough for Alfred to spend more time with him. Kumajiro curled up against him as he stared up at his ceiling. He absentmindedly pet the polar bear's head as his mind raced with thoughts about his brother. With a slight huff he turned to face his pet and closed his eyes while still petting the quiet animal.
Waking up the next morning Matthew went through his normal morning routing in the bathroom, the smell of coffee brought him downstairs to pour himself a cup. As he started to sip the delicious liquid a loud voice interrupted his morning haze. "Good morning Mattie!" Canada jumped back and dropped the Niagara Falls mug he was holding, he heard the loud crash as the mug hit the floor. With wide eyes, he turned to face the person who was sitting at his kitchen table.
"A-Alfred!" his jaw hung there a moment too long before he shut it with a snap. Kumajiro was sitting comfortably on the American's shoulders silently looking at his master with those vacant black eyes.
The smile slightly shrunk off the American's face. "You didn't forget I was coming did you?" He got up from the table and reached down to his brother's feet and picked up the mug that was now in two pieces with the polar bear still resting on his shoulders. Confusion crossed his features. "I have this mug" he looked up at Canada with a raised brow. After a couple of seconds in silence Matthew jumped as he realized he hadn't said a word yet other than his brother's name.
"N-no" his voice came out gruff so he cleared his throat with a cough. "No Al I didn't forget, it's just I wasn't expecting you this early." Which was true. Alfred was the type of person who stayed up late and woke up in the afternoon. Whereas Matthew loved to get up early and go for morning walks. He loved going for walks in the Montreal Botanical Gardens that were just down the street from his house. Francis had helped him plant most of it and they turned it into a public garden so that the French-Canadians of Quebec would have some form of entertainment during the great depression of the 30's. It was one of the few genuinely happy memories he had with his old charge. Even now during the cold winter months he would still bundle up to go to the garden with Kumajiro for walks. A couple of days ago a snow fall blanketed Montreal with a few feet of snow, freezing the nearby ponds. Canada hadn't had the chance to go to the park yet because he needed to wait to buy a new Hockey stick.
The smile had returned to his face and his eyes were shining. It was moments like these that made Matthew really love his brother. American looked at his hands. "So, why do you have my mug again?" Remembering why he was holding it. The purpled eyed nation closed his eyes and sighed. He reached out with both hands, opening his eyes as Al put the pieces in his palms. "It's mine, we both bought similar ones the last time we were in Niagara Falls for the 4th of July."
After a moment of looking a little clueless realization crossed his eyes. "Oh yea! Jeeze sorry Mattie." He smiled again as the Canadian turned around and opened a drawer, already forgiving him. He reached in and felt around for the super glue to start glueing the two pieces back together.
"It's okay." He returned his brother's smile. "So why did you come over so early anyways? Usually you sleep in till at least noon." He held the two pieces together as the glue set, he looked over his shoulder and found his brother wiping up the coffee that had spilt from the mug. "Oh Al! You don't have to do that." The bear had finally jumped off his shoulders and was now sitting on the table watching the two brothers.
Alfred straightened and threw the coffee filled paper towel in the garbage, he flashed his trademark smile. "It's okay, it was my fault anyways. I took a late flight last night cause I knew you liked to get up early. I wanted to spend all day together bro!" he said as he patted the smaller nation on the head. Matthew's cheeks burned at the last comment. He wasn't used to his brother remembering anything about him, he felt slightly guilty now about how he had ignored his brother's words last night. He turned away from Alfred to let his face cool down. He looked down at the mug that he was still holding and gingerly let go. For a moment it looked like the glue had done its intended purpose of keeping both pieces together but the handle popped off and landed on the counter with a soft clink. He cursed under his breath and pushed the cup away from him. That was his favorite mug. Not wanting to ruin the day and make Alfred feel bad for surprising him, he placed a smile on his face and grabbed two new mugs from the cupboard.
"You drink your coffee black right?" he asked as he poured the dark liquid into the cups.
"Yup!" he turned and set the mug in front of Alfred then went to the fridge to add milk to his. He sipped the warm brew as he sat across from his brother, who, being the impatient nation that he was, was already gulping it down. Hmmm maybe coffee wasn't the best thing to give him. Matthew thought to himself. Alfred set the cup down already more than half way finished. "Wow Mattie, that's some great coffee! Where'd you get it?" Canada motioned for the bear to come closer so that he could pet him but instead he just continued to sit their staring at them. Typical. Canada silently huffed at his pet as he turned his attention back to his brother.
"Well actually, Cuba sent it over a little while ago, he thought I would like it." Which was a complete surprise to Canada, no one ever sent him gifts.
"Ugh, never mind." The purple eyed nation's head snapped up at his brother's angry tone. He was glaring down at the coffee, like it had just killed his favourite pet. Canada couldn't help but laugh at his brother's bitterness towards Cuba. He felt as though their hatred towards each other was just a silly childish feud that neither one could just let go of.
"You know Al, he's not all bad." Considering he seemed to genuinely like to talk to the Canadian whenever they happen to see each other at the world conference.
"Let's just not talk about him okay?" he grumbled as he stared down at his coffee again, now ruined because of its place of origin.
"Yea sure, whatever you want Al." he smiled behind his mug as he brought it back to his lips to sip his coffee. America had already given in and drank more from his cup.
"Well, I was planning on going to the store today and pick up the hockey stick I ordered." A giant smile formed on Alfred's face as Matthew said this.
"Oh cool! I've never seen a hockey stick up close before!" he honked slightly and started to laugh. "Alllll right!" Another exciting adventure for the Hero and his sidekick!" he fist pumped the air which caught Matthew off guard, who rolled his eyes at the mention of being his brother's side kick. "When can we go" he said quickly and placed his hands together and leaned in towards Canada.
His brother's eagerness did not surprise him in the least. He looked down at his pajamas and plaid colour slippers. "I'll go shower then we can go, eh?" He put the mug in the sink and walked up the stairs to his washroom. As he closed the door he could hear his brother's PSP turning on. Alfred always needed to be entertained.
When Matthew was finished in the shower he walked down to find his brother missing. After a quick look around his house, he found him in the passenger seat of his car. Alfred honked the horn twice signalling he was ready to go. Canada sighed and told Kumajiro he had to stay there then closed the door to his home and locked it.
"Let's go, go, go side kick!" Alfred cheered as Canada got into the Honda and closed the door.
Matthew looked at his brother displeasingly. "Al. I asked you not to call me that anymore." He put the key in the ignition and started the car.
"But Eskimo Boy!" he exclaimed in his hero voice as they pulled out of the driveway. "A hero always needs a side kick!"
"Yea, yea. I know Al."
"Al?" he looked around the vehicle as if someone else was supposed to be in the car. "Who is this Al person you speak of? There is only you and I here Eskimo boy!"
Canada rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. "Please Al? I-I don't want to do it. Please don't make me."
"Hmm…? What's that you say?" he continued with his hero voice. Canada knew he wouldn't give it up till he gave his brother what he wanted. He just didn't want to give in. Again. But he knew he wouldn't let it go until he did. Once his brother talked to him that way for an entire month because Matthew refused to go along with the idea. America would call him every day and talk to him about all the old adventures they used to have on the rare occasion that they got to see each other during their childhoods. The memories of those precious happy times always made him feel miserable, knowing that they could never be that close ever again. Usually he tried not to think about them so that he could continue being content with the way his life was.
"Okay, Okay." He only gave in because he really wanted to change the subject. He cleared his throat and said in his best intimidation of the American. "My apologies Freedom Man!" Alfred honked and laughed at the Canadian's participation.
"To the hockey stick store!" he proclaimed enthusiastically and fist pumped the air again. Canada couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. It was almost as though his brother was an innocent child again. Matthew knew perfectly well that that innocence had been taken from him a long time ago. The rest of the drive was uneventful other than them being cut off by another driver and Alfred reached over to push harshly on the horn. He then reached over to roll down the window to shout at the caravan that was now in front of them. Thankfully for Matthew he had turned the child lock on as soon as he had gotten into the car. The Canadian really hated confrontations. America had pushed aggressively on the button until he realised the window was not going down so he started yelling in the car for a while until the van turned left and away from them.
Once they finally reached the store Alfred ran full speed to the front doors and ran through them as they opened. As Matthew walk in calmly after him, Alfred's face had a slight frown upon it. "I thought we were going to a hockey stick store? This is just a regular sports store bro!" he looked around at the averagely stocked store with running shoes, basket balls and varies workout attire.
The Canadian laughed lightly at his brother's puzzlement. "It's just a regular sports store, there's no such thing as a hockey stick store. All the winter sports are kept upstairs." He pointed to the escalator that was in the back of the room.
He opened his mouth in wonder. "There's more than just Hockey?!" he turned suddenly all the way up the escalator. Matthew chose not to comment on his brother's last statement and followed him up the moving steps. He found Alfred picking up a woman's figure skating boot and was looking at it with curiosity. "Is this what you wear when you play hockey?" he asked still looking at the elegant shoe.
"No sir that would be a women's figure skating boot." A young sales man said as he walked up to the pair. "The hockey skates are in aisle 3." Al ran off again, then the young man looked at Matthew. "Can I help you with something Monsieur?" he asked politely.
Matthew pulled out a piece of paper and peered down at it. "Oui, I received a call that said that the hockey stick I ordered came in? The reference number is 321558." The sales man took the paper from him and walked out of sight. Matthew looked about the store lazily. He could hear Alfred's shrieks of excitement from the back of the store. He waited for about five minutes then the man re-emerged with a beautiful red and black hockey stick. Canada's heart leapt in excitement, he had been waiting a very long time to finally hold it in his hands. The man, who Canada noticed his name was Geoff, brought the stick around the counter and handed him instead a paper and pen. "Alright Monsieur Williams, if you could just sign at the bottom then this beauty is all yours." Matthew did as he was asked then went to hand back the papers to Geoff, he noticed the sales clerk was sweeping his hands across the sleek fiberglass. "C'est beau" he said under his breath.
"Isn't it? I pre-ordered it ages ago but they've been on back order because all the national leagues bought all the first fabrications." Geoff continued to stare at the stick with amazement in his eyes. He finally looked up at the blonde haired nation and handed him the stick and took the paper work from him.
"Vous êtes tout prêt M. Williams." He smiled at him. "Si vous vous sentez comme si quelque chose ne va pas avec elle le ramener et nous allons jeter un oeil à ce gratuitement." He thanked the sales man and turned away to go find Alfred. They had only been separated for about fifteen minutes but knowing his brother that was enough time for him to get himself into trouble. He walked down the aisle he thought he would be in but he was nowhere in sight. Matthew started to get worried.
"Al?" he called out as he walked down the empty aisle. With no answer he continued on until he reached the end of the row and looked right then left. Where the hell could he have gone? He thought to himself.
"Mattie look!" a shout from behind him made him jump in alarm to face the attacker. He relaxed once he noticed it was Alfred.
"Al, I told you not to sneak up on me."
"Sorry, forgot bro, but looklooklooklooklook" he said as he gestured to his hands. The Canadian looked down at his brother's hands and saw that his brother was holding a blue hockey stick and a new pair of ice skates. He looked up surprised at his brother's unexpected purchases and waited for the explanation Alfred was no doubt going to supply him. "I bought them!" He grinned.
"Okay… I can see that." Matthew waited for further information but when none came he asked, "What for exactly?"
"You're going to teach me how to play!" his ever present smile widened as he supplied Matthew with the good news. And of course Matthew did not agree with Alfred's excited demeanor. The Canadian never played his national sport with anyone other than his citizens. However, he wasn't the type of person to disappoint the people in his life, so instead he tried to persuade him to change his mind.
"N-no, you d-don't want to learn f-from me!" he cleared his throat to sound more convincing. "You have a lot of-f star athletes that c-could teach you. They probably are better than me anyways…" he hoped his brother would believe what he was saying.
Alfred flung his arms around Matthew's shoulders, the hockey stick almost hitting him in the head. "Why would I ask one of them when the creator is my brother?" his brother laughed. "Come on Mattie! The day is far from over, let's go!"
"I'm not the creator…" he mumbled while Alfred pulled him out of the store and to the door of the car. Matthew's hands shook as he gripped the steering wheel. America mistook this as him being cold so he cranked the heat in the car. Which of course was absurd, the Canadian never got cold, he preferred it actually. His hands were shaking like a maple leaf in October because his worst fear was about to transpire and Matthew was too soft spoken to stop it from happening. Well merde…
Upon arriving home, Canada had tried countless things to try and distract his brother. He had given him food, suggested they play video games, he even asked if he wanted to watch a scary movie. He tried to convince him that he wouldn't even like the game, but to no avail. Now they stood in front of his favorite river in the gardens near his home. They were both dressed in proper hockey attire, all that needed to be done was to lace up their skates and put on their helmets. Kuma was by their belongings rolling back and forth, enjoying the snow.
"Are you sure you want to do this Al?" Matthew asked for the final time. He wished his brother would change his mind. The Canadian never played sports with anyone other than his citizens. He played on a few local teams and was always happy to sub for anyone who asked. Except when it was a goalie, he wasn't the type of player who could just sit and watch his team mates playing. He needed to be a part of the action, the sweat, the contact between players, the thrill of the goal. He loved the sense of family his teams mates produced for him, even if it was just within that game. It made being the invisible nation bearable.
As long as he had his fellow hockey fanatics with him, it didn't matter that his Papa only called when he needed something from him, that Arthur who also helped raise didn't give him the time of day and treated him like a child, that Alfred, the nation was supposed to be the closest person to him forgot about him half the time and couldn't remember the special memories that Matthew held so dear. Hockey was his outlet for all his frustrations, sadness, loneliness, those emotions pushed his legs faster, harder. Pushed, with his stick grasped in hand, to be the best and to get the goal. It was his happiness. He looked down at his brother lacing his skates, or what he guessed was his attempt. Alfred hadn't answered his question but his actions told Canada that he wasn't going to change his mind. He sighed and bent down in front of Al.
"Here, let me." He gently pushed away the American's hands and grabbed the left skate and placed it in between his legs.
"Whoa bro, aren't you nervous having a blade so close to your junk?"
Mathew chuckled at him. "No, I'm pretty used to doing this, but just don't push any further, eh?" Alfred watched in silence as he expertly pulled the laces tightly so Alfred's foot was nice and snug.
He felt him move his toes within the boot. "Um, does it have to be so tight bro?" he asked with a frown.
"Not unless you want to fall on your butt every 2 seconds." Responded Matt as he grabbed the other skate and repeated his actions. After finishing with Alfred, he sat down on the bench and did the same with his own skates. His brother watched him carefully as he pulled the laces to their breaking point. Matthew liked his skates as tight as possible, on several occations he would come off the ice with blue feet. His team mates were always concerned that he would permanently injure his feet, but they didn't know he was a nation.
Once he was finished he stood up and felt the familiar constriction between his toes as he tried to wiggle them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white bandana and tied it around his head to keep his bangs and hair curl from falling into his eyes while he played. He looked over at his brother who was reaching for his helmet. Canada had already briefed him on the main rules of the game, the last thing to do was to grab their sticks and walk on the ice. Mathew inhaled shaky breath as he reached for his stick. His hands had been trembling until his right hand grasped his new stick. He placed his helmet over his head and gazed at the river in front of him.
"Alfred" he waited a moment to make sure his brother was listening. "Please don't think of me any differently after today. Okay?" he didn't wait for his brother's empty promise. He walked onto the ice and started to test out the smoothness of the ice. He knew once Al saw how he played his national sport, he would most likely keep his distance and thus, these occasional visits would stop and he would have to endure eternal solidarity. He could feel the familiar roughness of the river under his blades. He closed his eyes as he skated backwards, feeling the cold air filling his lunges and causing his hair on his arms to stand. He did a couple laps then stopped in the middle of the river where Alfred stood watching him.
"Wow Mattie! Your great at skating!" he was grinning widely at the Canadian. Normally Matthew would have blushed at the praise and act as though this was not a big deal. However, he was about to play hockey.
"You better believe it hozer." He answered as he reached into his pocket for a puck.
Hozer? Alfred was confused at the name he was called, but it was his brother so it obviously wasn't anything bad right? Matthew threw the puck in between both of them. The puck landed with a soft clack.
"Alright, you remember the rules Alfred?" the American looked up at the Candian's tone of voice. His brother never spoke down to him let alone address him by his full name.
"Um…Yea…Mattie" the nick name sounded wrong in this situation. He didn't like that. "I just gotta get that thing past you and in the net right?" he laughed trying to break the building tension that was surprisingly, to Alfred, forming between them. This was a very new situation for Alfred. They never fought or argued, they were always civil with each other. If you were to ask Alfred to describe the relationship between the two brothers he would say that they were as tight as… well… they were always nice to each other? Right? Sure the American didn't visit his brother as often as he liked but Mattie was kind of a recluse. He never minded being alone…right? Alfred shook his head as he looked back at his brother's face. The easy smile he was expecting was not present. Instead there was a tint of smugness to his features, the Canadian stared at him with challenging eyes.
"You can try." He finally responded with a smirk "I'm not going to go easy on you Alfred." He murmured then he slapped his stick hard on the ice. "Let's go, count us off."
Alfred hesitated then remembered what that meant. "Okay!" he mimicked his brother's actions and gripped his new blue stick firmly, the smooth fiber glass rod unfamiliar within his grasp. "3…2…1…Go!" he yelled as he shot for the puck. Within seconds Canada had the puck between his stick and bolted towards Alfred's net. By the time America had turned around the black dot was already at the back of his net, unmoving.
"Ahh! That's one for Canada!" He did a lap around his brother then stopped in front of him. "You're going to have to be quicker than that little brother." He said with the smirk still present on his face.
Alfred was in complete shock. Not by the fact that he had scored on him so easily, he expected this, but because his brother was being a complete… well… dick about it. Matthew skated closer to Alfred so that their sticks smacked together.
"What's wrong hero?" he gave Alfred a cold stare. "Someone finally amazed you enough to shut you up?" America flinched away at his brother's cruel words. He couldn't help the look of betrayal that came over his features, his heart had sank at those last words. His brother hadn't talked to him with such malice since his people had burnt down part of the Canadian white house. Wait that's not right, it's not white… something to do with Britain… parliament building! That's it. Those had been dark days for North America, it had taken a while for the two to come to terms with what had happened. Since then Alfred had vowed to make sure him and his almost twin nation were always on the same side for a fight. They were brothers, they were meant to fight side by side not against one another.
"Matthew" he said looking at him seriously. "What are you doing?" he reached out with his gloved hand and placed it on Canada's shoulder.
Canada looked at the hand like it was a disgusting beetle that had just landed on him. "Come on let's finally see which nation is truly better." He said as he smacked his hand away.
America ground his teeth together and grabbed his stick again tightly with both hands. "Fine. Bring it on." He said through his teeth. Matthew smirked again at him then threw the puck to the ice. Canada counted them off this time. "3…2…1…Go!" he dove for the puck again and this time he succeeded in snatching it away from the Canadian. He was just about to turn around to face his brother's goal when Matthew side checked him causing himself to lose his balance and fall heavily on the frozen lake. The American landed hard on his hip and felt the familiar shock of pain run through his side. By the time Alfred had collected himself and managed to stand back up his brother was already doing a victory tour around American's net.
"I thought this was going to be more of a challenge Mr. Hero Connard." The American didn't respond and moved backed to the center of the river. He waited for the other nation to grab the puck and skate over. "Come on Hero, give it your best shot." he said then counted them off again.
The game continued by the same fashion, Matthew taunting his brother and checking him causing Alfred to always fall hard on the ice. America had stopped trying to talk Canada out of whatever spell he was under and just let things play out. He tried his best to block and defend himself from his brother's attacks. He was trying to actually play the game but Canada made it almost impossible for him to make any progress on acquiring any goals for himself, he was just too skilled at the sport. There was absolutely no way the American was going to beat him. They were one goal away from their predetermined 20 goals and both nations were breathing heavily. Their hockey jerseys were clinging to their backs from perspiration. Well, at least's in Matthew's case it was, Alfred's jersey was soaked from the amount of times he collided with the frozen water.
Their game had attracted some of the Canadians who had happened to be visiting the park that afternoon. It looked like there had been an equal amount of people cheering for each of them to succeed. Alfred mentally thanked them for all the encouraging words they had been shouting out to him. Of course half of the words were in French and he had no idea what they were saying but they didn't sound harsh so he took that as a good sign. Matthew hadn't said another word to him since his citizen's showed up. Which Alfred was silently grateful for. He didn't like all the harsh things that were coming from his brother. He watched as Matthew brought the puck back to the familiar starting point. "Last one" America heard him whisper in what he thought was a relieved tone. Almost as though he couldn't wait for the game to come to its conclusion. It was his turn to count them off as he did, he once again dashed for the cursed black puck. He had surprisingly gotten it before Matthew. His side of the spectators cheered with their approval, even though they knew he wasn't going to win, they were loyal to his side until the very end. He saw Canada coming up fast on his left so in a desperate attempt to totally not fail at this sport he brought his stick back and hit it as hard as he thought safe to. It sailed across the ice and hit the edge of the net before ricocheting into the net.
He stood there dumb struck before he realized what he had done and then the crowd cheered with him as he celebrated his small victory. "Alright! Totally awesome dudes and dudettes!" he shouted to the crowd as he threw his arms up in the air. It was doubtful that all the Canadians had understood what he had said but Alfred didn't care. He skated over to Matthew's net and picked up the puck and skated over to their starting point where Canada was waiting. Alfred was still smiling when he reached his brother who was staring hard at the puck in his hand like it had betrayed him in some way. The smile faded slightly from America's face as he realized his brother was in no way shape or form happy for his accomplishment. Alfred sighed and dropped the puck in front of them. Matthew didn't say anything as he counted off then lunged for the puck. Alfred had got it once again and was heading towards the goal when Matthew's shoulder collided with his, forcing him to fall forward onto his stomach. The wind was knocked out of him as he landed hard on the cold surface. He was trying to catch his breath when a loud crack stopped his breathing entirely. He looked down at the ice and saw a massive crack running right between his hands, disappearing under his abdomen.
"Mattie…" he breathed out shakily. His brother didn't answer him as he heard the familiar sound of the puck being hit and the loud cheers from the citizens. Alfred placed both hands on the surface and tried to lightly place is weight on the ice. He didn't get very far before the ice under his fingers spider webbed across to each other. "Matthew!" he said louder this time, he couldn't help but keep his eyes fixed on the impending danger in front of him. He heard the loud gasps from the spectators before he heard his bother yell his name.
"Alfred! Don't move!" he heard the shredding of ice indicating the Canadian's presence. He finally looked up and saw him pulling off his gloves and throwing them aside. He watched as he got down on his knees a safe distance from him.
"Al, I need you to lay flat on your stomach and spread your weight out." Canada looked over at the humans on the edge of the pond who were attempting to go and help the two nations. "Non! Reste loin! c'est dangereux!" he yelled and they retreated from the ice. Some of them were shouting for someone to call the police. Great… Canada thought. He turned his attention back to his brother. Alfred was lying flat on his chest with his arms and legs spread out, to try and ease some of the pressure on the ice. The ice cracked a couple more times but then seemed to settle and left the two nations silently holding their breaths.
Alfred could see his brother trying to figure out a way to help him. There wasn't much he could do really, if either of them tried to move it could cause the ice to give out and they would both be swept away by the river's current.
"Al, I'm going to hold out my hockey stick to you, so try and slide closer so you can reach it. The American said nothing as Canada grabbed the straight side of the red stick and positioned in out in front of himself. Alfred could feel two distinct pounding vibrations coming off the ice. He realized it was the thumping of both the nations' hearts beating rapidly in their chests against the ice. He watched as the almost purpled eyed nation in front of him risk his life in order to try and save him. Matthew's tongue was sticking out in concentrations as he slowly pushed with his feet in an attempt to get closer to his brother. Alfred could see from his peripheral vision the spectators holding their breath in anticipation or he assumed they were holding their breath because all he could hear was his heart beat within his ears.
Matthew pushed harder with his legs to try and shorten the distance, however his thrust was too strong and it caused another crack to form underneath the pair. The Canadian's hand froze as he watched the crack spread and grow. Alfred also watched as his brother's life was increasingly put into danger. How could he, the hero let his brother get hurt to save him. "Mattie…"he breathed out shakily before trying again in a stronger voice. "Mattie, Go back. Get off the ice." He gazed up at his brother's confused expression.
"Al, I'm not going to just leave you here to die?" he tried to talk some sense into the freedom nation.
Alfred smirked slightly. "It's not like I'm really going to die anyways." He said as the ice creaked loudly underneath him. They didn't have much time before the river opened up and would sweep them away.
Matthew looked back at his brother with disgust at his words. "Just because we come back to life doesn't mean I'm going to let you drown to death in my favorite garden." He said through gritted teeth. Of course America was right, if he were to die here, his body would wash away and dissolve into the earth leaving no trace of him. Alfred would reappear on one of the shores of a Canadian beach. Most likely a lake closest to the American border. And of course Alfred would have to die first. When a nation is dying he or she can still feel the tremendous agony that accompanies it. Alfred would feel the water's harsh cold touch once the river finally cracked and pulled him under the solid ice. He would tumble around the surface, his body hitting the ice that would never break. He would try and fail to break the ice with his inhuman strength. Even with his best efforts he would eventually run out of oxygen and the unforgiving element would plunge into his airways, seeping into his lunges and finally causing him to drown. Matthew heard Francis describe drowning once like his insides were on fire. It felt like you were being burned from the inside out.
Frustrated tears formed in the corners of his eyes. No, he couldn't let his little brother feel the agony of that death. Unlike Matthew, Alfred has never been invaded by an enemy nation, he had never had pieces of himself ripped apart for another's nation's concurring. He had never experienced what it was like to be rebuilt over and over again, to be used by other nations who thought him useless and abandon him onto someone else. Matthew was not going to abandon his little brother.
"Matthew, please hurry. There's not much time. Scoot yourself back onto the snow." Alfred was smiling his trademark smile as he tried to guide him to safety. Canada could almost believe his brother was going to be okay, as long as he kept that smile in place. However, he knew he had to act quickly if he was going to get them both out of this.
"No" he said as the warm frustrated tears shed from his eyes onto the cool ice. "No Alfred, I'm not going to abandon you. We're going to get out of this mess and go back to my house and drink cocoa." He continued with a determined edge to hi voice. "Now take off your gloves and reach for the damn hockey stick. Got it?" he thrusted the stick out as far as he could.
Alfred hesitated at his brother's words. He opened his mouth to try and change his mind but one look at Matthew's face told Alfred that there was no way he was going to be talked out of this rescue attempt. He laid there shocked at his brother's valour. He always forgot how courageous the Canadian really was, he had always been there for America whenever he needed support. He even declared war on Japan before he had, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. With that last thought, Alfred threw off his gloves and reached for the stick. He grunted as he gently pushed his weight forwards, closing the distance between the two.
"Come on brother reach!" Matthew yelled. Alfred could feel the edge of the stick with the tips of his fingers when another loud crack halted the nation's progress. Matthew watched in horror as the ice split away causing his brother's body to drop into the water. "No!" Matthew yelled as he pushed his body forward as far as he could in one final attempt to save Alfred. The American reached out as the waves tried to pull his body under the Ice and away from his brother. Matthew would have screamed in victory when Alfred's hand finally clasped around the wooden object, if his head wasn't being pulled under the water by the current.
For a moment the Canadian froze. Yes! I did it! It'll be okay now. He thought. However, Canada didn't realize that the water didn't only want to sweep Alfred away, it wanted Matthew to join him. It kept cracking until the ice under him broke and freezing cold water splashed him in the face. With his glasses dripping he tried to turn around and grab out to…what? They were in the middle of the river with only ice around them. There was nothing he could grab onto to try and pull them out. He could try freezing his clothes to the solid piece of ice but Matthew doubted it would hold the weight of both of them. Defeat finally crept its way into the Canadian's thoughts. He could do nothing for them now. The water would drown both of them and the older brother could do nothing to prevent it.
Matthew could feel the water pulling both nations away. His grip finally sliding away from the ice, his body was fully emerged in the water now and the only thing he could feel was sharp knives digging into every part of his body. Even after the water had finally won its victor, the Canadian never let go of the hockey stick. He was at least not going to let his brother die alone.
A sudden yank on his hood distracted him as he tried to look around at the cause. Visibility was absolutely zero in the murky water, but he could feel something definitely pulling in the opposite direction of the current. Matthew kicked and pulled with all his might to help this unknown force. He felt his head break the water's surface as a small voice spoke up over the waves. "Help" it said softly. Matthew turned in the direction of the voice and he saw Kimajiro, his claws piercing Canada's red hood as he pulled the nations to the edge of the ice. He could feel his hands as he tightened his grip on the hockey stick. He heard a loud gasp behind him as Alfred finally resurfaced. Canada could hear the American coughing loudly as the polar bear helped him awkwardly onto the safety of the solid ice. As soon as he was on top of the ice he turned around quickly and pulled the hockey stick and Alfred at long last was out of the water. Both nations used the rest of their energy to crawl to the edge of the river. They heard loud cheers as the brothers collapsed from exhaustion. Matthew grunted as the soaked bear jumped on top of his chest.
"Help!" he repeated staring at the Canadian with his black specks of eyes. Matthew smiled up at him.
"Yes Kumajiro. You helped!" he patted the wet fur on top of his head.
"Who are you?" Matthew couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm Canada!" he said gleefully as he wrapped his arms around his pet and squeezed him, wringing his water soaked fur on top of himself. He turned to Alfred who was being handed a black blanket by a police officer. Matthew finally noticed the amount of people who were looking at them.
"Monsieur?" another officer was handing him a blanket as well when he also noticed the amount of cameras that were being pointed in their direction. Matthew quickly wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and stood up with Kumajirro in his arms.
"Al, let's go." He said quietly down at the American. Alfred looked up quickly at the embarrassed look upon his brother's face and didn't argue. The police officers that had given them the blankets guided them towards an ambulance. The officer was speaking in French to Matthew so Alfred looked back at the river. The French police were taping off that section of ice and were dispersing the citizens, who were putting away their phones. Both nations didn't say anything to each other as the policeman guided them to an ambulance, where they were given dry scrubs to change into.
"Nous sommes tout à fait bien , mon niveau de sécurité est 7553 MOOSE 8897 . Je vous montrerai mon badge mais il est à la maison . S'il vous plaît , si vous pouviez juste-"
"Matthew!" Both nations looked over as a middle aged man jogged up to them. Relief washed over Canada as he saw the Colonel approach them.
"Jean-Pierre, perfect timing. Can you deal with all this and give us a lift to my house please?"
"Merde Matthew, what happened? Both of you are blue!" he reached out and rubbed his hands on Canada's shoulders quickly trying to warm him up
Matthew's faintly blue lips smiled slightly at his friend's concern. "I'll tell you on the way to my house." Canada looked over at the silent blonde next to him. "Sorry Al, this is my good friend Colonel Jean-Pierre Girard. Pierre this is my brother."
The man smiled up at Alfred and held out his hand. "Mr. America, it's nice to finally meet you after all these years. Matt has told me a lot about you and it is a great honor." Alfred blushed slightly at the citizen's formality towards him. He was not used to this form of interaction with ordinary people from another nation.
"Um, Alfred please, and it's nice to meet you as well." he said HIS AWKWARDSNESS AND EMBARASEMENT MADE HIM BE uncharacteristically mature shook the man's hand and he followed them as Jean-Pierre walked them to his car. Alfred's jaw opened in shock as the citizen made such familiarity with his brother. This sort of interaction with a nation's citizens was common place, however, to Alfred this man felt as though he and his brother had connected on a level that Alfred had assumed only the two of them shared. The Canadian had his arm around Matthew's shoulders, Alfred assumed he was just trying to warm him up. His brother would tell him if he had any romantic relationship with his citizens… wouldn't he? Alfred was silent for the short drive back to Matthew's house, the realization that he knew very little about his brother's life disturbed him greatly. Matthew of course noted Alfred's silence and was greatly concerned. Upon meeting knew people, especially one with a military background always highly interested America, he wouldn't cease to ask questions until the other person was usually highly pissed off with him. And if anything, his enthusiasm should have been through the roof because of the near death experience, the adrenaline junky should have been vibrating off the car walls. The American's lack of interest and zeal signalled something was wrong with his brother and Matthew had an idea of what that was, this made him highly uncomfortable.
After dropping them off, the Captain had insisted he come inside and take care of the two nations but Matthew turned down the generous offer and asked him to take care of the paper work that the incident had caused. Pierre promised he would and asked Canada to contact him if either nation needed anything. Matthew said he would and both nations went inside.
"D-do you want t-to take a shower? O-or would you rather I made some cocoa instead?" Matthew asked avoiding Alfred's gaze by walking to the kitchen. After a long minute of silence Canada bit his lower lip uneasily, his brother never gives him the silent treatment. "Al?" The Canadian poked his head out of the kitchen to see Alfred sitting on the couch with the blanket still around his shoulders with Kumajiro sleeping on his lap. He looked up as his name was called.
"Hmm?" he said absently.
"Do you want to have a shower or just cocoa?" Canada repeated as he watched his brother pet the top of the polar bears head.
"Um, just cocoa please." He finally responded without looking up at Canada. The Violet eyed nation turned away and walked back into the kitchen. As the water boiled, Matthew became more and more anxious about the conversation he knew he was going to have with Alfred. He just hoped his brother would still visit him after everything was said and done. A soft vibration on the counter forced him away from his thoughts to his phone on the counter top. A picture of a blond with blue eyes appeared on his phone as Francis called him, Matthew sighed but ignored the call. IT was another thing he would have to deal with but only after he talked with Alfred. After the vibrating stopped he skimmed the unusual amount of texts he had and saw that not only was Francis trying to get a hold of him but Arthur and Cuba were also trying to contact him. He really hated social media sometimes. As his phone started vibrating again he dropped it on the table and walked into the living room with the hot mugs.
"Here it's hot so-"
"Who was that man?" America asked abruptly. Canada hesitated a moment before handing him his mug and sitting down next to his brother. Kumajiro walked on top of his lap and went back to sleep.
"He fought in the Vietnam war." He said as if this was a suitable answer. The question had confused the Canadian.
"You didn't fight in the Vietnam war so tell me the truth." Alfred said bitterly. Matthew did not understand why his brother was asking this, but the last comment caused his heart to race in anger.
"Not officially Alfred, but I lead 30,000 Canadian volunteer troops to come help you. Remember? When my boss wouldn't help you, I did." Canada was used to being forgotten but he would not let his citizens' heroic acts be unrecognized. "I lost 117 souls in that war. Do you remember how many never came back to the nation of freedom? Jean-Pierre was 19 when we left. And I made sure he wouldn't be a part of the dead. He reminded me of…" Canada trailed off. He couldn't bring himself at the moment to tell Alfred that the little Canadian had reminded him of his younger brother. The young vibrant spirit this man- barely a man, more of a child, possessed had compelled his nation to ensure the caring ambitious soldier would return home to the wonderfully frozen Canadian winters where nature never slept and you could always see natural life hiding about in plain sight.
"No." America mumbled.
"What?" Canada asked confused.
"No, I don't remember." The Alfred finally fixed his blue eyes up at his brother. Matthew was shocked with the worried expression on his face. "Why can't I remember your past? Why can't I hardly remember to make time for the nation who I am supposed to be the closest with?" Alfred put his head in his hands. "Why don't I know anything about your life? What's wrong with me?!" Stunned, Canada didn't say anything for a moment.
"Is this why you were so quiet in the car?" America nodded his head, till in his hands. "I thought you were mad at me." Canada whispered.
Alfred's head shot up and he looked at Matthew in confusion. "Mad at you? Why would I ever be mad at you?" he said completely shocked.
Canada looked down at his mug in his hands. "It's my fault. If I hadn't been so rough, you wouldn't have fallen and nothing would have happened. Alfred I'm so sorry. I don't play hokey with anyone other than my citizens because I'm too aggressive and I don't want people to hate me." As he was speaking his voice became faster and Alfred couldn't keep up. Matthew was surprised when Alfred's hands touched his.
"I could never hate you brother." There was not an ounce of humour in his face. "I don't blame you for what happened today. So what if you were a little rough. You saved my life today. If it wasn't for you I'd be… Well we wouldn't be here now would we?" finally Canada smiled, his brother didn't hate him.
"I don't blame you either Al." Matt put down the mug and took his brother's free hand in his. "I am the nation that no one remembers. Alfred I came to terms with that a long time ago I don't mind being alone really…" Alfred pulled Matthew into a tight hug. Both nations didn't say a word. They hadn't hugged since they were small colonies many years ago. The memory forced tears to cloud Canada's eyes. He fought them back as he realized just how much he missed his brother. Sure he could be loud and obnoxious and it was his fault that all the nations blamed Canada for his mistakes but he was still his brother and the only nation who truly cared for him.
"I won't forget you anymore. I swear it." Matthew felt his cheeks grow hot with this new found brotherly affection. He buried his head in Alfred's shoulder and whispered a soft 'thank you'. He had waited almost all his life for another nation to say this to him. They were the only words he could speak as a rush of joyful emotions flooded through him. He would finally have the brother he always wanted. He repeated the two words just in case. After the embrace on the couch lasted a long time both nations fell asleep in the other's arms. It was dark out by the time Matthew opened his eyes.
And he was alone.
"Food." He looked down as Kumajiro yawned. "Food." The animal repeated. He looked around the poorly light room. Alfred was gone. He sighed sadly as he picked the polar bear up in his arms, they walked to the kitchen to feed the hungry fur ball and himself. He was shocked to see a note written on his fridge door.
Mattie,
I'm sorry I didn't wake you up but it looked like you needed the rest. I'm going to talk to Francis and Arthur about what happened today so don't worry about having to call them. I'll call you tomorrow.
-Alfred
Matthew smiled at his brother's barely visible writing. Within the weeks that followed, Al kept his promise and spoke to him often and the nation even made plans for Matt to visit Texas in a couple weeks. With the oncoming spring, Canada's spirits were in the clouds when a surprise package arrived one morning from Alfred. Upon opening it he was shocked to find an exact replica of the Niagara Falls mug that had broken. Under it was a note;
Mattie,
Every day that we talk, I keep remembering sick memories of the two of us! It took sometime but I finally found a replacement for the mug that broke. I remember how we got them dude! We decided on a spur of the moment to ditch our bosses and go check out the falls, it was the night we celebrated both our birthdays together on July 2nd when that heat wave made almost all our faces melt! It was a great night! I'm sorry it took so long to remember, can't wait to see you.
-Alfred
Matthew smiled and with shaking hands placed the mug on the windowsill over the sink. As he gazed at the painted American falls, he finally felt as though he wasn't alone.
End/Fin