I do not own these characters or Hetalia

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I walk down a busy street with my head down. I don't really want to draw too much attention to myself. I'm not really shy or anything. It's just that I've gotten a little too much attention in my rather unique life. But this is New York, so I doubt one slightly dirty looking girl will stand out. I turn the corner and walk into an alley. I don't want anyone to see what I'm about to do.

I close my eyes, and let my body relax. I feel a shiver go down my spine. When I open my eyes, I'm significantly shorter than I was before. I flick my long tail and stretch my cat limbs.

Yup, I can turn into a cat.

I turn around, fully intent on charming the guy at the nearby hotdog stand to give me one, when I see something that makes me freeze on the spot. There's a guy in a bomber jacket at the end of the alley staring at me. I try not to panic as I go through possible scenarios in my mind. It's possible that he didn't see me transform. I take a few steps toward him, and he jumps back in surprise.

He saw me alright.

"I can't believe it!" the man says getting excited. "You just turned into a cat!"

I flick my pointy cat ears.

"You can understand me can't you? Dude! This is so weird!"

I feel a strong urge to flick the cow lick that's sticking up on top of his head. It bobs slightly as he talks, and is super tempting. I resist my cat urges to pounce on his face. I'm in a serious pickle, I can't let myself get distracted.

"My name's Alfred," the guy says. "I know! I'll take you home with me. You can meet my brother, and my friend Tony. You'd like them a lot." He picks you up before you can react. "You look like you could use some food too."

I don't know how to react to this sudden turn of events. First this guy catches me transforming, and now he's taking me home. There must be something a little off with this guy. I don't have a choice except go along with whatever Alfred has planned.

The first thing he does is go to the store to buy me food. Since pets aren't allowed in the store, he puts me in his jacket and zips it up. I can only imagine the weird looks he must be getting. I go along with it, and it's actually pretty cozy in Alfred's jacket. I drift off into a warm, peaceful sleep as Alfred shops.

When I wake up, we're in an elevator going up. The elevator stops, and Alfred carries me and the groceries to a large penthouse. I jump out of his arms the moment he opens the door, and have a good look around. I'm looking for potential hiding places and escape routes. I know I shouldn't stick around too long. These things usually don't turn out well.

"Hey Tony! Come check out this girl I found!" Alfred calls into the penthouse.

I turn when I hear the sound of footsteps. What comes into the room can only be described as a gray alien. It makes some high pitched noises that sound an awful lot like profanity.

"Dude, I know she looks like a cat now, but it's really a girl." I look at Alfred in surprise. He can understand that gibberish?

The gray alien, Tony as Alfred calls it, makes some more weird sounds.

"I'm not crazy! I saw it with my own eyes!" Alfred insists.

Tony shakes his head and walks away.

"What's going on?" a quiet voice from behind me asks. I turn around quickly with my hair standing on edge. It's practically impossible to sneak behind me when I'm a cat, yet somehow the guy with wavy, sandy blonde hair has done it.

"Oh, hey Matthew! I found this girl today," Alfred says pointing to me.

"Did you tell Tony she turned into this cat?" the quiet man, Matthew, asks.

"Yeah dude! She totally did!"

"What's your name?" Matthew asks me. I look up at him wishing I could tell him. I actually kinda like Matthew. I resist the urge to bat at a long strand of curly hair that hangs from his head as he bends down. He reaches and pats my head. Then he scratches my neck, and finds my collar.

I'm not sure why, but every time I transform into a cat, I have a collar on. The tag always has my name on it too. And then when I turn back into a human, I always have the same clothes on as when I first transformed. I don't know how this works, but it does. When you're a cat girl, you just learn to accept weird things in life without asking too many questions.

"This tag says her name is (y/n)," Matthew tells Alfred softly.

"Huh?" Alfred is digging through the groceries, so he doesn't hear Matthew the first time. Matthew repeats what he said. "Cool. Do you think (y/n) will want cat food, or people food?"

Usually I prefer cat food only when I'm a cat because it tastes funky as a human, but I'll eat human food whether I'm a cat or a human. I walk over to where Alfred has the food in the kitchen, and jump up onto the table. I approach the pile of food and put a padded paw on a can of cat food. There's no point acting like a dumb cat when my secret is out. Well kind of out.

"See! She's too smart to be a regular cat!" Alfred says to Matthew as he rubs my head. Not too gently either. I think I definitely like Matthew better.

"If she really is a person, why doesn't she turn into a person and leave?" Matthew asks joining us in the kitchen, but Alfred isn't listening.

I look Matthew dead in the eyes. Could I trust him enough to do what I'm about to do? I look over at Alfred who's putting the cat food in a bowl. I trust the quieter Matthew over the boisterous Alfred. I pad toward Matthew, holding his gaze as I do.

"I won't shift back," I whisper to Matthew, "because then he can't deny what he saw."

Matthew's eyes widen in shock when he hears my voice, but he doesn't say anything to alert Alfred. I knew I could trust him. I usually make a point not to talk while in my cat form, even though I can. "I don't quite understand," he whispers back.

"If I transform in front of him, then it proves that what he saw is true, but I don't want him to know that," I explain in a low voice.

"So you are a human." It's hard to hear Matthew, even with my cat hearing, because he's talking quieter than he usually does to match my whispering. "But if you don't want others to know, why are you telling me?"

"I trust you," I say with a gleam in my cat eyes. "You seem like a nice guy."

Alfred interrupts us with my food. "Getting along with Matthew, (y/n)?" he asks as he puts the bowl on the table. He pets me, and then turns to walk down the hall. "I'll be playing video games with Tony!"

I quickly finish my food and look around for more. "Don't freak out, okay?" I tell Matthew. My (h/c) pelt ruffles, and I feel my spine shift. I stretch my human limbs and crack my neck while still sitting on the table.

"That was amazing," Matthew says in awe.

"Thanks," I say a little embarrassed. "Most people get scared." I get off the table and sit in a chair. "Do you mind getting me something to drink?"

"O-oh, sure." He goes to a cupboard and pulls out a cup. "Is water okay?" I nod and take a look around. It's a really nice place. Matthew walks back to the table and hands me the cup.

"Thanks." I drain my cup quickly.

"So are you going to leave now?" he asks as he sits in a chair next to me. I look at him when I hear the sadness in his voice.

"I probably should. I don't really belong here," I tell him. "Or anywhere." I don't really fit in anywhere, being a cat girl and all.

"Do you have anywhere to go?"

"No, not really."

"Would you like to stay here (y/n)?" I almost spit my water out. No one has ever invited me to stay with them after I just transformed in front of them. They usually don't talk to me at all.

"Are you sure? I don't weird you out?"

"Well, at first it was strange, but it doesn't really bother me." He smiles and adds, "Besides, you can actually see me."

"Of course I see you, you're real aren't you?" I ask confused. The last thing I need is to be seeing ghosts or hallucinations.

"Yes, I'm real. It's just that people don't usually notice me. Not even my brother," he explains with a sad voice. "It's nice to be able to talk to someone."

My heart goes out to Matthew. He reminds me of myself. We're both lonely and in need of a friend. "I can stay, if you want."

"Will you really?" he asks excited. I instantly adore his smile. If staying here will keep him smiling, I'll stay here forever.

"If it makes you happy, yes," I tell him with a smile of my own. "I could use a friend too."

"Should we tell Alfred?"

I think about that for a while. I still don't trust him to keep my secret. "It's probably better if he forgets what he saw today. That'll mean I'll have to be a cat whenever he's around."

"Okay," Matthew replies. "Will you really stay?"

I nod and shift back into a cat. I hop onto his lap and sit down. "I've never had a real home before," I say looking up.

Matthew gives me a scratch behind the ear. "I've never met someone that's seen me for such a long period of time."

"Maybe this will work after all," I say hopefully.

He leans his face closer to mine and looks me straight in the eye without flinching. "I really hope so (y/n)."

I flick my rough cat tongue out and give Matthew's nose a little lick. I don't think I'll mind staying here with him. He seems kind, and he's really cute too. But most importantly, he's accepted me for me, and that's something special I've never had before.

I curl up on his lap and let out a gentle purr. He strokes my back, which causes me to purr harder. I can't remember the last time I've been this comfortable. Not even Alfred's jacket was this nice. It might just be because it's Matthew. He makes my heart flutter. I've never felt this way about someone before. Is this what people call love?