This is a headcanon I came up with one day. I always kinda thought America probably could see Canada, even when he acts like he can't.

I do not own Hetalia :/

Many of the nations always had odd feelings when they would attend world conferences. They couldn't quite place their finger on it. To some, it seems like there was a strange presence in the room. To others, strange things would happen like a chair moving or papers rustling without anyone actually being there. They always left the meetings with the oddest notion that they were being watched, or that someone was walking behind them. No one knew what it was, and no one bothered to find out.

Canada was used to people not seeing him. He had grown accustom to the weird looks people would shoot his way whenever he moved his chair back or shuffled some papers. His own bear didn't know who he was more often than not. It never really bothered Canada though. Not really. None of the nations ever noticed him, and most of them probably never would. Not even his own brother.

But the truth was that America could see Canada, he just chose not to. It seemed like a cruel thing to do, and America felt quite a bit of guilt over it, but he had an image to uphold. How would the other nations react if they saw a powerful country like him talking to no one? World meetings always brought a fresh wave of guilt as he sat and pretended not to see anyone in the chair marked for Canada. No one else ever saw his inner turmoil, but it was there.

Canada was hurt when he realized his brother was ignoring him. He knew the other nations couldn't see him, but knew for a fact that America could. His obnoxious brother would often shout at him whenever a Canadian hockey team played in America. The two would then watch the game together and give the loser a hard time. He knew America could see him, but after many failed attempts to get his brother's attention, he would sit quietly and listen as the meeting continued without him. He did this during several conferences until he resigned himself to the fact that America would not look his way. It had hurt, but he also understood.

What would the other countries think if they saw his brother talking to empty air? He knew how others laughed at England behind his back for talking to his "flying mint bunny", and Canada did not want his brother to be mocked in the same way. He accepted how America treated him with the knowledge that he was doing his brother a favor. It didn't hurt so much after that.

America's guilt did not go away quite as easily no matter how he tried to justify it to himself. He soon found himself inviting Canada over to his place on weekends to watch movies or play video games. Sometimes, he would show up uninvited at Canada's place and demand pancakes no matter what time of the day it was. He would find any excuse to see his brother and do something special. A lot of the time, they would end up just tossing an old baseball around and laughing about the past. Neither of them ever brought up the world meetings.

Canada eventually caught on to what his brother was doing. It made America's actions hurt less knowing that he was trying to make up for it however he could. Canada occasionally found America's gestures annoying, but it was better than being ignored. He usually looked forward to getting a call from his happy-go-lucky brother to do something together. It helped to fill the hole in Canada's heart made from being invisible to others.

It had occurred to him to call America out on what he was doing. It was completely in his right to chew his brother out for being so mean for so long. But he couldn't do it. He had seen the occasional glances America sent his way during meetings, and the fleeting looks of discomfort that appeared on his face when Canada tried to draw attention to himself. It was no secret to Canada that his brother felt awful about the whole thing. Absolutely and completely awful. He couldn't bring himself to be mad about it. No, this was a secret he'll keep for his brother in return for all of the nice things he does.

America had a feeling that Canada knew exactly what was going on, but America didn't want to think of it like that. It would mean that Canada was okay with what his brother was doing, and America couldn't stand it if it were true. He knew he was being mean, insensitive, and unnecessarily cruel. It would eat him alive if Canada knew and still allowed him to continue acting in such a way. He deserved to be yelled at, to be scolded, to be scorned. He was despicable.

Yet Canada didn't hate him. He appreciated that his brother even bothered to try to make up for ignoring him. It wasn't in his nature to be bitter, and he himself thought that he had no reason to be. He loved the quiet moments the two had together. He didn't even mind making pancakes for America when he showed up at strange times demanding them. It was just nice to be noticed. That's why he kept his brother's secret.