Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot bunny.
Upon seeing the two men in her tent, Canada froze. She was expecting her brother, that was true, but not England. She had avoided him like the plague after their row. She did not want to talk to him, through anger and a slight sense of shame and guilt at yelling at him.
When she was forced to interact with him, she was cold, calling him 'commander' or 'England' and not making any eye contact. This was uncharacteristically impolite for the Canadian, and she hated doing it, but she felt it was her obligation to teach the elder a lesson about how strong girls could be.
She got worked up thinking about it. Taking a breath to calm down, she addressed her family that was invading her tent. "Hi, Alfred. I wasn't expecting to see you until tomorrow morning. How are you?" she asked with a soft smile towards her brother.
"I…" Being at a total loss for words, he shot Arthur a look. So this was why he had to come here. He had assumed it was to see England, since he was in the tent when he got there. Obviously the Brit had failed to mention it was Canada's tent.
Pulling up a chair and completely ignoring England, she began unlacing her boots, red and green dog tags hanging out of her jacket. When he didn't answer right away, she looked up expectantly, eyebrows raised. "You alright, Al?"
He waved her off, "Yeah, yeah. Fine. But…Mattea, why didn't you tell me you were here?"
She tilted her head to the side, knitting her eyebrows together. "I thought you knew, Al. After I was found out, my boss said he'd contact your boss, who would tell you. He didn't?"
"No, nothing."
"Then how did you find out? You must have known coming here you were going to see me. They must have told you who it was you were meeting with…"
Alfred shook his head. "They didn't. They just said I had to talk to someone, and when I got here they lead me to this tent, told me to wait a bit, and I just thought that… it was Arthur I was supposed to talk to…"
Mattea glanced at Arthur, then turned her attention back to her brother. "Was he-" she gestured with her head to her father, "here when you came in?"
He nodded. "Mattie, why did you come here? Didn't you know what it was going to be like? And why didn't you tell me? I had no idea where you were since I got here. I thought you were back home…"
Canada sighed. "Al, I came for the same reason you and Arthur-" in the corner, the former empire flinched when she said his name, and she glared at him. "Came here. My country is at war. I'm not going to sit around knitting socks while ten percent of my population is in the army, and when my family is fighting." She threw her boots under the cot and started unbuttoning her jacket.
"I'm going to do my part. It's no different for my soldiers as it is for yours; when I'm here, their morale is a little better, knowing they have something worth fighting for, instead of European politics. They need me as much as I need them." She threw her coat absentmindedly onto the chair Arthur happened to be sitting on. He made a muffled noise when it landed on him that caused her to turn.
"Ah! Sorry, D-Arthur. Sorry. I didn't mean to throw it on you. That's usually my coat chair, you see." She said sheepishly as she removed the coat from on top of her
"Anyway," she said, turning back to her brother, "what did you need to talk about? They didn't really tell me anything other than you were coming. "
He shook his head "No, nothing really urgent, just to see about supplies and stuff."
"Alright. Can we talk about it tomorrow? I'm sort of tiered…"
Alfred stood up, "yeah, of course. I'll give you and Iggy here a tour of my camp. My general wants to talk with you too. That's why I was early; they sent me to get you." He paused a moment, sizing up his sister.
"Matt…have you grown? We need to measure! Hold still…" she obediently stood tall as Alfred stepped forward and place his hand on the top of her head; drawing it towards himself while keeping it flat. "You have, Mattie! You used to be up to my chin, and now you're almost to my forehead! Good job, sis. Growing like that."
Mattea smiled, "Only you, Al, could be so pleased about me growing fast."
He winked, "Big brothers are supposed to do things like that."
She put her hands on her hips in mock annoyance, "You may be the older Nation, but I'm the older twin, Al."
Alfred tapped the side of his nose, "You can't prove that…"
Their banter was cut off by a cough from the corner that made them both jump. England had stood up and was looking at them expectantly.
"If you two are finished chatting, I think we'll be going now. Mattea, I also came to tell you that we are meeting up at the American camp. There will be a lorry to pick you up at 0700 hours."
Mattea stared at him, and then nodded. "How long will it take to get to there?"
"Not long. It depends on the roads and weather. I'll be off, now. See you all tomorrow."
"Good bye, Arthur." she said as she slumped onto the cot, rubbing her eyes under her glasses.
Alfred sat down beside her. "Still angry with him, I see."
"Still observant, I see."
He slapped her back, "Now come on, Matt! You gotta forgive and forget!"
She sighed and learned back, looking at the top of the tent and running her hands through her hair. "Al, I try. But he just won't see how I am strong enough, how I am big enough, how I am my own country that can to do things on my own!" she paused a moment and looked at the hair in her hands. "Jeez, I need a trim. I don't think I've cut it since Vimy…"
"That was just after I got here, right?"
"Yeah…Al, do you know who the first person to recognize me was?" Mattea asked, a slight smile stretching her lips.
"No…wasn't it one of your men?"
She shook her head. "No. It was Prussia of all people."
Alfred stared at his sister, eyebrows raised.
His twin chuckled. "I know. He saw me at Vimy, rushed at me, then laughed and said 'You've got guts, kid. Didn't think old Iggy would have let you come.' When I told him that he didn't know I was here he smiled, saying 'Good on ya, stickin' it to your old man. Teach him a lesson, because' and he gestured to everything that was going on around us- mind you, we weren't having a friendly conversation; we were both trying to kill each other-'you sure are teaching me something.' And he ran off."
"Mattie, that is…"
"Crazy? Yup. And then of course everyone learned the value of knocking on doors." She sighed. "I really do need to cut my hair."
Alfred grinned. "I could give you I trim if you want, Matt."
She jerked away from her brother. "Not after last time. I would like my hair on my head and the same length all over, thank you."
"Aww, it wasn't that bad, Mattie!"
"Yes, it was, Alfred. No matter what anyone says to you, never, ever, become a barber. You will not have happy customers."
Alfred laughed and tickled her tummy. "And you shouldn't become a polititian; everyone would love you and nothing would get done."
Mattea giggled and doubled over. "P-perhaps." She gasped, trying to swipe Alfred's hands away. "N-now, Al! Stop! Stop! Uncle!" she cried between laughs.
Alfred, finally relenting, straightened up, suddenly getting serious. "You sure you're alright, Matt?"
Mattea smiled sadly at her brother, knowing what he was asking. "I manage, Al. No one wants a girl around, but they respect me nonetheless. I'll be fine." She held back, not wanting him to worry.
He smiled, he knew she hadn't said everything, but who could blame her after everything that had happened? He stood. "I better get going. See you tomorrow?"
"Good night, Alfred. See you tomorrow." She confirmed.
As he walked out of her tent, Alfred thought about how much his sister wasn't telling him, and how much she really didn't deserve whatever it was that was bothering her.
A/N:
Just some random sibling banter. (Can't you see them, just talking like kids who've known each other all their lives? I can…:3) Oh, the family dynamic, it's fun. I can see Al dragging Matt all around on adventures and such, and Arthur just amazed that they can see these imaginary worlds.
It should get more interesting, I promise. I actually planned to have this and the next chapter together, but it would be long and I feel bad for not updating sooner. So here you go. It was annoying and dry and I'm excited for the next chapter (Canada may or may not get all badass on someone. I'm not telling though.) because something might actually happen instead of dialogue. Some…ACTION! Oooohh. Yup.
I think soldiers back then would have been absolute pigs if there was a female solider with them. Some would be decent, but some…nope.
Don't forget to review!doitdoitdoit.
EDIT: Guys. I am so sorry for not up dating in FOREVER. School and stuff is just...gah. I'm doing my best. I try. I try.