"Dude, are you serious?" America asked Canada incredulously.

It was a rainy night and the two brothers were standing in line to see The Avengers, which is where they had been for the last two days. America really, really wanted to see this screening ("it's in 3D, Matty! 3D!"). So when Canada expressed the sentiment that maybe standing in the rain was not a very smart idea, he was... a little peeved.

"Come on, Al, you know... we could get sick from this," Canada told him quietly. They were at the moment huddled under the one umbrella that Canada had brought (he being the only one with the presence of mind to check the weather forecast a few days before). "Maybe we should, you know... go home and wait for another time. It will be playing for a while, eh?"

"I can't believe you, Matty," America replied a little disgustedly. "We've been standing here this long. Why do you want to quit now?"

"Pneumonia is no fun, Al," Canada replied, sighing a little. "And one or both of us might end up with it if we keep standing in this stupid rain!"

"You are serious," America answered, sounding very annoyed. "Why do you always quit on stuff, Matty? You're always quitting... geez..."

"I do not quit," Canada replied indignantly. "I just think carefully about what I do before I do it, which is something you never do, Alfred."

"Psshh," America snorted scornfully. "You mean you quit. Or you don't even try in the first place. Because you're afraid to fail at anything." He looked squarely at Canada and said, "In your case, 'thinking carefully' is a cop-out... come on Matty. Get real. You're just afraid of looking stupid in front of people."

"It is not!" Canada answered angrily. "At least everyone else doesn't think I'm loud, rude, ignorant and obnoxious." America blinked a little.

"Well, at least I'm not too lazy and passive to get people to notice me." America's eyes narrowed. "And then I don't sit and complain if someone doesn't..." That statement made Canada truly mad, and he said something that he would truly regret...

"Oh yeah? At least I'm not always stuffing my face and getting fat!" Once the words were out of his mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. America looked like he'd been slapped... he had gotten just a little pudgy here lately, as he occasionally did, but he was so active that he never stayed that way for long. But at the moment he was very conscious of it, and very sensitive.

"Here, Matthew," America said nastily, shoving the tickets into Canada's hands, "find someone else to go with." He turned around and ran off through the downpour, presumably heading home.

Canada felt terrible. Of course America hadn't been very nice to him...but at a the same time, he knew how upset America got where his weight was concerned. With a sigh, he left the line snaking around the corner from the front lobby of the theater and headed off to find hid brother. He didn't have to go far, as America had only run a few blocks and was sitting on a bench in the rain. With his face in his hands. Crying...

"Al?" Canada said softly. America looked up. His face was red and his eyes puffy. When he saw Canada in front of him, he glared,tears pouring down his cheeks.

"Go away!" America shouted. "Take your girlfriend to the movie! Or Gilbert or Jose! Or Yong Soo! I'm not going with you!" He stood up and started to run away again, but Canada reached out and grabbed his wrist before he could get very far.

"Al..."Canada began. America kept glaring at Canada, teeth clenched... "Alfie," Canada continued,using a nickname that no one had really used since America was small, "I'm sorry I said that. It was really mean of me, not to mention wrong."

The glare had disappeared from America's face by then, but he was still crying. "Why did you say it then?" America said in a pitiful little voice. "You're just like everyone else that makes fun of me... Francis and all of them..."

"Alfie, I really am sorry," Canada told him softly, reaching out and pulling him into a hug. "I'll never make fun of you about something like that again, okay?"

"Okay," America sniffled. Canada was never one to ridicule him, and he had no reason to believe he ever would again. He leaned on his brother a little, and slowly hugged him back.

"And you are right that I am afraid of failure," Canada added. "I'll try to do better, okay? Now how about we go get back in line to see the movie?"

America wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "We're soaked, Matty," he answered. "We probably should go home... we can always go another night."

Canada asked,"Are you sure?"

America nodded. "I'm sorry I dragged you out here, Matty. It was stupid and thoughtless of me..."

Canada hugged him again. "Nah, Al, it's all right. Are we good now?"

"Yeah," America answered with a small smile. "Now let's go home, pneumonia isn't much fun."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When Alfie is yelling at Matty:

Girlfriend: Ukraine

Jose: Cuba

You guys know Gilbert and Yong Soo.

Next up: just for LilyRosetheDreamer: the "brosis" duo of Poland and Hungary.