Unexpected Changes
Chapter three: True Scent
Warnings: OOC behavior, wrong description of how to treat a hangover (I wouldn't know), SHORT chapter. Also, I changed the genre. I don't think I'll be adding romance until much later in the story…
Disclaimer: Hetalia isn't owned by me. But did you know that Hidekaz-sama didn't come up with the 5-meters comment? It's fan-made!
Words: Approx. 1,300
-Recap-
After mysteriously becoming a girl, somehow thanks to England, Matthew proceeded to drag said unconscious, drunk nation out of the bar to a more secluded location where he can get some answers. What will Matthew discover after confronting his former guardian? Will said guardian wake up at all?
'Argh…Why me?'
Matthew asked himself the same question for what seemed the ten-thousandth time that night. After kind of successfully kidnapping Arthur and sneaking him out of the bar, the now female nation had decided that it might be a better idea to take him to his home in Manitoba rather than dealing with the drunk in the middle of the street. Although the idea of tossing him in the path of one of the car's way seemed so tempting…
Why was he normal one in his family, again?
Gracelessly dropping his former guardian on the sidewalk, Matthew raised his hand to call a cab, stretching his arms as he did so at the same time. Maybe it was from being in an uncomfortable position in the bathroom stall for so long or maybe it was his current 'situation', but his arms hurt like heck; not to mention he felt as if he didn't have as much upper body strength as he used to have… which really wasn't much at all. Alfred would always tease him about how Matthew couldn't punch a wet piece of paper with 'those noodles he called arms'. Matthew would proceed to go on one of his long and infamous 'reasons why you suck' rants until he could see Alfred's eyes start to tear up. If he didn't feel like wasting his breath, a quick mention of his white house after 1812 would usually do the job.
An hour and a half, an awkward cab ride (the rider kept sending Matthew and Arthur weird looks through his rearview mirror when he thought he wasn't noticed), and an expensive cab fare later, both nations found themselves at Canada's house in Manitoba. Not only wasn't it too far into the province, but it was extremely close to the border incase a World Meeting took place in a northern American state. His brother's Hilton and Embassy Suite hotels might be extremely comfortable, but nothing beat one's own bed and kitchen, in the Canadian's opinion. Sure his home wasn't as "extravagant" as Alfred's and Francis', but it had a homely feel to it that other homes lacked. Even as Matthew pulled his unconscious father figure inside -"How is it possible he's still sleeping? Mon Dieu…"- there already were lights turned on from within his house. These were the only signs that showed that his bear, Kumatatsu, was still awake.
Matthew was extremely glad he left his door unlocked. Not only was Canada's theft rate way lower than America's, but polar bears made better guards than dogs. He was able to enter his house with almost no troubles.
At least, until he heard said 'guard bear' slightly growl at him from behind.
Saying this had surprised him would've been a big understatement. Even when Kumashirou forgot his name, he never forgot and much less growled at him! Of course he looked nothing like himself at the moment… but still!
Matthew's whole body tensed instantly, even as he slowly turned around to face Kumajirou's coal black eyes. The usually docile and lazy bear was bearing his fangs with a small scowl easily noticeable on his face.
"Hey Kumashiki… How're you doing..?" the embodiment of Canada gulped and tried not to show his nervousness.
If Kumajirou had been surprised or taken off guard by a stranger somewhat knowing his name, he didn't show it. He did, however, take some steps towards the intruders, still tense as ever, and sniffed the only conscious one of the suspicious duo.
Snow…freshwater…fertile soil…The smell of alcohol almost completely covered those scents. A person's true scent, thankfully, was unique to every living being and almost impossible to cover. Sure enough, even though this human was very different from his easily forgettable master, they had the same Maple Leaf scent that only the representation of Canada had. Yup, it was Canada. What was his name again? Marvin? Matthias? No, that was the name of some other nation…Michael..?
"Who are you?" now only confusion and slight annoyance were noticeable on the small bear's face.
Matthew let out a soft sigh, glad that any possibility of an angry polar bear attacking him had seemingly disappeared. He pointed to himself with a much more relieved expression, "I'm Canada, even if it many seem hard to believe at the moment..."
Kumajirou still had the same look on his face, as if that cleared up nothing, "Who are you?"
The Canadian slightly blushed and muttered a soft "M-Matthew…" It felt weird to call himself by his full male name right now... It also made him feel silly that his pet bear seemed to not care enough, or just plain ignore, his new, um, appearance, while he had dragged a drunk and most likely incoherent man in what could be best explained as 'kidnapping on an impulse' as a reaction. Thinking about it, he hoped this wasn't a violation of any kind of international peace treaty. 'So long as thou not threaten a drunken nation, thou shall not be nuked' and such...
Curiosity satiated, Kumajirou just turned and walked deeper inside the house towards the living room, most likely to watch TV or lay around before drifting to sleep. The Canadian just watched him walk away.
"Okay, then..? I'll... see you later..?" he just shook his head, more than sure his words fell on deaf ears from being muttered so softly. Matthew also felt annoyed that his hair smacked against his face as he did the motion. Now that it was longer and different, it kept getting in the way of his eyesight. He'd probably have to cut it…Or not. It's not like he was going to stay a woman for long, right? Not after he wakes up Arthur and makes him undo the curse. Right. Of course.
So, with that in mind, Matthew laid Arthur on a chair in the kitchen with resting his head on the dinning table and looked through his cabinets for his coffee can. It was in the third door from the right, behind the fat-free, sugar-free bottle of chocolate syrup, somewhere Alfred would never look. He had to hide it there in order to make his southern brother stop stealing it every time he barged in on mornings un-announced. Maybe leaving the door unlocked wasn't such a great idea after all… He shook his head clear of thoughts again and grabbed the coffee. He took out his bag of milk from the refrigerator. He knew that once his former guardian woke, he'd have a killer hangover-induced headache, and angry or not, he was still Canadian, and that meant treating guests nicely.
An un-grumpy Arthur was a co-operable Arthur, after all, and he knew a good cup of coffee helped with hangovers. Knowing the English nation, he'd much rather prefer a cup of Earl Grey tea, but Matthew was completely out of any amount of tea in any way, shape or form.
"Ugh…Bollocks, my head…"
As if right on cue, Arthur seemed to be returning to the real world and leaving dreamland. It was about time, too. Counting from when Matthew left running for the bathroom to when they took the ride home, he had to be out for more than two hours. That might be too little time for a human, but they were nations after all. Finished with the hot drink, the Canadian poured it on a porcelain cup (a very old gift from China, the first time he visited Canada) and set it on the table, in front of Arthu—what a second, where were his toga clothes?
Sure enough, Arthur was rubbing his forehead in the white dress shirt Matthew had seen him in earlier that night at the bar before Alfred dragged him off to argue about god knows what.
Matthew blinked once. Then he blinked twice.
'…Stranger things have happened tonight,' he reasoned.
Still oblivious to his former charge, Arthur kept trying to remember exactly where he was, why he couldn't remember the last couple of hours, and why did his head hurt so much? He also couldn't shake of the suspicion that something that wasn't supposed to happen did. It was only when he saw a cup of coffee being placed in his line of vision that he realized that he wasn't alone, wherever he was.
And as his emerald green eyes locked on the soft violet ones of the somewhat familiar young lady across from him, he could just tell his headache was only going to get worse.
