The waiting in line drove Allister crazy, a good twenty minutes wasted standing behind idiots trying to argue with the woman at the till. Now he wasn't exactly known for being the most patient of nations but it got to the point where the fucking Canadian was about ready to bitch slap the old woman paying a penny at a time.

When they finally got outside they noticed a considerable drop in temperature. Matt shivered slightly pulling his coat around himself and readjusting the many bags in his arms. "Alfred would have hated this, he's such a wimp when it comes to the cold"

Allister chuckled "Tell me about it. Last Christmas those babies just sat inside to keep warm. They don't know the meaning of heavy snow fall. Up in the highlands ye don't call it bad weather until the house is covered"

"The next couple days should be fun then" Matt smirked almost evilly, the only time Allister had ever seen the soft spoken nation give such a look was when he was on the ice. He shivered at the memory of watching the man play hockey.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot that you'll probably be feeling the cold a lot more now" Without a even moment of hesitation Matt placed the brown bags on the ground, pulled his own coat off and draped it over Allister shoulders. "There we go" he smiled down at him

Allister blushed at the gesture. He looked down at the ground and mumbled his thanks.

"No problem, I am supposed to be helping look after you guys after all" Matt picked up his bags and headed back to the seemingly impervious to the cold.

Allister looked down at the coat and smiled slightly. It had been a long time since he had someone looking after him. He hugged himself slightly letting Matts left over body heat seep into him.

"You coming?" Matt asked glancing over his shoulder when he realised the mini red head wasn't following him.

"Yeah…sorry" Allister ran over to him not sure what had gotten over him, he wasn't a little kid. He didn't need looking after.

The two drove in silence. Not an awkward silence but one only achieved when both are perfectly comfortable just sitting next to each other.

Allister gazed out of the window, mindlessly watching the scenery pass by. America's house was a little way out of New York City, apparently he liked it a bit quieter. Allister figured the real reason was that now he only had a couple of people living nearby who wouldn't complain about how loud he was no matter the time of day.

After a while Allister realised that they had missed the turning to get out of the city. "Erm Canada… I'm pretty sure ye missed that last turn"

"Well I figured we wouldn't head back right away, Alfred can handle things a little while longer. Besides it's about lunch time" Matt smiled keeping his eyes focused on the road.

"But me bruvs need me!" Allister jumped up in his seat staining against his seatbelt.

"I know your type Allister Kirkland"

Allister stopped his protests and looked at Matt curiously

"You're the kind of person who acts annoyed most of the time and will lose his temper at the drop of a hat. But when push comes to shove and someone you care about is in trouble, you will be there till the end. That's why I know that as soon as we get back you're not going to give yourself a break until your brothers are feeling better. So before you push yourself to the point of exhaustion, I'm making sure you have a little fun." The way Matt spoke suggested he was talking from experience.

"You sound like you know what you're talking about" Allister mumbled suddenly taking a great interest in his shoes.

"Of course I do. One of the men who raised me was exactly like that"

Arty… Allister shouldn't have been surprised, the lad had so many colonies it was no surprise he had developed motherly instincts. "That's just how Arty is, got nothing to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you. You were the one to raise him right?"

Allister flinched slightly "Yeah… now and again"

Matt glanced at him slightly confused, however he didn't want to press the matter further.

"The two of you are more alike than you think. Just let me treat you to lunch the once eh?"

Allister sighed realising that he wasn't going to get out of it. "Know of any half places to get bangers and mash around here then"

Matt smiled at him and Allister grinned back

"I know just the place."