A/N: Happy Halloween everyone!

Well, I'm glad that you guys don't think that Canada is out of character so far. I hardly ever write about him, so I haven't really gotten used to using him in a story.

Also, yay, I reached my goal of getting fifty followers by the tenth chapter! Thanks guys!

Just one more thing, I'm not sure how often I'm going to be updating this, since I have a goal of rereading the Harry Potter series before my birthday. Sorry guys.

Unfortunately for America, it almost seemed as if he was being punished for having such an amazing day, as during the next day, he couldn't think of another time that he had felt so irritable; and for no reason at all too. Well, at least he knew one cause to how irritable he was feeling, and that was due to his extreme boredom, and how he seemed to lack any enthusiasm towards anything that could possibly provide him with some entertainment. Not even the idea of receiving a billion dollars, and being told that he could vacation anywhere he wanted for an entire year seemed to spark any exhilaration within him. He simply didn't understand why he was feeling this way, but he was sure that if he would ever be given such an opportunity, he would instead find the whole experience to be a waste a time, and that he wasn't worthy of such joy. The thought was even enough to embarrass him.

It was quiet that day. All America could stand doing was staring silently at a wall. Of course, Canada and Russia had tried to start a conversation with him, or asked him if he wanted to do something with them, but all they would receive in return for their efforts was a, "Would you just leave me alone?"

Eventually, Russia didn't seem to want to watch America sulk any longer, as he approached the young nation and asked, "Is there something bothering you, Fredka?"

America never averted his attention from the wall, "No."

"You've been sitting in that same spot all day. There must be something wrong."

"I'm just feeling a little bored, but it's not like that matters anyways, because I don't want to do anything."

"But it doesn't seem as if you even tried to entertain yourself."

America then suppressed a sigh of irritation, "Would you just go away? I really don't need this right now."

With that said, Russia decided to silently walk away from America. However, much to the young nations adversity, Russia almost immediately returned with some knitting supplies. He set the supplies down, and told America, "Why don't you start knitting? It helps me feel better."

"I have no idea how to knit," America retorted, "besides, why would I want to anyways? I'm not into that sort of thing."

Russia shrugged, "It wouldn't hurt to try it. Besides, I can teach you how to do it."

America let out a silent groan. Due to all of his stress, he almost felt as if he was about to a have aneurysm. Therefore, he decided to massage his temples to try and stop a headache that he was sure he was about to have, and begged, "Please, I really don't want to do this right now."

Russia sat down next to America, and asked, "Fredka, are you sure you're feeling okay? You're acting as if you're having a migraine. Am I really bothering you that much? I'm sorry if I am. I just really want to help you, but if you really want to be alone this badly, I'll leave."

"It's not you, Russia. I don't even know what it is."

After receiving this response, Russia decided to pull America into a hug. As much as he wanted to, America refused to speak out against the affection. He decided that it would at least be best for him to try and convince himself that the comfort should at least be making him feel better. After all, the thought of being immune to the one thing that had really been helping him out during the past few weeks was rather unpleasant. Therefore, he tried his best to relax in Russia's arms, but the older nation seemed to notice that America was only becoming more tense. He decided to see if stroking the young nation's hair would calm him, but this only seemed to cause America to furrow his eyebrows in frustration; as if trying to focus on not lashing out was the only thing preventing America from losing it. At this, Russia immediately decided that it would be best to stop what he was doing, and spoke in a low and cautious voice in hopes of preventing America from becoming more stressed, "Fredka, please just try to take some deep breaths. You're not breathing properly right now."

Russia freed America from his hug, as he believed that the embrace only seemed to cause the young nation even more stress. Then, Russia made sure that he was making eye contact with America, as he thought that that would be one of the best ways to give his love interest some reassurance. After that, he gently held America's hands in his own, and repeated his earlier request, "Come on, just do it, Amerika. Once you have your breathing under control, you'll feel much better. I promise."

Despite the fact that America really wasn't making any noise while breathing, or hyperventilating, his breaths were still shallow, fast, and irregular; the type of breathing that some people would do if they were on the verge of having a huge emotional break down due to an extreme amount of stress, and they were trying to keep themselves from losing it. The fact that Russia needed to reassure him the way that he currently was only made America feel ridiculous. However, despite the fact that everything else that Russia tried seemed to fail, America did find the other nation's current strategy to be quite effective. Eventually, he was relieved of some of his stress, and his breathing had returned to normal.

Russia, on the other hand, couldn't help but wonder what could possibly be making America feel so stressed. It wasn't as if the young nation had much work to do, and no one was pressuring him to make a life changing decision. He wanted to look into this, to see if it had something to do with the young nation's depression. However, he didn't think that it would be wise to interrogate America, now that the nation seemed to have relaxed a bit from his previous state. He simply didn't want to stress America out again. Perhaps he could ask Canada if he knew anything about what was going on in America's mind at the moment, and what the best way to handle such a situation would be.

Only a small amount of irritation remained, yet despite the empty feeling that seemed to accompany his unexplained stress, he felt as if would be able to tolerate doing something, rather than find any possible form of entertainment to be a waste of time. Seeing that America seemed to be much more calm, Russia decided that it would be safe to ask, "Would you like to try and knit now? It might help you get rid of anymore stress that you might have."

Since America could no longer stand the idea of spending the rest of his day doing absolutely nothing, he decided to reply to Russia's request, "Fine, I guess I will."

With that said, Russia grabbed two knitting needles and handed them to America. Then he retrieved some lavender yarn, and instructed, "First, you need to make a slip knot and put it on the needle."

"Alright," America said in response, and tried his best to make a slip knot out of the yarn. At first, he thought that he was doing it correctly (although, it had been a while since he made one). However, it didn't seem as if Russia thought that he was doing it properly, as he grabbed the needle that America was trying to apply his attempt at a slip knot on, and told him, "Nyet, like this."

America watched Russia carefully as he removed the yarn from the needle, and looped it into an actual slip knot. Then, after that, he showed the young nation a demonstration on how the complete the first row of knots. After looping the yarn around the needle a few times, he gave the tool and the yarn back to America, and inquired, "Here, why don't you try and finish that first row?"

America complied, and found the task to be rather easy, and somewhat enjoyable. For once in his life, he thought that he'd found a skill that he was natural at. At that moment, he couldn't really recall another time where he seemed to learn how to do something right away. That was until he was finally finishing knitting the first row of what he assumed was going to be a scarf, and it was time to start another row on knots. It was also when Russia decided to bring the second needle into the process, while he explained to America how to start a second row. All America could interpret from the demonstration was a confusing mess of two needles somehow creating a coherent pattern out of the yarn. When Russia returned the two needles to America to see if he would be able to start another row, America was immediately stopped, "You're not doing it correctly."

With a grumble of annoyance, America handed the two needles back to Russia, so that the grey haired nation would be able to show him how to start a second row again. This continued on for what seemed to America to be the most irksome fifteen minutes of his life. Even Russia seemed to be becoming somewhat irritated by the young nation's inability to learn what he deemed to be a rather simple skill. Right after seeming to have messed up again, America snapped, "What the hell am I supposed to do!?"

Looking shocked by the sudden outburst, Russia decided to put the knitting supplies away with a sigh, and explained, "Maybe we should try this again later. You seem to be much too stressed right now."

However, this didn't seem to come as a reassurance to America, as he continued to yell at Russia, "I just just don't understand why you couldn't leave me alone! It was so obvious that I didn't want you around, but it's like you don't want to listen to me!"

Feeling as if he didn't deserve to be reviled just for trying to help, and for not understanding what America wanted when the other nation was doing a horrible job of communicating, Russia suppressed yet another sigh at America's temper, and tried to ease the tension, "Amerika-"

"I bet that you just think I'm full of it right now! I know that you're ignoring what I'm saying on purpose, and I don't like it!"

"Amerika-"

"Go ahead, why don't you just tell my brother how much of an idiot I am for feeling this way!? It's not like you cared when you invaded my personal space not too long ago, so why would you care if my brother found out that I'm upset over 'nothing'!?"

"That's enough, Fredka!"

It appeared that America was both surprised and angry with Russia for yelling at him, as he finally stopped nagging the other nation, but he was still not afraid to glare at him. Russia, on the other hand, did not at all appreciate the fact that America was still giving him an attitude, as he told the young nation in a rather harsh manner, "Look, I'm willing to put up with you venting, or simply being irritated. I can't stop you from needing to vent once and a while, and I can't always prevent you from feeling moody, but I refuse to put up with you taking all of your anger out on me when all I'm trying to do is help you! I understand that I might have been a little forceful about being around you, and I'm sorry about that, but-"

Russia suddenly stopped, as if he was trying to come up with what to say next, "Look, this is just really frustrating. You've already shown me in the past that when you act stubborn, you have a problem that you're trying to hide from me. Almost as if you wanted someone to pay attention when you tried to push them away. Or maybe I interpreted that all wrong. Can you just be more clear when you're trying to communicate with me?"

When America suddenly turned away from him, Russia couldn't help but feel as if he failed miserably trying to make America understand what he was trying to say. He wasn't even sure if America cared about what he just said, or became extremely offended or confused by his words. Russia suddenly seemed to find interest in the carpet, as he continued to analyze what he just told America, wondering if the nation could ever hope to understand what he said. He obviously didn't think the young nation was stupid, but rather that he was the one that was a hypocritical idiot for possibly not doing a great job at communicating his thoughts.

America, on the other hand, seemed to suddenly be deep in thought with what Russia had just told him. He tried to deny it in the past, since he didn't even want to think that he could possibly be an attention seeker, but America couldn't help but realize that he really did want someone to try and figure out what was bothering him when he was trying to avoid social interaction. Realizing this, of course, only made him feel all the more ridiculous. He also couldn't help but notice just how confusing his actions truly were. It was almost as if he had expected poor Russia to read his mind.

Russia continued to sit there as he waited for himself to rid himself of any anger or guilt in case America wanted to try and make a friendly approach towards him. It seemed as if America had been sulking for ten minutes before he finally turned around to face Russia with tears threatening to fall from his eyes. It seemed as if America was trying his best to stop his tears from spilling, and fight the tightness in his throat as he said, "I'm sorry, Russia. I'm such an idiot, aren't I?"

Russia's voice was soft, as he explained, "Nyet, you're not an idiot."

"Of course I am. Only an idiot would treat you horribly after all you did for me."

Since it didn't seem as if America was going to stop tearing himself a part anytime soon, Russia decided to pull him into a gentle embrace, and explained, "Fredka, I already forgive you. You owned up for what you did, so you don't need to feel horrible about it."

A few tears fell from America's eyes as Russia added, "Now please stop saying horrible things about yourself. I hate seeing you do that because you don't deserve to feel so horrible about yourself."

America removed his glasses so that he could try and rid his face of the tears; perhaps even prevent more from spilling, but Russia's comforting words only seemed to make him want to cry even more. Therefore, he gave up on trying to stop himself from crying, set his glasses down on the coffee table, and buried his face into Russia's shoulder. Russia decided to start stroking America's hair, and whispered soothing Russian phrases to him as the young nation cried.

What seemed to be an eternity of this passed before Canada entered the room and asked, "Uh, is everything okay here?"

"Don't worry," Russia told Canada, "I have it under control."

"Well, do you think you'll need my help with anything?"

"Not right now, but I'll tell you if I do."

"Alright, I guess I'll just leave you two alone then."

With that said, Canada left.

By the time America was finally done crying, Russia decided to ask, "So what's been making you so miserable today?"

"I don't really know how to explain it," America started, exhaustion from crying obvious in his voice, "I've just been feeling really stressed today. I feel like there's no point in doing anything, for whatever reason. It's just so confusing."

There was a pause, before Russia finally stated, "I remember feeling the same way quite a few times. I guess it just happens sometimes. Just remember that these phases don't last forever. It will make them less dreadful, and maybe even snap you out of a few of them immediately."

"Well, I'm glad that I don't feel that way anymore. I just hope I never feel that way ever again."

America tried his best to snuggle even closer to Russia. However, no amount of the other nation's warmth seemed to be enough to protect America from the chills. Deciding that his attempt to absorb warmth from Russia was futile, he stated, "It's really cold in here right now."

Now noticing that America was shivering rather violently in his arms, and the fact that he himself didn't feel cold, he decided to rest the back of his hand on America's forehead before saying, "Well, you definitely don't seem to be running a fever. I'll go get you some blankets."

As soon as Russia stood up to leave, he felt America grab his arm in an attempt to keep him from leaving the room. Russia gently freed himself from the young nation's grasp, and explained, "Don't worry, I won't be gone for long."

For what seemed to only be a few seconds, Russia returned with a couple of blanket. Once he was at the couch, he wrapped the blankets around America before pulling him into another hug, so that the young nation would be able to rest against his body. Russia continued to sit there, and play with America's soft hair even long after the other nation had fallen asleep. Eventually, Russia decided that it would probably be best if he started preparing something for dinner, so he decided to lay America down on the couch, and plant a kiss on his forehead before heading off to the kitchen.

However, he stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw Canada giving him an expression that seemed to show that he didn't quite know how to react to what he just saw. After a long, awkward silence, Russia gave him an embarrassed smile before saying, "Oh, hey Matvey. I didn't even notice you walk into this room."

Canada still silently stared at him. Another long silence increased the tensions between them as Russia began to panic somewhat, "Please don't be mad. I promise, I didn't do anything to America that was worse than an innocent kiss on the forehead."

At last, Canada spoke, "I'm not really sure if it would be right to keep that a secret from my brother."

At first, Russia had no idea how to respond to that statement. Then, the perfect argument hit him. He knew that it wasn't ethical, but he didn't really see any other way out of the situation, "Are you sure it would be a good idea to tell him? After all, I have been alone with him for a few weeks, and it's obvious that I haven't done anything horrible to him. Besides, it was only a kiss on the forehead. Do you really want him to start feeling awkward around me over something so innocent, when there's no way it could cause him any harm?"

At this, Canada began to look conflicted. After a moment of thought, he finally said in response, "I guess not."

"So, do you promise not to tell him?"

"As long as you promise not to do anything more without his consent."

"Matvey," Canada couldn't help but feel a bit guilty when a look of hurt appeared on Russia's face, yet he continued stay firm, "Why would I ever want to do something like that to him?"

Canada studied Russia for a few moments before finally saying, "Alright, I trust you. Well, I hate to seem intrusive, but what exactly do you love about my brother? Not that it really matters. Just curious."

Then, a blush suddenly spread across Russia's face, "I'm not sure if I can list off all of the things I love about him. I'm not even sure if I've figured out everything I love about him."

"Well, do you think you can at least summaries what you like about him?"

Russia looked away shyly as he began, "He's cute, he's caring, I love his cowlick, he can sometimes be really funny-"

It seemed as if listing off the reasons why he loved America was already becoming too much for Russia to handle, as he suddenly stood up and changed the subject before leaving the room, "I have to go make dinner now."

Canada sighed at this as he thought, Well, at least he doesn't only love him for his looks. That's a good sign.

Sorry guys, that knitting scene must have seemed pretty weird. I have no idea how to knit, and based this all off of a tutorial I watched. I don't even think I used the right terms to describe the process of knitting, or those little rows of knots.