CHAPTER 25: A NEW TRADITION
Canada woke up, but didn't open his eyes. Even the red light filtering through his closed eyelids was making his head feel as if it would split open at the seams. He reached futilely for a blanket and found none. He seemed to be lying on a couch. Not one of his own couches, either, this one was made of leather. His face felt a bit sticky, too. All in all not a great start of a day.
He tried to remember what had transpired to put him in this sorry state. He'd gone to the party at Germany's place with Cuba, and they'd spent most of the night together. Then they came across America and of course he and Cuba started getting into a fight. Canada tried to stop them, but they completely ignored him, so he gave up and went to find something else to do. Then he'd run into Prussia, who'd forced a beer into his hand, and from that point on it was all black. He really needed to stop letting people drag him into their drinking, especially on Christmas.
Was he still at Germany's? It was certainly possible. He seemed to remember Germany having super sleek leather couches… Maple, this was the second time in a row he'd woken up on Christmas morning lying on someone else's couch with a hangover and no recollection of what had happened the previous night. Was this going to be his new holiday tradition? He hoped not. His reputation as 'the good one' would be completely ruined…
Canada heard the door slam open and a far too loud voice call out, "Buon Natale, Germany! I've got gifts for you~!"
Canada groaned and brought his hands to his ears, but he must have been perched far more precariously than he'd thought, because he found himself tumbling off the couch and onto the floor. "Oh, maple."
"Ve, America! Are you okay?!" Small, soft hands grabbed Canada and helped pull him to his feet. Well, actually, 'helped' was a bit of an exaggeration. They pulled a bit and were obviously trying their best, but really if anything they just made it harder for Canada to get up.
Canada glanced at his 'rescuer' and saw that it was Italy, wrapped in a stylish winter coat and carrying a bulging bag. "I'm fine, eh, thanks. And I'm Canada, not America."
Italy stared at him blankly for a few moments, letting out a 've~' sound. Suddenly he gasped and clapped his hands together. "Oh, right, Canada! With the cute polar bear and the hair curl that's like mine! Buon Natale!" With that he gave the northern nation a huge hug. Canada wasn't caught too off guard by this. He'd seen Italy hug other nations (especially Germany) quite possibly thousands of times. He'd just never been on the receiving end of one. It was probably usually less cold and wet than this, since Italy had just come inside and his coat was still covered in snow.
Canada patted his back just a tinge awkwardly. "Merry Christmas to you, too, eh." As Italy released him with a happy 'Ve~!', something he'd said suddenly hit home. "Wait… polar bear…" Canada looked around. "Where's Kumahydrate?!"
"Oh, no, have you lost your bear? That's so sad, he's too cute to get lost!" Italy looked on the verge of tears, his hands moving like he was trying to swat a swarm of flies. Well, he's certainly… full of energy. And very in touch with his emotions.
Canada checked his watch and nearly had a heart attack. "Oh, maple, I need to get going! I've got a plane to catch, eh!" Canada's eyes tried to scan the room, but that didn't work so well without his glasses. "Oh… um… Italy, could you please help me find my glasses?"
"Sure thing!" And Italy was all smiles again. He went around the room, humming an indistinct melody to himself. After a few moments he cried out, "Found them! Here you go, Canada!"
Canada winced at the volume, but the sense of pressure was greater than his hangover at this moment. "Thanks." He put them on and properly scanned the room for his coat. It was on the coat hook. He grabbed it, putting it on. "I need to go, so would you please look around the house for Kumaharken? I have no idea where he would have gone to…"
"Okay~!"
Canada reached for the door handle, remembered something, and turned back. "Do you have any sunglasses?"
Italy shook his head, a smile still on his face. "Nope! But I know where Germany keeps them! Hold on un momento!" He ran off into the depths of the house. Canada checked his watch again. Oh no, oh no, maple maple maple maple I'm going to be late and miss my flight and then America will be worried and he'll call people trying to figure out where I am and then England and France will probably get all worried and why couldn't I have enough common sense not to get into a drinking contest with Prussia? Wait, did I get into a drinking contest with him? Well, at least I vaguely recall that much… He was still having a panicky internal monologue when Italy returned with about a dozen pairs of sunglasses. "Here you go! Have a nice flight~!"
"Thanks." Canada picked a pair at random and slipped them on. "Well, goodbye, then, eh." And so he finally went through the door. By some miracle he managed to catch his plane and all of the horrifying worst-case scenarios he'd been hypothesizing did not come to pass. Once he got home he found Kumadyne already there, happily chowing down on his Christmas present. After a quick call to Germany's house to reassure Italy that the cute polar bear was safe and sound and as adorable as ever, Canada sat down next to the fire and began settling down for a nice nap.
Fate seemed to hate him with a burning passion, though, because he'd barely closed his eyes when there was a tapping at the window. He groaned and opened his eyes. There was an owl there. Several owls, in fact. I should probably let them in… it's cold out there, they'll end up frozen… He opened the window and ducked out of the way as they flew into the living room and perched on various pieces of furniture. Canada looked at the packages they were carrying. Presents from the Hogwarts bunch. This one's from Hagrid, that's from Hermione, oh, Harry and Ron gave me presents this year. Good. He glanced over at the fire. It was strange how distant the world of magic seemed… But it wasn't, really, was it? Canada had his own magical community. He'd had it for pretty much his entire life. The promise of a new life in the new world was just as enticing to witches and wizards as it was to Muggles, if not more so. And then when there had been… er… that little incident in Salem, after which plenty of magical people fled to Canada to avoid the new witch-hunting craze. But the thing was, he'd never really been connected to it. Very few nations were. England, Norway and Romania were the only ones Canada knew of. Ireland counted, too, he supposed, but she still shared a magical government with her brothers, so she didn't interact with it too much anymore.
Canada removed the packages from the owls and placed them on the coffee table. It really felt as if he were living a double life… during the school year, he was Matthew Jones, a normal young wizard attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and protecting the school from peril with his friends. He was still a bit teed off about having to use America's last name, but as England had pointed out, twins having different last names would just draw suspicion. But he was digressing, back to the point. During the holidays, he was the personification of Canada, doing his best to help his people and represent them to the other nations of the world. To any normal person, both those lives would be equally strange, he realized. If he told his school friends about the latter life, they'd probably just laugh at him. Except Hermione. She'd take him seriously and run off to the library to research his claims.
Canada smiled, barely aware that he was sinking onto the couch. Those guys can be so silly sometimes… what was it America called them? The Golden Trio? Yeah, that was it… I wonder what that makes the two of us… And then he fell asleep.
A/N: This is probably really awful. I'm tired and just want to get this out there. Sorry I haven't updated. Christmas happened. And I changed it slightly, since I realized that there was no reason to have it take place on Boxing Day. HUGS FOR EVERYONE! \(^-^)/ Okay, onto Q&A. Fair warning, I'm tired and these answers will probably be really weird. To TheChibitalian: German sparkle party? 0.o Okaay... YAY COOKIE! *starts stroking cookie* Hello, precious... yes, you're back... we'll be together forever, precious... precious... pREcIouS... To RussianMochi: Yeah, I guess I just like messing around with my own country because I know him best... kinda. And for the random question, nope, I've never seen MLP. And yes, I think all of the plots of Harry Potter could be solved by having Russia out-evil everything. But that would be too easy, so it's not going to happen. To Ahdaze: I recognize a creepy chuckle when I hear it! *runs away and hides behind shield* I like you, but not enough to give you my DNA. To SoulxMakaLover: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! But yeah, Mattie, I love you. This is just my way of showing it. Aww, thanks for the hugs! Have one for yourself! \(^-^)/ To Berlin: Did I miss something? Why is everyone talking about German Sparkle Parties? And I guess I'd go with England, if only so I could take pictures to blackmail him with later. Regarding the cupcake... um, no thanks! I'm pretty full! Yup! Completely full, couldn't eat another bite! SilentMoonLace13: OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM! Good job converting your sister! Maybe I should try that with mine... though I'm not sure anime is really her scene. I showed my Mom the first few episodes and she didn't seem super into it. And OMIGOSH THAT IS A COINCIDENCE! Thank you all for being so nice! Merry belated Christmas to you all! NEXT CHAPTER: America and Canada go back to Hogwarts and find out what they've missed. See you all next time!