Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, just the story idea.

Matthew could hide his eagerness for the upcoming days ahead of him. Tomorrow would be the day he could see his brother again. He wouldn't know anyone else besides Alfred at the meeting. The rest of Clubs he's gotten on friendly terms with now so he knows he won't be awkward and lonely. Maybe forgotten at some points as that happens nearly all the time when he's in a big group, but no lonely.

With him being a quiet man, it isn't a surprise for him to be overlooked and forgotten. Sometimes he wishes he didn't have the power of invisibility because he wants to stand out more, but then there are days he's grateful for being unnoticed. Generally, it's the days when he's mistaken for Alfred and scolded over wreckages that weren't even his doing. Now, in a new world, he won't have to deal with that. Alfred is in another kingdom. There's some sadness in Matthew regarding their separation since they've been together their whole lives, but there's also some relief for gaining the chance of being on his own. He can do his own thing without being overshadowed by his brother.

"Are you excited Kumakichi?" He asks his polar bear friend as they walk through the woods. "We're going to see Alfred again."

The bear hums, yawning. "Will he have food?"

"Uhm, I'm sure there will be food there for us while we stay, but I'm not sure he specifically will have treats for you."

"Mm."

"You know, if you don't want to lop around on your paws, you can always transform."

"Too tired."

The Canadian sighs. "You mean lazy. Honestly, ever since you shifted, you refuse to change back even though you don't need to hide anymore."

"No one needs me in human form."

"You might need to use that power, though. Can you even change into anything else?"

Kumajiro gazes up at the other with his beady black eyes. Through his snout comes a sigh. Closing his eyes, he focuses as much he can on the form he wishes to take. A bright light envelopes him and he feels his body shift. Bones creak, fur slowly sheds. In the bear's place stands a tall white haired man, naked as the day he was born.

"See? I can still do it." His voice is slightly deeper, still a tenor but not as high pitched and squeaky.

Matthew flushes, shaking off his coat and covering his friend up. "That's good. I keep forgetting you don't have clothes when you change."

"And I don't always stay in the polar bear form. You just don't see me shape shifting into other animals." Kumajiro slips his arms through the sleeves, buttoning up so his nether regions are covered. "You know exactly why I'm like this, Matthew. Why I've never parted from you since we met."

The memories fly to the forefront of his mind as Kuma states that. Contrary to the story he shares with everyone about his pet polar bear, he hasn't known Kumajiro since he was a kid. There are bits of the lie that isn't entirely false, like finding the cub one day and taking him in without a second thought. It's an icky situation that he got mixed into but he wouldn't do anything different.

"I enjoy the memory of when Alfred first met me in my human form," Kuma speaks with a crooked grin. "I don't bother wearing clothes unless I'm not changing back for a long while, so he saw me stark naked getting some fish from the fridge." He laughs. "He accused you of bringing back boyfriends when the two of you promised no hanky panky at home."

"Don't remind me." Matthew groans, chuckling a little. "He had a hard time believing that you weren't my boyfriend. You always slept with me in the bear form but his mind wandered into obscene places."

The white haired man scrunches his nose. "Gross. I'd never do that with you." He visibly shivers. "I may be grateful to you but I'm not going to give you my body as repayment."

"No, I wouldn't ask that of you." Matthew smiles, kicking a rock on the ground. "Would you mind saying in your human form for a while? It'd be nice to speak with you like this."

Kumajiro sighs exasperatedly. "If I must. I'm going to need some clothes then."

"We can easily take care of that." Matthew puts out his arms and thinks of the clothes Kumajiro usually wears as a human. They materialize into the air and land on his arms. "Here," he offers the clothes, "these are your favorite, right?"

"I don't particularly have favorite clothes," he replies while taking them. He goes behind a tree and quickly slips them on. He comes back out, giving Matthew his coat back. "Thanks. Now, let's go."

Matthew first summons some sneakers for his friend and Kumajiro slides them on his feet before heading back to the tree village. It's a long trek so Matthew takes this time to think over his memories with Kumajiro.

They met when they were younger, around seven years old. Matthew was out with Alfred in the woods but lost sight of him. At the time, he was scared of being alone in the woods. He rarely was alone since Alfred stuck to his side like glue but Alfred thought they were playing a game then. Matthew tried searching for his brother in the moonlit night. His powers were just starting to appear so he could control them that well. As he was wandering, calling for Alfred, he got spooked by some coy dogs howling in the distance. It was then he wished for someone, anyone to find him so he wasn't alone.

Then Kumajiro appeared. He stumbled in front of Matthew, falling to the ground. He didn't get up, just laid there, panting. He obviously was running from someone. Matthew's wide eyes stared at the young boy with white hair. He didn't make a sound. He didn't need to as Kumajiro had taken notice of him near instantly. Matthew yelped and fell to his bottom, eyes still gazing at the other boy. Looking back, Kumajiro listened for the search party. Matthew heard bloodhounds barking and people shouting not too far from them.

"You never saw me," young Kumajiro stated as he crawled to Matthew. "You've always had a polar bear for a pet. Don't call me by my real name. Call me whatever else you want."

Young Matthew was confused until he witnessed the other boy transform into a small polar bear cub. He blinked his eyes, letting the cub crawl on top of him and settle like they were long time friends. He hugged the bear, head snapping up when a light shone on him. The search party asked him if he had seen a young boy, white hair, name is Kumajiro. He denied knowing anyone like that even when told Kumajiro is a shapeshifter. They asked about the polar bear since it's odd for it to be a pet.

"His name is Kumakichi. He's not who you're looking for."

Disgruntled, the party kept searching after leaving Matthew alone. They knew of the Williams and Jones kids who live in the woods. They didn't need to worry about them being alone. So Matthew waited until they were gone before getting up, bear still in his tiny arms, and walking home. When he got back to his room, he shut the door and locked it, setting Kumajiro down.

"Thank you," the bear said in a squeaky voice. "Don't expect me to explain anything. And I hope you don't mind me sticking around until it's safe."

That was the first night Matthew could understand an animal. He thought it was because Kuma could shapeshift and still talk like a human, but that wasn't it at all. Alfred couldn't understand him when he came back, surprised that Matthew found a pet. He made a fit, stating how he wanted a pet too, but got over it fast when Matthew said Kumajiro could be his friend, too. Instead of a few days of staying at the cabin in the woods, Kumajiro stayed for a week. Then a month. Soon, it became normal to have the bear around. He got lazy but could still be mean when he wanted to be. Usually, he barred his teeth to strangers who he knew would harm Matthew and Alfred. He was more of a guard dog than anything. He stopped doing that after Alfred gained his inhuman strength and Matthew could conjure anything up without a hassle. The rest is basically history, and Matthew still doesn't know what happened that night.

"Hey airhead, we're here."

Matthew blinks out of his flashback and smiles as he sees a ladder thrown down for them. "It's going to be fun explaining to everyone that you're a shapeshifter."

"It's not that amusing." Kumajiro climbs up first, waiting for Matthew at the top. He hoists Matthew up the rest of the way when the Canadian sticks out his hand. "If they don't believe me, I'm transforming back and staying that way."

"You're so lazy. I swear, you didn't used to be this lazy. You were always on alert." He pats his clothes, brushing off any dirt and leaves sticking to him.

"That was when you guys were still kids. I'm the eldest boy, I should take responsibility when your parents aren't around." He starts walking towards the largest tree that makes the castle.

The pale blond follows. "You're not even our brother. You didn't need to."

"Yeah, well, I'm forever going to owe you saving my life from imprisonment and accepting me as if I were family." Kumajiro ignores the many people staring at him. He doesn't care that he's not wearing anything green. He probably doesn't even belong in this world but there's no way he's going back. "It's not like I have anywhere else to call home."

Matthew smiles, a little touched to hear that Kuma feels at home with him. "This can be your home, too." He motions at the village around them.

Kumajiro hums. "Do I even belong here? I only followed you into the tunnel because…" he trails off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

He doesn't need to as the pale blond smiles in understanding. "We can always ask. If you weren't meant to be here, maybe the tunnel wouldn't have let you through."

"That would've sucked."

"You're telling me." Matthew chuckles. "It would be weird if you weren't around me all the time."

"Mm." They walk up a few steps and enter the tree castle. "So, going over to see the idiot, huh?"

"He's not that dumb, you know." Matthew pouts.

"You never witnessed all the crap he did and got into at home when you were out." Kuma grins. "He swore me to secrecy, but he can't threaten me here since we're kingdoms apart now." He gazes at his companion. "Will you be okay with that? You two used to be thick as thieves."

"I'll be fine. I don't always need him to rescue me. I'm no damsel."

"You were as a kid."

"That's because you and Alfred always scared me half to death!" Matthew glares as Kumajiro laughs lowly. He shoves the other, fighting off his own smile. "You don't have your partner in crime anymore. You'll need to behave."

"Whatever you say, Captain." Kumajiro snorts.

"Matvey?" The two stop in front of the King of Clubs, who scrutinizes Kumajiro. "Who is your friend?"

"It's Kumajiro," he answers honestly. The perturbed look he receives makes him laugh. "Yes, the very same polar bear that's always at my side. He was born human with the power to shapeshift."

"You better not use me as some scout or messenger. I won't follow your orders." Kumajiro challenges Ivan's authority. "I'm probably not even supposed to be a club citizen, so you have no rule over me."

A spark flickers behind Ivan's eyes as he grins. "I would not do so. You are in Matvey's care. It is up to him what you do." He glances over at the glaring Ace, chuckling as he finds it entertaining to see him upset. "We are meeting at the hall. Roderich wishes to discuss in depth what will be expected at the Five Kingdoms Seasonal Meeting."

"Talk about boring," Kuma mumbles. "I'll be in your room, Matt. Come get me when you're finished."

He's unable to stop the shapeshifter from leaving and huffs. "That guy…" he trails off, shaking his head. "I apologize for him. He's not much of a people person."

"If he has been a bear majority of his life, I understand." Ivan pivots on his heel and begins walking toward the meeting hall. "Why does he not walk as a human?"

"Well," Matthew mulls over what he can share with his king as he trails alongside him, "it's a complicated explanation. I don't know the full background but he was running from a group of people and found me. I've kept him under refuge ever since, and he's just gotten used to being a pet bear." He stares at the floor in thought. "Alfred and I never asked about his story. If he wants to share it one day, he will. I've asked for him to be a human for now, though. He prefers being the polar bear but now and then he'll turn into a human for convenience."

The platinum blond raises his eyebrows while humming. "Sometimes I wish to see what your home world is like. People with powers others dream of."

"Having these gifts is not always great," Matthew comments. "Sometimes they're more of a curse than anything. A lot of heroes used to be slandered because the majority of people without powers didn't like the destruction we cause just to keep them all safe." He shakes his head. "I never sought a career in heroism. I always wanted to be a park ranger. More so for the animals than for people."

Ivan smiles, grasping his hands at the small of his back. "You are quite the animal lover."

Matthew flushes. "Well, when I discovered I could talk to them, they were far more willing to be my friends. They don't judge much either. Some can be nasty, like that family of squirrels in the woods." He frowns. "I never did anything to them but if Alfred did, they probably mistook me for him and would throw their acorns at me." Ivan chuckles and Mattie pouts. "It's not funny. It actually hurts when a downpour of acorns attack you."

Ivan laughs louder, amused. "I definitely wish to have seen your world."

The two speak more about little things in their lives before coming to this world. Ivan's world is boring, plain, a lot of wars going on but not near where he would travel. He didn't have an actual family home after his parents passed and his sisters were always disappearing somewhere else. He now knows where they would go all the time for long absences. If anything, he would have wanted them to be honest with him on where they went. Maybe even join them, but Irunya's insistence for his safety would have stopped him.

Matthew shares small tales of what Alfred would do or what he did in their world. Not too much besides helping those in need. Alfred would follow the other group of heroes nearby and do as much he could to protect other citizens on the ground away from the fights. Matthew stayed away from any big battles and went about a "normal" life like he wasn't part of that inhuman world. He visited parks often when he wasn't working. Though he wanted to be a ranger, he ended up as a receptionist somewhere. He dislikes health systems because of that, learning how crooked and twisted things can be. Some doctors and nurses are wonder while others couldn't care less about their patient; having a job where you only care about the pay is wrong, in Matthew's eyes. Sure, money is important, but if you don't care for a person when that's your job, why bother being in the profession? This is his opinion. He knows there are reasons he hasn't heard and probably would come to understand, but he no longer as to worry about it.

"It's like a second chance at life," Mattie says with a small smile. "Being here in another world. We're granted another way of living. Here, we can be who we are without judgement. Or, that's how I feel."

Ivan hums. "I agree. This place is more 'home' than our other worlds, yes?"

"Very much so." The Canadian chuckles, opening the door for the meeting hall. "Sorry to have kept you!"

They enter the room and the door clicks shut behind them.

Note: This is not beta-ed so there might be mistakes.

Ciao: I hope you enjoyed the update, lovelies! Thanks for reading! R&R.