A/N: Alright. Just as a fair warning, this is going to be a short chapter. And I'll explain why at the end, but hopefully, that'll make up for this being a short chapter…Please be nice. I'm smol and soft. Speaking of smol and soft…

"Alfred!" I knocked on his front door. He may be physically nineteen and historically two hundred and change, but right now, he's acting like a baby. And all because I took away his picture books. Let's try this again. Pound, pound, pound, "Alfred, let me in!"

"No!" Alfred pouted, locked in his house.

"Alfred Jones, you let me in right now!" I ordered. Even since he stormed out of Francis and Arthur's house, bitching at me, he's been nothing but a giant brat, throwing the biggest tantrum.

"Go away!" he yelled, "You took away my yaoi! And I'm not coming out until I get it back!"

I swear. Even on his worst days, Rome wasn't this bad. And his worst tantrum caused Pompeii. I'm trying my best to keep my head about me, so I don't make another Pompeii happen, but Alfred's making it difficult. He must get his bitchiness from Britannia. I loved her dearly, but she could throw some dandy fits, too. Lest we forget the Crusades. Last time, "Alfred Jones, get out here!"

"Not unless I get my yaoi back!"

"Not happening!" Oh yeah. This was definitely a patented Britannia fit. It's just a game of who's going to cave first. Let's just say that's a game I never lose.

"Hi, Terra." Thank God. The sweet one's here. And right now, the current family favorite.

"Hi, Mattie," I couldn't help but smile. He was my bundle of quiet sunshine. And I loved him.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Mattie took a seat next to me on the cement steps, "I heard all the yelling and thought I'd come see what was going on."

"It's Alfred," I rested my head on my knees, "He's mad because I took his porn away and grounded his dealer."

"Ouch," he winced. Not sure if it was for me or for his brother.

"He's exhausting, Mattie," I laid my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Terra," Mattie draped an arm around me, "Do you want to come to my house and wait it out? Alfred can hold a serious grudge."

"I'd love to." He's such a good boy, "Where better to wait it out?"

"Mattie, you traitor!"

"Alfred," I called out, "Whenever you're done throwing your fit, you know where to find me."

Mattie and I left Alfred to be a giant, angry baby and headed for his house. I've never been to Mattie's house yet. I've only seen Alfred's. I guess today's going to be a learning experience. In more than one way. When we got there, I never thought Mattie would be hiding something like this. A large, sparkling lake shined in Apollo's light. It's beautiful…

"Matthew," I sighed out, in sheer awe of the majesty in front of me, "This is incredible."

"I love this spot," Mattie smiled, making the world stop turning, "Not many know it's here."

Then, his face fell, shattering my heart, "Mattie? You ok, sweetheart?"

"It's nothing," he brushed it off, "It's just…I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for," I wrapped my arms around him, "Do you need to talk, baby?"

"Only if you want to listen…"

"Come here," the two of us sat on top of a picnic table up in the grass and away from the beach, "What's on your mind?"

"This lake," Mattie began, "Not many people see this lake. And I love coming out here because I know how awful that feels. Honestly, I wonder sometimes if I ever even exist. Am I real? Do people see me? Or am I just a ghost?"

"Matthew," I took his hand, pinching the skin on top.

"Ow!" he jerked it away, "What the hell was that for?"

"You felt it, didn't you?" I pointed out, "That sharp, little pain?"

"Yeah," Mattie nursed his reddening hand, "It hurt. Why would you pinch me like that?"

"Because," I explained, "It's proof you're tangible, so that rules out you being a ghost. I could slap you right now and you'd feel pain. I could viciously tickle you and you'd laugh. I could throw you into the lake and you'd feel cold and wet."

"So, I'm not a ghost," he shook it off, "But does that mean I'm real?"

"Of course it does," I laid my head on his shoulder, "You're just as real as any of us, Matthew. I promise."

"Terra…" Mattie's hands shook. My poor baby…I held them steady, "Are you ever leaving?"

"One day," I nodded, "One day, I'll have to go back. Why do you ask?"

"Because," he spoke softly, his cheeks turning red, "Do you think I could come with you?"

"Oh, Mattie," I held him against my chest, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you have to stay here. You can't come to where I live. Not yet. You need to stay down here for now. I'm not saying that once I leave, we'll never see each other again, because I promise we will. For now, though, you need to hold the family together. I know you can, but do you?"

Mattie was at a loss. I could see it in his eyes. He didn't know whether to cry or smile. Instead, he threw his arms around me and squeezed as tight as he could, "Don't go, Terra. Please don't go."

"I'm not leaving today," I promised, "And I love you, too, Matthew. You're really and truly a very special boy and I love you so much. You just need to speak up once in a while. If there's ever something on your mind, shout it from the rooftops if you have to, but you can make them listen. And if you don't know how to do that, pretend you're imitating your brother. He's got plenty enough of a big mouth to go around."

Did that come out weird? Because that felt like it came out weird. Luckily, Mattie understood what I was trying to say…and giggled a little, "You make a solid point."

"Well," I shrugged, "I do what I can."

"Hey…Terra?" Speak of the devil.

"Well, well," I cranked my neck back, "Look who's here."

"Hi, Alfred," Mattie greeted him, "Am…Am I still a traitor?"

"A traitor and a scoundrel," Alfred teased, joining us on the picnic table.

"Really?" he shook a bit.

"Don't listen to him, Mattie," I settled him, "You're not a traitor, nor a scoundrel. What are you doing here, Alfred?"

"I…" Alfred stared down at his feet, "I wanted to say I'm sorry. For earlier."

"And for what else?" I asked.

"I can live without my yaoi," he sighed out.

"Good boy."

"Do you think I could get in on that hug?" Alfred has his moments where he can be insufferable. That's for sure. But then…Then, there are these moments. And there's no way I could turn him down. These were my boys…And they made me miss my big boys…On the days when Rome and Germania could play nice…I miss my boys…

A/N: I told you it'd be short. But I needed to hug Mattie. My favorite Hetalia fic got updated the other day and that baby deserves all the love in the world. Because sometimes, different fics will rip your heart out and hold it in front of your face while it still beats in their fist. But now, how about I share with you why this is short.

Because I've started a new fic. The one I told you about last week? I couldn't help myself and I started writing it. And chances are, it'll be going up some time next week. But can I ask one quick question?

What are your experiences with Ao3? Because I'm thinking about getting an Ao3 account and chances are, the first one that's going up there will be the Hetalia/Fruits Basket fic. My oldest anime fandom and my newest anime coming together. And it's going to be a hot ass mess. But this fic is all I've been working on once these updates have gone up and it's my new drug. It's hurt me. It's made me giggle. It's just…It's wonderful. And I love her. It'll be called Trouble Comes in Threes. And now, I think I'm going to go work on it some more. See you next chapter! xx