When Matthew first woke up, it was so dark he was sure he'd just woken up early. He sat up and stretched, then noticed that no one else was sleeping and Alfred's face was illuminated by his phone. He could make out Yao by his long hair silhouette as he stood in the doorway, past him were vague shapes of grey and the sound of steady rain. Its fresh smell wafted into the cabin and instantly put him at ease.

"Okay," Alfred announced, "so we're looking at 95 degrees, 90% rain and wind at 3 miles an hour. Sadly, lightning is only a possibility."

The others seemed to accept that but Matthew's sleep-addled brain couldn't.

"What's that in Celsius?" He muttered as he scrubbed sleep from his eyes.

"Hang on," Alfred muttered. "Translation. 35 degrees and 5 kilometres an hour."

So that would be the reason that the counsellors decided no one was allowed to swim today. Matthew grabbed his glasses off of Kuma on the window and stepped outside onto the deck. The view was beautiful, if a little eerie in a foreboding sense. All the colours were muted by the dark grey sky, evenly grey like a thick blanket protecting and smothering them. There was no wind and surprisingly no muggy heat. It was beautiful. Matthew expected Alfred to complain, knowing how much the boy was like the sunny skies he'd become accustomed to. But instead, Alfred gave a low whistle.

"Noice. Now is this moody or what?"

At breakfast, Matthew could overhear younger kids mourning the loss of the extremely typical summer weather that invigorated them and let them play out in the open. The children weren't the only ones complaining. Yao complained about how it would affect his hair and snapped when Im made cutting motions with his fingers. Matthew was sandwiched between Alfred on one side and Lovino and Feliciano on the other, the latter was rambling on about cooking all day because Lovino didn't want to do outdoor activities in the rain. One thing led to another and Matthew was caught up conversing about how French/Canadian cooking compared to Italian cooking. If he wasn't going to be at the ice rink all day, he'd want to join his new friends cooking. He didn't doubt Alfred wouldn't have a problem with joining. So Matthew promised that another time they'd cook together and teach each other all they know. He tried to hold back just how excited he actually was, he didn't have many friends yet nevermind ones that loved cooking as much as he did and were talented!

Matthew only realised the downside of the weather when he arrived at the ice rink and saw there were more people than yesterday. It was a little more packed than Matthew would like... but not more than he was used to at home. There was still enough room for him to skate freely so he really didn't mind. He and Alfred had only been on the ice for a couple of minutes when Peter and Charlotte skated up to them, leaning heavily on each other. Or rather, Peter was somehow bearing the brunt of both their weight as Charlotte used him to stay upright. Alfred showed off by letting them cling to an arm each while they begged Matthew to teach them to skate. Matthew felt warm inside thanks to their enthusiasm, he never had friends to skate with before and he had to fight down a smile as he showed them how to move. With Alfred present it led to escalating shenanigans when his silliness spurred on the kids and an amused Matthew didn't stop them from getting crazier. Once he was sure they wouldn't slip and get hurt, he was just as eager as they were to see who could do a lap of the rink the fastest or who could spin for the longest. Naturally, Matthew won, but Alfred was happy to claim second place while the kids booed him.

Of course that meant being noticed by more and more people. Then kids started approaching him, asking him how he got so good and if he could teach them... A sureness swept over him and he agreed without hesitation. He was all confidence when he was on the ice. That was what started the slippery slope to being crowned king of the rink - at least by Alfred. As more and more kids flocked to him, Lukas named him an honorary counsellor and enlisted his and Emil's help to instruct the kids. Alfred clapped him on the back like it was some big achievement and said he was proud of him, but it wasn't like it was difficult. It was just something he knew how to do so showing others wasn't too hard. If anything he was happy to show others.

Alfred still didn't have the right fine movements or coordination to be at their level of 'honorary counsellor', but he still had fun dragging Peter and Charlotte around as they pretended he was their reindeer.

Matthew had lost track of time when the ice rink was shut early. Something about the rain and promises to open back up next weekend. To say he was disappointed was an understatement. If it wasn't for Alfred's contagious permanent cheeriness, Matthew wouldn't feel bad about scowling and taking his time getting off the ice.

It was only once he transitioned off the ice that he noticed how sore his feet were. He sorely regretted not bringing his personal pair of skates.

"Maaaaan, my feetsss," Alfred whined as he slumped on the bench and ripped the shoes off. "I'm not going to be able to walk until next time and then I'll ruin my ankles again!"

"Weak," Emil stated next to him as he took the skates off without hassle, putting his regular shoes on and walking off like he wasn't on the ice for half the day. He had Matthew's respect. Not that Matthew couldn't do the same... as long as he was in his own skates and not the shitty rental ones. In the short time he knew Alfred, he learned he was definitely reactive. Alfred could never just let things lie, he had to respond.

"Is this weak?" He cried as he launched his shoe at Emil's retreating back. Emil looked hardly phased at the attack, instead kicking Alfred's shoe further away.

"How could you do this to me?" Alfred dropped to his knees.

"Like this," Emil smiled as he repeated the motion.

"Matthew, my ankles are too sore... Please! Use your Canadian powers to return to me what I have looooost!"

"You reap what you sow," Matthew caught Emil's amused eye as he ignored Alfred and slowly put his shoes back on.

"Mattie! How could you do this to meeee," Alfred grabbed his ankle as he writhed on the floor. But after spending the week with him Matthew knew it was all a show to stir up entertainment.

"My deepest condolences that you've been stuck with him," Emil said as he waited for them.

"Hey no one's stuck with me!" Alfred snapped and let go, putting on his shoe and looking slightly offended. But that look was lost when he hobbled over for his lost shoe.

"This is like in the original Little Mermaid story where each step was agony or whatever," he said as he used the wall to get the shoe on.

"What are you doing now?" Emil asked Matthew. He shrugged.

"Probably whatever Alfred wants since I wanted to skate."

"I want to go sit in my cabin and not move," Alfred injected from his position on the floor. "Emil! You should come hang with us!"

"Sure."

It was hard to tell what the time was when the brightness was permanently set to dusk by the impressive clouds. Thank goodness for phones.

To be honest, Matthew didn't rely on his phone as much as he thought he could. Initially, he was worried that he'd struggle and be unable to cope with being away from everything he's ever known for so long... but miraculously he felt more like himself than ever, living each day as Matthew and not some kind of shell. He was talking to people without second thoughts, trying new things and having fun. It was something that hit him while on the rink and he was musing it since.

They'd spent the last few hours back in their crowded cabin. Matthew realised he didn't have a problem with how crowded it was. He was comfortable with everyone individually and so he found that as a group they were no longer overwhelming. In the past, Matthew would've found it impossible to relax, but somehow he did the impossible. In fact, he enjoyed the lively atmosphere of everyone enjoying each other's company on a rainy day. Somehow, it felt like he was hanging out with friends because they were his friends. These people had graduated from acquaintances and Matthew could strike up a conversation with anyone he wanted.

Nearly everyone was lounging about the cabin in various groups. Alfred was playing music on his speaker and the sound of rain pittered on the roof. It was raining heavily outside so nobody was going anywhere anytime soon. Until now, they'd been playing whatever game Alfred spontaneously decided on and pulled out his bag, along with eating whatever packet of junk he decided 'fit the game'.

In the last game they played, Feliciano and Alfred tried to play as one because there were too many players. So naturally, they squashed together like conjoined twins and only used their outside arms like they were one person.

Lovino didn't team up with anyone, insisting he could win all by himself. Carlos teamed up with Matthew that round, who insisted that their goal was to take down Alfred. Matthew agreed because hey, that's what friends do right? In the end, he felt like he and Carlos were on good terms and it felt so surreal that he was making so many friends apparently so easily.

Matthew was left feeling a little strange when the games were over and everyone did their own thing. It seemed that everyone had finally burnt out as the games were packed away and everyone was either on their phones or staring outside blankly. Matthew found himself missing the whole group action and wondered if this was how Alfred had felt.

He leaned back on the wall and checked on Alfred, who was practically bouncing on his bed. Matthew would've thought that Alfred would've finally burnt out too, or at the very least physically was done. But if anything he seemed fidgety, bored, and waiting to do something. Matthew felt the same, emotionally he could keep on going all day but definitely not physically.

Suddenly Alfred came to a halt, his eyes scanning the room before settling on Matthew.

"Ight, so I just had an idea," Alfred started as his smile threatened to tear his face in half. A sign that he was very invested in whatever idea he had. "And Mattie, you came here to have some wacky experiences riiiight? Do some crazy things and live a little?"

"I suppose. It depends on what you suggest."

"I'll take that as a yes. How about we go shower in the rain?!"

Matthew was taken aback by such a bold suggestion. Seriously, where did Alfred get his ideas from?

"Come on it'll be fun and I don't wanna be all alone. And who else should I ask other than my best camp buddy?"

Matthew must be going crazy to think that wasn't a bad idea and agree with less reluctance than one would think. Something about Alfred just made everything they did really fun. If it wasn't for him Matthew wouldn't have opened up so much for the camp and he wouldn't have had as much fun as he did.

"Hell yeah!" Alfred pumped his fist and gathered his stuff. "Okay, so we need our bathers and some soap and shampoo and don't forget a towel, and maybe an umbrella and a change of clothes. I haven't done this before so it'll be cool to say I've done it."

"You brought an umbrella?"

"Can't be too prepared," Alfred said as he ducked into the bathroom to get changed.

Matthew wrapped his stuff up in a towel and changed into swimwear in the bathroom after Alfred. On the other side of the door, he could hear people reacting to Alfred's idea after he boldly announced what he was doing. He could hear voices of shock and exasperation and illogically, Matthew felt a little nervous leaving the bathroom and being confronted.

"Don't make them send out a search party because if I get made to help I'll only be looking for Matthew," Carlos said.

"You wish I'd get lost. Which is impossible by the way because I know my way around."

"If you do get lost I'll believe it's because of Steve's koala," Yao added.

"Pfft, the forest is so big that I don't think I'll come across the evil zombie koala. And if I do, I think we have a good chance of fighting it off. Two against one, y'know?"

"Tell Matthew I'll look after Kuma if the koala does get you."

"Someone needs to tell poor Matthew not to indulge your every crazy idea." Lovino huffed.

"But Matthew said yes! So that means he's okay with it!"

"I know you'll look after him!" Feliciano cheered.

"Well, that just means you corrupted him," Carlos added.

"Whatever," A knock rapped on the door, right by Matthew's ear. "You ready?"

This was his chance to escape.

"Yes." He opened the door and stepped out to everyone looking at them. He froze, clinging to his bundled towel but luckily Alfred was still talking.

"You guys can sit in here and miss out on whatever awesome adventures are going to be had out there."

"That's totally fine by me," Feliks laughed.

"Good, that's fine by me too!" Alfred grabbed Matthew's arm and led him out of the cabin as he flicked the umbrella open. "Bye, everyone!"

Alfred laughed as a chorus of 'goodbye' saw them off and they stepped into the rain. He took his hand off Matthew's arm and shoved it into his jacket, something he just never took off. Their flip-flops squelched on the damp terrain as they ducked into the forest behind their cabin.

"Sooo, you'd say no if you didn't want to do this right?" Alfred said seriously, scanning his face. "Do you feel like you can't say no to me or something? Because you can, y'know. I won't get upset or anything. I hope you do know cus then we aren't good friends then."

"Yeah I know," Matthew reassured. "I just wanted to see how this goes and live a little. 'Why not?' I promise I'll say no if I want to."

"Okay, good," Alfred said, relieved. "Now we just gotta find the perfect spot."

They took cover on a shady trail where the canopy of trees was thick enough to keep the worst of the rain out. Alfred scanned his surroundings as he thought.

"Somewhere where we can keep our clothes dry, right next to a tree with a gap so we get some heavy water. But until then, it's about the journey and not the destination."

"But our goal is the destination?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"Our journey includes the destination too. Every day is a journey dude." Alfred snorted. "How about we try and ask random questions to uncover each other's lore."

"Law?" Matthew was unsure if he heard that right.

"L-O-R-E, like the history of something. Or in this case someone."

"Oh, I get it." Matthew hummed as he thought about a question he'd want to know the answer to. There were a couple, but the one jumped out at him as he eyed the rugged piece of clothing that what synonymous with Alfred. "Why do you always wear that jacket?"

"Oh! I thought World War Two aviation jackets were kinda cool at one point, well, they still are, but I was obsessed and so Dad got me one!" He spun around and showed it off.

Matthew couldn't say he really inspected it before, thinking that might come off as a bit strange. Even when he briefly wore it the other night, he only really got to look at the sleeves. But he found the jacket interesting so he took the opportunity to actually look. It sure looked warm, as unwelcome as that was in summer. But what caught his eye were all the colourful patches sewn on it.

"What's with all these?" He pointed.

"Patches I've collected over the years. Kinda like a battle jacket but not as metal. I'd collect them then nag Dad to sow 'em on there. Just point at what you're curious about and I'll give you the genuine Alfred lore as to why it's on there."

So as they followed the trail looking for the perfect outdoor showering spot, they entertained themselves by talking about the badges. Some of them were obvious, like many American flags, one small British one in the shape of Britain, multiple video game controllers and consoles, logos from big franchises like Marvel. Others were not obvious.

"What's this?" Matthew pointed to a wing-like symbol.

"Uh, okay, do you watch anime?" Alfred asked cautiously. Matthew shook his head.

"Well, your loss. Attack on Titan is like, one of the best animes out there. I won't give you any spoilers - unless you ask! - but these are the 'wings of freedom' cus they're fighting for their freedom. I got some other anime ones here like this one is from My Hero Academia-" he pointed to one in foreign script "and this is from Jojo's Bizarre adventures-" he pointed to a decorative looking arrow "and this one is from death note-" a notebook- "I've got a whole bunch of others on here but those are the big ones that everyone's heard of. I promise I'm not a filthy weeb."

"What's a weeb?" Matthew asked.

"Ah," Alfred nervously chuckled. "I kinda forgor that you're more normal than me. It's uh, y'know, like a loser."

Evident from Alfred's social success here and his charming personality, Matthew seriously doubted he was a loser. Hopefully, Alfred was just calling himself a loser ironically as some kind of joke Matthew didn't get.

"What about that?" He pointed to a strange leaf.

"Mattie? You've never played animal crossing?" Alfred gasped. "I am so sorry for your loss of a childhood."

"Hey, my childhood wasn't that bad," Matthew replied weakly. He wasn't sure if having these apparent staple experiences would've made it any better, but as it was his childhood was slightly underwhelming. It was lonely, he could say that much.

"I'm sure it wasn't, I'm only teasing." Alfred quickly reassured He changed the subject and pointed out some more badges. "This is from Gravity Falls, good show, you should totally watch it."

"What's it about?"

"Uhhh, spoilers. Just a pair of twins and some wacky adventures." Alfred looked genuinely disappointed that he couldn't talk about it though, but then his face lit up. "Hey, maybe if we become online friends we could figure out how to watch it together? Damn, I forgot about that! You gotta add me on everything Mattie!"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Matthew's smile was threatening to tear his face in half. At this moment he could surely say that coming to this camp was the best thing that happened to him. "When we get back I'll give you my phone and you can sort it out?"

"Hell yeah, sounds good! Maybe we could watch some of the other things on here cus I'd love to watch them again. Like Adventure time, Avatar the last airbender and Korra, B99, man I've got heaps of some other random ones I liked and wanted to add a patch for y'know."

"So what's this one?" Matthew pointed to a blue circular pin reading 'lvl 15'.

"Right, so I play pokemon go, and I know that hasn't been a big deal in ages but a lotta people in my town play, like, more than you'd expect. Also, I kinda bullied my friends into getting it to play it with me." Alfred sounded like he was trying to justify something. "Anyways I got it for my fifteenth, cus y'know, level fifteen in real life."

And because they were friends, Matthew reasoned that he should know the following information. Really, it was on him for not thinking too much about it.

"So when's your birthday?"

"It's February 17th," Alfred snapped finger guns. "What about you?"

Matthew almost tripped over his own feet as he stumbled. His stomach dropped and his heart squeezed because he just knew.

merde

That was his birthday.

AN:

I just picked Feb 17 because both countries had a war and on that date in 1815 the treaty went into effect for both countries. Just figured it might be a little easter egg the date isn't important otherwise