Disclaimer: All Hetalia belongs to Himaruya, they're not mine nor do I profit from any fanwork

Matthew has never been one to believe in demons, but everything changed one day. When he was left a box as an inheritance from his older brother Francis.

The box was a beautifully carved ash box. It contained carvings of flowers and fauna, it seemed pretty harmless.

The thing is, Francis also left careful instructions for Matthew: Don't open it. Of course, much like Pandora in her curiosity, Matthew gave into his.

When he shook it, no sounds came from it. When he opened it, the box was empty, so Matthew shrugged and put in on the desk he had in his bedroom, and continued writing, he had deadline to meet.

But come night, he was woken up by small bump sounds and his dog barking at the box.

When he got up and made his way towards it, he hesitated, he could see that something was trying to open the box from inside it. Arming himself with courage he didn't feel, he took the box in his hands and opened it.

And from the box emerged a black cloud. Matthew dropped the box in fright and backed away, calling his dog to his side. And then the black cloud began to take shape. It took a human-looking form, it was male as far as he could tell, very pale skin, deep green eyes and massive eyebrows.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A boy, how charming, you'd do great for dinner." Said the shadow.

"Beg your pardon? I'm not your dinner?" Matthew answered with a shaking voice.

"No? I'm sorry but that is not for you to decide. I, Arthur, make the decision of what happen to those who disturb my rest." The shadow snarled.

Matthew flinched and backed away. Looking for a way, noticed the box he had dropped from at the end of the shadow. Gathering his courage, he dove for it and closed it, sealing again the shadow within. No sooner he did that, when it began to bump again.

A little bit more exhausted and terrified, he tied a scarf around it and placed it back on the desk. How was he supposed to get some sleep if he had something in there?

And that is how it begins.

The following day, he wakes up only to discover the demon grinning at him.

"At last, after centuries of starvation, I will finally eat your soul!"

Matthew gives up an exasperated sigh, "Not today." And again, locks the box.

Two days later, he is woken in the middle of the night with the demon sitting on his bed.

"It is today, mortal, your day has finally come!"

Matthew blinks. "No, how about tomorrow? Today I must meet with my editor."

The demon blinked. "As you wish, one day is nothing to me."

And that is how it went, one by one, Matthew found an excuse to delay the demon. Until one day, completely exhausted, he went to the bridge that stood over the river. Once he was there, he trying to bring himself to toss the box away, when a friend of his found him.

Alfred was a lifelong friend, almost a second brother to him.

"Yo Matt, what are you doing here?" Alfred place a friendly arm around Matthew.

Matthew gave tired sigh. "I'm tossing the box away, it's possessed. But I don't want to, it was Francis'."

Alfred grinned. "Then why don't you take it to the Wizard? I heard that he's good. He operates from an used book store, you should go!"

"There is a Wizard? Al you brilliant man, thank you!"

"C'mon Matt, lets go and get some burgers!" And so, they went.

The next day, Matthew armed with the box, went to the bookstore that Alfred had told him to go. When he arrived, it was empty save for the pretty girl with short hair and big blue eyes that stood behind the counter with a pin that read 'Katya'.

"Good morning, how may I help you?"

"Erm, I'm sorry if this is weird, but, is the Wizard in?"

The girl stopped smiling and looked at Matthew straight in his eyes. "Nyet, my brother isn't here. What is your problem?"

Matthew pulled the box and show it to her. "There's a demon that wants to eat my soul. I don't know what to do."

"Ah, a soul-eater huh? Well, getting rid of it should be easy. All you have to do is to burn the box and that should do."

"Ah, the box is an heirloom you see and I don't want to destroy it."

"I see, well, my brother should be here in a week, if you can manage that time?"

"A week? Yeah, I think I can do it. Do I leave my number or something?"

"Yes please." And so, he did.

Once home, Matthew pour himself a drink when the demon came out of the box. And was going to start talking, when Matthew pushed a margarita into the demons' hands.

"Not right now, I have a headache. Have a drink instead."

The demon glanced at his drink with suspicion. Only after seeing Matthew drink one himself, that he drank it. It was nice drink.

On day two, Matthew was working in his desk, writing away when the demon made it's appearance.

Sighing, Matthew told him a story and the demon listened and after that, he went back into its box.

On day three, Matthew invited the demon to watch his favorite tv show.

"Grab the butter you twat!"

Matthew couldn't help but to laugh and after the show was over, the demon went back to his box.

On the fourth day, Matthew took the demon to the park with his dog. And he was grateful for a calm day.

On the fifth day, Matthew invited him to play video games. It had been hard keeping a straight face when the demon was cursing to hell and back.

On the sixth day, the demon was grumpy and with a fond but exasperated smile he prepared a sandwich for the demon sitting at his table.

On the seventh day, the marathon watched one of Matthew's favorite shows.

It was the morning of the eight day, when there was a knock on the door. It was the Wizard. He was taller than Matthew himself and had a friendly face. After introductions, he asked Matthew to take his dog and leave the house. Matthew did with some regret, he had begun to befriend the demon after all.

When he returned home two hours later, the Wizard was alone.

"Is it done? Is he gone?"

"Da, the demon has been returned to his dimension, he won't bother you again."

"Thank you."

"You were incredibly brave to endure, but you are free now. I must leave now, come to me if you need more help."

"Thanks again. I will."

After the Wizard was gone, Matthew stood in silence in his living room. And then, deciding to check if the demon was really gone, he went to his room and opened the box. Nothing. The box was empty and no disturbances were felt. He waited a while to make sure. Still silence.

He felt himself relax for the first time in weeks, even if it felt a little bittersweet. The demon had mostly been nice, but now he was gone. And Matthew surprised himself by missing it.

With a small smile, Matthew decided to honor the demon. And he began to write the story about a demon trapped in a box.

A/N: All feedback is welcome, thanks for reading.

Nyet: No
Da: Yes