I wake up at around four in the morning. I crawl under Ivan's arm and sit on the edge of the bed. I reach over and pull out some clothes from my dresser. I make my way to the bathroom down the hall so I don't disturb Alfred or Ivan. I flick the light on, I turn on the shower and get in quickly. There was no way I'd be able to fall back asleep because of my worrying. The cold water stings at first. It slowly grows hot. I wash out my hair, and then scrub my body down with soap and water. I turn off the shower and climb out of it. I wrap a towel around my waist and comb my hair. I throw on my clothes and quietly walk down the stairs. I see Kumajiro sleeping on the couch. He was on his back with his paws in the air. I walk over to the kitchen and giggle at myself. I can't believe I forgot about the pancakes I was making before Ivan came over. At least I remembered to turn the stove off. I empty the old pancake batter into the sink and make some new batter.

It's probably bad that I eat pancakes all of the time. I clean a frying pan and set it on the stove. I turn the stove on and begin making the pancakes. I felt something poking my foot, so I look down and see Kumajiro rubbing his nose against my foot. "Hungry." He says and puts his mouth around my calf, but doesn't bite down. "Pancakes or fish?" I ask the small white bear. "Who?" He cocks his head to the side and looks up at me. "Canada. The one who feeds you." I say with a small laugh. "Pancakes." The bear finally says.

We both spend the early morning enjoying each other's company. I sit outside in a lawn chair, and Kumajiro rests in my lap. I lean back and stare at the birds that roam through the sky. They probably don't have to worry about anything. I don't know how long I sat out there, but I ended up hearing my back door open. "Mattie?" Alfred yawns. "How long have you been out here?" He asks, rubbing his eyes. I turn around to look at him. "I don't know." I say quietly and turn my attention back to the birds. The sky hasn't gotten any lighter since I came outside. Alfred steps outside. He drapes his arms around my neck and kisses my cheek. "It's seven in the morning." He whispers. I laugh. "Then how are you awake?" I ask him. "Couldn't sleep." He says in a sleepy voice. "I see you made pancakes." He says quietly, noticing the syrup covered plate. After a little while, we both go inside.

A few hours pass and there is a knock on the door. I immediately tense up. Ivan moves from his spot on the couch to answer the door. He is greeted by Arthur. Arthur quickly punches Ivan in the jaw. Ivan causally takes his pipe out of his jacket, as if to threaten Arthur without actually saying anything. "Where is Alfred and Matthew? What did you do to them?" He demands, taking a step inside. "I did not do anything to them." Ivan responds. He grimaces at the Englishman and shuts the door. I stand up from my spot and Arthur rushes towards me. He wraps his arms around me, in a tight hug. "Why did you leave, lad? The frog and I were worried about you and Alfred."

I push him away and cross my arms. "If you were so worried about me, why did you only leave messages asking Alfred if he was okay?" This stumps Arthur. He doesn't say anything for a few minutes. He sighs and looks me in the eyes. "I'm going to be truthful with you. I forgot about you, and I'm very sorry." Arthur's eyes were glazed over with tears. I sigh and turn away. That's what I expected. I think to myself. "Why did you leave?" Arthur asks again. "Because of Francis." I say and run my fingers through my hair. "Did he…?" The words were left unsaid, but I knew what he meant. "O-Oui." I look down at the ground and a tear drips from my eyes. "I'm sorry, Matthew." He says. "I could have stopped him." His voice is filled with sorrow. "No. I didn't tell anyone besides Alfred. He said we should leave… F-For my s-safety." I face Arthur and look down at the floor. I glance at Ivan. "There was nothing you could have done." I say to him. "If you just told me, I could have kept him away from you." Arthur was somewhat glaring at me. "No, you couldn't have. I also w-wanted to l-leave."

Alfred comes down the stairs, interrupting our conversation. Thank God for that. "Hey, Iggy." He says, smiling. Surely, Arthur wouldn't drag the both of us back to Europe with him. He glares at the American. "Don't call me that!" He screams. Arthur looks as if he could hit Alfred. Alfred just laughs and slaps Arthur on the back. He glares at Alfred. "Glad to see that you're okay." He mumbles. "I want you two to come with me to England." He says. looking between Alfred and I. "No!" I shout and everyone in the room turns to look at me. "Yes, Matthew-"

"I don't want to go back! He'll just hurt me again!" Tears are dripping down my cheeks. "Matthew, I'm not going to let him do anything to you." He tries to reason with me and make me stop crying. "I still don't want to. I like it here." I like it because I'm close to my own country. Because I get to spend time with Ivan. Because I don't have anyone looking over my shoulder all of the time. Because I feel safe. "Well… I'm not going to force you. You obviously want to stay here." He mumbles. Arthur turns to leave. Wow. He's giving up that easily? "W-Wait." I say loudly. Arthur turns around before walking out the door. "What?" He asks. I run up to him and hug him tightly. "Thank you for trying, but I really don't want to come with you." I say, whilst leaning into his chest. He wraps his arms around me. "It's alright, lad. I understand. I'm just worried about you."

I break the short hug. "H-Have a safe trip, Arthur." I whisper and look him in the eyes. His eyes had a look of regret in them. "I will, lad. Be careful around Ivan. I don't quite trust him yet." He says, glancing at Ivan, who was still smiling as happily as ever. Arthur turns towards the door and leaves. He says goodbye and goes out to his rental car. I watch the car disappear down the road.

…

Many years have passed. I've wanted to talk to France for such a long time, but he just ignores me and won't answer my calls or anything. It's probably because he regrets what he did to me. There is something that I've wanted to tell him for such a long time. I decided that I would need Alfred and Ivan's help if I wanted to talk with my father.

…

Alfred is hosting the world meeting this time. I figured this would be the easiest way to talk to Francis. I arrive early to the meeting room. I set Kumajiro in a chair and set my stuff down. I look around the table and see that both Arthur and Francis are here. Alfred walks into the meeting room and sets his stuff down next to mine. Ivan follows after him and sets his stuff on the other side of me. "Are you sure you want to do this, Mattie?" Alfred asks. I bite my lip and nod. "Matvey, you can wait if you want to." Ivan puts his hand on my shoulder. "I'll wait until after the meeting." I whisper and pick up Kumajiro. I sit in my chair and keep my head down.

After a little while, the meeting starts. I wasn't even really paying attention to it. I was just drawing maple leaves on a piece of paper. I think the meeting was about global warming, but I'm not exactly sure. Germany took over the meeting because it was getting out of hand. Soon enough he called a thirty minute break. Once the other nations are filing out of the meeting room, Ivan lifted me up, bridal style, and carries me out of there. Alfred follows next to us. He is holding Kumajiro. "P-Put me d-down!" I giggle. Ivan shakes his head. He brings me out of the building and to a coffee shop across the street. Ivan sets me down once we are standing outside of it. The three of us walk inside and find a table. We all sit down at look at the menus.

We enjoy our lunch at the cafe, and head back to the meeting a few minutes before it starts. We sit down in our seats. I glance across the table and continue to think about how I will ba able to talk to Francis. There is something that I need to say. After another two hours of a boring meeting without actually getting anything done, the meeting ends. The nations are gathering their things together. Ivan, Alfred and I, already packed up our stuff. I set Kumajiro in my chair along with my stuff. He sits there watching over Alfred's and Ivan's things, also. Ivan takes my hand, and Alfred takes my other hand. I bite my lip nervously. The three of us walk over to Arthur and Francis.

Ivan and Alfred stand in front of me, as if to shield me. Ivan pokes Francis' shoulder and he turns around. "Matvey has something he would like to say to you." He says sternly, while glaring at him. Francis' bites his lip. He knows that he can't avoid me right now. I look down at the floor and try to avoid my father's gaze. I bite my lip, making it bleed. "C'mon, Mattie. Tell him." Alfred encourages me. I look back up, and gaze into his eyes. They are filled with hurt and sorrow.

I take a deep breath and say this with confidence. "You may not forgive yourself, and you may not love yourself, but I forgive you and I still love you, Papa."

The end