(A/N): Hey guys, woah right! Another Hetalia fanfiction so quick? What's wrong with me?
Well, this is one of my favorite pairings so I had to get it out there.

A few harsh and frantic knocks on the second largest country's door grabs his attention. He throws on a large shirt and walks down the stairs, a chill going through him as his bare foot hits the cold tile.
'Who on Earth would want to talk to me at,' Canada glanced up at his clock. '..Of course, right before midnight.'

Tomorrow there was another world meeting, hopefully this time something could be discussed without a fight erupting between two countries which threw everyone else out of whack.

He unlocked the front door, a loud 'clunk' echoing through the large lobby of his house. He opened it slowly, chilled again as the cool night air entered his home. He saw someone shivering. Opening the door fully, he gave a small gasp.

"Alfred!"

"Hey there Mattie! Mind if I come in?" Alfred grinned at his geographical neighbor. The smile didn't exactly meet his eyes, Matt saw, but he opened the door more and let the other walk in. "Geez, you have a nice house."

"Thanks. You said that the last time too." Matthew mumbled, Alfred looking shocked.

"I've been here before?"

"Yes Alfred, you have. Have you really forgotten that much?" Matt placed his hands on Alfred's shoulders, deciding to ignore the subject of how well anyone could remember him. "I'll take your jacket?" He saw the older nation flinch, a blush appearing on his face.

"B-but Mattie, I'm cold!" He whined in a child like manner, bringing his jacket up close around his neck.

"I'll get you nice cozy blanket. And how about some warm milk and cookies too?" Matthew smirked as Alfred gave a small chuckle.

"Sounds great." The less-than-normally-energetic nation responded. He shrugged off the leather material, handing it to Matt. The smaller nation noted that he was wearing a long sleeved uniform top instead of his normal short sleeved one. Despite it being extremely warm in his house, Alfred was still shivering.

"Everything ok?" Matt asked as he saw that Alfred had brought his hands up to rub against his arms.

"Of course everything is ok! I'm just extremely cold. I mean, walking here is like walking through ice." He shivered, this time more animatedly, causing Matt to roll his eyes.

'Hey wait…'

"You WHAT?"

"Hmm?"

"You walked here?"

"Yup."

"But…you live…."

"Well, I got a ride some of the way. I walked the rest. There's some storm coming in so they shut the airport down." Alfred said nonchalantly as he shrugged and walked around the lobby, inspecting a few minor decorations and paintings. "Now, where is that cozy blanket again?" He smiled.

Matthew rolled his eyes, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips as he walked up the stairs to find one.

"Don't forget the cookies and milk!" Alfred called afterwards, a yell confirming he was heard. Alfred chuckled, hearing a few doors slam and the footsteps of his younger brother fade away into the house. He let out a sigh he didn't know he had been holding and brought a hand up to rub his eyes. He grabbed his gut suddenly, placing a hand on the wall for balance and staying still.

He hadn't stopped hurting since all this started. The depression, loss of jobs, debt, war with Iraq, the debate over healthcare, bad relations with other nations, all the death and natural destruction…

He was starting to loose it. His body ached more everyday, and sometimes he would even wake up to find a new wound or bruise or broken bone. Of course, he had to be the hero in front of everyone, keep up the façade. It made things so much easier than actually telling someone of his problems. His problems would cause more problems and then that would lead to more problems. He didn't want anyone to worry over him.

He knew that some had noticed, of course. Arthur had tried to talk to him about it once, but he just brushed him off. He knew that Matthew saw something was wrong, but he was a little more persistent to shake. Alfred really didn't like to lie to him, and he wished he could tell him all that was wrong.

But he had to play the older brother, the hero!

It became harder as time went on though, his thoughts fleeing to other emotions and feelings towards his so called family member. He couldn't call him brother, he knew, because he felt more love than that towards him.

He shook off the thoughts, and as he did this he also shook the world up. Things became a blur and he felt as if he was falling.

"Darn it Alfred." Matt mumbled while searching through his closet for an extra blanket. "At least give me a warning when you're gonna come for a visit…" He paused in his searching as his thoughts drifted towards Al.

His elder nation had been acting…quite odd lately.

Matthew noticed that his eyes didn't hold the same spark that they had when they were younger. Or that when he thought no one was looking, he would clutch at his stomach in pain. Or that he would come to the meeting with a bandage on his face in a new spot than the day before, his hair messed up and bags under his eyes.

All this brought the younger a sense of sorrow and caring for his brother.

He wished that Alfred could tell him what was wrong. He wished his brother trusted him that much.

Matt gulped, thinking about Al being his brother. It had been that way since he was young; Papa England had introduced him to his brother America. While he was a teenager, it all changed. He felt different towards this so called brother of his, the love he felt going deeper.

Shaking the feeling off, he grabbed a fuzzy blanket and started back down the hallway towards the stairs.

"Hey Al, the cookies are down here in-" He stopped short a few steps down.

His brother was lying face up on the floor, wheezing harshly with what looked like a small puddle of blood around him.

"AL!" Canada called out as he came out of his daze and hopped down the steps five at a time. He came tripping to the bottom, dropping the blanket down next to him as he scooped his brother up into his arms. He cradled the injured nations head in his elbow and brought his hand up to smooth the hair out of his face.

"Al? Alfred? Wake up." Matt shook him lightly and noted that his chest was still rising and falling. 'He's breathing, he's alive, he's not ok.' Was all that ran through his mind, shaking the man in his arms a bit more. He brought a hand to the back of Al's head, feeling something sticky and wet. He turned his head slightly, no resistance coming from the seemingly passed out figure, and Matt saw that his blond hair was now a light shade of pink."Please."

"M-Matthew…?" Alfred whispered as he used Matt's full name, causing more alarm to flair in the other.

"Stay awake, ok?" Matt pleaded as Alfred's eyes started to flicker shut.

"O-ok…just for you…" He weakly smiled up only to wince as Matthew started to place his hands all around him. He undid the buttons on his uniform, allowing the top to slip off a bit. He gasped at the state his brother was in.

The white shirt he had was red in random spots which seeped out to the rest of the shirt practically turning it red. He placed a hand on his chest, bringing it down and around slowly. He could feel the bandages wrapped snugly around, trying to keep anything from coming out of place. Al groaned as the other slid his hands around his body, and he found his head flopping over into the others chest, snuggling slightly. He could feel his face heat up at show of affection from the other.

"Stay awake."

"Th-that f-feels go-…good…" Al ignored the request as he snuggled farther into this warm body. He was starting to feel extremely cold.

Matt rolled up the sleeves of the other, gasping at the sight. There were cuts and bruises all over. Many formed words he dared not repeat. He knew that the nation could not and would not do this to himself.

'Of course.' It hit Matt like a ton of bricks. 'With all his people and land have been going through…the body of the nation feels every bit of it.' Matt found the urge and want to beat himself up over not noticing this sooner.

How bad of a brother, friend, maybe something more was he for not noticing sooner?

He grabbed the blanket and placed it in his brother's lap. Ever so slowly he placed his other arm in the bend of Al's knee, and adjusted the other to a better position under his neck. Still moving at a snails pace, he started to bring up the other into his arms bridal style, knowing that he should move him onto a comfier surface. Oh lord, he was so light; so much lighter than a nation his stance and age should be.

"Wh-where…a-ah…." The weakened country tried to mumble out his question but was cut off as the steps taken by his carrier caused him to jostle around.

"I'm going to lay you on the couch, ok? It's much better than the floor." Matt smiled weakly as the other nation tried to smile, only to cough roughly. Placing him down on the larger couch gently, he wrapped the blanket around him tight and snug. He got up and went into his kitchen to fetch a glass of water, medicine, some food, and bandages. Returning, he saw that Al had turned over on his side and was facing out and flailing his arm around a bit. Matt placed everything on the table and kneeled down to face the ill figure.
"at…M-ma…tt…" Alfred coughed out, arm still waving around. Matt grabbed it, clasping the others hand with one of his own tightly, and proceeded to take off Alfred's glasses before brushing his hair away and out of his face again.
"Shhh, its ok. I'm here. I want you to take some medicine and have something to eat and drink, alright?" The gentle nation asked softly and smiled at the others small nod. Alfred sat up enough and stuck his shaky arm out for the cup and drugs. "Uh, here." Matt held the back of Alfred's head and gave him a bit of water first, then a few pills, and then more water to wash them down. Some of it missed his mouth and found its way down his chin and neck. "Here, let me get that." Matthew chuckled slightly as he brought his sleeved arm up and dried the liquid off. Alfred groaned some more, this time in pleasure, as Matt made his way down his neck. The young nation noticed this and instantly drew his hand back, a blush set deeply on his face. He got up and dusted himself off. Matt hovered over the elder, just noticing his state.

He was standing over this shivering, whimpering, frail man. They were not the so called hero they claimed to be. He could now see what exactly Alfred was.

He was a whole entire country condensed into human form. He was, in that very essence, only human.

That was the part that broke Matt's heart. He could feel tears prick at the corner of his eyes as he continued to stare down. A few tears became heavy enough to roll down his cheeks.

"D-don't…cry." Al called out weakly, his blank sapphire eyes now staring into the Canadians. "Hero's d-don't l-l-let those...dep-dependent on them…cry. They also…ar-aren't supposed to…be this..w-w-weak." Alfred managed to crack a sad smile. Matthew laughed out loud for a moment, breaking the crippled silence for all but a second. He kneeled down, face quite close as Alfred tried to focus his eyes in on the others. Matt grabbed Al's hand and clutched it tight.

He then leaned down and placed a small kiss on the others lips, noting how cold they were.

"You'll always be my hero Al, even if you can't stand by yourself at times. And when those times come, I'll be there to help. I'll be there to be your hero. "

(A/N): Canada tops. 3
And sorry for being so repetitive, I didn't want to mix up using their real and country names, though I think I might next time. D:

Hate it? Love it? Questions cuz something might not have made sense? xD Constructive criticism is loved and always welcomed! Thanks for reading!