...

CAPUT VIGESSIMUM

-Chapter Twenty-

(Latin)

'Thoughts' "Speech"

~(TS)~ = Time Skip

-(SC)- = Scene Change

This is the Last Chapter!

Sorry it's so long~

Let me warn you, a part of this chapter you might not understand if you have not yet read my first story, "In Search of Maple" (Although, I hope you have read it, since this is the sequel)

Warnings for - Emotional Rollercoasters, Alarming Multinational Nudity, Furry Dignity Savers, France being France, and The Mystery of the Sweetgum!

xXx xXx xXx

Step 20 - Go Home

As Alfred's house came back into view, Matthew was reminded why he came after his brother in the first place. "Al, give me back my iPod, eh?"

Alfred looked over his shoulder at his twin with a small frown, then a sly smile spread across his lips. "Speaking of iPod's, Mattie…"

Matthew's face turned back into an instant pout and he looked away as he crossed his arms. "Don't start with this again… I said I was sorry." The Canadian grumbled quietly. "Besides, it was just an accident…"

"You dropped it into the pancake batter!" Alfred interjected.

"On accident!" Matthew whisper-shouted back in annoyance.

"So…" Alfred began with a doubtful expression. "When are you going to buy me a new one?"

Matthew sighed as he uncrossed his arms, letting himself calm down a bit. "Christmas is coming up in a few months…"

It was now Alfred's turn to pout. "But it's suppose to be a replacement, not a gift. I don't wanna wait till Christmas!"

"That's real mature, Alfie." Matthew said as he rolled his eyes. "It's not that much longer till Christmas, you can go a few months without an iPod."

Alfred went silent for a moment until a thought hit him, making him smile mischievously. "Oh yeh?" The American started as he reached into his hoodie pocket and retrieved his brother's iPod. "Let's see if you can wait until Christmas…" He challenged after he flashed the device for his brother to see.

The Canadian stopped walking and stared at his twin's back in horror, as the many possible accidents that could befall his beloved iPod flooded into his mind in the form of disturbing images. He knew he had just said that Alfred could wait until Christmas for a new iPod, but he himself didn't want to! Matthew cursed himself silently for being such a hypocrite.

"Alfie!" Matthew called as he rushed to catch up with his brother. "Wait!"

Without having to look around, Alfred smirked to himself as he quickened his pace into almost a jog. He was getting the reaction he wanted. "I think Artie might be making some more soup~ It would be too bad if something were to happen!" He taunted.

"Don't you dare!" Matthew gasped as he broke out into a run to stop the American before he could carry out his dastardly deed. Alfred laughed loudly as he too broke out into a run, ignoring the pain in his foot.

The twins raced towards Alfred's house as fast as they could, one laughing obnoxiously, while the other was whisper-shouting threats of repercussions. Alfred cut through his own front yard and ran in a beeline towards the sole tree on his lawn, Matthew close behind. He tried an artful evasion tactic as he rounded the tree in an attempt to shake his brother, though that never seemed to work on Matthew, since he was just, if not more agile than he himself was.

"Ok! Fine." Matthew cried, as he grabbed hold of the back of his brother's hoodie. "I'll buy you a replacement! Just don't break mine…"

The American finally stopped running. He then turned around and gave his brother a smirk. "When?"

Matthew gave him a small glare as he reached to grab his iPod from the other's hand. "I don't know, as soon as I can."

Alfred quickly held the iPod just out of his brother's reach, behind him tauntingly. "Promise?"

Frustrated, Matthew huffed and leaned against his twin in an attempt to reclaim his stolen iPod. "Yes, I promise! Now just gi-" His demand was cut short when Alfred, trying to rebalance himself from the extra weight of his brother, took a step back. In doing so, he slipped when a small round object rolled underneath his shoe. Both teens let out a startled cry as they fell. Matthew landed heavily on top of Alfred, and by sheer accident, the Canadian's lips crashed onto the American's.

There was a moment of silence as they both froze, shocked by what had happened. The frustrations that Matthew had been feeling just seconds ago had vanished completely, being replaced with something else. Like a spark. Color rose into their cheeks as violet eyes met azure.

The Canadian's thoughts of reason and logic were pushed to the back of his mind as he closed his fingers around the fabric on the front of his brother's hoodie. He then, ever so slowly leaned closer if at all possible and against all better judgment, allowed his lips to move gently over his twin's.

'Please don't freak out.' Matthew silently begged, as he closed his eyes. He knew he was laying himself bare for a heartbreaking rejection, but he simply had to try. He couldn't let an opportunity like this slip by without doing anything at all. To his surprise, he felt Alfred's lips turn upwards ever so slightly into a small smile before he began to mimic his brother's actions. Matthew's heart skipped a beat when he realized what was happening.

Alfred slowly brought his right hand up and rested it on Matthew's lower back. He then carefully closed his left hand over his brother's right. Matthew could hardly believe this was happening, but he wasn't about to question his luck as he let his body melt against his twin's.

They continued like that for a few more seconds, and just when they had both parted their lips to deepen this long awaited kiss, there was a clicking noise from somewhere nearby, followed by a distinctive 'honhonhoning'.

Francis watched with great amusement as the twins froze instantly then quickly pulled away from each other, Matthew going so far as to push himself back onto his knees. The Canadian looked beyond embarrassed. Their faces were beet red as they spotted Francis a few feet away.

The Frenchman casually slipped his camera back into his pocket and smiled deviously back at them. "Zo zis iz where you boze ran off too, we were wondering where you went." He said in an obvious attempt to control his laughter. "You realize," He started again, his face now showing his signature 'French' smirk. "most people 'ave zimpler ways of zaying farewell to eachozzer. 'owever," He paused. "I know 'ow much you North Americans like to be different from ze rest of ze world, and I for one, fully support zis meszod."

Matthew stared back at the Frenchman with a complete loss for words, whereas Alfred slowly narrowed his eyes as Francis began his annoying laughter at their expense. "Seriously, dude?" The American frowned. "You really have nothing better to do?" He asked incredulously as he slowly pushed himself back into a sitting position. "Ah!" He hissed as a pain stabbed him in the back. Matthew unconsciously flinched in sympathy, though he was unaware of what was hurt.

Francis, not noticing, replied smugly. "Oui, I did 'ave zomesing I waz doing, but I 'ave to zay, zis definitely took priority."

"What's wrong, Alfie?" Matthew asked with concern as he carefully climbed off of his brother and sat back on his knees in the grass in front of Alfred. Needless to say, he was afraid he might have hurt his brother when he had fallen on top of him. The worry that was written across his face was replaced with confusion as Alfred silently reached behind him and cautiously retrieved a small spiky ball, around the size of a large marble.

"I'm fine, I just landed on this." He grimaced as he held it out by it's stem.

Matthew looked at the small ball curiously. His eyes widened with recognition and he tilted his head upwards. Green star-shaped leaves, just on the verge of turning orange for autumn, waved above them lazily. "It's a Sweetgum tree." Matthew stated quietly as a soft smile graced his lips.

Alfred looked up as well. He had really never bothered to notice what kind of tree it was. The American let his azure eyes travel back down to his brother. A gentle smile appeared on his face as he reached over and removed an orange star-shaped leaf from his twin's wavy honey blonde hair.

Matthew dropped his gaze from the tree and looked back over at Alfred. The American smiled and held out the leaf to his brother. "Sweetgum, huh? I like it, the leaves look just like stars." He chuckled softly. Matthew felt his cheeks heat up again as he accepted the leaf.

Another clicking sound was heard from a little ways away. Matthew sighed and looked down, trying to hide his face, whereas Alfred turned to frown at the Frenchman. They had once again, completely forgotten he was there.

"That's it, dude!" Alfred snapped as he got back onto his feet. "Hand over the camera." He demanded.

Francis simply smiled back as he clicked another picture, this time of Alfred's unamused expression. "But you are zo photogenic." He argued tauntingly. The uncharacteristically dangerous vibes coming from the American gave Francis pause. The Frenchman let out a nervous laugh before he decided on a tactical retreat.

"Hey! Get back here!" Alfred exclaimed as he took off after him.

Matthew frowned as he watched them disappear through the front door. It took a lot to make Alfred angry like that, but he had to admit, Francis was really pushing his luck with that last picture. The Canadian sighed again as he held the orange leaf up and rolled the stem in his fingers slowly to watch it spin. "I guess Alfie really doesn't remember that one time, back when we were still colonies… That's ok." He said quietly with a smile.

'I can't believe that just happened.' Matthew thought to himself as a warm feeling swelled up inside of him, making him feel a tiny bit giddy. He ran his tongue over his lips and smiled. "Alfie tastes like chocolate."

Light reflected off a shiny object in the grass and drew the Canadian's eyes. Matthew reached over and collected it into his hands. "All because of an iPod, eh?" He laughed quietly as he looked at the small device.

A loud crash came from inside the house, startling the Canadian. He quickly got back onto his feet and rushed off to see what had happened. He really hoped they weren't actually fighting.

When Matthew reached the front door, he had to carefully step over the coat rack that had been knocked over. He then walked past the couch that was now facing at an odd angle and headed towards the kitchen where he found Francis and Alfred. The Frenchman was smirking as he leaned against the sink while holding his hands up in submission as he allowed the American to frisk him.

"Where's the camera? I swear I'm going to smash it when I find it!" Alfred threatened.

"Zat's zuch a great incentive for me to tell you." Francis replied sarcastically.

"I'll give you some incentive..." Alfred glowered.

"What the bloody hell is going on in here?" Arthur questioned as he walked into the kitchen from the pantry, holding a cereal box. Matthew sighed in relief. He was truly thankful right now that Arthur had the ability to stop a situation like this before it got out of hand, with only his tone of voice.

"Nothing…" Alfred lied as he unhanded Francis and turned around slowly to face the Englishman.

Arthur frowned at the suspicious atmosphere. "Where were you two? You've been gone for more than an hour."

"We just went to Rosa's Diner." Matthew explained calmly as he stepped into the kitchen, now that the hostility had past.

"Well, you could have told me where you were going." Arthur replied with slight disappointment.

"We would have." Alfred began as he stepped away from Francis. "But it was kind of spur of the moment, ...among other things." He finished with a quiet laugh, then directed a secret smile to his brother, causing an automatic blush from the Canadian.

Arthur caught that subtle exchange and was now even more suspicious of what had transpired. He decided to let it go for now. Matthew would be going home in a few minutes and he had convinced Francis to accompany the teen and make sure he took his antibiotics. That took care of both of his problems at once, so he could save his complaints for later.

"Well, alright then." Arthur sighed as he set the box of cereal down on the countertop. "Did you both have breakfast there? If not, would you like some cereal?" He offered politely. He was met with an odd silence. Arthur looked over to Alfred, the American was staring at the brightly colored cereal box with horror, his mouth slightly agape. The Englishman frowned and looked over to Matthew. The Canadian had his eyes locked onto the box as well as he mimicked his twin's expression. Arthur turned his gaze to Francis and gave him a questioning look, to which the taller man simply shrugged.

"What?" Arthur finally asked in bewilderment.

As if to answer his question, loud sirens started sounding throughout the house as the lights dimmed, being replaced with a bright flashing red light.

"D-did you actually pull the box off of the wall, Arthur?!" Matthew asked semi-loudly as he covered his ears.

"What do you mean? What's going on?" The Englishman demanded nervously. Arthur jumped in surprise as the kitchen door swung shut, which was in fact, very surprising since the kitchen didn't actually have a door. There was a hiss and a clicking sound as the door locked itself.

"What did you do zis time, Arthur?" Francis accused as he too held his ears, worry now showing on his face.

A second later, metal plated shutters swung down and disconnected the kitchen from the living room.

"Dude, Artie. I think you broke something!" Alfred shouted over the sirens as he backed away from the counter. He then noticed the ajar pantry door behind Arthur. Without a second thought, he rushed over and slammed the pantry door shut and pressed his back to it as if he were trying to keep something in. Francis and Arthur turned to look at him, confused.

A clicking and grinding sound started from above them, making all the countries tilt their heads up just in time to see a hidden sprinkler system appear overhead inside the kitchen.

"Oh hamburgers…" Alfred paled.

"What the hell are you doing?" Arthur asked as he watched the American quickly lift his black and gold hoodie from the bottom and pull it off. The teen didn't bother answering as he wadded it up, then stuffed it into the refrigerator. Just as he slammed the refrigerator door shut, the sirens went silent and the lights stopped blinking.

The European's let out a premature sigh of relief just before the sprinklers overhead activated, drenching everyone.

"Fantastic…" Arthur grouched as he wiped some wet hair off of his forehead. Matthew groaned quietly to himself, he had been in the process of taking his shirt off as well, but he hadn't reacted quickly enough. Now all of his clothes were soaked with the clear purple liquid again.

"Why does your water zmell like bananas…?" Francis asked, feeling slightly repulsed after the sprinklers finally stopped.

"It's not water…" Alfred sighed as he ran a hand down his bare chest, wiping some of the liquid off.

"Then what is it?" Arthur asked, feeling rather disgusted now. The smell of bananas was becoming stronger.

"Hell if I know." Alfred replied as an odd hissing noise started up and their clothes began to look as if they were steaming. Arthur quirked an eyebrow as Alfred brushed past him and quickly made his way over to his brother. The Canadian gave his twin a thankful expression and moved behind him, just as the fabric of his shirt began to dissolve into the air.

"Ooh. Evaporation. This is new." Alfred commented as he watched the European's clothing disappear from their bodies. From a scientific view point, this was highly interesting.

"It's not new…" Matthew whined, not finding this fun at all.

Just before he was completely exposed, Arthur roughly pulled Francis in front of him by his wrist, using him as a fancy French shield to hide his dignity.

An entire minute of silence past, once the last scraps of clothing had vanished into the air. To say that it was an awkward silence would be a vast understatement. Both Francis and Arthur appeared shocked by what had just happened. The North American brothers on the other hand, merely looked vaguely annoyed.

Alfred stood over by the door, his arms crossed and a small frown in place. He was already calculating in his head, how many pairs of jeans he had left. Matthew, however, although he was uncomfortable with the current situation, was having a particularly difficult time trying to not let his eyes wander over his brother as he stood behind him. Which was silly, because he already knew what Alfred looked like, but it was still a very strong impulse. Instead, he looked over Alfred's shoulder to their ex-father figures. The Canadian averted his eyes, instantly regretting his decision, though it did put a stop to any problem he might have been having.

Arthur released a heavy sigh while he glared at Francis' back. "What just happened?" He asked weakly. Was it really too much to ask, to have a normal day? Could they really not have gone the last fifteen minutes without incident? 'Why do so many odd things happen in North America?!' He ranted inside his head.

"Don't ask me." Francis replied, once he had gotten over his initial shock. He then started his annoying laughter as he stared over at the two naked countries in front of him. Francis, unsurprisingly, seemed to be the only country completely ok with this bizarre turn of events, as he stood there, proudly baring all.

"Dude, quit checking me out! It's creepy." Alfred whined, though he didn't bother covering himself. He really didn't have a problem with the nudity, he just didn't want to be ogled by a perverted Frenchman.

"Ah, but you are zuch a work of art, I just can't 'elp myself." Francis grinned as he continued to stare. He then reached into one of the overhead cabinets and retrieved his camera that he had stashed away.

Alfred's eyes widened when he saw it. "Don't you dare…" He warned with forced calm as he stayed where he was, in order to protect his brother's dignity.

"'ow does zat zaying go? "Take a picture, it will last longer?" Francis taunted as he lifted the camera to his face.

Hearing that, Matthew quickly looked over his brother's shoulder with apprehension. "Don't do it, Papa!" He gasped.

The Frenchman ignored them as he continued his 'honhonhoning' while he focused his camera. Alfred grit his teeth, finally deciding to take action.

"No, wait!" Matthew whisper-shouted as his brother began to move away from him and towards the Frenchman. In his panic, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Alfred's bare chest and pulled him back just when the camera snapped a shot.

Francis smirked as he looked down to check the picture he had just taken. The Canadian had wrapped his arms around his brother's chest as he hid his face from the camera behind his brother's back. The American looked startled and had his arms out in front of him as he leaned back into his twin. The lower half of the picture however, was distorted by a grey blob. Francis frowned and lowered his camera. He was met with large red eyes staring up at him, making him jump slightly in alarm.

"Oh hey, Tony." Alfred greeted when he spotted his alien friend. Tony turned to look at him and nodded in greeting. "We need to have a serious discussion about your security system, man." Alfred frowned.

"Bitchy." Tony replied as he held out a device and pointed it at the ceiling. He clicked a button and the kitchen door unlocked, then swung open and disappeared. After that the metal plated shutters opened as well. Tony then walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed the brightly colored cereal box. Arthur peeked around Francis to glare daggers at the alien. This was all his fault after all. Tony turned and made eye contact with the Brit. There was a moment of tense silence as they both stared at eachother, like the bitter enemies that they were.

"Fucking Limey" Tony finally said as he took his cereal box/secret door lever and departed into the pantry from where he had come.

"Bloody alien..." Arthur growled with contempt.

Kumajiro, who had been waiting patently outside in the hallway, padded into the kitchen and sat down in front of his favorite person. "I'm hungry." He said as he stared up at the twins with a blank expression. Their nudity didn't seem to faze him in the least.

"Ah, Mr. Kumakool-aid!" Matthew breathed in relief. He then released his hold on his brother and bent down to quickly gathered up his beloved polar bear companion into his arms. Once his vital regions were hidden from view by his furry friend, Matthew backed himself out of the kitchen.

"I call the shower…" Matthew mumbled quietly.

Alfred turned to look at him, then grinned when he saw the awkward scene. "Sure thing, bro."

The Canadian blushed brightly as he failed to avert his eyes this time. Instead, he couldn't stop staring. The American frowned and lifted an eyebrow questioningly at his brother. He then smirked. "See something you like, Mattie?" He teased.

"Uhh..." Matthew couldn't think of a way to reply to that without blunt honesty, so he simply bit down on his bottom lip to silence himself before disappearing down the hall to the bathroom.

Matthew could hear Francis' annoying laughter as he left, along with Arthur's demanding voice saying- "Don't use up all of the hot water!" To which he heard Francis reply with a- "I don't sink you 'ave to worry about zat."

Matthew ducked his head in embarrassment. It was the truth and he knew it. He needed a cold shower.

-(SC)-

"I call dibs on the other shower." Alfred declared.

"Oh no you don't…" Arthur grumbled as he also backed out of the kitchen, while covering his vital regions with an oblivious fluffy Ragamuffin. Hero was finally redeeming his worth to the Englishman as his super fluffyness protected the Brit's dignity. The cat purred with delight at the attention he was receiving.

Francis couldn't pass up this opportunity as he lifted his camera and snapped a shot at Arthur and Hero. The Englishman sighed with forced calm, he then glared at the Frenchman while keeping his gaze high. "After I take a shower, ...I am going to break you." He vowed.

"And I'm going to break your camera." Alfred added with a frown as he crossed his arms again.

Francis simply shrugged them off arrogantly. He then frowned as he thought of something. "What are we zupposed to do while you two take a nice shower? Ferment in zis zmelly liquid?" He asked with a hint of irritation.

"I don't care what you do!" Arthur snapped as he backed out of the kitchen and down the other hallway. "There is a hose in the backyard. Use that!" He suggested loudly before they heard the bathroom door slam shut.

Francis and Alfred gave each other a doubtful look.

The American sighed, then walked over to the sink next to the Frenchman and took some spare soap from the cabinet. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine." He offered as he made his way to the backdoor.

"Oui, zat zounds fair." Francis agreed and followed him, a devious smirk on his face.

~(TS)~

Once everyone was clean and dressed again, they had all gathered out in Alfred's driveway. Since Matthew's car had a dead engine, they decided to take Francis' car instead. The Frenchman buckled himself into the driver's seat glumly. He didn't know what to be more upset about. His new black eye? Or his broken camera? Although he had managed to save the memory card, therefore saving all of his pictures, he still didn't like the fact that the camera had been broken/crushed in the American personification's hand. He had been quite fond of that little device, now he had to buy a new one.

"Let that be a lesson to you, frog!" Arthur ranted outside his car window, emerald eyes narrowed and arms crossed.

On the other side of the car, Alfred had wrapped his arms around his brother in a big hug. "Remember to take your medicine, Mattie." He reminded.

Matthew smiled and embraced Alfred back lovingly. "Don't you forget to take your's, Alfie." He laughed softly.

"How could I with Artie here?" Alfred laughed.

"That's true." Matthew agreed.

"Say hello to Maple for me." Alfred said as he rocked them slightly to the left.

"Ok, say goodbye to Hero for me." Matthew replied as he leaned them to the right.

"Stay safe, Mattie." Alfred said as he balanced them out again.

"Don't get into trouble, Alfie." Matthew replied with a hint of humor.

"Never." Alfred retorted sarcastically.

"Always." Matthew teased.

Arthur's eye twitched with annoyance as he watched the twin's usual goodbye ritual. He then rolled his eyes at them and snapped. "Just get in the car! You're dawdling!" The North American brother's flinched in surprise, then pulled away from each other bashfully.

Once Matthew was buckled into the passenger's side, a familiar voice called out to him from the backseat.

"I'm hungry!" Kumajiro whined loudly. Not only was he extra grumpy right now for being left behind when they went to Rosa's, he also hated sitting in the backseat, however he had to since his owner was safety conscious.

Alfred leaned into the passenger window and smirked back at the small polar bear, over Matthew's seat. "Sorry, Bear Dude, we got you a cookie but I ate it." He taunted. It was actually a lie, they had both completely forgotten to get him a cookie altogether, but this way all the blame was on him now, which was fine. Besides, he felt he needed some kind of payback for the lollipop incident.

Kumajiro huffed and crossed his furry arms before going directly into pout-mode.

Matthew sighed. "Quit teasing him, Alfie."

"Sorry." Alfred apologized as he leaned back to look at his brother.

"Don't work too hard, Mattie." Alfred grinned.

Matthew rolled his eyes and smirked. "Don't play too hard, Alfie." He teased.

"That's impossible." Alfred replied as he leaned in again to give his twin one last hug. With a quiet laugh, Matthew turned in his seat to hug him back. "Hey, Mattie." Alfred whispered, once he was close enough to be discreet.

"Hm?" Matthew responded as he listened.

"You tasted just like maple syrup." The American breathed, his lips right next to his twin's ear. "We should do that again sometime." Matthew felt his cheeks flush as Alfred placed a soft kiss on his neck, then pulled away and stood back with a gentle smile. Matthew returned the smile after a moment and nodded shyly in agreement.

Francis smiled at the twins as he watched them while trying to ignore the ranting Englishman to his left. 'Why can't I get a nice zend off like zat?' The Frenchman turned and looked back to Arthur. The smaller country still had his arms crossed and he was indeed still ranting about something, though Francis had stopped listening around 3 minutes ago.

A mischievous smile appeared on his face, as a way to shut the Brit up came to mind. Without thinking too much about repercussions beforehand, Francis reached out of the window and tugged Arthur down to his level by the front of his shirt. He then leaned out and impulsively kissed the startled country.

Arthur blushed deeply before he pushed himself away from his frenemy in shock. Francis smirked as he turned on the car and put it into reverse. "I'd take a ztep back, mon amour. We wouldn't want to run over your toes, now would we?" Arthur grit his teeth and took a step back in silent fury.

Francis laughed as he watched as Arthur started his verbal assault of colorful profanities at him as he backed the car up. Matthew looked amazed that Francis had actually done that, whereas Alfred stood in the driveway next to Arthur, trying his hardest to suppress a laugh. He was failing miserably.

"I can't believe you just did that." The Canadian finally said, once they were driving down the road.

The Frenchman simply shrugged. "It's not zee first time." He smirked.

~(TS)~

Matthew waited patiently as he leaned against the railing of a large bridge, while Francis got his car a pass to cross the US/Canada border. He had put on his white maple leaf hoodie to fend against the autumn chill in the air. Matthew watched the waterfall quietly, while letting his mind wander over the last week. To say the last five days were stressful would be a great understatement.

'It was worth it.' He smiled softly to himself as he unconsciously reached up to touch his neck. When Alfred had kissed him there, a chill had rushed through his body, followed by a fluttering in his stomach. Even now, the area tingled when he touched it. Matthew hung his head slightly and laughed. 'I can't believe I'm still so sensitive…'

'I'm going to have a really hard time focusing when I get home now…' Matthew sighed. 'More than usual. …Thanks a lot, Al.' A thought occurred to him then and he bit down on his bottom lip in worry. 'If something as simple as that is distracting, then how will it be a month from now? Everyone's supposed to come for an extended meeting so we can work out a new schedule, among working out various other issues, and I'm supposed to be the host country! How am I going to be able to concentrate on anything when Alfie comes to stay with me like he usually does? …Maybe I shouldn't of kissed him… I've just complicated things…'

Matthew mentally slapped himself for thinking such a thing. 'No, there's no way I'm regretting that moment, not when I've been wanting to do that for more years than I can count. Well… I can actually count the years…' Matthew sighed heavily at that thought.

To distract himself, the Canadian reached into the pocket of his hoodie to retrieve his iPod. Curiously, his fingertips brushed against some coins beneath his iPod. He pulled them all from his pocket and looked down at them. Two American quarters and one Canadian penny stared back at him. Matthew's eye twitched as memories of Alfred's obnoxious teasing came back to him.

A smirk appeared on his face as he closed his hand around the coins. "I'll never be your 51st state, Alfie." Matthew grumbled out loud to nobody in particular. "Or your 52nd or your 53rd. That's just silly."

He sighed and opened his hand to look back at the coins. Alfred probably didn't leave them there to taunt him, he concluded as he focused on an old fashioned eagle quarter. 'I wonder if he remembers back before our colonial days…' Matthew frowned as a mental image of a star-shaped leaf appeared to him. "It might be yet another thing he has forgotten…"

Matthew caught sight of Francis waving to him at the end of the bridge and he waved back in response. "Guess it's time to go." He said quietly to himself as he turned to leave. A colorful sight caught his attention and he turned back to see a rainbow being created by the waterfall. The Canadian smiled at the sight. 'I wonder if Alfie will ever remember that night we spent together under the Sweetgum and Maple…'

"The next World Conference is going to be really frustrating, …in more ways than one…"

xXx xXx xXx

~(WMD)~

There it is, I hope you enjoyed it.

I want to thank everyone who took interest and read my story!

You guys are great! XD

-(WMD)-

I've started the third story to this series.

It's called Sweetgum.

I don't have alot written on it yet since I'm very busy.

But if anyone has any cool ideas, leave it in a review!