"Matthew?!"

Canada sat up and flicked off the TV when he heard Lydia call out. She must've just come back, now that all the shops nearby were closing. "Yeah?"

"Why's there a polar bear cub outside your door?!"

Maple!

Okay, so he hadn't thought that through.

He got up quickly and opened the door, to see Kumazuko sniffing Lydia curiously. Lydia looked terrified. Canada sighed, and closed the door behind him, coming out into the cold. "He's alright. He um...hangs around here a lot - he's been practically domesticated by the neighbourhood. Probably just looking for food," he said quickly, bending down to scratch the bear behind the ears. "He's kind of like a dog."

Kumajitsu gave him a quizzical look, then glanced between them. Canada prayed he would stay quiet. Lydia pressed her lips together, looking unsure. "Should I..."

"You can go inside and grab some ham from the fridge, if you want."

"Er...okay."

Lydia ducked inside, and Kumatashi placed a paw on Canada's knee. "Who's she?"

"That's Lydia. She can't know who you are, or who I am. Don't talk when she's around," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Kumashoto gave a kind of shrug. "She your girlfriend?"

"Wha- no! She's not even a country!"

The polar bear looked unconvinced. "If you say so." Then he narrowed his eyes, frowning a little. "Who are you?"

The country sighed, grinning. Of course he'd forgotten. "Canada."

Lydia came back outside with a few slices of ham in her hands. Canada looked around at her. "Do you want to give them to him?"

She paused, then shook her head, looking a little sheepish. "I'll let you do it."

Canada nodded and gave a slice to Kumasimba, who was confused, but definitely not about to argue. Lydia fidgeted nervously. "I'll um...I'll be inside."

The door shut firmly as she went back in, taking a few bags of shopping with her. Kumaryou looked past her, wanting to go in too, but Canada shook his head. "Not while she's here, bud."

"But-"

"I don't want her to get scared. Or suspicious."

Kumayoshi looked away, pouting. Canada offered him another slice of ham, which he took, yet managed to maintain his dignity. "You didn't come home after the meeting."

Canada blinked. That was a long sentence, for him. "I had to give Lydia a place to stay."

"Kick her out."

"What?! No!"

Kumamatata glanced at the ground. "Come home."

Canada's gaze softened, and he wrapped his arms around the bear in a literal bear hug. "Hey, it's alright. I'll come back soon. Just not yet."

The polar bear cub looked unsure. "Promise?"

"I promise," Canada said firmly. "I would never leave you."

Kumayokai looked satisfied, and drew away slowly. "I know. But...still strange."

"Yeah. We've hardly ever been apart, huh?"

Kumajoto nodded uncertainly. "Well...see you."

Canada stood up. "Yeah. See you later."

The polar bear paused for a moment, then sprinted away. Like ripping off a band-aid, he mused. The faster it is, the less painless, I guess.

He lingered outside for a moment, then sighed, and went back in.

"Lydia?"

"Don't come into your room - I'm getting changed!"

Canada nodded, then realised Lydia couldn't see him. "Okay. Do you want coffee?"

"Er...do you have tea?"

"Yep. English Breakfast suit you?"

"Brilliant - thankyou!"

Canada was suddenly reminded of a pun France had made at one of their meetings, after the allies' victory at the end of World War 2 - "What do you call a German with a fascist government? English Breakfast." In hindsight, it wasn't that funny, but it was probably the only compliment France had ever given England. (England had followed it up with, "What do you call Whiskey at 7:00 in the morning? Irish Breakfast.")

Not a minute later, Lydia emerged from the bedroom, wearing jeggings and a grey-white t-shirt, Canada's plaid shirt and jeans draped over one arm. "Thanks for letting me borrow your clothes."

"It's nothing," he said easily, putting on the kettle.

Lydia sat down at the table, pulling her hair into a loose, low ponytail, once again reminding Canada of France. "Still, thanks."

Canada shrugged, and reached into the cupboard for the maple syrup. Lydia gave him a quizzical look, but Canada just winked. Maybe France was really starting to get to his head. "Trust me."

Once the water boiled, he got the English Breakfast out of it's box, put it into the mug, then poured the water in. "Strong or weak?"

"I don't mind. Weak-ish. Just...don't make it taste like hot water. My Dad did that - he was a terrible tea-maker."

Canada grinned. "Don't worry, I won't."

While it brewed, he started to make his own coffee. Lydia watched curiously, eyeing the maple syrup, feeling more than a little concerned about it's presence. That, and the polar bear. Nonetheless, she didn't object as Canada swiftly took out the teabag and put it in the bin, poured in a bit of maple syrup, and a dash of milk.

He handed it to her, and she cocked an eyebrow at him. "This is so weird."

"Try it," he said earnestly. "It's like a sweetener."

He took a sip of his own drink, and Lydia narrowed her eyes, and tentatively did the same. Then she drank some more.

"Oh my God. This is so good. This is like..." She broke off, having more.

"Heaven in a cup?"

Lydia swallowed. "Exactly. But it's so...it's so Canadian!"

Canada grinned. "What did you expect?"

"English Breakfast."

He nodded. "I don't blame you."

Lydia looked him up and down. "Honestly, you haven't done anything that isn't seriously Canadian. You're always polite, you made pancakes for breakfast, you put maple syrup in tea...do you speak French?"

Canada tried not to look worried. "Oui, but I'll take that as a compliment."

Lydia nodded and had more of the tea. "So, do you have any family?"

Canada blinked. "I live alone."

Lydia grinned. "That's no answer. Do you have siblings? Or even friends?"

Canada shrugged. "There's my brother, Alfred. He...lives in America. Actually...I'm the only one in my family who's...in...Canada."

That was always the strangest sentence to say.

"What does Alfred do?"

"You know, sibling stuff. Eating all the food whenever he comes. Generally being annoying. But in the end he's a loveable doofus." With an alarmingly large military capacity.

Lydia laughed. "I meant, what's his job?"

"Oh, he's um...he's a diplomat."

The girl grinned. "And is he as American as you are Canadian?"

Canada nearly laughed. "Oh my God, don't get me started. He's like...the embodiment of what it is to be American."

Again, not untrue.

"So are you two actually Canadian, or American."

How do I answer that? "Neither. We just...spread ourselves across the globe wherever we can in our family, in a way. Well it's kind of a family. Arthur lives in England, and Francis lives-"

Lydia was grinning. "Please tell me he lives in France, because that'd be hilarious."

Canada nodded. "He lives in France. He taught me French. Anyway, those two aren't exactly biologically related to us, but they kind of took us under our wing from a really young age. Alfred and I don't really know what happened to our parents..."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't worry. I feel pretty lucky to know Arthur and Francis, no matter the circumstances."

Lydia nodded. "What are they like?"

"Guess."

She frowned. "What, is the pattern I'm seeing accurate or something?"

"Probably."

She paused. "Arthur lives in England, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Bet he can't cook."

Canada grinned. "That's a little unfair. He can cook rocks."

"And is this Francis very...romantique?"

"Spot on."

Lydia looked a bit bemused. "That's..."

"Like I said, we're a weird family." He checked the time - it was nearly six. "When do you have dinner?"

"I don't mind. As long as it isn't like, 10pm."

Canada shrugged. "Okay. Let's make it eight."

"Sure. I can cook, if you want."

Canada shook his head. "I've got it. But thanks for offering."

"You did breakfast," she argued.

"Okay, I guess I didn't really have anything planned," he admitted. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll just buy some dumplings from the supermarket."

"I'll pay then."

"You don't have to!"

Canada cocked an eyebrow at her. "Your supply of money can't be endless. How much do you have left?"

"A couple of hundred bucks."

"That won't last forever." He stood up, and reached into the pocket of his coat, which was draped over the back of one of the chairs around the kitchen table. It wasn't like money mattered to him anyway — I mean it did on a global markets scale, but it didn't matter how much was in his personal wallet. Lydia glanced at her feet, feeling awkward, but accepted the money anyway.

We'll have to get over that awkwardness if she's going to stay for a while, he realised. And he hoped she would hang around. And not just so that he could prove a point to America and the others. At least, he hoped it wasn't just because of that.

She left quickly, hoping to just miss the crowds of people coming back from work, and Canada started to really feel Kumaruso's absence. And start worrying about keeping his status as a country from Lydia, sort of in general.

What if she knew? What would she think? Would she leave? Wound she be mad? Probably. And the very least, she'd be pretty weirded out...no, for now, it was probably be best to pose as normal. Hopefully if she did ever find out, Canada would tell her, rather than her finding a photo of him in the 1900s or something.

He looked up as something buzzed. Lydia had left her phone on the couch, the face of it lighting up as she received a text. He looked away, not wanting to read it. Her text was her business. But he did see that it was from someone who was apparently called 'Dickhead'.

He dismissed it quickly. It wasn't like he was entitled to know. Maybe it's just her Dad.

When she came back, he didn't mention it. Dinner was quick and awkward, but conversation came a little more easily.

Lydia went to bed pretty early, and Canada, despite having slept for a few hours earlier, after exploding at America, was also keen to sleep. But Lydia still refused to use Canada's bed. So he was more than happy to go on the floor. Lydia found it kind of amusing - it looked like she'd decided that she wasn't going to be pushed into using the bed, and if Canada wasn't going to use the perfectly good bed which he was more than entitled to, then so be it.

Lydia asked if she could put the heater on, and Canada said that was fine. He didn't know how much time she spent on her phone that night - he fell asleep as he noticed her opening Tumblr.