"No," Canada said, and visibly startling the other Nations. They'd obviously expected him to stay quiet while Arthur spoke for him.
"Matthew, what..."
"I said no," Matthew cut Arthur off without looking at him. "We're not playing this waiting game while Russia camps out on Canadian land." Not Crown land. Canadian. "You will remove your troops, Ivan, or I will remove them for you."
Jaws all around the room dropped, and several Nations squinted, wanting to make sure they were looking at Canada and not at America.
Arthur stared at his young Dominion, and gaped, and sputtered, and tried not to think of a rain-soaked day two hundred years ago. "Matthew! What do you think you're..."
Matthew was polite, but that was it. "It needs to be said, Arthur, and I just want to ensure there's no misunderstandings about what I mean." He locked eyes with the Russian. Vimy and Passchendaele. Alfred had remembered. Others would too. "I will _not_ stand for your presence in _my_ lands, I will _not_ just sit around and wait for you to spontaneously realize how not to be a dick, and I will _do something about it_."
Russia stared at Canada, and he felt a thrill shiver up his spine - the long-lost thrill of facing a true enemy, the adrenaline-fast knife-edge of fencing with America, and Canada looked _just like his brother_. Only America's eyes were full of fire, blue flames and heat like the sun, and Canada's were blue _ice_, snow and frost and the killing cold both he and Russia walked with, the quiet death that took a man without his knowing.
Then he stared some more, and amended his thoughts. It wasn't opposites - it was two sides of the same coin, America and Canada, two Nations so alike that not even their beloved England could tell them apart sometimes. And behind Canada's ice was a banked fire, flaring now, and behind America's fire had always been that cool core of ruthlessness, one he'd always been ashamed of, and sought to hide behind pretty words, but America hadn't become the only superpower to rival Russia by being as stupid as he acted. And America held Alaska, did he not, he had walked with General Winter as well. He knew the North, he knew the ice.
And Canada hadn't been England's shock-trooper, stood beside an empire and an empire-in-all-but-name, by being as doormattish as he acted, either, Russia was slowly finding out.
He threw back his head and laughed, a deep belly-laugh, and as he did he saw someone standing in the back, unnoticed, a tall shadow with light glinting off its glasses.
Canada was America's brother - and America was Canada's.
He locked eyes with Canada again, and smiled a wide beaming smile at all of the UN. "We shall see," he promised Canada, and the brother who stood behind him, always right there, entwined so in Canada's history and life. Ice behind the fire. Fire behind the ice.
"Perhaps," he mused, gazing at Canada, "We should exchange our coats of arms."
France, who'd been dumbstruck since Canada had interrupted England, demanded, "And what does that mean?"
"Oh," Russia said, his eyes flickering back and forth between angry Canada in front of him and quiet, watching America in the back, America who was humbler but not humbled, America who was learning to be subtle as his brother learned how to be assertive, America who had let his brother stand up to Russia by himself but was waiting, straining, to back Canada's stance up.
"I just thought that twin eagles would suit these eager North Americans wonderfully," he purred, and laughed again.
***
AN: Loosely, loooooosely based on the recent "We won't let Russia bully us" remark from Canada. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/03/30/russia-canada-arctic-bully.html
I'm not Canadian but I'm studying in Canada so I hope I got the stuff about Canada right - this is much more Hetalia-fic than based-in-RL-fic, obviously, playing up the Alfred-and-Matthew-are-twins angle because I looove twin-stories. Hope you guys enjoyed it even with me playing fast and loose with actual events.
Twin Eagles II
"Matthew, what..."
"I said no," Matthew cut Arthur off without looking at him. "We're not playing this waiting game while Russia camps out on Canadian land." Not Crown land. Canadian. "You will remove your troops, Ivan, or I will remove them for you."
Jaws all around the room dropped, and several Nations squinted, wanting to make sure they were looking at Canada and not at America.
Arthur stared at his young Dominion, and gaped, and sputtered, and tried not to think of a rain-soaked day two hundred years ago. "Matthew! What do you think you're..."
Matthew was polite, but that was it. "It needs to be said, Arthur, and I just want to ensure there's no misunderstandings about what I mean." He locked eyes with the Russian. Vimy and Passchendaele. Alfred had remembered. Others would too. "I will _not_ stand for your presence in _my_ lands, I will _not_ just sit around and wait for you to spontaneously realize how not to be a dick, and I will _do something about it_."
Russia stared at Canada, and he felt a thrill shiver up his spine - the long-lost thrill of facing a true enemy, the adrenaline-fast knife-edge of fencing with America, and Canada looked _just like his brother_. Only America's eyes were full of fire, blue flames and heat like the sun, and Canada's were blue _ice_, snow and frost and the killing cold both he and Russia walked with, the quiet death that took a man without his knowing.
Then he stared some more, and amended his thoughts. It wasn't opposites - it was two sides of the same coin, America and Canada, two Nations so alike that not even their beloved England could tell them apart sometimes. And behind Canada's ice was a banked fire, flaring now, and behind America's fire had always been that cool core of ruthlessness, one he'd always been ashamed of, and sought to hide behind pretty words, but America hadn't become the only superpower to rival Russia by being as stupid as he acted. And America held Alaska, did he not, he had walked with General Winter as well. He knew the North, he knew the ice.
And Canada hadn't been England's shock-trooper, stood beside an empire and an empire-in-all-but-name, by being as doormattish as he acted, either, Russia was slowly finding out.
He threw back his head and laughed, a deep belly-laugh, and as he did he saw someone standing in the back, unnoticed, a tall shadow with light glinting off its glasses.
Canada was America's brother - and America was Canada's.
He locked eyes with Canada again, and smiled a wide beaming smile at all of the UN. "We shall see," he promised Canada, and the brother who stood behind him, always right there, entwined so in Canada's history and life. Ice behind the fire. Fire behind the ice.
"Perhaps," he mused, gazing at Canada, "We should exchange our coats of arms."
France, who'd been dumbstruck since Canada had interrupted England, demanded, "And what does that mean?"
"Oh," Russia said, his eyes flickering back and forth between angry Canada in front of him and quiet, watching America in the back, America who was humbler but not humbled, America who was learning to be subtle as his brother learned how to be assertive, America who had let his brother stand up to Russia by himself but was waiting, straining, to back Canada's stance up.
"I just thought that twin eagles would suit these eager North Americans wonderfully," he purred, and laughed again.
***
AN: Loosely, loooooosely based on the recent "We won't let Russia bully us" remark from Canada. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/03/30/russia-canada-arctic-bully.html
I'm not Canadian but I'm studying in Canada so I hope I got the stuff about Canada right - this is much more Hetalia-fic than based-in-RL-fic, obviously, playing up the Alfred-and-Matthew-are-twins angle because I looove twin-stories. Hope you guys enjoyed it even with me playing fast and loose with actual events.