Canada x Reader - Overburdened

    The smell of pancakes woke you up. Blinking the sleep away from your eyes, you glanced blearily around the room before your eyes landed on the clock. 6:00 am. You stood up, walking over to your closet to get some clothing before rushing to get into the shower. Your husband made pancakes!

    As soon as you finished, you took a step out of the shower, dressed in sweatpants and one of Matthew's sweaters. No meetings today! It was a day dedicated to paperwork. Jogging lightly down the stairs, you were met with the sight of Matthew in a suit as he finished putting the pancakes onto the table. He smiled at you and when he noticed his sweater on you, his smile widened.

    "Good morning." He said. His quiet voice was loud in the peaceful light of the morning sun. "Did you sleep well?"

    "I slept fine Mattie." You chuckled as you walked over to him. You could see the black beneath his eyes. "The question is did you sleep well?"

    "E-eh? What do you mean?" Matthew asked and you could tell the Canadian was trying to play innocent; something he could do very well. Too bad you knew better than that.

    "You know very well what I mean." You said, wagging a finger in his face, making him go cross-eyed as he watched your finger. "You were up before 6:00 am. I smelled your pancakes at that time and since you are already in a suit you must have woken up very early."

    "I couldn't sleep." Matthew said as he took your arm gently and led you to a chair before pulling it out. Of course he did. He was raised by Arthur Kirkland after all... And Francis Bonnefoy, but that's not important...At least at the moment it didn't.

    "What time did you sleep?" You pressed.

    "Are you hungry?" Matthew asked, skillfully maneuvering himself out of his tight situation. "I can make extra if you'd like more."

    "It's fine Mattie." You smiled before you noted the complete difference between your outfits. He was in a suit, complete with a tie and here you were in baggy clothing. "Honestly Matthew." You laughed. "I feel so under-dressed. Could you at least tell me if we were going to have a fancy breakfast before I get ready."

    "It's not fancy." Matthew protested.

    "You're in a suit." You deadpanned. "Your pancakes are good enough for a 5 star restaurant, you pulled my chair out for me like you do when we go out for dinner, and you're telling me that it's not fancy?"

    "Our house isn't a fancy place." Matthew offered weakly, cheeks beginning to gain a red tint before bursting into an explanation. "And I didn't mean to wear a suit to breakfast, I was just getting ready for work and I pulled out your chair because-"

    "It's okay Mattie, no need to explain." You laughed at his flushed face. Matthew grinned at you before digging into his breakfast, pouring a generous amount of maple syrup onto his breakfast and then offering it to you. You accepted it gratefully and poured some onto your own before placing it down.

    "Do you want coffee?" Matthew asked and you nodded.

    "I can get it myself." You said but Matthew was already preparing you one.

    "I'm guessing that you don't have a meeting today?" Matthew inquired as he turned around and leaned back against the counter of the kitchen.

    "Amazing, you must be a fortune teller." You joked, well aware that he could tell by your informal clothing. "And you?"

    "No, no meetings." Matthew replied, pulling on his tie slightly. "Just a day filled with paperwork. Oh and I have to work on the big presentation I have to give." 

    "The one you've been working on for a week and a half now?" You asked as Matthew handed your coffee to you. He nodded.

    "Yeah. That one." He sighed as he sat back down. There were dark circles beneath his eyes which brought you back to the topic of how much sleep he got.

    "Did you get enough sleep?" You asked again and he shrugged.

    "I got enough sleep." He said, but you were suspicious.

    "Then what about the dark circles beneath your eyes?" You asked. Matthew tensed up slightly before smiling at you.

    "What dark circles?" He asked.

    "Those ones!" You said, pointing and he shook his head.

    "You must be tired." He tried. "You're starting to see things. Take a day off or something."

    "I'm not buying it Matthew Williams." You said, raising an eyebrow. 

    "What time did you sleep?" He asked.

    "Earlier than you." You retorted. "How about you?" Matthew shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Mattie." You warned. There was a silence as Matthew weighed his options, meanwhile you were suddenly aware of how cold the house was. It was beginning to get to you despite Mattie's warm hoodie and you shivered.

    "Is it too cold in here?" He asked, violet eyes glinting with worry, all thoughts of sleep gone. "Should I turn up the heat? Or do you want me to get you some blankets? Are you getting sick?" At that moment he stood up, putting a hand on your forehead.

    "I'm not sick. I'm just cold." You said. "I'll go get some more blankets."

    "I can do it." Matthew said as he walked upstairs.

    "Mattie! I'm not injured you know! I can walk myself." You protested but Matthew payed you no attention. He came back with multiple blankets and opened them for you. He then proceeded to place them around your shoulders.

    "Do you need more?" He asked, ready to go upstairs to get some more.

    "Honestly Matt." You grinned, pulling him down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm used to the Canadian winters after being married to you for so long. I'll be fine." Matthew frowned but still attempted to get you warmer by wrapping your blankets around you tighter.

    "I'll go turn on the heat as well." Your husband muttered as he left to do exactly what he said he would. He was still convinced that you were going to get sick despite your protests. You glanced at the time. It was only 6:30 am.

    "What time will you be going to work?" You asked when he came back. He brushed aside some of his blonde locks away from his face before smiling that sweet smile of his.

    "In ten more minutes, ma chère." Matthew said. He took a bite of his pancakes. "I might not be able to come home until late tonight." He added. "I don't know how long my boss wants me to stay there." You sighed, nodding.

    "Alright, I get it." You muttered. You tugged the blankets tighter around you. Peaceful silence settled in and made its home in your house as it often did. Matthew had that kind of air around him; an aura of tranquility. Even when Mattie spoke, it only seemed to reinforce that aura rather than break it like Arthur's or Francis. Or your own.

    "(F/n)." Matthew sighed. "That means you can't stay up late for me. You need sleep too."

    "Maybe I have paperwork." You retorted. "That's an actual reason to stay up late."

    "Or a good excuse." Matthew replied, quirking an eyebrow. "Don't think I didn't notice you do that a few days ago. Remember? When you finished all your paperwork and you just pretended to work because I was still working?"

    "I'll stay up for you, don't worry." You smirked. "It's not like you can make me sleep when you aren't home yet."

    "I'll get Arthur to call out and do that." Your Canadian husband warned. "Or Francis. They'll make sure you go to sleep."

    "There is a five hour difference between London, England and Ottawa, Canada." You said. "If you call them around, let's say 10 at night to ask them to make sure I sleep, it would be 3 in the morning in England and Arthur will be very cranky. And there's also a 6 hour difference between Paris, France and Ottawa, Canada and you know, Francis needs his beauty sleep." You teased.

    "I'll get Alfred to call you if nothing else." Matthew warned. "We all know how messed up his sleeping schedule is. And I'll tell Arthur and Francis to call you as soon they can." Your brother-in-laws, especially Arthur, could be very very intimidating when they were set on something.

    "W-well, Alfred, Arthur and Francis c-couldn't possibly bother themselves with something as trivial as me." You argued, stumbling over words as you tried to convince yourself as well as Mattie. You really hoped you were right, the last time Arthur called you about something like that...However the two others you didn't mind as much.

    Francis was usually more easy going than Arthur and Alfred. On something like this that didn't put your life in danger, he would probably only warn you and then threaten you with Alfred and Arthur calling you. Alfred really couldn't judge you since he stayed up late for reasons that were less reasonable than yours. However, when he wanted to be, he could be very intimidating and that combined with his determination could be scary. Then there was Arthur... You shivered again at the thought of the Brit's lectures.

    You winced slightly as you waited for the onslaught of 'Should I turn the heat up higher?' or 'Do you need more blankets?' from your husband as he usually did during winters. He hated seeing you sick, however there was only a tense silence and for a second you thought you had angered him for some unknown reason. His eyes had hardened and he looked at you with those violet eyes of his.

    That was a look you only ever saw on him on hockey night. You had seen Matthew mad before and even had been on the receiving end of it. It wasn't something you wanted to experience again if you could avoid it. You opened your mouth to say something but was interrupted by your husband.

    "Did you just call yourself 'trivial'?" Matthew asked. His quiet voice had somehow become like a piercing knife. 

    "Are you alright Mattie?" You asked, playing around with the blanket wrapped around you as you fidgeted under his intense gaze. Why in the world was he getting worked up about that small word?

    "Did someone tell you that you weren't that important?" Matthew ignored your question. "B-because I swear if they did, I'll sic Arthur, Francis and Alfred on them. I-I'll even get my hockey stick out!" So that's what it was about. You remembered that time when one of the other countries told you that your opinion wasn't as important as theirs because you weren't "strong enough" therefore you were "not important". The poor person dealt with the consequences soon after. Matthew didn't appreciate the comment and despite his seemingly invisible presence, he managed to gain their attention with the help of Alfred, Arthur and Francis, who were less than pleased with what was being said about their sister-in-law.

    "No Matthew. The thing is that I don't want to bother Alfred, Arthur or Francis. If they have as much work as you do," You began, in an attempt to calm him down.

    "Okay, but if anyone tells you that you aren't important, tell me and I-I'll do something about it." You reached over and grasped his hand before smiling.

    "Yeah okay, thanks Matt." You grinned slightly which he returned with a small smile. "Anyways, where is Kumajirou?"

    "Kumajumbo is outside." Matthew said, that soft smile returning to his face, but you could see the uncertainty in his eyes. "Do you want him to stay home with you today?"

    "Oh, it's alright Mattie unless you'd like to leave him here." You doubted that though. He loved bringing that adorable, cuddly, fluffy, baby polar bear everywhere.

    "Alright." He said. "I'll go get him when I leave. Which would be now, I suppose." He glanced at the clock before nodding in agreement to his previous statement. You stood up at the same time he did, grasping his briefcase for him and carrying it to the door. He grabbed his jacket and his hat before wrapping a scarf around his neck. He then put on some gloves before taking the briefcase from your hands.

    "Merci." He said, placing a kiss on your cheek. "Take care and stay warm. Go ahead and turn up the heat if you need it, you'll get sick if you don't stay warm."

    "Yeah, okay." You muttered. "Take care. Be careful, the roads are slippery." No matter how many times Matthew had assured you that he was excellent at navigating the slippery, icy roads of Canada, you still felt the need to say that to him.

    "Alright." He said, opening the door. Immediately, snow drifted into the house. You leaned against the door frame, watching him.

    "Who are you?" Kumajirou asked, looking up at him with innocent brown eyes.

    "I'm Canada." Matthew replied, the smile never left his face. However, you could tell that he was slightly irked if not a bit sad that one of his oldest friends did not remember him.

    "Good luck Mattie." You called out and he turned, surprised that you were still outside.

    "(F/n)!" He said. "Go inside! You'll get sick!"

    "I wanted to say hi to Kuma." You grinned, waving at the bear who looked at you quizzically before looking up at his master.

    "Who is she?"

    "That's (C/n)." The personification of Canada sighed, leaning down to scoop him up. "Don't wait up tonight, alright (F/n)?" You nodded, although you could tell that he didn't believe you. 

    "Sure." You said, but you didn't plan on keeping it. He gave you one last smile He then entered his car and drove off, waving at you one last time. You sighed and closed the door. Breakfast seemed less appealing without Matthew. You quickly finished your pancakes and washed the dishes. You then decided to give the house a cleaning, after all, the longer you took on your paperwork, the more reason you have to stay up late. You weren't technically lying.

    Haha, take that Matthew. You thought with a smirk. Arthur, Alfred and Francis can't say anything now since I would be telling the truth that I still have paperwork.

    After a few hours of cleaning, watching TV and being downright lazy, you were interrupted by the phone. You picked it up.

    "Hello?" You asked.

    "Are you working on your paperwork yet ma belle-soeur?" Francis' voice came through the phone. You checked your clock. It was around eight in the morning here, therefore two in the afternoon over there.

    "Shouldn't you be working?" You asked, trying to buy some more time to mentally prepare yourself for an onslaught of orders from your fellow brother-in-laws. If Matthew has called Francis, then that means Arthur and Alfred would have been telephoned as well.

    "Oui." Francis replied. "But when I heard from mon petit frère that ma belle-soeur might be purposely holding off of her paperwork for Mathieu, he asked me to call you a few times throughout the day to make sure you stay healthy and do your job."

    "Yeah, yeah, yeah." You sighed. "Go back to work Francis, I'll go do my paperwork." Eventually. You added in your mind.

    "D'accord." You could hear the grin in his voice. "And then the moment you hang up, you won't, right?"

    "Well there isn't anything you can do to stop me." You admitted. Francis snorted.

    "Okay, well I tried to warn you." Francis said. "It's not my fault for what happens next." He was obviously referring to Alfred and Arthur. "Au revoir."

    "Yeah bye." You hung up and immediately went to your laptop. About 30 minutes later, you received a call from Alfred. You were expecting it now.

    "Yo dudette. You doin' your work yet?" He asked.

    "Why do you ask?" You replied. 

    "Because Mattie asked me to make sure you did your work!" The American laughed. "Frenchie already called you didn't he? Well you know what happens next. If you don't take this warning, the uptight Brit is going to call you."

    You snorted. "We both know Arthur is still going to call me no matter what to make sure I am doing my paperwork. You can tell him I'm doing housework." What a lie. You continued to surf the web. Alfred seemed to be very laid back today.

    "Alright, but the hero can't promise that he can keep Arthur from calling you." Alfred said.

    "I know, thanks Al." 

    "No prob. Do your paperwork! And if you don't want to deal with Arthur, just don't answer the phone when it's him!" Alfred let out a loud laugh before hanging up. You put down the phone and continued to go on random websites. Around twelve, you were now making lunch from (C/n) when you received a call. Throughout your morning, you had received three calls from Francis and two calls from Alfred. All they did was cheek on you to make sure you were doing your paperwork. You just lied about doing it but they obviously didn't believe you. So when you received the call, you assumed it was Alfred again. You made the mistake of picking up without look at the ID.

    "Hello?" You asked.

    "Good evening. Wait, it's afternoon over there, isn't it? Well then good afternoon, love." You blanched at the sound of your English brother-in-law. S**t. You should've checked the ID.

    "Arthur! What a surprise!" You laughed nervously, glancing around the room in an attempt to look for a polite excuse to get off the phone.

    "Not really, love. You knew this was coming." Arthur warned. "Francis and Alfred had already called you a few times. Matthew is still convinced that you aren't doing your work. So then, be honest dear, because I have Flying Mint Bunny that I can send over to check on you or the fairies." To be honest, you didn't believe in those, however, Arthur had that strange way of finding things out and you have experienced it before. You made the mistake of lying to him once and it ended in a very awkward way. A way which you did not wish to repeat.

    "Er, well, you see." You started, fidgeting uncomfortably. Even halfway across the world, you felt as if Arthur could scrutinize your very soul with those emerald eyes of his.

    "(F/n) Williams," Arthur warned, beginning to start his lecture. "Do you know how worried Matthew is about you? He's called Alfred, frog-face and I to make sure you take care of yourself." Your eyes widened. Arthur was using the guilt card, by the end of this phone call, you were going to end up doing your paperwork before you know it and you didn't want that.

    "Arthur-" You began in an attempt to stop him, but Arthur was already on a roll. 

    "You might think you're helping Matthew but in all honesty love, you're only adding more stress than he already has. I know you want to take care of him and make sure he comes home safe, however knowing you are up late at night and making yourself tired, he's more worried and rushes himself to get home faster. How do you think he feels?" Your stomach felt like it dropped a hundred feet. "And what's more, what if he rushes home and since the roads are slippery, he gets into an accident? Think about-"

    "Arthur, please stop." You said, feeling as if your stomach was twisting itself around in circles. Arthur had just said the one thing you were fearing the most. "I'll do my paperwork just no more lectures on this. Please tell Mattie that I'll do my paperwork and everything. I'll even sleep earlier if it helps him! I just don't want him to be more tired that he needs to be or more stressed. Oh my gosh, Arthur, that's what I've been doing for the last week or two; staying up late I mean. Have I just been adding to his stress?"

    "I'm afraid so, love." Arthur said from over the phone. Arthur has been known to be very honest when he needs to be, but he wasn't below lying. Although he believed that you deserved to know the consequences your actions probably had.

    "Alright." You muttered, standing up. "I'll go do my paperwork. I'll text Mattie that I'll finish my paperwork and everything so he doesn't have to worry about me staying up too late waiting for him."

    "I'll call him." Arthur promised. "So you just focus on getting your paperwork done and going to sleep early. Goodbye (F/n)."

    "Goodbye Arthur." You hung the phone up and immediately went to go do your paperwork.

Time skip to 11:00 at night

    Matthew Williams locked his car, holding his bear in one arm and his briefcase in the other. The snowstorm continued to rage as he entered the house as silently as possible. After receiving the call from Arthur, he felt more relaxed, knowing his wife would get the sleep she needed. However he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at the fact that you would not be there to greet him when he came home. The house was silent, there was no light on upstairs. The only light on downstairs was the lamp. He turned on the hallway light and went to place the sleeping polar bear onto the couch when he froze.

    There on the couch was (C/n) also known as (F/n) sleeping with a blanket covering most of her body. Even though you were trying to sleep earlier to prevent more stress on him, you still wanted to make sure he was alright. His entrance had caused you to stir. Your (e/c) eyes slid open as she sat up.

    "Mattie?" You muttered groggily. "You're home?" Matthew placed the bear on the armchair and knelt by you.

    "(F/n), why aren't you sleeping in our bed?" He asked with a slight frown as he caressed your cheek with a hand.

    "I couldn't sleep without knowing you came home safe." You muttered honestly as you placed your hand on top of his hand. "I couldn't help but think about how you were driving in the snowstorm." Matthew couldn't help but smile and pulled you in for a hug.

    "Ma chérie," Matthew said, his quiet voice being brought down to a quieter whisper if that was even possible. "You worry too much."

    "And you're stressed too much." You closed your tired eyes as you leaned into the hug. "Apparently it's going to be a blizzard tomorrow, can you stay home? Please?" Seeing you like this, Matthew couldn't help but give you his word that he would. 

    "I'm sure I'll be able to work from home tomorrow." Matthew said and you grinned. Even in your sleep-deprived state, you could still process that.

    "Thanks Matt." You closed your eyes. "G'night." He smiled, placing a kiss on your forehead.

    "Bonne nuit." He whispered before placing one arm beneath your knees and another on your back so that he could carry you to your room. He'd come back to carry Kumajirou to his own bed specifically for the polar bear cub later. The cub had his own room since Matthew married you. Matthew grimaced when he realized he still had paperwork to do. Oh well.

Time skip to the morning

    The arm around your waist tightened as Matthew mumbled something indiscernible. The phone downstairs continued to ring and you groaned, however you had gotten more sleep than Mattie. You tried to pry the Canadian off, but his grip on you was too strong.

    "Mattie." You muttered as you lightly shook him. "Mattie, the phone's ringing." Matthew groaned and released you.

    "If it's my work, tell them I'll be working from home." Matthew murmured. You placed your sock-covered feet onto the ground before making your way to the phone. You got there in time to pick it up.

    "Good morning?" You said, voice still raspy from still.

    "Good morning, is this Williams Residence?" The man asked.

    "Yes." You replied. "Are you calling for Mr. Matthew Williams?"

    "No, (F/n), it's (boss's name)." Your boss said, sounding slightly amused. "Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already after one day of no meetings." Immediately, you were wide awake.

    "Oh no." You checked the time. 8:00 am. "Oh I am so sorry, did I miss the meeting?"

    "No." Your boss said. "You are late for it though." You combed your fingers through your hair before sighing.

    "I am so sorry, I-" A warm arm wrapped itself around your waist.

    "Will not be able to attend. She's feeling slightly under the weather sir." Matthew said, his voice less raspy since he had drank some water before coming down. "I apologize for the inconvenience. It's winter here in Canada, eh? Colds, flu season, the normal."

    "Of course, I understand." Your boss replied. "Alright then, tell (F/n) that I hope she gets better."

    "I will." Matthew said, glancing over at you before smiling and hanging up. You crossed your arms.

    "Matthew Williams, you'd better have a good reason for doing that." You warned as you followed him up the stairs.

    "I just remembered as you answered the phone that I've already called my work early this morning." Matthew smiled softly. "I'm not going to work at all today, I'm going to take a rest. And I want to spend it with you. I-I hope you don't mind!" His violet eyes were wide with hope and you grinned.

    "How can I be upset with that? I get to spend a day in bed with my husband." You entered your room and immediately buried yourself in the warmth of your blankets, pulling Matthew with you. You wrapped your arms around him, sighing. There was a moment of silence before Matthew chuckled.

    "You know, we can take a shower before we go back to sleep." He said.

    "Why would I want to do that?" You groaned, trying to return to sleep.

    "Hygiene." Matthew said grinning, sitting up and fixing your gaze with his before giving you one of his rare smirks. "Et je pense que la douche va être très amusante si nous la faisons ensemble." You flushed a bright red. Well now this was one of those times that the fact that he was raised by Francis mattered.