The Strong and the Silent (Yandere America x Reader x Yandere Canada)

Prologue

"I'm so sorry!" you yelled as quietly as possible.

You were in a library after all.

The poor blond boy in front of you had hot coffee rolling down his front shirt. Great way to start your first day at work. Just wonderful. You had always expected that the move to Canada would be strenuous, but you had really hoped work drama would not be a reason why.

"It's fine! It's fine!" the boy said, though he looked like he was in pain.

"No, it's not!" you said, "I am so sorry! I can buy you a new one. I guess I just didn't see you there!"

A blush spread on both of your faces, and he looked downcast yet a bit understanding.

"It's ok," he said, "Not many people do."

He said it in a way so despondently yet casually, you felt an even deeper guilt. What was wrong with you, saying something like that?

"Hey," you said, "How about I take you to lunch? My treat. To make up for what happened."

"No, you don't have to-" he started.

"Please?" you said, "Let me do something for you. It would make me feel so much better about it."

He paused for a few seconds before nodding. It was as if he were weighting if the time it took to ease your conscious would be worth it, as well as a free lunch.

"Sure," he said, "Why not?"

***

You sat together in an awkward silence eating McDonald's together.

"Yeah um... sorry about earlier," you said.

"No, it's ok," he said, "Like I said, people tend to do stuff like that a lot."

He shrugged.

Do stuff like that a lot? you wondered. Maybe he was an intern. Or a middle child. Neither got very much attention.

"No big deal," he said.

"No big deal?" you said in disgust, "It is a big deal! We're people, aren't we? We all need love and attention to go on through our lives. I mean, I'd shrivel up and die if I was ignored all the time..."

Your statement died into an awkward silence as he stared at you strangely. You felt like you had said something wrong, but you weren't sure what.

"So..." he eventually said, "You been working there long?"

"Just a week," you said, "I moved from America a month ago."

"Oh, neat," he said, "I could tell you were new. I go to the library often and didn't recognize you... So, could I ask you something?"

"Sure," you said.

He grinned at you a bit mischievously before asking, "Do you like Canada or America better?"

"Um..." you said, thinking, "Well, Canada has some really fancy cities, but America has some really nice, quiet country side that I like... I think I like them both in their own way."

He nodded, still grinning.

"Man," he said, "It's kind of hard for me to imagine America being quiet..."

"Yeah... It can be quiet," you said, "But only if you're in the middle of nowhere."

You folded up your sandwich wrapper and stood up.

"Anyway, I'm really, really sorry about what happened," you said again.

"It's fine," he said, "Really. Um... before you go..."

He stood up with you.

"My name's Matthew Williams. And you're...?"

"F/N. F/N L/N," you said, "You ever need anything at the library, don't hesitate to ask. And I will make sure I do it without ruining your clothes next time."

You both smiled sheepishly.

"Well, see you around," you said, waving before returning to your car.

***

"Hello!" you said, waving.

Matthew looked at you, a bit surprised.

"Oh, you noticed me," he said, smiling.

You blushed, wondering if this was a recall from last time he had come.

"Yep, sorry about last time," you said, trying to push down growing guilt.

"What? Oh, no!" he said, looking awkward, "It's fine. I just... Never mind."

There was a brief awkward silence.

"So, do ya'll need help finding anything today?" you asked.

"No," he said, "I'm good, thanks though!"

With that he walked out of sight and out of mind.

***

You didn't ignore him. Canada felt a swell of happiness every time he walked into the library. Whenever you were there, you saw him and waved before sheepishly

smiling. Sometimes, if you weren't busy, you would talk to him about what he was doing there.

Soon he started coming just to see you and more and more he was feigning the need for help finding something so that you would hang around him, though only for business reasons.

It was such a refreshment, though. No one ever seemed to notice him, especially the other countries. It was as if he didn't even exist to them, but you always noticed him. He even began to wonder if the first day he met you was a genuine mistake rather than not seeing him like the others. It was embarrassing to admit, but someone actually noticing him and talking to him on a regular basis was so nice, even if it was just average conversation, that it was causing him to feel affection for you.

You talked on about your pet hamster as you helped him find a book he had claimed he couldn't find, staring at your face as your E/C eyes flickering over the shelves.

Nothing in the world could take away this happiness, his happiness.

Or so he thought.

***

America threw some shampoo, clothes, and comic books into a suitcase before shoving it closed. It had been awhile since he had visited his brother. Yes, he was easy to forget. Yes, he talked too quiet half the time to be understood. Yes, he did tend to avoid America, but all of this didn't mean that America didn't try to force Canada to continue a relationship with him. Sure, things were strained, but it didn't mean it couldn't get better.

Besides, everyone was always insisting he needed to get out more. England, his neighbors, his own boss.

"Honestly, America, you need to do something about your immaturity," the President had said, "Why don't you travel a bit and get yourself a girlfriend? Get some worldly experience and then settle down with a good ol' American girl."

Now, America had protested a bit at first, especially to the latter, but now that he thought about it, neither sounded bad. He could use this as an excuse to bug England and Canada, as well as have a game fest with Japan. There was also the Russia trolling potential this request held. As for the latter, after thinking about it, America decided that every hero had his woman, right? Every chosen one his fair maiden, every knight his princess, and every super hero his damsel in distress. Why should he, hero of the nations, be any different? It was practically his duty to have a beautiful woman being loved and protected by him!

As America stepped off the plane, he thought of something. Should he have called his brother before coming over? Probably. Oh well. Might as well call him now.