Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Our minds are usually full of our own private thoughts about ourselves, our surroundings, our motives, our morals, our goals, and pretty much our whole lives in general. Throughout each day, we think and analyze various different aspects of our lives consciously, subconsciously, and unconsciously. Our minds basically consist of a bunch of puzzle pieces to the complex experiences that we live and endure. So if one were able to read your mind, it would probably result in a more difficult task than one might expect.
Arthur had been reading minds for as long as he could remember. He had no knowledge of how or why this unnatural ability was given to him, but that lack of information did not stop him from using his power to his advantage.
Throughout the years, Arthur used his mind reading capabilities for simply observational purposes. He enjoyed learning about others through their internal thoughts and feelings rather than going through the lengthy process of building relationships in order to pull and pry out any valid and reliable information about the person.
He usually preferred to read the same minds, as opposed to reading new, random minds because the more he read, the more puzzle pieces he obtained. Arthur considered mind reading to be a complex skill, for it took him a lot of practice and focus to be able to easily differentiate between conscious thinking and unconscious thinking, the latter consisting of the more insignificant thoughts, or pieces belonging to a different puzzle.
Arthur usually carried out his hobby at a small cafe nearby his home that specialized in catering to various different cuisines from around the world. This offered him an opportunity to read the lives of numerous different nationalities, and to get a different perspective on life in general.
He was sitting there now at a small table in the corner of the cafe, a cup of hot tea in his hands. The sweet smell of the drink reached his nose, accompanied by the rhythmic tapping of raindrops on the window beside him. The heat from his cup warmed his cold hands instantly, removing all the dreary feelings of winter.
Any other person would probably notice these smells and sounds, and they might even take some time to think about it, but not Arthur. His thoughts were filled with other, more important things, as in other people's thoughts.
Before he could even consciously process the sweet smelling tea in his hands, his mind was already at work reading about the busy schedule that the German man sitting a few tables away was stressing out about. Arthur had not learned his name yet, even though the German man had been coming to this cafe for about two months already. But despite the lack of a name, Arthur had learned a lot about this man's life, probably more than he ever could by just talking to him.
He had read about his managing job at a bank, and how he had an irritating Italian employee named Feliciano that never seemed to do his job right, but at the same time he couldn't find the means to let him go.
His work life made up his most dominant thoughts, but he had slipped in some personal information a few times, like the fact that he had a supposedly annoying brother named Gilbert who was struggling to make a life for himself, as he opted to stay with his brother instead of venturing out on his own. Then there was the bossy Austrian neighbor named Roderich who seemed to complain a lot and keep the German up at night when he decided to play his piano at random times in the middle of the night.
For the most part, Arthur could tell that the man had to put up with a lot of annoying people in his life, something that he did not envy in the slightest.
After silently invading the German man's privacy, Arthur shifted his attention towards the Spanish man a few tables down. He had learned the man's name was Antonio by reading through a flashback of a conversation he had had with someone named Lovino. Antonio's thoughts very much revolved around Lovino, and according to what he had read, Arthur could only assume that the two had a very rocky relationship.
Currently, Antonio's mind was pondering over whether he should buy Lovino a birthday present or not, though Arthur never got to hear the solution because his attention quickly shifted its focus to some other more interesting minds.
The morning passed by quickly, but Arthur barely noticed as he busied himself with the lives of others. He had learned that the Canadian man who always ordered his favorite breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup (which Arthur had learned was his favorite through reading his thoughts upon ordering), was tired of being unnoticed at school, and that the Japanese man who usually sat next to him with his favorite bowl of ramen (of which Arthur had learned through the same process as before), secretly wished that he could be more outgoing rather than shy and uncomfortable around other people.
He had amused himself with the Finnish man's conflicting thoughts on if he should confess his feelings to some Swedish guy named Berwald, only to afterwards become slightly traumatized by the Belarussian woman's rather disturbing thoughts on how she was willing to kill anyone who got close to her brother.
The day continued to go by as every other day, as Arthur absorbed more information about other people's problems and struggles, joys and pleasures, and pains and sorrows.
It was now close to evening, and Arthur was debating on who's mind he should intrude on. The cafe was mostly empty, and the only customers were new to Arthur which didn't necessarily appeal to him, as their minds were miles of undiscovered territory full of vast forests and valleys consisting of thousands of puzzle pieces pertaining to many different puzzles of which Arthur just didn't have the patience to sort and put together.
He had almost decided to just take a break for the day and go home, until a familiar face, or rather a familiar mind, suddenly entered the nearly empty cafe. He had only been coming for just about two weeks, but Arthur had surprisingly found his mind to be very interesting. His mind was different from the ones he usually read, and slightly more challenging, as his train of thought was no ordinary train, as it was more like a bullet train, speeding from one random station to the next as if it had forgotten the course it was meant to take.
But aside from the crazy thought processes, Arthur found that this might have been the first person that he had actually analyzed the exterior, as well as the interior, instead of just focusing on the internal like he usually did. It was rather strange because Arthur had little experience in noticing people's outward appearances, as well as deciphering people's facial expressions and body language. Arthur had never felt the need for that, as he found that the mind had a larger opening into the thoughts and feelings of others, but this time it was different.
He had learned that his name was apparently Alfred and he had recently moved here from the United States, but aside from that, Arthur could only pick up small bits of his life, as his thoughts were never quite consistent, and even sometimes contradicted each other.
This lead him to the much avoided method of observation, which was to simply just observe his appearance and gestures, and hopefully learn about him through that, which strangely enough, he did.
Alfred's daily cup of coffee gave him a strong feeling that the drink was a favorite of his, and the constant checking of his watch convinced him that he usually had somewhere to be afterwards. The slightly disheveled look of his clothing made Arthur believe that he had trouble waking up on time, but the vibrant and lively blue eyes behind his glasses hinted that he was awake and full of energy by now.
After attempting to make some observations the old fashioned way, Arthur tried again to once more gain some insight to Alfred's wild thoughts. His attempt was in vain though, as he still couldn't seem to find any connection between the American's various thoughts and emotions. Arthur was just about to give up when something in Alfred's mind suddenly caught his attention.
Having some trouble with my thoughts? It's not as easy as it is for others, isn't it?
As Arthur tried to make sense of Alfred's internal dialogue, the American man suddenly raised his eyes from his cup and fixed his gaze on Arthur, presuming the talking in his head.
Your mind is now finally empty of other people's thoughts. I was almost ready to believe that you really had no thoughts of your own.
Arthur still sat frozen, unable to confirm that what he was reading in the other's mind was actually directed at him. Feeling that he needed more proof, he decided to test it.
Are you reading my mind? Arthur thought as clearly as he could. Surprisingly, Alfred's thoughts activated right away.
Just as much as you're reading mine. Despite his attention being fully focused on Alfred's thoughts, Arthur didn't miss the knowing smirk that appeared on the American's face.
So you read minds too? Arthur asked with his thoughts, though it felt kind of strange to converse with someone through his mind.
Yes. I noticed you could as well when I first saw you here. Alfred answered back. I had attempted to read your mind, but I was unable to do so because you were so busy filling your mind with the thoughts of others.
I guess I do that a lot. Arthur admitted, and though he hadn't needed to speak it out loud, he still felt himself slightly embarrassed from the confession. I found difficulty with reading your mind too, though. You have a very confusing thought process.
Alfred then suddenly laughed, and much to Arthur's surprise, the American stood up and sat himself down across the table from Arthur. He then began to reply to Arthur's statement, though not with his mind, but with his voice.
"I don't usually think like that. I just wanted to mess with you, so I purposely tried to think of the most randomest things in the most weirdest order to confuse you, and I think it worked."
Arthur wasn't sure how he thought about that, but he had to admit that the American had fooled him.
"You just thought that I fooled you pretty good." Alfred commented.
Arthur gasped slightly, he had almost forgotten that Alfred could read his thoughts. It was strange being on the receiving end for once, though he wasn't quite sure he liked it.
"Maybe we should stop intruding on each other's thoughts for now, and just get to know each other like everyone else does." Arthur suggested, though he had never though he would have ever considered it.
"Sure thing." Alfred agreed. "Hey, did you by any chance read the Chinese guy's thoughts about he was afraid that this guy's sister was going to murder him?"
And with that, the conversation shifted to the two revealing all the pieces of information they had collected throughout their mind reading days, occasionally finding pieces that fit together, and thus revealing more of the puzzles they were trying to build.
It was definitely a change of pace for Arthur, but it was a good change. It told him that there were other ways to learn about people, and that mind reading wasn't the only option.
But even though Arthur had learned that valuable lesson, the ability to intrude on others' private thoughts was something that was hard to completely ignore.
"Hey, Alfred." Arthur asked, as something came up in his mind. "Have you ever read the mind of that Russian man who usually comes here?"
Arthur didn't need to read Alfred's thoughts to see how uncomfortable he was with the mention of the Russian.
"Unfortunately, yes." Alfred replied. "But I can assure you that I am never going back in there ever again!"
Yet, perhaps there were some minds that he could resist the temptation to take a peak.
This was the result of a prompt I read about mind reading. I thought it was a cool idea, I just wasn't quite sure how to write it, so I hope I did it justice with this .
I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me what you think by reviewing because unlike these guys, I don't read minds!
Thanks for reading !