Chapter 1: Too tired
Alfred awoke cold. He attempted to pull his covers up and arms tight, only to find them damp, sticky, and entirely unbearable under so many layers. Sighing in resignation, without hesitation, he willed himself up and out of them. By now he was already cold, so there was no reason to stay in the warmth of his bed any longer. After rubbing his eyes, the blonde checked the cheap digital clock on his nightstand. The red 4:05 sent waves of dread throughout him and made his whole body droop already in exhaustion. Out of luck, and sleep, a warm shower seemed his best option at this point. Hopefully his tiredness would wash off along with the remnants of his reoccurring dream.
"Hey Alfred, I made pancakes if you want any!" a voice said, attempting to shout and barely reaching regular volume. Alfred himself barely heard, setting the last of his work and notebooks into his bag. Waking up so much earlier had left him groggy and forgetful; this was already the fifth time he had put those papers into the bag. Just after stuffing in his toothbrush.
"Comin' Mattie!" he called. Slinging the navy blue and ripping bag over his shoulder, he trudged downstairs and threw it beside the door to his right, across from Matthew's own red one. Entering the kitchen, he readjusted his glasses and drooled over the enormous stacks of breakfast food on the table. Piles of bright yellow eggs and round sausage patties took up the first dish. The next one held stacks of bacon and various fruit options, all carved with imperfections. Last was an enormous tower of fluffy flapjacks threatening to tip over the salt and pepper shakers and onto the wooden floor. He silently thanked god he was so lucky to have a brother good at cooking, even if most of it was for his father who would wake up much later for a gig at a construction firm.
"I think I made a bit too much," Matthew said, holding his pancake batter ladle timidly. Alfred brushed his remark aside with a flap of his hand, joyfully beaming that his brother was a morning person unlike himself and had an unhealthy knack for pancakes.
"It's cool bro, just means more for me!" he comforted him and immediately dug in, scooping mountains from every dish onto a much too small beige plate. Matthew hid a grin as he set the ladle down.
"Sorry the plates are so small, probably should have used the dinner ones considering your appetite, eh?" Matthew joked back. He undid the clatter of dishes and swiftly put them away before helping himself. His portions were considerably smaller; not including the pancakes. By the time both of them were done eating, half the food was gone. Glancing to the fruit and then meat, Matthew piped up delicately, "I made bacon and sausage because I couldn't remember which one you liked better." Alfred frowned but quickly enough replied,
"Aw thanks bro! But just so you know, it's gotta be bacon for sure! It's some sort of holy food, I'm telling ya, " he paused to take a bite. "Geez, I really missed your pancakes these past five years..," Alfred said fondly with his mouth full. Matthew stiffened slightly, only to hurriedly relaxed. Not noticing, Alfred grabbed the syrup and smothered everything with it in gobs. Just after placing it down, he squinted his eyes at the label. "Real Canadian syrup, huh. No wonder," and finished their quick exchange.
The following few minutes were spent in unbearable silence, only supplied with the clanking of their silverware and cups. You know, the kind of quietness when you're nervous and make your fork and plate clatter together and it really feels like you might have dropped a bomb; or maybe when you laugh as the whole room goes silent and the sound resounds along with your thoughts describing the gravity of your mistake. That kind of silence. Most days went like this. Matthew stood up slowly and unsurely.
"Well, I'm going to go now. I'll see you a little later tonight since I've got extra classes… Anyway, I think dad is making hamburgers."
"Awesome! Sounds cool bro, guess I'll see ya tonight!" Alfred said, leaving his brother to scamper out in a flash, taking his bag, polar bear charm and all, with him.
Watching the door slam shut, Alfred let out a breath of relief.
It's another Gakuen Hetalia type fic with my own twist (not my own characters sadly)
If some of the characters seem OOC, first let them ease in and start to reveal their personalities and reasons behind the weird acting
I'm planning on this being my first really, really long multi-chapter fic, so good luck to us all and if I'm not updating or the plot gets stupid or I change parts, respond nicely cause I'm just writing for fun
Thanks and happy reading