DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters. See end for Author's notes.
Their family dynamic was a confusing one. In total Alfred had five brothers- more accurately one brother, and four half-brothers. Their mom was English, as was the father of the eldest, four boys. They got married young and divorced after their fourth child. She then met a young American man, stationed at the U.S. Embassy in London, and remarried within three years. After having two sons of their own, the couple moved back to the States, and the rest was history. Or at least it should've been.
Alfred had pretty much disassociated himself completely with anything relating to his family in England. When history teachers fawned over how he was 'technically' an immigrant, he claimed that his dad was American, therefore he was American, when peers ogled at how cool it was that he had British brothers he rolled his eyes, when kids in the hall greeted him with "ello govna" in an accent that would probably get them beat up anywhere in England, he coldly ignored them. He wasn't a Kirkland, he wasn't British, he was Alfred Jones, an American.
Alfred had spent approximately one year in London before his family (or at least his actual family) moved to Massachusetts. Matthew was three at the time and had already succeeded in enchanting his older brothers, while Alfred, to them, was merely the one who took their mother away. On top of that, he rarely saw them. After his departure from England, Arthur and Dylan he saw about twice a year, while Allister and Seamus (having been practically adults while he was a kid) he had met only about five or six times, until present. Thus, his less than brotherly relationship with them- when he did see them, he was antagonized at worst, ignored at best. This made his current situation suck even more than it already did.
He was itching to get out of the uncomfortable seat of the plane, where was he currently seated next to Seamus. The aircraft had landed, so he didn't understand why he had to wait in this limbo while they did whatever it was they were doing. At this exact moment, though, he was pretending to be asleep with headphones on, while listening in on his 30-year-old brother's phone call.
"We should be there within the hour, the plane just landed." He could he slight mumbling from the other end, but couldn't make out what the person was saying.
"Not well, the boy has still barely said a word and it's been nearly a month." From the one end he could hear, though, he had pretty much grasped who and what the conversation was about.
"Yeah… we can discuss it later, though. I think they're finally letting us off."
The red-headed brother nudged Alfred's shoulder, as the announcement was made that 'economy class could now exit the cabin'. The pair made their way through the various obstructions of the airport, before finally grabbing their luggage, and heading outside. They hailed a taxi (cab… this was London), loaded their items, and settled in, while Seamus gave the driver the desired address.
"Long day, aye?" Seamus asked. Alfred said nothing.
"Must be strange for ya, bein' back in London after all these years." The one thing pulling Alfred through was that he would get to see Matthew. They finally arrived at their destination, approximately forty minutes later. Alfred approached the house both hesitant and excited to see the people inside. Seamus, not far behind him, was the one who took the actual initiative to knock. Arthur answered, and Seamus into a hug, but Alfred pushed past before the greeting could be extended to him. He glanced around the tidy welcome area, semi-frantically, until he spotted a blonde head sitting in a chair in the next room. He made his way over as quick as he could, pulling Matthew into a hug before he could fully rise up to meet him.
"Alfred! How are you." Matthew said, pushing his brother out of their hug to look him over. He had dark circles under his duller-than-normal, blue eyes. His skin was paler, and his frame was thinner. Overall, though, Alfred was seemingly intact, which was all Matthew could really hope for.
The youngest brother just shrugged, with a solemn smile. Arthur and Seamus stood back, Arthur clearing his throat, to draw attention.
"Sorry to interrupt lads. Alfred, your room will be upstairs, second door on the left, if you'd like to get situated. I'll make some tea, and the four of us can catch up whenever you're ready." Alfred looked longingly at Matthew, a silent request for him to follow him upstairs. Matthew nodded politely at Arthur and obliged. The Alfred in front of him was not the Alfred he knew and loved, and that fact saddened him. It also made him determined to get the old Alfred back.
Hello guys! So as far as this story goes, the main characters will be Arthur and Alfred. The U.K. brothers (Wales, Scotland, and N. Ireland) along with Canada, will make frequent appearances. Other characters will pop in and out as well. As for the characters mentioned in this, aside from the obvious ones. None of the parents are based on any pre-existing Hetalia characters. Keep an eye out for the author's notes, though. I'll try to mention whenever I do base a character in the story off of a Nation. I'm also not planning on having any major pairings in this story. There will be a couple mentioned (pun unintended), but they're not significant. Sorry for anyone who likes romance.
It's been a while since I've written, but I've gotten back into lately, and I have a million-and-one idea. Along with this story (as far as Hetalia at least), I have an Amelia Jones Human AU in the works, along with a Cold War fic, and another historical fic as well. I also have a Sherlock story in the works and a Marvel-based plot that I'm currently developing. (I'll probably get even more Marvel ideas after Infinity War). Also, do not worry, I have not abandoned As One, I am currently rewriting it though. I probably won't be super active for next few weeks due to finals, but once summer comes around, expect a dumping.