Of Heroes and Families

Prologue:

Alfred renewed his passion for living when he was nine years old.

He'd been an angry child at that age and had just run away from home after a particularly nasty spat with his older brother and legal guardian. Ever since their parents passed away, the tension between the two had been rising. Although inside, he understood that his brother was trying his best to work out the kinks of their new lifestyle, patience had never been a strength of his. And with the two of them stressed out and on the edge, it was clear that they weren't going to resolve their problems any time soon.

As he made his way down the street, he heard a soft, troubled voice and decided to go see what the problem was. There was a little boy around his age, standing at the foot of a tree and looking up with tears in his eyes which were an odd shade of blue, a little closer to purple. Thinking back, he never could figure out what compelled him to approach the other boy…

"Hey, is something wrong?"

The blond turned to him and quickly wiped his tears away with his sleeves and nodded sadly, answering honestly, "o-oui…my bear…Ivan got it stuck in th-the tree. He didn't do it on purpose b-but…it was a present from papa and maman." He gave a soft sniffle and began fidgeting with the cuffs of his sleeves, "I really need a hero right now…"

From studying at the little French boy's attire, it was obvious that the child was well off or at least financially stable. Maybe it was the way the boy didn't seem to blame this 'Ivan' figure in the least for the predicament or his unrealistically childish wish for a hero to appear or even simply the way he was crying, but either way, Alfred rubbed the back of his head and looked up the tree where the stuffed bear was trapped for a moment before turning back to the other with a quiet offer, "I can get it down for you."

Widened violet eyes blinked, "p-pardon?"

He repeated himself, more confidently this time. "I'll get your bear down for you. I'm no hero but I'm really good at climbing trees. I'll get it for you, so stop crying, okay? Just wait here." Having given his bold little spiel, he reached up for the closest branch and pulled himself up and began climbing.

The blond hesitated before calling out softly, "Um, please be careful…"

"Don't worry, I will." Flushing slightly with pride at the fact that he was doing something that warranted the boy's concern. It wasn't even the highest tree he'd climbed. He quickly began scaling up the tree.

Once he was on the same branch as the little white bear, he reached over and freed it from the grasp of the tree. Looking down at the other below, he yelled out, "hey, kid! Catch!"

The boy immediately began scampering around beneath him, desperate to catch his toy as it fell. And though he half expected the child to thank him and run off, the other remained at the bottom of the tree, waiting for him. The second his feet touched the ground, the child ran over to him and gave him a surprisingly tight hug. He would've never suspected that those skinny limbs could be capable of such a grip. With a grip like that, how did the boy lose his bear in the first place? But the boy was smiling so brightly that he couldn't find it in him to comment on the other's grip. "T-thank you very much for rescuing my bear!" Then, clasping his hand lightly, the blond looked at him timidly, "Um…sorry, I don't know your name."

"Alfred."

The child smiled again, "Alfred, my name's Mathieu. It's very nice to meet you. W-would you mind coming with me?"

Not resisting the other's gentle tug, he asked Mathieu, "Where are we going?"

"To see maman and papa!"

Wordlessly, he followed the French boy down the block and into a house nearby.

Inside, they navigated through the house into the kitchen where a blond man with wavy hair and a light beard was standing and in the middle of preparing something. Once they stepped in, the man turned around with an easy smile on his lips and a spatula in his hands. His eyes, unlike his son's, were blue as they looked over at him. "Oh? You brought a friend home, mon cher?"

Mathieu shook his head to politely correct him, "no, papa, Alfred's more than a friend! He's my hero! He showed up just when I needed him most, just like in maman's stories!"

He could feel his cheeks flush in embarrassment at the compliment, but at the same time, it made him swell with pride inside.

Then a woman's voice came from behind, startling him. "What's this talk about heroes now, Mathieu?"

The boy turned around and beamed at the lady while still holding onto his hand. Ah, so that's where he got that shade of purple from. "Maman! This is Alfred! He saved Kuma, Kuma…"

" I'll never understand why you chose such a difficult name for the bear. It's Kumajirou, mon cher."

"Oui! Alf saved Kumajirou!"

The boy's father laughed, "Well, a hero certainly deserves a reward. Would you like a snack, Alfred?"

The brunette studied the boys as she ran a hand through her ponytail with a slight frown on her lips. "Hold on a second, Francis. Mathieu, does Alfred's papa or maman know he's here?"

The blond paused hesitantly before replying a bit guiltily, "no…I don't think so."

Alfred quickly stepped forward, "that's okay though! I'm running away from home right now anyways."

The adults exchanged looks between themselves. Then Francis offered him a cupcake and asked gently, "Now why would a hero like you be running away from home?"

He accepted the treat and took a bite, "because Artie's being mean. He's a stupid brother. This is really good, mister! He doesn't need me around anyways and I don't need him either so I decided to run away. Ever since mum and dad went away, he's been really cranky all the time. He's no fun anymore! He's always upset with me and I…I…" he gave a sniffle and held back his tears.

The lady raised a brow before pulling out a chair while the man picked Mathieu up. She knelt down and cupped his face gently, just like his own mother used to do. "Mon cher, here, take a seat. You don't have to keep it in, alright? You poor thing. You must've been keeping this to yourself for such a long time now. Come, you can tell us if something's bothering you, Alfred."

Looking at the woman, he could feel tears stinging at his eyes as the woman pulled him into a hug. He could smell the smell of her perfume as he sat there; it was so different from what his mother used to wear which only made his tears spill over. "I-I miss mum and dad! Artie doesn't have time for me anymore! He's always out working or talking to lawyers or studying! We never get to play and he's always tired! I don't want to go home! I want mum and dad to come back so things can be like they used to!"

The brunette merely held him tighter. But then after awhile, she loosened her grip and looked at him warmly, "It's alright, mon cher, you can cry. This must've been so hard on you, but you'll have to go home to your brother eventually."

His head snapped up in protest, feeling betrayed, "Why?"

The man ran a hand through his hair soothingly, "because your brother must be worried sick about you. Maybe you don't want to hear this from us right now, but you wouldn't want to leave him all alone, would you? Alfred, without you, would your brother have anyone else?"

Sullenly, he shook his head. The idea of leaving Arthur on his own unsettled him and filled him with guilt. "No…"

"Alf."

Still teary eyed, he looked at the other boy who was a stranger a mere half an hour ago, "what is it, Mattie?"

The Frenchman set the boy down onto the ground. Mathieu smiled as he looked up at him, "I-if you ever want to play with someone, you can come find me, papa, and maman! We'll be here so if you ever need us, just come here! Papa makes really tasty snacks and maman tells the best stories! Alf can come here whenever he wants, right, papa?"

Francis nodded proudly, "Oui, that's exactly right, mon petit. Very nicely said, you must get it from your maman."

The brunette laughed and let go of him in favour of getting up and linking arms with her husband, "What are you talking about, Francis? You're the sweet talker in this family, if anything Mathieu gets it from you. Now Alfred, are you feeling better?"

He nodded, "yes…sorry and thank you…"

"None of that now, mon cher, we should be thanking you for saving Mathieu's bear."

The woman stood there with an authoritative air about her, as though a decision had been made. "Alright, so here's what we're going to do. You'll give us your brother's number so we can tell him where you're at and that you're alright. And then Francis will give you two a plate of snacks to eat while you go play in the living room. Does that sound like a good plan to you, Alfred?"

Wiping his tears away, he couldn't help but smile, "Yes, ma'am!"

"D'accord, Mathieu ?"

"Oui, maman! Merci beacoup!"

She smiled and ruffled the blonde's hair. "De rien, mon cher. Now go play with your hero, alright? What you both need right now is a little fun. We'll come join you once we give Alfred's brother a call and your papa has finished with his newest masterpiece."

The Frenchman leaned down and placed a kiss on his son's head, "you two can be the first to try my new dish, so go play and make sure you work up an appetite, d'accord ?"

"D'accord !"

In his eyes, they were the perfect family.

But that had all been over 10 years ago…

Nya~

Nothing like summer school and being stuck in one place to get my creative juices flowing! I'm so sad that I have to take courses during the summer! But I guess it'll work itself out. So here's a new, rather serious fic! All characters in Hetalia just work so well for serious fics, I don't even know why. And as always, sorry for the absolute crap summary! Here's the new North American brothers-centric fic! Thanks for reading and as always, thanks in advance for your support! Enjoy!