Arthur remained in his home, reading a Sherlock Holmes novel while curling up on his couch, having nothing else to do that day. Winter was just about there. The weather people predicted that the next day the first snow will fall by nighttime. Arthur didn't care for the winter much, but he was used to it. He didn't like the reckless drivers at that time of year, how icy the sidewalks were, and the dreaded driveway shoveling that was always inevitable. Avoiding all that, at least for the moment, he read.

He was about finished with the final chapter when his telephone's shrill ring broke the calm in his living room. Feeling his eye twitch ever so slightly, he trudged over to the phone that remained at the other side of the room.

"'Ello?" he asked into the receiver, his annoyance creeping into his tone.

"Pardon me, Arthur-san. It's Kiku," the calm voice said from the end of the line.

"Oh, I see. Why did you call?"

"Well, Alfred-san was supposed to come over today. We were going to an anime convention, but he never showed. I've been waiting for him to arrive for over an hour now. I guess what I'm getting at is, I was wondering if you knew where he was."

"Sorry, but I don't know where he is. Didn't you try his cellphone?"

"Yes, but there wasn't an answer."

"He's probably driving right now. I'm sure he'll be there soon, Kiku."

"But he's never been late to see me. Believe it or not… I'm a bit worried, Arthur-san," Kiku said, concern sneaking into his voice. Arthur did find it a shock. Out of all the people he knew, Kiku was the calmest person he knew; only on very rare occasions had he seen the man worried.

"Oh," England said, not knowing what else to say. If Kiku was concerned, then he certainly had a good reason, which wasn't exactly a good thing. "I could… uh… check his place out. Like I said though, I'm sure he's on his way. I'll call you once I get to Alfred's home, okay?" There was silence on the other end for a moment.

"Thank you, Arthur-san."

"I have a quick question though. Why did you call me? And you know, not someone else?"

"Do you even have to ask? You've got to be the closest person to Alfred-san in the world, and I can tell you both care about each other." Arthur felt heat rise into his face.

"I'll call you later," he said hurried responded before setting the receiver back onto its base. Was the Brit's feelings towards the obnoxious American that obvious? He supposed it was, after looking at it in hind sight. They did spend a good amount of their time together, and they did live with one another for a period of time. Even though the two men's relationship could be viewed as a brotherly one, since Arthur did take care of Alfred, Arthur became attracted to the younger blonde. Yeah, he was annoying at times, and he may have idiotic ideas, but he really is a good person.

Arthur kept his eyes focused on the road ahead of him as he drove towards the American's home. As he thought about it, Alfred was never seriously late for anything. The longest he was late to anything was around five minutes. An hour is a large leap from a matter of minutes.

"Don't let your mind go down that road, man. A-anything could have happened. Maybe he had a flat tire… or something," Arthur tried to assure himself, though doing little good for his now elevated worry. He always thought of worse-case scenarios before thinking realistically, which was never very helpful. In attempts to shake off his worry and to relax himself a bit, he slid in one of his Beetle's CDs into the console of his car, and so he let his mind dance with the lyrics.

"Git! You here?" Arthur shouted as he pounded his fist on the front door of Alfred's home. There wasn't a response. "You're late to go to that convention or whatever with Kiku, y'know," he growled. He stopped knocking to listen for a response. The only reply was a gust of chilled air blowing against the Brit's back. Arthur tried looking through the front window, but couldn't see anyone or anything. "I'm coming in Alfred!" he warned before opening the wooden door, letting it swing wide open.

Arthur quickly peered inside the house, scanning the interior of the living room before cautiously stepping inside. Everything in the room was clean, for the most part. A couple of comic books were scattered on the coffee table, and one remained open on the cushioned chair that sat next to the far wall. England continued to make a sweep through the house, looking for anything off. Absolutely nothing struck him as odd. Not a thing in that house was different than it ever was. Not feeling a bit assured, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Kiku.

"Arthur-san?" the panicked voice on the other end asked.

"Yes, it's me Kiku. I'm at Alfred's place," Arthur said, still ever-so-slightly taken aback by the calmer nation's tone.

"Is he there?"

"N-no. Everything's in order here. Did you try his cell again?" The Brit asked, trying to keep his voice going at a relaxed pace.

"Multiple times," Kiku replied instantly, "Oh dear. What do you think is going on?" Arthur paused to think as he gazed out the clear front window, watching scraggly twigs blow in the wind.

"I don't know, Kiku. I don't know."

Dun du da! Yes, the beginning of my Hetalia fan fiction has begun! It's kind of boring, but in the next couple of chapters it'll get better, and parts will be longer. It might take me time to get updates out, do to school and all that other good crap, so yeah. Please review if you enjoyed and would like to help me out in writing better and what not :) Talk to you people soon!