A/N: My mother works closely with children with behavioral issues. One time she shared the story of a boy who thought he had 'superpowers' and showed another kid his super powers, thus getting sent home. It inspired me. I immediately thought of a Hetalia AU and this fic was born.
Arthur was not in a good mood. His presentation at the office had been a total disaster after one of his coworkers ('Stupid perverted Marianne…') ruined the whole thing with her god damned critiquing. Then, he had forgotten to schedule an important eye doctor's appointment for his son Alfred, and to top it all off, the school had called him a little while ago explaining that said son was being suspended and needed to be picked up immediately.
"For all the days you could've caused trouble, Alfred, it just had to be this lovely Tuesday afternoon…" He muttered crossly. Arriving at the building (which gave off an overly cheery vibe…), he parked his vehicle and stepped out into the cool February air.
Pushing open one of the double doors, Arthur was met with a perky, yet tired secretary sitting atop her desk chair and typing away merrily on her monitor. After signing in, Arthur stood, waiting to be addressed by the slightly frazzled looking woman. Her fingers darted skillfully across the keyboard; letters appearing quickly to form what he assumed was some official school document. For a few moments she did nothing, until Arthur decided to clear his throat awkwardly.
"Yes, uhm, excuse me Miss… Vandenberghe! I'm here to pick up my son Alfred. I got a call saying he was suspended…?" He raised an overly large eyebrow, trailing off as she looked at him in confusion. Suddenly, her eyes lit up in recognition as she scooted closer to shake his hand.
"Ahh yes! Great to see you again Arthur! Sorry about the wait. I was preparing for a meeting after school…" She chuckled apologetically.
"Not to worry…" Arthur said, slightly annoyed by her bubbly behavior. "So, can you perhaps call Alfred down now, or should I go get him?"
"Oh, no need! Just follow me. He's in Ms. Hedervary's room for 'disciplinary reasons'." Arthur quirked an eyebrow at this.
"… How bad was it?"
She turned and looked at him in seriousness.
"Pretty bad… I'll let Elizaveta tell you what happened." Arthur sighed and put a hand to his face. He was trying, he really was, but sometimes, Alfred was just a bit difficult to deal with.
He followed her down the hallway, past the lunchroom and kindergarten classrooms. Soon, they arrived at a heavy looking birch door with a steely silver handle. Pulling it open, the secretary stepped in. Arthur followed in slight hesitance.
"Hey, Elizaveta! Arthur is here to talk Alfred home." The blonde, busty woman then turned, saying goodbye to Arthur and then hurrying back down the hallway to resume her work. Around the corner, Arthur saw a fairly attractive brunette woman he'd become well acquainted with since the beginning of the year. She was distracted by a small child trying to look anywhere but at her as he melted under her close scrutiny. Thankfully, neither noticed Arthur watching carefully.
"Now, Alfred, listen to me. We do not throw people on the ground or call them 'damn commies.' Got it? 'Damn' is not a nice word, and pushing people isn't nice either."
"But Ms. Hedervary! I'm a superhero! Superheroes save people! He was being scary and scaring my friends!" The small blonde child said desperately, trying to make her see reason. It was to no avail.
Elizaveta sighed.
"Alfred, superheroes don't jumping on other children and knock them to the ground."
"But that's my superpower!"
"…"
"And he bit me! On the back!" Alfred cried. Elizaveta pinched the bridge of her nose.
"…"
"Plus, he's a damn commie bastard!"
"…"
"He was gonna hurt Mattie!"
"… You know what Alfred? I'm gonna take your superpowers away." Alfred gasped and looked her dead in the eye. Then, with all the seriousness that a five year old could muster, he asked;
"You're taking my superpowers… Away?!" His voice was soft and his eyes help a tragic expression.
"I'm afraid so, Alfred."
The child began to whimper.
"P-Please no Ms. Hedervary! No! Don' take my supahpowehhhhss!" He began to blubber. Arthur stepped forward from behind the corner and set a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder.
"Shhhh… Alfred, go stand outside for a minute alright lad?" He said gently, picking up the distraught child.
"Daddy? Why are you here?" He asked innocently.
"Because, my boy, I'm going to take you home early today." Excitement filled his face as the child's depressive tantrum completely morphed into ecstatic feelings. Arthur smiled slightly at his son's eagerness and set him down gently by the time-out chair near the door.
"Alright Alfred, just stay here for a little while. I'll be back within a few minute's time." Arthur turned away from the small boy who sat patiently, already awaiting his father's return.
Elizaveta stood in expectance by her desk.
"Well, hello again Mr. Kirkland. I'll just cut to the chase since you seemed to have heard most of it anyway…" Elizaveta saw the tired expression on his face and knew this news would do nothing to help his mood.
"At the kindergarten recess, Alfred was out and playing like all the other children until another boy his age, Ivan Braginsky, started bugging him and his friend Matthew. The recess supervisors claim Alfred offered to show Ivan his 'superpowers' before the incident occurred, and was refused. Now, I'm not sure of all the details, but some banter was exchanged that caused Alfred to pick Ivan up and throw him on the concrete… Where he proceeded to sit on Ivan." Elizaveta saw Arthur's incredulous expression.
"Ivan tried to get him off, but Alfred is… a bit heavy, I suppose. So, in retaliation Ivan bit him in the back and drew blood. So…yeah. They both had to go see the nurse before they saw me. Don't worry though, they've been properly bandaged. I do advise changing them once in a while though. Also, Ivan's older sister already took him home so you don't need to worry about being held at by some unhappy guardians or anything." Elizaveta paused and watched Arthur's face.
"Bloody hell… I'm so sorry about this mess Ms. Hedervary. We've been going to grief counseling since his mother died last summer, but recently he's been acting up more than usual…" Arthur shook his head, at a loss.
"Don't worry sir, we've been working closely with you son to help him increase his academic performance as well as monitor his behavior issues. Have you changed his meds recently? Maybe that could have something to do with it."
"No, the prescription is the same-"
Elizaveta cut him off. "Oh, and while we're on the subject, have you considered getting him tested for ADHD or ADD? I seriously recommend it."
"…Good to know." Arthur looked at her flatly.
He shook her hand and was led back to the door where Alfred had stayed, although not obediently in the chair. Arthur observed him in mild amusement as he followed a spider around on the floor, before glancing upwards to see his father.
"Daddy! Daddy! Guess what! I used my superpowers today!" Arthur shook his head, helping Alfred put on his small Teen Titans backpack. He grasped his hand firmly.
"Blimey, son… I heard about your, erm, 'superpowers'. Listen, Alfred we need to talk about some things when we get home…" He looked down at his oblivious son who was waving happily at the Belgian secretary as they stepped through the office waiting room.
A few minutes later he blinked, finally noticing his Father had directly spoken to him.
"What do we need to talk about daddy?"
"I just think we should review how we're supposed to generally treat people." Arthur couldn't really think of any other way to explain this.
'Damn. I wish you were still here, love. You were way better at explaining these things than I am.'
"But I treat everyone who is good, good!" Alfred insisted as they opened the door
"Yes, well I still need to clarify a few things." Arthur walked him through the gravel parking lot, Alfred skipping along by his side without a care in the world.
"I'm a superhero! Everything is super-duper clear to me! I gotta protect all my friends and take down the bad guys!" Alfred tripped, causing his t-shirt to lift up for a moment, allowing enough time for Arthur to spot the large bandaged area on his back. He turned away. 'I can't believe that other little wanker actually made him bleed…'
"Let me re-bandage that for you when we get home, okay lad?" He said, stepping over a puddle making itself at home in a greying pot hole.
"And don't splash in that!" He scolded Alfred, who was attempting to dip a toe into the said puddle.
"Don't worry Daddy, I'm okay! I'll heal real fast 'cause I'm a superhero! And icky puddle water won't get me dirty 'cause I have the power of repelling water too!" Arthur gently lifted the squirmy child up into his car seat before buckling him in.
"It's hard not to worry, Alfred. We aren't immune to everything you know."
"But, I'm a superhero, Daddy!"
Arthur paused and stared at his young son.
"Well, then could you be Daddy's hero for once and promise to stay safe and not get into anymore of this mischief you've been inept to avoiding?" Alfred was silent for a moment. Then, he grinned and flung his arms around Arthur's neck.
"Of course, Daddy! I'm a hero! I'll do anything for you 'cause I love you!" Arthur smiled at this, and leaned forward to kiss his son's forehead.
"I love you too, Alfred."
A/N: I am not accustomed to writing fluff. Or young children's mindsets... Especially children with behavioral issues, so I'm sorry if something in here is not to your liking. But I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! Btw, if you didn't figure it out, the secretary at the beginning is Belgium. My human name for her is Emma Vandenberghe. I have no idea who Alfred's dead mother is. Plz review! I have a ton of Hetalia fic ideas but very little time to write nowadays!
-With Love, from Rosemary ;)