Disclaimer: Yami Ryo does not own Axis Powers Hetalia.
Warning: Yaoi. Human names. CROSSDRESSING. Swears and crappy attempts at romance.
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Pairings: Romano/Alfred
Chapter Two: We Swallow Our Pain
Alfred kissed Matthew's forehead as the child slept on, smiling lovingly at the tiny child and gently caressing his hair. He brushed aside the single wild curl that absolutely refused to lay flat. He stood, tucking Matthew in and putting the book he had been reading to Matthew on the bedside table. He switched off the lamp, leaving on the little polar bear night light and left the room closing the door quietly behind himself.
Alfred walked down the hall, stopping in front of one of the doors and staring at it sadly for a few minutes before opening it and walking into the pitch-black room. He maneuvered the room easily, having memorized every inch of it in darkness from many months of routine. He reached the bed and crawled into it, snuggling into the body that was already laying in the bed. The body shifted and a familiar thin arm snaked around his waist.
"You were gone today..." A deep male voice said softly, sounding very confused.
"I got a job today. I'm sorry Daddy; I know you didn't want me to but I'm going back to school too. I promise." Alfred told his father, Arthur Kirkland.
"That's a good lad...I'm sorry I haven't gotten up today...The Flying Mint Bunny told me that if I got up, the bugs would start eating me again...I'll get up tomorrow." Arthur spoke softly, believing every word he said. Alfred's heart clenched in pain; he swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked back tears.
"It's okay Daddy. You don't have to get up tomorrow. I'll take Mattie to Kiku's while I go to work." Alfred told him, his voice steady from many times practiced. There was a moment of silence before Arthur spoke again.
"Who's Mattie?" Arthur asked, sounding lost and confused. Alfred almost let out a sob then and swallowed it back, hard, only a few tears slipping out.
"Matthew is your son Daddy..." Alfred spoke gently, trying not to anger Arthur. It would not be the first time Alfred had angered Arthur by talking about Matthew when he was like this.
"Don't be daft Alfred! You're my only child. You shouldn't go around making up stories like that." Arthur scolded angrily, squeezing Alfred just a little too tightly. Alfred closed his eyes, tears falling freely now.
"I'm sorry Daddy...I got a job today..." Alfred told him, changing the subject.
"Did you?" Arthur asked, his hold loosening and his voice a little lighter. "That's good. You'll learn a little more responsibility that way."
"Be sure that it doesn't interfere with your grades." Arthur told him firmly.
"Yes Daddy." Alfred agreed patiently. Alfred hated days like these; the days where Arthur was too confused to make sense of anything. The worst days were when he got violent. Alfred truly hated and dreaded those days.
"Daddy will you please take your medicine?" Alfred begged softly as Arthur began to rub Alfred's arm in what he guessed were supposed to be comforting motions. The rubbing stopped and the squeezing began.
"I'm not taking those. They're poison!" Arthur hissed, angrily squeezing Alfred's forearm tightly enough to bruise. "Those doctors are trying to kill me." Alfred shook his head sniffling.
"No they're not Daddy. Please, the doctors are trying to help you. The medicine will make you feel better." Alfred promised as Arthur's grip tightened.
"No. Get out! You're trying to kill me too aren't you!" Arthur accused.
"Daddy!" Alfred shouted, startling the man. "How could you say such a thing? ! Haven't I always taken care of you? ! I've always done my best to make sure you're okay! Why would you say something so horrible!" Alfred demanded furiously. Arthur's grip slackened and he began pushing Alfred out of the bed.
"Go away...I don't want to talk to you anymore." Arthur commanded, turning his back on Alfred. Alfred took a shaky breath and got up.
"I love you Daddy." Alfred told him quietly, receiving no reply in return. Alfred left the room and shut the door behind himself, sliding down and covering his face as the tears he had been trying to hold in began to flow freely. He hiccuped quietly, trying not to wake Matthew. Alfred gasped when he felt a tiny hand pet his hair and tried to wipe away his tears before looking up at Matthew, who stood before him holding tightly to a very old and loved stuffed polar bear. Matthew had tears rolling down his own cheeks, so Alfred pulled his brother into a hug. "Mattie...What's wrong? What are you doing up?" Alfred asked him gently, concerned.
"I had a bad dwream...Can I sleep wiff you?" Matthew told him softly, latching onto Alfred tightly with his whole tiny body. Alfred nodded, standing up and carrying Matthew to his room with him.
"Of course you can sweetie." Alfred told him, opening the door to his own room and stepping into the darkness. He made his way over to where he knew the little alien nightlight he kept just for Matthew was and turned it on before going over to his bed and slipping under the covers with Matthew. Matthew stayed latched onto him and he smiled adoringly down at his brother.
"I love you Mattie. You know that, right? I love you with all of my heart." Alfred spoke quietly and sincerely. Matthew nodded against his chest.
"I love you too Alfie...More than anybody else in the whole world...I wish it was just you and me..." Matthew confessed quietly.
"Oh Mattie...Don't say things like that, Daddy loves you..." Alfred protested sadly, hugging Matthew close.
"No he doesn't...He doesn't remember my name...You taked cawr of me all the time even when I was a baby...You're my daddy." Matthew defied, hugging Alfred as tightly as he could; Alfred choked back his tears.
"Daddy does love you...he's just a little sick right now...We have to be patient..." Alfred lied, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"I love you Mommy." Matthew said sincerely, holding with all his might to Alfred. Alfred knew then that Matthew had already known what he had been trying so hard to hide; Arthur would never get better and he would never love Matthew.
"So show me your uniform." Kiku requested, looking at Alfred curiously as Matthew jumped on his bed.
"Mattie please don't do that you might fall and get hurt." Alfred scolded gently. Matthew stopped immediately and sat down on the bed.
"Mommy looks really pwretty in it!" Matthew told Kiku excitedly. Alfred sighed. Matthew had been calling him that nonstop since the night before.
"Alright. I have to get ready for work anyway." Alfred told them, going to the bathroom and getting dressed. When he came out of the bathroom again, Kiku stared wide eyed for a moment before whipping out his camera and taking a few shots.
The outfit Alfred wore was a rather frilly, black, French maid uniform with white laces and a frilly white apron, it had long sleeves with white cuffs that puffed at the shoulders. The skirt reached about knee-length and he had a black ribbon tied in a cute bow over his Adams apple to cover it. He had black stockings that came up to about mid-thigh, shiny black mary-janes and his hair was in pig tails again, cowlick still jutting out, and a white frilly headpiece settled in it. Alfred gave a little twirl, showing the rather well-tied bow that he had the strings of the apron in and Kiku took another picture.
"You look very good in that Alfred-chan." Kiku complimented, grinning; Alfred gave him a worried look.
"Kiku your nose is bleeding." Alfred told him, voice filled with concern for his friend. Kiku quickly brought his sleeve up to his nose, trying to stem the blood flow.
"Ah, I'm fine Alfred-chan. When do you need to get to work?" Kiku asked, trying to draw attention away from his slightly flushed face and bleeding nose. Alfred looked over at Kiku's alarm clock to check the time and gasped.
"Oh no! I'm going to be late on my first day!" Alfred cried in dismay, running out of the room quickly. "Bye Mattie, bye Kiku! Bye Dr. Wang." Alfred shouted as he ran past Yao in the hall. Yao stared after the boy in disbelief for a moment before going to Kiku's room.
"Kiku... Why is Alfred dressed like a french maid?" Yao asked suspiciously; Kiku waved his arms and shook his head quickly.
"I didn't do that, he got a new job Otou-san, really!" Kiku assured his father, Yao's eyes narrowed at Kiku.
"Why is your nose bleeding?" Yao asked, disbelieving.
"'Cause Kiku's a pewrvewrt!" Mattie chimed in happily, having seen a few anime's with Kiku before. Yao gave his embarrassed son a flat look and Kiku laughed sheepishly.
Alfred ran as fast as he could, cursing himself for taking so long with Kiku and Matthew. Just as he turned a corner, he slammed into another person a little bigger than himself and fell to the ground. Alfred cursed quietly again, leaning up on his elbows. He had one eye closed as he winced in pain, tears stinging at the corner of his eyes; his knees were bent and spread, though luckily the skirt had only ridden up enough to show his upper thighs and nothing vital.
"Hey watch where-" The man he bumped into began before turning around and looking down at him. Alfred opened both eyes to look up at the man standing in front of him, still slightly dazed from the impact. The man was actually very handsome; he was about average height with a strong, but lean body type and dark brownish-auburn hair with one long curl sticking out of the rest of his hair to the right. He had very nice amber eyes, and his skin was a sort of darker peach color. "Oh, I'm so sorry about that, bella signora giovane." The man apologized the instant he had taken in all of Alfred's now-disheveled appearance. Alfred had no idea what the man had just said at the end, but it made his cheeks flush a dark red color. Alfred, realizing that he was still on the ground and not in a very 'lady-like' position at all, sprang up instantly with his whole face flushed this time.
"Ah, no I'm sorry. I should have been watching where I was going." Alfred apologized, embarrassed with the whole situation.
"Are you okay, la mia bellezza?" The man asked charmingly, taking one of Alfred's hands in his. Alfred was blushing to the roots of his hair with how the man was treating him and had no idea how to respond.
"U-um, I'm okay. thank you for asking though." Alfred replied uncertainly.
"I am Romano Vargas, what is your name, tesoro mio fiore d'oro?" The man asked smiling, handsomely. Alfred thought he might end up stuck blushing forever.
"I-I'm Al-Allison Jones." Alfred was careful not to slip up, remembering that he was in disguise. Remembering his disguise quickly reminded him that he was supposed to be at the restaurant.
"Oh no! I'm late for work!" Alfred cried paling.
"I'm so sorry. I have to go!" Alfred apologized before running off.
"It was nice meeting you!" Alfred called back to the man before disappearing around the corner. Romano stared after him in a daze, a silly grin on his face.
"Such a pretty lady." Romano sighed happily before deciding to try and get Alfred's number and running after him.
Alfred made it to the restaurant just in time for his shift and almost collapsed in relief as he walked into the back to let Francis know he was there. Francis looked over at him and smiled in amusement.
"Why so out of breath, ma chère?" Francis asked grinning. Alfred groaned slightly and walked over to the man.
"I would have been here earlier, but I ran into someone on the way here. Literally. I got knocked over and everything, it was so embarrassing, he almost saw my underwear!" Alfred complained, making sure that his voice came out feminine despite how out of breath he was. Francis chuckled at him and waggled his eyebrows.
"What kind of underwear would this man have seen?" Francis asked flirtatiously. Alfred flushed again and glared at Francis defiantly, puffing his cheeks adorably.
"I'm not telling." Alfred denied him. Francis did not mind, as the frustrated face Alfred made was cute enough for him.
"Well, go on and get to work. Elizabeta should be opening up for lunch now." Francis told him, chuckling. Alfred smiled and nodded at Francis, going out to the dining area to begin working. There was only two people sitting in his section of the dining area and Alfred recognized Romano immediately. His cheeks flushed at the sight of the man. Picking up two menus, Alfred gave one to the man he did not recognize first, trying to stop his blushing before he went to see Romano. The man he gave the menu to smiled and thanked him and Alfred finally made his way over to Romano's table, his cheeks a normal color. Alfred walked over to Romano and held out the menu for the man.
"Hello and welcome to La Vie de Paris! I'm your waitress Allison, here's your menu. Is there anything you would like to start you off?" Alfred asked cheerfully and smiling at him warmly. Romano grinned at Alfred.
"Hello Allison," Romano greeted. He paused and pulled a lovely red rose from his pocket and presented it to Alfred, who looked at it in wide-eyed surprise. "Here. I just wanted to show this rose how pretty you are." Romano told him charmingly. Alfred could not help it. He began to laugh. Romano grinned. It wasn't exactly the reaction he had been looking for, but it was better than getting punched. Alfred accepted the rose from him, grinning at him.
"You're so funny Romano." Alfred told him, his laughter tapering off, though he did not loose his happy and warm smile.
"I lost my number, can I have yours?" Romano asked, smiling widely. Alfred began to laugh again, shaking his head. His cheeks were beginning to flush with how much he was laughing.
"Romano, I'm supposed to be working." Alfred tried to protest, a few small giggles escaping. Romano grinned, admiring Alfred's face as he laughed.
"Okay, I'll order something... But first; do you have any band-aids?" Romano asked with a smirk. Alfred shook his head, still smiling though his eyes shone concern.
"Well, no but I could look for some, why?" Alfred asked innocently.
"Because I scraped my knees falling for you." Romano told him easily. Alfred shook his head, giggling again.
"Romano! C'mon what would you like?" Alfred asked, trying to get back to work, though he was still smiling widely. Romano sighed but he was smiling as well. He ordered what he wanted and Alfred went back to the other table to ask the man there what he wanted. With orders on his notepad and the rose he had been given tucked into his apron, Alfred went back to the kitchen to tell Francis what each table wanted.
"Big Brother Francis, I've got more orders." Alfred announced happily, bringing the notes to Francis.
"Ah, magnifique ma chère." Francis replied cheerfully, Francis noticed Alfred's beaming smile right away, as well as the rose peeking out of his apron, and grinned. "What is that ma chère? An admirer already?" Francis teased suggestively. Alfred shook his head.
"He's just flirting a little; he'll give up eventually." Alfred told him with certainty.
"Ah, you underestimate l'amour, ma chère." Francis told him happily. Alfred rolled his eyes.
"L'amour has nothing to do with it." Alfred denied, mimicking the way Francis said the french word. Francis shook his head at Alfred's naivety and laughed a little.
"Ah, I forgot to mention. Before that, I called my friend and he has agreed to allow Matthew into the school. You must simply take him to the school and register him." Francis told him. "This is the address."
Francis handed Alfred a card and Alfred tucked it into his apron, smiling at Francis gratefully.
"Thank you so much Big Brother Francis...You have no idea how much this means to me." Alfred told him sincerely. Francis gave him a fond smile.
"Nonsense. Here you are," Francis handed Alfred the orders for his tables and waved him off. "Off you go." Alfred grinned at him and turned around, balancing the trays carefully.
"Thanks again Big Brother." Alfred called back into the kitchen. Francis grinned and shook his head.
TBC...
Yami Ryo: Edited by my beta akuoni! Lemme know what you guys think.
Translations:
Otou-san-father
bella signora giovane-beautiful young lady
la mia bellezza-my beauty
tesoro mio fiore d'oro-my darling golden flower
ma chère- my dear
magnifique ma chère-magnificent my dear
l'amour-love