Welcome to chapter 2 of Infinities on Empty Pages~
Warnings: Swearing
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Hope you enjoy it~
The first night Alfred spent in Ottawa was one spent being unable to sleep, not because he was uncomfortable but because he kept getting distracted by the sight of those eyes popping up in his mind constantly. Those eyes, slightly covered by wisps of wavy blonde hair as if the owner wasn't quite sure if he should show them or not.
The eyes are what grabbed his attention, but person himself was more interesting. The way he held himself, looking a little tired but optimistic all the same, the way you could tell he had hope in the future and that he was enjoying life despite the ups and downs just by his posture. The way his fingers clutched his plate, how they seemed to be gentle towards everything they touched. His smile, and the way it made him seem warm and kind, though if you looked close enough you could just barely see a slight mischievousness that hinted that he knew something that the other person didn't.
He was like a good book in the shape of a person. The first line was enough to get Alfred hooked and he desperately needed to know more. The fact that he wasn't in his own bed didn't matter, the fact that he was in a city he barely knew didn't matter. All he wanted to do was find this person again and hear his stories; the stories behind those eyes and that smile because he knew he wouldn't be able to forget until he read the whole book and knew the whole story.
Was this what Eliza meant? Because if this wasn't extraordinary, he didn't know what was. All those times he scanned the diner searching for that waiter, all the time he wasted just so he could stay there a minute longer, it couldn't have been anything else.
That was it. That was the kind of person he wanted to be able to write about. He knew that if he could describe that type of person in words, make the readers feel the same way he did when he first saw that face, he could be a successful writer for sure.
Alfred wasn't quite sure how to do that just yet. But that was why he needed to see the mystery man again; so that he could learn more about who he was and find out how to describe him in words. He was the key to putting the magic in his own characters, to bring fictional people alive.
He pondered this idea constantly during the night, until finally he gave up and let himself fall slowly into the depth of darkness called sleep.
The next morning, Alfred woke up late morning, at first causing him to panic and fall out of bed before realizing that he actually didn't have anything he had to do and could get up anytime he wanted to for the next month. This lead to a very slow morning, as Alfred had spent most of the night before, thinking about the waiter. He slowly proceeded through his morning routines, realizing that due to the fact that he was too lazy to go grocery shopping, he would have to go that morning unless he wanted to eat out every day for the next month which would not be healthy for him or his wallet. As he was about to leave, his phone's sudden ring echoed through the house. He quickly popped it out of his pocket and answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, this is Gilbert. Did you call?"
"Oh, right. I'm Alfred, and I'm staying in your friend Roderich's apartment."
"I think he mentioned something about that. You settled in okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey I was just wondering, are you free anytime soon? Just thought it'd be nice to have a local show me around, since you're the closest thing I've got here to someone I know."
"Sure, I'm on my break at work right now, but I'm free after lunch. How about I meet you at the Tim Horton's down the street from your apartment at 1, I'll show you around and then you can tag along with me to dinner to meet some of my buddies if you want."
"Sure, sounds great. See you then!"
"Bye."
As he hung up, Alfred couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He was a little worried that he would be too friendly for the man, but it seemed like they would get along. Getting back to the task on hand, he slipped his phone in his pocket and headed out the door.
After a quick trip to the convenience store down the street (he'd go to a real grocery store after he got a bus pass), it was already close to 1. After dropping the stuff off, he quickly headed down towards the Tim Horton's that he remembered seeing on his way there. He'd finally get to meet Eliza's friend. He'd also get to taste the coffee and donuts that so many Canadians deemed were like pure gold. Both experiences seemed rather exciting.
Walking into the rather busy coffee shop, Alfred was hit with the sudden realization that he had no fucking clue who he was looking for.
Despite the fact that he seemed rather carefree, Alfred actually had a tendency to panic in certain situations and often jumped to conclusions. Oh god what do I do, what if I can't find him? Or what if he's here and neither of us knows who to look for? Should I text him? Or should I get something and wait a bit-
"Hey."
Feeling a sudden tap on his shoulder, Alfred jumped and turned around to see a pale man with silver hair facing him with a surprised expression on his face.
"Oh god, you scared me." Alfred let out a long sigh of relief before realizing that this might be the man he was looking for. "Are you… Gilbert?" Speaking before he thought it through, he thought of the fact that if this man was in fact not Gilbert, that would be one hell of an embarrassing situation. And Alfred hated embarrassing situations. He was the kind of person that remembered every single one of them for the rest of his life and couldn't stand making bad first impressions.
"Yes I am." The other man said, to Alfred's relief once again, and showed a cocky grin before sticking his hand out for Alfred to shake. "How's it going man? I've heard quite a lot about you from Eliza."
"Same here. Glad to meet you." Happy that Gilbert seemed like a friendly person, Alfred smiled and shook the other's hand.
"So, I hear you were in need of a tour guide. I'll show you the basics for now, but I'll show you the best spots while we're with the rest of the gang. You're coming tonight, right? It's nothing fancy, we're just going out to the small Italian place Lovino works at, but it'll be fun. You got a bus pass?"
"No, not yet." Assuming Lovino was one of Gilbert's friends, Alfred followed Gilbert out of the coffee shop without buying anything. He'll have plenty of more chances to try it later.
Heading to a nearby bus station that conveniently had a place to buy bus passes, they quickly went and purchased one for Alfred before busing down to the Parliament buildings, their starting point. Throughout the afternoon, they walked around another part of downtown, on the other side from where Alfred was staying, where Gilbert lead the way while telling different stories corresponding to each spot they visited. They exchanged information about each other until they knew enough about each other that they could call each other friends, which didn't take very long at all. In fact, Alfred got so caught up in Gilbert's stories that he completely forgot about the waiter from the night before.
"It's getting late, should we head back now to meet the others?" Gilbert asked, as the stars were coming out and he noticed Alfred's gaze straying to the restaurants and easily guessed he was hungry.
"God, yes. I'm starving. How far is it?"
"Mm. Not too far." Gilbert responded in the slightly vague way that Alfred noticed he often answered questions in.
They rode the bus in a comfortable silence. Gilbert staring out the window while Alfred looked around the other sleepy passengers of the bus. After a good 10 minutes of pure observation for both of them, they got off at their stop and made their way to a small but cheery Italian restaurant.
The moment they walked in, Alfred's ears were met with a sudden burst of noise, Gilbert and his friends greeting each other loudly while other customers chattered about their plans for the week. It was like walking into a different world, first being in the quiet and peaceful darkness outside, then coming into the happy, bright environment of the restaurant. It was so public, yet so private at the same time, it was the kind of place where you could just walk in and blend in, being surrounded by people yet being unnoticed at the same time. He completely zoned out for a second, adjusting to his new surroundings, until Gilbert called him over.
"Al! Snap out of it and get over here!"
Alfred turned towards the voice and made his way towards a rather large booth in the corner, three people on each side of the table not including Gilbert and Alfred.
"Guys, this is Alfred, he's staying in Rod's apartment right now and he's going to be our buddy for a month, kay?"
"Only a month~?" A light and cheerful voice questioned him sadly, and Alfred saw it belonged to a small brunette sitting on the left side of the table. It made Alfred very happy to know that people were already welcoming him to the group and that they were already sad that he would be gone in a month, despite the fact that he didn't know them at all yet.
"Yeah, hi." Alfred waved his hand slightly with a small grin. "I'm staying here because of my editor, who wants me to get a change of scenery so I can finish my manuscript." The previously mentioned brunette paused for a bit, before his face lit up in recognition.
"Oh! Do you mean Gil's friend, Eliza?"
"That's the one!" Alfred chirped, laughing. He was generally friendly with strangers, but most of the time it took him a bit of time before he got completely used to them. With this group, though, there was something that pulled him in, something that made him feel like they already had a past together when in reality, he'd just met them.
"Cool! My name's Feliciano! But you can call me Feli~" He excitedly tried to jump up, but was held down by a tall, strict-looking blonde sitting beside of him who quickly mumbled something about greeting him later, when there's more space, before introducing himself as Ludwig, Gilbert's brother. The rest of them quickly went around introducing themselves, as Lars, Bella, Michelle, but when the last one introduced himself as Matthew was when Alfred's heart skipped a beat.
Same eyes.
Same hair.
Same posture.
It was him.
He let his gaze linger a little too long, as Matthew slightly tilted his head to the side and asked him whether anything was wrong. Internally curling up into a ball of embarrassment, he sheepishly asked if he worked at a diner.
"Yeah, I do. Why?"
"Oh, I think you served me yesterday. Just thought you looked familiar and was trying to place your face." At this, Matthew took a second to think while Alfred mentally congratulated himself for saving himself from an awkward moment without embarrassing himself even more, and then smiled at the American.
"Oh yeah, you do look familiar. I think I remember you."
"Alright guys, enough with the trip down memory lane and sit the fuck down! I'm hungry." With a few laughs and a 'Shut up, dumbass' from Lars, Gilbert and Alfred sat down, while everyone decided what to order.
During the time that everyone was arguing, Alfred was too busy thinking about the fact that the mystery man was sitting right there, on the other side of the table a couple seats down from him. He now knew that his name was Matthew, and that was one step closer to finding out the story behind that closed book.
"Any requests, Al?" Gilbert asked him, snapping him out of his trance. "We normally get the same thing every time, one cheese, one meat lovers and one vegetarian to split between us all, but if you want something else we'll be glad to comply."
"Naw, I'm not picky. Go ahead with whatever you guys want to order." Gilbert gave him a slight grin before returning to the conversation.
"Hey bastards, same as usual right?" Another short brunette that looked extremely similar to Feliciano came up to their table. Similar, but he had a colder aura around him.
"Alfred, this is my brother, Lovino!" Feliciano quickly pointed out. Alfred wasn't surprised considering they looked alike, but he was mildly surprised at how differently they acted.
"Alfred. Nice to meetcha." His introduction was met with a curt nod as Lovino took their order and left quickly.
"Hey, get us two glasses of water too, will ya?" Gilbert shouted as Lovino walked away. Alfred couldn't help but be surprised at how differently he acted around his friends compared to how he acted when it was just the two of them. He seemed more like the Gilbert that Eliza told him about. "Feli and Lovi's uncle, Mr. Vargas owns the place, so we always get free pizza once a week. Our friend Toni works here as well, you'll meet him later." Gilbert explained.
They chatted loudly as they waited for their pizza, Alfred sometimes joining in but mostly sitting back and observing the group. Alfred had never really had a close group of friends, mostly hanging around with the popular kids during high school that all split up after graduation. Sure, he had a few close friends, like Arthur and Kiku, but being a part of a close group of friends like this was something he had never experienced before.
A while after, Lovino brought them their pizza, and Alfred could easily say that it was probably the best pizza he'd ever tasted. After they finished the meal, they quickly decided that it was too early to end the night and that they would do something else afterwards.
"Let's go to the park. Haven't been there in a while." Bella suggested, and everyone else agreed. After they waited a couple minutes for Lovino and Toni (whose full name, Alfred discovered, was Antonio) to get off their shift, they made their way down the street to the conveniently close park.
"Hey." Walking towards the back of the crowd, Alfred turned his head around to see Matthew.
"Oh, hey." Matthew smiled as they walked alongside each other.
"You probably think it's weird for us to be going to a park instead of a bar or something," Matthew laughed, "But it's where we've always hung out, since high school. It's kind of become our spot, you know? It's always empty and it's in a pretty secluded area. Plus, it's close to Lars' apartment and he's always got booze."
"You guys have all known each other since high school?"
"Yup. Longer, actually. I've known most of them since elementary. Our group used to be a bit bigger, we've lost a couple people who are studying at universities that are far away and stuff, but most of us have managed to stick together. A lot of us are taking a couple gap years to work and save up for uni, staying in the area." Alfred nodded, thinking over what the other had said. This was like a whole new world for him, as he'd known what he was going to do with his life from the moment he graduated. He'd never thought of the idea of taking some time off to just relax, but they seemed like they were enjoying it.
"So you're a writer?" Matthew asked him.
"Yeah." Alfred replied, breathing into his gloves to keep his hands warm. "Working on my first manuscript. That's why I came here, actually. Major case of writer's block."
"Oh, neat. What's the book about?" At this, Alfred paused. No one has ever really asked him to explain his book to them, so he wasn't quite sure how to reply.
"Well…"
"Come on, tell me. I won't make fun of it or anything if that's what you're wondering." Matthew smiled, nudging him with his elbow as they entered the dimly lit, empty park. The others in front of him ran ahead, whooping and yelling at each other as they ran for the structure. Alfred and Matthew opted to sit on the swings instead, comfortably observing the others climb about the structure.
"Fine. It's about this guy, right? One day, he finds this photo in the basement of his house while he's cleaning. It's a photo of him when he's a kid, and he's with this girl that he can't remember and they're in a park or something, and they're both running, the girl wearing a white dress, and it's so magical, you know? But it's from so long ago and this guy is in his 20's and he can't remember who the girl is or where it was taken and he can't stop thinking about it, so he makes it his goal to find out who the girl is and the story behind the photo."
"Wow. So it's a romance story?"
"Kind of, yeah." Matthew smiled, turning away from the American and looking up at the sky.
"That sounds like it's going to be a really good book." Matthew exhaled, a puff of white air escaping his lips into the night. "This guy is so caught up in the past. He doesn't want to grow up, he doesn't want to leave this girl behind even though he can't even remember who she is. And the fact that he can't remember scares him." He then looked over at the others still climbing about the structure like children, smiling softly. "They're like that too. We've spent so long together, we can't imagine life without each other, so they're delaying leaving even though they know they'll have to one day." While Matthew talked, Alfred sat in silence, amazed that someone he had never talked to until that night could understand his book almost better than himself. Matthew's smile suddenly got bigger, and he whipped his head around to face Alfred.
"Let's see who can swing the highest." And Alfred laughed, even though what the Canadian said showed Alfred a small glimpse into his soul. Something hidden behind the happy way he held himself up. Just enough for him to see that Matthew was scared as well.
Headcanon where Alfred zones out a lot because he's too busy thinking about if he was a superhero and stuff like that wow cutie
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