Author's note: Actually this chapter is short and creepy, just a stupid sick Alfred inside, but I needed some bridges between the previous one and the following one, so here it is.

Disclaimers: I don't own Hetalia

Francis shivered under an unexpected exposition to cool air, he couldn't find the sheets, and when he stretched his hand out, he noticed there was someone else lying next to him; peeking a little over the pillows, he found Arthur curled up in the blankets, just his face was visible.

The Canadian looked at the time on his digital clock 7.44, he heard some rumors from the bathroom, Matthew was awake, he decided he should get up as well.

Francis slowly put a foot on the floor and straightened up, stretching his arms out.

When he was about to move, he noticed his shirt was entangled somewhere, and when he turned over he saw Arthur clutching the material, whining lightly. Thinking that the boy didn't want to be left alone, Francis laid down once again, and the protests stopped as soon as he leaned the head on the pillow.

Arthur still hadn't let go of the shirt. The little boy scooted closer against Francis' back, at least he had the side benefit to have a source of warmth close.

In the end, Francis allowed himself to sleep for another bit, it was up to his father to wake him up after all.

*xXxXx*

Matthew was preparing fresh made cookies, (actually he had the mixture for the pancakes ready to be used in the fridge, just in case), that was a recipe his wife told him, Francis was good at making them, but when it came to him…well he always wished himself good luck before starting to cook, he knew he needed it.

He was taking the too dark biscuits out when the doorbell rang. He ran and pushed the button to open the main door and left the one of his apartment unlocked, throwing himself at the biscuits again.

Matthew analyzed a cookie in his hands and sighed "Francis' going to scold me for this"

"For what?" Alfred got in, his working uniform still on, and he smelled like oil and burnt meat, he had dark circles under his eyes and was paler than a corpse, yet, despite he could faint from a moment to another, he still wore a smile on his face.

Matthew poured coffee in a mug and gave him one "Here, you look destroyed " Alfred's grin just widened at the sight and smell of the liquid, and he seemed immediately relieved "Dark coffee…you remembered it for good!"

"Who could forget it, you took almost nine per day!" protested the other, trying to deny any affection connected with stupid coffee.

"You haven't changed at all Mattie, still shy as hell!"

Matthew looked away trying not to show his red face "I…it's not like that…" his friend laughed at the clumsiness "Whatever." He paused to make another sip of coffee "Where's Arthur?"

"The kids are still sleeping"

"I just hope he didn't hit Francis with that damn unicorn doll! If I don't give him he doesn't sleep, if I give him he sleeps but I always find myself hit in the face by that green thing!"

Matthew narrowed his eyes "I don't remember giving him any doll to sleep yesterday. Yes, he played with it in the afternoon, but he just put it away in his bag."

"And he didn't cry or whine or…anything?" Alfred was incredulous, he tried several times to make the baby sleep alone, but every single attempt ended with Arthur screaming his lungs out.

"Nope, he didn't even wake me up after I left"

"How odd!"

The Canadian let go of his process with the biscuits once again and headed towards Francis' bedroom, once at the door, he made Alfred sign to follow.

They opened the door slowly and stood there caught in the view before them: Arthur's face was half hidden in Francis' chest, his arms wrapped around the older boy, who laid peacefully with a hand resting on the little one's shoulder.

Matthew leaned in to wake Francis up, the kid looked lazily at his father before turning to face the opposite side "…ired…"

"Come on, Alfred's here and I need to go to work"

The boy stretched out, cracking just one eye open to see Alfred grinning and weaving like an idiot. He turned to shake Arthur awake as well "Hey, wake up you. Your papa is here"

Alfred gave his son a kiss on the forehead "Hey, Iggy, wake up. Matthew needs to go to work…"

The boy yawned and opened his eyes as Alfred went to hug him

"Papa, you smell…"

"I know, I'm gonna have a shower…"

Matthew accompanied them to the door "Thank you Mattie"

Alfred smiled leaning over to peek at his cheek. The Canadian went all red "A…Alfred…what.." he muttered looking down at his feet

"Well, something to thank you, I guess!" then he turned towards the elevator "I hope to see you soon…Arthur, thank and greet Matthew"

The little American peeked from his father's shoulder "Bye Matthew, bye Froggy!"

The elevator came up and the doors opened, Alfred made a step in; just as he was about to push the button, Matthew shoved inside, leaving a confused and sleepy Francis on the door.

Alfred played dumb "Yes, did I forget something?"

"Yes, you moron!" and with that he took fifty dollars outside his pocket, shoving them into Alfred's free hand "I'm not a baby sitter. We're friends and money aren't needed, besides, it was a pleasure for me having Arthur at my place. So please keep them back"

"But I feel in owe"

"Then don't!" issued Matthew crossing his arms over his chest and tapping a foot to the floor powerfully.

Alfred raised an eyebrow at the sudden took of position, he smirked and teased "What if I ask you out for dinner? You're a friend, and I want to spend a night with you. Besides I think there's something we should talk about."

Matthew stepped back "Well, I…I don't know if this is a good idea…"

"I insist! And if you still don't wanna come I'm gonna force you!" he played the offended part, the poor Arthur growing always more confused, he looked restlessly between the two as he was watching a tennis match.

"Don't be silly. Tiredness is speaking for you, or maybe is some of the poisonous oil smoke you breathed last night" joked Matthew as he pressed the ground floor button then turned face to the door

"I'm not joking at all. Just tell me when you're free and we're having dinner together…" the American threw his hand against the emergency button, making the elevator stop in between the floors, Matthew shrieked "Alfred…this is not funny" as the half claustrophobic that he was, Matthew felt the collar of his shirt go tighter, he hit his fist against the closed metal doors.

On the other hand, Alfred didn't lose his trademark grin, that in cases like this was highly scary.

"So, what do you prefer, Italian or Japanese?"

The Canadian knew he was trapped, he swallowed half scared, angry and amused too "Anything you want is fine, you're at home here"

"Does this mean you're givi—hey Arthur! Watch the hair! Ouch!"

The kid pulled insistently on a strand of hair that fell at the side of Alfred cheeks "the cabin stinks like you! Daddy wanker!"

His father got free from the killer pull and lifted his son up so that their eyes were crossing sight "Where do you learnt that word? You can't say that to me!" he then groaned "I probably should stop watching British rubbish TV while you're awake"

"Even if the word isn't one of the nicest in the surroundings, your son is right! We're locked in an Elevator and I have to go to work!" Matthew snapped, in an unusual loud tone for him, so much unexpected that Alfred stared at him incredulous "W…well..I guess…"

"Guess less and set us free from this damned cage!"

Alfred pressed the button again, the machine began moving. Alfred looking down rubbing his nape, as usual he acted before thinking and realized the stupidity of his actions too late. Matthew exhaled as to calm down "You'd never change, would you Al? Look, also your six years old son understands things years before you" he then chuckled "You may grow older, but you're the same idiot as always"

The other smiled, his cheeks coloring a bit "Well, I guess some things will never change, you can't replace a damaged brain."

Alfred walked towards the door, glancing at Matthew over the shoulder "So, Wednesday then?"

"You come and pick me up" he weaved towards his friend who was making his road to the car, admiring him for a little too long than he planned too. The more time he spent with him, the bigger his old mistake looked.

Matthew made his way back to the apartment to fix the last things and wait for the baby sitter to arrive, as he feared, Francis was inspecting the cookies, he froze at the sight of his son examining all the biscuits one by one, then pointing the corpus delicti right at his father's face he frowned "How many times do I have to repeat they have to be put in the oven at 150 degrees for twenty minutes and not at 200 degrees for fifteen minutes?"

"They are a little too dark…" his father took one and bit it, making an effort not to twitch his mouth too much: they were bitterer than they should. The kid passed one under his nose, then face palmed himself "You poured 100 grams of sugar and used the chocolate with the eighty percent of cocoa? It's obvious that they are bitter! Why didn't you wake me up?" he scolded as he put the cookies tray on the counter, Matthew looked away, well, usually a parent would have scolded his son for trying to step forward him, this was not the case, Francis was right and the greatest thing he could do was just to admit that, despite his older age, he was wrong.

"Because…I guess because I woke up very early to make these…"

The little one looked at his father skeptically, Matthew wasn't able to put up an intelligent excuse in less than five minutes.

"Anyway..why didn't you ever told me about Alfred?" he was curious, the matter had stung in his head since the first day.

As usual, Matthew played dumb "W..well, you were so young when I travelled here for work, he guided me through New York the first time, and we became good friends…"

"But why don't you ever hug Lovino like you do with Alfred?"

Matthew's brows rose in surprise: did he need a reason not to hug Lovino? He was a good man and all but, he was, Lovino.

The Canadian barely dared to image his old neighbor reaction if he tried the gesture. Well, it would most likely end with Matthew in a grave.

"B..because Lovino doesn't like to be hugged...and anyway Alfred hugs me because he is too much outgoing, if you notice, he always hugs me first."

"And why does he call you Mattie?"

When did he exactly hear it? The kid was sure more intuitive and intelligent than he thought, and he was an excellent observer. This didn't help too much.

"W..well, because he's American, of course. Didn't I told you how people here are? He's long-winded and easy to socialize, that's why."

"Well.."

Matthew looked at the wall clock and almost jumped "Come on go get dressed, your baby sitter is arriving here from a moment to another…" his eyes then went to the tray of cookies on the counter and made as to throw them away "No papa, stop! I can crumble them up later and mix them together with a sweet cream so we don't have to waste them"

The older shrugged, his son would never stop surprising him.

*xXxXx*

The baby sitter was clearly foreign. It could be noticed by her accent. She presented at the door, very neat and pretty.

Her hair showed a clear sign of where much of his wage finished, in a hair dresser. They were clearly died in a shade that was among platinum blonde and silver. They looked silky too, all wavy and long to the hips.

She wore a plain white tee and a knee-length red and blue plaid skirt.

She stretched her hand to Matthew "Good morning, Natalia Arlovskaya"

Matthew smiled, despite wasn't quite sure to have got the name right "Good morning, dear. Little Francis is in his room right now"

"Are there any peculiar recommendation, something he can't eat?"

"He probably would cook on his own, I just ask you to use the oven and stoves for him. he's a quiet child, if he would like to do something he'll ask you"

"Alright, then. See you this afternoon"

"Yes, thank you"

Matthew literally vanished in the elevator, as it was becoming late, a little too late, he left the house in interior peace actually, the girl seemed to know her job perfectly, just hoping Francis wasn't in one of his moods again!

*xXxXx*

Alfred laid on the couch, destroyed from his last shift sat the Burger King, really it was exhausting, little Arthur was playing with his toys on the carpet.

"Did you have fun with Francis?" he asked

"Froggy's funny!" the little one laughed then showed his father the yellow unicorn his mate gave him "Look! This is his!"

"Did you ask permission to borrow it?"

"He said it's a gift!"

Alfred's hand reached out to ruffle his son's hair "That was very nice of him"

"When am I seeing them again?" he asked widening his eyes in hope

"Soon, Iggy, very soon. Do you like Matthew as well?"

Arthur's smile only widened "Yes, he's funny! Do you think he is funny?"

"Oh, sure darling"

Alfred stood up, his back aching, all the job of carrying and moving huge boxes of frozen stuff was giving its fruits. There were times he couldn't even stand up from the bed, and this wasn't so far better, he could barely move.

His doctor said that if he kept going with this rhythm and not using a single painkiller cream, his back would be ruined by the age of forty.

He had to admit that the weight of the age was starting to become significant. When he was a young eighteen years old boy and started to get into comics, he worked in a factory five days on seven, eight hours per day; he carried goods, delivered the products, he worked on the assembly line as well, and did never complain. He stopped with that by the time his first proposal for a comic book came out, he counted on working just with comics, not considering the fact that in a work like this there are often ups and downs that you can't predict, so he was often forced to do another job.

He worked as a plumber for a year, and was a builder too.

And all those heavy jobs gave their painful fruits. Alfred was a twenty-eight years old man with the back of one of forty years older.

"Arthur, please help daddy, give me the mobile on the coffee table…" he exhaled, almost under effort.

The little one pretended not to hear anything and Alfred was forced to repeat it once again "Arthur, please, dad's not well"

The kid now looked worried, his father never asked him for things two times, and the sound of his voice was quite worrying.

Arthur climbed on the coffee table, reaching for the red mobile on it and handed it to his dad, starying at him with a curious look on his face.

"Are you sick?"

Alfred brought a hand on his aching vertebras "Not really, I just need some painkiller cream, now daddy calls the doctor and everything will be alright"

Arthur nodded and disappeared in his bedroom, leaving his father wondering on what was going on in that little mind.

He stared at the screen, as how to remember why he took it for, scrolling down the several contacts, he finally founded his doctor's number.

He had to wait few moments before finally contact him. he was Asian, Chinese to be detailed, and actually one of the best doctors you could ever deal with. He always tried to avoid medicines unless they were vital, the fact that he had a deep knowledge on herbs and similar helped as well.

"Yes, doctor Yao Wang's speaking"

"Ohm… hello doctor Wang, it's Alfred Jones"

"Right. What's the matter?"

"Can you please come along, my back is in one of its dark periods. I can hardly move from the couch"

"Fine, give me ten minutes!"

Alfred threw the mobile on the coffee table and attempted, for how much he could, to peek over the bedroom where his son had disappeared "Iggy…where are you?"

The boy came out running and holding a plasters box he climbed on the sofa next to his father and put the medical stuff on his chest "Daddy healthy now!"

A sane laugh escaped Alfred's lips, kids could be so silly sometimes!

"No Arthur, daddy doesn't need any plaster, now the doctor is coming, he will give me medicines to make me feel better"

The little kid looked down at the small blue box in front of him "I…Iggy doesn't help?"

His father reached a hand out to strike his hair, he then grabbed the box and took a plaster, placing it on his forehead "Look, I'm starting to feel better" he smiled. Well that was a lie, of course, but Arthur seemed to have turned happier than ever again, he jumped off, now going for his unicorns again.

It took the doctor something like more than twenty minutes, it was quite a job for him to reach the door, but finally he succeeded it.

The doctor made him sit on the table, analyzing the points on his back.

He stopped in the middle applying a light pressure "Do you feel pain when I do like this?"

"Yes… a little bit"

The doctor's hands roamed upwards, repeating the treatment "Here?"

"Yes."

Doctor Wang retreated his hands and took a cream out of his case "Here, this is a painkiller cream. Put it on every morning and night, and be more careful when you bend yourself to grab things at work. Also lift less weight up, or you will have more serious troubles with your back. "

Alfred nodded and followed the doctor to the door.

From the corner of the kitchen, Arthur stared at the scene questioningly "What is it in your hands?" he pointed at the cream tube

"Something that makes your back stop aching"

"Can I rub it on your back? Can I daddy?"

"No, because it's strong and your hands will hurt. Then if you rub your eyes there will be serious damages…"

The boy stick his tongue out and grabbed his unicorn "So I'm massaging unicorns!"

With that, he was out of sight again.

Alfred could not read the writes on the medicine paper, he reached for the glasses he used to see from close. They were under a shelf in the coffee table. Grabbing the package a blue envelope came out, he could recognize it at once. He carefully took the content out, revealing an old photo of him and Matthew the first times they knew each other. It was incredible how time flew, and how despite many years were passed, his feelings for the Canadian were carved deep inside his heart.

Suddenly, Alfred's back wasn't bothering him anymore. All the previous ache was just tickle if confronted to the pain that was cumulating in his chest.