Format for this: Present time, flashback, present time. I don't think I've stated the time of year or what year but there's no definite year and its around mid-may season wise. The main cast is around the 16/17/18 year age mark with the others like Arthur, Francis, Katyusha (Ukraine) being around the 21-25 frame. They don't go to the academy but most go to a university across town or in the city over to stay close. Okay. That's out the way. This one isn't really a deep chapter, kinda light hearted, nothing really heavy. Now on to the writing.

Warning: Some mildly foul language. Not really a warning but fem!Finland (Kristiina/Tiina) and fem!Norway (Mia) are mentioned. (and Iceland = Ari)

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, but if I did…oh hon hon :3c

Mathieu waited until he heard keys jingle outside the apartment door before he moved from his place on the floor to the sofa. As the door opened he heard Francis stop it before it got to the point where it creaked, no doubt not wanting to wake up the very person watching him in the dark. Mathieu watched his older brother fumble for the light switch and didn't so much as blink when the room was flooded in the bright light from the chandelier Mathieu had installed for Francis a few years prior with a small part time job.

"Petit frère? (Little brother?) What are you doing up?" Francis set down his navy jacket and a bag Mathieu didn't notice he was carrying before striding over worriedly expecting him to be hurt. He ran his long, elegant fingers through the darker set of wavy locks, planting a kiss on the top of his head in greeting when he didn't feel any bumps of swelling. Blue and violet eyes locked with each other, one full of warmth and worry and the other just staring distractedly. Seeing how his brother didn't respond to him Francis sat on the wood coffee table in front of him seriously. "Mathieu,…Êtes-vous d'accord?" (Are you okay?)

"I'm fine." Mathieu leaned back into the plush cream colored sofa. "I saw some people tonight." Mathieu missed the way Francis eyes narrowed and the slight tension in his face. When he looked at him all he saw was Francis famous 'go on' face.

"We're they good looking? Does my little brother finally have a crush?" (Mathieu tried to hide a twitch when he said that.)

"Gilbert called them 'The Mirror Twins' but they're not twins. They're not even related right?"

Francis stared at his brother silently for a while before resting his elbows on his and steepling his fingers. "They didn't make any gestures at you did they? Come over and bother you? Do I have to place a complaint?" the Frenchman watched as all his sibling did was breath evenly before answering with a tired 'non'. Francis felt some of the tension drain from his shoulders and nodded. "Is that it? Where did Gil take you?"

"To a 'fashion show'."

"He didn't let anyone bid on you did he? I told him to keep a close eye you and not just leave you with Ludwig."

"He did." Mathieu was startled at how easily the lie came out of his mouth to his brother. Usually he'd sweat it and stammer worst than the Latvian kid Ivan bullied when they were younger but now it seemed that lies came easier.

"Hnn. At any rate you should be in bed. I won't be here when you wake up so I am expecting you to get yourself and Alfred to class on time. I came for a change of clothes but telling you to your face is better than leaving a note for you to find. Now," Francis clapped his hands and stood up gracefully, "Off to bed with you mon petit chouchou. I will hopefully see you around dinner time or sooner." Francis pulled Mathieu into a hug until he felt him smile into his neck and return it.

He walked with Mathieu to his room and picked his clothes up as he discarded them on the floor before grabbing his pajama's and crawling under his red sheets. Francis really didn't like the color but at the time it was all they could afford and they remained Mathieu's favorite even after he outgrew the color.

"Francis?"

"Hmm? Oui?"

"Do I know Alden Zachariah? Like personally?"

Francis froze at the door and forced himself to shake his head. "Non, I don't think you do. Why do you ask?" his grip tightened on the door frame and he let out a deep breath before facing Mathieu slightly.

"It feels like I know him."

"Have you been eating rosbif cooking? Silly child. Now go to sleep. You should have been already. Bon nuit frère (Good night brother)." He closed the door and gripped the knob tightly forcing himself to not speed dial Gilbert to ask of what Mathieu might have said during his job earlier that evening. A bitter taste came to his mouth that he ignored as he packed two fresh set of clothes for the coming day and some toiletries, sometimes he stayed longer than what he told his brother but made sure to see him often enough so that the love was still there and that Mathieu didn't feel like he lived with a stranger. Zipping the tote up he was out the apartment and heading down to the lobby to see if he could catch Arthur or one of his brothers before they headed up for the night.

"Bonne~foy!"

A loud shout caught his attention as he made his way out the stairwell and only had a foot into the lobby. A well muscled man with a bright crop of fiery red hair waved at Francis from the glass double doors. Francis ran across the lobby and right in to his massive bear hug. Even though it had cooled down slightly outside the redheads wife beater was slightly damp with drying sweat that hinted at a laborious night and the sharp scent of metal. The crushing hug lasted until Francis pulled away and gave the man two loud kisses on both his cheeks.

"Russell! How I have missed you so! I was only planning on catching Arthur but you are a much better catch!" Francis felt Russell's five o'clock shadow graze against his own as the kisses were returned. He moved aside to let the rest of his siblings in but never moved his hand from Francis' waist which caused Arthur to silently bristle when he walked in last with a large sack on his back.

In total there were five Kirkland siblings, four boys and one girl. Two redheads, two brunettes, and guess who's the lucky blond?

"Oi! Get off the frog git and take this sack! I've carried all the way across town and I absolutely refuse to carry it up five bloody flights of stairs!" Arthur tosses the bag to the floor and all Francis can hear is the clang of metal. Before he could even greet him Arthur is across the lobby and stepping into the waiting elevator.

"The lad is frustrating isn't he?"

"I would say you had no idea but you all raised him."

Beside Russell there was Liam, Jack, and the only girl Katherine. Katherine was the only one with red hair beside Russell while Liam and Jack sported more of a dark chocolate color. Russell was the eldest followed by Katherine, then Jack and Liam before finally his favorite bushy browed person. It wasn't he wasn't close to Arthur but you can see too much of a person before you get tired of looking at them. Now Russell, Francis can honestly say he'd never get tired of running his hand through his thick lion's mane of hair. His eyes were a lighter shade of his own, close to an electric blue if the sun caught them right.

Disengaging himself from the hug Francis hug the rest but didn't kiss them save for Katherine. Musk might smell nice in whiffs but too much of a good thing could kill someone. Picking his bag up once more, he stopped before grabbing the back of Russell's shirt.

"Mon petit frère, Mathieu, he said they saw the Mirror Twins tonight…will you please tell Arthur to have someone watch the boys in the morning just in case?"

Russell stiffened before nodding at Francis.

"There's more isn't it Franny?" Katherine's green eyes, deeper than Arthur's own, sparkled in the low glow the moonlight casted from the doors.

"He asked about Alden…"

"You dinna tell him any right?" Russell had an unreadable look to his eyes as did the rest of his brood.

Francis shook his head and made move for the door. He knew Mathieu would be well watched in his absence so did worry too much. Stepping into the waiting car he nodded at the two brunets in the front and the blond next to him.

"Sadiq, Roderich, Erzsèbet. How are you tonight?"

Elizaveta smiled at Francis and swatted his shoulder. "Elizaveta is fine Francis. No need to be so formal." Francis could see the two males in front hide a smile before greeting him back. "So I take it you heard about what happened to the kids last night?"

"The Terrible Two was at the same venue if Mathieu told me correct."

Sadiq snorted. "Little Matty told big brother the truth for once? That's new." He shot Francis a smile so he wouldn't get ruffled up to much. "Don't get pissy with me because we more know about Matt than you do. You didn't have to take the position Gilbert offered you, just remember that. Plus Toni threatened him to tell you."

"He asked about Alden tonight."

Anything Sadiq was going to say died on him tongue as Roderich turned around to look him full on in the face. "You didn't tell him anything right?"

"Of course not but I don't like keeping things from him."

"He sure keeps some shit from you Frenchie…"Sadiq retorted arrogantly. Francis kicked the back of his chair roughly and glared at him hotly.

"I know mon Mathieu keeps things from me and I will respect his privacy. Unlike you I don't stick my nose in my sibling's business- oh now wait! You don't have any now do you? OH YES! Your constant meddling drove you apart didn't it?" Francis smiled coldly at the fuming Turk in front of his and wasn't shocked by the silence that followed. Leaning back smugly he crossed his legs at the knee. He relished the silence in the car and closed his eyes before he hear Sadiq grumble under his breath.

"At least my parents knew how to drive a car."

Both Roderich and Elizaveta gave Sadiq outraged looks. It didn't take an idiot to figure out that talking of the car accident that took Francis and Mathieu's parents was taboo. Just ask the list of people Francis has put into the hospital alone. Of both genders. But the couple just watched as all the steam disappeared from Francis eyes with his haughty previous tone.

"Je t'emmerde (Fuck you). You know nothing."

"See. Right there. That's what I was talking about priss boy."

"What on earth are you babbling about you stupid Turk?"

"Huh? Oh no not you Edelstein." Sadiq pointed at Francis and repeated himself. "Frenchie just takes it like a bitch now. What the hell? I remember a time where he would have caused an accident by trying to strangle me for saying some shit like that. What's up? It's no fun starting some shit if you don't fight back."

Even though one than one person could say that the Turk was a bully and an asshole, he was a good friend. He watched out for his friends and friends of friends. On a good day.

Francis rested his elbow on the handle on the back door and let out a small sigh. "Do you guys remember when Mathieu was tossed out the bus?"

"Francis everyone remembers when he was tossed out the back of the bus. It's hard to forget something as serious as that." Francis saw Roderich giving him a raised eyebrow through the rear view mirror over his glasses. He actually forgot that he was in the car since he was being so quiet so far. He forwent his usual suit and only had on a large black hooded pullover that looked like it belonged to Gilbert and a simple pair of sweats with sneakers. Francis considered asking him if he just rolled out of bed for kicks when he noticed that his hair wasn't combed either.

"Yes. Gilbert loaned me some articles of clothing since it's going to be an active night." Ah. "Now why did you bring up the bus?"

"Do you remember who jumped out after him and stayed until the ambulance pulled up? Or visited single every day?"

"Well no. Onkel and Allesio really wouldn't let us visit him. At one point they barred everyone from seeing him until they found who did it. Who did do it anyway?"

"Mathieu won't say. It's like he was sworn to secrecy. But I still think it might be connected to one of those sickening twins."

"Now don't go assuming things Francis. Not all of our misfortunes are connected to them."

"Last time I checked Williams and Zachariah are pretty close in the alphabet."

"But-"

"Save it Veta. Only one who knows is the kid and he's not talking anytime soon. Now. Who the hell knows where we're going? Cause I've just been taking random turns hoping we'll get lucky." Sadiq dodged the swipe at him Elizaveta took at him and swerved the car dangerously before Francis pulled Elizaveta back into her seat. All the color had drained from his face and he was clutching his seatbelt with his other hand. The only one not ruffled was Roderich who had gone back to sleep. "Elizaveta. You do realize that I have no problem crashing this car and killing us all right? Wanna try that again?" Sadiq let out a loud bark of laughter and kept driving. "Now what's the address?"

Linebreakisalinebreak

Mathieu jolted awake at the feeling of his bed dipping and a warm arm around his waist. Turning his head he feared the worst and made a fist, ready to pummel the bed intruder. Flipping the person out the bed he lunged after them and raised his hand until loud shout stopped him.

"DAMMIT MATT! CHILL SON."

"AL? What the hell, get the hell out of my apartment! Who let you in any way?" Mathieu sat back on Alfred's legs warily, his anger draining from him. It wasn't every night when your pseudo-brother snuck into your bed at three in the morning when he didn't even have a key to you apartment.

"Did you pick my lock again?"

"No lad, I let him in."

Arthur stood in the doorway with a towel around his neck eyeing Alfred tiredly. His hair was plastered to his neck and he covered his mouth as he let out a loud yarn.

"Francis asked me to watch you and Alfred didn't want to be left alone. As usual. So I let him in."

"And into my bed?"

"No. I told him to take the backroom."

"You was going to take the sofa?"

"No Francis' bed. 's not like he sleeps in it." Arthur strode over and dragged a whining Alfred up by the elbow roughly before tossing him in the direction of the door. "Do as I say Alfred. Stay on the sofa and let Mathieu sleep. Do not make me tell you again or you're sleeping with me so I can keep an eye on you." Alfred grumbled and moved in the direction of the Francis' room to the other two surprise before they brushed him off.

"You're now just getting back?"

"You must have been out cold. I've eaten a sandwich and taken a shower already. Go back to sleep but if you stay awake keep the lights off. The headmasters are getting serious about the lights out rule."

Mathieu nodded and crawled back under his covers after giving the Brit a goodnight. He waited until his door had closed to reach under his bed for his candy apple red laptop with a white maple leaf sticker over the center logo and turned it on. He signed in and was greeted with his background picture of Francis, Arthur, Alfred, and himself all smiling. It was taken during the S.U.N.S. beach retreat, even though he wasn't a member at the time Francis used his guest pass after stating that there wasn't anyone else he wanted to bring that wasn't already going.

He heard his door creep open slowly and sighed. "Just come in Al." He watch Alfred shuffle in with his mixed matched Captain America and Superman pajamas before scooting over so he could curl up to him.

"What's wrong Al?"

"…Nothin', just bored."

Mathieu let him be while he signed into the schools online peer mediator run by some of the regular and S.U.N.S. students together. After signing in as one of the mediators, he hoped he wouldn't get trolled by some late night jerk. Minimizing his mediator window he looked through the forums and saw some anti-S.U.N.S. topics and sent a quick note to Eduard, the Estonian co-moderator who created the site, to notify Ivan about it. Toris and Eduard, the other two parts of the Baltic trio as the building called them, were the co-moderators that handled the mild trolling and bullying while Ivan and Katyusha were the administrators who 'handed out banhammer's of justice' as Alfred said. The mediation page had a link to the main S.U.N.S. site that allowed the regular students to ask any questions about it or wish to find out about the country of their roots. After seeing how anti-S.U.N.S. some students were he was glad he didn't moderate on the main site.

Scrolling through some of the topics a small ping went off in his personal mediator window and he clicked on it.

(Thinks may get confusing. Follow the font shift carefully)

'Unknown Sender: Open?'

Blinking at it Mathieu crossed his arms and thought about it. It could be a legitimate person who wanted to talk or it could be a troll.

"Dude. Open it. Or they'll leave and kill themselves."

Mathieu jumped at the sound of Alfred's voice as he leaned over his shoulder squinting (he wasn't wearing his glasses) at the screen. He quickly clicked the 'open' button before Mathieu smacked his hand away and put his glasses back on. "You must have not disabled the 'No Unknown Senders' tab. You should in the future. It's how those jerkass trolls catch you and piss you off."

Swatting Alfred away (he did value the mediator/mediated privacy rule to some extent) before reading the message.

"Boker tov."

"Boker tov…?" Sitting back he mumbled the phrase to himself and heard Alfred sigh from beside him.

"It's Hebrew."

"And how do you know?"

"My nanny was Jewish."

"…you had a nanny?"

"Focus. Reply with the same or say Boker Ov."

"I'll stick to French thank you very much." Turning back to the window Mathieu replied.

"Bonjour. Isn't it a little late to be up?"

"(You know Hebrew?) Forgive me I am always up early. To think. My sister is not up this early."

"(How do you know? No. A friend taught me the phrase.) Your sister annoys you?"

"(My birth mother was Jewish) Yes and no. I love her but she does not have a good reputation and people assume I do not either."

"Why would they assume that?"

"Because I stick up for her. Is that no what friends do?"

"I thought she was your sister."

"…She is. We are half siblings but I have not told her yet."

"And you want to figure out how to tell her…"

"Ken."

"Al. What does 'ken' mean?"

"It means yes. You fail at Hebrew Mattie. I'm going to have Ludwig teach you some."

"Ludwig knows-"

"His grandmother was Jewish. Focus Matt."

"May I ask why?"

"She has a crush on me."

"Wow."

"Wow is wrong, it's more the lines of eww. Can you say incest?"

Mathieu didn't even stop Alfred from looking over his shoulder and was staring at the last message.

"You sense my uneasiness now do you not?"

"Do you think she'll believe you?"

"No. She is too far into her world as us as a couple. I do not want to lose our friendship over this. She is all I have."

"I take it that you two are close."

"Since day one."

"Have you told your other friends?"

"I have none. She commands my life. I always have to watch her in fear that she will start another conflict."

"Meet with him."

Mathieu turned to Alfred who was thinking as hard as him. "Is that allowed?"

"Duh. You've been doing this thing longer than I have. As long as neither of you bring another person without telling the other."

"Is there any time you are free from her?"

"So you will help me?"

"Oui."

"She has dance practice and a two hour music class back to back from 3 to 7 tomorrow."

"That's fine. Location?" Mathieu turned his screen and pushed Alfred away to the others displeasure before the reply came in.

"Can I meet you after last class in the park?"

"That will be fine. What shall you be wearing?"

"Purple. It is my favorite color. :) You?"

"Purple is my favorite too! I'll have on a purple wristband. Left arm."

"Toda Raba!"

"I'm going to guess that means thank you so de rien."

"Close but no cigar Matt. Thank you very much."

"I'm going to kick you out Al."

"It does! See you tomorrow!"

'Unknown user has closed conversation'

(Okay. Horror is over)

Alfred curled around Mathieu before patting the bed. Soon the full sized bed had two teens and their dogs curled up in the blanket around a glowing screen.

"I wonder who that was…"

"I wonder when you were going to tell me you spoke Hebrew. Next you're going to tell me you're a transsexual who's on the run from the repo man who wants his dick back."

Alfred shoved Mathieu laughing before giving him a noogie. "You never asked. If I wanted to know something about you when we were little I would ask. Plus, I can't speak it. I knew enough so I didn't look a fool at their parties. I miss my nanny."

"I can't believe you never told me you had a nanny either."

"Don't hate on my awesome bobeshi."

"Bobe-wha?"

"Bobeshi. Bubbe. What the hell do you call your grandparents then shmendrick?"

"I don't have grandparents. They're dead remember? Ass. And stop using these phrases on me!"

"Oy vey! I try and give the shlemiel some culture…"

Mathieu gave Alfred an annoyed, deadpanned face. "Now you're making this shit up."

"No I'm not! She used to say that all the time when she was trying to teach me Hebrew fluently. I never did get the hang of it completely. She used to take me to Temple with her and to weddings. To all these different Mitzvahs. Man my bobeshi was awesome…"

Mathieu smiled at how Alfred's face lit up. It wasn't often that Alfred talked of his life before they met and he hung on every word until he stopped. Soon they were both laughing loudly at the stories Alfred was telling before Arthur came in to see why they were being so loud. Alfred was standing on the bed with the back of his shirt pulled over his head like a shawl and was holding Tony in the crook of his arm yelling in very convincing accent at an invisible person.

"You say my Alfie does this and my Alfie does that! Not once have you ask 'why' my little Alfie does this and that! I'll tell you why my Alfie does this and that! I always tell Alfie to not listen to kvetchers and to schmucks and if he isn't listening to you then you know what? I'll tell you what! You must be a one or both! My Alfie always listens to his bubbe! Come on Alfie, you get a treat for listening to bubbe."

Mathieu had his face buried in his pillow cracking up at the tale while Alfred launched into another one. He set Tony down and hopped off the bed.

"Come now boychick, we're going to a friend of Bubbe for lunch today. Ignore what your shlepper of an uncle said to you. He has a lot of chutzpah saying that to a little boy'. I was like 'But bobeshi, magic isn't real.' Bobeshi was like 'Alfie, anything is real is you believe in it.' So I put it to the test. The next day I tried to jump the whole flight of stairs in our brownstone. Bobeshi was freaking out; she caught me after I tripped over my cape during my running start. 'Alfie! Why are you stampeding like a herd of buffalo?' So I told her 'But bobeshi, you said if I believe in something it's real. Well I believe I can fly! Like Superman!'." To anyone else it would have looked at Alfred like he was insane but he excelled at theater along with his law classes in school and never missed a chance to act out a story using his skills.

"You never let anyone else call you Alfie after Bubbe."

Alfred yanked his shirt down quickly before facing Arthur with a red face and matching ears. "How long have you been standing there you creeper?" Seeing Alfred get defensive like that only caused Mathieu to laugh harder until tears were streaming down his face and he was gasping for air. Alfred was torn between smothering Mathieu and chasing Arthur out the room. Even though he had no problem acting out he got embarrassed if Arthur or Francis caught him. "Get out! Don't you go usually go for a run or something in the morning? Make sure your brothers didn't burn down the apartment? Give disgusting porridge to orphans like Oliver Twist before sending them to the workhouses?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and clapped for the dogs to follow him before rattling off a list of things for them to do. "I'm going to feed and walk your animals. Start getting ready for school and eat. I had Liam bring up your clothes Alfred so go shower and let Mathieu get ready himself. You can make your own breakfast. I just went shopping for the frog so there should be enough food. You're both walking with Tiina and Mia since they are walking Ari to the bus stop since I have to be into work early today. Don't leave a mess, wash plates, wear clean underwear, bla bla bla, you two aren't toddlers. I don't want to hear that you gave the girls a problem or you'll be answering to Berwald and Nikolaj. Alfred." Arthur stressed Alfred's name since he had a habit of not listening to anyone in charge of him. Or anyone in charge in general.

"Okay. Geeze. I won't give the girls any problems."

"And you will stay in all your classes till the end today."

"Yes Arthur."

"And you won't skip baseball practice today either."

"Yes Arthur."

"And you will attend the second half of your football pratice as per the agreement you worked out it with your coache's."

"Oh come on! I won't be getting back until seven then! That's too long!"

"Alfred."

"Fine!"

Mathieu shook his head at the one-sided argument while putting his laptop away. He shuffled to his closet and started going through his clothes to find something that would match the wristband he was going to wear. He decided on his white sleeveless shirt and a pair of black jeans on the floor of his closet before tossing them on the bed. Grabbing a towel off his desk he headed to the bathroom since Alfred went to make breakfast first. He and Alfred really weren't the type to stand under the spray and waste water so it was an in-out deal for the both of them. Breakfast was a bowl of mixed cereal with strawberry milk, an Alfred breakfast specialty, and to top it all off: matching purple bowls.

"Since I obviously cannot spy on your meet up you will have to be extra careful okay Mattie."

"Just don't tell anyone about it so they can accidentally pop in on the meeting. That's technically breaking the one-on-one agreement."

"Well you technically broke it last night when you let me look over your shoulder and read along."

"I hope that when you do become a lawyer, someone puts you in your place hard."

"Love you too bro. Love you too."

The two finished up (Mathieu washed the bowls and spoons) and locked the doors after grabbing their book bags. They dropped their dogs off on the fourth floor with Kiku's friend Heracles before rushing to meet Kristiina and Mia in the lobby. Kristiina, or Tiina, smiled at them and greeted them with a warm hug while Mia just nodded at them. Ari, Mia's younger brother, stood beside her holding her hand and clutching his messenger bag closer with his other before nodding too.

"We almost thought you weren't coming, it was odd that Arthur would call on such short notice. Is everything okay?" Tinna watched them when they were younger when either Arthue or Francis had to work. The Finnish woman usually did favors for the others in the building free of charge and came by often to help out the others even though she lived across town over with her boyfriend Berwald. She came over so frequently however that sometime the other residents forgot.

"They have lives outside of their ward's Tiina. Let's go." Mia was sometimes the exact opposite of her friend it was a wonder they were friends. Cold, usually never smiling, but just as caring; whenever something needed to be done she was one the first to show up. Even before the problem happened. She lived not too far from Tiina and the school with Ari in a small apartment. The younger teens only knew Ari from school but never even seen a hair of Mia. They could go weeks without seeing her.

The walk to the bus stop was uneventful and was mostly filled with Alfred trying to get Ari away from his big sister's side and into a conversation with him. The middle schooler only inched closer to Mia and when he saw his friends, Yao's younger brother and sister, he ran towards them quickly. Not one to be put off Alfred launched into a polite conversation with Tiina quickly filling the quiet. Mathieu looked at Mia who sent him a small quirk of the lips before going to stand my her brother.

"Mattie, where's your gear?" Mathieu looked at Alfred before a panicking look flashed across his face. He left his track gear in front the doors from when he locked them. Sparing his phone a glance he started to jog the few blocks back to their building telling Alfred that he'll call around for a ride. True to his word the first number he called was Gilbert who told him to wait in the lobby until he came down with Ludwig and Feliciano. Seeing the gates around the corner he broke into a light sprint to see if he could scale the side of the brick wall when he ran in to a person.

"What the hell freak! Watch what the hell you're doing!"

Looking up, Mathieu saw the disgruntled face of a girl his age. Bright platinum blond hair hung down in thick plaits with neat bangs in front of her bright blue eyes. She was wearing their school uniform so she went to his school but all he could focus on the disgusted look in her eyes.

"I said to move filth!"

Finally the light clicked in Mathieu's head as he rolled out of the way of what would have been a bruising kick that she swung at him. Seeing her sneer at him he brushed his slacks off as he waited her to make another move. Looking next to her he saw the near carbon copy he expected and followed his gaze to his wrist.

"Zoe, go to the bus stop. I will catch up." His soft voice caused both blondes to look at him in suspicion.

Mathieu saw him give her a small nudge and sighed when she turned beaming to him. Zoe nodded and walked away but not before spitting in Mathieu's direction. "I apologize for her behavior. You are not hurt?" When Mathieu didn't take the hand offered to him he hauled him up by the armpit with a smile. Shaking his arm out he stuck his hands over his face with the back facing Mathieu.

Purple nail polish adorned each and every finger. He even gave them a white strip on the bottom to mimic a French manicure.

"Is this some kind of a sick joke?"

"No. No joke. I was very serious this morning. Perhaps we should introduce ourselves?" Mathieu slapped the offered hand away and glared to the teen in front of him.

"I know who you are. You and your sister's reputation stick once you hear it."

"But you said you would hear me out and help me. You are still my mediator are you not?"

Biting his tongue, Mathieu knew he still had a job to do and it would reflect badly on the program if he went back on his word. Looking back at the pouting teen he let out a loud huff and told him he would keep his promise, even knowing he might regret it later.

"Fine but I don't even you to talk to me until the meeting later." Seeing the troubled teen's face light up Mathieu took a subconscious step back thinking that he might actually hug him in joy.

"Good! Very good!" Sticking out his hand again he sent him a smile worthy of Alfred's hero pose, "I am Alden Zachariah. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Mathieu Williams. Now go to your violent creep of a sister before she comes back and tries to kick my teeth in again." Mathieu gave him a firm shake and tried to release his hand but found the other still hadn't let go. Giving his hand another shake, he tried to get the other to let go.

"You can let go now…"

"Yea. You can."

Looking behind him, Alden saw Gilbert holding Mathieu's track bag looking like all he wanted to do was chuck it at the other's head. Behind him stood Ludwig and Vash looking just as menacing, Lilli and Feliciano could be heard talking on the other side of the brick gate. Mathieu tried tugging his hand away but Alden only held on tighter, turning his smile on the albino with all of the warmth sucked out of it.

"Let go of him Zachariah. Now. Is it worth getting hurt over?"

"Oh? I think it is…are you upset that I am holding Mathieu's hand Beilschmidt?"

Gilbert set the bag on the floor and started to shrug off his book bag when Alden finally let go of Mathieu's hand. "I shall see you in class. If you do not hurry you will be late." Alden gave Mathieu a small half-smile and walked away with a bounce in his step. As soon as his hand was dropped Mathieu had a face full of Gilbert who was checking him over franticly.

"Gil! Let go, I'm fine!"

"That's what you said last time…" Vash nudged Ludwig hard in the ribs before tucking something back into the waistband of his pants. Gilbert ignored all his squirms and protest before finally seeing nothing wrong with him.

"What the hell did that freak want with you Hächen? Did he threaten you? That's an offence you know. If he told you not to talk I need to know everything he said."

Mathieu waved Gilbert off and thanked him for picking his bag up for him and didn't say anything else other than wondering where their ride was. If he mentioned the meeting later they would get protective and crash it in place of Alfred.

He would see this thing out to the end.

BAM. THE END.

I didn't expect to finish this so fast. Or for it to be this long. I was going to split it in half but I couldn't find a good place so I just rode it till the wheels fell off.

Hate it? Love it? Got any plans, ideas, suggestions, or questions you know how to reach me~ Mel out.

Translations: Right after the word used in parentheses but if you find a mistake correct me please

The Yiddish I used for America/Alfred came from a discussion my friend pointed out (well not the actual convo. Just something I noticed). America, in the winter/Christmas episode, was shone walking by a shop that had Elmhurst on it. Elmhurst is in the Queens, therefore he lives in NYC. We have a very large Jewish population here. Growing up I had a Jewish neighbow who watched over me sometimes. I called her Bubbe. Very nice woman. I miss her. Anywho…she talked exactly the way Alfred was acting out to Matt. But my memory is hazy so if I got something wrong feel free to bite my head off and correct me.

The Kirkland's just in case you didn't get it: Russell/Scotland, Katherine/Ireland, Jack/Northern Ireland, and Liam/Whales.