wow look at that i'm not dead

But seriously. I hit an awful streak of writer's block. I think I pushed past most of it for now.

I've got this story planned out through most of Chapter 14 by now, so that's a plus. I've learned not to make promises when updating, so I won't. See y'all at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: Tealgirl713 does not own Hetalia


Matthew woke up the next morning and rolled over on his side to check the time on his phone. 5 AM. Groaning, he pulled himself up out of his bed, knowing that he wasn't getting any more sleep at this rate. He looked over at Alfred and Arthur, noting how close to each other they were. He sighed to himself and walked out of the small bedroom and into the kitchen.

Predictably, no one else was awake yet. Getting up early was something that came naturally to Matthew, while the rest of his family needed poking and prodding to get up before 9. Taking care to be quiet, he pulled out flour, butter, milk, eggs, and sugar.

Time to make some goddamn pancakes.


Pancakes were kind of Matthew's thing. His dad had taught him how to make the perfect pancake when he was nine, and Matthew had never forgotten how. He loved making them, partially because they were delicious, but also because it made everyone so happy. His pancakes were renowned by the family as the undisputed best, and everyone loved eating them.

While he'd been making the pancake batter, he'd also prepped a pan to cook bacon on, and soon the scent of it was drifting throughout the cabin. Matthew knew it was only a matter of time until-

"Do I smell bacon?" Matthew turned around and faced the kitchen door. Sure enough, there was Alfred, looking like a kid on Christmas morning. He was practically salivating.

"Come and get some," Matthew said, using his elbow to gesture toward the plate of cooked pieces. "And take a few pancakes while you're at it."

"Don't mind if I do." Alfred plopped three pancakes down on his plate and grabbed the maple syrup off the counter. He sat at the kitchen table and took a bit out of a pancake. "Damn Matt, this is awesome! How do you make such kick-ass pancakes?"

"Practice and natural talent," Matthew replied, flipping another pancake onto the plate. "Is Arthur still sleeping? When I woke up the two of you were sound asleep. And very close together."

Alfred blushed a little before clearing his throat. "Yeah, he's still asleep. I didn't want to wake him up; it's still pretty early."

Matthew checked the clock for the second time that morning. "Huh. Only 7:30? You're up early, Al."

"The bacon reached deep into my soul and told me to wake up."

"Of course."

Matthew went back into the small kitchen to monitor the pancakes. By the time Arthur stumbled out of their room at 10 past 8, Alfred had already managed to eat five pancakes and three pieces of bacon.

"Morning, Arthur," Matthew said cheerfully, plopping a few pancakes onto a plate and bringing it out to him. "Hope you like pancakes and bacon."

"You won't be disappointed," Alfred answered, drizzling a copious amount of maple syrup over his pancakes and digging in.

Alfred was leaning towards Arthur, watching him take his first bite of a Matthew Williams pancake. When Arthur broke into a big smile afterward, so did Alfred. Matthew stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching the two of them. He hoped to God that somehow, miraculously, Arthur would like Alfred back before Christmas.

He didn't think Alfred could take the heartbreak.


"So what are you boys planning on doing today?" Alfred's dad asked at the breakfast table not 15 minutes later. Eventually the scent of pancakes and bacon had permeated the entire cabin, and Alfred's parents had come out of their room, appetites strong.

"I wanted to go back down to Waterfront Park and explore some more," Alfred proposed. "Artie hasn't even been on Blackbird Island yet."

"I'll go with you two," Matthew said. "God knows you need someone to keep you from falling into a snow hole and dying."

Alfred's dad weighed in with his choice. "I'll be out there too. I was planning on going fishing today. Maybe we can have a free meal tonight. That is, if there's anything left to catch."

"I'm staying in and reading," said Alfred's mom. "You all go out and have fun."

With their plans for the day set, the household set themselves upon the task of preparing for their individual activities. Alfred, Arthur, and Matthew retrieved their snow clothes from the laundry room and laced up their snow boots before saying goodbye to Alfred's parents, making a plan to meet up back at the cabin by dinner.%

"I don't think Mother Nature indented for ice to ever get this thick," Arthur complained as he tried not to fall down on the thick ice that covered the bridge in Waterfront Park. "It must be at least a half-inch!"

"You should see it in January," Matthew said, navigating the treacherous terrain with ease. "You can't even kick through that ice. Al sprained his toe trying."

Alfred winced like he was recalling the memory.

The three of them managed to make it across the bridge without any real incident. However, the ice continued onto the trail, and this trail sloped uphill.

Without any hesitation, Matthew bounded up the slope, no slips or stumbles in the process. Arthur and Alfred tried the same, but they only got halfway up before they slowly slid back down. Matthew just laughed at them.

"You can't go slow," he said. "The only way you can get up is if you run."

Alfred tried doing just that. He then proceeded to smack into the ice face first. Not to be defeated, he tried again, backing up a few feet in order to get a good start. He ran with all his might, stretching up and grabbing onto Matthew's outstretched arm, using it to pull himself up. The whole ordeal was exhausting, and Alfred flopped over onto his back the second he was on flat ground again, closing his eyes.

"You could have just gotten up on the side."

Alfred's eyes shot open and he looked behind Matthew, where Arthur was standing with his back against a tree. Arthur gestured to the ground he was standing on. "Snow makes for wonderful traction."

Alfred ignored Matthew's chuckles and said, "That's the boring way to get up. I prefer the fun way."

"Is exhaustion the fun way?"

"Please, you're arguing like an old married couple," Matthew joked, playfully rolling his eyes. "Are we going to do some exploring, or are we going to sit here like dumbasses all day?"

"Yeah, let's go," Alfred said, using his feet to get off the ground.

They followed the main trail for a few more minutes, until they came to a small footpath that branched off of the main trail. Alfred peered down the footpath and turned back to Matthew and Arthur, grinning.

"Please don't ask if we can go down the spooky path," Matthew preemptively said.

"Can we please go down the spooky path?" Alfred asked, unfazed by Matthew's statement. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"This is how people die in horror films, Al." Matthew crossed his arms. "We're not going in there."

Alfred stuck his tongue out at Matthew. "Then Artie will go with me!" He grabbed onto Arthur's arm, while Arthur tried hard to keep himself from laughing.

"To be fair, Alfred, I don't fancy going off the main trail either."

Alfred let go of Arthur's arm and crossed his arms, making a pouting face. "I hate you both."

Arthur rolled his eyes, saying, "Fine. If you're going to be a baby about it, I'll go with you. As long as you stop whining."

"Yay!" Alfred's expression immediately bounced back to excited, and he grabbed back onto Arthur's arm. He started pulling him into the forest, shouting over his shoulder, "Matt, you coming?"

"Someone has to keep you two alive."


The path, while already spooky at its head, got progressively darker as the three of them traveled deeper into the forest. Matthew wasn't all that spooked, but he couldn't say the same for Alfred. The scaredy-cat jumped at every snap of a trig and rustle of a branch, clenching onto Arthur's arm every time. Matthew felt bad for Arthur. His arm had to be numb by now.

For all the terror contained within the footpath, it sure was short. It wasn't even three minutes before they emerged, blinking, into the bright daylight. Matthew took in his surroundings, and noticed that they had come out onto a narrow beach, the river not ten feet from them. Looking left, upstream, he caught sight of the large rock Alfred had sat on the morning before. He pointed it out to the others, and the three of them started walking towards it, Alfred hurrying ahead. Hanging back with Arthur, Matthew heard him muttering, "Gonna leave a bruise", while rubbing the part of his arm Alfred had grabbed.

Poor guy. Alfred was very strong when he wanted to be. Even when he didn't mean to be.

Once they reached the rock, they were back in familiar territory for sure. Matthew checked his watch, and saw that it was nearly 1:00.

"You guys want to go back for lunch anytime soon?" Matthew asked, his stomach rumbling as if to punctuate his question. "Because I'm getting hungry, and it's pretty much lunchtime."

Alfred looked down at his watch. "Shit, you're right. Let's go."

And so the three of them trudged through town and to the cabin door.

Upon knocking on the cabin door, they were greeted by Alfred's mother, who told them they were on their own for lunch, and there were sandwich supplies in the kitchen.

Six slices of bread, the majority of the peanut butter, and all of the jelly later, the boys had their sandwiches. Sitting at the table where they'd eaten breakfast, there was no sound, except for chewing.

The first to finish his sandwich, Alfred leaned back in his chair until it hit the back of the couch, and he let out a long sigh.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked, boredom dripping from his words.

Matthew licked the last of the jelly from his fingers and stood up to bring his plate to the kitchen. "You know, we haven't been to town yet. I mean, we walked through it, and that's great, but I'd like to actually stop and go inside a few."

"Sounds good to me," Arthur chimed in, finished with his sandwich. "I'd love to look inside a few of the shops."

"Mom, we're going back to town," Alfred shouted at the closed bedroom door as he pulled on his coat. "We'll be back in time for dinner."

"Have fun!" came the muffled reply. Alfred motioned to the other two and they shrugged their coats back on and headed back out to face the town of Leavenworth.


An hour of poking their heads into women's clothing stores and cheap knick-knack vendors, the boys found a haven in the Nussknacker Haus. Arthur was admiring the store's extensive collection of Shakespeare and King Arthur nutcrackers, Matthew was inspecting the intrinsic quality of the Napoleon and Louis XIV nutcrackers, and Alfred was busy playing with one of the generic ones. With a short glance at him, Matthew knew he was trying to figure out how it worked.

"Please don't break it, Al," Matthew said. "I really don't want to pay for a broken nutcracker today."

"I'm not gonna break it!" Alfred waved off Matthew concern and promptly dropped the nutcracker.

"Jesus, Al!" Matthew rushed to grab the fallen nutcracker before it crashed into the floor, only to realize that Alfred had faked the drop and was holding the nutcracker safely in his hands.

"I really hate you sometimes, Al," Matthew seethed as both Alfred and Arthur let out a string of giggles. "Let's go somewhere else before you give me a heart attack and I die."

He left the store in a huff, followed by the other two, still very amused.

As a sort of revenge, Matthew led them down the street, towards the very shop where Alfred had purchased his dreaded lederhosen so many years before.

Standing outside the door, Matthew looked back to find a very pale Alfred.

"Matt, please, no. Anywhere but here."

Arthur looked confused. "Why? What's-" He froze when he saw the lederhosen hanging on the door, and let out a noise of comprehension. "Ah. Of course."

"Your old lederhosen are getting a bit small, no?" Matthew was enjoying this immensely. "I thought we could get you some new ones."

"I hate you so much," Alfred groaned into his hands. Arthur rubbed his back in a comforting motion.

"The feeling is mutual," Matthew retorted, but he didn't press the issue. He was too preoccupied by what he saw now, between Alfred and Arthur.

Dare he say it, there was something there that hadn't been there before.


What can I say, I love me some Disney references.

The next chapter will be out sometime in the future.

See you guys then!