One Difference

Part 11

Alfred would be lying through his teeth if he did not say he had expected as much from Jackson. In fact, he firmly believed his brother would never change because he simply did not want to. He was so confident on the matter that he made a bet with Ivan during the Cold War. If the commie could fix Jackson, then he would become one with mother f***ing Russia. Alfred had expected his little brother to go berserk when he told him about the bet, he usually did when he thought Alfred was doing something dangerous, stupid, or he otherwise did not agree with, but the younger merely snorted and assured him it was a safe bet. That stopped Alfred from ever questioning it again, resolving to support Jackson's life of secrecy. So much for that now. The secret was out and so was Jackson's brutal honesty. Alfred would not say anything against it, but he had really hoped things would have gone well instead. He was probably the optimist of optimists by now, but he hoped it was still salvageable. Was it really so wrong to want your younger brother to make friends? He did not think so, but he also did not think that nations could not be friends. Not that today was not putting that to the test. He would not willingly admit it, not that he had to, but the fact that no one said anything hurt Alfred more than he liked to acknowledge. No one said anything to either he or Jackson. No one had to follow them, but even a whisper would have been nice.

"When is our flight?"

Jackson's words brought Alfred out of his reflection to realize that the two were on the streets of Berlin. Alfred had been wandering aimlessly, but Alfred could only assume that Jackson had been leading him to one place.

"Tomorrow at noon."

Jackson's face visibly fell, "Why did you not say anything about me going to the airport then?"

Bingo.

"Because I figured you would rather spend the night there than at a hotel."

Jackson pursed his lips, "Truth or not, the U.S. Embassy is always an option."

Alfred finally laughed, "Oh, come on, Jackie! Lighten up. You barely leave U.S. soil, let's have some fun. You pick where we go and I'll book the hotel and everything."

"Home." Jackson deadpanned, "And I like staying in the states, for good reason, too. The only time I usually leave is to fight in whatever war you have gotten us into again."

Alfred shrugged. It was the truth. Jackson only ever left home when wars started or were at least in the making. It would only be natural if there were just bad memories of traveling away from home.

"All the more reason to have some fun here and now."

Jackson inspected his elder brother a minute before sighing. He knew when to bow out gracefully.

"Only because the flight is tomorrow, and I would rather book the hotel, actually."

Alfred grinned. Jackson was one of the most responsible kids he knew. Alfred never really thought of himself as irresponsible, but he was quite relaxed. He always assumed that Jackson picked up the slack. Regardless, Jackson was still a kid and could have plenty of fun like one; he just never let his hair down in front of anyone he was not comfortable around. The prim and proper Southern gentleman was a very real aspect of Jackson, but an act nonetheless. Alfred doubted that many people would understand how the two could coexist in one person, but he had several sides to himself as well.

"That just leaves where you want to go. If you have to, just tell me something you want to do and I can find a place." Alfred pushed.

Jackson took a moment to think about it after deciding that his brother would probably never accept a hotel to sleep as an answer. Maybe there was still one loophole to this.

"A restaurant sounds nice."

Alfred's jaw dropped.

"You said to pick a place, I did. And it wasn't a hotel, airport, U.S. Embassy, or, better yet, the states."

Alfred found his head shaking, a bright, sincere smile in place, "You are a real piece of work, you know that?"

"Stubborn as a mule and proud of it."

"I am sure you are," Alfred chuckled, "A restaurant it is. I will just have to surprise you with where we go afterwards."

Now Jackson did not like the sound of that, but he was more than happy with the momentary ceasefire. In his mind they both had won, and they had, but on separate rounds. It both proved and defied the fact that there could only be one winner and ties did not exist. Neither ever questioned such a thing. What felt right, did, and what did not, did not, and this felt right. Feeling a little more comfortable with that in mind, the two set off at a steady pace, Alfred leading the way. Jackson had a sneaking suspicion that Alfred was not going to let him off the hook with McDonald's, and he was quickly proven right when in in the back of an alleyway a bar appeared into sight. It was nothing fancy, Jackson could tell, but it looked like it would be a homey, hole in the wall.

Jackson snorted, "You know I am not old enough to drink, and neither are you in the states."

"Trust me, the food is great here. I found this place while trying to avoid Germany's lecturing. It is owned by this really sweet old man. The only thing is he only speaks German. Same with the menus and everything else." Alfred suddenly flashed a cheeky grin, "Not that it is a problem, right?"

Here, Jackson smirked, "Nein."

It was a natural thing for a persona to learn additional languages considering their international work, but for some odd reason no one had ever expected it out of Alfred. It had shocked Ivan when Alfred had first started cursing at him in Russian, far more than the bullet wound he had already received from the situation. Alfred, however, knew many languages. They had always came easy to him and the fact that he had no official language and all of his polyglot people made sure he was never rusty. It even allowed him to perfect various accents. The only reason no one knew is because he usually chose not to flaunt it. If everyone could speak English, then so would he. Jackson was a bit of a different matter. Languages and accents came just as easily to him, but if they had not he would have spent however many hours it took to learn them for his work. There was no shortage of need for his language skills there, or in the federal government either. Although he usually did not work on the federal level, when he did it was usually on something serious and probably international. He would also switch his language to the native one of the country he was in, just to fit in better. It was more natural for him to show off his talent.

Alfred led the way into the bar and it was like a switch was flipped. Fluent German flowed out of their mouths without a trace of an American accent. In no time the two had their food ordered and were making pleasant conversation with the bartender and customers alike. It was not like Jackson hated this type of thing. He actually loved it, a lot more at home, though. He just felt safer and less guarded there. It was easier to open up to strange American compared to any other type of stranger. It may have simply been that they were his people, but he could relax and remove a few layers of he shield, slip up a few times, and all while having a good time. He was in a good mood now, just not relaxing and allowing himself slip-ups. Alfred was far too used to it to pay much attention. He would not push him regardless, but he was still glad he was enjoying himself. Even he had to admit that was a little hard with all the chaos as of late. First Arthur found out and then Ivan revealed Jackson? It was like neither of them could catch a break. The moment they tried damage control another thing always went wrong. It would have anyone other than Alfred, the eternal optimist, expecting the next downfall. One of said people was on the bar stool beside him, chatting away the same way as his older brother—until the bar door slammed open.

"The awesome Prussia has found you unawesome losers!"