Lengthy Author's note at the beginning, I do apologize. But I just wanted to make some thank yous.

I have over 80 followers for this story – that is quite astounding. Thank you to everyone who follows this story so diligently and patiently. I think highly of you all.

Also, a big thank you to: EuterpeDream; Vampire Catfish1; 9foxgirl; hibri-lqa; Anake14; liltwiheart15; HetaliaHour; LovefromDenmark; Lunar Iris; Moonlit dark; El Tord; Dragonfly-Moonlight; Amy Kitty Katz; Laruna SilverFox; InvaderPey; mochiusagi; and all the various guests that have reviewed this story. Your reviews and praise are inspiration for me and they let me know that people actually enjoy this little story and urge me to write more often. You are lovely.


After their mild intrusion from a certain Brit, Alfred and Matthew continued their one-on-one hockey game until they were bruised, battered, and tired. Not to mention – hungry. With tired, yet cheerful grins, they quickly packed away their gear and begun to the trek to Alfred's car, totting their heavy equipment through the biting cold and snow. The two blondes chatted about meager things after deciding that their game had ended in a tie since they had each scored one goal on the other and committed countless fouls.

Upon reaching Alfred's CRV, the brothers quickly loaded their collapsible net (courtesy of Matthew), as well as their hockey bags, helmets, and skates. Climbing into the car and turning on the heat didn't seem like it could be achieved fast enough as Alfred had begun to shiver slightly while trying to jam his key into the ignition. Matthew, on the other hand, was just peachy. It was fortunate that the little SUV had an incredible heating system and soon they were pulling out of their parking spot and following the patterns in the road left by snow plows.

Classic rock jammed quietly through the radio as Alfred carefully weaved his way through traffic, driving a bit slower than normal to account for the snow, ice, and idiotic New York drivers. Whereas, Matthew continued to sit quietly, watching out the window with a devious grin on his face as he occasionally glanced at his brother. It was incredibly amusing actually and soon, Matthew found his full attention on his twin, watching as Alfred's face pulled into a scowl and he mouthed swears at passing cars on the road. Alfred was so incredibly animated whenever he did anything; it was a miracle that anyone was ever able to take the former football star seriously. But the grin widened to the likeness of a Cheshire Cat as he chuckled darkly, which received a curious glance from his brother.

"So that's Mr. Kirkland, eh?" Matthew asked with an impish smile, gently resting his elbow on the console and laying his head delicately in his hand in the picture of innocence. A twinge of pink returned to Alfred's cheek, confirming Matthew's thoughts. "I can see why you took him home that night."

"Shut up," Alfred growled, cheeks turning a shade darker. Matthew just laughed it off and pulled his phone out of his pocket, fiddling with it absentmindedly.

"Aw come on Al. He's a cutie. British, petite, blonde. A real winner. He's actually better than what I imagined… Though I gotta ask, what were those things on his face under his hat? Some kind of eyebrow warmer or what?" A choking sound broke from Alfred's throat before it turned into a booming laugh and finally dissolved into snickers.

"I know right?" The other chuckled, "Dude – those are his actual eyebrows!"

"You can't be serious!"

"Totally."

"Holy hell! They looked like some caterpillars crawled on his face and died there!"

"That's what I said about them. But don't ever say that to his face – I've seen him deck someone over that." As the giggles began to fade, Matthew made a motion from the passenger seat that made the car practically shake with laughter as it came to the nearly standstill traffic get on the freeway. In fact, the motion was the Vancouver-native simply holding three fingers up to each of his eyebrows and grinning madly. Alfred slumped over in his seat, resting his forehead on the steering wheel as he tried to calm his body as it shook with laughter. Still holding the position, Matthew turned to look out of the passenger window to catch the gaze of a very confused woman, though a small smile slipped on her face at the young man's expression.


Needless to say, the thirty minute drive back to Alfred's apartment left the two in near tears when they finally crawled out of the car and hurried up the three flight of stairs to practically burst through the door. Matthew flopped gracefully onto the couch and spread his body out along the worn material before 'oof'ing as his twin plopped down on top of him with a bag of chips in hand. The two wrestled for a moment before finding comfortable positions with long legs propped over each other and heads resting on the opposite ends of the couch. Alfred ran one of his hands through his hair before ruffling it with a sigh, giving the other male on the couch a long look.

"Seriously though, Mattie. What am I gonna do?"

"What do you mean?" The other replied as he searched under his body before pulling a television remote out and pointing it at the flat-screen tv across from the couch.

"I mean… hell, Arthur's my boss."

"Yeah? And?"

"Work relationships aren't allowed."

"Al," Matthew sighed, bringing his gaze away from the tv momentarily to give his brother a soft look, "who seriously follows those rules?" Alfred shrugged his shoulders as he turned his attention to the tv, digging through the chip bag to produce a handful of the salty delciousness, making sure to loudly munch on his treat. It was some kind of documentary on pancakes from the Food Network. Of course.

"I don't know.. I mean, I know a lot of people don't. But still.. he's like, the head of the company ya know? And I'm his personal assistant."

"Why don't you put the personal in personal assistant?" Matthew murmured, eliciting a lopsided smirk from the other as he reached across the couch to snatch a handful of chips.

"Yeah, well. I don't even know if he likes me like that.." The sudden force of a small plastic object collided with Alfred's shoulder as the 'Belieber" glared at him.

"First off, you sound like a teenage girl pining over the senior boy that everyone wants."

"But-"

"Secondly, I pretty sure you brought him here and then he tried to sleep with you, correct?"

"He was drunk."

"Beside the point. You brought him here, the two of you made out – drunk or not." Matthew added when the other tried to open his mouth to argue again. "Then he took you to a fancy-ass restaurant on Valentine's Day of all days. And, not only that, but he was staring at your ass when we were playing hockey." A smug smile crossed over Matthew's face, the documentary long forgotten as he watched Alfred's eyes grow to the size of dinner plates.

"H-he what?!" Alfred sputtered, mouth contorting as he tried to fight the urge to grin like a fool in the midst of such shocking news.

"Don't act like a girl, Al. It's unattractive." Matthew snickered, "And he was checking you out."

"He didn't know it was me."

"Are you just going to argue for argument's sake? I'm trying to offer you some sage advice here."

"I…"

"He likes you. Quit acting like such a girl and do your gay thing. Sweep him off his feet or whatever. Boss or not, the two of you have a burning passion for each other and it's like watching a Nicholas Sparks movie, it's depressing."

"Matt… Do you read Nicholas Sparks?"

"I read The Notebook, but that's beside the point." Now it was Matthew's turn to blush as he stared hard at the documentary while they were discussing how maple syrup was made and the differences between the varieties. Meanwhile, Alfred giggled like a schoolgirl with his knuckles buried into his mouth as he tried to stifle his laughter, imagining Matthew curled up with a blanket and pillow while sobbing over Noah and Allie. When he had finally managed to calm himself, the twins had lost themselves in the documentary, finishing off their snack while making comments on the aspects of proper pancake making and "why the hell does the Canadian Government had a maple syrup reserve?"

"So all-in-all," Alfred began as the closing credits for their mini-show began to flash over the screen, "what you're saying is that I should risk losing my job by confessing to my boss that I totally want to bed him, instead of not saying anything and lamenting like a love-sick puppy and keep my job."

"Yep."

"Well that's a load of shit."

"Think about Captain America though. What if something happens to him-"

"Or I get frozen in ice?"

"Or you get frozen in ice and you can't ever tell him and then when you wake up, it's too late."

"Well, even though I'm the Hero in these kinds of situation, pretty sure I won't wake up from being frozen in ice."

"Small details Al."

"Right." Alfred chuckled lightly as the next show lit up the screen, where a woman began talking about the perfect food for an outdoor picnic. Grimacing, Alfred picked up the remote from where it had landed in his lap and began to fish about the channels before finally settling on one of the movie channels where they were doing a showing of the classic Three Musketeers. Once again, the brother's lost themselves in the movie, Matthew at some point getting up and making pancakes for dinner which they consumed on the couch while watching movies late into the night.

Alfred's mind continually wandered back to the thought of the Englishman from when they saw him that morning. He had to do what was right by the heart, as it was the Hero's creed, but could he risk such a thing when so much hung in the balance? Love, money, happiness, and trouble hung around him like dead weights, chaining him to where he sat on the couch, balancing an empty plate and a sticky fork on his knees as they watched Casablanca, loudly proclaiming the lines in unison with exaggerated feeling.

It was certainly times like this where the two could just hang out and do nothing except watch movies late into the night. And at least there was tomorrow before Alfred had to return to work. Chewing on his lip, he cast a glance at his brother who was absorbed in the movie, mouthing one of the monologues along with the character on the screen. What would Matthew do while he was gone during the day? He couldn't expect him to stay cooped up in the house all day without a car. With a heavy sigh, he let the thoughts fade from his mind as he began to mindlessly watch the movie again. After all, those thoughts were for another day.


A/N: Kind of a filler chapter. Sorry.

Can I say how much I love the dynamics between Matt and Al? Like I said before, these conversations are loosely based off of my own sibling/best friend conversations. Or at least how the conversation flows.

For those that are curious: I made Matthew straight in this. *gasp* I know, I know. Unheard of (just kidding), but I didn't want to pair him with anyone in this. Don't get me wrong, he's extremely important to the plot, but he's more valuable as a voice of reason. Plus, my grandmother and her twin are that way, (Obvious my Deeda is the straight one), but I wanted to show the sibling dynamics through that. Hope that makes sense.

Reviews are lovely.

They make me happy..