Chapter 3 -

It came as no surprise to Alfred that when he went looking he found France with the nearest available girl, but it did come as a surprise to see the usually suave and well groomed man lying on the ground battered and bruised from head to toe.

France's hair lay in a tangled mop around his face which was covered in scratches and ugly bruises that hurt to look at. As he tried to get up to speak to the American face to face he winced and hobbled, and when he stood up he slouched and leaned on his left leg. Either that guard laid it on him or Switz's little sis isn't as defenseless as he makes her out to be...

"Oh, don't mind this. I seemed to have mistakenly bit off more than I can chew, but what is it that you want to ask me about? I hardly ever seem to capture your attention like now. Is something wrong with mon petit Matthieu?"

"Uhhhhh... yeah... He seemed really upset this morning. I wanted to see if you knew anything about it. Anything going on today?"

"He was? I don't remember, but then again he is so shy he hardly ever speaks. He is très mignon like that. I don't think there's anything going on today except that little party that he is having at midnight. He invited me, of course, but I could hardly be expected to attend something that so interfered with my beauty sleep. I told him that whatever it was he could celebrate it at mon maison but he said it was something personal that he had to do and he couldn't do it anywhere else but there. Sometimes I just don't understand him but wait, were you not invited? I thought you were close with him?"

There it is again. Why don't you know him better? Why aren't you closer? Aren't you supposed to be his twin? To tell the truth though, Alfred didn't know his brother at all. They had spent all their time together as children and had even had fun playing together when England had gained custody of him, but since then the excitable American lost his interest in him. He had been preoccupied lately spending time with Japan, with all his manga and videogames, and when he wasn't doing that he was trying to mess with England. The hyper blonde couldn't even remember the last time he had taken the time to sit down and talk about his brother and how he was doing. Not that he was going to say that in front of France.

"I am! It's just that he ran off just now before he could tell me when and where to go. So it's at midnight?"

"Oui. It's at a village near red lake. If you plan on going I suggest taking a plane after the meeting and be sure to tell mon Matthieu that his big brother says Bonjour!"

"Yeah, I think I will..."

After the meeting and after shaking off Japan and England, who were concerned about the younger nation's quiet behavior, Alfred rushed back to his hotel to pack up his things. As he ran down the hall all he could think about was his brother. Why am I acting like this? It's not like Canada needs me there. He's always been fine on his own. So why do I care so much now? These were all questions that he couldn't answer without feeling horrible.

"Are you sure you need to go home now sir? You seem a little upset. Maybe you should rest before you go?"

Alfred looked out of the corner of his eye at his assistant Jinx. She was a petite girl with dark blonde hair and eyes that were multicolored like a kaleidoscope. He had always depended on her because she paid so much attention to detail and because she had never let him down. Even when it meant getting up at four in the morning to satisfy a fast food craving. He gave her his number one hero smile and wagged his Nantucket hair which he knew made her giggle like crazy.

"OF COURSE I'M READY TO GO! I'm the hero and the hero never rests right?"

"Um, yeah, I mean, your right and… and…"

She lost all composure and busted out laughing which made Alfred start to laugh because her face looked so ridiculous and it was several minutes before either could breathe. Jinx could always make Alfred smile when he was down. Not that the eternal five year old needed cheering up that often.

"B-Besides, I have to go now. Canada invited me to a party. Don't you wanna see Canada?"

"YES! I mean, yes. I need to go get a ride to the airport now."

He loved teasing her like that. Alfred had known for a while now about her not-so-secret crush on his brother. After he changed into some jeans and his superman T-shirt and pulled on his jacket, he grabbed his suitcase and went down to the lobby where Jinx was waiting for him. After playing through three levels of a puzzle game that England had given him because his IQ was "dropping by the second" they finally arrived at the airport. Jinx grabbed his suitcase and went to drop it off while Alfred spaced out. Fifteen minutes later she grabbed him, dragged him through the security checks, made sure that he didn't need anything before the plane took off, asked if his first class seat was okay, and made he sure he was feeling well.

Alfred watched this anxious little frenzy for a little while until he started to think of his brother. As he began to doze off, his last thought was that he didn't have a present to give to Canada and that he didn't want to freeze because of how cold it was at Canada's house. He remembered that one time England had made him spend his birthday at Canada's house when he was eight and how miserably cold it was. He hated the cold.

This chapter was inspired by Yunie. This story was written for her and I couldn't help but put her in it. :3 Get ready for flashbacks cuz there comin at ya in the next two chapters.

- Nami