Chapter 2: Love Can Be Reborn

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

A/N: DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKING HARD IT IS TO DESCRIBE A SETTING IN THE POV OF A COLOR BLIND PERSON I SWEAR TO GOD I KEPT TRYIN TO THROW COLOR WORDS IN AND THEN IM LIKE WAIT NO FUCK. IT IS NOT EASY IM JUST SO.


You can coax the cold right out of me
Drape me in your warmth
The rapture in the dark puts me at ease
The blind eye of the storm
Let's go for a walk down Easy Street
Where you can be reborn

~BITE, Troye Sivan


Trudging down the streets with a laptop in his backpack, Alfred was on his way to a cozy café downtown to work on his project for Experimental Physics. The teacher had all but thrown the rubric at them and told them to run with it right before Christmas break and Alfred was generally stressing out. The twenty two year old college junior now had more important things to think about than deceased soul mates, though it always loomed over Alfred's head. Now, he was too worried about how in the hell he was going to get his Mechanical Engineering degree. Don't be mistaken, he was still very much bitter, but he was starting to realize that wouldn't help him. He'd rather be an angry and bitter millionaire than an angry and bitter hobo.

He walked down the sidewalks of New York, snow crunching under his shoes as he watched the world around him wake up from the holidays of December an get roughly shoved back into the usual stressful life. People began to remove lights and take down trees and wreaths and complain about how school and work would begin soon. Alfred himself had just returned from Virginia where he'd gone home to visit with his parents and brother, who had stayed at home with his now-husband Gilbert where they both went to a local community college. Alfred, unlike them, had fled as soon as he graduated. He wanted to leave, get away, finally not be known as the pathetic boy who had no love.

He had had fun, teased Matthew a lot, gotten a new knitted sweater from his mom and a shit ton of candy and money from his dad and brother. He'd stuffed himself full of home made food while he had the chance and then, come the morning of January first, it had been time to leave. Now he was back in the good ole big apple and his classes resumed in two weeks. Which meant he had to get this dumbass project done soon. Sadly, his apartment complex was without proper wifi and that led him down to a tiny little café down the street.

He pushed open the door and was hit with a gust of warm air and the scent of cinnamon and coffee. The little joint was nicely lit, warmth from the heater over head giving the place a homely feeling. It was soothing almost, the cushioned chairs and smooth wooden tables and the smartly painted pictures that hung on the walls. Like a small place of peace amongst the business of New York. Alfred sat his bag down on a table in the corner and walked up to the counter in the front, taking his place in line behind a woman with long curly hair. Clutching his five twenty dollar bill, Alfred decided to splurge and get a donut as well. Sure, he was broke most of the time, but he had gotten Christmas money. He can afford to splurge a little before going back to living off mac and cheese like most college students.

So he got his donut and he got his coffee and he scurried back to his little table in the corner. The scent of French vanilla wafted up to his nose, making his mouth water as he had to hold himself back from gulping down the drink, lest he burn his mouth. It had happened before and honestly he wasn't all that keen for a repeat. As he opened his laptop and searched for the layout in his mess of a home screen, he didn't notice the tall man stand next to his table. Eventually his eyes flickered up to meet the mans, and Alfred blinked in surprise.

He was fairly tall and had quite messy hair, with what looked to be a band aid on his nose that probably covered up a blemish or scar. He wore casual clothes, a jacket with jeans and a t shirt and boots, and with a cup of coffee in his hand he looked effortlessly gorgeous. Which wasn't something Alfred thought about many people, so this guy should totally feel privileged. One thing caught his attention, though.

The guy had a bandana wrapped around his wrist. The wrist where his would mark would be.

This piqued Alfred's curiosity because he had always been the odd one out when it came to covering up his mark. Scrunching his eyebrows up, he watched as the man seemed to flounder with his words for a few minutes before finding his composure. Smiling sheepishly, the man rubbed the back of his head and laughed a bit. Ah, socially awkward. Yeah, Alfred could relate to that. He had a near constant case of foot-in-mouth syndrome.

"Um," The man began, "Would you mind if I sat here maybe? This place is a bit busy and, well..."

Australian. The guy had a very strong accent, a rough but ear pleasing voice to go along with good looks. Now if only he had a brain and Alfred would be in love. Snorting at his own thoughts, he nodded at the Australian man who quickly took his seat next to Alfred. The place was getting busy and almost all tables had some sort of study group at them. Alfred would feel less awkward sitting with one person rather than a group, too.

"What's your name?" Alfred's eyes never left his compute as he began his scavenger hunt for the illusive file

"Jack. Jack Williams. What about you?" The man sipped his coffee, eyes bright though Alfred could not see their color

"Alfred Jones. Nice to meet you!" The American nodded at the Australian man, "You here for the college? Seems to be the biggest tourist attraction in this part of New York."

"Yeah, actually. Studying to be a Zoologist, ya know?"

Alfred raised his eyebrows, "What year are you in?"

"Senior." The man laughed, "It was a hassle but I finally got my parents to agree to ship me to New York and I had my credits transferred to Viewmont. They have one of the best science programs!"

"Yeah, I know. I go there. I'm a junior, going into Engineering. I'll probably see you down at the college, you staying on campus or did you rent a place?" Alfred double clicked the file he finally found, simultaneously munching on his donut

"Oh, small world, huh?" The Aussie snorted, "My mother pitched a fit about me coming over here, there was no way she'd let me stay in a room with a stranger. She got me an apartment downtown. Cheap but, all things considered, pretty nice."

Alfred nodded. He knew what the man meant, inexpensive places were hard to find in New York even if you didn't live in the main cities. A small city like this was pretty pricy still and they weren't close to Manhattan or any of the really horribly priced places. Alfred himself lived down by college itself near the plaza, about half an hour away from the place Jack described.

Jack sighed, looking at his watch, "It seems I've gotta run. My orientation is in an hour and I have to get changed. I'll see you around, yeah?"

Alfred nodded and, surprising himself, smiled as the man turned and walked out the door. He was curious about the Aussie with the bandana wrapped around his wrist.

Unbidden emotion was planted like a seed in his heart, and he didn't even know it.


A/N: Okay so change of pace. Alfred is older, a junior in college, and is a lot less bitter than he was in high school/freshman year of college. He has met Jack, who if you can't tell is Australia, and he likes the guy a bit more than he should as he knows the guy probably has a soul mate back home. Or does he? At this point I'm not sure if I'm gonna let you guys know if Ivan is dead or alive so ;)

Question of the Chapter: Is Ivan dead? Is Jack's soul mate dead? Is that why Jack was so eager to leave Australia despite what he may say? Is Alfie getting a crush? Will it be unrequited?