"You big idiot!"

"-ng the water!"

"Okay, who drank the last bit of milk!"

Alfred blearily pulled his face out from the soft pillow, the shouts downstairs waking him from his good dream. He rolled over to his side, facing the wall, pulling the covering his head with the quilt and curling into a tight ball. The hard springs of the mattress were sticking into his side painfully, he cared more about trying to get back to sleep than comfort though. The shouting voices below weren't helping with that.

"Gilbert! Don't let that thing in here!"

"-y and stop me Liz!"

The American curled further into himself and groaned aloud. Why were people so noisy this early in the morning? The sun wasn't even shining through the curtains yet. The sound of metal smacking something hard rang throughout the house and then the door being slammed made the floor shake momentarily. The boy let out a sigh of relief after a few moments of silence, finally uncurling himself and laying down comfortably. The thin covers barely keeping him warm but he was too tired to really care right now. The blonde started relaxing and could feel himself falling further into the abyss of sle-. Loud music began thumping through the house and vibrating in his ears. Gilbert could be heard singing along to whatever was being played. Alfred growled angrily before throwing the covers back. There was no light at all in the room and his eyes weren't adjusting to it at all. He blearily leaned over to the small wooden nightstand by his bed and rummaged around for his glasses, several food wrappers fell to the floor silently before his hand collided with the glass lenses of the piece. He grabbed them before rubbing his eyes and then putting them on the bridge of his nose. The American let out a long yawn before standing up from his bed and walking to the open door at the other side of the room. The tall blonde stretched, his hands just barely touching the low dirty ceiling of the hallway and his ripped white bed shirt riding up his stomach and showing off his tanned abdomen. His arms fell back to his sides before he walked blearily towards the stairs, he passed by several shut doors along the way but by the sounds of it he was the last one awake. It was too early in the morning to be having music on full blast. It was a surprise that the neighbours hadn't reported them for how regular an occurrence the loud music and arguments were. Alfred was too poor to have a house to himself so opted to stay with a group. Prices were steadily rising on everything and the rag tag 'family' would soon have to let more in if they don't want to be out on their arses. The further he got down the stairs the louder the music and Elizabeta's shouting was. If America hadn't been taken over and turned into a place for the rich then Alfred would still be there, living with his parents and brother in their small quaint farm down south. His lips tugged up tiredly at the memory as he carried on shuffling down the stairs. His parents had been split from them both in all the action, so there was a good chance they were out there still. Looking for them.
If anything, Alfred wasn't a downer. He liked to stay positive and in these tough times that was a positive trait. The American reached the bottom of the stairs and looked over the banister to the open kitchen door. The ratty hard carpet hurting his feet, he walked with haste over to the tiled kitchen. The music was a lot louder in there, behind the wooden door was the dirty old cooker that Matthew was stood at cooking, the room was small so the large oak table in the middle made it seem all the more smaller. Gilbert, Francis and Antonio sat with their backs to him, probably talking. He wasn't sure. Alfred walked to the side of Matthew; on the wooden worktop was a large stereo that was plugged into the same double plug socket as the stove. He flicked the switch off, the music dying down a moment later.

"Hey what are you doing! I was listening to that!" Gilbert shouted and turned around to meet Alfred's tired blue eyes.

"Whilst your blasting your 'tunes' Gilbert, some people are trying to sleep. Myself and the neighbours being some of them." Alfred broke eye contact with Gilbert and looked back towards the tiled wall. He pushed his glasses up slightly so that he could rub the sleep from his eyes. He should already be used to this; after all it was a regular occurrence. The blonde requested a slice of buttery toast from Matthew before going over to the other side of the oak table and sitting down in one of the chairs. It creaked under his weight after all the years of usage it's had. Gilbert attempted to make conversation, before he got the idea that the American was too tired to talk. Alfred had his head in his hands trying to fight off the sleep that was trying to come. Matthew put a plate with two slices of toast on making Alfred look up. The shy boy smiled slightly before walking back over to the oven, Gilbert quickly shooting the Canadian's arse a look. The tan boy ate his toast in small bites for once. The spitting of the fat in the pan of whatever Matthew was making distracting him from his thoughts. The door to the living room squeaked on its hinges as Lilli opened it, she looked at the people in the kitchen before walking over to the boy still stood in front of the cooker.

"Matthew, big brother wants to know if you could give him some of the fry up when you're done with it." She asked in a quiet voice, the girl was looking to the side slightly. She still wasn't used to living with so many people even though she has been for just over two years now. Lilli had lived with her big brother in Switzerland until being forced out which put her where she was now.

Matthew smiled at her before patting her head, startling the smaller girl. "Of course I will Lilli. I was going to anyway." The wavy blonde haired boy said with a blush. It was well known to everyone in the house apart from Lilli herself that Matthew had the smallest crush on her. Vash, Lilli's older brother, was okay with it as he knew how good a man Matthew was and that he would treat her well.

The petite girl smiled at him and nodded politely before turning and leaving the room back through the door, her overly large dress trailing slightly behind her. The Canadian carried on looking towards the now closed door, a dreamy smile on his lips and a fading blush on his cheeks. Antonio and Francis had a knowing smile, whilst Gilbert looked down to the dull table top, his silver bangs shadowing his eyes.

Alfred licked his dirty fingers free of the sticky butter before walking back over to Matthew and grabbing the milk carton to his side. He pulled off the plastic lid before bringing it up to his lips. A few tentative moments later he pulled it back, shaking it slightly to hear it had been empty all along. With a sigh he put it back down and started to walk back to the door to the hallways before he felt someone pulling on the back of his night shirt.

"The milkman will be here in ten minutes or so. Take some money out of the jar and go buy some, but don't drink it all like last time." Alfred shivered at the memory of what had happened last time he had drank all the milk. He didn't want to know what Matthew would use as a weapon against him this time since last time he had knocked him clean out by slapping him with a spatula.

With a nod he awkwardly shuffled behind the chairs to the cupboard that was hanging off the hinges and looked like it could fall at any moment. He stuck his hand inside, a small leak in the sink dripping onto his forearm whilst he awkwardly groped around in the cupboard trying to find the glass jar. By the time he did find it, his full forearm was soaking wet, making the blonde hairs on his arms stick to tan skin and become almost invisible. He put the heavy glass jar down onto the long wooden worktop before unscrewing the lid and sticking his hand inside.

"Matthew! Alfred's stealing from the jar again." Both Alfred and Matthew turned around to face the albino who was pointing to Alfred with a look of fake shock. The albino had watched the two of them and felt a little offended that the younger twin hadn't asked him to go and get the milk. He was trying to subtly hint to the boy that he wanted to go. Gilbert didn't know why but he often acted different around the Canadian without noticing it. He was shyer than usual, not as straight forward or loud. He would have never noticed if Francis hadn't approached him about it.

The Canadian sighed before he answered. "I know Gilbert; he's going to buy some milk since no one else bothered to." He said tiredly. The German boys face turned from mock horror to shock, "well maybe if you had asked me to then I would have. Fat boy over there's going to end up drinking all of it. Again." Gilbert's voice had risen, he looked truthfully offended. The self-proclaimed awesome albino never got offended at anyone, if he was ever insulted then he would retort by childishly telling them he was the best and they were probably talking about themselves. He only ever got this way around Matthew, the Canadian had also noticed this but just brushed it off as Gilbert maturing somewhat. The German boy stood from his chair abruptly making Antonio and Francis look at him.

"Where you going, Gil?" The usually happy Spaniard asked. Gilbert looked over his shoulder looking straight into Antonio's shocked face before turning back around to hide his now sombre face; he hated these personality changes he had around the Canadian.

"Out." He said in a monotone voice before walking straight through the hallway door, slamming it on his way then giving the front door the same treatment.

Alfred looked to the now shut door before huffing. "What's his problem? It's probably that time of the month for him again." The American turned back around and carried on picking out small bits of change from the jar and making a small pile to the side. Matthew was scooping the eggs and bacon from the pan and putting them on a plate before grabbing some toast and putting them on as well. He picked the large plate up before putting it into the middle of the table. Antonio and Francis looked at him questioningly as he untied the stained beige apron and hanging it on a hook on the door. Alfred looked at him as well.

"Where you going bro?" He asked as Matthew slipped on his boots that were in front of the back door.

Matthew looked up at the American; Matthew's eyes were filled with guilt. "I'm going to go after Gilbert." He said quietly. The soft spoken boy was obviously feeling guilty. It was sad really, Matthew looked up to the German as someone like another older brother or a close friend, but Gilbert obviously wanted more from him. He grabbed his scarf that had been next to his boots, it was a scarf that Alfred had given him for Christmas a few days ago, joking about not wanting him to get a cold. The blonde boy started striding towards the door to the hallway whilst tying the beige scarf around his neck. Alfred heard the front door close with a quiet bang. The room was enveloped in a thick awkward atmosphere, Alfred, Francis and Antonio not knowing what to say. The American boy sped up in his rummaging, pulling up random coins.

"Antonio, can you go get my jacket from my room?" Alfred asked, turning to face the brunette with a sheepish smile. The Spaniard smiled back happily; glad to have an excuse to leave. Even he, who was apparently unable to read the atmosphere, had been able to read it. Alfred pushed the coins into his palm and turning around to face the Frenchman. Francis had one of his elbows on the table, his chin resting in his palm. The older boy was looking at Alfred out of the corner of his eye, his lips were pulled down into a frown.

"You know he likes him, don't you?" Francis broke eye contact after speaking, choosing instead to look out of the window above the sink. Alfred looked at him a moment before looking out of the window as well. It was still dark out but a little light was beginning to crack through the dark clouds.

"Yeah, I know. Mattie doesn't like him though." Both men carried on looking out of the window until Antonio quietly came back into the room, Alfred's leather brown bomber jacket in his hands. The green eyed boy smiled at Alfred before holding out the jacket. The American thanked him before slipping it on and putting the money into one of the pockets. He walked out into the hallway, slipping on his slippers before slipping out of the front door, closing it gently behind him. He stood on the door step a moment, looking out towards the rows of houses that were topped with snow. It was really thick this year; he could feel the cold water soaking through his slippers. Alfred honestly regretted going out in his night clothes but a glass of milk would really help him wake up. The blonde's teeth began to chatter against each other in a feeble attempt to warm himself up. His legs felt like they were going to fall off, he really should have put on a pair of pants instead of going out in the middle of winter in a pair of shorts. How had he managed to survive winters up until now in only a tank top and a pair of shorts? He stood on the stone steps for another moment until the quiet chime of the milk float coming up the street could be heard. He looked to his left and over the wrought iron fence, Kiku sat in the driver's seat of the milk float. Alfred brightened up immediately; Kiku was his best friend whom he hadn't seen in a while. He was tackling so many jobs for his large family, but that was pretty much the story for everyone living around here. Alfred walked down the stairs carefully to try and avoid slipping on the ice. Kiku moved the float to the path. The Asian boy was red in the face from having to drive the vehicle. It wasn't powered by a motor and instead was more like a bike styled to look like a car. Kiku stepped out from inside, he was wearing his casual clothes because a uniform was too expensive. Alfred moved to stand in front of him. The black haired Japanese boy smiled at him, the blush from having to drive the float around fading.

"Hi Alfred, come to buy some milk?" Kiku moved to the side, where the several cartons of milk were stored. Several other people were coming out into the streets now to get milk. Alfred smiled at him and nodded. Kiku moved the plastic curtain to the side revealing several crates of milk. A small queue of several people started to form behind Alfred, each waiting to buy from the Japanese boy.

"So how much would it be for two bottles of milk?" Alfred asked whilst pulling the cold coins from his warm pocket. Kiku looked away from the taller boy with a frown and downcast eyes.

"The price has gone up again, sorry Alfred. It's five fifty now…" The brown eyed boy was obviously very uncomfortable to be the one to bring the bad news to the people. They hated it when prices were put up to help pay for the vastly growing British empire. A few groans chorused from behind Alfred and several people complaining about not being able to afford it. Alfred was counting the several silver coins in his palm trying to calculate whether he had the right amount. He looked back up to Kiku with a sad expression.

"I only have four seventy. Mattie's going to have my hide if I don't get any more milk…" Alfred looked panicked and had his head in his hand out of stress. Kiku looked at the boy slightly guilty. The people behind him had thinned down slightly and they were all too busy talking to notice them. The brown eyed boy grabbed two glass milk bottles and passed it to Alfred with a sly smirk.

"Just give me what you have Al. I'll take the last bit off my pay check." Kiku said in Alfred's ear as if he was telling the best secret in the world. Alfred looked behind him then back at the smaller boy with a smirk as well, he hated to have to use Kiku's money because he was poor as well but he had been the one to offer.

"Thanks Kiku saved me you have." Alfred gave his thanks in an overly hard smack to the back, which made the petite boy stumble forwards. Alfred could hear sounds coming from within the milk float, he looked inside to see the other side of the curtain moving slightly and the several stacks of crates shifting slightly. It took Alfred a few moments for his mind to notice what was going on. He hurriedly tapped Kiku on his shoulder hard and pointed at the other side begging the other boy to notice as well. The petite boy turned around with a confused expression before he noticed what was going on, his usually hard to read face becoming shocked.

"H-Hey! What are you doing back there!" Alfred had never heard the Japanese boy raise his voice before, but it was like an unspoken rule that nobody steals from each other around here. They helped each other along rather. A squeak came from the other side of the cart and the sound of the person trying to pull a crate away quickly. The American was pulled by an angry Kiku to the other side, a small blonde boy was holding a small crate to himself, and his green eyes were wide like a deer in headlights.

The green eyed boy was dressed like a rich person, but the clothes he was wearing were cut revealing bruised and cut skin underneath, his face had small soot stains on it and his hair was dirty. It took the thief a minute for his mind to catch up with his body before he mumbled out a quiet 'fuck' before running away, the plastic crate in hands. Kiku looked on scared, occasionally looking to the side to silently beg Alfred to chase after him as he couldn't leave the cart and wouldn't be able to catch up in it.

The blue eyed boy caught his look and nodded to him before chasing after the green eyed male. Kiku looked on in shock, his attention only being brought back by the people still waiting for their milk. The Asian boy passed people their milk and took the payment his head elsewhere. The boss would fire him if any of the milk got stolen, but he couldn't help but worry for the boy. He had looked like he hadn't eaten in days and was covered in bruises and dirt. Even if he should be feeling angry he couldn't help but feel slightly worried.

"Honestly, he should have had to pay like the rest of us."

Kiku looked up to the brown eyed girl looking at him with a smile. "Maria." He smiled back at her making the brunette smile wider. "Come for the milk? You can have it free. I'll take this one off my check." The tanned girl looked taken aback a moment before she smiled again at him. She took the offered glass of milk from the boy and slipped it into her bag. "I'll see you when you get home, Kiku." The girl kissed him on the cheek before turning and walking in the direction Alfred had gone. She looked over her shoulder and waved to the blushing boy who waved back slightly before going back to serving people.

"Hey! Stop!"

Arthur could hear the boy shouting not far behind him, the heavy crate was slowing him down slightly but he was still managing to outrun the other boy. The prince (could he really call himself that anymore? He had ran away and with how things turned out, he was actually starting to regret it) was no longer paying the ice mind; too busy trying to find a place where the taller boy wouldn't be able to find him. Arthur's breath was coming out in ragged short breaths and the houses he passed went by in a blur but the blonde wouldn't drop pursuit. The green eyed male cut sharply down an alley, dodging the black bags filled with rubbish and the random bits that had spilled on the floor. The ice was a lot thicker down the alley; no one uses it so they didn't think that grit was worth using on it. Arthur had to quickly stop himself before he could trip several times.

"Hey!"

The blonde chanced a look over his shoulder to see the taller boy not even a metre behind him. Fuck! Arthur tried to will his legs to move faster, long periods of time without using them much had made him feel rusty and now of all times he regretted not using them as much. Stealing the milk had been a spur of the moment thing, it had been a month since he had run away from the castle, Christmas had already passed and he had barely eaten anything. The unguarded milk float had literally been begging for him to steal from it. He had been caught in several fights after being attempted to be mugged on several occasions as people tried to steal his bag, the bag which was now painfully slapping against the back of his thighs that were screaming out for a break. Arthur was too caught up in his thoughts to see the pile of rubbish in front of him, his foot caught on one of the black bags as his hands flew out in front of him to stop the fall which made the plastic crate and several bottles inside fly from his hands. Arthur crashed forwards as he heard the tell-tale sound of glass smashing. The last Arthur could feel was a searing pain in his head after hitting it off the ice and a warmth on his forehead that soon went cold from the ice before his vision went black.

Alfred had stopped just at the right moment to avoid falling over the fallen boy, which he considered pretty lucky since everyone called him a major klutz. The boy on the floor wasn't moving which made Alfred's hero instincts kick in unconsciously.

"Hey, are you okay?" Alfred asked, he kneeled down at the side of the blonde boy and shuck his shoulder gently. The boy let out a pained groan which made the American release him immediately. The blonde bit his lip, he hated to admit but he actually felt scared that he might have hurt the thief. He hadn't wanted to do that, maybe get the milk back and give him a harsh telling off but…
Alfred stepped over the boy and over to the milk crate that was a little further up the alley, a growing puddle of white now surrounding the green plastic box. He tuned it the right way up to see that four of the glasses had been smashed, a small amount of milk still inside the small amount of the remaining glass. Two of the bottles had been spared though. With a sigh the blue eyed boy picked them up then moved back over to the other blonde who still hadn't moved. He was still laid with his face in the ice so Alfred turned him over to get a better look. He was knocked clean out and his face was stuck in a pained expression with his eyes shut tightly and lips set in a grimace. Above his (rather big) eyebrows was a cut that ran up to his hairline. By now, Alfred couldn't feel the icy winds biting into his bare legs. He carefully shrugged his jacket off and placed it to the floor gently to avoid smashing the two glasses in his pocket. Alfred pulled the ripped bed shirt over his head, holding it as he quickly put the brown leather back on. He knelt down and wiped at the blood that was dripping out of the cut, the blonde tied the piece around the other boys head to stop the bleeding before putting the other two bottles of milk in his pocket then slinging him over his shoulder with care. He took the bag that was hanging around the pale boy's neck awkwardly and carefully putting him over his shoulder and the bag over the other before walking back to Kiku

"Alfred!"

Kiku had waited for the blonde to come back, in case he had managed to catch the thief. He looked at the unconscious body on Alfred's shoulder before looking back into the American's blue eyes.

"Kiku." Alfred said with a little smile, the boy on his shoulder wasn't exactly heavy but he also wasn't the lightest thing he had ever carried. "I only managed to get one of them, sorry." The blue eyed male scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and looked away with a little blush on his face.

The Asian boy looked up at him with a small smile; Alfred could tell it was forced though.
"Not, it's okay. I'll just hope boss doesn't notice…" Kiku looked to his milk float with a sad expression after speaking. "How is he anyway?" He looked back up to Alfred who looked confused until he pointed to the unconscious boy slung over his shoulder.

"Oh, him? He's fine… Probably. Just cut his head." Alfred grinned widely and grabbed one of the milk bottles from his pocket before passing it over. "Better be on my way then! Everyone's probably wondering where I am." The American knew that they probably wouldn't be worried, he just hated lying to his best friend so wanted to get away as fast as he could before the black haired boy noticed. "I'll be going then Kiku, bye~!" Alfred turned around and waved one last time before walking casually back to the semi-detached house.

Kiku looked at his best friends back before noticing the extra bottle of milk in the blonde's jacket pockets. He couldn't help but crack a smile, Alfred was too nice to strangers. Even the ones that others would probably be mean to if they were in the situation he was. The Japanese boy climbed back into his milk cart to go deliver milk to the next streets that were probably waiting.

A/N: I got really bored whilst writing this -_- it's almost midnight, in England of course. I'm tired as fuck. Sorry this is so boring, I got really bored and… Yeah. If you got it this far, well done. I can be boring and this just felt overly dragged out -_- but I'm trying to make it better. I really am. Any mistakes? Sorry. As I said. I'm very tired.

Maria = Philippines (Sorry, I ship Pirihon.)

I really need to choose a single band/ artist to listen to. Listening to Dragonforce, asking Alexandria, Kerli, soilwork and Origa is never a good idea when you're easily influenced by music.
Maybe another chapter some day after mine and Sea-kun's birthday, unless the tosspot known as school decides to interfere, which it always does.