"Alfred, I hope you're predictable enough to be in the one place I know you'll be when you're upset," Matthew uttered to himself, meandering past people ambling by high street shops. The November mist puffed from the Canadian's lips, the cold air not fazing the blonde one bit having been used to living in cold climates. Matthew snapped his head to the many building, picking out one in particular like a hawk. Finally he stopped at the one building he was looking for; Wac Burgers. The golden 'W' gleamed against the dark blue background like a beacon which was exactly what Matthew needed as he strained his eyes through the window, searching for his brother. He scanned the whole room until he spotted the honey blonde haired man, surrounded by piles of fries, burgers, and at least ten large drink cups.

"Oh boy. This is going to take some convincing." Matthew sighed and turned to the door and entered the bustling restaurant, sauntering his way to Alfred devouring another burger. How many burgers did he buy anyway? If Matthew couldn't count how many he's had, that means Alfred must be depressed.

"Alfred," The Canadian said, hoping the American would at least raise his head before going back to eating but no such thing happened. "Alfred! I know you can see me! You're just choosing not to!" Matthew shot with more authority. His brother swallowed before looking up at the Canadian with a downhearted expression.

"Oh, hey" was all he had to say slowly. Well at least Matthew got through to Alfred, now he needed to find out what was bothering him. He took his seat next to the American and pushed some of the obscene amount of burgers to him.

"Alfred. What's wrong with you?" Matthew started. He knew he was asking a stupid question but uncovering the root of his brother's despondent disposition was his priority. "It has something to do with Arthur and Francis being together, eh?"

Alfred stopped slurping the cola in his latest cup and placed it on the table, not looking to Matthew's face. "Arthur and Francis…" He murmured. The Canadian waited for him to tell all but all that came out of his brother was a chuckle, unnerving him slightly. "It has to be some joke," Alfred held his forehead and combed his hair back with his fingers. "They're too much like rivals to be in love right?"

Matthew cast his gaze to the ground for a moment before glancing back to Alfred. "You don't like the idea… two guys who love each other getting married, eh?" He braced himself Alfred snapping back at him, thinking he was going to be lectured on how he should be tolerant of all sexual orientations but none came. Matthew saw him tense but he didn't seem to be angry enough to give him a rant.

Alfred still kept his gaze on the remaining burgers and fries. "It's just not right. They've been rivals for so long and now they declare their love?" His voice held a quiet anger in the tone.

Matthew had to calm him down somehow, even if it was going to be a hard process. "I know how you feel but at the end of the day, they love each other. You can't force them not to."

"This is Ludwig's doing, the idiot," Alfred spat and took another slurp of his drink. "If we had just left them alone…"

"No progress would have been made in recent meetings," Matthew interrupted. "They would have come home covered in bruises or worse, and they would have never understood each other. Didn't you think that it's been more peaceful since they spent time in that cell? Didn't you think it was nice that they were getting along even if we didn't know they were secretly dating each other?"

"That's not the point!" Alfred shot, bashing the table with his fist. Some customers, waiting in the queue and eating, stared at the American before resuming their business after he tucked into his sixth burger.

Matthew folded his arms. "Then what is the point Alfred? Why are you so bitter about them being together?"

"I don't have to tell you," Alfred said after swallowing the chunk of burger he bit into. The Canadian stared at his brother with intensity for a moment before sighing and standing from his seat.

"I know you'd rather not listen to me now but please don't be a hoser when you see Arthur and Francis together," Matthew brushed past Alfred, who in turn took a quick glance at him leaving the restaurant. Once his brother disappeared, Alfred turned back to his burger. Now it was going to require more effort to finish his food than it did earlier.

He returned to the meeting room at least fifteen minutes later without talking to anyone, even when they asked whether he was all right.

"Such a stupid question! Did I look like I'm okay!" Alfred imagined shouting to everyone in his head and got the taxi to the hotel.

The American's anger still simmered as he packed his belongings in his dark blue suitcase, which sat on the bed. The images of Arthur and Francis together sickened him to the extent that he felt slightly nauseous. Normally he was the sort of person who won't look at something he didn't like unless he felt so strongly about it. This was one of those times, which he felt so strong; he could have easily gone on a long rant about how they shouldn't be together. However, he kept his nerve; he didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea for his reasons. He didn't want anyone thinking of him as anything less than a hero because that's the persona he gave to himself. A knock sounded at the door snapping Alfred's mind from his packing. He propped the shirt he held into the case and turned for the door across the green carpet. He grabbed the brass door handle and pulled the door open only for his eyes to widen at the sight of a bashful Arthur.

"Arthur?"

"Alfred," The Englishman said, gazing at the floor with his emerald eyes before looking up at the younger nation's face. "I don't suppose I could come in, could I?"

As angry as he was at his former big brother figure, Alfred remained surprisingly calm and stepped to the side. "Sure," He said, watching Arthur enter the room slowly. "If you're gonna try to convince me to accept you and Francis as a couple, don't bother or was it what you wanted to talk about?"

"Please, just hear me out," Arthur stopped and turned to Alfred with a pleading expression. The American found it unnerving how the Englishman was using the same trick as he often did, and now he knew how it felt to have to bend to it and nodded to confirm he was listening. Arthur stared at his fidgety fingers. "The announcement… uh, sorry if we shocked you into unconsciousness."

"That's cool," It wasn't really but he was being careful around him. "I mean, it wasn't cool fainting but I'm not pissed off."

"Alfred, you don't have to lie about your annoyance about our engagement. Your body language said it all back at the meeting room," Arthur cut in almost immediately. It seems he still knows me as well as he does but not everything. The American continued to pack his clothes in the suitcase.

"I'm not that annoyed."

"Please, just tell me what's wrong. I'm sure whatever it is, we can work it out," Arthur grabbed his arm with a pleading voice.

"Don't say that to me again!" Alfred suddenly snapped but not in an aggressive way. He didn't want the memory of the last time Arthur begged those words to him. Either way, the Englishman jolted at that sentence and withdrew his hand. Alfred stopped packing by that time, trying to collect his thoughts. A hard lump collected in his throat, making it a little sore. "Just don't say that to me ever again."

"Alfred… do you like me?"

The American spun to face the older nation with a confused expression. What gave him the idea that Alfred F. Jones liked Arthur Kirkland, in a way that Arthur Kirkland liked Francis Bonnefoy? Sure he interacted with him a lot of the time but that didn't mean he liked Arthur in that way. "Whatever gave you that idea?" He inquired.

Arthur glanced to the green carpet once again. "Well… you're always acting like I'm some kind of damsel in distress. A lot of people seem to think the same thing as I do and it puzzles me." He raised his head to make eye contact with the younger nation. "Why do you act that way around me?"

Alfred stared at the floor. He knew the reason why but he felt too embarrassed to say it. His pride wouldn't allow it until today. He gazed at Arthur's perplexed expression. "Do you remember that time I left you outside in the rain?" The Englishman mused for a moment before the thought of the American Revolution entered his head. The rain pattering on his mud covered, red uniform and skin, the water droplets dripping from his hair and integrating themselves with the salty tears, all under the gloomy grey sky. Arthur remembered it all too well. He could only nod in response. Alfred knew how upsetting it was for him, losing his precious colony. It was a bitter blow. "I didn't win because you couldn't shoot me Arthur. I won because there was another reason why I had to win apart from having to pay all your high taxes. It was a reason Francis gave me when he helped me out."

"Francis?" Arthur blinked in confusion.

Alfred nodded. "He told me the reason why the Roman and Holy Roman Empire collapsed. They simply grew too big." He pulled the lid of the suitcase down slowly. "He told me that if I lost against you in the revolutionary war, you would have eventually collapsed and… died along with those two guys. I never wanted it to happen to you because…" Alfred swallowed. "I really do care for you. So I made myself a promise; I promised myself I'd protect you no matter what. Even if you didn't want me to, I would never break that promise I made the day Francis told me why Feliciano is afraid of walking in his grandfather's steps, and why he hung up his sword and made wine and cheese instead."

Arthur's eyes were wide in shock. He didn't think Alfred could be so… deep. Normally he'd act so childish in front of him but in the end, he's an adult too; something Arthur forgot too often thanks to Alfred's rambunctious disposition. "Alfred…"

"I was doing a great job I think, even if you didn't always appreciate it," Alfred began again with a bashful smile but then it turned to a sad expression. "When you and Francis announced that you were engaged, yeah, I was horrified not just because it was two guys getting married but I felt like Francis was taking the role of being your hero away from me. I was wondering what I did wrong, am I not good enough for you and all kinds of questions flying around my head. I thought that since you two are engaged, you wouldn't need me to rescue you whenever you're in trouble or if you needed a shoulder to cry on. But…" Alfred loosened his balled fists while exhaling slowly. "I'm also scared that Francis might hurt you in some way and leave you out in the rain like I did. I mean, you two did fight a lot so..." He trailed the last word quietly, running out of things to say.

It was then that Arthur let out a nervous laugh. "You stupid git! I'm not a fairy-tale princess! I've beaten more nations than you've had hot dinners! I can hold my own thank you very much!"

Alfred joined in on the laughing. "I know but I can't help it! Since that day I left you to cry in that field, I could never forget how vulnerable you can be on the rare occasion." Without warning, Arthur embraced Alfred in a tight hug with a force nearly knocking him to the floor. It didn't really make any sense to the American seeing how Arthur isn't normally the touchy feely type. Maybe that feeling of longing and loneliness had caught up with him and is now feeling a little emotional from those memories resurfacing. Alfred knew Arthur had abandonment issues and it was his fault, even though that fault turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Arthur was still alive and that was something he would appreciate for a long time. Alfred snaked his arms around the Briton. "Hey, you okay?"

Arthur sniffed making Alfred think he was crying but when he looked up to meet his emerald eyes with Alfred's blue, there were signs of tears welling up. "I've held my own over hundreds of years Alfred. If I wanted to be rescued by you, I would have asked for it. Besides, if Francis and I had an argument, I would win it hands down."

"So how come you're hugging me and crying?" Alfred sniggered before Arthur pulled away hastily and blinked the tears to invisibility.

"Shut up and let me ask you a favour."

The American cocked his head to the side. "A favour?"

"Yes so listen…" Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. "If you're still not mad at us, I… was wondering if you would… do me the honour of…" He bought his hand to the front and fidgeted with his fingers. "Will you give me away at the ceremony?"

Alfred blinked in a bewildered manner, his head spinning a little. He managed to prevent himself from fainting but for Arthur, the man who used to be his 'big brother', to ask him to take him down the aisle towards Francis was… such an honour. In fact, he didn't think Arthur would have given anyone else the privilege of doing so. Alfred's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish for quite some time until he shook the daze out of his head. "I was acting like an ass to you and Francis and you ask me that?"

"Do you want to or not?" Arthur frowned. "You say you're my hero right? So you'll do your duty and give me away to Francis, right?"

"Yeah, okay! I'll do it!" Alfred put his hands in front of him to surrender.

"You're not just saying it to be polite? I know you're not keen on same sex marriage."

"But you two love each other," The honey blonde-haired American interjected. "As long as you're happy, I know I've done something right because I'm the hero!"

Arthur chuckled at Alfred's declaration. "Of course. I know I can always count on you being heroic wherever you go."

"Yep, that's me all right," The American grinned his million watt smile.

"Well then," Arthur turned to the door. "Thank you. You've made me feel glad that we confessed today."

"Hey, no problem dude," The Englishman chortled and shook his head before disappearing through the door, leaving Alfred in the hotel room with a case to pack. He placed the last item inside before zipping it up. Alfred would then give Matthew a call and share the news of his role in the wedding ceremony. He would also find out that Francis had asked him to lead him down the aisle to meet with his future husband. Now there was something to look forward to.

!

A/N: I had a lot of writer's block with this chapter but thanks to the power of music, talking to friends and inspirational lines that pop up from nowhere, I managed to get through it. Happy reading!