HELLO MY DARLINGS! I wasn't GOING to post this, because I wanted to have time to study and stuff. BUT, I only have to write two exams, so I don't really need to study all that hard. Plus we've been reviewing ALL week, so I'm sick and tired of reading my notes. And I hope y'all are happy- I'm forcing myself to ignore my obsession with SnK in order to write this chapter right now.

Inner Kiwi: No one frickin' cares, just get on with it.

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Matthew was snuggled into his blankets, head burrowed under his pillow and body curled up. The last time he'd glanced at the clock, it had read 8:30. It was colder than a witches' tit outside, and school had called a snow day. It was days like this that Matthew was happy he lived in Canada and not some super warm place like Florida. Snow days were his favorite. No school, no work, he could just lay around the house and spend some quality time with his pajamas. This snow day was made extra special by the fact that Ivan wasn't home. He'd been called into work early that morning, leaving a note for Matthew to let him know. He was glad the he didn't have to face Lili that day. After yesterday's confession, he was scared to face her. What if she told everyone? Plus, Ivan had become much more suspicious of him, asking him tonnes of questions about drama when the teacher wasn't looking. He was so scared that he was going to get caught. No, he reprimanded himself, no bad thoughts on a snow day. Today was about being lazy, not worrying over his life in his head like some silly book character. Matthew would just spend his day relax-

Knock Knock.

Oh fuck a duck, Matthew thought, wiggling himself further into the bed and tucking Kumajenga under his chin. "Ngh, five more minutes," The knocking stopped, and Matthew breathed a sigh of relief. Ahh, peace.

Suddenly, Matthew felt something heavy and solid jump on top of him.

"MATTIEMATTIEMATTIEMATTIEMATTIE YOU GOTTA WAKE UUUUUUUUUP~!" Alfred yelled at him, his voice full of excitement, as if it was Christmas and he wanted to open all his presents.

"What in the name of all things holy could you possibly want?" Matthew growled, glaring up at his twin with icy violet eyes. Matthew was not exactly what you could call a morning person. "In fact, what are you even doing up this early? It usually takes a miracle to have you out of bed before noon."

Alfred just continued to grin down at him, practically vibrating with pent up energy. "Mattie, it's a SNOW DAY. That means that there is snow!" Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Yes Alfred, snow days usually mean snow. Thank you for that stunning observation."

"Quit being such a spoil-sport and get dressed! I wanna go out!" Alfred seemed to be ignoring Matthew's bad mood. He grabbed his brother's wrist and tugged at him, trying to get him to sit up. Sighing, the Canadian gave in, pushing Alfred of the bed and abandoning his cocoon.

"I'll miss you, my love," He whispered to his bed as he left his room to get a shower.

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After a half an hour and a very sugary cup of tea, Matthew was ready to go. He was wearing a puffy white jacket over with signature red maple leaf sweater, a pair of jeans, and a Team Canada toque. His brother, in comparison, was so layered that Matthew could scarcely see his eyes. He'd never understand the guy; He had no tolerance to the cold, and yet he loved the snow. Alfred grabbed a black bag off the table, then the pair waddled their way through their apartment building and out into the bitter cold.

"So, where are we going, Alfred?" Matthew asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He wasn't feeling as grumpy as he had when Alfred had jumped on him, but he wasn't exactly cheerful, either.

"To the Willie O'Ree to skate. It's been forever since we've been to the rink, you know?" Alfred answered back. Matthew felt himself perk up a bit at that. He really enjoyed skating. Alfred was constantly teasing him about how it was because he was obviously Canada personified.
The pair caught a bus to the ice rink, both agreeing that it was far too cold to make the hour long walk. They made use of the change rooms and left their stuff there. Alfred was constantly worrying about shady characters stealing his stuff. They laced up their skates in silence, save for the odd curse from Alfred, who STILL couldn't lace up his skates properly. Honestly, Matthew wondered about that boy some times.

Once they both had their skates on and had deposited their jackets, they hobbled out to the rink. While Matthew's transition on to the ice was smooth, Alfred promptly fell on his ass. Matthew's lips quirked up in amusement.

"It's not funny, Mattie! Help me up," Alfred whined. Matthew rolled his eyes and hauled his brother to his feet.

"Maybe if you weren't a shit skater, you wouldn't have fallen," The Canuck quipped, smirking a bit. Alfred narrowed his eyes.

"Screw you, I'm an excellent skater! Race me around the rink and I'll show you!" Matthew accepted the challenge, and soon they were racing each other around the perimeter. Of course, Matthew won, but his brother wasn't far behind.

"Beat your ass again, Alfie," Mattie said smugly, skating a circle around the American.

"Oh, bite me, doughboy. I'll get you one of these days."

The next hour or so was spent on childish races and games, chasing each other around the rink and generally acting like teenage boys. After a while, they decided to take a hot chocolate break, sitting on the bleachers and watching the skaters.

Alfred filled his brother in on his new found crush on his best friend, Kiku. Matthew had seen THAT one coming from a mile away. Matthew in turn told his brother about Gilbert and the gang. After Matthew finished recounting the story of the time Gilbert nearly fell off the roof, Alfred gave him a funny look.

"You're crushing on Beilschmidt, aren't you?" He asked. Matthew nearly choked on his drink.

"Erm, I- You-Why-" Alfred cut his stammering off with a hearty laugh.

"Oh God dude, you've got it bad, I can tell!" His obnoxious voice drew a few eyes, and Matthew shushed him, his face aflame.

"Don't be stupid, Al, I'm with Ivan," He insisted. Alfred just his eyes.

"No, YOU don't be stupid, Matt. Any dumb ass can tell that you are totally not into him anymore. In fact, I don't even know why his commie ass is still stinkin' up our apartment." Alfred said. Matthew winced; shit, if ALFRED could tell that he no longer had feelings for the Russian, than everyone must be able to see it.

"Okay, I do like Gil, but it's not that simple. Please don't bring it up again," Matthew conceded, throwing his twin a pleading look. Alfred shrugged.

"Your secret is safe with me, bro," After this, he launched into some tale about his heroism. Matthew couldn't help but smile a little inside.

It felt good to acknowledge his crush on Gilbert.

SOOOOOO, That is where imma end this fine chapter. I could keep going, but I don't have a sweet fucking clue what is going to happen next. I need a few more chapters until the climax, but I don't know what to fill them with. This skating scene was originally supposed to come later on, with Gilbert, but I decided that I needed to have more Alfred in this story. I just love him so much. He's such a cool brother, like "Dude, the second you say the word, I'll turn that Ruskie out on his fat white ass." It makes me sad that in the original RP I'm basing this off of, Alfred wasn't there. He was only mentioned in passing.

Also, If it seems like Matthew is a bit out of character in this chapter, it's because honestly? Matthew and Alfred are brothers. Matthew may not trust him enough to tell him his secret, but I don't think Matthew would be shy with him. I see Matthew as one of those people who is really shy with someone for a while, and then gradually warms up to them and lets their true personality through.