-You're never gonna get it with nothin'.-
Guilty Pleasure; Cobra Starship

-Hetalia-

Alfred had never been more serious about anything in his life. Or at least never more devoted. Sure he maybe wasn't the smartest guy in town, or at least not the best at 'sensing the mood,' as his friend Kiku put it, but he knew when he was being unfairly treated. He certainly wasn't going to stand for it. There was no way in hell he'd talk to Arthur again before his boyfriend apologized.

Alfred sighed and took out his frustration on the nails he was driving into the side of the old shed his father had him fixing. Punishment for bringing home a dog out of the blue, he'd been told. The good news was they were letting him keep Tony. It helped, of course, that Mattie hadn't squealed about the mishap with Peter two days ago. After some looking back, Alfred realized that the whole thing had been his bad, really. He guessed Tony just liked him best. He'd probably have to keep a better eye on the dog, then.

The punishment wasn't all that bad, though. After he fixed up the shed, they wanted him to build a doghouse, which really only meant that Tony would have a nice place to chill while everyone was at school or work (or in his step-mother's case, both).

School was starting in two weeks. Alfred pounded in the last nail on this wall and stepped back. In two weeks he'd be back to the daily grind of classes, too much homework, and football practices. On top of that he had the band now. Alfred wiped the sweat from the back of his neck and dragged his toolbox over to the next wall. He was happy he'd finally done something about his dream, but the school year stress was already starting to set in. He'd heard that senior year was pretty easy, but that was after you got accepted into a school, and Alfred still didn't know which one he even wanted to go to, or what he wanted to do, really.

Again he sighed and drove in a few nails with more force than was maybe necessary. School was starting in two weeks for him, Matthew, and Gilbert, but Arthur was moving out next Monday. They had this coming week, and then it was over. Alfred nearly missed the nail he was hammering. Okay, so nothing was really over, exactly, but for the first time in almost as long as he could remember, Arthur would be more than a five minute bike ride away. It bothered Alfred a lot – it had even before they were dating. And now with him not talking to the Brit...

Alfred yelped as he did miss the nail this time and pounded his finger instead. He whimpered and pulled the poor digit close, not sure how to minimize the pain. He hopped up and down in agony for a few seconds, but that didn't really help.

The blond was cursing under his breath when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He set down his hammer and tried to catch his breath, keeping his wounded hand clenched as he checked the new text with his free hand. He smiled a little when he saw HONDA KIKU on the screen. He'd let his Japanese friend type in his own contact info, and he'd ended up doing it backwards, which was totally cool because the Japanese were pretty neat, if a bit weird, in Alfred's opinion.

Still hissing a little in pain, Alfred skimmed over the short, grammatically correct message asking him if he wanted to meet up for lunch. He hadn't spent time with Kiku in a while, and he had to head out to buy paint for the shed eventually anyway. With a little grin Alfred typed back u got it dude 8D and sent it off. He bent down to pick up the hammer and put it with his other tools, still nursing his poor finger.

-H-

Alfred didn't realize until he actually pulled into the lot that the cafe Kiku asked to meet him in was the same place he and Arthur had had their first date. He sighed a bit – he was doing that a lot today – and unbuckled, telling himself there was no reason he couldn't have fun with his friend, even if the place did bum him out a little.

Kiku was waiting patiently by the door when Alfred came in, still holding an ice pack to his now purple finger. The dark haired boy looked up from his phone with a smile when he noticed Alfred.

"Konichiwa, Alfred. Oh, what happened to your hand?"

Alfred shrugged and grinned down at him. "Eh, just a hammer. It's alright, it's numbing. Anyway, 'sup with you, dude?"

Kiku kept his eyes on the ice pack for a moment before looking back up at Alfred and giving him a slight bow of the head. "Nothing really, thank you. Shall we sit?"

Alfred nodded and let the shorter teen lead the way to a booth. He felt a tiny bit relieved when they didn't sit at the same table he'd shared with Arthur, but feeling relieved that he didn't have to think about Arthur only made him think about the Brit anyway. He stared at his hands for a moment, feeling bummed again.

"Is something wrong, Alfred?"

Alfred jumped a little bit, looking up into the narrowed dark eyes of his friend. He scratched at the back of his neck and gave a weak smile, about to apologize when their waitress stopped by the table.

"What can I start you off to drink with?"

Alfred felt a little clench in his gut when he noticed she was the same girl who'd tried flirting with him when he and Arthur came in before. As Kiku ordered a green tea, Alfred tried to shake it off.

"Ah, a Coke please."

"Sure thing!"

After she rushed off, Alfred turned back to Kiku. "Sorry man. It's nothing, really. Just life stuff, y'know?"

Kiku watched him closely for a long moment before giving him a small nod. Alfred forced a grin.

"What about you? What's been happenin' in your world? Feels like forever since we hung out, dude!"

"Hai, it has been a while," Kiku gave another little nod. "I have not done very much of note, though."

"You still working at the sushi place?"

"Hai."

The waitress returned with their drinks and took their orders, then scurried off once more. It wasn't really all that busy in the cafe today though, so Alfred didn't see why she was in such a rush.

"Think maybe there's some kind of super secret food critic coming in today or somethin'?" Alfred asked Kiku.

The Japanese teen finished sipping his tea and frowned at Alfred. Alfred tilted his head.

"What'd I say?"

"You really haven't learned how to sense the mood, have you Alfred." It wasn't a question. Alfred frowned back at him.

"I gotta be a little better by now, dude."

Kiku gave him a tiny smile. "Maybe, but she's not rushing because she wants to make sure we have good service."

"There's no way you can tell why she's rushing dude," Alfred laughed. Kiku gave a little sigh.

"How is Matthew?"

Alfred kinda wanted to hear what Kiku thought was making their waitress so hurried, but he guessed he'd have to let it go, for a minute or two at least. "He's totally fine, dude. Well, he got bit at the shelter like almost a month ago, but he's better now. Or almost better. It's mostly bruise now."

Kiku nodded and took another sip of his tea. Alfred took his straw and drained his Coke to half way.

"I heard from my friends Ludwig and Feliciano that you are in a band now," Kiku said once he'd set his cup down. Alfred grinned.

"Hells yeah, dude! We're totally awesome!" He pumped his fist into the air for emphasis, accidentally knocking his ice pack to the floor. "It's me an' Mattie, and Gil an' Arthur. We've got four songs already and we even played Francis's party a couple nights ago."

Kiku nodded again. "Hai, that's where my friends told me they saw you."

"It was so kickass, dude. You shouldda been there." As soon as memories of his fight that night with Arthur tried to sink into Alfred's head, he shoved them away. It just took some self-discipline, but he could keep Arthur from getting to him. That thought cheered Alfred up a bit as he bent to pick up the pack of mostly water now.

Kiku looked a bit apologetic. "Parties are not really my thing."

Alfred shrugged. "I mean, I didn't expect to see Ludwig there, but I think he had an alright time."

"Feliciano is rather skilled at convincing Ludwig to leave his comfort zone."

Alfred laughed a little. He could just imagine the tiny bouncy redhead tugging Ludwig along by the arm into all kinds of things.

"Kinda like Gil and Mattie, actually," he realized out loud. That bothered him a little, though.

Everyone was waiting for the day when Ludwig or Feli finally asked the other out – there were literally bets on how long it would take for them to finally do it. That was perfectly fine, because they were cute together and they were both pretty nice in their own ways. But Gil and Mattie... Well Mattie was still just a kid, and Gilbert was totally bad news! Yeah Alfred had been friends with the guy for a while, and he liked him (most of the time), but the kinds of things Gilbert and Arthur used to get up to were pretty shady, and Gil still got into trouble a lot these days. Alfred didn't want his innocent little brother getting corrupted or wrapped up in all that. No way in hell!

Kiku made a sound like "Hmmm," as though he were thinking deeply.

"What dude?"

As the waitress came with their food, Kiku asked "Are you and Arthur really dating?"

Alfred coughed around his straw, feeling heat flare up in his cheeks. Kiku nodded.

"Uh..." Alfred shifted in his seat, pulling his plate closer and picking up a fry to avoid eye contact. He watched Kiku lift a spoonful of his soup, apparently waiting patiently for Alfred to reply.

"Uh, yeah. It's been three weeks, now..."

Kiku stayed quiet, and Alfred continued to fidget, not sure if the shorter teen was waiting for more. He didn't really know what else he could say, apart from the fact that they were currently fighting. As he picked at his fries, Alfred chanced a glance up at Kiku. He looked thoughtful. Maybe he was doing that sensing the mood thing he insisted Alfred did wrong.

Eventually Kiku's brown eyes came back into focus. "Should I not have asked?"

Alfred couldn't help a small rueful chuckle. "Nah, it's fine." He picked up his burger, careful not to use his wounded hand, but paused before he dug in.

"We just aren't really as perfect as we'd like to be, I guess."

"Maybe your stresses are interfering with your relationship."

Alfred took a bite and thought it over as he chewed. He had been working on all those different volunteer projects his father had him doing for his college applications. Other than college stuff, though, he hadn't really been that stressed out. Well, he was worried about senior year, and about Arthur moving away... He was starting to see what Kiku meant.

"Does that normally happen?" he asked his friend.

Kiku sat up a little straighter. "Well, I don't know from personal experience, of course." Alfred nodded quickly. "But I think it happens often."

Alfred ran a fry through his ketchup. If stress was their problem, then it was only going to get worse when school started up again, wasn't it? And Arthur was a college student now, he would have way more stress than before. Thinking about it, Alfred wondered just how much stress the Brit even had right now. Having to deal with his brothers, getting ready to move out and live on his own, working nights, and then being in the band... plus there was the stuff with Francis, right? Suddenly Alfred felt like maybe he was being a bit of a dick to the poor guy.

"...so how do we fix it?"

Kiku shook his head. "I'm not sure why you are asking me. I do not date, you know."

Alfred nodded again, giving his friend an apologetic smile. "Sorry, you're just so good at advice."

"You should try talking it out, maybe. Communication is important, is it not?"

"Yeah, I know that." He'd been trying to talk to Arthur before, after all, but Arthur just wouldn't listen. So Alfred had... stopped... talking to him...

Wow. Talk about stupid. How the hell were they supposed to talk through this if they weren't talking at all?

Alfred laughed lightly. "I kinda messed up, man..."

Kiku didn't ask, turning instead to accept the check from their waitress. Again she hurried off, and Alfred remembered something.

"Hey, you never told me why you think she's rushing."

Kiku looked like he was about to sigh again, but he answered Alfred anyway.

"Something about you makes her uncomfortable."

Alfred raised an eyebrow and tried to think about why that would be as Kiku pulled out his wallet.

"Maybe it's because she saw me and Arthur calling each other a bunch of gross pet names?" he laughed.

Kiku shrugged. "Maybe."

"Yo, dude, you're not trying to pay the whole thing on your own again, are you?" Alfred asked, finally realizing he hadn't even looked at the check.

"It's okay, Alfred, I will pay for this."

"Nuh-uh dude!"

"No, really,"

"I insist."

Alfred grinned at Kiku, who looked a little lost, like he didn't know what the polite thing to do was. Alfred laughed a little and decided to let him off the hook.

"Okay, fine, you can pay it, but at least let me cover the tip."

Kiku nodded. "I suppose that would be fair."

After they finished up and parted ways, Alfred thanking Kiku for his advice, he hopped into his truck and went to pick up the paint he needed.

-H-

Alfred tapped on Matthew's door a few hours after dinner. He heard his step-brother grunt and trip over something, and then the door was being pulled open by a very exhausted looking Canadian. Alfred laughed a little and stepped inside, not waiting for an invitation.

"Hey dude, what are you up to?"

"Just trying to get my summer reading done. Why are you here?"

He didn't sound mad, just curious, and maybe a bit tired. That made sense, though, with all the things his mom was having him do around the house as punishment for the other night. Alfred slipped his hands into his back pockets and looked sideways at Matthew.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but sure."

Alfred snorted. "So like, am I in the wrong here?"

Matthew sat down on the edge of his bed and gave Alfred a blank look.

"Like, like with Arthur I mean. Like, I'm not wrong, right?"

Matthew shrugged. "I dunno. I think you're both a bit wrong, really."

Alfred nodded. "Right..." He sighed.

"He should listen to you more, and you shouldn't be quite so childish. Or selfish, at least."

Alfred frowned. "Selfish? How'm I being selfish dude?"

"You forget to think about him sometimes. About what he wants, or why he does what he does. He's got a lot on his mind right now, you know?" Matthew shrugged. "It's making him kind of snippy and a jerk sometimes, but you two are supposed to help each other through stress stuff, not take it out on each other."

Alfred traced the edges of his pockets with his thumbs and thought about it.

"Kiku said something about stress too," he admitted.

Matthew nodded a little. "Well there you go, that's two people who think so."

Alfred sighed. "I don't really get it. If the 'real world' gives people all kinds of stress, and then stress makes relationships have issues, how come there's people who're still together after like decades?"

"They talk through it, I guess," Matthew offered. Alfred shook his head.

"But the stress stuff's making us not talk to each other dude. There's gotta be something else."

Matthew shook his head. "So far you've asked Kiku, who's not only ace-aro but also kind of bad at people skills and keeps most things to himself, and then me, who's hardly ever dated anyone. Maybe you should ask someone with more experience with this kind of thing? Like Francis?"

Alfred snorted. "Yeah, because Francis was so good at dating Arthur."

"Point taken. I don't know, there's gotta be someone good at this sort of thing somewhere."

"Maybe I should just-"

Alfred's phone started ringing, playing the Doctor Who theme. He blinked and pulled it out, then looked to Matthew, who rolled his eyes.

"He probably wants to talk, and actually listen to you. Cut your losses and answer it, Al."

Alfred hit the green button and brought the phone to his ear.

A/N: So, yet again it's been a long time since my last update. As always, thank you so much for your patience. This story is now over two years old. Wow! When I started it I never imagined I'd still be working on it today. Honestly I'm even impressed that I've been in the fandom for this long. But I love Hetalia and most of its fandom, and I have loved working on Brother Complex, so despite my frequent absences, I fully intend to keep this story going through to the end.

Now about this chapter: I'd like to start with a note on Kiku. For this story I have made him ace-aro, meaning he is both asexual and aromantic. However, his keeping to himself and being rather unsure of how relationships work is not related. Japan as a character is rather awkward and prefers his own little bubble if you will, or at least this is how I see him. Please be aware that there are loads of aromantics who understand perfectly well how relationships and romance is 'supposed' to work even though they don't feel romantic attraction. Kiku just isn't one of those people.
With that PSA out of the way, I really like this chapter. As I've said above, this story's been multiple years in the making now, and over that time I've learned more and more about the characters and developed better headcanons and better grasps on their personalities. I think this chapter shows a nicer side of Alfred I haven't gotten to show off yet. He isn't entirely irresponsible, he's just a bit naïve and doesn't always think before he acts, and sometimes it takes a bit for the whole picture to really sink in for him. And especially since this is the Aflred pre-revolution, he does still need a little help here and there, though he is rather capable on his own.
I also really like his friendship with Kiku here.
Finally, this chapter is a bit short and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and given my track record of waiting long months between chapters, I'm sure some people are worried. But please don't fear! Chapter 16 is already in progress. I have the intro finished already and will continue to work on it through out this week. I would never leave you all with such a big hang if I thought I wouldn't be able to write the next chapter soon.

Brother Complex is undergoing some edits right now, though there aren't many major changes happening. I'm mostly cleaning up some scenes to make things a bit clearer and fixing some character mistakes, such as Matthew's constant stuttering near the beginning of this fic, and I've also spruced up the summary. The major note on these edits is that, with the exception of the song, any long block of foreign language is going to be changed into English. While realistically I still believe that when, say, Gilbert and Ludwig would talk to each other, they would use German rather than English, it's really a bit of a nightmare for readers to sort through long pieces of text that likely won't make sense to them. As you can see in this chapter, I will continue to use throwaway phrases and a word here or there, but there will be no more dialogue written entirely in non-English.

On that note, here are the translations for this chapter:
Konichiwa: Japanese; Hello/good day
Hai: Japanese; yes

As always, a huge thank you to Hornet394 for beta-ing and for putting up with me. You've been a huge help. And another huge thank you to everyone who's reviewed, liked, and favorited this story; you guys have helped keep it going. If I've ever missed replying to your review, please know that I do read every one, and I appreciate every word you guys have to say. I'm happy you all enjoy this little story of mine so much!

Brace yourselves for the next chapter. It's Arthur's pov, and it's chock full of all kinds of angst.

We broke 50K!
~VV