Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia: Axis Powers. All rights go to their creators.

Chapter 4: Breaking Bread

It was around the winter holidays and Arthur called to tell his brother Alistair that he was not coming home for Christmas dinner.

"Artie you bum! How dare you get father's hopes up just to fucking flake at the last minute."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I tried to get the weekend off believe me, but my boss is making us work on Christmas. They don't care about it over here like at home."

Berwald closed the cafe two days early because Christmas was on a Friday this year. So that was a lie.

"I bet you didn't even buy a plane ticket!"

Arthur hadn't, he wasn't planning to go, he hadn't gotten his story straight. "I did! Just tell everyone I'm not coming and that their presents are in the mail."

"Don't bother, hope you slip in your own vomit, ya levy heid."

To which Alistair hung up the phone. Arthur wasn't going to buy them anything either, he'd said that to be polite.

Arthur lied about what exactly he was doing out here. He went to school to become an author, or at the very least get into the publishing business. But during his studies he picked up guitar and decided he wanted to be a musician instead. To avoid facing any repercussions for this decision, he moved to the U.S. His family still thinks he's trying to get a book published or that he's working at a trade publishing company.

And now that his new venture to placate them with cake was underway, he couldn't face them empty handed. He had to come back with something tangible that said he wasn't a complete and utter failure.

He just hadn't learned how to do anything yet.

And so the holidays came and went, he ignored calls from Dylan and Connor, sending a halfhearted text apologizing for not being able to make it.

Christmas specials played on the telly and Arthur stayed buried in blankets eating crisps, a microwaveable dinner being as close to a Christmas dinner as he was going to get. After watching all he could bare, he took to cleaning off his electric guitar. It needed a proper polish from his daily use.

He put on the electric kettle to make a nice warm cuppa. He sat on his bed, guitar propped in his lap with a slightly damp rag in hand. Arthur wiped down the body of the guitar in slow careful circles before sliding up and down the neck.

When the kettle whistled he poured himself a cup and added milk, stirring it with a silver spoon.

It snowed more here than back home, evidenced by the thick 6 to 8 inches on the ground outside. Arthur was sure he didn't like snow, but at least he didn't have to shovel it. Arthur sipped his tea as it steadily sunk in that he was lonely. Not just alone like he'd been before.

The carefully prepared food from Lovino had tricked him into thinking there was an ounce of warmth that came from spending time with…someone. But it wasn't like Arthur was going to do anything with this information.

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Arthur was presented with a box, a wrapped present if you will, a week or so later. It was topped with a giant bow. Arthur gaped uselessly as he stared down at Lili who had given it to him.

She said that she hoped he liked her Christmas gift. The student workers had been out of school for a few weeks and came back the week after the New Year.

Berwald had filled in the extra shifts himself, but there was less traffic overall with the Uni students gone anyway.

"I-I you didn't have to. I can't accept this, I didn't get you anything."

"It's alright. I brought gifts for everyone." To demonstrate her point she held up gift bags that were hung on her arms. She left him briefly to go to the back of the café.

Arthur felt his cheeks burn as he stared at the wrapped gift.

When Lili returned there was a rush of customers they had to tend to, ending their discussion of presents permanently.

"How was your Christmas?" Lili asked, drumming her fingers against the counter, clacking from hitting her French tipped nails. It was now a particularly slow point in his shift.

"Same as any other day."

Lili furrowed her eyebrows, "No family to visit?"

"No."

Lili met his eyes with sad doe eyes, "You spent Christmas alone?"

It was time for his break and he really didn't want her to feel bad for him. He didn't like pity, and he didn't like seeing her sad.

"By choice. I prefer my solitude. The gift is nice and all but the holidays are really not a big deal to me." He said as he moved past her to go toward the locker room.

He placed the gift in his locker, two red envelopes sat just at the bottom, his name written in cutesy scrawl with hearts and Christmas tree stickers scattered around it on one, and a bare envelope with just his name on the other. Arthur dug around for his carton of cigarettes.

He stalked past Lili at the counter, taking his cheese sandwich out with him. She still gave him those sad eyes as he moved quickly out of her sight.

What could she possibly offer him? What was feeling sorry for him going to achieve?

Fuck all, that's what.

He took a long drag of his fag. They'd just met a few months ago, it was too early for any of this.

When he walked back in, Lili told him about her brother Basch, who had come down from Switzerland to visit for the holidays. She giggled about how he had to take over her roommate's side of the room and be sneaky about it. Her roommate had gone home during the holiday.

She mentioned that her brother was kind of like Arthur, just a little bit: stubborn and self reliant.

Arthur said that she should take a hint and stop worrying about him.

Lili gave him a nod, she heard him loud and clear.

The rest of his shift went by. The door jingled and Lovino walked in with a grin on his lips as he met Lili's gaze.

He handed her a present, wrapped in an old newspaper, in a plain red bag. Arthur had peered inside.

And of course Lili had a present for Lovino as well, they swapped gifts and Lovino kissed her cheek. Arthur left the counter after that to go get his coat. He shrugged on his trench coat, grabbed the cards, Lili's gift box, and a little wrapped snack bag…that was new.

When he returned, Lovino was giving Alondra a present on her way out. As a thank you, he received a hug and a kiss on the cheek from her. Arthur tightened his hold on the gifts and rushed past hoping to go out unnoticed.

Except the little door chime jingled and all three of them looked at him, Lili waved goodbye to him and Alondra asked for him to wait, she wanted to walk with him.

Arthur pushed through the door anyway but stood outside to wait for her.

Alondra walked out shortly, "Hey, are we going the same way?"

"I don't live far from here." He gestured toward his usual path home.

She gestured in the opposite direction, "Damn I've got to get on the subway. I just wanted to talk to you about something really quickly."

"I could walk you to the subway entrance."

"So you're kind of a gentleman, huh?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Chivalry isn't completely dead."

She nodded, "Gracias." She walked toward the subway and he fell in step beside her.

She briefly adjusted her earmuffs.

"Berwald wanted me to teach you a few of the recipes, Valeriu is going on vacation for a week next month. So if you want, you could do some overtime and split with me." She said, meeting his gaze.

"Oh, should I come in early?"

Alondra shrugged, stuffing her mitten-clad hands into her coat pockets, "Sometime next week, whenever. Just let me know, you know?"

They ended up exchanging numbers, and then she grinned.

"I know you smoke cigarettes but have you tried a cigar?"

He felt too young for a cigar, those weren't exactly cool aesthetically. His eldest brother Alistair had gotten into them occasionally, and it was more of a thing he did with his friends. He was in his mid thirties, oldish by Arthur's standards.

"No."

"Wanna try it?"

Arthur wrinkled his nose and was about to give an excuse as to why he was going to decline her offer when she interrupted him.

"Come on, I just want to try it out and they say it's no fun on your own. No one else smokes anymore, at least no one I know." She said upon seeing the look on his face.

"Ah so I'm a last resort."

"I wouldn't bother you otherwise. You keep to yourself, I respect that. But also you need to loosen up a little hombre." She nudged him.

Arthur let out a reluctant sigh, "Fine. As long as I get dinner out of it too."

She nodded, "Deal! ¡Muchas gracias! And you could practice your baking a bit more too if you want. It's going to be fun, I promise." The woman slung her arm around Arthur's shoulders and shook him.

She smelt sweet like powdered sugar and frosting, of course because she had just baked all day. It was a pleasant smell, and for a brief moment it reminded him of his mother, but he shook the feeling off as soon as she let go of him.

She didn't know anything about him, he felt like this would be painfully awkward. But he agreed to go, and he'd be getting another free meal out of it, so there was that.

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Twice during the week, Arthur came in to learn the layout of the kitchen. It wasn't big by any means. Alondra said they outsourced most of their bakery items and usually all she had to do was grab them from the fridge and pop them in the toaster.

Alondra showed him where the baking trays were, the refrigerator, and the oven. She told him the various dials on the oven and the settings for certain pastries.

Then she showed him the labeled ingredients, the flour, the sugar, the cinnamon, the yeast. He didn't actually make anything, she showed him the recipe for the cupcakes, sugar cookies, and garlic bread they actually made. Arthur took a photo of them to memorize and practice at home.

Arthur stood outside of a vinyl-sided townhouse that weekend, he rang the doorbell, hands stuffed in his pockets. He was currently wearing the winter hat Lili had gifted him. The cards gifted to him by Alondra and Michelle were in the trash, after he'd read them of course. They didn't have any money in them, but he would keep them in mind for next year.

The wind whipped his cheeks, causing him to shiver from the cold. Alondra's walkway and steps had been shoveled but he still managed to trip up the steps.

The door opened and Alondra gave him a wide grin, "Welcome!" She stepped aside and Arthur kicked the snow off his boots.

Alondra told him to take them off and leave them by the door as she walked further into the house. He found himself having glanced at her arse as she was turned away from him.

Apparently it was going to be one of those nights.

Arthur kicked off his boots and placed them by the door before following her into what was presumably the living room and then through an entryway to the kitchen. There was a set of slide doors.

"I've got a balcony." Alondra said, "A perfect view of the clothes line and the alleyway. Sometimes I talk to Ms. Diaz when she's drying her clothes."

"Maybe she should smoke with you instead."

Alondra made a noise that sounded like it came from the back of her throat.

"You want to eat first?"

"If we don't, it'll taste like shite for a while."

Arthur took a seat at the kitchen table and kicked his feet onto the table; she moved them off.

Then she turned on a little radio by the sink, the words to the song were in Spanish. Alondra brought out some potatoes, a bowl and reached into a drawer to get out a peeler. Then she dropped said items in front of him.

"Wanna peel these for me?"

"What do I look like, your fucking maid?"

"Ah come on, you can't peel a few potatoes? Too much of a little puta hmm?"

Arthur snatched a potato from her and the peeler. She sat on the other side, grabbing another potato to peel with a knife.

"Is it true you kissed Berwald's ass to get a job here?" She asked, curiosity etched onto her face. He paused his peeling for a second, before looking back down to continue.

"No! Of course not! I tasted that cake he made and wanted to learn how to make it myself."

"Ah, a passion for pastries huh? You bake a lot at home?"

"It's quite hard to find the motivation to bake for one."

Alondra looked at him with concerned dark chocolate brown eyes, her smile having dropped, a beat of silence passed between them.

"I'll try something you made, if you want to run it by me."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, "Don't bother, I don't need a den mother." He dropped the peeled potato into the bowl and grabbed another.

The truth was he didn't think he'd be able to handle her laughing at him when what he made tasted like shite. She'd tell everyone about it, Valeriu, Michelle, Lili, fucking Lovino would have a field day.

"Well I got most of my habits from mi madre. She would always make the neighbors taste what she made and started doing the same when I was old enough to hold my own." Alondra shrugged.

"Does your mother live here too?"

"Nah she and Papa live down in Florida, they say it's too cold up here. I go down and visit during the winter sometimes."

When four potatoes were peeled, Alondra chopped them up and put them in an oil lined skillet to fry. She started humming along to another song on the radio, shaking her hips a little.

Then she put a pot over the second burner, filled it with water and rice, to boil.

After a few minutes she sauteed what looked like minced meat over the skillet. He watched as she opened the lower cabinets to sprinkle in some kind of seasonings.

Then she opened the above cabinet, reaching up to grab some seasoning, but it seemed to be just out of reach. Arthur rolled his eyes and went over there, he steadied her hips, lightly guiding her down to stand flat on her feet.

"What are you trying to reach for?" He asked and she looked back to meet his gaze.

"Chili powder." She said, stepping aside and he scanned the spices before easily plucking the one she needed.

He handed it to her and she gave him a grin.

When the food was done, Arthur was practically salivating, having gotten a whiff of it from standing near the skillet.

She set his plate down in front of him, with a glass of some dark drink she called malta. The dish was called picadillo a la habanera, Arthur was too hungry to care. He was halted by her to pray before they ate.

The food was delicious, but spicier than he was used to. He had to gulp down the malta to stop his tongue from screaming. He heard the giggles she tried to stifle and gave her a glare.

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Arthur stood outside, leaning against the railing of her balcony, the sun had set, although it technically wasn't late, it was just common for winter this time of year.

Alondra slid open the door of the balcony, two wrapped cigars in her hand and a lighter. After taking a minute or two to unwrap them, she was lighting his cigar for him. Then she lit her own.

Arthur let out a cough and so did she, "Fuck that's strong."

She nodded and visibly relaxed. They didn't say anything else for what seemed like a long while. Just him, her, the moon and the stars.

"Do I look like an Italian gangster from the 30's?" She asked him, pulling the angriest face she could muster.

"No, you don't look grimey enough. How about an heiress?"

"And who would you be? The head of the mafia?"

"The man looking to marry into your wealth."

She laughed, and Arthur couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face.

"You think I wouldn't know you were only marrying me for my money?" She raised an eyebrow, putting on a skeptical look.

"It wouldn't be the only thing." He allowed himself one long lecherous look down and back up to her eyes.

There was a glow from the kitchen that allowed them to see each other, and he wasn't blind. She had an ample chest, plump lips, and smooth skin. And his hands fit perfectly on her waist.

A slight widening of her eyes was all he could tell of her reaction to what he said. Fearing the worst he coughed, "Just hypothetically of course."

The air had thickened and Arthur turned back out toward the balcony.

"I would say take me out to dinner but technically we did that first." She bumped him with her shoulder.

Forcing him to let out a sardonic chuckle, "We could forget I said anything."

And then his cigar was taken from his fingers. Arthur turned to face her, just mere millimeters from him.

"I don't want to." She said, eyes sparkling like stars.

Arthur grabbed hold of her wrists, and pulled her close, pressed his lips to hers, and his hips against hers.

How long has it been? Over 2 years? She'd made him food, his weakness really, and she wasn't a hard arse. But they worked together. What would he do when he ultimately left her? Hide? Cower? Be a man and say 'sorry darling I don't do commitments?'

He felt his cheeks heat up, as she pressed her chest against him. Her hands were now around the back of his neck.

It was getting harder to answer those questions when she was grinding herself against him, and he could feel how flushed she was becoming. He stuck his tongue down her throat and grabbed a handful of her arse. The taste of tobacco was fresh on their tongues.

When they separated for air, her shirt was bunched and in disarray, her waistline was visible, and her hands were shaking.

"It's a bit chilly, do you want to go back inside?"

Arthur slightly regained his bearings, "Yeah."

The sunlight peeked through the blinds, and slightly warmed his cheeks as he blinked his eyes open.

Arthur was glad to notice he was the first one up, evidenced by Alondra still curled up on the other side of the bed. Arthur rubbed the crust out of his eyes and presumably smeared his eyeliner if it hadn't rubbed off by now.

He carefully peeled back the linen sheets to slide out of bed undetected. He started gathering and slipping on his discarded pieces of clothing that were on the floor of her room.

On sock clad feet he made his way to the living room closet to slip on his coat. Just as he was stepping into his boots he heard some stirring from the bedroom.

Arthur fumbled with the lock for a bit, just in time to see Alondra staring at him.

He paused for a moment, heart thundering in his chest, as his eyes met hers. Shock, confusion, disappointment, her gaze was pretty easy to read.

He opened the door, and pulled it shut, shaking off the jittery feeling of shame as he trotted down the steps.

Arthur caught the early morning commute home. There were barely any people on the train, he stepped off, and decided he felt no remorse.

Their acquaintanceship was stopped dead and probably she would come to resent him. But it might be a little awkward at work. He could just tell her that he wasn't looking for anything serious and last night was merely just sex, or he could avoid her until she forgot.

The latter sounded good.

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When Arthur had to go into the kitchen one morning that week to learn how to make the few pastries the cafe actually made, there was a long beat of silence.

Arthur picked at his nails as he stood a distance away from the counter that Alondra was wiping down.

"You can't learn anything from over there. I would say that I don't bite…but you know." She flicked her gaze upwards at him.

He did, but thankfully she hadn't bit him in any visible places, so no one asked any unnecessary questions.

"I'll take my chances knowing the risk." He made his way over to her. Then she started listing off the ingredients she wanted Arthur to get out. She grabbed the trays, rollers, and stand mixer.

Arthur managed to catch on pretty quickly, how to make the cupcakes and sugar cookies. Arthur found he had a certain precision when frosting the cupcakes. He liked adding hearts, stars and spirals to the designs.

He made heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day, and the month of February as a whole.

The bread was the only challenging thing. He couldn't seem to get it right. The first loaf he made didn't rise, he had apparently forgotten the yeast.

Alondra failed to hide her chortling at seeing the deflated, mushy bread.

And then he put too much in on accident, and the third loaf burned.

Alondra wrapped an arm around him and shook him, "It's ok! You're learning. Bread is kind of tricky sometimes, but you'll get it."

Arthur clenched his fists as Alondra let him go to make the dough for a new batch of bread loaves. He seethed, it was coming back to him, his family curse.

How foolish of him to think he could fight what was genetically ingrained in him from the start…that none of the Kirkland's could cook for shite.

Arthur threw his apron on the ground and stalked out of the kitchen, but not before knocking into a rolling cart full of metal trays with nothing on them. The cart rattled and Arthur walked past, opening and slamming the door to the kitchen shut.

"Hey now, I know your madre taught you some manners. There's no need to throw a tantrum."

"Just go back in the kitchen and leave me alone." Arthur said, pouring water into the filter to clean the coffee machine. His back was to her.

Alondra continued to stare at him, he could feel it although he wasn't looking at her.

"It was my fault for thinking this wasn't in line with you. This is how you deal with things."

She didn't really know him, so she couldn't guilt him. And he didn't owe her an explanation.

"Alright Arthur, I'll give you your space." And then he heard the steps of her retreat, before the door to the kitchen lightly closed.

Arthur's shift went by and there was noticeable tension between himself and Alondra when she came out to set up the display case.

When Lovino came in for his shift, Arthur didn't stick around to watch him flirt with Lili, he rushed past him and toward the locker room.

Alondra slammed her locker door shut, and Arthur blocked her exit. She tried to shoulder past him.

"Get out of my way, culo."

Arthur stood firm, although she almost got past him, and it hurt to receive the brunt of her shoulder to his ribs.

"I'm no good for you, alright? You avoided a catastrophe, so get over it already."

"We work together, tarado. I'm not some date on an app that you don't have to think about anymore. You forgot your leftovers." Alondra hit his stomach with the back of her hand, "You don't eat much do you?"

"What?"

"You left so fast that I couldn't give you the rest. So I ate it myself. I thought we could be adults about this whole thing, you know? Discuss it over breakfast but no you just fucking left me!"

Bloody fucking hell! She was going to make me more food!

Arthur pursed his lips, "I don't do romantic commitments darling." He said in an effort to save face.

"Who said I wanted to go out with you? I didn't want this to mess with our growing friendship."

Arthur glowered down at her before letting a disgruntled breath out of his nose.

"I admit I was being a bit of a coward. Since we both agree our encounter was meaningless, no hard feelings?"

"You didn't even last that long so no, not at all." Alondra grinned.

A/N: I've been watching too many sitcoms.

Translations:

muchas gracias -- Thank you very much!

puta -- bitch

culo -- ass

Thank you for reading!