Chapter 4: Mr. Jones.

...

Arthur stopped by Alfred's house, knocking on the door with haste. He was nervous and barely got a wink of sleep that night. He was too caught up in thinking about the bad things that could spout from this. He was relying on Alfred after all.

It was ironic how he had entrusted his relationship with his brother in Alfred's hands, since the stupid American was one of the most unreliable people on earth. It also didn't help that this was one of the first times Arthur had actually relied on anyone. He didn't feel too bad though. He trusted Alfred. Sort of.

Mathew answered the door with a yawn, opening it instantly for Arthur. He had slept over at Alfred's that night to supervise the occasion. The twin knew that Alfred could handle it perfectly well, but he just couldn't take the risk. Arthur and Alfred's relationship was extremely fragile at that moment, and one simple screw up could throw the whole thing over. It was also apparent that his brother had feelings for the British man that he was still coming to terms with, and it would be a tragedy for things to end now.

Arthur discovered Alfred's body on the couch; a leg flopped over the top cushion and an arm limping down the side. A stream of drool snaked its way down Alfred's cheek, making Arthur feel slightly repulsed. "Wake up, idiot" He ordered, imprinting a red handprint on Alfred's cheek with a loud crack. That seemed to work since the American's beautiful blue eyes opened drowsily, making Arthur's cheeks glow a profound red.

"Uh... Hamburgler?" Alfred slurred.

"No Alfred. I'm not the bloody Hamburgler. For starters, I'm English and secondly, if I could steal anything, it definitely wouldn't be a damn hamburger - I could go on if you like" Arthur mocked, feeling a smirk stretch across his lips as a morning smile appeared on Alfred's face. Arthur suddenly felt privileged. He had been the first person to make Alfred smile that day.

"No need, Iggy" Alfred yawned, rubbing his eyes tiredly. This was the first time Arthur had actually seen Alfred without his glasses, and god was he handsome. Sure, he looked fantastic with the glasses, but now he just looked downright sexy. Wait. It was not the time to think these sorts of thoughts.

In his frustrations with himself, Arthur hit Alfred over the head with the tape. He had spent a lot of time that night making it, and he had included a personal apology since he forgot to say it the other day. "If anyone else hears this, you're dead" Arthur warned with a blush "And don't listen to it till I'm gone" He added quickly.

The last thing he wanted was Alfred making fun of him after hearing it. As cheesy as it sounded, Arthur had poured his heart and soul into playing that song, and he wasn't about to stick around for any reactions afterwards.

"Sure thing, Arthur" Alfred said, trying his best to be understanding. He had never actually felt the same when it came to people seeing his skills. Alfred believed that if a person had something to offer, everyone should know and appreciate it, so he tried his best in life to show everyone what he was good at.

Mathew was the opposite though. He had never been comfortable in the limelight and preferred supporting people over being the best. It annoyed Alfred to no ends at first, since people used and underestimated his brother, but soon Alfred realised that Mathew never really minded. He just liked being helpful to people and being needed. That's all the reassurance he desired.

"Coffee anyone?" Mathew offered, automatically handing one to Alfred. He smiled gratefully at his younger twin, ruffling his hair playfully. What would he do without him?

"You have it, Mattie. I don't quite like coffee" Arthur declined politely, giving the boy a smile.

Before Arthur could protest, Mathew had slammed his coffee down and enveloped Arthur in a bear hug. "You called me Mattie!" Mathew exclaimed happily. Arthur swallowed the awkward feeling in his throat and began to pat the taller man on the back. Mathew was sort of cute once you got past his disappearing act and the fact that he was so damn tall. "Yeah. I did" Arthur commented uncomfortably.

"Can I call you Iggy?"

"No" Alfred answered for him, prying his twin off Arthur with a jealous glint in his eye. Mathew started to whine, attempting to hit Alfred weakly. "He's as much my friend as he is yours!" Arthur stared at the twins uncomfortably, feeling more like an object than a person the more the bickering went on.

"Alright you two, break it up" Arthur said, taking charge. It was going to be a long day.

...

Arthur paced around awkwardly, waiting for Peter's train to come. Mathew and Alfred stood next to him, reassuring smiles plastered on their faces. "It'll be fine, Artie" Alfred said helpfully, wrapping his arm around the Arthur's shoulders.

Arthur wasn't really used to the close proximity, but he let it go since Alfred was just doing it to cheer him up. This was something Francis usually did when something bad was going to happen concerning him. Since with the octopus'- I mean Francis's arm- around him made it almost impossible to run away.

"Chill" Alfred told him, a reassuring smile lighting his face.

The trio turned their heads as a train rolled into the station, blowing its shrill whistle. The moment of truth was approaching.

Bracing himself, Arthur furrowed his brows and huffed, building up his courage. This wasn't just his only chance at recovering his past relationship with Peter. It was also Peter's first time meeting Alfred... and Mathew. Let's not forget Mathew. Shit.

As the doors opened, a flock of people instantly poured out, crowding the station. Arthur had to stand on the tips of his toes, lifting his chin up high to see over the large mass. It was times like these where he wished he was a bit taller.

Arthur bit his lip as the last people stepped onto the platform. Amongst them the Brit spotted a small boy in a black jacket and orange skinny jeans. It was Peter.

"Peter!" Arthur called, getting the boy's attention. The boy jerked his head to the direction of the noise and battled to keep his position in the moving crowd. Arthur pushed his way through the faceless people, Alfred and Mathew not quite far behind. They really should have just waited for the massive flock to leave.

"Peter" Arthur repeated, slightly breathless. He ruffled his little brother's hair and smiled weakly.

"Hey big bro" The other said awkwardly, his eyebrows lowered. This was the first time Arthur had actually attempted to reach him inside the station.

The boys exchanged awkward glances as people pushed through them, attempting to get out of the station. It was quite claustrophobic and inheriting strong noses from both their parents made things less pleasant. Arthur nudged his brother's arm and gestured towards Alfred and Mathew, slowly pulling Peter towards them by the arm. "I brought some friends along"

"Oh great" Peter said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

The two sets of siblings closed the distance between each other. An introduction was in order. "Alfred and Matt, this is my little brother Peter" He introduced proudly, a smile stretching his lips.

"Oh so this is the little brother I've heard so much about" Alfred said with a grin, crouching down to Peter's eye level and messing up his hair. The boy looked like a younger version of Arthur, except with bright blue eyes, almost similar to his own. Pete's lips were in a stiff scowl and his eyebrows were just as unruly as Arthurs, making Alfred chuckle. Their fashion sense wasn't far off either, that improvised indie look that the both managed to maintain.

"Arthur's been talking about me?" Peter questioned, a blush tinting his cheeks.

Alfred inwardly grinned. The fact that Peter still cared about Arthur's opinion of him meant that their relationship was still fixable. If he could only get the two to have some fun together, maybe things would go back to the way they used to.

"Yep. Sometimes that's all he talks about" Alfred agreed, playfully rolling his eyes. The American glanced in Arthur's direction, and indeed he had pushed the lines of 'too far'. Arthur had been on the verge of smacking him yet again.

"Alright then folks, so where are we going?"Arthur feigned excitement, nudging Alfred with his foot. That asshole better had something planned.

...

"The park?" Arthur whispered towards Alfred. The American only replied with a lopsided grin. He was always so sure of himself.

Conveniently the park wasn't too far from the train station and not too many kids were around the place this early in the morning. It was way too early for someone to be up, let alone outside, which was great since it was actually quite beautiful around this time. They had the whole park to themselves.

Pure white snowflakes fell lazily, getting caught in their hair and on their clothes. Arthur glanced over to Peter who had an eager grin on his face. As the boy breathed, a white fog escaped from his mouth, and Arthur couldn't help but smile. He was so cute.

The boy stumbled into the white world, his feet making a crisp crunch at every step he took. A grin stretched across his lips and his eyes had brightened to a beautiful azure blue. This was the first time Arthur had seen Peter this happy in a long time.

Diving into the snow, Peter began to thrash his arms and legs about, creating an angel. "Arthur! Look!" He called, getting up and showing Arthur his makeshift creation. "Come join in!" Peter offered, laughing eagerly.

"No I-"Before Arthur could protest he found himself drowning in snow with a huge idiot around his waist. If the snow wasn't extremely soft, that tackle would have been excruciatingly painful. Arthur's breath hitched as he stared right up at Alfred, their noses almost touching. It didn't take him long to realise that the oblivious American was practically on top of him, his face barely an inch away from his.

The moment was gone as soon as it came and Alfred had left his place on top of the Brit and settled for the pile of snow next to him. "Come on Britannia angel!"

Arthur lifted his torso, ruffling the snow out of his hair angrily. Did Alfred just refer to him as the 'Britannia angel'? How did he know about that...? Oh god. Alfred had seen the other video.

Before Arthur could fly into a fit of rage, he had caught a glimpse of Alfred's eyes and the anger immediately dissipated. The snow made his eyes look so damn blue...

Mathew laughed, scrunching up a snowball and throwing it at Alfred. "Snowball fight!" He yelled, diving into the snow.

Alfred laughed happily, making a large snowball and throwing it directly at Mathew's face, making his twin fall back into the snow from the impact. "It's always been like this! You throw too hard!" Mathew whined, getting up only to be hit with another snowball.

Alfred continued to peg snowballs at Mathew until his twin was close to tears, his laughter never ceasing.

"Those two are a bit..." Peter mumbled.

"Just ignore them. They do this a lot" Arthur advised, laughing uneasily. "Want to build a snowman?" Arthur offered.

"Sure!"

Alfred's ears perked up at the sound of Arthur's laughing. He jerked his head around to gaze at the two British boys, a smile ghosting his features. "Look, Mattie"

Mathew dusted the snow off his face and watched the two brothers. A matching smile crossed his lips and he let out a light sigh. "They look so happy" He murmured, lifting himself off the snow.

"Arthur hasn't smoked for a while either. I couldn't smell it on his breath before" Alfred mentioned with a smile.

"I guess you've done your job then"

"Yeah. But it doesn't feel right to let him go just yet"

Mathew patted his brother on the back, nudging him, "Who said you had to?"

...

Sorry it took so long to write this chapter. I definitely am continuing and I'll be updating more regularly. I know it seems that this story isn't going anywhere, but this is just the beginning. Bear with me.

A couple of months ago I reached a sort of rough patch in life. I guess you could call it the 'stupid phase'. I've woken up to myself now.

Notes:

Indie – for anyone whodoesn't know, Indie means 'Independent'. Basically, Indie kids are people who love things that don't really hold much popularity (bands, hobbies, clothes) and have a strong sense of self. These people are referred to as Turtles. If you are one, message me and let's be friends If you have any more questions about it, just ask me.