Two Can Keep A Secret

Chapter 17: The Brothers

Alfred groaned as a loud beeping awoke him. Grumbling, he hit his hand on the table, trying multiple times to turn it off. After an embarrassing amount of fails, the sound stops and he slowly sits up.

He hops out of bed quietly, bare feet making contact with the carpeted floor. Alfred streches, a crack echoing through the room. He sighs in relief, tense muscles relaxing. Quickly dressing himself, he heads out into the still dark hallway. Laundry under his arm, he stops by where Ivan is sleeping, and steps in softly.

He tries to avoid looking at Ivan as he collects the clothes he wore the day before. His face is on fire, yet he has no idea why. He's just doing a favour for a friend, right? No need to be weird about it.

Just as he's about to leave the room, he stops, sighs, and looks at him. Ivan lay peacefully sleeping, quiet snores escaping him every few seconds. He's cocooned in his blankets, eyebrows scrunched up.

Alfred's heart feels as if it's about to burst.

'Holy shit that is the cutest thing I've ever seen-'

He shakes his head uncomfortablely, leaving the room hastily. His face is redder than the tomato's Romano is so fond of, and he can feel it spreading to his ears.

He hurries to wash the laundry, throwing it into the washing machine and eventually placing it into the dryer. He leaves it for a bit, choosing to rather get a coffee to wake him up. His face still feels warm, but thankfully he's calmed down.

'Wonder what ill make for breakfast?'

Alfred ponders, slowly sipping th hot drink. A knock on his door startles him out of his thoughts, and he glances warily at the door. Deep down, he quietly hopes it not one of his states. He doesn't know if Texas has told the others, but based on Ivan's face when confronted, it wasn't good. Alfred hopes to avoid another situation like that, as he doesn't want to scare him off.

'To be fair, he is Russia. I don't think their combined efforts will stop him if he was able to deal with me over the years.'

Despite this, Alfred still worries. Their friendship isn't as fragile as it was in the beginning, but anything can happen in a matter of minutes.

The knock sounds again, and Alfred sighs as he stands up. He mourns his coffee, downing it before walking towards the door. It's still early, around 6. He doesn't know who'd be at his door at this time, except for-

"Mattie!"

Alfred happily exclaimed, excited to see his brother. He dragged him into a bear hug, his brother giving a soft 'oof' at the pressure.

"Hello Alfred. How have you been?"

Matthew said softly, purple eyes gleaming. Alfred immediately began to ramble about everything that had happened the past few days (leaving a few details out while he's at it). Alfred knows just how protective Matthew can get, and he doesn't want him to go after Ivan.

Remembering what happened earlier, his cheeks don a light pink, catching Matthews attention.

"Are you okay, Alfie?"

Matthew asks, concern evident in his brother's eyes. Alfred just nods, mind elsewhere. Alfred absentmindedly leads his brother to the kitchen, and they sit down at the table.

"Hey Mattie, can you make some of those pancakes for us? Preeetttyy please?"

Alfred begs, bringing out the watery blue puppy dog eyes he knows works so well on his brother. He only has to wait a few seconds before Matthews resolve breaks, and he sighs softly. He goes to grab the ingredients, fondly ignoring Alfred's 'yes!' in the background.