Secrets Revealed

•Chapter Three•

"Maybe I should apologize to Alfred," Arthur thought as he sipped a cup of tea. "I was a little harsh on the lad. And no matter how much I loathe to admit it Francis was right in saying that Alfred is still nothing but a child. A child who managed to go to war with me and win when my empire was in the height of its glory but he is still a child. He has not seen the bloody grounds of war and heard the cries of the damned like the rest of us have. But still he must learn that his ideas are ridiculous and outlandish and only serve to reinforce the negative American stereotypes. The poor boy refuses to listen to anything I say so maybe he is just getting his just desserts."

"*Angleterre!" Francis exclaimed as he knocked Arthur out of his brooding.

"What do you want frog?" England growled unhappy at being interrupted by his neighbour.

"Do not be like that *mon lapin. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join Mathieu and I in a little catching up. It has been ages since we've seen the twins." Francis continued

Oh but where is *Amérique?"

"He's probably shoving a few of his nasty burgers down his throat." England commented offhandedly as he stared sadly at his now cold cup of tea.

"Maybe we should look for him?" Matthew suggested politely.

"We should look for him so that we may enjoy some quality family time." Francis repeated as he gently grabbed the hands of his son and possible future husband as he brought them along in search of their youngest family member.

"Why must you drag me along with you to find the git, you bloody frog? I have better things to do than find the stupid prat." England snapped. "Besides he's a big boy, he should probably be able to take care of himself."

"Mon lapin why all the hatred for little America?" Francis asked.

"And why the change of heart?" Arthur shot back. "Last meeting you told me you thought he was nothing but an uncultured, idiotic whale and today you want to preach to me about second chances? I believe you are being a bit hypocritical you *frog."

"People can change, non? Does Alfred not deserve a second chance like everyone else Arthur?" Francis questioned seriously. "Alfred is still young and has made a few stupid mistakes just like you and I did when we were young. He has not had the guidance that we had, we were bad parents and left Alfred on his own for far too long. You hold your grudges for far too long and you need to forgive. Alfred is *notre fils and so is Matthew. I do not understand how it is possible to forget the name of your own son! When was the last time you remembered his name without any prompting from Alfred or I? Do you ever stop to think about how that makes him feel? I am trying to change to become a better father. In the past we were far too obsessed with our empires and we put that in front of the children. I know that I have done wrong but I am trying to correct my wrongdoings what are you doing Arthur?"

"Do you think that I don't know that I'm a horrible father? Don't you think that I don't feel guilty when I can't remember the name of one of my youngest sons? Or when Alfred looks at me like a bloody kicked puppy when I can't even tell him I love him back. I'm a damned mess and I fucking know it!" Arthur thought as he listened to Francis's rant. "It fucking hurts when I want to give my little boys something as simple as a hug and I can't even do it because of something as stupid as my pride. I do love my sons even if I don't know how to show it."

"Is that really how Papa and Arthur thinks of Alfie? But at least Papa is willing to give Alfie a second chance. I knew he wasn't the most liked nation but if even his family thinks of him like that doesn't it ever have an effect on Al? I guess I am being a hypocrite on the matter, after all what I did to him in 1812 was brutal. Just one more thing that I screwed up, I'm such a hoser. I'm supposed to love and protect him as his older brother and instead all I do is mess things up." Matthew thought as he tuned out Francis's and Arthur's bickering. "But I suppose that I should stop looking back on my actions of the past and instead concentrate on doing the right things in the future. One of the first things that I need to do is find out what exactly happened between Al and Native America. Now that I think about it I can't remember him ever talking about his time before Arthur found him, I just never thought about it. I hope nothing bad happened to him but knowing my little brother he is the kind of person to keep all his problems to himself and then shoulder the burdens of others too. Well on the bright side it will probably be revealed it the diary entries. I wonder if my nasty little secret shall be revealed, it's not like I'm doing anything that I don't deserve but I'm sure Papa and Alfie might take it the wrong way."