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dented-nado · 9 days ago

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Even When The Lights Go Out

FACE Familly fic - FrUk in the background but this is mostly Arthur trying to be a good dad and Francis being the dad that stepped up.

It's quite literally a dark and stormy night, Matthew, being the child of nature that he is wants to go play outside - Alfred is scared and overstimulated and starting to spiral.

--- This started as just a short little Human!AU thing of Arthur comforting tiny Alfred during a thunderstorm and turned into a slight bit of angst of Arthur struggling to explain the idea of his mother's absence in the way that a little kid will understand. Doesn't get too deep, but the implication is there. --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matthew bounced on his heels as he pulled himself up to look out the window, perched on a small stool in him and his brother’s room.

His eyes widened at a new flash of lightning that scattered across the sky.

“Woah! That was a big one!”

A small whine of despair came from nearby. Alfred had pulled his blanket off his bed and was curled up and pressed against the corner of the room.

“It’s cool Alfred! You should see! Its like-”

The inevitable growl of thunder came and Alfred pressed his hands tighter over his ears.

“-Fireworks!” Matthew finished, grinning from ear to ear. “You like fireworks!”

“Fireworks make nice colors and fun explosions… not scary ones.” He mumbled.

Matthew was already staring outside again at the rain, he looked down at the pathway below the house… so much mud, so many possibilities! Mud pies! Mud cakes! Mud sandwiches! Mud Pancakes!

He bounced on his stool again, nearly knocking it over before leaping away from the window.

“I’m gonna go ask dad if I can play outside!” He declared with determination.

Alfred panicked, trying to untangle himself from his blanket. “No!! Mattie you’ll be eletrocutionized!!” He fell over in his struggle, only to shriek again as another crash of thunder hit and curled up again.

Matthew was already padding downstairs, finding his dads in the kitchen finishing putting the dishes away.

“Mon cher! No! Those are the nice plates!” Francis gestured wildly, as if a sin had been committed. “They go over in that cabinet.”

Arthur looked down at the white plate in his hands he was just about to put away. “It looks exactly like the other ones here.”

Francis huffed. “No those are the cheap plates, with the hard corners, that is one of the nice ones with the smooth rounded corners.”

Arthur stared at him. “You’re taking the piss…”

Francis flicked his wrist. “Would you just put it in the other cabinet??”

Arthur rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, but complied and put the plate in the ‘correct’ cabinet.

Matthew came in and tugged on Arthur’s sleeve.

“Dad? May I go outside please?” He asked brightly and of course very politely.

Francis snorted then covered his mouth and pretended to cough.

Arthur stared down with his ‘really son?’ look.

“Matthew, it’s certainly not play weather out there.”

Matthew frowned. “I’ll be careful! Even if Alfred thinks I’ll be ‘electrocutionized’...”

“He’s absolutely right you know-”

“-No he’s not! Cause, I know, it’s ‘electrocuted’, ‘electrocutionized’ isn’t a word!” Matthew argued.

Arthur inhaled deeply and put a hand on Matthew’s head.

“That’s very clever of you Matthew, but what your brother is worried about is correct, even if the word isn’t. You will be electrocuted if you go out there right now. There will be plenty of mud once the storm passes, lad.”

Matthew pouted. “Awww…But Alfred doesn’t want to do anything and it looks fun outside…”

Arthur hummed and frowned.

“How is your brother doing Matthew?” Francis asked, leaning against the counter and raising an eyebrow.

Suddenly the lights flickered and buzzed before going out entirely.

Matthew jumped and let out a mousey squeak for joy… A long, terrified wail came from upstairs.

“...Well that answers that.” Arthur squinted at Francis in the dark and gestured to Matthew. “Would you..?”

“Of course love.” Francis put his hand on Matthew’s shoulder. “How about we go to the big window in the living room and watch all the fun weather from there together, hm?”

“Okay!” Matthew agreed immediately.

Arthur was already lighting a candle and trudging upstairs to his boy’s room. He pushed open the door Matthew hadn’t fully closed, immediately spotting the pile of trembling blankets. He set the candle down on the bureau and crouched down on the floor near his son.

“Alright there son?” He said softly to announce his presence.

Alfred peaked his head out from underneath, eyes wide and wet.

“Dad!”

Arthur knew better by now and had already sat down for the inevitable tackle-hug from his son. Even so he still had the wind slightly knocked out of him. That boy was strong, especially when he was scared and wasn’t thinking about it.

Arthur hugged his son back tightly. Simply holding him for a minute to let him breathe and calm down.

“You’re going to be alright Alfred. You remember that counting trick I taught you?”

Alfred pulled away slightly, looking at his dad with a red face and snotty nose and immediately started babbling as he sniffled and hiccuped.

“I tried that, but then I got so scared I forgot how many numbers I counted, and then I kept getting scared and I kept forgetting and then there was a super loud one and I was scared the house was gonna fall down because it was shaking and then you’d be gone, and papa would be gone and Matthew would be gone and it’d be only me and I’d be alone and then it’d be even louder and and-!”

“Shhh shhh… Alfred, It’s alright… none of that’s happened.” He took his son’s small and slightly chubby face in his hands, trying to still him and make him look at him. “The house won’t fall down, it’s been through thousands of storms and stood strong. I’m still here, yeah?”

Alfred sniffled, obviously for a moment trying to look brave before another clap of thunder sounded and he wrapped his arms around his dad in terror again.

Arthur continued to hush him, rocking back and forth, glancing up at the sky as he did as if trying to will it to stop for his son’s sake.

Alfred eventually calmed down enough so Arthur could move to grab tissues and a damp cloth, wiping away the snot and tears on his face and having him press the cloth to his eyes.

“There you go, see? Isn’t that better?”

Alfred nodded weakly, still flinching when thunder hit, but at least that had calmed as well.

Arthur led him over to his bed, picking up his blanket and putting it back over Alfred before sitting on the bed with him.

“Is Mattie ok? He wanted to go outside…” Alfred mumbled.

“He’s just fine lad, we weren’t going to let him do that.” Arthur reassured him.

Alfred peaked up at him. “And you promise you're not going anywhere neither?”

Arthur almost impulsively corrected him that it was ‘either’ not ‘neither’ but right, not the time.

“Of course not lad, what has you so worried that all of us are going to disappear?” He asked, rubbing his son’s back.

“Mom did… even though she promised…” He muttered.

Arthur stilled, before slowly inhaling and clenching his jaw. “...Ah… well…”

He chewed the inside of his cheek, trying to think.

“The thing is… well… you know… your mother she… she didn’t…” He rubbed the back of his neck.

Alfred really had been so close with his mother, even after several years now Arthur still didn’t know how to explain such a loss to a small child.

“She didn’t… want to leave, but ah… you know, sometimes our… bodies get worn out and our um… spirits have to go on, but you know she’s still here, even if you can’t see her.” Arthur stammered, feeling stupider by the minute as Alfred stared at him.

“...Mom’s a ghost?”

“Er, ah… well, something like that I suppose…” Arthur stammered.

Alfred sat up on his knees suddenly and stared. “But I’ve been using the monster spray to keep ghosts and monsters away!! Am I keeping mom away??!”

“NO! Oh, no, ah, goodness… that spray is ah… for the bad ghosts and monsters. Honestly they might have been… crowding her… had it not been for your help!” Arthur blurted out.

Alfred suddenly jumped up. “Really?!”

“Yes, and don’t stand on the bed please Alfred, sit down… there you go, thank you.”

Alfred sat now directly next to Arthur, dangling his feet over the side of the bed.

“So… mom is still here as a ghost, even though I can’t see her? So she didn’t break her promise?” He asked, kicking his legs.

“Certainly not. She’s a woman of her word after all.” Arthur said very matter of factly. “The people we love stay with us forever.” He wrapped an arm around Alfred’s shoulders and hugged him tightly.

“So… If I stop being able to see you, will you be a ghost and stay too?” He asked curiously.

“Oh certainly, you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried!” Arthur smiled wickedly. “I’ll haunt you so you’ll never forget I’m there!”

Alfred giggled and shoved him. “Noooooo! Don’t haunt me!”

“Too late! It’s been decided. You’re cursed to have your dad haunt you forever.”

—

Arthur shut the door quietly, Alfred finally calmed down enough to sleep, and Francis had brought Matthew up who had finally gotten sleepy while watching the storm. He crept to his and Francis’ room, sighing as they were finally able to get ready for bed.

“He seemed pretty happy in his sleep, you must have done a good job calming him down.” Francis whispered to him as they climbed under the covers.

Arthur adjusted his pillows. “Sure… even if now he thinks his mother is a ghost.”

Francis paused and flipped over in the bed quickly staring at him.

“How did you go from calming his fear of thunder to telling him his mother is a ghost??”

“I panicked…. Seemed to work though, once I assured him his ghost spray only deters bad ghosts.” Arthur turned to face Francis with raised eyebrows. “He’s… still too little to really understand… and I hate the idea of him thinking his mother didn’t love him.”

Francis moved closer to him and pulled him tight. “You’re a good father mon cher.” He hummed.

“Don’t know about that… but I’m… trying.” He huffed, closing his eyes and absentmindedly running his fingers through Francis’ long hair.

“That’s what matters.”

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unhetalia · 8 months ago

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Dysfunctional FACE family headcanon based on this post.

The truth is, America is both England and France's favourite, especially after the American Revolution.

Before the American Revolution, Arthur loved Alfred, but he didn't see him as particularly valuable. After the Revolution, though, it becomes complicated, but Arthur's anger and pain means he's always aware of Alfred. Alfred is the one Arthur lost, and his emotions about Alfred are magnified in ways it never will be about anyone else. Did Arthur love Alfred the most before Alfred left him? It's hard to say, but he certainly did after Alfred left.

Francis has always liked Alfred, and he was pretty equal in his affections for both him and Matthew when they were children - though of course, he didn't see Alfred as much as Matthew. For a long time Matthew took comfort in knowing he was Francis' in a way Alfred wasn't, even though it made him feel guilty feeling that way. After the American Revolution, both of the equal affection and that special relationship are taken away from Matthew. Francis and Alfred bond - they bond over their anger at Arthur, and they bond over ideas that seem ludicrous to everyone else. Francis gifts Alfred the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of that bond, and both Arthur and Matthew have it shoved in their faces constantly. In the modern era, Francis does cooking lessons with Alfred ("in order to make sure Angleterre's terrible cooking does not infect him!") despite the fact Alfred's been an amazing cook for over a hundred years, and Alfred accompanies Francis on his shopping trips in New York even if he never buys anything.

The way Alfred sees it, of course, is that Matthew is Arthur's obedient, and therefore favoured child. Despite the strength of Arthur's feelings for him, Alfred never felt it when he was actually growing up with Arthur, and certainly not after he'd left. Matthew got to see how deeply Arthur missed and loved Alfred - Alfred didn't. And no matter what his relationship is with Francis, Alfred always thinks of the fact that Francis raised Matthew, not him. Alfred envies Matthew's place in the family, even if he doesn't regret gaining his independence. (Then there's the fact that Matthew actually tends to make friends easier than Alfred, who struggles with social cues and who tends to be A Lot for some people, a fact that Alfred is very aware of. There's a lot Alfred envies about his brother.)

Meanwhile Matthew thinks, why am I never anyone's favourite? Anyone's ride of die? He has a good relationship with Arthur and Francis but he's never going to be their favourite. And even though Alfred's not part of the commonwealth, maybe Matthew remembers the first time Australia and New Zealand met his brother, their awe at seeing this figure of legend for the first time. He's never going to be impressive in that way. (Matthew doesn't notice how much more friends he has than Alfred, only that Alfred's few friends are all his best friends, while he feels like he's surrounded by people but is unable to confide in anyone.)

#hetalia #hetalia world stars #face family #hws england #hws france #hws america #hws canada #aph america #aph france #aph england #aph canada #i kind tried to make this a headcanon that can exist in both platonic AND non platonic iterations of usuk bc i do both #-#re: face #.txt #file: dysfunctional 'verse

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