Chapter Text
Alfred definitely believed in conspiracies and there was no such thing as coincidence. Too bad Arthur thought he was just a kook, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was the universe telling him something. What that was, he didn't know.
A couple of weeks after Alfred decided he'd go to Canada, Matthew's letters changed from handwritten to printed. He didn't know what to make of it. Did Matthew get a nice new laptop that he couldn't stop admiring and therefore, had to use for everything just because the novelty was so captivating? Or did Matthew hurt his hand somehow and literally couldn't pick up a pen? It could be so many things but Alfred didn't know which was the right one.
Neither did Arthur, who didn't want to linger on it and instead wanted to heckle Alfred.
"Come on man, I can do it later," Alfred whined.
"No, you'll get to it right now," Arthur demanded. "I know that you would pack the day of if you could."
"Yeah, and?" Alfred huffed. "So what? I have everything I need anyways so what does it matter if I don't put it in a bag like a week before I go? Also what if I need stuff and have to take it out of the bag to use it! Then I might as well just pack everything before I go."
Arthur just muttered in annoyance as he rubbed his eyebrows.
"What? I'm only there a week!" Alfred waved his brother's unspoken concerns off. "Now come on, lemme see Matthew's letter! That's way more important!"
"Then it should motivate you to pack quickly because we can reply to it after you pack!"
"Bro!" Alfred crossed his arms. "You can't gatekeep that! That's to both of us so it's half mine."
"I can and I will." Arthur crossed his arms, equally stubborn and clearly happy about getting under Alfred's skin.
"Sure, I'll pack," Alfred grinned slyly as an idea came to him. "But only if you help me."
Arthur just sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "So be it."
Alfred reluctantly admitted out loud (for the sake of making a petty point) that doing something with his hands like this was a great way to get his thoughts churning. Arthur sent him a warning look to stop him from bringing up the fact that the letter was printed again, but Alfred just ignored it.
Because he could put off the urge to write a reply mentally and wait until he was in front of some nice stationery. What he was really thinking about was how doing this now made his impending adventure feel more real. His movements sped up and it was obvious he was more excited than Arthur was cautious.
If he could do this, he could do anything. It tasted like a new chapter in his life.
"Alright, are you sure that's everything you can think of?" Arthur said for the fourth time as he carefully arranged everything in Alfred's suitcase. The one that Arthur insisted he take.
"Yeah, man, I got everything and if I don't, then it's no biggie," Alfred gave a thumbs up. "I didn't even need a bag that big. Pretty sure all I need is a carry-on."
"God, you're stubborn," Arthur chuckled dryly. "At least this way you can carry all you need and be prepared for any occasion. And knowing you, you're going to bring back an overwhelming amount of souvenirs."
"You say that like you don't want me to bring back some cool random shit that I found for ya."
"Well of course I do, but that's beside the point!" Arthur huffed, shaking his head as he zipped up the suitcase. "Now, how about we drop this and get back to working on a reply?"
"Yeah, how about we now that we got this side quest complete," Alfred muttered as he snatched up some scrap paper and a pen. Then he flopped on his bed and slapped the spot next to him.
"You really shouldn't make a habit of sitting on your bed you know," Arthur said, but still gave in. "You could make the mattress uneven and wear it out sooner."
"Yeah yeah Mom, come on," Alfred twacked the spot next to him until Arthur gave in with a huff.
"Fine. But I don't want to hear any more crazy theories because you want to make a mountain out of a molehill."
Alfred didn't know what all of that meant but he didn't need to.
"Crazy? I was crazy once-"
⊱֍⊰
lonelymapleleaf
I finally finished it but here's that recommendations list I was talking about
[image]
I can't wait for you to come but I don't know when I'll get to see you I'm glad you have this just in case
As much as I'm super excited to see the city it sounds like that pokemon
ottawa, oshawa, same thing
also what do you mean when youre gonna see me?
Well I thought it was obvious but I guess that's on me for not outright saying it but we will catch up when you're over but it won't be every day or whatever you're picturing. You'll have to tour yourself around but I don't think that'll be a problem for you because I know you're pretty out there and would just explore with or without me
Wait seriously 🥲
Hey I'll take what I can get so don't worry about babysitting me
I'll stare at all the Canada things like an eyepad baby
ipad fuck
But i get it youre busy but what day doya think we'll meet
should I not picture something really dramatic at the airport?
Sorry to disappoint but I don't really want to go to the airport. It would probably have some really good photo opportunities of the planes and the people and the feelings and stuff like that but I think it would be really overwhelming if I went there. Plus we'd be meeting after so long so there would be a lot going on and so it shouldn't be at the airport. You can picture something if you want but it would just be one of your imagination movies
awww bummer but I guess its okay and Ill live
Ill take some photos on your behalf then!
but only if its not awkward to cus i don't want anyone thinking im a creep
Like the song
I don't think anyone will think that you're a creep
Also!! we should totally face call or something before hand
if we're gonna meet then we should totally prep ourselves because otherwise how am i ment to know who im looking for?
As much as having a face call before would be a smart idea I thnk it would be best if I introduced myself in person
Trust me, you'll know who I am. I'll be wearing my camera around my neck
okay okay still can I at least get a photo of you or you tell me your name?
or are you just really trying to hype yourself up
I'd rather an in person introduction because that's more straightforward
Ig you've never been big on texting but still, come on man we're gonna meet!
you're not worried I'll think you're ugly or sum right?
We are and I promise we will but I just really want it to go like how I've envisioned it
I'm not really worried about my appearance ahaha
okay fine I can take a hint and drop it but yk being mysterious like that is just hyping me up more right?
Sorry, I'm not doing it on purpose but you'll see me when we meet
yeah ig so
just don't blame me when I ack surprised in front of you because Im probbly picturing something completely different
⊱֍⊰
Today was a sunny day, much like his outlook. The ride to the airport was full of energy (mostly his) but he could tell that it was rubbing off on the others. Even if it was only a little. Arthur kept twitching in the driver's seat but was smiling too much to pretend he was actually upset. Alfred cracked a joke about Arthur looking forward to shipping him off and he laughed, so that was a win.
Francis was in the backseat and being his usual passive-aggressive self towards Arthur and trying to rile him up by being filthy towards Alfred. Though what the Brit would call 'filth' was just Francis going on and on about how brave Alfred was and how much he was going to be missed (and damn right he should be). It was a little over the top but Alfred wouldn't have it any other way as he kept his arm bent back so Francis could hold his hand.
As Arthur pulled up to the airport he muttered with irritation as he navigated the place in search of a car park. When he finally found one, he turned the car off with a sense of purpose and addressed the couple with a stern (pleading) tone.
"I beg of you, do not make a scene."
"Do you find us embarrassing?" Alfred grinned wildly.
"Yes." Arthur answered like it was obvious. "But I'm serious, do not make a scene. How often do I ask that of you?"
"Not often enough~" Francis slipped his hands over Alfred's shoulders from behind. Arthur just shook his head.
The airport was even more energetic and he understood what lonelymapleleaf saw in that kind of environment defined by unrest and limbo, but he was getting too caught up in the hustle of it all and it fueled his fantasies of being a main character.
A main character of something exciting, instead of something depressing or frustrating and whatever else defined his life for the past seven years. There was that inkling of turmoil worming inside him and preventing him from being confident, but he knew he had to fake it until he made it.
Even going through airport security was exciting, if only because of the novelty. Both Francis and Arthur came along with him so they could walk him to the gate, which was nice because he would be alone and chew up his phone battery doom scrolling the reels otherwise.
The boarding call came before he knew it. He never related more to a herd animal in that moment when he felt pulled towards the forming line. Once he went past those final gates, he was on his own.
So he jumped up and forced both his companions into a group hug.
"What happened to not being embarrassing!" Arthur grunted.
"Womp womp, sorry I love you," Alfred smirked. "And I'm not letting go until-"
"Yes yes, I love you too," Arthur quickly grumbled and Alfred let him go, though his grin didn't falter. His brother was so easy to train... he was already looking forward to coming back just so he could do more of it. Maybe if he did it enough, it would just become genuine routine and Arthur would feel more comfortable with it.
"Well, I love you too and you'd better not let me go," Francis insisted as he tightened his hold.
"You already know I'm not." Alfred purposely strengthened his hold as tight as he could, showing off his strength and feeling a spike of pride when his 𝓫𝓸𝔂𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭 squeaked and started patting him to tap out.
After having a moment to dramatically catch his breath and make a quip about Alfred's capabilities, Francis leaned into their much softer hug as he spoke.
"I know this is a big step for you, so you should know how much I value commitment."
"Uh, what do you mean by that?"
If Francis was prefacing with that, Alfred was terrified to know what came next. Was his 𝓫𝓸𝔂𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭 talking about him? Did he think Alfred was going to cheat? Or that he was going to break it off because he tasted freedom? Or that-?
"So that's why I'll be here for you when you get back." Francis squeezed and rubbed his stubble against Alfred's face, making him flinch and totally undercutting the romantic sentiment.
"Dude!"
"Well, we'll both be here when you get back," Arthur interrupted, pulling Francis back by the shirt so he could put his hands on his brother's shoulders.
"Yeah I figured." Alfred put his hands on Arthur's shoulders to try and highlight how awkward Arthur was making it by not hugging him.
"And until then, I expect you to call," Arthur instructed, his eyes darting to the shortening line as people boarded the plane.
"Yep and I'll take plenty of pictures. You should expect to see some taken like I'm a divorced dad with my face awkwardly half in the picture."
"I sincerely hope your photographer friend beats some sense into you."
Alfred barked a laugh because undoubtedly lonelymapleleaf would find it so cringe but so him. It was bizarre to think he would finally have a face to put to the name, and a name to put to the name too.
"And before you ask, yes, I promise that if Matthew sends any more letters, we'll have a face call so we can figure out a reply together," Arthur added. "Don't make me pinky promise because that's just childish."
The last call for boarding his flight rang over the speakers. Alfred yanked Arthur into a hug again, making him curse.
"I'm not saying it again!" Arthur spat as he slapped Alfred's back, who couldn't hide his amusement as he let go. He grabbed his bag and gave his family one last long look before pacing away.
"I look forward to reuniting~" Francis called out. "We can reenact a scene from a movie where fated lovers finally see each other after everything that separated them."
Alfred knew exactly what over the top romantic scene his 𝓫𝓸𝔂𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭 was describing and that made him look forward to coming home even more. He would run through the airport right into his lover's arms and they would kiss...
"I suppose I should just look the other way then, shall I?" Came Arthur's reply.
Alfred could still hear the two of them bickering as he passed through the gates. It brought him a sense of amusement to know that they had to go home now, together, without Alfred to buffer.
⊱֍⊰
Boarding the plane was pretty straightforward. He walked through a long tunnel that connected the plane to the terminal and the engine filled the space as it competed with the surrounding chatter.
Now he really wished that someone was coming along for the ride with him. Even if Francis was too busy with the restaurant, maybe Arthur could've got some time off. Then he and Alfred would really get some quality bonding in. (Or potentially, bad bonding if they got frustrated because of the whole experience and took it out on each other. High risk, high reward.)
But no matter. Had someone come with him, he would have had a completely different experience than what lay ahead... and he was alright with that. After all, some part of the classic hero's journey had to be walked alone.
He found his spot on the plane and couldn't help but smile when he saw he had a window seat. Which, fuck yeah. Obviously, the aisle was the best if you had a small bladder but he had a bladder of steel, so staring out the window for the entire flight while his mind wandered sounded like a dream. Now that he was here, he wondered why he hadn't done it sooner. What better way to see the land from above?
That was rhetorical but the answer would probably be through the lens of a camera. That made him think of his Canadian friend and he quickly took his phone out.
lonelymapleleaf
okay planes coming!
I should start a travel vlog
im so smart
you'll be keeping up with me and my posting this time
my face will be my brand
How exciting! You have no idea how nervous I am
Also I can picture you starting a travel vlog and I think I should because you're entertaining enough so people would watch it. But I doubt it would ever grow bigger than me
And are you really sure you want your face to be your brand (I'm joking by bullying you eh?)
Yeah man i got it its more funny that you had to spell it out for me lol
Also don't be nervous! Youre in your element because youre not leaving the country
its been a breeze for far ngl so you dont have anything to be worried about when you do this
At least Illl ACTUALLy pick you up from the airport
no shade Im also joking by bulliny you EH
The intercom crackled to life as the captain introduced herself and asked everyone to follow the cabin crews' instructions. As the air hosts took their positions and started mimicking the instructions, the call to turn off all electronic devices was given, and Alfred had no choice but to cut himself off from the outside world. He wished he knew the reason for that because suddenly he really was curious, but it was too late to Google that now.
As the plane taxied and built up momentum, he was shoved back in his seat as the plane raced to reach the end of the runway and peel away from the ground.
It felt like he was in a slingshot and it was thrilling. It reminded him of all the amusement park rides he had went on when he was a kid. Matthew had been with him then and Alfred dragged him on everything he wanted to go on because obviously, he couldn't go alone.
But he was an adult now, and he could.
For the entire plane ride he kept his nose pressed right against the glass as he watched the scenery change below.
⊱֍⊰
He didn't even know what he was afraid of. As the destination came into sight and the captain announced their descent, Alfred was basically bouncing in his seat. The plane landing felt like an amusement park ride and the moment the seatbelt sign was off, he was up. He could not get out of that plane fast enough and could barely restrain himself from running on the tarmac.
Being in the airport and seeing the view of the city through the large floor-to-ceiling windows just filled him with a feeling like no other. One that screamed at him that he had to get out there and see it all.
Which he did at the first opportunity. There was a nervous pit in his stomach that shrunk after he got off the plane and started exploring. He took his time finding his hotel because all the new scenery drew him in and at the same time he couldn't dump his luggage fast enough. The novelty put him on a high like no other because he was in another country! It was so cool and fun yet so familiar. Obviously, Canada was like America's brother, so he saw so many parallels to his home country that it was bizarre to think he was somewhere else. Somewhere that didn't fill him with a patriotic itch but something adjacent.
And yet he was.
A few hours of just walking around and hopping on and off public transport and ubers, he decided he needed to find a post office. He felt like a character in a video game with an objective to complete, and that was to participate in the family of sending postcards. Specifically ones from lonelymapleleaf because when in Rome, right?
He found a post office and browsed all the amazing pictures for longer than he would've like to admit. In his defence, there were so many cool designs! He stood at the bench as he wrote out a few to send home to his friends, Arthur, and his 𝓹𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓲𝓮. They were going to be so surprised...
He told the clerk there that he was American and she did not seem to care but he didn't let that ruin his mood. With the postcards sent, he grabbed a few to take home with him as souvenirs and had enough self-control to only walk out with a thick stack thin enough to hold with one hand.
⊱֍⊰
Throughout the whole time, he stayed in contact with lonelymapleleaf. They were texting back and forth a lot and on the first night, they organised to meet the next day.
That day came, and Alfred was practically bouncing off the walls of his hotel room as he imagined what was going to happen. He hoped they would get along offline just as well as they did behind a screen. He hoped that their humour was compatible and they had lots to talk about while lonelymapleleaf discussed whatever he needed to and they solidified their friendship.
And then lonelymapleleaf rescheduled for that afternoon.
That's fine, something probably just came up. That would be why the Canadian gave him a list of things to do and see. So Alfred busied himself exploring the city in the morning. He went to check out the markets to see if there was any Canada-only food that would be interesting to eat and he took plenty of pictures for Francis.
And then lonelymapleleaf rescheduled for the next day.
There wasn't much of an explanation but there was a whole paragraph of apologises. Alfred felt bad to be upset when clearly lonelymapleleaf felt worse, but he just made a joke about his friend being super Canadian and pushed down his feelings of annoyance. He just felt that way because he got his hopes up but these things happen.
So instead, he consulted the list of tourist attractions and recommendations and visited the ice rink. He wasn't the best on the ice but after hours and hours of skating around and making friends with others there who helped instruct him, he was pretty good at it by the time the rink closed. During the call home with Arthur, his brother didn't seem too impressed with either his skill or his friend's tardiness.
Arthur also told him off for making some vlogs because it 'left nothing for them to talk about' when they called. Alfred just thought it was efficient because they were already on the same page!
The next day, he texted lonelymapleleaf to double-check if he was cool with meeting today and the answer was no. Alfred was getting a little worried the photographer was working himself up and was now put off the whole idea of meeting. Alfred was only here a week so sure, he had some time but it made him nervous and annoyed because what did his Canadian friend have to be so nervous about? They were friends! So he felt like he should be given a reason!
lonelymapleleaf didn't reply to any of Alfred's texts trying to confront the issue, so he just decided that he'd make the most out of his trip anyway by checking off everything on the to-do list. He was on vacation so he better start acting like it by trying everything!
He didn't get a reply from lonelymapleleaf until the next day, the third full day of this trip.
lonelymapleleaf
Look, I really am sorry about messing around with you like that. I'm not doing it on purpose but I'm just really nervous so I think it's probably best we meet up near the end of your stay here
why?
seriously dude why to both those things?
I'm not scary! I'm just a chill guy like that meme so don't be nervous
and why do you think its best to wait! if we meet now thats more time to hang together
unless youre that antisocial because then forget I said that but we don't have to hang longer than you dont want to
I know you're usually chill but I just don't want to bring down your entire trip and I want you to enjoy some of it
dude whats wrong with you? literally nothing! I'm not gonnna get depressed seeing you? Is this some insecure shit because you have no reason to be, you're cool dude and if anyone should be insecure then it should be me because Im not some super famous photographer
though maybe i will be famous if my vlogs take off but i pinky promise ill remember you when Im famous.
I think we should meet on Tuesday
okay cool Tuesday
are you actually going to go through with it?
I promise all I wanted to do for a long time was see you so I'll be there
I'm going to go now but I'll text you then
Tuesday was the day before he flew out... that was really cutting it close.
"Man, are you fucking kidding me?" Alfred huffed to his phone, eyeing all the texts lonelymapleleaf didn't comment on. "You're not even gonna tell me where or when? You'd better not stand me up or I'm gonna be pissed."
At least he had plenty to do for the rest of the week and he was starting to enjoy his own company, even at the cost of developing main character syndrome. He just hoped that by the end of the trip, he finally achieved what he came here to do and meet his friend.
If lonelymapleleaf did stand him up again, Alfred knew he'd probably forgive him because he was a sucker for his friends. But he wouldn't forget and he'd still send the longest voice message ever as he ranted about it.
T-minus 1.