Twisted Perceptions (Hetalia fanfic)

Chapter 1 -- A Quiet Start.

'ring. ring. ring. RING.'

The sound just kept getting louder and louder until a hand came up and silenced the infernal noise, the owner of that hand belonging to quite the disgruntled blond, green eyes scowling at the alarm clock in disdain. Really. It was too loud some mornings, grating on his nerves only seconds after he woke up.

In reality it was fine, as it woke him up well enough but it didn't stop the brit from being annoyed by it. "Bloody alarm clock..." he muttered off-handedly as he tossed the sheets aside and went to the closet, pulling out a simple dress shirt and a pair of neatly pressed black slacks. Not very colorful but it worked well enough for him. He wasn't exactly the type to wear all kinds of bright colors - unlike some people he knew - on day to day, let alone at his job.  Even if he had the freedom of being his own boss of sorts, he still was a rather plain and simple man despite others simply just called it boring.  Just because he didn't call himself 'awesome' or 'heroic', it didn't mean he was any less of a man for wanting to keep to the nearly routine life he'd come to fall into this past year or two.

Fingers pressed and smoothed out the folds of his shirt once he'd gotten it on and buttoned up, working on the pants and stepping back to look at himself in the full-length mirror near the closet. He was a young man in his late twenties, with messy blond hair, thick brows, green eyes with a rather slim, lean build. He wasn't exactly what you would call 'muscular' but he wasn't exactly unattractive either, if it ever came down to admitting it, which was rare on it's own as he was not exactly too picky on his outer appearance; or anyone else's for that matter. What mattered was being comfortable in your own skin in whatever you did and having the confidence in showing this, as he believed it made you a stronger person within.

"Alright. You can do this. It's going to be a good day."

Flattening down a stray strand of blond hair, he exhaled a sigh and moved to exit the room, the floorboards creaking slightly as he walked down the quiet hallway, sun beginning to shine in through the window and casting a pale but lovely light. Humming a soft tune under his breath, he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, placing his hands on his hips with a light smile before turning and grasping the nearby apron hanging off a clotheshook. It was a deep blue with the union jack of the british flag on it and the words 'kiss me, i'm british' emblazoned on the front near the bottom. This being originally a gift from a friend of his - the man /certainly/ thought he'd been funny at the time - on his twenty-second birthday when he'd opened the bakery. One never thought someone like him would end up with such a place considering the skill of cooking he'd mostly had growing up but since he'd started getting better over the years he'd gotten confident enough to go through with this once he had enough money and he was proud of himself.

His name was Arthur Kirkland, local britishman straight from England and owner of the quaint - but well maintained - bakery by the name of 'Exquisite: treats & desserts'. It was on an off-street a few blocks from New York City's time's square. Not too far away but it was enough that people had to pass by to get to most of the other businesses, which was one of the ways he was able to get business after all.

Granted, it wasn't the 'most' popular bakery in town but it made enough money that Arthur was able to live a comfortable life. Not much money to himself but that was fine with him well enough. Once he was ready to go, he set out the ingredients and a cookbook, starting on everything early and in only a few hours managed to make two small cakes, a set of cupcakes and had some cookies in the oven. He made everything himself as it stood, setting out all the newly baked items in the shop as well as the little packaged sets for purchase along with the various fresh breads he'd made the night before, storing them in the fridge overnight. Turning to the cupcakes he'd just finished working on, decorated so neatly, he felt this should be good enough for starting the day. With this in mind, after putting them out in the window for display, he moved then to flip the closed sign to 'open' and unlocked the doors. It was going to be a good day, he hoped. Opening the door for an instant to let in some fresh air, taking in the crisp scent of the early morning with a pleased look on his face, though in doing so, distracted him from the movement out of the corner of his eye until it was too late and there was small arms wrapping around his middle out of nowhere. Blinking a bit, he looked down to find a small boy there, with sandy-blond hair hugging him and looking pleased with himself over anything else. "Hah! Got you again, you git!" The boy proclaimed happily, to which Arthur cringed before shaking his head and placing a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder lightly. "I told you not to call me that, Peter." Said boy in question just pouted, pulling back just enough to huff at the tall brit indignantly.

"...you were the one who said it th' first time~!. if you didn't want me learnin' it, then you should watch what ya say!"

Stupid brat.

This kid was none other than his kid nephew Peter; a boy of only 11 years of age and somehow tiptoeing that level of cute and annoying. He took care of him when his parents were out of town, letting him stay at his place above the bakery as long as he behaved and didn't eat anything he wasn't allowed to. Which reminded him. "...Peter, shouldn't you be at school? You're going to be late." Arthur chastised with a irritated and disapproving look on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the boy and expecting an answer, though the one he got was nothing more than Peter making a face and sticking a tongue out at him. "Oh, shush. I won't be late... I jus' wanted to know if I could have a cupcake before I go to school~?" Suddenly it made it very clear just why the smaller boy was here when he shouldn't be at all. For a second he nearly thought against it before rolling his eyes in silent defeat. "...Just this once. Then get your little arse going." Arthur rarely could resist Peter when he came by as it meant his cupcakes were at least worth something in some way, the recipes he'd been working on for them not nearly as good as the rest as what he baked and yet Peter always wanted one and he didn't know why.

Once he received that eager nod of his nephew's head, he disappeared into the shop and came back with a lovely little cupcake in hand, a red-velvet one with buttercream frosting and red sprinkles atop of it, the sight of it alone making the small blond grin brightly. "Whoah! I get to have one of those~? Thank you, Arthur! You're really SO much nicer than mummy says you are, you know~! Goodbye!" He cheerfully accepted it and scurried off on his way down the street, making Arthur slump his shoulders while a hand came up to touch his temple in silent frustration and annoyance, even if the boy would no longer see it. "...He's going to bloody well be the death of me. Daft little brat." With that, he headed back into the bakery, straightening the cupcakes and the one cake he'd set on display so it looked just right before wandering back to the front counter with a pleased smile on his face.  This place was more of a bakery/cafe where people could enjoy what he baked but also relax in a calm atmosphere, though bakery still covered it well enough.

"Dude. Why again do I have to be here so freaking early? It's totally too early in the morning to exist right now..."

The voice startled him from his thoughts, making the britishman blink a few times before looking over his shoulder at the newcomer who'd come through the front door - how had he missed those bells sounding?! Tall, blonde, blue eyed and wearing spectacles that almost didn't fit him, dressed in a grey captain america t-shirt and faded blue-jeans, the young man looked horribly out of place, rubbing at his eyes and looking miserable.

Oh look. His to-be assistant was here. Lovely. He thought he'd never show up at all.

 ( yes yes, it's kind of slow now but please be patient :D This is also my first story so please be kind~ )