Brotherly Bonding~ (Alfred & Matthew)

Alfred grinned as he ran about his house, trying to find his hikers backpack. It was somewhere in his basement, which honestly, was a mess. Tony really needed to learn to keep this place clean, how could he live in all this mess? Al wasn’t the cleanest person in the world but when there was a rotting cheese and mango sandwich (Tony liked some really weird things...) sitting in the corner, covered in mould... well that was just too much!

As he shifted through a pile of old comic books he accidently knocked over a tower of old sports equipment, causing an old stuff avalanche. He jumped out of the way just in time, though he was caught off guard, being hit on the side of the head by something black and dusty. As he fell backwards and hit the ground he noticed that it was none over than his backpack. A grinned consumed his face as he hugged it to his chest and jumped back up. “Found it~! I thought I’d lost it~!”

With his bag now found he ran up to Arthur’s and his bedroom, throwing in everything he was going to need for his weekend he’d be spending camping with Matthew, in Canada.

Both brothers hadn’t seen each other a lot lately, so they’d decided to take the weekend off and just spend some time together, doing a little brotherly bonding. And Alfred was honestly excited about it. Though he would miss Arthur he got to see his husband a whole lot more than his brother so one weekend away would be fine.

He smiled as he pulled the backpack on and made his way down stairs, locking the door behind him as he left the house. Alfred adjusted the straps before making his way to Canada, a bright smile never once leaving his face.

“First aid… check. Emergency kit… check.”

Matthew looked down at the list in his hand, using the pen in his other to scratch the side of his head and almost dislodging the glasses sitting on top of his head. Looked like he had everything. Being the expert hiker that he was, it hadn’t taken Matthew very long to find the things he needed. All his hiking gear was carefully stowed away so it was easy to find if the need to get out into the wilderness spontaneously moved him.

"Oh!" Matthew cried, remembering as he headed back to the kitchen. "I almost forgot the s'mores. Can't forget those. Al would never forgive me. There's no such thing as camping without s'mores..."

Looking at his watch, Matt knew Alfred would arriving soon but he still had enough time to make a cup of coffee, leave a message for Katyusha and put on his old hiking boots. Matthew dragged his gear out the house and set it on the front porch, mindful to lock the door, before sinking down right beside it. Kumajiro was probably around somewhere. Matt guessed that the white bear had already taken off, long since run off into the brush and disappeared into the thick evergreen forest. Sure, his bear liked the modern conveniences (especially when it came to bottled maple syrup or getting salmon from the market even out of season) but Matthew could tell that Kuma missed the outdoors. Just like Matt did.

As a nation he was always in some stuffy building, sitting this meeting, sitting in that meeting. Matthew missed his roots. Which was why he’d chosen here, the Canadian Rockies, to take his brother out on a camping trip. Nothing said rugged wilderness like those jagged mountains still capped with snow, soaring so high they cut off the horizon. A definite change of pace from those packed cities.

Though, Matthew mused, perhaps they’d stay in provincial campsite. It had been a long time since he’d been able to have this kind of hang time with his brother, and Alfred might not appreciate extreme wilderness camping like he did…

Alfred sighed in relief as he finally arrived at his brother’s house, seeing him sitting there on the porch. He... had a lot of stuff. Did one really need that much stuff for a weekend of camping? Then again, Matthew would know, seeing as how he was the expert in camping here. Didn’t he like to do that extreme camping stuff?

He walked right up to him, kneeling down and pulling his brother into a friendly hug. “Mattie~! It’s been too long~ How have you been~? How has Kat been~? And um...Kumajiro~? Has work been hard?”

The questions just flew out of his mouth, his excitement and curiosity getting the better for him for a moment. It had been too long, it really had. It was hard to think back to the last time when they’d spoken. It had probably been at some silly meeting and if it was, then he’d most likely barely had the time to even say a word.

As he pulled back, a silly smile lighting up at his face, he dropped down beside Matthew, letting his bag slide off his back and fall down behind him.

“So, when will we be leaving~? And where will we be going~? Is it someplace exciting? Pretty~? Is it far away~?” Again, his excitement got the better of him, filling his mind with thousands of questions. Alfred couldn’t help it; he was finally going to be spending some time with Matthew, doing a little brotherly bonding! He just knew this weekend was going to be awesome.

For a moment, Matthew sat taken aback by the sudden barrage of questions. “W-wh- oh- I-“

It really had been too long since he’d been around his brother. He’d almost forgotten exactly how… animated Alfred could be.

“Hello Alfred,” Matt chuckled, or at least tried to. It was hard to do when you were being crushing in one of Al’s hugs, as well intentioned as they may be.
“Works been good- hectic of course, but then again whose hasn’t been like that lately?” Leaning back on his hands, he used the short distance to study the oh-so familiar face. It looked a lot like his, yet there were small but striking differences. With everything going on in the world he could see the changes in his brother compared to the last time they’d met.

“We can leave right now if you want. It probably better that we get a move on. Nothin' worse than trying to set your tent up in the dark.” Standing Matthew grabbed both their backpacks and turned, gesturing towards his old red Ford parked in the drive. “I was thinking we head to one the national parks. They’ve got some nice campgrounds there that I think you’ll like.”

Tossing both bags in the back with everything else, and making sure they wouldn't bag about, he added with a grin, “There’s plenty of trails there to, so we can head out on our own if we feel the need to get off the beaten path a little. -Are you coming or not?”

He nodded his head furiously, listening to what his brother had to say, noticing how a few of his questions went unanswered. Not that it really mattered; he had all weekend to ask questions, after all. And he’d make sure Matthew answered each and every one of them!

Though, it did seem that the other was well. Alfred knew how stressing work could be and he was glad to see that it hadn’t gotten to him at all. That might be because Matthew had a special someone in his life, he thought. When you had someone you loved by your side it made everything a whole lot better.

As Matthew stood and took their bags, throwing their bags into an old red Ford and babbling on about tents and campgrounds, Alfred took a moment to stretch and stand, twitching slightly when he heard the other make that little impatient remark, pulling himself over to the vehicle.

“I’m coming! I’m coming! I was just taking a moment to rest, it’s a long trip coming up here, ya know~” Alfred chuckled, checking to see if his door unlocked, pulling the door open and sliding into the passenger seat with a toothy grin, adjusting the seat so he could recline a little.

“So, we’re heading to a national park, right~? Will there be any bears and mooses up there~? What about Mounties~? Maple trees~?” He leaned over, poking his brother in the side with a teasing grin, mostly just joking about. Although.... seeing a bear and getting to wrestle it DID sound like a pretty fun thing to do.

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I.... took waaaay too long to reply eue;;;

Sorry bro ;;

Same old Al, Matthew thought with a half amused, half exasperated roll of the eyes. His brother asked so many questions it was hard to remember and answer them all. They flew at him one right after another, a mile a minute talker his brother was, for sure. Suddenly Matthew realized this was going to be a very long drive...

Shifting in his seat, and turning on cruise control so he could relax, Matthew shot his brother looks from the corner of his eye, chuckling slightly. Alfred's bright blue eyes were so full of excitement and eagerness. Matthew did his best to satisfy his curiosity.

"Yes, it's one of my oldest national parks actually. We'll have to check at the gate whether or not it's too dry for fires. They're very protective of the land, you know." Matthew shrugged about the moose and bear comment. He's grown used to the idea of being around such dangerous animals like moose and bears the shock of such large animals had long since worn off.
"There might be. Moose probably not. They like the more marshy places and only around dusk and dawn. Of course if we do all you have to do is make sure you have something between you and it- like a big tree. Bears on the other hand do sometimes stick around the campsites, they can get a free meal out of the food scraps people unfortunately leave around, so who wouldn't eh?" He laughed, though realizing he was the only one doing so, the sound turned awkward.
Matthew cleared his throat. "We just have to make sure to clean out cooking gear away from the camp and make sure we put the food away in sealed containers.”

Trying to remember all of his brother’s questions, Matthew answered dryly, “Yes there will be RCMP just like any other town, though I don’t think they’re what you’re expecting. They only wear their red uniforms for special occasions like when the Queen comes to visit or Canada Day. They’re for show only. And as for maple trees…” Glancing over again, he could clearly see the mischievous grin on Alfred’s face and knew he was just pushing his buttons for fun.
“No. That’s more down east. Not that you would know the difference between fake maple syrup and the real stuff,” Matthew said, sending a teasing smirk right back and sneaking a hand across to playfully pinch his brother’s side.

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I'm sorry for the late reply dsfjkhs;kh ;A;