Guess what guys, I just realized something:

I'm absolutely terrible when it comes to writing stories.

I have all these ideas, but I don't know how to start them, what the fill them up with, and how to finish them. It's more than likely that I'm going to abandon this, but we'll see how far we go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Never have, never will. I only own my lame fanart of them.

BTW, this is set in 19th century London. Think Sherlock Holmes-ish setting. That's what I'm going for.

Arthur Kirkland had a routine.

He got up every morning at precisely the same time, bathed, had his morning cup of tea, and read the paper. He would then proceed to head down to the family bookstore and resume his job behind the counter, rearranging books and helping customers. It was a bit of a walk from his London apartment, and it did tend to get crowded and lost easily in the busy streets, but he enjoyed his small bit of exercise each day. He lived a quiet, peaceful, and surprisingly easy life for a 20 year old, merely organizing the shelves of books, instead of working at the factories for long hours and little pay, like so many other young men his age. While his job did get a little monotonous at times, he did appreciate his simple lifestyle. Stressful times only occurred when the family held get togethers.

Today was a little different, however.

Instead of waking up on time, Arthur had found that he'd overslept half an hour, and jumped out of bed in a panic, resulting in a stubbed toe against a pile of books set neatly on the floor the previous night. Cursing, he decidedly skipped bathing in favor of quickly brewing himself some quick tea, only to discover he was all out.

Today was shaping up to be a terrible day.

"Miss Nancy!" He called out frustratedly, slamming the cupboards shut. He sprinted across the room, slipping on his coat and top hat, tugging on his shoes as an older came bustling in the room.

"Yes, Mr. Kirkland?" She replied out, entering the room expectantly.

"We're out of Earl's Grey tea," Arthur said, slightly crestfallen. I've ran out already, and I can already feel a terrible headache coming along…" Arthur murmured, tugging his vest together to button up. He looked at her hopefully.

Nancy sighed fondly. "Yes, I'll go pick some up today. Just hurry up, you're already late!" She said, waving him towards the door.

Arthur smiled gratefully. "Thank you so much, Nancy. You really have no idea how much you've already made my day." He strode past her, mumbling a soft embarrassed 'thank you' as she handed him his pocket watch, before jogging out on to the streets, narrowly avoiding the moving crowd, and falling into step with his usual routine, crossing the street before another carriage pulled up.

Eventually reaching his small bookstore, he groaned upon finding a short plump man standing outside looking cross. Said man turned to Arthur with an angry scowl and said, "Mr. Kirkland, you said you'd be here precisely twenty minutes ago. I did not expect such bad service from you."

Arthur sighed and pulled out his keys, and unlocked the door, stepping inside the old but familiar room, the jingle of the small bell making a soft noise. "I apologize Mr. Thompson, I assure you I am usually much better than this. Please, right this way," Arthur said, holding the door open and gesturing inside. The smell of dust and old books greeted them, and Arthur inhaled in contentedly, walking behind the counter and shrugging off his coat. Reaching underneath the counter, he pulled out an old leatherback book, and neatly dusted it off, presenting it to the man. "Your Turkish book on dining arrived late yesterday…" Arthur said, offering the book.

It was a rather slow day, with only six customers at the most, only two of them actually purchasing anything. He made polite conversation with each of them, keeping his eyes on those who went out of his range of sight. By the end of the day, it had begun to get chilly out in the October air, and he locked up and walked home, feeling a bit restless with such a long day.

It was already starting to get dark out, Arthur realized as he pulled his coat tighter to him. One of these days he would have to make himself a scarf to keep warm.

When he walked up the stairs of his apartment, he nearly shrieked upon finding a small boy huddled up on his doorstep. The boy looked up frightenedly, his bright blue eyes looking wildly at Arthur, and attempted to huddle closer in the corner, covering his face as if he were about to be struck. Arthur couldn't help but pity him.

"What in the—" Arthur began, eventually quieting. He paused, looking at the boy for a long time. His small frame shivered from the chilly weather, and he squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to make himself as small as possible. Hesitantly, Arthur reached out and lifted the boy up by his arm.

The little boy reacted immediately, shouting 'no!' repeatedly, and began to viciously kick his legs upon being lifted. Arthur barely managed to dodge a kick aimed wildly at his face, and reddened as bystanders on the street began to stare.

"Shh!" Arthur hissed. "People are staring, stop making such a fuss!" The little boy paid no attention and began twisting around even more. Not long after, he burst into tears, going limp for only a moment, before continuing to thrash about, all while shouting out 'No! No! No!'. Panicking, Arthur swung the door to his apartment open and all but threw the boy inside, locking it behind him. He panted, his face red from effort, and shrugged off his coat and bag. The boy looked at him wildly.

And then he ran.

"No, stop!" Arthur shouted, extending a hand in a vain attempt to lunge at the boy. Picking up into a run, Arthur dashed down he hallway after the little boy, swerving in and out of rooms and hallways. It was exhausting, more of a workout than Arthur had had in weeks. Eventually, Nancy stormed out of a room from upstairs, and bustled down the stairs saying crossly, "What is with all the ruckus?"

Just then the little boy scuffled up the stairs and ducked behind the old woman, startling her by gripping onto the hem of her dress. "Oh!" She cried out, peering behind her. "What is this?" She asked, not unkindly.

"Miss Nancy," Arthur said flusteredly. "I'm so sorry, I did not anticipate such an…appalling entrance to make upon arriving home."

"What do we have here?" She asked, trying to step away from the little boy. He followed her movement, never letting go of the dress. He peered around her fearfully.

"I, er, I don't know." Arthur sputtered out. "I found him on our doorstep, and I assumed, well, er…." He trailed off, realizing that obviously Nancy had no idea who the boy was. "He was just sitting on the steps when I arrived." He finished lamely.

Nancy paused, taking a moment to absorb all the information. Looking down, she asked the boy sweetly, "What is your name, little one?"

The boy looked down shyly, and appeared to begin to introduce himself, before looking at Arthur nervously and surreptitiously close his mouth, looking away.

"It's alright, dear, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Nancy said, patting the boy's head kindly. She descended down the stairs, leaving the boy sitting awkwardly on the steps after her.

Placing her hat on her head, she pulled on a thick overcoat, tucking herself away in her old frame. "Well Mr. Kirkland, I'm afraid I must be going. I received a letter earlier today from my third cousin twice removed; his younger brother is ill and needs some taking care of. I'll be out of the country and I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll be sure to send my half of the rent your way, so no worries. I hope it's no trouble to you," She apologized.

Arthur stared, blanking out entirely. "Er, it's not a problem. Completely understandable, what with sick cousins, third removed…" He trailed off, trying to piece everything together.

Nancy smiled. "Don't feel too down without me being here, boy," She said, patting Arthur's head kindly as one would do to a little child. "I'll write you to keep you informed on the situation. I'll be back before you know it!"

Arthur frowned, suddenly wondering what he was going to do without another person around the large apartment. Sure, it was annoying when Nancy brought her old friends over and gossiped all night, but now that she was completely gone, Arthur couldn't help but feel somewhat lonely. His shoulder sagged slightly.

"Wait, Miss Nancy, what should I do with the boy?" Arthur asked hurriedly.

"Take care of him obviously, what do you think?" Nancy replied, opening the door.

Arthur frowned. He wasn't sure if he was going to miss her witty remarks. "But then what?" He asked a little desperately, slightly annoyed at the answer.

"Well he needs a place to stay. Poor thing wouldn't last another night on the streets. It's getting cold out and those clothes aren't enough." She pointedly stared at the little boy's shorts and thin wool coat. Shaking her head slightly, she lowered her voice. "At least take care of him for now; we can take him to the orphanage later. He looks absolutely starving."

Arthur frowned unhappily. "But I don't know how to take care of children," he argued. It came out sounding more like a whine. "Who knows where he's from?"

Nancy gave him a disapproving stare. "Arthur dear, I'm going to be late. You'll be fine, just clean him up, give him something to eat, and then put him to bed. We'll figure it out later when I get back." She opened the door.

"And when exactly is that?" Arthur interjected, becoming alarmed. "I can't take care of a child for God knows how long! Miss Nancy, wait—!" He called out, but it was too late. The old woman had already entered the carriage and called to him a short 'You'll be fine!' that Arthur certainly did not feel. He stared after her unhappily. Sighing, he closed the door softly turned back towards the stairs, where the boy had been sitting previously, listening intently on their conversation.

He was gone.

Arthur groaned.

Great way to start a relationship, huh?

I really don't know where I'm going with this, I only have a vague idea in my head. It ends rather sadly, though. :( But we'll see what happens.

I only wrote this because I've been having a dry spell where NONE of the fanfics I'm reading have been updated for a while. Plus, I haven't been seeing stories that I'd particularly like to read (that being said, I haven't been looking too hard. Or at all.), so I finally got off my lazy ass to write what I wanted to see.

**But I'm only continuing this if I get feedback. I'm not gonna write more if I feel like not enough people are reading it, because then it's really not worth it (not to mention, rather discouraging….) Anything, love/hate/constructive criticism, please tell me! I want to improve, so any feedback is very much appreciated. Five reviews would be nice. ;)

That being said, please REVIEW!