AN: A little attempt at some fluff! Hope you guys like it! I'm pretty sure I made England and Canada a bit OOC here. Forgive me!
AU~ Dedicated to my friend, RISING FLURRY! Without her I would seriously freak out.
And... I'm still not sure about France's french. It might be wrong. I used Google Translate afterall -shot. If you see anything weird, please kindly tell me! Reviews are appreciated.
mon ami = my friend
petits chéris = little darlings
non = no
chéris pauvres = poor darlings
mon cher = my dear
Pairings? Only if you interpret it that way :)
In a little house in the country of Great Britain, a blond-haired child sat underneath a big tree in his backyard...
9-year old Matthew sat under the big tree that grew in the backyard of his house. It was a calm, sunny day and the wind was blowing gently through the leaves of the tree, making them rustle gently.
Leaning against the firm trunk of the tree, little Matthew's eyes began to droop. Clutching his little polar bear named Kumajiro, Matthew sighed. He loved times like these, when no one was around. His family probably already forgot he was out in the backyard, but it didn't matter to him now. He sometimes grew tired of being forgotten, tired of the apologies, tired of his brother Alfred.
So, he enjoyed the peace and quiet of the backyard. Matthew was just about to fall asleep when he heard the glass door that lead from the kitchen to the backyard, open with a bang. A voice called out.
"Hey, Mattie! Where'dja go Matt?"
Matthew groaned. There was only one person that had a special nickname for him: his brother, Alfred.
Maybe if he stayed quiet, his twin brother won't notice him! Matthew sat there, staring at his brother, hoping he would blend in with his surroundings. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain as Alfred's head whipped around to face his.
"There ya are, Mattie!" Alfred yelled, running towards his brother.
Matthew sighed. His invisibility skills sometimes weren't useful with Alfred.
"Yeah, what is it Alfred?" Matthew asked.
"Let's play!"
"Play what?"
"Umm... I dunno. I just wanna play!"
"Al, you ask me to play but you don't even know what to play?"
"Uh... yeah! Haha. Um... Oh, I know! Let's play hide-and-seek! How 'bout it, bro?"
"Umm-"
"Yay!" Alfred yelled, not letting his brother finish his sentence. He took hold of his brother's hand and started to drag him out of the backyard fence. Matthew shrugged as if this happened often (which it did). Just as they were about to walk past the fence, Matthew looked down and remembered his bear, sleeping in his arms.
"Wait, Al!" Matthew said, yanking his hand out of Alfred's grip, "I have to leave Kumakichi for a nap!"
Running back to the tree, Matthew did not realize that he had got the name of his own pet polar bear wrong. He set his sleeping bear under the shade of the tree and planted a quick kiss on Kumajiro's forehead before he turned and ran off to play with Alfred.
Alfred ran off ahead towards the woods close to their home. They would usually play in between the tall, majestic trees until it was time to head home. Matthew followed not too far behind. When they came to a little clearing in the woods, Alfred spread his arms and spun around saying,
"Yeah! This is a perfect place to play hide-and-seek!"
Matthew smiled. Alfred turned to him and said,
"Okay, Mattie. I'm gonna count to 10 and you better run off and hide!"
"Yeah, okay." Matthew replied.
Alfred nodded and turned to face a tree. He leaned against it, head buried in his arms. He started to count, real slow.
"1...2..."
Matthew turned around and ran, trying to find a good hiding place. He spotted a clump of bushes and dove into them as Alfred reached the number 7.
"8...9...10! Ready or not, here I come!" Alfred turned and looked around the woods. There was no sign of Matthew. Alfred started looking around for his brother with excitement, hoping to catch him by surprise.
Time passed and the sky grew darker. Alfred lost his excitement and a feeling of fear replaced it. He had not found Matthew yet, and the forest started to become a dark, dangerous place no 9-year old should be in. A place where nightmares come true. Alfred panicked and started shouting for Matthew.
"Mattie! Mattie, where are you?" Alfred yelled.
Matthew was still huddled behind the bushes. He giggled. He sat listening to his brother calling him, thinking that Alfred was just giving up too easily. Matthew sat there, hugging his knees, waiting to be found by a brother that would never come.
As the first stars started to twinkle in the dark sky, Arthur looked out of his window. His two little boys haven't shown their little faces back home since late afternoon. He knows he shouldn't be too concerned, but he was pacing the living room like a worried mother.
Francis sat on one of the couches in the living room, watching his oldest friend worry. He was there to visit, wanting to play with the kids and tease Arthur.
"Don't fret, mon ami." Francis finally said. Arthur stopped pacing and turned to look at Francis.
"Don't fret? How am I supposed to not fret when my kids haven't come back home at this hour?" Arthur yelled.
"Well then, why don't you go look for the petits chéris? They couldn't have gone far, non?" Francis calmly replied.
Arthur huffed and rubbed his temple. "I suppose you're right." He muttered.
He went over to the coat rack to grab a light sweater. He hastily put it on and grabbed a flashlight. He then dashed out of his house with determination etched on his face.
"Be careful, mon ami!" France called after Arthur, "I shall take care of your house while you are gone, non?"
When Arthur heard the last part of what Francis had just said, he ran faster. He had to find his kids and get home before that French Frog did something weird to his house!
Francis chuckled and walked back in the house. He looked around and suddenly clapped his hands.
"Ah! I know! I shall make the most delightful meal for Arthur and his boys! Who knows what he's feeding the chéris pauvres." Francis chuckled as he walked in the kitchen and put an apron on.
Alfred was still running around yelling for his brother.
"Maaaaaattie! Come on, Mattie! I'm serious, just come out already!" Alfred hollered. Instead of peeking his little head out of the bushes, Matthew pushed himself deeper in the bush making him almost invisible. Which he already was, anyways. Having been around Alfred for most of his life, he is always careful of what Alfred says for he knows that most of the time, Alfred was faking.
"Maaaattie!"
Arthur whipped his head towards the woods at the sound of his son's voice. He swung the beam of his flashlight towards the voice and squinted. He grit his teeth and ran toward the woods grumbling,
"Of all the places... Always the woods...!"
Alfred turned around quickly when he heard footsteps. Hoping it was Matthew, he smiled real wide and yelled,
"There ya are, Mattie!"
Arthur saw his son's figure and ran towards him, relief washing over him as he shouted,
"Alfred!"
Alfred's smile disappeared as he saw the beam of the flashlight and his father figure. Arthur ran over to him and hugged him tightly.
"Alfred, Alfred! Where have you been, love? You got me worried sick!" Arthur said.
"But... Daddy, we've got to find Mattie!" Alfred said.
Arthur sighed and let go of his son. As he stared into Alfred's worried face, relief washed over him again to see his son safe. He forgot all of his worries in an instant. And by ALL of his worries, he forgot Matthew as well.
"Love, I don't know who you're talking about."
Alfred's eyes got wide as Arthur stood up.
"Now, let's go home." Arthur said as he stretched. A thought struck him. "Home... Damn! I just remembered that bloody frog is at my house!" He muttered, careful to not let Alfred hear him swear.
He turned back to Alfred and grabbed his hand.
"Come now, lad! We must get home before a CERTAIN FRENCHMAN messes up my beautiful house."
Alfred knew that whenever his father mentioned "A certain Frenchman", it is always Francis. His facial expression took one of confusion and panic. He needed to get home because it was already late and Francis was the one watching house, but he needed to find Matthew too. His confusion remained as Arthur started to drag him towards home.
Matthew peeked out of the bushes he was hiding behind and saw Alfred's confused expression. Matthew watched the two retreating figures of his father and his brother until they could no longer be seen and the beam of the flashlight disappeared completely. Sitting back down on the forest floor, the feeling of loneliness and being abandoned became clear to Matthew. Hugging his knees, he began to cry.
Francis hummed as he began to set the table. All of a sudden, he heard the front door bang open and two pairs of running footsteps came closer to the kitchen. Arthur's angry, huffing face and Alfred's little, worried face popped up in the kitchen doorway. Francis smirked and said,
"Welcome home, mon cher."
Arthur let go of Alfred's hand and yelled,
"Don't treat me like I'm your wife, frog!"
Francis laughed, "Ah, but mon ami, I have never said you are my wife. I am merely greeting you. Look, I even cooked! You should be thankful!"
Arthur walked over to the table and grumbled his thanks. Francis smiled and turned to Alfred.
"Come and eat as well, Alfred!" Francis urged.
Alfred walked over slowly to the table and stared up at Francis with a worried look on his face. Francis felt sympathy for the child. How can one so young have such a complicated expression?
"Come, Alfred. Food will take all your worries away. Especially my food." Francis smirked at Arthur.
Alfred climbed up onto a chair and looked down at his plate full of French food. He lit up and smiled at the sight of warm, edible food. He started to eat, pushing the thought of his brother in the woods to the back of his mind.
Meanwhile, a little, talking polar bear was stirring from its sleep. Kumajiro opened his eyes and sniffed at the good smell that was wafting from the house. He got up and walked over to the glass sliding door that led into the kitchen. He peeked through its curtains and saw three blonds eating and laughing at the table. Seeing food, his stomach grumbled and he realized that he had not eaten since noon.
Feeling hungry, he also realized that his own owner -the shy blond with the lone, fly-away curl- was nowhere to be found. And since Matthew was the only person who fed him, Kumajiro went out looking for Matthew. Walking out of the backyard fence, he trusted his nose to follow that sweet, maple syrup-y scent that his owner usually gives off.
With his head in his arms, Matthew continued to cry. It was dark, cold, and he was alone. He could believe that his father and Alfred left him out in the woods at night, but it still hurt. He lifted his head up and realized that he was hungry. As if on cue, his stomach grumbled loudly. He wiped his eyes before continuing to sniffle. A soft wind blew his dirty blond hair around his face as tears dangerously threatened to spill out again.
"Who're you?"
At the sound of that voice, Matthew whipped around to face his bear, Kumajiro. At the sight of him, the tears that he held back spilled out and he lunged forward to hug Kumajiro. Crying and hiccuping into the cream-colored fur, Matthew let all of his feelings out. Kumajiro hugged Matthew back, patting his back and saying,
"There, there..."
After comforting Matthew for a few moments, Kumajiro let go of Matthew and padded forward. He looked back at Matthew and gestured towards his back with his head. Matthew's tears slowed down as he climbed onto Kumajiro's back. He sniffled as Kumajiro walked home with Matthew on his back.
The door to Arthur's house quietly opened as a boy and his bear walked slowly inside the house. The sounds of Francis laughing obnoxiously could be heard from the kitchen. As Matthew got nearer, he could see Francis, Arthur, and Alfred all laughing and eating. And as he looked closer, he saw that they had only set the table for three.
A single tear fell down his cheek as Matthew jumped off of Kumajiro and ran up the stairs to his room, followed closely by a worried bear. Matthew opened the door to his room and flung himself onto the bed. He pulled the covers over his head and cried again. Kumajiro padded towards the bed and climbed in with Matthew. He laid a paw on Matthew's head and kept saying,
"There, there..."
In the end, they both forgot about dinner and their hunger. Kumajiro fell asleep while stroking Matthew's head. And as for Matthew, he cried himself to sleep.
