AN: Well hello lovely people!
To new readers: Welcome! I hope you enjoy this little fluffy one-shot :D
To my readers of The Crazy Ride called Life: I'm really, really sorry that this isn't a new chapter for that story. Schools been really tough lately, and writing the next chapter has been moved to the back-burner. Don't worry though, it'll get written!
This story is unrelated to CRCL, but if you haven't read it that please check it out ;D
Warnings: Well, I didn't know what to rate it as, but there is some swearing.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters
Enjoy =D
o.0.o
Matthew's Strange Day
Other wise called: "Why Gilbert should not be allowed to babysit his little brother."
Matthew was having a strange day.
The day started off normal enough—he woke up, had a wholesome breakfast (as always) and he had gone to school, where he might've spoken two words at most in his grade 6 class (as always). What made his day divert from normality though was the small blonde boy he had found in the park when he was walking home. This boy was no older then 4 or 5 at the most and he had calmly informed Matthew that he was lost. The boy had told Matthew that he wasn't allowed to use the phone and did not know how to, so he asked if Matthew could call someone for him. Seeing as Matthew's parents thought he was too young for a cell phone (he was only 11) and that he only lived two blocks away, Matthew consented, and led the boy to his house.
That was why Matthew found himself in this situation, in the kitchen, phone pressed to his ear, as he waited, feeling painfully awkward, for someone to pickup on the other end. The boy he had found was sitting calmly in a seat at the table, slowly drinking a glass of juice that was offered to him.
"Hallo? The awesome Gilbert here!"
"Ah… bonjour, er, I mean, 'ello. You see, er… I tink I 'ave found your child… oh, or rather, your little brother, 'e says."
"Wait, WHAT? Geez, I had a heart attack when you said child, but are you talking about Ludwig? No, that ain't right, Ludwig's right here… or… wait, he was…"
"Well, if zis 'Ludwig' iz a very polite little blonde boy then oui, Ludwig iz in my kitchen right now."
"Oh fuck! I was picking him up from daycare… and then I bumped into 'Tonio and Franny and got talking… I think he told me he was going to wait on a bench… and shit, I must've walked off without him! Kid doesn't know his way home alone yet… ah shit. "
Matthew was blushing by now with the language the German gentleman on the other line was spouting out, and he started to tune him out as he went into a full on rant, in, Matthew could only assume, German. He was curious when the man mentioned a 'Franny,' which, Matthew thought distractedly, could be his cousin Francis, who had told him of a German friend he had by the name of Gilbert.
"Well, ah, could you tell me your address? I'll get over there a.s.a.p!"
Getting pulled out his thoughts, Matthew quickly told the boy (he had decided that the previously stated 'gentleman' was indeed a boy after his voice had cracked mid rant to something decidedly less manly) his address, though he wasn't quite sure what 'a.s.a.p' meant.
Matthew stuttered out a quiet 'au revoir', berating himself for not using the English word, but he was way too nervous to at the moment.
He wasn't supposed to invite strangers into the house—the little boy didn't count!
His Uncle Arthur had kindly invited him into his house in London (Ontario) to live with his adopted son Alfred and himself while his parents were away for a few months. He even went as far as to enrol him into the local school so he wouldn't be behind when he moved back with his parents in Montreal and went to school again.
After all his kindness, he had even trusted Matthew to walk home from school alone today without the aid of his older cousin (he was only older then him by half a year, but apparently, it counted) and then stay by himself for a couple of hours. Alfred, being the rambunctious child that he was, managed to break his arm badly when he fell from a tree he had climbed during recess, and they were going to be in the hospital until pretty late tonight.
Knock, knock, knock!
Matthew startled, giving a very girly squeak, almost dropping the phone that was still clasped nervously in his hands, and turned surprised eyes to the door. He froze, just staring at it for a few long seconds, almost like it was some kind of alien being, not quite sure what to do.
"Excuse me… are you going to get that? I think it is Bruder."
Matthew could only give a nervous nod to the little boy who had tugged on his sleeve to get his attention, before getting up to slowly walk towards the door.
That was fast. He must live not to far away.
The knocking, by this point, was getting increasingly violent. Matthew was half scared for the fate of his Uncle's door.
Matthew opened the door, and found himself face-to-face with an oncoming fist. Having grown used to bullies, his first reaction was to shut his eyes tight and brace himself for the blow. So Matthew did just that.
Though the blow never came.
"Aha… er, sorry! Didn't see you there at first."
Hesitantly cracking open one blue eye, Matthew could only stare at the very odd person standing in his doorway.
He had white hair, pale skin, and, most startling of all, red eyes.
"Heh, so are you the person who called me about West?" When Matthew gave the Albino a shy nod, figuring, for whatever reason, he was talking about his little brother when mentioning this 'West', the boy grinned and gave Matthew an obviously expectant look.
Getting the hint, Matthew stepped back into the house in sign the boy to come in, hoping he didn't seem as painfully conflicted about the matter as he felt.
There was an awkward lull in the one-sided conversation as they both stood silently in the hallway. The Albino was still giving Matthew an annoyingly expectant look, while Matthew stood looking at the ground with no idea what to do next.
Matthew looked up though when he heard an odd laughing sound coming from the boy across from him.
"Y'know, I thought you'd be a cute French girl from how you sounded on the phone, but you're just a kid, ain't you? And not even a girl!"
"I am not just a kid! I 'appen to be turning twelve in a week! And of course I am not a girl!"
"Happy early birthday then!" The boy said cheerfully with an even wider grin.
Matthew could only stand there, glaring at the boy in front of him.
The boy casually leaned against the wall and smirked, probably finding the whole situation hilarious. When he saw that steam was practically coming out of Matthew's ears though he held up both hands in a placating gesture.
"Cool it, kid. You were almost speaking at a normal volume for once! I was just saying you're just not an awesome teenager like I am yet! I have three years on you!" The Albion crowed obnoxiously.
For some reason Matthew felt his anger simmer down into just plain annoyance at that, and instead, with a critical eye, he examined the boy's appearance.
As he took in the painful looking pimples on the boy's forehead and the slightly greasy sheen to his hair, Matthew mentally concluded that he really, really, didn't want to hit puberty any time soon, no matter how annoying it was to get constantly mistaken for a girl. It really didn't look 'awesome' at all to be a teenager.
"Well, you are 'ere for your petite frère, are you not?" Matthew said with a huff through his nose, turning away from the albino.
"Oh yeah! Hey wait though!" The Albino called, making Matthew turn around in part annoyance and part curiosity, giving the albino an expectant look of his own.
"I never got your name! The awesome me is named Gilbert Beilschmidt! And are you related to a guy named Francis Bonnefoy? Your like a mini-him, it's weird."
"My name is Mathieu, er, Matthew Williams. Francis is my cousin."
"Awesome! And weren't you living there for a bit? Why are you living at Mr. Kirkland's house instead?"
Matthew could just repress a smile. So that means Gilbert is in one of Arthur's English classes at the local highschool. I do not want to know why he knows where Arthur lives though.
"I was, but Arthur—Mr. Kirkland—found out, that, for the week I was zhere, Francis' parents were not 'ome once, and Francis was the one taking care of me. Arthur is my Papa's brother, Francis' Mère, is my Mother's sister."
Gilbert had a strangely thoughtful look on his face and he nodded ever so sagely, like he had just been told the meaning of life.
"That's why, a few weeks ago, Francis didn't like me and 'Tonio crash at his place like he usually does. Yeah, Franny's parents are almost always away in France. I've been Francis' friend since we were like, six, and I've only met them once! It was when they were picking Francis up from the boarding school our parent's use to make us go to... Hey, but where's my brother?"
"I'm right here, Osten" said a soft, unnaturally solemn voice, for one so young. Matthew looked down, startled to see the little blonde boy right at his side. He hadn't heard him come down the hallway.
If Gilbert was shocked by his little brother's sudden appearance, he didn't show it. Instead he grinned and scoped up the little boy, who only gave a world weary sigh, and Matthew figured he didn't like being picked up, but was quite use to it.
"Heh, I bet you were the perfect little angel for Matthew, eh, West?" Gilbert said, grin still in place. "Of course you were!" He exclaimed, not even waiting for his little brother to finish nodding. Still grinning, he turned his eyes towards Matthew, shifting his brother in his arms so he could point a thumb at Ludwig.
"It's crazy, this kid is like, three goin' on thirty! I would've bet my life that he was our gramps reincarnation… if our gramps wasn't still alive, that it."
Matthew just nodded, trying to hide how dumbfounded he felt.
"Well, we gotta go. West, say thank you to the nice kid, kay?"
"Thank you," the boy recited dutifully, making Matthew shyly smile at him for the first time this afternoon.
With a wave the boy turned and walked out the door, the older brother talking in German to the younger in his arms all the while.
"Now West… ah, don't tell Gramps I lost you, Kay? He'll never let me babysit while he's off in Deutschland again."
"As long as you admit that you lost me, and I did not lose you."
"Alright, smarty pants!"
Even though Matthew couldn't understand the exchange, he still smiled, hoping he wouldn't have to call the Albino again for any more lost things.
o.0.o Sometime in the near future o.0.o
"Oh, hey there again, kid! What are you calling about this time? Just wanted to talk to the awesome me again, didn't ya? 'Cus I know Ludwig's in the house!"
"Um, non. I 'tink I 'ave found your dog."
"Ah… which one?"
The End!
o.0.o
Translations:
Hallo (German): Hello
Bonjour (French): Hello
Oui (French): Yes
Au revoir (French): Goodbye
Bruder (German): Brother
Petite frère (French): Little Brother
Mère (French): Mother
Osten (German): East
Deutschland (German): Germany
