The blond made his way to two high stools on the stage. The guests were busy with their own affairs but he did not mind. As he sat on one of the stools, his face scrunched in slight panic. He felt around the pockets of his outfit and sighed when a folded piece of paper fluttered out. He cleared his throat and faced the guests.
No one listened.
"Have I ever told you that you are the most wonderful boy I had ever seen? Have I told you that I consider you the most perfect little child with the way you act? Have I told you that your sweet voice is enough to melt my heart in an instant?" the blond sighs and chuckles, "I have, haven't I? But you wouldn't know. You will never know. Yet they say that children are the only ones blessed with hearing. You never heard me though, why?
"It was hard, I tell you. Especially with how demanding you were as a child. But I could never blame you. You were always left alone. No one batted an eye to your little pleas. But I never left you," he pauses and slips a small smile to his features, "It's funny how I had come to love my job– to protect you. I feel like a real hero. I protected you from any harm that might reach you. I thwarted all the bad things that could enter you. I shielded you from the monsters in your closet, assured you that you will be okay. Little Mattie, you'll be okay.
"Because I'm here. I'll be your hero."
…
…
"Papa?" the child, Matthew, uttered as he entered the study. "Papa, where is mama?"
The man sighed exasperatedly and shoved away the papers in front of him in displeasure. "Matthew, go back to bed."
Alfred, having followed the child, shook his head in distaste, "That's not how you talk to the kid…"
The child looked about to cry, "B-but, I can't sleep… There a-are–"
"Matthew!" the man shouted and the child backed away, "Go back to your room! There are no monsters!"
"Hey, don't shout! You're scaring him!" Alfred growled and rushed to the child's side. "Now he's crying. You call yourself a father?"
"Do not give me any of that. Go back to your room. Now." The man snapped. He sighed again and returned irately to his papers. The child just whispered a weak yes and trudged back to his room. Alfred clicked his tongue and followed the child. Once they reached the room and Matthew whimpered at the sight of the gaping closet door.
"Don't worry, Mattie. I'll fight the monsters for you." He said as he gently patted the trembling child, "C'mon let's get to bed. I'll tuck you in."
Matthew sniffled quietly and clambered onto his bed. A bear lied idly near the pillows and the child grabbed for it like a lifeline. Alfred chuckled and kissed the top of the boy's head as the child buried himself under the covers.
"Mama is l-late again. What s-should I do?"
Alfred shushed the child softly. "It's okay, go to sleep."
"W-who will tuck me in? Who w-will scare the m-monsters?" the child choked out.
"I will. Please stop crying, Mattie."
Matthew held his bear close to his face and nuzzled its black plastic nose. "Hey, K-Kumamiru, w-what should I do?"
Alfred felt something sharp stabbed his chest. He ran a hand through his blond locks and sighed. "C'mon, time for bed. I'll tell you a bedtime story." he said softly with a tiny smile. The child exhaled and seemed to settle himself on the bed beside Alfred.
"Once upon a time, there was a man who always said he would save everyone. He would run around the world to save people. He called himself a hero. Do believe that, Mattie?"
No one answered Alfred except the rhythmic breathing of the child under the covers.
…
…
"Man, childhood is short. The little boy grew up year by year. Your child-like features slowly evolved to a more mature face. It amazed me. You grew almost to my height, you know that? But with the piling years, you soon grew out of your fragile shell and faced the world. I would be lying if I said it didn't bother me. You had met new people, made friends, made enemies."the blond nodded and flickered his eyes to his paper for a second, "Around this time, I was sure that my job will become much harder. Because this time you are too busy to look around you. I can't always jump in and push you away if a car had somehow materialized in front of you. I can't berate you for associating with the wrong people. I can't immediately protect you from the monsters in your closet because you won't tell me if there is any lurking anymore. Man, you'd grown up.
"You learned so much too– so many things that you could never learn inside your house or from me. You learned to laugh, to speak, to feel, to lie, to pretend, to hate, to love…" Alfred bit his lower lip and fluttered his eyes shut, "You learned to love."
…
…
"Oh c'mon, Matt! Just ask her already!" Gilbert complained as his friend watched a petit girl with long dark-brown locks giggle with her friends.
"Don't tell him what to do." Alfred snapped, "Do what you think is right, Matthew."
Matthew sighed dreamily and smiled weakly, "It's kind of difficult, Gil. She's pretty popular and I'm just an average gu–"
"Oh for fuck's sake, Matt!" Alfred hissed a 'don't curse!' at the teen but Gilbert continued, "You're not average! You're the fucking captain of the hockey team, goddamn it!"
"Great, he violated the third law. Just great. Matthew, why do you hang out with him?" the blond grumbled. Matthew shrugged.
"I don't know. She doesn't seem the type to like guys like me."
Gilbert snorted at him and Matthew raised a brow. "You better think twice, dude. Look behind you."
Alfred and Matthew turned their heads back to the group of girls giggling to themselves. Matthew caught the eyes of the brunette he liked on him and he smiled. The girl turned a cute shade of pink as her friends squealed around her. Alfred felt that stab in his chest again as Gilbert practically kicked his friend toward the girl.
Matthew has grown a lot.
"Be careful, Mattie."
…
…
Matthew arrived at home with bruises and cuts. Alfred paced closely behind him.
Mrs. Williams rushed to her son as soon as she heard the teen curse loudly. "Dear, what happened?" Matthew shook his head stubbornly then as he held the tears back. The blond behind him sighed.
"That girl cheated on him. To top it off, she had the guy beat him up for no apparent reason."
"Now, now Matthew dear. Don't cry it's all right." Mrs. Williams spoke and wrapped the boy into her arms. Matthew sobbed louder and Alfred sighed again.
"S-she lied t-to me!"
"I warned you, didn't I?"
"S-she said I was the o-only one, why? D-did I do something w-wrong?"
"You did your best for her. Please stop crying, Matthew. She's not worth it."
"I l-loved her!"
Again, the piercing pain returned and Alfred's jaw clenched.
"See Matthew, you've fallen in love with one of the monsters."
…
…
Alfred shook his head and crumpled the paper in his hand in frustration, "And I thought you'd learn your lesson from there but no. You offered everythingto each and every one of them. Yet they all hurt you, lied to you, left you and still you have the mind to say that you loved them? However, this is one of the things I like about you. When you love, you give it your all and even if they leave you, you still give them a special place in your heart. You even thanked them…" his voice faltered,
"But Mattie, have you ever thanked me?"
…
…
Matthew sobbed into his phone as the girl on the other end of the line, his current girlfriend spoke. "Matthew, please don't blame yourself for this. I– It's not your fault."
"T-then why?" Matthew whispered and the girl tried to comfort him, "Did I do s-something wrong?"
"It's always that line, huh? Mattie, it's not your fault."
"It's not your fault. I just– I think it's time we part ways…"
Matthew could not bear to hear more than what he had thus he muttered a small thank you and cut the call from there. He crumpled to the floor and rested his back against his bedside. As he folded his knees to his chest, Alfred joins him.
"Hey now, cheer up. I'll read you a bed time story. Oh, would you like to hear a song instead?"
Matthew seemed to listen– and Alfred liked to think he was– and slowly settled his head down on his knees. Alfred cleared his throat and threw his arms tenderly around Matthew's frame.
He sang until he heard the soft snores of the college student within his embrace.
…
…
The guest seemed to have settled down a bit however, Alfred knew that they were not silencing for him. He felt tears prick his eyes. "It was the same cycle over and over again. But one day you met someone. Someone I'd never thought you'd meet, let alone be friends with. But you did anyway and when she entered your life, I felt that I was being forced to leave.
"By then you had learned not to fall so easily. You had become oblivious to all the affection direct at you. But she broke that barrier. She made you trust her, love her. But you know, at that time I felt so upset watching you two laugh together. Somehow I imagine myself in her place then I question myself: Why am I doing this?
"Why am I crying?"
…
…
"You know lad, I don't understand why you stay with such a plain boy." said Arthur as he picked out the dirt under the layers of his feathers.
Francis hummed in agreement as he helped the other dust his wings, "Oui. Why don't you shift to another? My child is the son of a wealthy business man so it is not too much of a hassle to protect him. He has body guards everywhere!"
"Really now," Arthur scoffed, "Mine is the heir to the throne of–"
"I don't want to change." Alfred interjected, much to Arthur's annoyance, "It has to be Matthew. Besides, no one else can fill for my position. I mean, who would save him from the monsters in the closet? Only I can be his hero."
Francis and Arthur frowned pitifully at Alfred. Just across the street were Matthew and his new girlfriend, Emily, happily playing with the children. When Emily pressed a quick kiss onto Matthew's cheek, he spluttered and blushed as the children teased and squealed.
"You two are perfect for each other!" one child announced. The rest cheered in affirmation and Emily laughed. Matthew smiled.
"I'm Matthew's hero." Alfred repeated. Francis and Arthur sighed and left him alone to watch as the couple sneaked another kiss.
…
…
"And it hurts because I can't look away. I can't let my eyes wander lest I miss a split second that could end your life. What if a car suddenly runs you over? What if a building fell over you? What if that girl left you again and you decide to end your life yourself? I can't let that happen!" Alfred was crying now but he still forced his mouth to move, "So I have to endure every second you spend with her. I have to bear the increasingly tight squeeze in my chest…
"I had to watch as you went down on one knee that day. I had to hear that one clichéd question that will never be directed at me. I had to keep my eyes from snapping shut as you slipped the ring onto her finger… I had to cry silently as you claimed her lips for your own– That was maybe the first time I had cried for something so selfish. I should be happy for you, right?"
The guests started clapping when a two-door entrance reveals two new-comers. Matthew and Emily entered the hall arm in arm. Alfred smiled weakly and tried to clap with the guests.
"Then I realized how much I lied to myself. These past twenty years, Matthew, I wasn't reassuring you. I was reassuring myself. I wasn't comforting you, I was comforting myself. And I just can't help but laugh at the fact that there weren't any monsters in your closet. It was all to save me from the pain. Mattie, I'm not your only hero– perhaps, I was never your hero.
"But it's just too goddamn hard to accept. You don't need me anymore. Hell, maybe you never needed me." Alfred laughs bitterly and wipes at his eyes, "Ah, I violated the third rule. But there's one thing that I've been meaning to say to you..."
He chanced a glance at his hands. They were now transparent. Alfred stood from his seat as Matthew and Emily came up to occupy them. He smiled fondly at Matthew and tried to run his fingers through the soft curls.
His hand passed through.
"I love you." Alfred said and leaned in for a kiss on Matthew's cheek. He stayed in that position until his figure started to fade and in a just a moment, he disappeared. "Congratulations, Mattie."
Matthew's head turned to the empty space beside him and stared. His hand reached up to his cheek and he smiled, "Thank you."
"Did you say something, Mattie?" inquired Emily.
Matthew laughed, "Oh, nothing. I just felt like– I-it's nothing."
Emily laughed as well and hugged the man's arm closer. Gilbert, dressed in a formal suit, came up to the stage with a microphone and grinned.
"C'mon guys! Somebody make a speech for the newly-weds!"
No one knew that someone already did.
Because no one listened.
…
…
…
…
Just a hint, America is a guardian angel here. I hauled out a one-shot! Woohoo! I should be working on my re-write, what the hell? ;A; Also, the whole story idea isn't mine. I came to love the plot so I made it into an USCan AU. Please don't kill me. ;A; I hope you liked this one though.
Leave me a review and tell me what you think! :3
EDIT: It's the third commandment/law/rule, not the first. Haha. Just proves how much I fail in my Christian Ethics class. :P [edited again: changed the tense to past and fixed a few things~]