France x Canada FanFiction
((*Quick Little Note: I was thinking about updating this at some point, but I wanted to see if people would be into it on its own. I'll probably end up updating it soon though~ Also, thank you, MeanReader for fixing up my French in the story~ Thank you for reading!*))
Francis Bonnefoy sat on the corner of his bed, his head in his hands. Today was the day he had to give away his everything, his boy, Matthieu, to Arthur Kirkland. He didn't really have a choice, but he knew he could prolong the event for a short while. Francis stood from his bed and walked over to the window. Outside, Matthieu was running around the yard with his stuffed polar bear in hand. A gentle smile appeared across the Frenchman's face at the sight of his boy playing and being happy. Unfortunately, it would probably be a long time before he saw the boy again, so Francis soaked in the image. Once Matthieu noticed him in the window, he waved and ran through the back door. Francis left the bedroom to go and meet him downstairs.
Once Francis was standing in the living room, Matthieu ran up to him and hugged him.
"Bonjour [hello], Papa!" Matthieu pulled away from him and gave him a toothy grin, while Francis got down on his knees.
"Bonjour, mon cher [my dear]," He chuckled. "Mon dieu [my God], you have dirt all over you. What were you doing out there, rolling in it?" Matthieu giggled and looked down at his outfit.
"Désolé [sorry], Papa. I guess I didn't realize." Francis smiled and began dusting off the boys clothes. He had made sure that Matthieu was wearing good clothes for today, even if Matthieu didn't know what they were for. Francis looked over his outfit once more. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt, with a dark brown vest over top, and light brown dress shorts. Once he made sure there was nothing left on the special outfit, Francis stood up straight and gave Matthieu a warm smile.
"Matthieu...would you like to go for a walk? We could go to that open field you love." Matthieu's face lit up with excitement.
"Oui [yes]! Can we go there now, Papa? S'il te plaît [please]?" Matthieu held his bear to his chest and looked up at Francis.
"Of course, mon cher. Do you...want to bring anything with you?" Francis looked at the ground. He didn't want to depart from Matthieu like this, but it was the only way he could without hurting him. Matthieu thought for a moment before looking down at his bear, then back to Francis.
"I think I'm going to bring my camera with us. This is the first time I've ever brought Kumajiro with us!" He smiled happily, and ran up to his room. Francis waited to hear the bedroom door close before going over to the phone and carefully dialing a number.
"Hello?" The other person answered.
"Bonjour, Arthur..." Francis sighed.
"Oh. Hello, Francis... You're calling about the boy, I presume?" Francis closed his eyes tightly.
"Oui. He...he doesn't know what is going to happen, Arthur, and I do not want to see you when I...give him to you, understand?" He heard shuffling on the other end.
"Right, well, do you just expect me to tell him, Francis?" There was a tone of frustration in his voice.
"Look, Arthur, this is the last time I'll get to see him for who knows how long, and I want to remember him happy. I don't want him to hate me just yet." Francis snapped at him.
"...Fine, have it your way. I'll tell him, but he'll hate you either way, you realize that don't you?"
"Of course. He has every right to... Well, I must be going now, Arthur. Au revoir [goodbye]." Francis quickly hung up the phone when he saw Matthieu coming down the stairs.
"Papa, I'm ready to go now!" Matthieu smiled up at Francis, adjusting the bag that he kept his camera in.
"D'accord [okay]. Let's get going then, mon cher." He ushered Matthieu out the front door, before turning around to lock the door behind him. Matthieu grabbed Francis' hand and carefully pulled him down the dirt drive way, making sure not to get either of their shoes dirty. Once they were on the sidewalk, Matthieu let go and turned to Francis.
"Could you give me a piggyback ride there, Papa?" Francis smiled and crouched down for the boy to get onto his back. Once he was holding on, Francis got up and began |continuing| down the street. Matthieu rested his head on Francis' and held his bear close to him in one arm. "Who were you on the phone with before we left?"
"It was Arthur." he said dully.
"Isn't he the man with the big eyebrows, Papa?" Matthieu asked. Francis let out a small laugh. "Oui, mon cher, he's the man with the big eyebrows."
"Okay. That's what Alfred calls him a lot." Matthieu giggled.
"Yes, I bet he does. You know, mon ange [my angel], I've known Arthur since we were young, and his eyebrows have always been like that."
"Wow, really? So... he must be your best friend if you've known each other for so long, right?" Matthieu smiled happily.
"I suppose... I think we fight far too often to be best friends though."
"Well, all best friends fight. And it's like you always say, Papa, a best friend is the one person who is the closest to you. You said you've known him for a long time, so you must be close!"
Francis smiled sadly. "I do say that, don't I...?" The two continued their walk in silence afterwards, until they found the opening of the woods. Francis followed the path until they found the large field, and soon let Matthieu down. Matthieu ran into the centre of the clearing and laughed happily as he purposely tumbled onto the ground. He sat up and waved Francis over. Francis smiled and made his way towards Matthieu, only to be pulled down to the ground by the boy. Matthieu began laughing and Francis looked over at him smiling. Before Matthieu could get up, Francis had the boy in a protective hug. He held him tightly against his chest and nestled his face into his hair. "Mon Dieu..." He whispered. "Forgive me..." Matthieu leaned into Francis, not focusing on the words his father said, and instead looked up at the man.
"Papa, can we play hide and seek like we always do here?" Francis looked down at him lovingly and nodded. "Okay! You count and I hide, just like always. Right, Papa?"
The corner of Francis' mouth pulled up into a smile. "Oui, just like always, mon ange..." Matthieu got to his feet and waited until Francis had his eyes closed. "Okay, Papa. Count to twenty!" Before Matthieu ran out to hide, he quietly pulled out his camera and took a picture of Francis sitting peacefully in the grass. Afterwards, he put the camera away and ran to the forest.
Francis sat still, thinking about Matthieu. Memories of when he had found the boy played through his mind, and soon he felt warm tears slowly falling down his face. However, when he opened his eyes, he noticed a tall figure standing off in the opposite directing from where Matthieu had gone. Francis squinted slightly, and began to fume as the figure moved closer and he could see the other man. He got to his feet and began walking towards it. Once he was closer, the man came out from hiding completely.
"I told you I didn't want to see you here, Arthur." Francis hissed.
"I was hiding, wasn't I? Bloody hell, a-are you...crying!?" Francis looked away from him and wiped away the stray tears with his sleeve.
"Oui, I'm not heartless like you are..."
Arthur starred at him blankly. "I...I didn't think you..."
"Cared? You didn't think I could care about someone anymore? Is that it?"
Arthur sighed. "I didn't know you were so attached to him, Francis. I've known you for a long time, and I've never seen you care so much about someone other than...her..."
Francis looked at Arthur with a weak smile across his face. "It turns out that you take everyone I care about from me, non [no]? Now if we're done here I...I'm leaving. You saw where he went, so go and find him...And if you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate it if you gave him this," Francis pulled out an envelope from his coat pocket and handed it over to Arthur. He took it from Francis, eyeing him, and looked down at it. Matthieu's name was written across one side. "It's a way to better explain everything to him. Hopefully he'll understand..."
"Francis, I-" Arthur was cut off by Francis.
"You know, we were talking about you on the way here. Matthieu believes that you are my best friend." Francis smiled sadly. "What do you think?"
Arthur looked at him with slight confusion. "What do I think of him saying we're...best friends?" Francis nodded. "Well...what does he think a best friend is?"
"He says that a best friend is 'the one person who is the closest to you'."
"Right...Well, if he's going by that than I suppose he would be correct...unfortunately." Arthur said in annoyance.
Francis half smiled at Arthur. "Matthieu is a smart boy... Well, I suppose it's time for me to leave now. Take good care of him, oui? A bientôt, mon ami [see you soon, my friend]." Francis took one last look at him, before walking off into the forest, towards civilization. "Goodbye, Matthieu. J'espère que tu pourras me pardonner un jour [I hope you can forgive me someday]..." Francis said giving a long look back to the field.
*Arthur's Point of View*
Arthur watched Francis leave and guilt slowly began flowing over him as he forced himself to walk over to the other side of the field where Matthieu was hiding. Once he was there, he began wandering into the forest, looking for Matthieu. 'What the bloody hell am I supposed to tell this kid...' he thought to himself. After a few minutes, Arthur heard something rustling in one of the trees. He looked up to find Matthieu sitting on a branch with his stuffed bear, swinging his legs. Arthur cleared his throat, trying to get his attention. "Are you...Matthew?"
Matthieu looked down at the man. "I suppose, but um, you said my name wrong..."
Arthur shifted awkwardly. "Ah, yes, sorry about that. In my country we pronounce it differently... I'm Arthur, by the way. Arthur Kirkland."
Matthieu smiled and hopped out of the tree, before dusting himself off. "You're Papa's best friend, right? I'm Matthieu Bonnefoy. It's nice to meet you!" Matthieu stuck out his hand to Arthur politely.
"It's nice to meet you too, lad." He shook Matthieu's hand, before putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Did...did your Papa tell you that you would be staying with me for a while?"
Matthieu looked at him blankly. "No, he didn't... When is this happening?" Matthieu moved his stuffed bear to his chest and hugged it tightly.
"Well...right now, I suppose." Arthur said.
"R-right now? But I'm playing hide-and-seek with Papa!" Matthieu frowned at him and took a small step back.
"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but Francis has already left. I told him I would take care of you." Arthur rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, while Matthieu starred at him, tears now forming in his eyes.
"N-no, Papa wouldn't just leave me... I know he's still here!" Matthieu turned quickly and ran towards the field, but didn't stop when he got there. Arthur went after him only to lose sight of him, shortly after when Matthieu ran into the forest again.
*Matthieu's Point of View*
Matthieu was heading towards the opening of the forest, with tears rolling down his face. "Papa!" he screamed. He looked over his shoulder to find that he had managed to loose Arthur in the deeper part of the forest, and began to slow down. Matthieu was finally out of the forest, when he found Francis sitting on the side of the road. He began to quietly walk up to him, when he was grabbed from behind. He looked up to find Arthur, and looked back towards Francis. "Papa!" He shouted again. Francis stiffened. "Papa, don't let him take me!" He cried, causing Francis to|stand and turn around quickly. Arthur held onto Matthieu tighter, and managed to hold both of his arms down awkwardly. "Matthew, please stop this. You're making things harder for both you and Francis!" He muttered. Matthieu ducked down, escaping from Arthur's grasp on him, and began to run towards Francis. Francis looked at him in sadness and began backing up slowly.
"Papa, s'il tu plaît! Ne me quitte pas [don't leave me]!"
"Mon cher, don't... Arthur will take care of you, I promise. Je t'aime [I love you], Matthieu, and I wish I didn't have to do this to you..." Francis said, loud enough for Matthieu to hear. Matthieu slowly came to a stop, process these words. "Please, Papa..." He began to chock back tears. "Je ne veux pas être tout seul [I don't want to be alone]..." He took one step closer to Francis.
"Je promets que je viendrai pour tu [I promise I'll come back for you], mon cher." Francis said, before turning his back to Matthieu and walking back towards his home. Matthieu fell to his knees, and began wiping the tears away. He looked down at his bag, and took out the camera. He put his bear in his lap, and turned the camera on, to find the picture of Francis sitting in the grass with his eyes closed. Arthur quietly came up to him and sighed.
"Matthew... I'm so sorry about what we're putting you through..." Matthieu kept staring down at the picture, ignoring Arthur's presence. "If you won't talk to me, would you at least follow me to the car? We need to get back to my country, lad..." Matthieu stood up slowly, grabbing his bear, and began to follow Arthur towards a black car that was parked at the curb. Once they were both buckled in, Arthur began to drive off in the opposite direction than where Francis had gone. When he looked in the rear-view mirror, he found Matthieu still starring down at the camera, wiping the tears from his face. Arthur sighed. "Matthew, he wrote something for you. Would you like to read it?" Matthieu ignored him and stayed still. "I'll...I'll take that as a yes." Arthur pulled the letter out of his pocket, while keeping one hand on the wheel, and handed it back to Matthieu. Matthieu took the letter from him in silence, and looked over it.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Arthur asked, looking back at him. Matthieu shook his head and moved the envelope to the space next to him.
"Alright... You know, Alfred's rather excited that you're coming to stay with us. He's been telling me all about you, actually." Arthur looked back at him for a response, only to find Matthieu was staring out the window. "He has a nickname for you, am I correct?"
Matthieu nodded slowly. "H-he calls me Mattie..." He said quietly. "It's only because he c-can't pronounce my real name though..."
"Ah... Would it be alright with you if I called you Matthew then? Seeing as how I'm hopeless at pouncing you're actual name as well?"
"I-I guess so... Papa will be able to visit me, won't he?" Matthieu looked at him sadly.
"I don't know, Matthew. He might not for a while..."
"Oh... I understand..." Matthieu mumbled. He leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes.
*A Year Later*
"Matthew, would you mind going to tell Alfred to come in for lunch?" Arthur had just finished fixing the two boys their lunches, and was putting plates on the table where Matthieu was sitting with his polar bear.
"Okay." Matthieu said, after examining the food in front of him. He got up from the table and went past Arthur to the back yard where Alfred had been playing. At the moment, he was lying in the grass, completely out of breathe. Matthieu went and stood next to him.
"A-Arthur said you need to come in for lunch." Alfred looked up at him happily before pushing himself off the ground.
"Mattie," Alfred began. "How come you call him Arthur? Why not 'dad' or something?" Matthieu sighed and headed back for the house, only to have Alfred tag along close behind.
"Because, Al, I already have a dad... You know that..." Matthieu walked back into the kitchen and sat down across from Alfred, and began to eat his food.
"But Mattie, you can still have another one!" Alfred sat on his knees on his chair and was halfway across the table, making a puppy dog face at Matthieu.
"What if I don't want another one?" Matthieu was looking down at his food, avoiding the look from his brother, when Arthur walked back into the kitchen.
"What are you two going on about?" He questioned, after observing the scene.
"Nothing." Matthieu said quickly, only his voice went unheard by the other two as Alfred stood up on his obnoxiously.
"Mattie's refusing to call you dad!" He said, while pointing down to Matthieu.
"Al, please stop." Matthieu whispered. Alfred ignored him and continued with his debate.
"He says he already has a dad, but he can have two, right?" He said loudly. Meanwhile, Arthur was just starring at the both of them in confusion, until he realized what Alfred was getting at.
"I suppose, but he doesn't have to if he doesn't want to, Alfred. Now sit down and eat your food." Arthur sat in one of the seats next to the boys.
Alfred finally sat down in his chair and folded his arms over his chest while pouting. "It's not like he ever sees his dad, anyways..." He mumbled. Arthur shot a look at Alfred.
"Th-that isn't my fault, Alfred..." Matthieu whispered, before pushing himself away from the table, and running past them to his room that he shared with Alfred. Once he entered the room, Matthieu locked the door and went to lie on his bed. Burying his face into the pillow, he began to cry. "Papa, I miss you...When will you come back from me like you promised?" Matthieu managed between sobs. "I trusted you..."