A/N I'm about to do something I utterly hate because I'm aiming for this story to be three longer chapters and I want you guys to read both Francis' and Mathew's thoughts on things. (P.S, there will be more brief notes at the end explaining things, but you can just skip them :p)
Francis
Francis looked around in excitement, after spending his whole life training, he was finally here! His dreams were finally able to become a reality and he knew he wouldn't let anyone down, he was, of course, the best male figure skater in all of France, how else would he have been able to get into the Olympics?
It had been a hard life for Francis Bonnefoy, his parents had always wanted a girl, someone to follow in Mrs. Bonnefoy's footsteps and bring home the gold for France. But, when Francis' mother had fallen deathly ill not long after his birth, the Bonnefoy family was certain that their dreams would never come true. But, to their surprise, young Francis, no more than three years of age, had fallen in love with the thought of figure skating. He wanted to be one of the people skating around in beautiful costumes, representing his country just like his mother had. So he had to train. By the time he was five, he was the fastest skater in his skating class, by the time he was seven, he had already won a few competitions, and by the time he was twelve, all of Paris knew he was going pro.
Shortly before he tried out to get into the Olympics, many people asked if they could be his partner. Mixed figure skating was much more popular than men's, and everyone knew that, but Francis politely refused. His mother hadn't done mixed, and he wasn't going to either.
The rink was huge, much bigger than any he had seen back home, but it made him a bit sad seeing it. Out of instinct, his hand drifted to a pendent his mother had given him two years ago, just before she died. "I promise I'll bring home the gold for you, mother." he whispered to himself.
Francis sat in the stands and watched the Canadian hockey team skate onto the ice for practice. He had never seen hockey before, he was taught the game was barbaric, a game made for lesser life forms than himself, but for some reason, he stayed to watch anyways.
There was enough of them to split up into two teams, so they played a game against each other. There wasn't as much fighting as he'd been told in the past, but he had expected it was because they were team mates, and probably because they were Canadian as well, Canadians were always tame.
Matthew
"Listen up guys, We need to show the world that hockey is our sport! We know it, and we need to bring home the gold again! We won four years ago, but if it wasn't for that goal in the last eleven seconds, we probably would have brought home a silver. That's not going to happen again this year! We're not on home turf anymore, so let's kick some ass!" The team captain had yelled. Cheers were heard throughout the locker room from most of the players, although quiet Matthew Williams said nothing as he finished tying up his skate.
Matthew's dream had never been to come to the Olympics. He didn't even want to play hockey much. Sure, he liked it, but there were many things he'd prefer to do than skate around hitting a , he wanted his dad to be proud of him, and as far as he knew, this was the only way that that would ever happen.
Two years ago, Matthew had brought home his boyfriend, someone he had loved with all of his heart, and had wanted to introduce to his family. "This is Carlos," he had told his parents. "And, um, he's going to be my prom date. We've been dating for about a year now..and, and I just thought it was time I told you." his cheeks had flushed a bright pink, and his gaze fell to the floor.
At first, his mom just laughed, as if it was some cute joke. "Oh, honey, you're only in grade eleven, why would you go to prom this year?"
"Carlos is a year older than him, remember, Sarah?" Matthew's dad replied.
"Oh, so you're just going as friends then?" Sarah had asked
Carlos smiled at them "No, no, he's my date for the evening, but don't worry, I promise to take good care of your son, and I'll get him back home by midnight."
"WHAT!" Mr. Williams had exclaimed "NO WAY IN HELL IS MY SON GOING TO BE SOME FAGGOT!"
Mrs. Williams wasn't opposed to what her husband had said "What are you talking about, Matthew? Is this some form of sick joke? You can't be one of them it's unnatural, how are you supposed to provide us with grand children if you're a...you know."
"I told you they'd get mad." Matthew whispered to his boyfriend
Carlos shrugged "There's not much you can do to change their views though. We might as well just go, and have a good time."
"DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE THIS HOUSE MATTHEW MAPLE WILLIAMS! YOU ARE GROUNDED UNTIL YOU'RE EIGHTEEN!"
It had been rough for Matthew, after that. He switched schools, and was banned from seeing or speaking to Carlos. He was only allowed out of the house when his mother or father was with him, and all internet usage was monitored highly. Carlos still tried to see Matthew as much as he could, but it was hard. They managed to speak via Carlos' fake facebook account under the name "Carly" but when they managed to see each other in person it was only for a handful of minutes. by the time Matthew had turned seventeen, Carlos and him had stopped speaking entirely, and so had Matthew's father.
He started pouring himself into hockey, just to make his dad love him again. Matthew practiced night and day until he was the best player on his team. When he tried out for a smaller league, he got a spot right away, and was soon invited to play on the town's main hockey team. By the time he had turned eighteen he was a hockey star. His father still didn't pay any attention to him though, so Matthew knew there was only one thing to do.
Everyone knew he was going to be accepted before he was. Matthew was an amazing player, he managed to get a hat trick almost every game that he played. if they wanted him to play goal, he could block a puck no matter who came at him, and he was very fast on ice.
When the letter of acceptance came in, Matthew was ecstatic! It had been almost two years since his dad last said anything to him, so Matthew wasn't sure what to expect when he told his father.
Mr. Williams just smiled faintly "Bring home the gold, son."
After the game, Matthew was completely out of breath, unlike the other members of his team, he treated their practice run like a real game. He didn't go easy on the goalie, he slammed other players into the boards, and he continued to skate around with more speed than anyone else on the team. Except, no one else treated it like a real game. The goalie, knowing what Matthew was capable of, cowered away every time Matthew hit it at him, and none of the players fought back. It wasn't as much fun as he thought it would have been, but he didn't mind much.
Someone announced that the figure skaters could use that arena to practice, so Matthew stayed and watched. He had always thought the figure skaters looked beautiful as they spun around, doing tricks with permission Matthew wished he had. But to his surprise, only a lone blonde French man entered the rink. "Bonjour mon amour." the French man said with a wink.
Matthew could feel himself getting flustered. "Euh ... bonjour, je suis désolé mon français est un peu rouillé. Parlez-vous anglais? " Matthew asked in perfect French.
"Oui, may I introduce myself, I'm Francis Bonnefoy, I will be in mens figure skating, and may I ask who you are, beau?"
"I'm Matthew Williams, and, um, I'm in men's hockey. It's nice to meet you, Francis."
"Non, non, non, the pleasure is all mine, monsieur. Now, if you do excuse me, I should practice my skating, but if you'd like to stay here, we can talk some more after practice."
Matthew nodded "That's a great idea."
A/N: Matthew is from Kelowna BC in this story, and, as stated, Fancis is from Paris France. I put Matthew in Kelowna because I know a lot about Kelowna having lived here all my life, as well as I got the idea whilke at my volunteer job. I hate sports, and I don't watch the olympics, but everything I know about hockey is known because I volunteer at a hockey arena. If I've made any mistakes about figure skating please tell me. Thank you
French courtasy of Google translate.:
-Bonjour mon amour: Hello, my love.
-Euh ... bonjour, je suis désolé mon français est un peu rouillé. Parlez-vous anglais?: Um...Hello, I'm sorry my French is a bit rusty, do you speak English?
-beau: beautiful
