Chapter 1 - To Keep Him Smiling
"Our fates were decided on the day we came
The bells of the church tolling their blessings
For selfish adult reasons
Our future was ripped in two."
In all his life, Matthew couldn't remember a time when Alfred hadn't been around, just on the other side of the border, within reach. They were close, the two of them. Closer than any siblings really had a right to be. But then again, they were twins. And didn't twins have some sort of strange connection between them that allowed them to feel one another even over vast distances?
Matthew knew that there were many times when he had felt Alfred's pain and elation at different points in history. Even when Matthew had been living with Francis, he never lost that connection - never lost the ability to feel his brother, who he wasn't really allowed to see at the time, due to the bickering that often occurred between Francis and Alfred's caretaker, Arthur. Even then, though! Matthew had always felt Alfred, and that had comforted him when he had nightmares or when he was feeling lonely.
And yet still they were always torn apart from each other, and that was something that Matthew hated. Perhaps that was why now, no matter what Alfred did, he felt that Alfred was correct in doing it. He wanted to be with his brother, for once in their ridiculous lives, and protect him, help him.
As Matthew watched, the world was slowly beginning to turn against Alfred. And he couldn't blame them. Alfred could be a really thick, terrible person, especially to people who didn't understand him. And it made sense that they would be angry with the annoying American.
But that didn't stop Matthew from standing by his side. Nothing ever would stop him from doing that. Not now that he was independent and free to make that choice for himself. There was still the possibility that Alfred would turn around to a new way of thinking too, and Matthew had to stay, just in case that happened.
And if it didn't, well… He would just have to deal with the consequences. For now, he would fix everything that went wrong - essentially doing Alfred's dirty work, though his brother didn't know it - no matter how badly it hurt Matthew to see the people in pain because of his brother…
But every time Matthew saw Alfred's smiling face, he knew that he could continue doing this forever if he needed to - as long as Alfred could still smile, it was all okay…
"Even if everything in the world
Turns against you
I will protect you
So continue smiling there."