Chapter Four:
"NO!" Francis roared into the phone as he paced around the living room. Madeline shot a look at her mother, who was calmly doing embroidery as her husband continued to rant into the phone.
"Papa," Madeline said hesitantly.
"I told you I wanted roses! Roses, you imbecile, how could you mishear and think I said lilies? WHO USES LILIES AT THEIR WEDDING?" Francis shouted.
"We did. They were in my bouquet because your mother insisted we add something French to the wedding," Elizabeth replied, not looking up from her work. Francis shot her a withering look.
"Papa," Madeline tried again.
"That is exactly why we shouldn't have lilies; they're too passé and not appropriate for this wedding," Francis continued into the phone.
"Why not? If they were good for our wedding why can't they be good for Madeline's?" Elizabeth countered.
"Because lilies aren't connected to romance; roses are," Francis replied. "I want you to change the order, stat," Francis ordered into the phone.
"Papa," Madeline said with exasperation.
"You can't be bothered to say please, can you? Honestly Francis, people are going to think we're a bunch of heathens with no manners who—"
"Silence, Elizabeth," Francis interrupted irritably. Elizabeth glared at him with flashing green eyes but didn't say anything more. She stormed out of the room muttering about how men were pigs and how the world was going to ruin thanks to them. Francis rolled his eyes at his wife and turned back to the phone, still yelling at the poor person on the other line about the flower mishap. "We should take our business elsewhere!" he said into the phone angrily.
"Papa!" Madeline exclaimed finally. Francis turned around to face his daughter, hanging up the phone as he did so.
"Oui?" he asked, looking startled at how frustrated Madeline looked.
"Gilbert and I already sorted out the flower issue. My friend Lars owns a flower shop and he's giving us the flowers on a discount for the wedding. We're using roses for the centerpieces and such and my bouquet will be of tulips," Madeline informed her father.
"But the tulips and roses will clash!" Francis protested.
"I don't really care. I love tulips and we both think no wedding could be complete with roses," Madeline replied.
"Are you sure? Because I really think roses-"
"Its fine, Papa, it's already been settled out," Madeline said, standing up and dragging her father to the couch and making him sit down. Now that she was closer to her father, she could see grey hairs that were never there before in between the long golden locks she had inherited from him. "This wedding is really stressing you out, isn't it?" Madeline asked with worry.
Francis shook his head quickly. "Non! Never; I just want this wedding to be perfect," he protested.
"It'll be perfect no matter what, Papa," Madeline said soothingly.
"I just want you to have the perfect fairy tale wedding," Francis said softly. Madeline smiled slightly and hugged her father tightly.
"It already is perfect. I don't want you to stress out about it anymore. Gilbert and I can take it; we're adults too," Madeline said.
"You'll always be my little princess," Francis replied in a muffled voice.
"And you'll always be my big, strong Papa, always ready to help me out in case I need it," Madeline replied.
"Having fun, Ludwig?" Gilbert asked teasingly as a stripper seductively danced around a pole. Ludwig glared at him, his cheeks a delicate shade of pink.
"I fail to see how you are having fun when you are getting married tomorrow," Ludwig said stiffly, flinching as one of the women brushed his arm, cooing at his muscles.
Gilbert laughed. "Please; the only reason I'm having fun is because watching women hit on you is priceless," he said, smirking as yet another woman hit on you.
"You had something to do with this, didn't you?" Ludwig demanded. Gilbert shrugged.
"I may have let it slip that you were shy with women and that all you needed was some attention," Gilbert said slyly. "Feliciano finds this all hilarious, you know," he added.
"At least one of us is," Ludwig said with a scowl. "Where is Madeline?" Ludwig asked.
"Probably at some male stripper club for her bachelorette party, knowing Lizzie," Gilbert said with a shrug.
"And you don't care?" Ludwig asked.
"Of course I do – I don't want my future wife to be dancing around with some scantily clad men!" Gilbert exclaimed. He paused and then blinked. "Fuck," he swore, sinking down to the seat beside Ludwig, looking winded.
"Gilbert?" Ludwig asked, looking nervous. Gilbert stared ahead of them blankly, looking shocked. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Dude," Gilbert gasped out finally. "I'm getting married tomorrow."
"Yes, of course you are. That's why we're having a bachelor party here – though, I don't know why Francis chose here of all places. You'd think that since you're marrying his daughter he wouldn't want you near other women but of course I suppose he's thinking about his interests rather than yours—"
"I'm going to have a wife tomorrow," Gilbert gasped out. Ludwig stared at him.
"Were you hoping for a husband?" Ludwig asked drily.
"How did this happen?" Gilbert asked, running a hand through his hair and looking spooked.
"Well I believe the story was that you bought an expensive ring and proposed and that everyone was surprised you didn't steal it—"
"No," Gilbert snapped, waving his hand quickly. "I meant, how did this happen; how did I manage to find a girl to marry? I mean this is me we're talking about; for the longest time the only person I was in love with was myself," he told Ludwig.
"I was under the impression that that was still the case," Ludwig said flatly.
"I don't think I'm ready to get married, Luddy. I mean, how do you be a husband? Will I turn into a pansy? WILL I START ACTING LIKE RODERICH?" Gilbert howled.
Ludwig did not regret slapping Gilbert in the slightest.
"What the hell was that for?" Gilbert demanded a few seconds later, clutching his now red cheek.
"For being stupid," Ludwig replied. "You'll be fine as a husband and no, you won't start acting like Roderich. The apocalypse is more likely to happen before that does," Ludwig added.
"Are you sure? How can you be sure that I'll be a good husband? I mean I'm cocky, I'm rude, I'm disrespectful, I have a tendency to annoy people around me, I have an obnoxious voice, I harass everyone, I -"
"Madeline managed to love you despite all those things. Getting married isn't going to change that," Ludwig informed his older brother.
"You sure?" Gilbert asked hopefully.
"I'm positive," Ludwig said in a firm tone. Gilbert let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, bro," he said, putting an arm around his brother and giving him a one armed hug. Ludwig rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. "You always know what to say," Gilbert continued, mussing up Ludwig's perfect slicked back hair. Ludwig scowled, swatting away his brother's hand.
"I'm going to find Feliciano," Ludwig growled, standing up. Gilbert laughed.
"Going to make sure a stripper doesn't steal his heart?" Gilbert called out teasingly, smirking as he could see his brother blushing. He leaned back in his chair and smiled more warmly this time. Ludwig was right; he'll be a great husband to Madeline. They had been together for so long; nothing was going to change that.
He couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
A/N: I like to think that Maddie would be Daddy's little Princess and that Al would be a Momma's Boy 8D
Please review? I feel like this story sucks 'cause it isn't getting as much love as my other stories D:
