I'm sorry it took me so long to write this!

Jack = Australia
Wy/Sheila = Wy
Kiwi = New Zealand
Soren = Denmark
Nikolai = Norway
Isak = Iceland
Leon/Xianliang = Hong Kong
Laura = Belgium

All for the Love of Maple Syrup

1. Birthday Bash part 1

"Mattie! Mattie!"

Matthew grumpily turned to look at his brother. It was far too early in the morning for anyone to be so cheerful, especially after an all-day road trip. Albeit, it probably helped that Alfred had fallen asleep on the way home and didn't stir when they lugged him into the house. Matthew, on the other hand, had stayed up for several more hours talking to Gilbert and correcting his stories about their trip.

"What, Al?" He asked as he expertly flipped a pancake.

"There are only eleven days until our birthday!" Alfred cheered. "We need to start planning! I was thinking that we should do a cookout! You've got a grill, right? Though we might need about five…"

Though his mind was addled with sleep, Matthew knew very well just how many days it was until his birthday. Either Alfred was stuck three days in the past or Matthew was a couple days ahead. He was betting on the former.

"It's eight," Matthew interrupted Alfred's rambling about how many hamburgers he could eat at one time. When Alfred stopped talking and stared at him in confusion, he elaborated. "Our birthday is in eight days, not eleven."

Alfred frowned. "No it's not. I counted this morning! It's eleven days until the fourth of July!"

"The fourth?" Matthew repeated, ignoring his pancake completely so he could focus on what his twin was saying. "What are you talking about? Our birthday is on the first."

"What? No! July fourth! Y'know, Independence Day!" Alfred said.

Matthew shook his head. "Our birthday is July first, which is Canada Day."

"Fourth!" Alfred countered.

"First," replied Matthew, narrowing his violet eyes.

"Fourth!"

"First!"

"Mom!" Alfred raised his voice so he could be heard throughout the rest of the house. "Tell Matt our birthday's on July fourth!"

Ms. Katherine Williams soon stepped into the kitchen, her light blue eyes curiously scanning over her sons. With her wavy blonde hair unbound to fall freely to her shoulders, the likeness between her and Matthew was even more startling than normal.

"What are you two yelling about?" She asked.

Alfred darted over to her and tugged on her shirt, much like a young child would. "Mom, tell Mattie our birthday is July fourth!"

Ms. Williams frowned. "Who told you that, Alfred?"

"Dad!"

Matthew grinned smugly. He loved proving Alfred wrong. Not that it was a very difficult thing to do. "Our birthday is on the first, right?"

Ms. Williams said nothing for a moment, humming instead. "Well, yours is on the first, Matthew. But Alfred's is on the second."

"WHAT!"

"Matthew was born on the first, just before midnight, but Alfred was born after midnight," Ms. Williams explained. "I suppose your father decided that since America's independence day was so close to your birthday it would just be better to celebrate on the fourth." She smiled softly. "It's not the craziest idea the man has ever had. In fact, compared to some of his others, that was actually a good idea." Her eyes took on a far-away gleam as she stared off into space, dreaming of the past.

"But it's a lie!" Alfred protested. "My whole life… I can't believe this! I always thought it was totally awesome that I was born on the Fourth of July!" He sank to his knees dramatically.

Matthew rolled his eyes at his brother's theatrics and turned back to his pancakes. His family was so weird.


His family may have been weird, but his best friends were even weirder. Matthew sighed as he watched Gilbert run through the yard, using his brand new Prussian flag as a cape, while Elizaveta chased after him wielding her weapon of choice; a frying pan.

It'd been two days since Alfred's discovery of his true birthday and he was still moaning about it every chance he got. Arthur had hung up on him five times that morning alone and Matthew knew for certain that if Kiku wasn't the most polite person on the face of the planet, he wouldn't have let Alfred ramble on for nearly as long as he had the tendency to do.

As pleased as Matthew was to find out that he was the older twin (as Alfred had always loudly proclaimed that he was the oldest) he was about ready to tie up Alfred and lock him away until their extended family began to arrive. Thankfully, Elizaveta and Gilbert had both noticed his foul mood and decided they were overdue for a day out.

It was too bad the two couldn't agree on anything.

Matthew sighed and laid back in the grass to stare up at the blue sky. The hot summer sun beat down on him, prickling his skin with warmth and he wondered idly if Gilbert was right to force him to wear sunscreen that day. His thoughts soon drifted back to his twin, who had announced his intentions to sit in front of the television all day with his headset and video games, most likely talking to Kiku.

He hoped his birthday would pass without anyone dying. It was odd to think of it as his and Al's birthday, though he supposed he better get used to it.

'Our first year together… Odd, how many times I've wished to have brother to talk to and hang out with. Now I've got one and can't wait to get away from him after just a few days.' Matthew's brows furrowed in sadness. 'Is this how it will always be?'

His phone began to vibrate in his pocket and he quickly fished it out and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"I heard you're throwing a large birthday party this year. I suppose this means our usual adventure is cancelled."

Matthew sat up quickly, his violet eyes wide. "Lars?"

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. "Of course. Who else would it be?"

"I'm sorry!" Matthew quickly blurted out. "I-I thought you were mom. She's been freaking out the past few days since dad said he was coming up later than he originally planned and she still hasn't heard back from one of our cousins so she keeps calling me and asking if I've heard from them yet!"

"Sounds like you're just as stressed as her. Need something to take the edge off?"

Matthew hesitated, raising his gaze to Elizaveta and Gilbert, who were rolling around in the grass. The tomboyish girl was ripping up clumps of dirt and grass and rubbing them in Gilbert's face while he did everything he could to shove her away aside from blatant groping of her chest. (But only because if he dared to touch her there, he was a dead man.) "I would like that…but Gil and Veta might really murder each other if I leave them alone this time. How about tomorrow?"

"I've got work. And Laura's forcing me to clean."

Matthew could picture the expression of disgust on his friend's face just by the tone he used. "Damn. Dad comes in the day after tomorrow and then my cousins are coming in two days after that."

"Tell you what, Laura won't make me clean if you 'happen' to drop by tomorrow. Just come by around five, that'll give me about an hour of pretending to clean, and she ought to be fine with me leaving," Lars said.

"I don't know," Matthew said, worry filling his voice. "Laura's pretty smart. She'll probably figure it out. I need a good excuse for being over there."

"Create some invitations to your party or something," suggested Lars. "That'll be good enough for her. We are invited, right?"

Matthew laughed, attracting the attention of his fighting friends. "Of course you are!" His smile slipped away as Gilbert and Elizaveta began to approach him, their clothes rumpled and dirty from their roughhousing. "I just hope I don't snap before then…"

"Yeah? Just promise me that if you do snap, you go for Beilschmidt first. With a hockey stick."

"In the kitchen?" Matthew asked with a grin, remembering a rather memorable game of Clue he and Lars had played.

Lars laughed. "Yeah, then you stuff him in the walls of your attic."

"But I don't even have an attic!"

There was a moment of silence and then they both started laughing.

"See you tomorrow, Matt. Don't be late."

"I won't," Matthew promised with a grin. Feeling much better than he did before, he hung up and directed his attention to Elizaveta and Gilbert. Neither of them questioned him about who he was talking to, though he could tell Gilbert wanted to.

"We decided that we'll go see a movie and then go to lunch," Elizaveta said. "Where we go is up to you."

"So long as it isn't romantic shit," Gilbert cut in, only to wince as the Hungarian girl elbowed him in the side. "Ow, Veta! That hurt!"

Matthew laughed and stood up, squeezing between the two of them so he could attempt to keep them from murdering each other. "No romance movies, I promise," he said. "I'm sure we can find something awesome to watch."

Gilbert cheered and swung an arm around Matthew's shoulders. "I knew there was a reason I keep you around!"

Elizaveta rolled her eyes at the two of them and fell back as they started walking to Matthew's old car. She watched them carefully, a small smile on her face as she noticed how close they were to each other.

They'd always been close. Closer than most people. Sometimes she felt envious of their friendship, though lately she'd been more and more appreciative of it. After all, she got some excellent pictures of them to share with the other girls.

With a giggle, Elizaveta took out her phone and snapped a quick photo.


The day the cousin's arrived was a hectic one. Ms. Williams ran around in a panic, trying to keep track of who was arriving when. Mr. Jones, who had arrived several days prior, sat back and laughed when he was taking a break from figuring out how much food they would need and where all of Alfred and Matthew's friends would be staying. Alfred had suggested they shove all of the furniture in the living room against the wall and camp out there, but Matthew refused, knowing his twin had probably invited more than five people.

"Matthew, you and Alfred need to go pick up your cousins!" Ms. Williams said as she rushed into the kitchen.

The two looked up from their lunch of pancakes.

"Jack and Wy are waiting on Kiwi and they're renting a car so they don't have to rely on me when they want to get away," Matthew explained. "And Gilbert will be over in five minutes. Elizaveta will be here around three once she gets off work."

"What about Nikolai and Isak?" Ms. Williams asked.

"Who?" Alfred asked.

Matthew ignored him. "They get in at five. Timo volunteered to pick them up, since he works near the airport. I hope Soren doesn't freak him out too badly."

Ms. Williams looked at her son in surprise. "Soren's coming with them? I didn't know that!"

"Who are you talking about?" Alfred asked again.

"Mom, Soren always visits with them," Matthew reminded her. "Don't worry, he'll stay in the spare room with Nikolai and Isak, just like always. It won't be a problem to fit him in."

His words helped his mom relax a little, but it wasn't enough for her to sit down and relax. She began to pace back and forth, muttering under her breath.

"The awesome me has arrived!" Gilbert announced, throwing open the door. "Are those pancakes? Sweet!" Like usual, he grabbed a plate and helped himself to the stack of pancakes next to the stove. After sitting down, swiping Matthew's maple syrup to squeeze the bottle all over his food, and taking a bite and moaning over the deliciousness, he finally noticed how stressed everyone was.

"Hey, Mattie," he said, poking his friend with the rounded end of his fork. "What's going on? Are your wacko cousins from the European north not coming this year or something?"

Matthew shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Mom just forgot that Soren's coming ith them."

"He is coming, right?" Gilbert asked, poking him again.

"Of course. Didn't I just say he was? And give me that!" Matthew snatched away the fork and proceeded to jab at his friend with the pointed end.

Gilbert laughed and used his butter knife to combat the attack.

"So who's this 'Soren' guy?" Alfred asked his mom, since his twin was too busy.

"He's Nikolai's best friend," explained Ms. Williams. "Nikolai and his younger brother are my nephews. They've always come to Matthew's birthday parties. As have Jack and Kiwi. Little Sheila just started coming last year."

"Sheila? Oh, you mean Wy, Jack's brat of a little sister," Alfred remembered. "So how come Mattie knows both sides of the family and I don't? That's no fair!"

Mr. Jones chuckled. "Your mother's family was never very fond of me. Mine, on the other hand, loved her from the minute I introduced her. They've always thought it was a pity that we broke up."

"Except your mother," said Ms. Williams. "She always hated me."

"She doesn't hate you," Mr. Jones said.

Alfred quickly swallowed his food. "Sure she does, pop! Just the other week she was saying—"

"Alfred," Mr. Jones interrupted, giving his son a hard look. "Why don't you help me go over plans for the cookout?"

Alfred instantly brightened and shoveled the last few bits of pancake into his mouth. He quickly downed his milk and gave Matthew a thumbs up in thanks for the good food before following his dad outside to check out the set-up.

Ms. Williams sighed and sat down at long last, deciding it wouldn't be too terrible to take a brief break. She watched as Gilbert disarmed Matthew, reclaiming his fork so he could continue eating. She smiled fondly as her son sulked over his loss before remembering there was still so much more she needed to do.

"When are your new friends coming up?" She asked.

Matthew shrugged as he took a sip of milk. "Some time tomorrow, I think. I'll give Arthur a call and see what time he wants to leave to drive up here. I figure I'll add an hour or so onto that time and then include how long the drive is. Ivan and Katyusha were originally planning on driving up tonight, but they may have pushed it back until tomorrow."

Gilbert scowled. "I can't believe you invited him."

"He's my friend," Matthew said with an edge of warning to his tone. "I don't know why you and Al have such a problem with him. He's perfectly nice."

"Maybe to you and all the girls. Heh, then again, you pretty much are a girl," teased Gilbert.

Matthew narrowed his eyes. "Remember what happened the last time you called me a girl?"

Gilbert gulped. "Okay, okay, you're not a chick!" He turned his head and lowered his voice before speaking again. "You just act like one someti—OW! Matt!"

"Stop calling me a girl!"


By the time three-thirty rolled around, Alfred was thoroughly engrossed in kicking Gilbert's ass in the newest Mortal Kombat game while Matthew lounged on the couch reading a book and Elizaveta painted his nails with clear polish.

"I still think blue would be a good color," Elizaveta said. "A dark blue. Maybe black." She paused for a moment as she dipped the brush back into the bottle and then moved onto the last of Matthew's fingernails. "Or maybe a lighter shade of blue, like for the Maple Leafs!"

"Just clear please," Matthew told her.

Gilbert cackled loudly as he activated his character's special move. "I can't believe you actually let her do your nails, Birdie! Fuck yeah! Fatality, bitch!"

Alfred scowled. "You won one match. Big deal."

"At least my nails will look nice and clean," Matthew mumbled, feeling self-conscious. "And other guys get manicures. It's not weird or anything."

"Kesesesesese!"

"Gilbert," Elizaveta began sweetly. "Do you remember that one time when we were fourteen?"

Gilbert paled. "Don't tell that story."

Matthew slid a bookmark between the pages, already interested in the story. It wasn't like he was going to get much reading done anyway. In fact, he'd been reading the same sentence for about ten minutes. "What happened when you were fourteen?"

Deliberately not selecting his character so Alfred couldn't cheat while he wasn't paying attention, Gilbert turned around to give Elizaveta a pleading look. "Veta, I'm begging you, do not tell that story!"

"When we were fourteen, Gilbert asked me to give him a mani-pedi," Elizaveta announced with a smug grin. "And then he did my nails. He even painted cute little blue flowers on my toes!"

"I fucking hate you," Gilbert muttered, turning around to stare determinedly at the television. "Jones, pick your character already!"

"Dude, I already did! You haven't picked yours!"

Elizaveta winked at Matthew and then got back to work.


"Where are they?" Ms. Williams fretted, pacing by the front door. "They should have been here already! Oh, I knew I shouldn't have left arrangements up to the boys! Sure, Matthew is plenty responsible unless Gilbert is around to distract him, but I do hate not knowing what's going on."

Mr. Jones chuckled. "I'm sure they'll be here soon. Kiwi is probably making sure they're checked into the hotel and making sure they have everything."

"Kiwi," scoffed Ms. Williams. "That poor boy. What were his parents thinking, giving him a name like that?"

"I think it's funny."

"You would," she muttered, peering out the window. It wasn't too much longer before she spotted a bright red car pulling into the driveway. "They're here! Oh, I wonder how much little Sheila has grown? She was absolutely adorable last year, the way she followed Matthew around."

Mr. Jones hummed and called down the hall: "Boys! Your cousins are here!" He then quickly moved out of the way.

It sounded like a stampede running through the house. Alfred appeared first, running full out to the door, which he jerked open. Gilbert and Elizaveta were next, trying to shove each other out of the way. Matthew brought up the rear, nearly tripping over the rug on his way out the door.

Peering outside, Mr. Jones and Ms. Williams watched as Alfred made a mad dash for his dark-haired, Australian cousin, only for the younger teen to flip him over his back and into the grass. Kiwi, a fair-haired teen whose haired curled strangely on each side of his head (much like the horns of a ram), ignored them entirely as he popped the trunk and began pulling out the birthday gifts. Sheila ran for Matthew, who smiled at her and patted her on the head while watching to make sure Alfred and Jack's fight didn't get too violent. Gilbert and Elizaveta cheered the pair on, though Gilbert was rather disappointed that he didn't get to the Australian first.

Ms. Williams could only pray they wouldn't start a world war in the backyard again that year.


"Matt! Good to see you!"

Matthew squeaked in surprise as he was bodily pulled into a bone-crushing hug, courteous of Soren Kholer. "S-Soren! I—can't breathe!"

A stoic blond with a cross clipped in his hair yanked Soren away. "Let go of him, moron."

"Hey, I'm showing him my appreciation for inviting me again this year!" Soren protested. "Oh yeah, is Lars gonna be around this year?" He asked, lowering his voice so just Nikolai and Matthew could hear him. The others were too busy watching Jack antagonize Nikolai's little brother Isak.

Matthew glanced around to make sure no one was listening in and then hissed: "You are not wandering off to get stoned with him again this year! Do you know how many problems you caused last time?"

Nikolai narrowed his eyes. "You were what? Soren Matthias Kholer, we are having a talk. Now." He proceeded to drag his friend off to lecture him in his usual impassive manner.

"Traitor," Soren mouthed back to Matthew.

The Canadian simply waved cheerfully at him, not feeling the least bit bad about ratting him out. Truthfully, Soren and Lars hadn't been the only two to take a few puffs the year before, though they certainly had the most. After coaxing Gilbert and Lars to put their differences aside, Matthew had joined them out in the old shed. He'd never forget how Gilbert had cackled like a madman and started making up crazy stories about skateboarding in outer space while Soren nodded sagely and butted in every now and then as though he'd been there to witness the event. Matthew had dragged Gilbert back to the party shortly after that, while the other two remained in the shed for another twenty minutes.

It was because of them that Ludwig's dogs crashed the party, accidentally destroying the majority of the decorations in their haste to hunt down their owner, who had somehow gotten covered in meat and bits of cake. (The cake part had been Gilbert's fault.)

Needless to say, Ludwig had not been happy.

Alfred snuck up beside Matthew, keeping a weary eye on their cousins. "So that's the other half of the family. Interesting. Where'd the other two go?"

"Nikolai and Soren are having one of their talks," Matthew told him. "They do it a lot. You'll get used to it."

"Yeah… what's with them anyway?" Alfred asked. "Are they best friends or… you know…"

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Gay? Boyfriends? Lovers? Having gay se—"

Alfred blushed. "You don't have to be so blunt! Geez, bro. I think you've been chillin' with Gilbert too much. But yes, that's what I meant."

"No clue," Matthew told him. "They've been like this for as long as I can remember. It's hard to imagine a time when Soren hasn't been around. They're close. Like me and Gil. And you and Arthur."

"Arthur and I aren't that close!" Alfred protested.

"Really? So it wasn't Arthur who slept on our couch for nearly three months because he set his kitchen on fire and his brothers wanted him out of the way? And it definitely wasn't Arthur who you forced into your bed one night because you were terrified that ghosts were going to get you."

Alfred was silent for a moment before shoving his twin. "Shut up."

"Would it bother you if they were?" Matthew asked.

Alfred thought about it. Then he shrugged. "Nah, I guess it wouldn't. Though if they are, that makes your comparison about me and Arthur kind of disturbing."

"Let's get you two drunk and see if you still feel that way, eh?" Matthew said quietly, turning his head away from his brother so he could feign checking on Isak.

"You say something, bro?"

"I said I'm going to go make sure Isak's feeling okay with all of this attention," Matthew lied, flashing his twin a quick smile. He mentally patted himself on the back when Alfred said nothing more, knowing he'd successfully fooled the American.

Not that it was a very difficult thing to do.


After announcing that it was getting close to dinner and that they needed to decide where and what they wanted to eat, which consisted of everyone complaining about someone's choice of food and no one being able to agree on one single place to go out to, Ms. Williams gave up any semblance of control over the situation and left them to fend for themselves while she made herself a turkey sandwich and locked herself in her room to sulk for a bit.

Thinking quickly, Mr. Jones and Matthew decided the only way to remedy the situation was to order out. Pizza was first on their list, along with buffalo wings. Then Chinese.

When Alfred started shouting about McDonald's (again), Matthew contemplated tossing him out the front door and telling him to hitchhike into town. Gilbert goaded him on. Elizaveta threatened bodily harm to Gilbert. Jack volunteered to help Matthew. Isak offered to record the whole event on video.

Things calmed down by the time the food was finally delivered. Matthew kept the calm by popping in a dvd and glaring at anyone who dared insult his choice in movies. Fortunately, everyone seemed amused by the French film, which was about a tire which blew things up with its psychokinetic powers.

"Hey Nik," Soren said once the movie was over. "Why can't we see the air?"

It wasn't Nikolai who answered, but everyone else in the room.

"No reason."

Gilbert grinned and asked the next one. "Why do superheroes wear their underwear on the outside?"

"They do not!" Alfred's complaint was drowned out by an enthusiastic chorus of : "No reason!"

"Why is grass green?" Jack asked.

"No reason!"

And on it went, growing more and more ridiculous until they could do little more than giggle. Later, after Ms. Williams came out to tell them it was getting too late for them to keep carrying on and that they had an early day, Matthew leaned over to Alfred and whispered: "Why are you afraid of ghosts?"

Alfred opened his mouth to answer, but his twin cut him short.

"No reason."


Had Alfred and Matthew gone to bed after that, Alfred most likely would have been up for half the night cowering under the blankets in fear of ghosts. Instead, he found another reason to stay up half the night, unable to sleep. It wasn't for fear of ghosts, but fear of what would happen to Matthew if he wasn't on high alert.

It happened after Jack, Kiwi, and Sheila returned to their hotel room for the night and Gilbert and Elizaveta left for their homes. Nikolai, Isak, and Soren had retreated to the spare room they claimed as their own and Mr. Jones was well on his way to falling asleep. Matthew was making sure everything was cleaned up and Alfred was (for once) helping him.

"So everyone else comes in tomorrow, eh?" Matthew said with a smile. "I hope nothing goes wrong."

"Heh, yeah. Same here," Alfred agreed, accepting a newly washed plate from his brother. He ran a towel over it to get it dry and then added it to the stack on his right. "Mom might have a panic attack if it does."

Matthew finished scrubbing the last of the dishes and then handed it over to Alfred.

Ding dong

Matthew froze in the process of drying his hands on a dishtowel. He exchanged a cautionary glance with Alfred, who mirrored his surprise, and then hurried to the door before whoever it was could keeping ringing and wake up the entire house. Alfred trailed after him, ready to protect his brother.

Not bothering to waste time preparing himself for whoever was on the other side, Matthew jerked open the front door.

"Matvey~!"

The twins gaped at the giant standing before them.

"I-Ivan, what—"

"Matvey, I'm sorry!"

Matthew found his arms full of a sobbing young woman whose pale blonde hair felt soft against his face but agitated his nose and made it difficult for him to open his mouth to speak. He blew it away from his mouth and leaned back his head. "Katyusha? Ivan? What are you doing here already?"

"I'm here too! So's Leon!" A tall Korean peeked out from behind Ivan with a wave and a grin. "We decided to surprise you by driving up tonight! Surprise!"

"You could've warned me," Matthew told Ivan, knowing his hockey buddy was the only one who would actually listen to him. He sighed when the Russian shrugged but offered no apology. Noticing how Katyusha was beginning to hiccup, he turned his attention back to her. "Kat, it's okay. I'm not mad or anything. I'm just, eh, surprised."

Yong Soo beamed at his words.

Matthew glared at him while gently rubbing Katyusha's back, trying to get her to stop crying. "You're going to the hotel now, right? Not that it's not nice to see you, but mom's making us get up early to decorate everything."

"Yeah, so shoo," Alfred chimed in unhelpfully.

Matthew reached over and punched his brother's arm. "Don't be rude!"

"Well, me and Leon are rooming with Kiku and he's not getting in until tomorrow. So can we crash here for the night?" Yong Soo asked.

"No," said Alfred.

"Yes," Matthew corrected. "You can stay the night. Ivan, what about you and Katyusha?"

"We can't check in until tomorrow," Ivan said. "We were hoping to stay here."

Alfred crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "I'm not staying in the same room with you, Commie."

"That's fine by me," Ivan replied. "I'll sleep with Matvey."

"Like hell you will!"

"Alfred!" Matthew hissed. "Shut up before you wake up everyone! Look, just bring in what you need and lets get some sleep. We'll all be in my room and if you have a problem with that, Alfred, you can sleep on the damn couch. We'll talk more in the morning."

Alfred opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Yong Soo, who bounded inside and threw his arms around the taller boy. "This'll be great! Like a big sleepover! Lead the way, Alfie!"

It was only after a cross look from Matthew that Alfred finally turned around and gestured for Yong Soo to follow him. The Korean was happy to, but not before stepping back to grab Leon's hand and drag him along with him.

Katyusha stopped crying soon after Ivan returned from his trip out to the car to get their bags. Matthew locked up the front door and then led them to his room, where they found Alfred grumpily sitting on his cot with an enthusiastic Yong Soo chattering away a mile a minute. Leon had set up a nest of blankets on the other side of Matthew's bed and had stolen a pillow.

"Matvey has a nice room," Ivan complimented.

"Um, thanks?" Matthew said, taking in just how crowded they were going to be for the night. "So, um, Katyusha can have the bed and we'll sleep on the floor…"

"Nonsense!" Ivan said, patting Matthew on the back. "We can share! There's plenty of room!"

Matthew stared at his bed, tuning out Alfred's complaints and trying to imagine how three grown people were going to fit on his tiny bed. He looked between Ivan and Katyusha, still ignoring Alfred, and gave up on figuring it out. "Okay. Sure. Whatever you want. As long as Katyusha is fine with it and your little sister won't hunt me down and murder me in my sleep."

Katyusha smiled. "Natalia wouldn't do such a thing. And this is fine with me. Ivan, Natalia, and I used to share a bed all the time when we were kids! This will be so much fun!"

"Yeah…" Matthew muttered despondently. "Loads of fun."


End chapter


I decided to split it into two parts, otherwise it'd be extremely long. Also, I really wanted to post another chapter before I let it go on for 2 months without an update.

So, next chapter = someone coming in to wake up everyone in Matthew's room, the rest of the party guests arrive, some stuff happens, and a surprising couple is formed.

Which reminds me! I have a question for all of you. I've tried to avoid pairing Matthew or Alfred with anyone up until now and only hinted at a few possibilities. Would you all prefer it stay that way or should I add pairings? I know who I'd like for them to be with, but I'm a little curious about what all of you think. So who would you like to see Matthew paired with? Who would you like to see Alfred with? Any other pairings you might like to see?

I've also got a poll up on my profile right now. Since we now have official artwork for Romania, I wanted to include him in a story. I just need to figure out his human name. So that's what the poll is for!