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Konsui's Little Brother (that is one long name)
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Chapter 8: Toll of Church Bells
Disclaimer: Hetalia own I do not
It is not down in any map; true places never are.
Herman Melville
"I was surprised when you said that you wanted to stay" Laura strummed her fingers against the table and placed a hand under her chin as she examined Arthur's not quite sober figure.
"I am a gentleman" A different type of gentleman, one that specialized in making girls cry.
"Do you like Matthew?" Laura leaned a shoulder closer to Arthur.
"As a friend, yes." Such a random question.
"Oh, I was under the impression that you two were a couple." She leaned in closer, and no longer rested her chin on her hand.
"That's preposterous." Matthew is just a boy, nothing more.
"So you're not interested in him?" Laura came even closer.
"Not at all."
"So you don't think he would mind if…" Laura and Arthur were now so close that their noses were almost brushing. Arthur could hear Laura's breath, and felt the elongated pause between them grow. She leaned in even closer to Arthur, and by instinct, Arthur closed his eyes.
And then she did the unexpected.
She whispered into Arthur's ear, "Do you think I can set my brother up with Matthew?"
Yes. Arthur had actually expected a kiss. He was currently living in one of those surreal moments when you're there in body, but you're viewing the situation as the third person. Maybe after Sofia had revealed herself, Arthur was able to achieve enlightenment. Or maybe it was just the fact that Arthur had one too many drinks that caused him to have trouble remembering how he got back on the train, and was also the reason why Laura's voice was just a little bit too loud and that she wasn't making any sense.
"While you were off with Sofia, I was talking to Matthew. He says Lars keeps texting him and asks him if I'm okay." She grinned, as if she was sharing a secret with Arthur. "I think it's just an excuse to get a reply out of Matthew. He said he's giving up drugs for my sake, but between you and me, he's only doing it to impress Matthew. Matthew had once said to my brother and I, 'You have to be seriously incompetent if you rely on drugs to have a good time.' Then he turned around to Lars with such an apologetic look on his face, it was hilarious. And he said, 'Oh but don't worry Lars. I'll be your friend no matter how many brain cells you lose." And the next day Lars comes home and says, 'Laura I'm not going to do that drug shit anymore.' Oh gosh, my brother is totally smitten by Matthew, and I have no problem about them being gay, Matthew's a great influence for Lars."
Once again, it took Arthur quite a while to process everything and then realization hit him.
"Lars texted Matthew?" Because out of that entire conversation that was the only thing Arthur got out of it. Also because Lars shouldn'thave been able to text Matthew.
"Matthew was telling me how Lars gave him a tulip and some dorky love note. "
The note!"But I swear I threw out that damn thing!" Arthur blurted out, and then began to blush because Laura was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Arthur was caught.
Again.
"Matthew told me how he saw you throw out the note."
Arthur groaned. Damn that Matthew! And why did he feel so embarrassed? It's not like he had any ulterior motives behind it, he just didn't feel as if Lars was a suitable candidate for Matthew to date. Plus, Lars only fit one of the requirements, and that was an easy one. Anyone could say they hated Chinese food.
"Everything is so messed up." Arthur grumbled, only meaning to have kept it in his inner thoughts.
"Yeah, I mean when Matthew showed me the look on your face when you read the note, I thought you were jealous. But hey, you said you aren't interested in Matthew so I'll just take your word for it."
"The look on my face?..." What the hell?
"Mhm. Matthew took a picture of you reading it."
Fuck. Arthur should really pay more attention to Matthew. He's more observant than he initially thought.
"I'm not interested in Matthew-"
"Good! I'll just tell him that Lars-"
"But I don't want Matthew dating your brother."
Laura looked slightly amused, and leaned back into her chair.
"Let me get this straight." She folded her arms across her chest assuming a bossy like position. "You don't want to date Matthew?"
"No, he's not my type." Or rather Arthur wasn't Matthew's type.
"So you aren't even remotely interested in him?"
"As I said before, no." Arthur felt like a broken record. No no no no no.
"And it has come to my understanding that you have only known Matthew for at most, two weeks?" These questions were amounting to something. That's where they usually went.
"That's true but we did-"
"So," Laura continued on, ignoring whatever Arthur and Matthew did together. "You aren't interested in Matthew or courting him-" Really Laura, no one says 'courting' anymore. "-and you've barely even known each other". Arthur felt his blood begin to boil, because he suddenly caught on to where the conversation was going. And he didn't like it.
"I don't think you have any say about who Matthew dates." Laura finished with a smug grin on her face.
"I don't think you have any say about what I do." Arthur mockingly repeated in a tone similar to Laura's.
Maybe it was the alcohol playing tricks on him but it seemed as if Laura's demeanour changed to something uncharacteristically hostile.
"Well I no longer care what you think, your opinion is invalid. I'll just tell Lars to go right on ahead because you aren't obviously going to do something anytime soon."
"Do something? I'll do something. I'm going to tell Matthew to get his arse back to Canada because there is a potential rapist on the loose and he goes by the name of Lars Von Dijk and the continent has no longer become a safe place."
"Like you're any better." Laura snarled.
"In fact, I am." Arthur raised his voice as if it proved how much better he was.
"You don't know a thing about Lars." Laura stated, in a volume that equalled to Arthur's.
"You stand up for your brother and yet he leaves you in the rain for fucking god knows how long! If it wasn't for Matthew, you'd still be there!"
Arthur's head began to pound and the beat in his head was starting to reverberate throughout his body.
"And if it wasn't for you, I'd be sitting beside Matthew right now! You basically robbed him and my brother!" Laura shouted, her face turning near red.
"Doesn't matter. Your brother probably stole all that money anyways!"
"I'm glad you aren't interested in Matthew because I'd feel sorry if he dated an ass like you!"
"Well you know what? Maybe I will date Matthew just to spite you!"
"As if he would even agree to date you!"
"The same goes to your brother! He-"
Their argument was interrupted when Arthur's pocket suddenly erupted in to song. Annoyed, he pulled out his phone and answered.
"What the bloody hell do you want?"
There was a long pause, and then came his brother's voice.
"Matthew told me he could hear your argument from where he's sitting. He asked me to tell you to calm the fuck down."
Arthur was about to reply when he heard the dial tone indicating that his brother had hung up.
Fuck Blaine and Laura for trying to tell him what to do. Fuck Sofia for being a lying bitch, fuck Lars for being Lars, and fuck this damn headache.
"You're an asshole." Laura shouted, intent on having the last word.
"And you're a cripple." As soon as the words left his lips, Arthur immediately wish he could have taken them back. Laura looked just as stunned as he had felt, and she turned her head away.
"I thought you were better than that."
Arthur didn't say anything. He had thought so too.
"I'm-" Arthur was interrupted yet again by his phone. He picked it up and his brother rapidly spoke saying, "Wow Artie, that was a low blow, insulting a crippled person. And stop lying; Matthew said I told you that you had to come back to England. England is actually a much quieter place without you. Oh and Francis called, he wants to meet up with you sometime. Stop being a dick and don't come back 'til you have a good story. Bye."
Once again, Arthur wasn't able to get a word in before his brother hung up. And it also seemed like everything Arthur had run away from was finally catching up to him. He glanced at Laura's forlorn form, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry." He exclaimed softly. "I went too far."
She refused to look at him and said nothing. But Arthur had an idea. He knew what would make her forgive him.
"You're right, I have no right to choose who Matthew dates but…" his voice trailed off, and he waited for Laura to catch the bait.
"But what?" she asked, turning to face Arthur. It seemed that Arthur was right, her curiosity overrode her anger.
"Matthew reminds me of a dear friend of mine. His ideals, his actions, even the words he says are similar to my friend's. I can't help but feel over protective."
"Matthew reminds you of Alfred, doesn't he." Laura was too astute. She needs a hobby.
"Yes. Matthew and Alfred are both quite close in age. And I can't help but feel as if we've met before…"
Laura grinned as if she knew something that Arthur didn't.
"Oh don't we all have that feeling." She coyly said, hinting towards something. The question was what?
Before Arthur could ask what she meant, a voice over the intercom had announced that they had arrived at Alessandria.
"That's us!" Laura exclaimed, having reverted back to her cheery state. Arthur had to admit, Laura was (slightly) scary when angered.
Arthur helped her out of her chair and into the wheel chair, and then took their luggage from the compartments above. He made his way to the front entrance where Matthew was saying his good bye to Kiku.
"I'll see you online sometime, NihonNinja"
Matthew hugged the Japanese man who looked a cross between embarrassed and distressed. When they broke the embrace, he shyly smiled and said, "Most definitely. We should camp some elves together sometime, CanuckWarrior."
They both laughed at their little inside joke only making Arthur a littlebit jealous. Matthew finally waved his last good bye and wheeled Laura away. Arthur made to follow them but Kiku lightly tapped him on the shoulder.
"Kirkland-san, please remember what I said." Those who we have known the longest can harm us the most.
"Mr. Honda, I believe Matthew is a lucky person, because I have not known him for that long. I don't see what may be the matter."
Kiku sat down with that stupid expressionless expression that Arthur was glad he would never have to see again.
The Japanese man shook his head. "What disappoints me is your ignorance"
Arthur left with no intention of saying departing words, no need to say good bye.
As soon as Arthur exited the train, he was hit in the face by a wave of humid air. The three of them still wore their coat for the sake of having more of their arms free (well Matthew actually still had Arthur's coat) and they stood on the side walk, waiting for a taxi. Soon they were on their way towards the village known as 'Imperia', some place that bordered the Mediterranean Sea. The ride was filled with small talk and Laura just mentioning tidbits of information on her family friend, Antonio. From what Arthur gathered, Antonio was Spanish, rich, but lived in a very modest household.
"We're going to Germany after this, right?" Arthur asked. He couldn't see his expression because he was sitting in the shot gun, but could tell that Matthew was smiling by the tone of his voice.
"I'm going to Germany. I just have to make a call to my friend to pick me up. I didn't know you were coming along."
Oh right. Arthur had kind of assumed that they were in the trip together.
"Don't worry. I'm sure Gilbert won't mind if you come along I'll just text and ask."
Arthur could not help but feel a bit jealous. When it came to Lars and whoever this Gilbert guy was, Matthew seemed to actually use his phone. Also, why did the name Gilbert sound so familiar?
"We're here." The taxi cab driver announced. Matthew thanked him and generously paid the driver while Arthur helped Laura out and took the luggage from the trunk.
But not long before the three had stepped away from the taxi did a body go flying towards Arthur, sending the two of them colliding to the floor. Before Arthur could even mutter a curse, the person who crashed into him was up on his feet and running. "Check your pockets!" Laura shouted, but Arthur didn't need to be told twice, he could feel the weightlessness of where his passport and wallet were. He instinctively looked up and saw a young man with dark brown hair running off. Without hesitation, Arthur sprinted after him and ignored the protests of Matthew.
The two of them ran through several alley ways that were constantly twisting and turning, and ducked under the rare clothesline. The thief would occasionally knock down anything he could to slow him down, but unbeknownst to the pick pocket, Arthur was quite the punk at heart. He had spent the majority of his high school years roaming the streets late at night, once upon a time when he lived in America. It was invigorating, and reminded Arthur of the past, of the better years when he didn't really care about what anyone thought, when keeping the image of student council president while being a late night vagrant was just a game.
To say the least, Arthur was actually enjoying himself.
The young man finally made a break for the open streets and ran right into a church. Arthur grinned mischievously; there was no way out of this one. Arthur ran after the boy and into the church, which was your standard run-of-the-mill European styled church. Of course, Matthew would have been amazed but Arthur had been in enough churches for one life time.
The pews were empty save but one person, so Arthur was able to immediately spot the pick pocket. It didn't seem as if he was trying to hide either, because he was standing at the center aisle. His clothes were worn out as if they had seen better days, his green eyes were feral, and he looked around probably Alfred's age. Arthur could hear footsteps behind him and assumed that it was Matthew that followed him, (no offense, but how could it have been Laura).
"Give me back my stuff." Arthur demanded, as he slowly advanced forward.
"Fuck off!" the boy shouted, with a heavy Italian accent. He flinched as Arthur took another step forward, but still stood his ground.
"I'll beat you, you little bastard!" Arthur snarled, as he continued down the aisle towards young man.
"You wouldn't!" The Italian yelled back, but his aggressive expression quickly turned to one of fear when he realized that yes, Arthur wasgoing to beat the shit out of him.
"We'll see about that." Arthur grumbled, as his heart pumped adrenaline throughout his body. He was now close enough to hit the thief. Arthur raised his fist and quickly brought it swinging down, his body remembering all of the fights of his past. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him backwards, and he landed on the ground next to Matthew.
"Are you stupid?" Matthew hissed, as he tried to contain the thrashing Arthur. "This is a church. Don't fight in here."
Matthew's tight grip only made Arthur struggle even harder. "What does it matter to me? I don't even believe in a God anymore!"
He broke free of Matthew's hold and surged forward, throwing all of his weight into his punch. This thief was stupid because he truly thought that this church was a sanctuary. He didn't move an inch, and Arthur felt a bit of satisfaction as his punched connected with flesh. But the feeling was short lived, because before him the thief was still standing. Beside the thief on the floor lay a boy with brown hair and equally brown eyes, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
"I don't want your help, you bastard." The thief stated, as he extended a hand towards the boy. The boy graciously took it but was still slow to get up to his feet. "Fratello, don't say that." The boy said. "You don't mean it."
The thief mumbled something that sounded like a fuck you, but the boy ignored it. The boy looked at Arthur, the left side of his face already beginning to bruise.
"You don't have to believe in God, everyone's entitled to their own beliefs. But that doesn't mean you are allowed to disrespect those who do believe." The boy, who couldn't have been a day over 16, pointed to the crucifix that hung over the altar. "This is the Lord's house. Please respect that and do not fight."
"See? I told you, you bastard. You can't fight in here." The pick pocket shouted. The boy whipped around to face him.
"That also means you shouldn't use such vulgar words, Fratello."
The pick pocket began to speak in rapid Italian, and from the sounds of it, he was quite angry. The boy replied in the same dialect, only in a gentler tone. The pick pocket eventually threw his hands up in exasperation and the boy smiled, as if he had won some argument. The boy stepped forward.
"My brother apologizes for stealing your things, and he will give them back."
The pick pocket shouted something in Italian that made the boy frown. "Really? Fratello, that's not nice."
The boy shouted more words and the boy sighed. "Not him?" he said, as he gestured towards Arthur. The thief shook his head and Matthew had to hold Arthur back, because Arthur knewthe thief was insulting him and he was going to strangle him. And it's a good thing they're in a church because then when Arthur killed him, the thief would get to heaven faster.
"My brother wants to speak to you." The boy gestured to Matthew. Matthew nodded, and then turned to Arthur. "Stay put. I'll get your stuff back." He promised, as he followed the thief up to the stairs of the church that lead to a balcony which over looked the first floor.
After they were out of ear shot, the boy sadly smiled at Arthur. "I am Feliciano Vargas." The young boy held out a hand.
"I'm Arthur Kirkland."
Arthur was surprised at the smoothness of the boy's hand. It was a hand that could probably guide a paintbrush across a canvas. It's the sort of vibe Arthur got from Feliciano, with him being so spiritual.
"Forgive my brother, please. He is really a kind person."
"Kind people don't steal." That's a universal fact.
"The way you speak, I believe you are from England, no?"
Arthur nodded. He was quite proud of his roots and how his accent distinguished him from everyone else.
"Then I think you would know the tale of Robin Hood. He was an outlaw that stole from the rich and gave to the poor." Feliciano stared off at the mosaic on the church wall. "Is that not a source of kindness within thievery?"
This boy… he was like Matthew. Young, but so much wiser than he should be for his age. What was he thinking of when he stared at that mosaic? Was he thinking about the existence of evil? Life after death? Why the universe exists?
Finally after a long moment of silence, Feliciano smiled as if he had finally discovered the answer to all his problems.
"Blue is a really pretty colour."
Okay, maybe Arthur was wrong and Feliciano just liked staring at pretty colours. Maybe sometimes things were just as simple as that.
Soon, Matthew and the thief had returned.
"Let's go?" Matthew said.
Arthur looked at Matthew's empty hands and frowned.
"You didn't get my stuff back."
Matthew shook his head. "I'll get it eventually, don't worry. Oh rub that sceptical look off your face and have some faith."
Arthur groaned. "'Have some faith'? Is this a pun because we're in a church?"
A smile. "I'm glad a few words actually manage to get through your brain."
Before Arthur could make a witty retort, Matthew turned back towards the thief who stood beside Feliciano.
"We made a promise, Lovino. God is our witness. Don't forget that."
The thief named Lovino nodded. "I won't forget it, Matthew Williams."
Matthew and Arthur exited the church, the latter feeling quite disgruntled.
"You didn't get my stuff back."
"Possessions are what tie us to earth and prevent us from entering heaven."
"That's fine and dandy but you still didn't get my stuff back."
"You're quite the selfish person, aren't you."
Arthur paused in his step and was feeling a bit embarrassed because what Matthew said was true. So far, everything Arthur had done on this trip was for his own gain, not anyone else.
And then Matthew smiled and lightly kissed Arthur on the cheek.
"I'm just joking. You're so cute when you're flustered. "
Arthur stood there, dumbstruck and speechless. Speechless, huh? Matthew seemed to be the only one capable of robbing Arthur of his words.
Matthew, who had now put a considerable amount of distance between them turned around.
"Laura is waiting, " he stated, and he continued to walk.
Arthur quickened his pace and was soon rafting after him. Wasn't it ironic? Arthur would always run away from his problems, but this time was different. This time he would be running after Matthew.
I was debating on whether or not I should have introduced Spain in this chapter, but I figured the Italy brothers were enough.
Is it just me or is there like MatthewXEveryone. MatthewXKiku MatthewXArthur MatthewXLars. It's as if you won't really know who Matthew will end up with until the end of the story.
