Zacharie = Luxembourg
Laura = Belgium
Lars = Netherlands
Isak = Iceland
Nikolai = Norway
Soren = Denmark
Kiwi = New Zealand
Jack = Australia

All for the Love of Maple Syrup

Summer Antics

It was the first time Matthew could remember not looking forward to seeing Lars. After learning that the Dutch man thought they'd been on a date the day before, he knew he had to rectify the mistake. He just had to hope his friend wouldn't take it badly.

That and he had to find a way to keep Alfred and Gilbert from following him. Seriously, what was their problem with the idea of him going on a date? He was his own person! He could date if he wanted to! He just didn't want to.

And just because he hadn't realized it was a date didn't mean they could keep making fun of him for it! He had no reason to think it was. Lars was always asking him to hang out. He figured it was just his friend rescuing him from the chaos of his family and Gilbert like always.

With a sigh, Matthew stepped up onto the front porch and rang the doorbell. He didn't have the wait long before the door was opened by the youngest of the Peeters siblings, Zacharie. The teenager was in the process of buttoning up his shirt and adjusting his tie in preparation for his job as a waiter at one of the diners in town. Matthew caught sight of Laura darting past the hallway.

Zacharie took one look at him and then turned around and called for Lars. It didn't take the older boy longer than a minute to join them at the front door and then Zacharie bid Matthew good day and then left for another part of the house, giving them some privacy.

Lars smiled, pleasantly surprised by his friend's visit. "Good morning, Matthew. Come in." He stepped back and held the door wide open, but the younger male didn't move. "Is something wrong?"

Matthew shook his head. "Sorry. I'm not staying long. I, um, just wanted to talk about yesterday. About our…" He hesitated and unintentionally lowered his voice. "Our date."

Lars remained silent, fighting off the urge to tease the younger man. He was just too cute for his own good sometimes. It was the initial reason he liked the Canadian.

His heart sank as Matthew began to fidget and stammer out that he hadn't known it was a date. It only figured that the first time he was able to gather his courage to ask him on a date, Matthew hadn't realized exactly what was going on.

Maybe it was his own fault for not making it clear enough. He knew how oblivious the other blond could be when it came to romance. He'd seen it time and time again.

On the bright side, Matthew did find out about it being a date and had come to visit instead of calling him or sending him a text or e-mail, which meant there was still some shred of hope.

"Matthew," Lars interrupted his friend's rambling. "I understand."

Matthew relaxed. "Thanks. You're not mad, are you? I did say I'd go out with you again, though I didn't think you meant on a date."

Lars waved off the concern. "It's fine. I still want to hang out over the summer, that hasn't changed. If you feel uncomfortable, you can invite someone who isn't Beilschmidt to join us."

Matthew couldn't help but laugh. He doubted he would ever make the mistake of trying to get the two to spend time together again. "I think I'll be fine. Though I can't promise we won't be followed by Alfred and Gilbert. I think they were more bothered by it than I was." He paused a moment, not surprised to see a flicker of irritation cross Lars's face at the mention of the troublesome duo. "I'm getting some people together for a hockey game tomorrow. Ivan wants to play before he and Katyusha go back to America and I promised to get two teams together. You interested?"

How could Lars possibly pass up the opportunity to slam Gilbert into Plexiglas walls?

Lars nodded. "Let me know when you have a time figured out."

"I will," Matthew promised, taking a step backwards as he made to leave. He bid hi friend goodbye and hurried back to his car.

Lars watched him walk away and waved as the younger man backed out of the driveway.

No matter how much time it took, he would get another date with Matthew. And next time he'd make sure his friend knew it was a date and not some friendly outing.

.

.

"So how'd Peeters take it?" Gilbert asked the moment Matthew returned home. He was standing in the front hall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Matthew rolled his eyes as he shut the door. "He took it fine, Gil. Though it's really not your business."

"I'm your best friend! Of course it's my business!" Gilbert exclaimed. His mood didn't last long. "Anyway you're back just in time. Vater came home and he has gifts for us! He wouldn't let us open them without you."

Matthew smiled. Nothing could make his friend happier than Mr. Beilschmidt coming home after being away on business. It wasn't just because of the gifts, though that was a plus. It was also the first time he would be home close to Matthew's birthday.

"That's nice of him," Matthew said as he kicked off his shoes. He frowned when he noticed how quiet the house was. With all of the cars in the driveway, there was no reason for the house to be almost silent, especially since that meant Jack, Soren, and Alfred were in the same vicinity. Matthew doubted that any of them knew the meaning of the word "quiet".

He wearily walked down the hall with Gilbert hoping he wasn't about to be ambushed again. When he entered the kitchen to see most of his family chatting pleasantly at the table, the feeling of wrongness multiplied.

Then Jack ran past the sliding glass door with a bowl of water balloons an Kiwi followed with the hose and Matthew relaxed. It seemed things were perfectly normal and that they'd decided to take their loudness outside for once.

Matthew decided to ignore the craziness going on outside as Yong Soo and Ivan joined the fray with water guns. He directed his attention to the kitchen table, where his mom was sitting between Mr. Jones and Mr. Beilschmidt. Ludwig was to his father's left, followed by Soren and Nikolai. Isak was sitting next to his brother and Leon was across from him. The two younger teens were flicking a paper football back and forth.

He smiled at Mr. Beilschmidt. "How was your trip?"

"It went well," replied Mr. Beilschmidt. "I picked up a few things when I stopped in Germany." He gestured to the three wrapped gifts on the table.

Gilbert eagerly snatched up the long black-and-white present. "We can open them now, right? Mattie's here, Luddy's here, and I'm here."

"Ja. Go ahead."

Gilbert cackled happily and ripped apart the wrapping paper, revealing a new swrod to ad to his collection. His eyes gleamed as he held it up and slowly slid it out of its sheath. "German reproduction?" He asked, shooting his father a glance.

"Prussian," said Mr. Beilschmidt.

Gilbert's grin grew broader. "Seriously? This is so awesome!"

Ludwig silently handed Matthew the package wrapped in blue keeping the black, red, and yellow one for himself. They began opening them while Gilbert admired his newest sword.

"I've got a pretty cool axe collection back home," Soren bragged. "Remind me to send pictures to you some time."

"Ve~ Antonio has one in his room," Feliciano said. "It's really big!"

Ludwig pulled away the last bit of wrapping paper to reveal a set of books in German. The one on top appeared to be about dog training. "Danke, Vater," he said, shuffling the books around to look at the covers and see what they were about. One of them had him blushing and he quickly hid it from sight. Fortunately for him, Gilbert was too busy ogling his sword to remember.

"Matthew, I only got part of yours in Germany," Mr. Beilschmidt said as the Canadian began to open the box the wrapping paper had been hiding.

The first thing Matthew saw was three pucks, each in its own see-through plastic box. Curious, he picked up one of them to get a better look. His jaw dropped when he saw the signature of the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Looking at the others, he found they were also signed by various players on his favourite team.

A strange squeaking sound escaped his throat and he hurriedly set down the boxes so he could hug Mr. Beilschmidt. "Thank you so much!"

Mr. Jones frowned.

Mr. Beilschmidt chuckled. "You're welcome. There's still more."

Matthew pulled away so he could check underneath the signed pucks. He wasn't too surprised to find a pair of books in German and hoped he remembered enough of the language to be able to read them. Gilbert would never let him live it down if he had to ask for help to translate them.

"Danke," Matthew said with a smile.

"Better brush up on your German, Birdie," Gilbert said with a teasing cackle. He slid his sword back into the sheath. "Want me to help?"

"No," Matthew responded. "Especially not after last time."

Gilbert grinned, but said nothing more about it.

"Why don't you boys go put up your gifts while I get started on lunch," suggested Ms. Williams. "Nikolai, would you like to help me?"

Nikolai nodded, placing his hands on the table as he stood. The glint of the jewellery on his hand caught the attention of Mr. Beilschmidt, who looked between the Norwegian and Soren with a hint of amusement on his face.

"So, I suppose there is a 'congratulations' in order," he remarked. At the confused looks of everyone in the room, he nodded towards Nikolai. "That's an engagement ring, is it not?"

Soren grinned nervously. Nikolai looked down, trying to avoid looking at everyone as a tinge of pink colored his cheeks.

"E-engaged?" Ms. Williams questioned, her voice going a little high.

Matthew and Gilbert gaped at the two of them, too surprised to say anything. Ludwig stared in surprise. Isak and Leon continued with their game of paper football. Mr. Jones froe up with a choked sound, staring at the two with wide blue eyes.

Jack took that moment to slide open the glass door. "Hey, Auntie K, can we whoa, what's going on here?"

"Mr. Beilschmidt just foiled Nikolai's plan to not tell anyone about his engagement to Soren," Isak said in a bored tone.

"Oh, okay," Jack said with a nod. He withdrew his head and shut the door. It wasn't even two seconds before he was back. "Wait, what? Engaged?" He asked in disbelief. "Hey… Hey, Kiwi! Kiwi, you're never going to believe this!" He ran off again, forgetting to shut the door behind him.

Nikolai cast a cross look at his brother as chaos once again descended upon the Williams house.

.

.

Matthew skated slowly around the rink with everyone else he'd gathered to play a little game of hockey, adjusting his gloves and getting used to the feel of the ice and some of his new gear. He switched his hockey stick between hands, testing his grip.

Timo Väinämöinen skated quickly past him, making his way over to glide alongside the hulking form of Berwald Oxenstierna. Matthew spotted Nikolaia and Isak moving along at a nice pace near each other, quietly talking as Soren rushed across the ice towards them with a broad grin on his face. Alfred and Yong Soo were over by one of the benches talking to Arthur, Kiku, Feliciano (who'd only tagged along to cheer on Ludwig), and Mr. Jones, Alfred demonstrating various ways to obtain penalties using the hockey stick he borrowed from Ludwig. Gilbert, Jack, and Kiwi were racing each other up and down the rink, dodging out of the way of everyone else like it was some sort of game. Ludwig and Lars were setting up the goal nets, making sure they were properly on their moorings.

He grinned when he saw Ivan amble out onto the ice in gear borrowed from Berwald.

They were all wearing either white or black pads and black shorts, but none of them were wearing jersey's, though that would soon change.

A whistle was blown as three skaters in black and white arrived on the ice, each with a cardboard box. One was a very familiar figure, whose long brown hair had been pulled up into a ponytail for the occasion. The other two were a pair of blonds who looked so similar that most people assumed they were twins.

"Gather around!" Elizaveta called cheerfully, putting down her box at center ice. "Time to pick teams!"

"Hello, Vash," Matthew greeted the only male referee. He got a scowl in response, but didn't let it bother him. That was just how the Swiss man was. "I'm Blue captain and Ivan's going to be Red."

Vash's little sister Lilli dug through the box clearly labeled 'Blue' in search of the captain jersey. Meanwhile, Elizaveta searched out the red one.

Matthew turned to address his friends, a little worried about how they would take his next few words. Timo already looked unhappy with the way things were going, as he was usually the other captain.

"I-I know we don't usually do this, but since Ivan hasn't played with us before, I put together some tentative teams last night, just to make sure they're well-balanced. We can change it if anyone has a problem." He paused, giving everyone a chance to protest if they wanted. No one did. "O-okay then. Berwald, you're with me. Ludwig, with Ivan."

The two goalies nodded in understanding, each accepting the jersey tossed their way. They then each skated off to their respective benches to begin putting on the extra padding they would need, as well as to pick out their hockey sticks and choose a helmet.

"Timo, with me. Soren, with Ivan."

The Finnish man relaxed, feeling a little happier as he accepted a blue one from Lilli. Soren smirked, pleased with the opportunity to play against Berwald.

"I get Jack and Kiwi is with Ivan."

"You're going down," Jack told the New Zealander with a grin.

"We'll see," replied Kiwi.

Matthew cleared his throat. "Alfred, you're with me. Nikolai, with Ivan."

Alfred blinked in surprise as he accepted a blue jersey, while Nikolai showed nothing but nonchalance. In all the times Alfred had played hockey with his brother, not once had they been placed on the same team. Not that he wasn't happy about it, especially since it meant he didn't have to work together with Ivan, but it was still weird.

Gilbert, meanwhile, was getting nervous. It was down to just him, Lars, Yong Soo, and Isak. Why was Birdie taking so long to get to him? They had to be on the same team, right? Birdie wouldn't really put him with Ivan, would he?

"Isak, you're with Ivan. Gilbert, with me."

The albino let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"Yong Soo, you're the sub for my team. Lars, you'll be with Ivan."

"Sweet!" Yong Soo exclaimed. "What's that mean?"

Matthew chuckled. "It means if Kiwi takes out Jack, you take Jack's place."

Kiwi smirked at the Australian, who pouted at the very notion of being beaten by the smaller teen.

"Enough talking," Vash interrupted in his usual grumpy manner. "Each team gets ten minutes to talk and ten minutes to practice plays."

The two teams split up as they skated over to the benches, ready to get the game underway. Elizaveta and Lillie removed the boxes from the ice, vanishing for a few seconds to put them away.

Matthew playfully nudged Gilbert as they skated over to their bench. "You looked nervous."

Gilbert scoffed, pushing him back. "Yeah right. I knew you'd pick me!"

"Only because if I'd put you with Ivan, you would've spent the entire time sabotaging him," Matthew replied, sliding to a stop just in front of the bench. He waited until everyone had gathered around him, ready to hear what he had to say. "I already talked to Ivan about how we'll split up practice time. We're going to do five minutes of practice while he gets to know his team and then we'll switch off. It's an unusual way of doing things, but we're used to playing together and this will be Ivan's first time leading them."

"Is he any good?" Timo asked, adjusting his glove.

Matthew smiled grimly. "Let me put it this way, I've gone up against him every game I've played in America and he foils the majority of my plays on his own. He nearly knocked out one of my teeth one game."

Gilbert scowled and muttered, "I'll knock out his teeth." as he picked up his hockey stick.

"You won't," Matthew said in a warning tone. "Don't give Vash a reason to give you a penalty. Neither of you." He gave Alfred a look and wasn't at all convinced by the innocent expression his brother wore. "Everyone ready to get out on the ice? Berwald?"

The Swede nodded as Timo finished helping him strap on his pads.

Together, the Blue team hit the ice for a very brief practice. They ran through a quick play with Matthew shouting out directions to benefit Kiwi and Yong Soo, who were the least experienced with the game. Timo managed to smack the puck towards the goal, but it clipped off the bar and rolled away before Berwald could cover it. Alfred was the next to make a strike. The puck caught Berwald in the chest and he fumbled to get it in his glove. Gilbert and Jack rushed to the net, seeing the opportunity to score a goal, but Berwald dropped the puck and covered it with his glove before they could get their sticks on it.

Ivan caught Matthew's eye and waved, signalling he was ready to do some practice with his team on the ice. The Canadian nodded and called for his team to hit the bench. They did so with some disappointment, though they understood the others needed a little more time to work out their dynamics.

"I think we'll be okay," Matthew said as his team sat down. "Berwald, is everything fine with your new pads?"

He nodded. "S'just a little stiff."

"Are you going to tell us what to watch out for with Ivan or not?" Gilbert asked loudly.

"Oh, right. Yeah." Matthew fidgeted with his glove for a moment, casting a glance onto the ice to see how Ivan was handling things. It took a nudge from Alfred to get him to focus. "Ivan's a really versatile player, though he's best as a forward, so don't be surprised to see him hang back to guard the net. He plays a very physical game. Timo, I know you want to play defence but I'm going to need your help with Ivan too."

Timo grinned, revealing that one of his front teeth were missing due to a hockey game played two years previous. Matthew remembered that day clearly. He'd been the one to knock it loose. "You got it, captain."

"Great," Matthew said, relaxing a little. "Don't be afraid of him and don't let him bait you into doing something stupid. The less penalties we take, the better."

"Nice pep talk, captain," teased Jack.

"It's better than your football pep talks," Matthew told his cousin.

Alfred perked up at the mention of one of his favourite sports. "I didn't know you play football! You should've said something!"

"Soccer, Al," Matthew muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Now focus. We still have to discuss plays."

.

.

For the first time since Matthew returned for summer break, Gilbert wasn't spending the day over at the Williams house. There wasn't much point, since his best friend had left to spend the day with Jack and Kiwi, since they were planning on leaving that night.

Soren, Nikolai, and Isak had left the day after the hockey game, which meant he didn't have any other cool people to spend time with. That same day, Ivan and Katyusha packed up to drive back to America, taking Yong Soo and Leon with them. Elizaveta was also busy doing something. Ludwig was working, so he couldn't bother him. As there was no way he was going to spend any prolonged time with Alfred, his only option was to stay at home all day.

Gilbert yawned as he tromped into the kitchen in search of food. It felt kind of nice to have the house to himself for once. Plus, he didn't have to worry about protecting Matthew from anyone. Ivan was gone, eliminating his biggest threat (other than Lars.) Yong Soo, who he'd noticed was a rather touchy-feely type of person, was also gone because Leon hadn't wanted to stick around after Isak left. He didn't need to worry about Arthur or Kiku, who were clearing staying in order to spend time with Alfred. As for Feliciano, who had refused Lovino's multiple phone calls demanding that he return home, Gilbert felt it was more likely he'd need to protect Ludwig from the Italian's affections.

And he would, if only it weren't so damn funny.

Gilbert opened the refrigerator, peering inside to see what they had to eat. It was almost empty, even though Ludwig had bough groceries barely a week before. He closed it with a sigh, debating whether or not to go see was Mutti was making for lunch.

He turned around, wanting to check the pantry first, and practically jumped a foot in the air when he came face-to-face with Feliciano.

"H-hey, kiddo," Gilbert stammered, slightly weirded out by how quiet the teen was being.

"Ve~ Good afternoon, Gilbert!" Feliciano greeted with a bright smile. "Is Ludwig here?"

Gilbert glanced at the clock and took a moment to recall what day it was. "He's at work right now. I'm not sure when he gets off."

Feliciano dropped his eyes to the ground, his smile fading. "Oh…."

Unable to stand the sadness emanating from the Italian, Gilbert scrambled for words to cheer him up. "How about you and me spend some time together until he gets home? I'll tell you awesome baby stories about West while we eat lunch."

That seemed to perk Feliciano back up. He lifted his head and smiled gratefully at Gilbert. "I'd like that! So what are we having for lunch? Pasta? You like pasta, right? Can I make you some?"

Gilbert laughed and nodded, turning the teen loose in Ludwig's very clean kitchen.

.

.

"Ve~ He's so cute!" Feliciano cooed after Gilbert turned to the next page in the Beilschmidt family album.

Gilbert laughed. "I remember that! West was so shy when we moved here. He followed me around all the time. Him and Mattie both. Like adorable little chicks!"

His words sent Feliciano into a fit of laughter.

That was around the time Ludwig returned home from work, eager to fix a simple snack and spend some time with his dogs. When he heard Feliciano laughing and Gilbert talking, dread welled within him. He walked into the living room and braced himself for the worst.

It was worse than he thought.

Not only was Gilbert in the room showing pictures to Feliciano, his Vater and Ms. Williams were also there and he knew both of them would willingly divulge any stories of his childhood that Gilbert had forgotten.

Gilbert spotted him first and smirked, his carmine eyes glittering with amusement. "Hey, Feli, have I mentioned the time West decided to wanted to grow up to be a superhero?"

"Really? That sounds so cute!" Feliciano said.

"I remember that," Ms. Williams said with a giggle. "I think I still have the cape I made for him."

To Ludwig's mortification, his dad chuckled and added a bit more to the story. The fact that it was partly at Gilbert's expense did nothing to help.

"I remember Gilbert telling him that if he believed in the power of the cape, he'd be able to fly. Ludwig spent the entire summer jumping down from high places," Mr. Beilschmidt said, sounding amused.

Feliciano glanced up, maybe to ask Ms. Williams to find the cape, and caught sight of Ludwig standing frozen in the doorway. He beamed, not taking any notice of his new friend's humiliation. "Ludwig! Gilbert's been telling me all sorts of stories about when you were a kid! You were so cute! Oh! You should come visit me in America and I'll show you pictures of me when I was a kid! I bet Grandpa and Lovino have all kinds of stories they could tell you!" He giggled and looked to Gilbert. "You should visit too! Grandpa loved meeting you last time! He thought you were funny!" Before the albino had a chance to say anything, Feliciano jumped to his feet and ran over to Ludwig. "You'll come visit, won't you? I can show you around and make lots of pasta! It would be fun!"

Ludwig couldn't bring himself to say no, to the amusement of his family. "…ja. Er, yes. That would be, um… nice."

"Yay~!"

Gilbert fell over laughing at the bright red that overtook Ludwig's face when Feliciano hugged him.

.

.

A panicked call from Timo a week after their hockey game was something Matthew hadn't expected, and he'd dealt with a lot of strange and panicked calls over the years. (Mostly from Gilbert and, more recently, Alfred.) The nature of the call was even stranger.

"Matt! You've got to help me! Berwald asked me on a date and I said yes but only if we make it a double date because I'm nervous about being alone with him, but I don't know any couples who aren't afraid of him and I know you aren't so could you go on a double date with us?"

Matthew was silent for a moment as he tried to decipher what had been said. It never failed to surprise him just how quickly Timo could talk.

All at once, he made sense of his friend's words.

"You want me to go on a double date with you and Berwald?" He repeated faintly. "But I'm not dating anyone!"

"But didn't you go out with Lars last week?" Timo asked.

Matthew blushed, recalled how he hadn't realized the Dutch man was asking him on a date. "That was sort of a mix-up. We're not dating."

"Matt, you're the only one I know who can help me out."

The desperation in Timo's voice was evident. Matthew wondered why the Finn had agreed to go on a date with Berwald if he was so nervous about it.

"What about Gilbert?" Timo asked. "He's your best friend. I'm sure he wouldn't mind, especially if you explain the situation. Please, Matt."

Matthew sighed. "Alright, I'll help you. But I'm not asking Gilbert. That would be begging for trouble. Plus, he's been really weird since the whole Lars asking me out thing and I don't want to start that up again. I'll find someone. Maybe Elizaveta or Laura."

"You're the greatest friend in the world!" Timo happily exclaimed. "The dates tomorrow at seven. We're going for dinner and then a movie. Oh, and can you do me one more favour?"

"Sure," Matthew said, figuring it wouldn't be anything too bad.

Timo took a deep breath. "Don't let me drink any alcohol while we're out. I-I won't be able to resist if I'm asked, so just make sure I don't."

Matthew paled, remembering the last time someone had tried to keep him away from beer. It hadn't been pretty. Granted, the guy had taunted him with it and kind of deserved to have his nose broken for it, but Matthew had to admit that chasing him around pelting him with peanuts was a bit much, as was throwing a plastic cup of beer at his head.

"Matt? You still there?"

"Y-yeah," Matthew replied. "I'll try."

Timo thanked him profusely, promising to find a way to make it up to him, and then ended the call after telling him the location of the restaurant. Matthew sighed as he set down his mobile phone, wondering who he could ask out without it causing chaos.

.

.

"Sorry, Matt. If you want a date, why don't you ask my brother? He wouldn't mind."

"I wish I could, but I have, um, work then. Yeah, I have to work that night! Pity, really. You know I'd love to help you out, but I just can't. Have you asked Lars? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to go."

Those were the replies he got from Laura and Elizaveta when he explained the situation he'd gotten himself into. While he understood why Laura turned him down, he didn't buy Elizaveta's excuse for one second. She was planning something and he hoped he never found out what it was.

It was beginning to look like he would have to ask Gilbert or Lars, though he really didn't want to. Gilbert was his best friend and probably would go with him, though he hated to think about how much he would tease Timo and Berwald. Matthew also knew that if he went with Gilbert and Lars found out about it, things would be even worse between the two of them. (And Lars would find out. Gilbert would make sure of it.) Asking Lars would end just as badly. Plus, Matthew didn't want to take advantage of how much his friend liked him, when he didn't feel the same.

Matthew groaned as he flopped backwards on his bed, wishing he was friends with more than two girls. "What am I going to do?" He asked, unaware of the fact that Arthur had just walked into the room.

"Something wrong, Matthew?" Arthur asked.

Matthew sat up and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "No, I just-" He stopped talking suddenly, staring at Arthur as if he'd never seen him before.

The Englishman shifted uncomfortably. "What are you looking at me like that? And don't tell me it's nothing! I know that look. It's the same one Alfred gets when he thinks of something ridiculous."

"Arthur, I need you to go on a date with me."

.

.

It was only a matter of time before Gilbert and Alfred found out about the double date. Thankfully, it wasn't until Matthew and Arthur left together, without saying a word, that they realized something wasn't right. It was just Kiku's luck that he got dragged into it.

For once Gilbert got lucky and Ludwig was home for the night, which mean the could "borrow" the car.

Kiku personally thought they were taking things a little too far. He didn't mind following them and spying on them from a distance, but the "disguises" they had chosen were so outrageously obvious that he didn't see how they would be able to pull it off.

Alfred narrowed his eyes as Timo and Berwald existed the diner, followed by Arthur and Matthew. "Are they holding hands?"

Kiku looked up from the text he was typing to Elizaveta. Sure enough, Arthur and Matthew were holding hands as they walked through the parking lot together, leaning their heads together as they whispered back and forth. He glanced at Alfred, wondering if he would have to keep his friend from doing something stupid, like running over to interrupt them.

Gilbert stood up abruptly. Before he could do anything rash, Kiku and Alfred grabbed onto him and tried to force him to sit back down.

"What are you doing?" Gilbert demanded. "Let go! How can you just sit here and let this happen?"

"Shut up before you give us away!" Alfred hissed, using all of his strength to force the albino back into his seat. "I don't like this any more than you do, but if they see us then we'll never find out what's going on!"

Kiku didn't try to bring up the fact that they could just ask the pair once they got home. He'd mentioned it twice and was met by cross expressions each time. He'd known Alfred long enough to know that in situations like that, it was best to let things run their course and interfere only when necessary.

Gilbert began to grumble something about "stupid British men" and Alfred gave up on holding him back and in instead shoved him out of his seat. Naturally, Gilbert responded with a kick and soon the two of them were scuffling around on the ground, cursing at one another.

Kiku sighed and continued typing his message to Elizaveta.

.

.

Matthew couldn't deny that he'd had an interesting and fun summer. He'd gone on a date with Lars without realizing it; gotten some of the guys together for a hockey game; watched his dad and Mr. Beilschmidt quietly compete for his mom's attention; helped his friend Timo by going on a double date; and spent many hours in the company of his brother and good friends.

Plus, there was the morning when Mr. Beilschmidt outed Nikolai and Soren when he noticed the two were engaged, which Gilbert was still bringing up. Feliciano following Ludwig around all the time was another highlight of the summer. (Matthew and Gilbert had walked in on them cuddling on the couch one evening watching a program about dogs. Talk about awkward.)

Summer vacation was beginning to wind to a close. They could all feel it.

Alfred had been packed up for about a week, overeager to get home to America and settle back in before the semester started. Kiku, who hadn't unpacked to begin with, had started arranging his bags in a tidy pile every morning.

On the other hand, Matthew and, strangely enough, Arthur seemed to be putting off packing until the very last minute. Feliciano was almost as bad, though he had his own strange way of organizing his belongings and could find whatever he needed in a matter of seconds.

"Matthew, you really do need to start packing," Ms. Williams said with a sigh. "You leave in two days."

"I'll get it done," Matthew replied dismissively. He ignored her frown as he quickly washed the remnants of maple syrup from his breakfast plate and then stuck it in the dishwasher. "I'm off to see Lars. I'll see you this evening. Please don't let Gilbert put his birds in my room just because it's 'safer' than his own."

That had been another interesting addition to his summer.

Thanks to their trip to New Prussia, Gilbert had acquired a female bird to be a companion to Gilbird. Much to Matthew's annoyance, hid friend had named it Birtilda. It came as no real surprise when Birtilda laid eggs and since then Gilbert had become obsessed with keeping them safe and warm.

Gilbert had promised one of the chicks to him, even though Matthew had asked - begged - him not to. If he ever sent one of them down to Matthew, he would personally drive it back up to Canada to return it and then he'd kill his friend. He was tired of random animals appearing in the apartment he shared with Alfred.

With two days left of his summer vacation in Canada, he was making sure to spend time with each of his friends and get their addresses so they could write letters until he saved up enough money to buy a laptop. Lars was first on his list and he'd also promised an hour or two to Laura, who had insisted that he help her with something.

His plans for the next day were to spend some time with his old hockey team, not to play a game, but to drive out to the nearest city and hang out at an arcade, among other things. Despite having never played on the high school team, Gilbert managed to slither his way into the trip. The other guys seemed more amused than annoyed and had welcomed his company.

For his last evening and morning, the only plans he made were to relax at home and watch Kiku best everyone at video games while Elizaveta forced everyone to let her paint their nails. It would be the perfect ending.

Matthew sighed when he saw that his keys were not hanging in the box where he'd left them.

"GILBERT!"

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End chapter

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Next chapter I'm going back to writing mostly communications between the characters. So it'll be a combination of Letters from Matthew and the Electronics with Alfred and Arthur parts with some regular scenes every now and then. I may do one or two diary entries from Gilbert.

I hate to say it, but I'm going to focus on The 11th State for now, since I know how many chapters are left and pretty much what will happen in each of them. Trying to divide my attention between two or more fanfics doesn't work very well for me and usually ends with me getting nothing done on either of them.

Hopefully, focusing all of my attention on The 11th State will help me finish it up quickly, so I can get back to this one. (Though when I hit a bad writers block on it, I'll switch over and write a few entries for this.)

Just know that I haven't given up on finishing this, even if it takes me a while to put out a chapter.

By the way, I did start writing short stories about how characters in this story first met. I've gotten five of them done so far, but then I hit a road block and haven't written any more since. Once I finish T11S, I'll be able to put some energy into moving forward with both of these.