[A/N: Hope you like drama! Definitely a language warning for this chapter, sorry about that! I'm already almost at another 1000 view milestone! Jesus, well I'll give you guys a choice! You can either have: "Memories" (fluffy, features Gerita), "Videos" (funny), or "The Fight" (Drama) Take you pick! Just leave a comment! Thank you guys so much! I hate to tell you guys this, but I won't be able to update for another week or so, thank you for your patience though!]
It was a long time since that hockey game, his collar bone had healed fine without the need of medical assistance.
Although, Matt wasn't feeling the greatest.
"I think you're sick." Liz concluded, removing her hand from his warm forehead. "You know what that means, you have to rest and no sneaking out of your room! It's getting cold out again."
Matthew sighed, but followed her orders, at first, anyways.
Before Matt got sick, He and Gilbert would talk every night, it never failed to make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Now that he was sick though, his voice was hoarse, so he didn't want to talk to him in case he got worried. The common cold isn't much for a regular person, but for a nation, it means he's on the verge of an economic crash, or some other serious issue.
Day after day, there seemed to be no recovery, no matter how long he rested. He wasn't getting much actual sleep though, with the sickness came more of his nightmares. He was terrified to even close his eyes, but when he did sleep, he would only go under for a little bit, but then wake up again.
People had called, but Elizabeth and Fantine, by Matt's request, just said he wasn't home.
Matt was thinking that maybe Gilbert, who called every night, would think that Matt was ignoring him, but it was quite the opposite, infact, nearly every one of his sleepless nights, he thought of Gilbert, and how much he must be worrying.
"Fantine? How does my voice sound?" Matt finally asked.
"Not very well, actually Matt, I think you're getting worse, maybe you should see-"
"No. I just need my voice to sound slightly normal so I can call Gilbert back."
So he spent the next hour or so with lozenges and Fantine, until he got rid of the crackle and raspiness of his voice.
"Better?" He asked, picking up the phone.
"Oui." She said.
Dialing the familiar number, there was a few rings, and finally Feliciano picked up.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Hey Feli, it's me, Matt. Is Gilbert there?"
"Yeah, he is, un momento per favore"
There was a long silence, but then a voice came on the line that made Matt's heart swell.
"Matt?"
"Gilbert, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to call you back, there were all the issues at the parliament buildings and-"
"No need to explain, but I was worried sick about you, don't do that to me again, got it?" Gilbert said sternly, but there was a hint of relief in his voice.
"You shouldn't worry about me, really I'm fine." Matt told him with a positive voice.
"If I don't worry about you, who will you listen to?"
Matt just sighed, but didn't say anything else on the matter.
Gilbert told him how much he missed him, and that he wanted to come over soon. Matt agreed he should come over, but said there was a few issues between Liz and Fantine right now, so he'd tell him when it was 'safe' to come back over.
"Well then why don't you come over here Birdie?"
"I will when I don't need to keep the sisters away from each others' throats," He joked, but he wasn't kidding about Liz and Fantine fighting, they were going as strong as ever. In fact, at that moment they were starting to raise their voices at each other again. Their fights got worse each day, last night, he had to lock them in separate rooms in opposite ends of the house.
"Well if things haven't cleared up by Friday, I don't care what the situation is, I'm going to see you."
"...Okay." Matt agreed, knowing he wouldn't be able to change his mind. He just prayed that he'd get well by then, even though it was already Wednesday.
When they finally hung up, Matt just finally let out the chain of violent coughs he had been holding in.
"Matt? Are you alright? Those coughs don't sound too good." Liz asked quietly as she walked into his room and sat beside him, patting his back. She had finished screaming at her sister, so her voice was raspy, only this time her makeup made it obvious that she had been crying.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He wheezed, "You on the other hand..."
Liz looked at him, both annoyed and concerned.
"Matt, come on, don't-"
It was at that moment that his heart started beating erratically. Breathing heavily, he clutched his chest and let out a moan. His vision went blurry and Liz stood up, helping him lay down.
"Matt? Matt?! What's wrong?!"
"...Where's... Fantine?" He managed to gasp, his vision was going red. This wasn't the first time he felt like his heart was being torn in two.
"What do you mean 'where's Fantine'?! What the hell is happening? Matt! Are you having a heart attack or something?!" Elizabeth's voice was rising in hysteria.
Last time he felt this, it went away after a vote of 50.6%
But this pain was a lot stronger and much more intense than that time.
"Fantine!" He yelled out and ran out of his bedroom. Elizabeth was beside him the whole time, trying to get an answer out of him.
"Matt, tell me what the hell is happening! Why are you trying to find Fantine? Your heart! You need to see a doctor right now!" She yelled out at him, panicking. She was grabbing hold of his arm and tried to stop him as he struggled forward.
His vision was all over the place, constantly fading to red or black, but he pressed on, desperate.
It was pouring rain outside, and they couldn't even see out the window, but Matt stumbled out the front door anyways, not even putting a jacket on.
"Matthew! Please, you're being ridiculous! Stay inside, you'll just make your cold worse! I'll go fetch Fantine, but please, stay inside and stop stressing out."
She noticed the tears rolling down his cheek, they were clearer than the dark raindrops.
She wasn't sure why, but remained where she was, watching her brother try to run into the woods.
Matt was having a difficult just staying on his feet, his heart felt like it was being stretched to its extremes and was about to split at any second.
"Fantine!" He called out before coming to an abrupt halt.
In front of him, was the cliff edge.
Fantine, completely drenched, stood there, and looked down at the land below.
"Matthieu... je suis désolé, c'est juste ... ne fonctionne pas. Ma sœur et je me bats tous les jours, nous sommes rien de semblable, je ne pense pas que je peux rester dans votre maison plus. S'il vous plaît, Matthieu, s'il vous plaît, laisse-moi partir... Permettez-moi d'être libre."
Matthieu... I'm sorry, it just... won't work. My sister and I fight every day, we are nothing alike, I don't think I can stay in your house anymore. Please, Matthieu, please, let me go... Let me be free.
"Fantine, please..." Matt begged, his voice was strained.
"Non. J'ai pris ma décision, mon peuple a parlé" She said with confidence.
No, I have made up my mind, my people have spoken.
"Mais pourquoi? Qu'ai-je fait de mal pour que tu me détestes?" Matt pleaded, he didn't even try to hide the fact that he was crying.
But why? What have I done to make you hate me?
"Ce n'est pas grave. Je t'aime, frère, mais c'est entre ma sœur et moi. Qui suis-je plaisante? Nous ne pouvons pas fonctionner ensemble, nous avons essayé et cela n'a pas fonctionné. La seule solution est ... pour le Québec se sépare du Canada."
It doesn't matter. I love you brother, but this is between my sister and I. Who am I kidding? We cannot function together, we've tried and it didn't work. The only solution is... for Quebec to separate from Canada
"Fantine, we've been over this, we can work something out, just please, don't jump. I know it says freedom, but you won't make it! If you jump Fantine, you won't land on your feet with grace like you think, you will smash down on the cold, hard land below! Please, think for once Fantine! Even if you do survive, you will be suffering for the rest of your life, if you want your freedom so badly, then at least... at least let me help you." He hung his head in defeat, his sobs visibly shaking him. He fell to his knees in front of her, "It's suicide! Can't you see?! I don't want you to die, please, no... don't jump. I'll support you, I'll help you climb down to your freedom, I'll do anything as long as you don't hurt yourself-"
"Matthieu..." She interupted him, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder, but changed her mind, her hand just fell limply to her side.
"I caught Alfred." He whispered.
"What?"
"When he jumped for his freedom, like he said, I knew I couldn't stand aside and watch him fall, I-I-I caught him, but he doesn't know that. I gave him a safety net, b-but I disguised it as just branches. I had to make sure he didn't get hurt."
Fantine inched closer to the edge, and looked down, suddenly intimidated by the great distance awaiting her. Taking a deep breath, she sighed, but gathered her courage.
"I'm not Alfred, and I've already waited too long, it's either now or never... Je suis désolé"
With her last words, she threw herself over before she could doubt herself.
"NO!" Matt screamed.
Without a second thought... he jumped over the edge after her.
He was heavier, so he fell faster.
He took his little sister in his arms, ignoring her screams of protest.
The tears streamed down his face, he knew what awaited him, but at that moment he didn't care.
As they fell, he wrapped her into a ball to his chest, holding her in a death-grip.
She furiously screamed in french at him, but he just grit his teeth and held her more securely.
This might be the last time he held his sister, but he knew she'd be happy in the end, and Elizabeth can take care of herself as well.
There was no way he would let Fantine get hurt, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
After what seemed like an eternity... they hit the ground.
Matt's hold on his sister never faltered as he took the impact of the fall.
Fantine was shaken, but stood up right away. Matt was lying face-up on the ground, his arms at his sides. There was blood everywhere, but none of it was hers. She fell beside him, screaming his name.
"Are you... okay?" He managed to whisper.
"Matt vous stupide fils de pute! Pourquoi diable voulez-vous faire cela! Vous auriez pu vous tuer!" Her voice was unsteady, and she could barely see because of the tears.
Matt you stupid son of a bitch! Why the hell would you do that! You could've killed yourself!
"I'm glad... You're... free... now... and you're... okay... You'll finally... be... happy..." He said quietly, looking up at the sky where the rain continued to fall without mercy. The cool droplets felt nice on his face, so he let a small smile spread across his face as he closed his eyes and welcomed the cold darkness.
"Alfred! This isn't the bloody time to be playing games!" Arthur yelled at him, " What the hell are you doing?"
Alfred couldn't answer, he couldn't think. There were sharp pains that attacked his brain. He yelled out in agony.
"Alfred?" There was suddenly much more concern in his voice when he saw the tears streaming down his face.
"My head, my fucking head! OW! WHAT THE HELL!" Alfred cried out.
"Alfie, talk to me, what's wrong?!"
"My head, it hurts... so much..."
Arthur took his little brother into his arms as Alfred started shaking.
"Where the bloody hell did this come from? You were fine two seconds ago!"
"I... don't... KNOW!"
"Come on, I'm getting you to the hospital."
"No! I'm not... spending... money... on this."
"Oh hell, is it the same as the ones you had a long time ago?" Arthur realized, remembering Alfred's horrible headaches when he was just a child.
"This is... much...much... fucking worse."
"I'll call, uh, Canada, just to make sure, I'll bring you some tea."
"Fuck... your tea, bring... me... a pop."
Arthur sighed, but he knew that when Alfred was in pain, he got angry very easily. He grabbed the portable and a root beer out of the fridge. Alfred had pulled himself up on the couch, but he had buried his face in a pillow. Arthur opened the soda for him and set it beside him.
"Bollocks." He said when there was no answer on Canada's phone. Alfred had started to recover slightly, sitting up straight and taking a sip from the can.
"No answer?"
"None. Anyways, are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, it's, uh, subsiding."
"I hope Canada isn't in too much trouble, but are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"
"His name is Matthew, and unlike Mattie, I don't have free health care."
"Free? How the bloody hell can Cana-Matthew afford to do that?" Arthur asked, curious.
"He told me once when he got it, something about higher taxes, but a ridiculous philosophy about how each Canadian supports the other Canadians, something like that. It's obvious why he gets used a lot."
"Interesting..." Arthur trailed off, but then remembered about Alfred's headaches, although they have seemed to be completely gone.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, they're gone. Hey, would you mind helping me get to Matt's place, I'm kind of worried."
Arthur looked at him with sympathy, although the headache had subsided, he wasn't able to walk properly yet. Arthur nodded, when Alfred was a child, his head would hurt whenever Matt got hurt, some sort of weird twin thing. Matt never told him when he was in pain, so he wondered whether it was the same for him.
"Tomorrow we will, I don't think you're up for it just yet."
Alfred didn't disagree.
The next morning, Arthur loaded Alfred into his car and they drove over the border, but neither of them knew the exact way to Matt's house, so it took them awhile to find it.
When they pulled up in the driveway, there was nobody home. Naturally, Matt's door was left unlocked, so they walked in.
"Arthur, dude... is that... blood?" Alfred asked quietly, his voice shaking as he pointed at the door. There was a red, smudged handprint that sent shivers down his spine.
"I-I... don't know."
"I don't like the look of it."
"I don't either."
So they split up, trying to find some sort of clue to Matt's whereabouts. His coat was still on the rack, and Kumajirou was wandering the house, but they couldn't coax any answers out of him.
"Useless beast." Arthur mumbled, but the bear started snarling at him, growing bigger, so he fled to Matt's room.
Closing the door on it, he took a few deep breaths and looked around. His bedroom was in pristine condition, the bed was made and everything was very neat and organized. Arthur smiled, slightly proud that at least one of the two seemed to keep this quality, Alfred's room was a nightmare.
He noticed a door behind the full length mirror. Well, actually he realized the padlock. Due to his years of pirating, he didn't even think, he walked over to it. With the lockpick he carried around, a habit he had developed a long time ago ("Never know when I might need one" He would say.), he skillfully unlocked it.
He pushed the door open and fumbled for the light. When he finally found it, there was suddenly a brighter light than he expected, it blinded him for a second, but when he blinked his heart sank.
He was in a room with one full wall made up a collage, and on the other end, was a desk with toys he didn't recognize.
There was a worn chesterfield on the last wall, and on it was a box.
He inspected the pictures, smiling a little at some of them. They brought back good memories.
"Stupid bear! You can't catch me!" He heard Alfred call from down below, he chuckled and studies some more pictures. He moved to the toys, there were three toy soldiers, but one was in white.
Arthur felt a pang of familiarity, they looked a lot like the ones he had given Alfie, but they were a little different, a little less polished, and the designs were different.
"Did... Matt make these?" He wondered out loud.
He shrugged and moved on to the box. Sitting on the couch, he opened it, and saw all the pieces of paper. He flipped the box upside down so its contents fell in front of him. Picking out one of the oldest looking ones, he studied it. It was in french, but he recognized the heading of "Angleterre" which is French for his country name.
He started to wonder what it said, but he set it aside, picking up another one. The paper looked almost as old as last time, only this time it was in english.
Dear England, It read.
Alfred showed me the toys you made for him today,
You did a really good job on them,
but Alfie got mad at me when I said they were cute.
I wonder if you got something for me?
No, that's just being selfish.
You never make things for me, only for Alfred, but that's okay, I don't mind.
He is your little brother after all, I'm just the other kid that kind of looks like him.
I think I will try to make some too because I really did like them.
I'm going to make one a peacekeeper though, just incase their battles get out of hand. :)
Love,
Matthew.
Arthur thought for a second, he had spent so much time making nice things for Alfred...
Had he never really given anything to Matthew?
He set that letter down and picked up another one, probably older than the last. He didn't notice the dried teardrops on it.
Dear England,
Why don't you love me like you love Alfred?
Did I do something wrong?
I'm sorry!
I hope I didn't dissapoint you, if I did, I'm so sorry.
Am I not good enough?
Do you not want me as your little brother?
Is it because I'm not as brave as Alfred, or as strong?
I'll try harder, I promise.
Just please, please, at least let me know what I have to do for you to love me.
-Matthew
Arthur's hands started to shake, and he set the letter back down.
He looked back through his memories only to see all the times he had neglected Matthew. He remembered the night he didn't help him when he was crying. He remembered all the times he put Alfred's well being over his. Canada was one of his nations as well, and didn't rebel for his freedom like Alfred did, instead he just tried to prove himself to gain his freedom.
I never knew, I didn't even realize...
It was at that moment Alfred walked into the room.
"Hey, dude, what'cha readin'?"
"Nothing!" He said defensively and hid the letter, but Alfie just picked up a different one and read it out loud.
"Things people forget:
-Vimy Ridge
-Battle of the Sommes
-Paschendale
-Third Battle of Ypres
-Battle of Ortona (Italian Campaign)
-1812
-Spanish Civil War
-Battle of Britain
-Battle of the Atlantic
-Dieppe Raid
-Battle of Normandy
-Battle of Scheldt
-Liberation of the Netherlands
...There's a really long list here..." Alfred said, giving up on reading.
"We didn't forget..." Arthur whispered.
"Hmmm?"
"Nothing, now let's get out of here."
"Whatever you say."
So Arthur put all the papers back and made sure it didn't look like anybody had been in here. He relocked the door and walked back to the main room. Alfred was raiding the fridge, mumbling about how Matthew didn't have anything good.
Arthur went to the phone and dialed the number that was, unfortunately, drilled into his brain.
"Bonjour Matthieu." Came Francis' voice.
"It's Arthur you wanker, now did you know anything about any letters?"
"Eh bien, c'est une déception."
Well, this is a disappointment.
"Just answer the question, frog."
"Always to demanding, aren't you? Well maybe if you ask nicely, I'll answer."
"You useless git, just tell me."
"Well, I guess there's no changing your mind, it was worth a shot though. I told my little Matthieu when he was petit that whenever he really felt like he needed to express himself, but he had no one to talk to, to write a letter."
"Well there's a whole ton of letters up in his room."
"I know."
"You've read them?"
"You sound surprised. I am his father, non?"
"You're not his actual father, and I'm questioning the fact that you were in his room, you better not of-"
"It's nice to know how much you trust me."
"I just know how you are."
"He's mon petit Matthieu, not even you can change that."
"Well anyways, what do you think of those letters?"
"I found out that you make a horrible father."
"Wha- you cheese-eating surrender monkey! I was talking about, maybe... his mental state."
"My Matthieu is perfect, you on the other hand, took him away from me and neglected him. I should be the one questioning you on your state of mind."
"Shut up tosser. He doesn't seem unstable, but he's definitely... different."
"He's innocent and pure at heart, that's what makes him seem 'different' from people like you, Angleterre " and with that, Francis hung up. Arthur really hated talking to the guy, but they did grow up together, and he was normally the only one he could turn to, as difficult as it was.
He let out a sigh,
"Why don't you call one of the twin-maid-girls? One of 'em's bound to know something." Alfred said.
"Good idea."
Alfred stepped up and checked through the call history while Arthur made himself some tea.
"I think I found Matthew." Alfred called over to him.
"Huh? how?"
"Considering the last call from this phone is to 911, I'd say there is a good chance he's at the hospital, although it's probably another victim of his stupid animals he has here. Last time I couldn't get in contact with him for like, a week because he stayed by some girl's bedside after she got trampled by a moose or something."
"I'll call Elizabeth just to make sure." Arthur said. He found Matt's list of numbers, which seemed to include nearly every single country, he found Elizabeth's number and dialed it.
Right away, there was an answer.
"Fantine? Fantine?! Oh my god," Elizabeth cried on the other end of the line, "He's such a fucking IDIOT! WHY THE HELL DID HE DO THAT? I SWEAR TO GOD HE FORGETS HE'S A NATION SOMETIMES! AND GUESS WHAT THAT SON OF A BITCH HAS BEEN HIDING FROM US ALL THESE YEARS?!"
Not wanting to give away his identity for the sake of getting this information, he put on his best french accent.
"Quoi?" He responded in a high-pitched voice. Alfred gave him a funny look.
"THE DOCTORS TOOK ONE X-RAY AND ONE OF THE NURSES FAINTED! THE MUSCLES AND SHIT IN HIS BACK ARE ALL DISTORTED, THEY SAID IT WAS FROM AN OLD WOUND THAT HAD A CRAPPY PATCH-UP JOB ON IT! AND I THINK BOTH YOU AND I KNOW WHERE THAT CAME FROM. NEXT TIME I SEE THAT GOD-FORSAKEN BASTARD I'M GOING TO CLAW HIS EYES OUT, MAKE HIM SUFFER LIKE MATT HAS ALL OF THESE YEARS! THEY APPROXIMATED HIS PAIN LEVEL TO BE AROUND 10 DOLS ALL THE TIME, NOT INCLUDING THE SHIT HE'S GOT HIMSELF INTO THIS TIME!" Her voice was loud and shrill.
"Didn't they never end up using dols?" Arthur said doubtfully, not even realizing his voice had returned to normal, but Elizabeth wasn't really paying attention.
"10 FUCKING DOLS! THAT'S 'UNBEARABLE PAIN'! THEY SAID IT WAS A MIRACLE HE HAD SURVIVED AS LONG AS HE HAS!" She started sobbing loudly. When she finally recovered a little bit, she started talking again.
"He never tells us, he never tells anybody, and it's all that bastard Kirkland's fault he doesn't. If only we had known, we could've helped him, he would be okay... Do you think that's why he did it? Y'know... jumped. He just wanted to end all his..." She couldn't continue, she just stayed silent.
"I'm have a half mind to call up Lovino's mafia..." She mumbled darkly. Arthur gulped and hung up.
"So...?" Alfred said expectantly. Arthur just stood there silently.
"Earth to Britain." He said waving his hand in front of his face.
The british man unexpectedly collapsed, but Alfred's reaction was quick, so he caught his big brother and lead him over the couch. Arthur just stared blankly.
"...How did Matthew get that scar?" He finally said.
"Huh?"
"The one on his back."
Alfred was silent.
"Alfred, tell me how he got that scar."
"I-I-It was an... accident." His voice was suddenly very shaky.
"An... accident?" Arthur's eyes started to focus as he stared at his previous colony.
"I wasn't thinking, I just - there was a - I didn't mean to - Something came over me - I was - They wouldn't let me help - It was all my fault" He talked quickly, his eyes starting to water.
"You did it?"
"YES! I was the one, but Matthew never told anybody, that stupid idiot! He never blamed me for anything, no matter how much I deserved it, he never let me feel guilty." He whined, and buried his face in his hands.
"Alfred... we need to get to the hospital, right now. This can wait."
"The... you mean..."
"I'm just going by what I heard from Elizabeth, but it would seem so."
Alfred was up in a second and out the door in the car, forcing Arthur to ride shotgun. Alfred sped all the way to to hospital, going nearly twice the speed limit the whole way.
Arthur struggled to keep up as his little brother sprinted through the double doors and over to a petit woman at the desk.
"How may I help you sir?"
"Where's... my... brother...?" He puffed.
"You're name please?"
"My name is Alfred Jones, but I need to find Matthew Williams."
Her long fingernails clicked on the keys, Arthur finally managed to get back to Alfred's side.
"I'm truly sorry Mr. Jones, but there doesn't seem to be anybody here under that name." She told him, the corner of her lip turning down.
"Fuck." Alfred cursed, and she gave him a surprised look, "Even now he hides from me, he's using a fake name..."
"Alfred, what do you mean?"
"is there a 'Francis Kirkland'?" He asked suddenly.
She typed in the name.
"Where the bloody hell did that name come from?!" Arthur said, outraged.
"Yes, there is, he's on the third floor, in the ICU department, room number 7167"
Alfred nodded curtly and was off in a second, Arthur was mumbling something about never attaching that 'frog' to his last name.
As they both bolted upstairs, they both stopped in their tracks when a terrifying voice came from behind them.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Elizabeth practically roared, her voice like daggers.
Arthur spun around but Alfred just ran off to Matt's room.
"You son of a BITCH!" Elizabeth called after him, screaming. Arthur had to give her credit, for the condition she was in, she tackled Alfred to the ground in record time.
"All it will take is one word from me and both of you will be locked out of this hospital. I'm going to ask you politely now to leave, but if you do not oblige, then I'm going to have to take this further than I'd like too right now." The sudden, eerie calmness scared him.
"Elizabeth, right? Let me see Matt, please, I'm begging you, I have to make sure my brother is okay-"
Elizabeth just smacked him, hard.
"You're not his brother" She hissed.
His eyes watered up, not because of the mild sting, but the painful flood of memories her words brought.
"Hey!" Arthur called out, trying to pull the crazed woman off of Alfred.
"Let go of me, eyebrows." She told him darkly.
"No Elizabeth, you're acting like a maniac."
"I'm protecting Matthew from you two!" She said, throwing him off. She moved off of Alfred so that she was blocking the way to the ICU.
"Elizabeth, please listen to us! We want to see Matt, at least tell us what happened."
"I-I... don't know what happened." She said, her voice faltering.
"What do you mean you don't know? Matthew could be there dying!"
"Shut up fattie, since when were you concerned about his well being? I don't know because Fantine just ran into the house screaming! I called the ambulance and they went and found him at the bottom of the cliff, unconscious. I still haven't seen Fantine since."
Arthur and Alfred just looked at each other.
"Mattie... jumped? He tried to... kill himself?" Alfred whispered.
"That's what we are thinking."
It was too much for him, Alfred ran right past Liz, knocking her into the wall. He sprinted as fast as he could to room 7167, and burst through the door. He nearly fell to Matt's bedside. There were tubes and machines everywhere. Alfred felt himself start violently shaking seeing his brother in this condition.
You did this to him
"Matthew? Matthew, brother?" His voice no more than a whisper, he put his hands on the sides of his brother's pale face, "Brother, wake up, please..." He begged.
He hugged Matt, or at least did to the best of his ability with all the tubing, realizing how long it had been since the two brothers had even been relatively close to each other. Matt's skin had always been unnaturally warm, some natural way of coping with the cold. Feeling the familiar, comforting warmth, he let himself weep, burying his face in Matt's neck.
He remembered the times that he was in trouble, Matt was always there for him, yet he had betrayed him, he'd caused him so much pain.
"I'm so sorry!" He quietly wailed, "Matthew, I realize you probably won't ever forgive me, and you shouldn't, but I never apologized for it. I'm so, so sorry."
Matthew felt as if he was in darkness, but he could feel his brother's embrace, hear his pleading voice. He panicked.
NO! You were never supposed to find out!
He wanted so badly to comfort his brother, tell him that he was forgiven, but he couldn't move. It was overwhelmingly frustrating.
Try as he may, he couldn't speak the words he wanted to say, or return the embrace.
He just lay there, limp and useless, as he blindly observed his brother suffer.
"Get the hell out of here you hypocritical bastard!" Elizabeth yelled at Alfred, trying, unsuccessfully to pull him off of Matt.
He just ignored her and held on to his brother for dear life, promising to never let him go again, to protect him.
Arthur easily grabbed and restrained her, and she just gave up. He brought her out of the room where she just glared at him.
"It's not right, he shouldn't be in there, much less in there with Matt alone." She practically spat.
"They're twin brothers, Elizabeth."
"They may be related by blood, but Jones is no brother of Matt's, and neither are you."
"What makes you say that?"
"You really are clueless, aren't you? I bet you don't even know how Matthew got his scar."
"I will admit I don't know a lot about hi-"
"And whose fault is that?"
"I d-"
"You realize that he's still scared of lighting? Whenever it starts storming he hides in his room and whimpers. He gets along better with animals than he does people, he never expects gifts from anybody, yet he showers others with presents whenever he can. He's desperate to satisfy and is terrified of being rejected and even though you did all of this to him, he still adores you."
Arthur remembered all the times there was a thunderstorm, how Alfred would come running into his room. He had just assumed that Matthew was fine with all of it.
"Lightning? He never once came to me, Alfred always did-"
"Matthew's not Alfred, In fact, I never want you to hear you compare him to that scum ever again, you hear me?"
"Sorry, it's just, I never knew-"
"Yeah, you never did know Matt. He's doesn't easily express his feelings because he thinks that his problems come second to everybody else's, since you always put him second to Alfred."
"Will you ever let me finish a sentence?"
She just ignored him, as if she had just started talking to herself.
"He's the man that takes in homeless people until they are well enough to live on their own, he nurtures any injured animal he finds back to health. You know, he wakes up screaming every night, and I blame you for it, although he'd probably murder me if he found out I was telling you this."
"... you mean he has night terrors?"
"Much worse than just night terrors. We've been in this hospital before when he had a lethal amount of caffeine in his system from trying to stay awake. I can only remember two nights where he actually slept the whole night, and those were the only two nights he wasn't alone"
"...not alone? You mean-"
"No, not that way, he may be Francis' son, but he couldn't be further from him in that area. I'd put money on him still being a virgin, but he had somebody with him."
"May I know who this somebody is?" Arthur's brotherly instincts were kicking in, wanting to know exactly who Matt was hanging out with and what they were doing.
"It's not like you care. Oh- I have to take this" She said, checking her vibrating phone.
Arthur was about to interject, but the held to phone to her ear and turned away from him.
"Liz? Where are you guys? I've been calling the house and nobody was there." Came a man's voice with a thick accent.
"Thank god, I've been trying to get ahold of you, but Matt's already planned everything out, he memorized your number but managed to disguise it so we wouldn't be able to call you." She replied, walking far enough away from the British man that he couldn't hear the person on the other end of the line.
With a sigh of defeat, he peeked into Matt's room, taking a good look at him. His long hair was disarrayed, and his skin was paler than normal. He looked incredibly fragile.
Alfred had climbed up in bed with his brother and held him, crying.
Arthur walked in the room, never taking his eyes off of Alfred.
"My god, how did he manage this?" He said, inspecting the deep lacerations, bruises and casts that seem to cover his body as he sat in an empty corner of the mattress.
Alfred looked up at him from where he was nuzzling his brother's neck.
"I was so scared at first." Alfred admitted.
"What?"
"When you got him, I didn't think that you would love me as much anymore. I thought that you would get bored of me once you got a new kid. I desperately tried to make sure that you noticed me, and only me. Matthew just allowed it, but I was just a kid, and I would do anything to go back and change the fact that I was the one who deprived him of all the care he deserved."
"Alfred, don't say that, Matthew was, and still is, very reserved. You should've known you had no reason to fear, there is nothing that could change how I cared for you. I feel awful for being such a terrible brother to him, but I just couldn't leave him with Francis. I realize now that Francis would most likely never do anything to him, but at the time, I was naive and didn't want to take the chance. I now believe he would've been much better off with him..."
Alfred looked up at his brother, Arthur remembered that look from the storming nights, when the thunder was loud and the lightning was bright. He would look up at him as if he was scared the whole world was ending.
"Speaking of which, 'Francis Kirkland'?" He said, finding he had difficulty saying the name in a calm voice.
"Well, I guess it is confession time. Matt and I used to sneak out nearly every night, when we got older, we'd go to parties, hang out with soldiers, cause commotion in the local towns, or whatever we could do that night. We used fake names, I went by your Arthur Kirkland and Matt went by Francis Kirkland. Fitting, isn't it?"
Arthur wasn't sure how to reply, he just watched Alfred.
He never did get a chance to reply, Elizabeth calmly walked back into the room.
She watched Matt sadly, but reluctantly tore her eyes away from him to look at the other two men in the room. Arthur was sitting on the bed, but Alfred was curled up right with him.
"Well, Matt's enraged protector will probably be here in about 5 minutes, so if you value your lives, I suggest that you leave now."
"Matt's protector?" Alfred said, hurt that somebody had taken his job.
"A very, very protective germanic country. The clock is ticking, don't say I didn't tell you." Neither of them moved
Matt's heart rate monitor went off the charts, and nurses rushed in, Alfred had to stand up, but he was clutching his head.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! ELIZABETH HOW COULD YOU TELL HIM?! HOW COULD YOU LET HIM KNOW?! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO STAY SECRET! EVERYBODY I DIDN'T WANT FINDING OUT ABOUT EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE IN THIS VERY ROOM!
Matt was panicking, he had to be better, he couldn't let Gilbert see him like this. He heard erratic beeping but he kept struggling to do something, anything.
Alfred was suddenly gone from his side, and there were unfamiliar voices and touches all around him.
He desperately searched himself, trying to find something that might get him out of his paralysis.
As if by a miracle, he found the energy inside of him. He felt his arm again, but with feeling came pain. When the beeping slowed down and the strange noises left, he was almost able to move his arm. He tried desperately, pushing past all boundaries he found, and then suddenly, with a rush of agony, he was able to feel his arm, shoulder, and then the rest of his body again.
He realized that everybody else must've left because the beeping was the only other noise he heard.
He sent a silent thank you to whoever had given the ability to feel again, but the pain was searing, almost unbearable. Gritting his teeth, he reached up and ripped off his breathing apparatus, trying to remove everything the hospital had put in him.
He opened his eyes, and tried desperately to pull his broken body out of the bed, to get out of the hospital. He had always been strong-willed, and if he absolutely needed to, he would grit through any pain to get the job done, but he just didn't have the strength to move much more.
He realized he had missed a chord, the one attached to the heart rate monitor, so he tried to rip that one out as well.
The flat-line beep gave him away, and everybody rushed back into the room. He felt the tears of pain streaming down his face, but he didn't care at that point in time. He was just trying to make his escape.
"Matt!" Arthur, Alfred and Elizabeth called out at the same time. The nurses pushed them away and tried to reattach all the chords.
"How has he not gone into shock yet with the pain?!" The older nurse yelled.
"I don't know! He should still be comatose, how did he even wake up?!"
They tried their best to rewire him, but he struggled against them.
"No..." He manage to force out of his dry throat.
Everybody just stared at him.
"He's supposed to be in a drug-induced coma right now, it's not humanly possible to survive all this injuries right now, we'll have to put him under.
"No..." He said again, a little clearer this time, "No... Gilbert... go... don't...see" It was too late, they already loaded his IV with sedatives, and he felt himself go under.
Elizabeth was right by his side, holding his hand.
"Matthew, please understand, it's for the best, I didn't want to hide it from him..."
"Gilbert...where have I heard that name befor-" Arthur wondered out loud.
Everything happened very quickly.
The door slammed open, and the great former nation stood there.
His eyes passed right through the duo and Elizabeth and landed on Matt.
He ran up to the bed with record speed, putting himself between Matt and everybody else in the room.
Matt's eyes were nearly completely closed at this point, but he the last thing he saw before pulled under was the look of absolute terror in Gilbert's red eyes.
[Little points you may not have caught, the 50.6% vote is the vote that kept Quebec part of Canada, at least for the time being. There was an official vote in 1980, the people of Quebec were asked, 'do you want to separate from Canada, YES or NO?', and only 50.6% said they wanted to stay in Canada, but most of those were people from the English-speaking minority or the native tribes.
The room number 7167 stands for the date 07/01/1867, which is the day the British North America was enacted, essentially, it's Canada day
Also, 'cheese-eating surrender monkey' is a british slang for a french person
So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it's a little sudden, but I was desparate to get an update in, so please don't hate me! Comment though which bonus chapter I should do next? Fluffy, Funny or Dramatic!]
