Matt glanced over at Gilbert, silently apologizing.
Finally!
Mattie gasped and stopped walking as he felt control (pure control!) fill him. He stretched, grinning.
"Finally!" He repeated out loud, for the first time in so so long. An uncharacteristically cheerful laugh bubbled out of him.
Gilbert started as he heard Mattie's voice, and stared at him. Before asking, he looked at Mattie's face, now etched in glee, to the murky eyes the same color as his own.
The blond spun around in a complete circle, gaining the attention of everyone who wasn't looking at him already.
Gilbert paled at the sight and ran a hand through his hair. This...is going to be a long journey.
"Mattie...?" He asked hesitantly, reaching out to touch his shoulder.
Mattie's head whipped around to look in his direction, his expression changing completely to a disgusted scowl. "It's you," He spat accusatively, crossing his arms. "and here I had hoped you had gone off and died or something."
"What, since last night? Since an hour ago?" Gilbert couldn't help but retort, mimicking Mattie's own stance.
"Call it wishful thinking. Now, what're we doing today? My darling counterpart failed to let me know."
Peter, in the back of the group, gasped belatedly and shoved past the others to throw his arms around the frowning blond.
"Jas-er, Mattie!" He exclaimed happily, looking up at Mattie.
The blind man froze at the physical contact before relaxing once he realized it was Peter. "Oi, you're crushing me." He mumbled out of a small smile, ruffling the child's hair.
"Oh, you're back! It's been forever! Well, except for like, what was it, last night or something, when you tried to kill us-"
"I am actually sorry for that."
"-but for real, Matt let you take over?"
Mattie smirked. "Yep." He replied smugly, running one hand through Peter's hair again.
The fairy whined and shook his head. "Mattie," he complained, "stop it! You know I hate that."
"Sorry, kid." Mattie grinned without looking sorry at all.
The remaining trio gaped at Mattie in shock, all three frozen where they stood. Metaphorically, that is.
Romano was the first to break, face morphing into a snarl. He stormed forward, settling his hands on Mattie's shoulders and looking straight into the blond's sightless eyes.
"What," he growled forcefully and tightened his grip, "the hell do you think you're doing here."
It wasn't a question.
Mattie didn't shake or quiver or cry, much to Romano's disappointment. He only grinned madly and winked. "Goodness," he drawled with a hint of sarcasm, "you haven't even taken me out to dinner yet." He carefully removed Romano's hands from his own shoulders, pushing them towards the brunet. "Getting all touchy, yikes!"
Romano seethed and crossed his arms. "Shut up, you didn't answer me." He demanded.
"Oh?" Mattie faked confusion, tilting his head in a mocking position. "Sorry, must've slipped my mind. And hold on," he tapped his chin in thought, "now why should I be telling you, of all people, why I'm in control of my own body? Is it any of your business?"
"Gee," Romano shot right back, "maybe when you tried to kill us? Remember that, asshole?"
Mattie's smile faltered, and he opened his mouth- no doubt, to give another scathing remark. Arthur decided it was time to intervene before fists flew or something.
"Okay, okay," Arthur said calmly, "let's not get to blows, alright? That's the last thing we need." He looked pointedly at his lover, a stern expression set in his face.
Romano scoffed, but stepped back a foot or so. "Fine." He ground out, nose in the air. "But if this...this maniac-" Mattie flinched at the name, and it went unnoticed by everyone but Gilbert "-tries to hurt you, or, or anyone else...I won't allow it."
The blind man laughed softly, backing up as well. "Sure you won't." Before Romano could reply, he continued on, "Anyways, I guess we haven't had a proper...introduction. Shall we?"
That earned strange looks from the whole group, Gilbert included. It wasn't like Mattie to be so civil around others. He suspected Matt had something to do with it.
Romano blinked, confused. "Uh, I guess?"
Mattie smiled pleasantly for the first time, though it did look a little forced to Arthur. "Right. Hello, I'm...call me Mattie." He held out his arm slightly to the left of where it should've been.
"...Romano." The Italian offered. He took Mattie's hand and shook it, still looking lost.
The blond's eyebrows raised. "Oh, so that's you then? The Romano I've heard so much about?"
"Yes?"
"Huh. Nice to put a name to the voice, I guess. So when did you change it?"
Romano made a confused noise. "Changed what?"
"Your name. When did you change it? Last time I heard, you were at the top of the heap with a chill that ran up your spine at the very mention of the great Lo-"
He was cut off by Romano, who inhaled sharply and cleared his throat. "That's...that's not me, you hear? Not…"
Mattie laughed cruelly, finishing Romano's sentence. "Not anymore? Right. Forgot about that. I suppose you're trying to, as well."
Romano's face went blank. He sighed, and did nothing more.
Gilbert sighed as well, and spoke up. "Okay, Mattie, you can stop now. Just, let's get going. We have places to be."
"Yeah, yeah. People to see. I know." Mattie smirked. "Just wanted to meet the guys Matt's so fond of."
He then turned to Kiku, who was looking on, silent, the whole time.
"You must be...well, you can't be Arthur, not Lovino-" "It's Romano," "-of course, not Peter or Gilbert, so you must be Kiku."
Kiku started, not expecting the attention of Mattie to fall upon him. "Um, yes. That's me."
Mattie nodded slightly. "It's actually nice to meet you, Kiku."
"Likewise…"
"Mattie," Gilbert warned, "we need to go."
The blond rolled his cloudy eyes. "Whatever you say, boss." He replied with a mock salute.
Gilbert shook his head and grabbed Mattie's arm, dragging him along the path. "We've spent enough time fooling around, we should have been there yesterday!" He lectured, waving his free hand in the air for emphasis.
Peter followed right behind, face still lit up from seeing Mattie. He was stopped by Arthur, who grabbed his hand and tugged him back to walk by the taller blond.
"Don't walk too close to him," Arthur murmured into Peter's ear, "you might get hurt."
Peter looked up at Arthur in shock, before scoffing and yanking his arm away from his brother. "Mattie wouldn't hurt me." He answered confidently.
Arthur sighed and glanced to Romano. The brunet was walking along the path, but his eyes were on the ground and his posture seemed defeated.
Instead of pursuing Peter, who had walked ahead of him, Arthur turned to Romano and walked beside him.
He took Romano's hand gently, though it still caused Romano to jump slightly. He looked up at his lover and smiled weakly.
"Hi," he whispered, squeezing his hand.
"Hi to you, too," Arthur replied, giving a warm smile back. "How are you?"
Romano sighed. "Could be better," he tried to joke, "wasn't expecting him to know the old me…"
Arthur exhaled as well, and nodded. "Me either, I have no idea how he even knows that. Have you met him before? I mean, before?"
"I don't think so," Romano replied, shaking his head. "I would've remembered it."
"Hmm," Arthur hummed, and the two fell silent.
Meanwhile, Kiku was very confused. Everyone seemed to have had previous interactions with this side of Matthew, whether they remembered it or not. Kiku couldn't recall a single time before just a few days ago when he had heard the name 'Matthew'- that is, pertaining to this Matthew.
So...why did he seem to know Kiku? The Tengu supposed he wasn't the only one with that problem. Romano didn't look very happy, and he had never said a thing about knowing Mattie or Matt.
Now, Arthur did know something about Matt, that was for sure. Kiku knew the two had talked their first full day at Matthew's house, just the two of them alone, but that was the extent of his knowledge. Arthur hadn't talked about it.
None of them talked about their past. Even with how close they were. At least, no one said anything to Kiku.
Do they not trust me?
The thought struck like a blow, and Kiku actually faltered in his step. That wasn't possible! Of course they trusted him, why wouldn't they? All of them had been together for so long now…
But what do I even know about them? Anything about why they're here now?
Kiku suddenly felt like he was the only one around, even though he could clearly see Romano and Arthur in front of him, and the other three in front of them.
He felt very, very alone.
Mattie felt a shift somewhere behind him, and frowned. He kept walking, but turned his head to look out of the corner of his eyes.
What's wrong? He heard Matt ask. He ignored it.
Arthur...was fine. All the colors were still there.
Romano...hardly there, but nothing changed.
Kiku…? What happened to Kiku?
His aura was all off, for some reason. It was much more solid than normal. Strange.
Gilbert was not very pleased with Matt's choice. It was a very inconvenient time for Mattie to be in control, what with them moving out and all.
He sighed, and took a look at Mattie. The blond was frowning- no surprise there -and looking confused.
That...was different. Mattie always pretended he knew everything, and if he didn't know it, he certainly didn't show it like that.
"Hey," he whispered as to not attract the others' attention, "what's up?"
Mattie started, obviously not expecting Gilbert to talk to him. He turned his head to face the path before them, face back to its normal blank, slightly bored state.
"What, finally decide to talk to me? Even though your precious Matt isn't here?" He asked smugly. Gilbert could hardly detect the tint of hurt.
Gilbert rolled his eyes. "You just looked a little confused, that's all. Forget I asked."
Mattie scoffed, crossing his arms. "SInce when have you cared about me?"
"I do care about you!"
"Uh-huh, sure you do. That's why you put me back the other night? Because you care about me."
"You were trying to kill us, Mattie. Sorry for trying to save their lives."
"Gilbert," Mattie said, "it could've killed us, too. You can't just do that, it's very dangerous. You're lucky nothing happened this time."
Wait...what?!
"Mattie? Are you serious?"
"No," The blond sneered, "I'm trying to scare you. Of course I'm being serious! Think about what would happen if you forced me back, for example, and I accidentally merged with Matt."
Gilbert looked down in shock and, in fact, thought about it. The two of them would become one person again...but they were so different now…
Mattie nodded. "Yeah, it would be bad. So next time? Just don't."
"I'm- I am sorry about that. But why were you attacking us in the first place?" Gilbert asked, now curious.
"I had no idea it was you who was there. I thought there were people I didn't know, and I got scared. I couldn't focus, I got so mad."
Mattie stumbled over a dip in the path. "I didn't mean to hurt you…" He whispered.
"I know," Gilbert said, and surprisingly, he did know. "You're not that cruel."
"Was that...a compliment?" Mattie asked jokingly.
Gilbert gasped playfully. "Oh no! Perhaps it was!"
Mattie shook his head, but the corner of his mouth was hitched up, so Gilbert knew he wasn't too upset.
Alright...this isn't too bad...Mattie's content, Peter seems pretty happy, Romano's mad but he'll get over it in a while...on second thought, I'll talk to him later about it. Arthur's fine, he'll comfort Romano...Kiku? Kiku's alright...this is good!
Gilbert smiled. Maybe everything wouldn't be too bad, after all.
So...what's up?
Mattie tilted his head. "What do you mean?" He murmured quietly.
I don't know, you were talking to Gilbert. Was is alright?
"Of course, dummy. You heard me."
Well, yeah, but...nevermind. Is Kiku alright?
The blond sneaked a look behind him. Kiku was simply walking, looking a little lost but fine.
"Yeah, he's great. I mean, I guess. I don't know him all that well, but he seems fine enough."
Oh. Well, alright.
Mattie sighed. "Gilbert, where are we even going?"
Sighing as well, Gilbert replied, "You don't need to know, it's none of your business."
"Excuse me? It's none of my business, you say?"
Gilbert muttered, "Oh god, nevermind."
"How in the hell is it none of my business?!" Mattie exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I am just as much of a person as any of you, I'm on this stupid 'mission', or whatever this is, and for some reason you won't even tell me where the fuck we're even going! That is unfair, Gilbert, and I know you don't like me, and I'm sorry about that, but please just tell me what's going on!"
The blond kept up his pace, but his breathing was heavier now, his face flushed, and he looked more upset than any other time before.
Gilbert groaned, guilt slowly filling him. All he had wanted was a nice, quiet little trip with his lover, and he got this instead? An angry, overdramatic counterpart who played on his feelings? Great. Just great. Now he felt like crap. It wasn't as if he didn't like Mattie, it was just...the two butted heads too often to get along. Sometimes, Gilbert got the impression Mattie would argue every point with him just because he wanted to.
But that wasn't important. Mattie was mad, which would register with Matt, who would ask why Mattie was mad, and then Mattie would get upset all over again just telling Matt what had happened, which made for an angry Matt, a still-upset Mattie, and overall, not a good time.
"I knew I should've left you two home…" He muttered tiredly and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, whatever." He said louder, shaking his head. "Did Matt not tell you or anything? Nevermind, I don't care. I'll tell you anyways.
"We failed our last job, thanks to Arthur and Romano, who were found fucking in some hotel-"
"It was a church," Arthur interjected with what some might call a proud tone.
"-which got them captured, and sentenced to execution at dawn. That got them noticed by people, specifically the people we were supposed to be intimidating or bribing or something. And that meant they would recognize us, which was the exact opposite of what we were supposed to be doing. This job isn't all that important, so we decided to give it up due to 'complications' and go get another one."
Gilbert took a deep breath afterwards, and closed his eyes. "Happy now?" He asked scathingly.
Mattie rolled his sightless eyes, still not over Gilbert's comment. "Whatever." He sighed, uninterested.
The blond's rant had gained the attention of the whole group for a minute, before they went back to their own business. They were all getting used to Mattie's, ah, exuberant behavior, so his outburst wasn't too much of a shock. Gilbert's however, was more surprising. Hardly ever would he snap at anyone, let alone so harshly, let alone his own lover. It seemed a little suspicious to those not involved in the conversation.
Silence dominated for the next few minutes, nobody brave enough to break it. The air was tense as both Mattie and Gilbert were on edge and upset.
Peter frowned at this, unsure of what to do next. He loved both Gilbert and Mattie equally, and the fact that both of them were mad distressed him as well. If those two would get along better, Peter decided, this would be a lot more relaxing, and a lot more fun.
As he readied himself to say his thoughts, a loud crash sounded somewhere ahead and to the left of the group, followed by a frustrated cry.
It caused Peter to jump and whip his head around to try and locate the source of the noise. Was it a wild animal? Possibly, though that kind of cry sounded strangely human. He looked at his companions to see if they might recognize something about it.
Kiku seemed just as startled as Peter was, his eyes starting to glow faintly. Nothing from him.
Arthur had instinctively shifted in front of Romano, as if to protect him. He, too, was looking around in search of possible danger. A light shone from his cupped hands.
Mimicking Arthur, Romano had also tried to move in front of his lover. If it were any other time, Peter might've found it amusing.
Surprising to Peter, Gilbert didn't seem all too concerned. Sure, his hand immediately went to his hip, where his sword rested, and he held up a hand signaling them to stop, but he didn't look as panicked as he should have. Weird.
Mattie's reaction was the strangest by Peter's standard. The older blond was squinting in the direction the noise came from, as if he was trying to see what it was. That wasn't too abnormal, as Mattie could have just been searching for an aura or something.
The thing was, he actually looked excited, like he was seeing an old friend for the first time in years, or a lover. But how could he possibly know what it was?
Peter crept up next to Mattie and whispered, "What is it?"
The blind man started before replying in a soft tone as well, "I think I know, but I'm not sure." He smiled a tiny smile down at Peter. "We'll just have to see, now won't we?"
Peter nodded, then replied with a quiet 'yeah'. He, too, squinted to see if he could find anything.
Nothing. All he saw was the forest, but did that branch just snap? Did that tree just rustle?
Gilbert seemed to be thinking the same, because he turned his head to look at his friends. "Okay, I'm going to go investigate. Stay here." He instructed, but Mattie shook his head, eyes still trained on that one spot.
"No, you're not." The blond countered, shoving past Gilbert and walking towards the possible danger himself.
"Mattie-!" Gilbert tried to argue, but Mattie would have none of it, 'shush'ing him before he could even finish his sentence.
"Shut up, Matt wouldn't like you dead, so consider it a favor. Besides," Mattie stopped and turned a little, eyes meeting Gilbert's own, "I know what it is."
"But...oh, whatever." Gilbert huffed and crossed his arms. "Don't come crying to me when you're all-"
He was cut off again by Mattie's sudden loud yell of: "Søren, you ass!"
To say everyone was shocked would be quite the understatement.
*yet again rises from the pits of hell* Yes, hello, I am not, in fact, a fossil now. I am alive!
Hiya guys! Did you miss me over the past- oh sweet cinnamon has it been an entire month already?! I'm so sorry, everyone. I don't mean to stay away this long...like this time, and last time...I'm going to, as of this week, make a designated time to write, every day. Yep, you heard me: this could mean back to weekly updates! (Special note here for Italian Skunk: please remind me, will you? I know I'm going to forget.)
*silence* ...well, don't get too excited now, you hear?
Anyways, I know I promised Nordics, but is this close enough? No? Oh, well. They'll be in the next chapter, for absolute sure.
(Hey, I kind of make up for it by uploading a one-shot between each chapter, right? And the chapters are getting longer, too!...Right.)
Oh, before I go, I almost forgot the recommendation! Aha, sorry! Okay, make sure to take a good, long look with (yet another one of) Italian Skunk's stories, Only in Summertime. I'll give you one word: wanderlust.
(Are you tired of seeing their stories every time? Hmm, that's too bad.)
I think...that's about it. I hope all you guys have an absolutely wonderful life, okay? Keep up the great work! (You're all so brave~ I love each and every one of you.)
Until next time! See you all!