~*~

Chapter Ten: I'll Always Be Your Hero

~*~

The clouds were getting darker as Matthew finally entered his house. Before going in, he saw the lights were out at Feliciano's house, and didn't have the heart to go over and bother him this late at night (or, rather, early in the morning…). He stepped into his house quietly.

"Hey," Alfred said from the pull-out couch. One leg was sticking out of the sheet, showing off his red, white, and blue pajama bottoms. It looked as if that was the only thing he was wearing, as his arms came out from under the sheet, and they were bare as the day he was born.

"You're still awake, eh?" Matthew asked, hanging his coat in the closet.

Ve~ of course he is, he was worried about you… Angel Feliciano said sleepily. Matthew heard snoring from his devils and smiled slightly.

He couldn't have been… must've been thinking about Arthur or something… Matthew told the angel. He was not bitter about it, though. Alfred was not his, and, as usual, Matthew had accepted that ages ago.

"How was clean up? Did Arthur pull anything?" Alfred asked as Matthew went to the stairway. Matthew paused, wanting to tell the truth.

"No… he was a perfect gentlemen, as usual, eh," Matthew lied, and began walking briskly up the stairs to his bedroom.

He looked out his windows, which reminded him of church windows, sans the stained-glass Jesuses, out at the darkening clouds. He quickly looked away, wishing he had drapes so the lightening wouldn't be too bad. He was a bit stubborn about getting them, though. Letting fear get to him wasn't his favorite thing in the world. Matthew slipped out of his uniform and into a pair of grey pajama bottoms before the storm really got under way. Lightening flashed, causing Matthew to shriek and dive under the covers of his bed.

"Mattie? Are you all right?" Alfred yelled, just as thunder rumbled overhead. He got into Matthew's room, and saw that Matthew was under the covers, a pillow over his head and his blue-purple eyes squeezed shut. Matthew's glasses lay forgotten on the bed. Alfred took them and put them on the bedside table. He took off his own glasses and lay them next to Matthew's. He sat on the bed and put a hand on Matthew's back.

"You never told me you were afraid of thunderstorms…" he said softly.

"It never… it never came—" Matthew yelled as lightening hit again, followed closely by thunder. He grabbed at Alfred, pulling Alfred close to him. Alfred smiled and wrapped his arms around the shivering mass that was his best friend.

"It's okay, Mattie. Shhhh…." The American whispered. Their bodies were now so close that Matthew could smell the toothpaste Alfred had used to brush his teeth. He smelled also the soap that was in the downstairs bathroom, some concoction Feliciano had made for him sometime for Christmas... or Easter… or some holiday earlier that year… The mixture of the cinnamon and spearmint was enough to make Matthew faint, if another roll of thunder hadn't hit at that moment.

"ALFIE!" Matthew shrieked, nearly digging his fingernails into Alfred's bare arm.

"Shhh! I'm here, Mattie… I'm right here…" Alfred replied, leaning his head closer to Matthew's ear.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess…" Matthew whispered after a few minutes of silence (and no thunder or lightening), "U-U-Usually I go over to Feli's and he deals with me…"

"But it was a little late, wasn't it?" Alfred tensed as lightening hit, and a few moments later, thunder boomed. Matthew twitched closer to him, their chests now touching. Matthew's legs got entangled in Alfred's. If there wasn't a storm going on, an onlooker would think something else was happening under the covers.

"Y-Yes," Matthew replied. He opened his eyes to blink up at Alfred, "You don't have to do this, you know…"

Alfred kissed Matthew's forehead, "Remember what you told me second grade?"

"Alfie, that was eighteen years ago…" Matthew replied, "I don't even remember our teacher's name…"

"Miss Kirkland. Arthur's divorced mother…" Alfred replied.

"Well… of course you would remember that," Matthew replied, the bitterness returning. Alfred tried to say something to save himself, but another clap of thunder hit, and Matthew twitched, now on top of Alfred.

"Anyway… you told me I was your hero," Alfred said, placing a hand on the back of Matthew's head as he whimpered into Alfred ear. "I never forgot that… I've been trying to stay your hero since we met, Mattie…"

"That's… that's s-s-sweet," Matthew said, trying to push himself up to look at Alfred, but another flash of lightening made him stop in the middle and drop back down onto Alfred's chest. He heard Alfred's heartbeat quicken, but thought nothing of it. Alfred wrapped his arms around Matthew again.

"I'll always be your hero… okay?" he asked.

Matthew nodded, but another flash of lightening made him whimper and bury his head into the older man's chest. Alfred got an idea, and he smiled as he began to hum softly. Matthew tried to figure out which song he was humming, but finally gave up as sleep forced its way into Matthew's brain. Alfred kept on humming, until they both fell fast asleep, the storm forgotten.

~*~

O.O After all that fluff, I still manage to slip in a sexual innuendo. I is sorry. You can break out the pointy objects and tomatoes... but if you kill me, you won't see another a chapter... just saying.

Oh, and if your that type of person, you can go back and read this as if something else was actually happening. I know I did... a couple of times...

Matthew and Alfred are, like, 25... Feliciano is as well. I don't really care about the ages of the other characters just yet... Lovino is about two years older than Feli, and Ludwig and Arthur are about the same age. (29?) Really, I'm not going to think about that now.

Look! You got Mattie x Alfred fluff! (Finally. Go, Thunderstorm, go! Just don't give dear Mattie a heart attack...)

Please review.

~Ana~