Chapter 23: Shit Happens
Francis pushed the wheelchair over the gravel, making Matthew's hair bounce and create a wild curl in front of his face. Matthew was holding a blanket across his lap. He didn't want to expose his missing limbs to the whole world, so Francis thought of the blanket idea.
They arrived at the small plane and Francis started to push Matthew to the door, but the Canadian stopped him. "Wait until Eric gets here." He said gently, knowing Francis was getting antsier the longer they stayed.
Not a minute after Matthew halted Francis, a bundle of tears, puppy eyes and brown hair was on Matthew.
Tino giggled and followed Eric. "Honey, don't knock him over!" He called, pulling Berwald behind him.
Eric settled down but still kept his arms around Matthew, who was smiling. He still couldn't see, but he knew who as on him and who was coming. "It's alright Tino, I'm going to miss Eric too." The boy sniffed and pressed his head against Matthew's chest.
"I know, I just don't want him to jostle too much and cause any pain." Tino replied and gently pulled Eric away from Matthew.
Matthew waved a hand. "I'm so pumped up on painkillers we could crash and I wouldn't feel a thing."
Francis frowned at that. "I don't like how they did that. You said you were fine."
"I know, Love. But these doctors are really paranoid." Matthew switched to French and tilted his head up to Francis. "Though, if I'm drugged up, maybe we can see how far we can go." Damn he was loopy as shit.
Francis laughed and replied in his native tongue. "That sounds quite charming, but your doctor said not to 'try' anything for at least a year."
"Can you wait that long?"
"What that long for what?" Eric asked softly from Tino's said.
Shit. "My, ah..." Dick. What the hell are in these drugs?! Matthew rubbed his head and rested his shoulders against Francis's chest.
"Cooking. Matthew makes the best pancakes, but I'm afraid we won't have everything we need for another month or two." Francis saved. Good thing one of them wasn't stoned.
Matthew cleared his throat. "Anyway, Eric, behave for Tino and Berwald. They will be your new parents." Did he already know that? Matthew hoped he did because that sounded rudely blunt.
Eric nodded. "Okay, Mattie. Don't try to do anything that will get you hurt." The boy said sternly, making Matthew giggle.
"I'll try not to walk." Francis frowned again.
Matthew reached his hand up and patted Francis arm. "Oh stop."
The pilot walked up then. "Ya'll ready?"
"Yes. Come on, Matthew." Francis said, bending to pick up the Canadian.
"Don't go, Mattie!" Matthew was once again enveloped in tears and blond hair.
"Eric! It's alright." Matthew smiled gently and petted Eric's hair, wiping his puppy eyes. "You'll be coming to London real soon."
The boy shook his head and whispered into Matthew's chest. "Don't go Matri. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you mad. I'm sorry, Matri."
Matthew, thoroughly confused, squeezed Eric tightly and pressed his lips to the boy's ear, murmuring, "It's all right, Eric. I forgive you." Giving the boy a kiss on the cheek, Matthew concluded. "I love you, Eric."
Now that turned on the waterworks and Eric clung even tighter and wailed into his neck.
Francis, finding this all very ridiculous, gestured to Matthew then the plane while giving Tino the stank eye.
Sensing Francis's frustrations, Tino went to Eric and gently shushed him. "It's time for them to go, Sweetheart. We'll see them soon, I promise."
Eric slowly backed away, past Tino and into Berwald's arms. Matthew smiled softly at Tino. "I'll explain what's wrong in a letter. I'm sure Francis can get it to you."
Finally free, Francis lifted Matthew in his arms, the Canadian clinging to the blanket. "Be safe, Mattie." Tino called.
Matthew waved his arm over Francis's shoulder and grinned widely at Eric. "I'll see you soon!"
The boy just nodded and raised his hand. It was like losing his brother all over again.
Francis buckled Matthew into the plane and nodded at the pilot. As the small plane lifted into the air, Matthew grabbed Francis's hand. "Don't hate the boy." He started gingerly. "He and his brother got in a fight before the war. His brother, outraged, left. The plane he was leaving in crashed. Eric blames himself." Francis was silent. "He also told me that I resembled his brother. You know how it feels to lose someone important." Matthew leaned against Francis and closed his eyes. "I couldn't let that boy continue to feel that way."
"But you left."
Matthew shrugged.
"He has a mama and dad now." He replied with a smile. "And now it's just me and you." With the drugs wearing off steadily, Matthew was getting his mind back.
Francis smiled and wrapped his arms around Matthew. "When this awful war is over, I'm taking you home to France."
Matthew smiled. "I can't wait."
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Tino had gotten used to having Eric around. It was comforting to hear his soft noises and quiet footsteps behind him constantly. Though, sometimes, Tino forgot that Eric was always near.
Tino was sitting on Berwald's knee, grinding himself into the Swede's hip. They're lips locked hotly together. Berwald brought his mouth away from Tino's and started to make an open-mouthed kiss trail down the smaller's neck.
Letting his head loll back, Tino closed his eyes and searched for Berwald's shirt buttons. After fumbling with the fabric, Tino was able to push Berwald's shirt off his broad shoulders.
Berwald copied Tino's actions and moved his mouth to Tino's chest, nipping at the hard, pink nubs. Tino moaned sweetly into Berwald's ear. It had been so long since they had made love. What with Tino worried about his brother and then the whole ordeal with Matthew and Eric, it was rare to get alone time with his lover. Thankfully, Eric was asked to help in the kitchens today so Berwald and Tino got a blessed few hours of alone time.
Running his fingers through Berwald's hair, Tino sucked at the strong shoulder below him, making sure it will leave a mark. Berwald suddenly lifted Tino and spread him across their shared bedding, slipping between the slim legs. Tino was breathing heavily and he brought his leg up to hook around Berwald's hip.
Showing an almost extinct smile, Berwald shed Tino of the rest of his clothing. Tino sat up, scowling at Berwald's still-dressed bottom half. "That's not fair." He whispered fiercely.
Berwald kissed Tino deeply before stating gruffly, "Wh't y' g'ing t' d' 'bo't 't?" Sex always made Tino aggressive. Not that Berwald was complaining.
Tino yanked down Berwald's trousers then lifted his own hips to rub their erections together. Berwald let out a low moan and pulled at Tino's hair gently. Smiling to himself, Tino trailed his hand down Berwald's firm chest. "How many times are you going to come this time Su-san?" He whispered lewdly, using Berwald's childhood nickname.
Grunting again, Berwald roughly grabbed Tino's hips and flipped him onto his stomach.
"Su-san! I can't see you this way!" Tino snapped and wriggled under Berwald's grasp.
"Shhh..." Berwald breathed against Tino's slender neck, pressed three fingers against his pale lips. "S'ck"
After some grumbling, Tino complied, coating Berwald's large fingers with his salvia. When Berwald was satisfied they were slick enough, he pressed his index finger against Tino's exposed opening. Tino moaned in anticipation.
When Berwald didn't move any further, Tino snapped his head up. "You won't let me see you and now you're teasing me? You are a big-aaahh!" He was cut off by the abrupt push of all three fingers inside him. He wriggled and dug his fingers into the coarse blanket. "Jerk..." He moaned once he was adjusted.
"Y're th' 'ne y'lling 't m'." Berwald replied, flipping Tino's slim body over. The small man panting from the intrusion.
"Because you are not going fast enough! My baby could be back any minute!" Tino softened his tone. "And I've missed you." He finished tenderly.
Something in Berwald's eyes made Tino's heart soar, and he was soon filled to the hilt with Berwald. Moaning loudly, Tino arched his back, not caring if passerby heard. Berwald held still for a moment, knowing it wouldn't take Tino long to get accustomed to his rather large member.
Berwald waited patiently and when Tino nodded, he began moving his hips slowly into his small and, usually, gentle lover. Tino wrapped his arms around Berwald's broad shoulders, running his fingernails down his lightly tanned skin from working outside all summer.
"Su-saaaan." Tino whined, pressing up against his lover.
Getting the hint, Berwald started moving in and out Tino faster. The warm, tight heat putting him on edge.
Tino let out a moan in the form of Berwald's name, feeling the pre-cum gathering inside him. Breathing heavily, Tino felt a warm hand enclose around his own ignored member. It seemed unfair to Tino to receive twice as much pleasure than Berwald, but he wasn't going to stop him. Tino's head fell back and Berwald devoured his neck. That combined with the pumping around his arsenal and the pounding against the bundle of nerves inside of him, Tino came across his chest, moaning and blushing when he saw some splatter against Berwald's cheek. While reaching up to lick it off, Berwald came forcefully inside Tino, making him stop and almost scream his pleasure.
Both panting heavily, Tino licked off his sticky substance from Berwald's cheek then laid back, feeling Berwald soften inside him.
Tino smiled and hugged Berwald closely. "I miss you while we're here Su-san. It's not fair."
Berwald let out a deep breath into Tino's beautiful golden locks. "I kn'w." he whispered then kissed his love throughly before murmuring, "I l've y' m' w'fe."
Laughing, Tino pushed against Berwald's chest. "I love you too, Su-san."
Rolling onto his side, Berwald was able to pull Tino firmly against his chest. Tino pulled the thin blanket over them and settled into Berwald's shoulder and chest. His hips throbbed in a dull rhythm, making him sleepy.
That drowsiness soon ended though.
Eric unzipped the tent and stepped in, happily announcing he was back. "I'm back, Tino. They said to get my family to eat. We get the first pickings!" He then took in the scene. Blinking innocently, he asked, "Are you naked?"
Tino sat up quickly and brought the blanket to his chest, much like a girl. "Eric! No! Of course not! P-please get out for a moment!" Tino's eyes were wide and he looked at Berwald for help, but the Swede was watching with a rather amused look in his eyes.
Eric looked hurt, but took a step back nonetheless. "O-okay." He said softly before exiting the tent.
"Oh my god! He almost saw his mama having sex!" Tino jumped up quickly, but fell soon after at the sudden jolt in his hips.
"H's s'xte'n." Berwald said, standing to help Tino.
"It's obvious his brother had protected him this long, I'm not going to ruin it by having him see us naked!" Tino said, looking up at Berwald with worried eyes. "But you're right. Will you talk to him about the birds and the bees? Please?" He batted his lashes.
"H'w w'll I 'xpl'in 's?" Berwald asked. He lifted Tino up and helped him into some pants and trousers. It had been a long time and Berwald was very rough. No wonder Tino was so sore.
After a moment of silence, Tino smiled and grabbed Berwald's hands. "Tell him I love you and you me." He kissed the soft cheek just below a pair of thin wire glasses. "He'll understand."
"C-can I come in now?" A meek voice called into the tent. Tino giggled and ushered Berwald to dress.
"Just a second, Hon." Tino replied.
Once Berwald was dressed, he opened the tent flap and patted Eric's head. The boy smiled and stepped inside the dimly lit space. "What were you doing?"
Standing slowly, Tino smiled sweetly at Eric. "Berwald will explain. I'm going to get some food." He kissed Eric's forehead, Berwald's cheek and walked slowly out the tent, trying not to limp.
Eric turned his gaze to Berwald and smiled. "Well?"
Berwald sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon.
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Feliciano looked out the window, clutching his bag tightly to his chest. The man he had found from Alfred's crew had named himself as Eduard and had kept quiet the whole flight.
Suddenly, Eduard spoke up. "We'll be landing now. It's narrow, but we'll be fine."
Nodding, Feliciano hugged his bag tighter. The trees closed in on them and Feliciano held his breath
Once landed, Eduard helped Feliciano off the plane, afraid the little Italian would fall and break something. "We were waiting a little ways up the hill when we saw fire. We ran down this path and found the remains there."
Feliciano swallowed hard. "Are they still there?"
"Buried them where they laid." Eduard gave a nod the clapped Feliciano on the shoulder. "I'll show you what I think happened."
Without another word, the pair started down the slightly inclined hill to a black charred area. Feliciano looked around and pouted at the trees and other plants. Hardly anything stood except for stronger trunks and vague sticks of what was a bush. The branches of the trees stretched their fingers toward the sky, as if they were still in suffering. Feliciano shivered and shuffled closer.
Patting him on the back again, Eduard led Feliciano to a ravine. "There were prints along this ridge. But to me it looked like someone stumbled, turned then fell down there." He sad quietly, not wanting to raise noise in such a somber place. "Or that could be in any order. And that blood splatter on the other side." Eduard pointed and Feliciano followed the line of his outstretched hand. "Shows that whoever was here was shot."
"But who?" Feliciano asked, knowing quite well Eduard wouldn't be able to answer.
"Exactly. My other thing was that there were hand prints a couple feet down from this spot. Foot prints too, but I'm afraid the men had already walked over the ashes so we couldn't track down where they might have gone." He pointed again to where he found something of interest.
Feliciano went to the spot Eduard had indicated and looked directly in front of him. He saw a fallen tree. Tilting his head, he looked closer, trying to see if Alfred had left something behind. The tree had been on fire, that much was clear. The timber was white and black from the flames's merciless attacks. Following the trunk, Feliciano saw that the tree had been moved and an upturned pile of dirt was near it. "What's that?" He nodded to the brown soil.
Eduard shoved his hands in his pockets and looked over to the mound. "Oh. It was a child's corpse. They were stuck under the tree. We felt that every part of them should be buried. We moved the tree and buried them exactly how they were."
"Child's?" Feliciano felt his heart squeeze. Back at the camps the war was so far away, but here in the aftermath, it made him want to throw up.
Eduard nodded. "Shame really. Strange thing is, we couldn't find a star on the body."
"Star?" Feliciano blushed when he realized he had just asked two single word questions in a row.
"Yeah. Jewish people usually have a necklace or a ring or bracelet with the Star of David. That child didn't."
"That is weird." Feliciano pinched his bottom lip then turned and looked back into the ravine. He saw footsteps on an outcropping and squinted his eyes. Two different show prints. And blood. "Lets go down there."
Eduard laughed. "Will you be able to get up?"
Feliciano glared at the taller man. "I'll have to." Finding a spot that looked like it had some good hand holds, Feliciano laid on his stomach and inched his way backwards. His fingers dug into the rock and dirt, his shoes slipping from the meager footholds.
"Stay there, I'll get you in." Eduard said, hopping easily into the ravine and landing softly on the outcropping where Feliciano spotted the prints.
Thoroughly embarrassed, Feliciano let Eduard help him into the ravine. "Now what do we do?" The pilot asked.
"Uhm..." Feliciano looked around for the shoes or blood, finding them again, he noticed that they seemed to be pointing to a deeper part of the ravine. "Follow me." Treading lightly, Feliciano followed what he hoped were Alfred's blood and shoe prints. If they weren't, then a life might be saved, if they were, then he had proved himself to be something more than a weakling. Everyone would admire him and he wouldn't be frowned upon.
Feliciano wanted desperately to find his best friend, but he had his selfish reasons also.
When they came upon a steep hill, the little Italian knelt down. It was dark, but he could see the dark brown of dried blood on the slide. "Down we go." He whispered, swinging his legs over the edge.
"You go. Someone needs to pull you out of there." Eduard said and smiled. "Go find your friend."
Looking at the man who brought him this far, Feliciano felt a surge of self appreciation. He could be someone who wasn't made fun of. "I'll call up to you when I get to the bottom." And he pushed himself down the rock.
Authors note: Did you feel lemon deprived? I thought you did. So I'm wondering, do you guys get the replies to your reviews? I know a couple of you do, but I'm curious. If not I'll post them here~ so let me know. Anywho,
MUDCAT, your review made me giggle loudly in my silent classroom. I promise not to harm Feli to much in his adventures.
AKARISAKUMI: thank you so much for the review! I'm trying to update once a week but my school schedule changed! ^^' please bear with me. And I tried to find that chapter and I couldn't... so... gah... I don't know... anywho, stay tuned and keep reviewing! I love dem.
Haha, so thanks always for Hannah-fish's time. I know she is very busy and takes time to do this for me and of course you wonderful readers! And, I just noticed that my story preview thing doesn't even relate to the fic... I should change it.
Preview!: ...Hai Dean... Preview end.
*Hannah-fish says: -swings arms around- Noe Dean! Noe! Awei wif you! Always proud to be a Hannah-fish, no need to thank. :')