Translation notes:
Il mio bambino= My baby
Fratello= Brother
Hola= Hello
Merci= Thank you
Bon anniversaire= Happy birthday
Oui= Yes
Bonjour=Hello
Feel free to let me know if any translations are incorrect. I don't know how accurate Google translate is lol.
Chapter 3: Witch Hunting
Overhead sunlight shone on Alfred's face as he stirred from his deep sleep. Joints cracked as he stretched his body and yawned. As Alfred sat up in a sitting position and licked his dry lips, Francis's cardigan slid off his body and became a pool of blue wool on the ground. Arthur's closed laptop remained on the coffee table.
The clock behind the dining table read 8:38. "Damn, when did I fall asleep?" Alfred's eyes trailed down to the dining table, jolting at the sight of Tony sitting in Arthur's seat.
"What a cozy place!" Tony remarked.
A flushing toilet confirmed Arthur's close location. "How did you get in here?!" Alfred hissed. Tossing the cardigan onto the sofa, he approached Tony.
"Easy, magic!" Alfred could picture a small smile on the alien's blank face. "Mathias still wants to give you and Feliciano a tour on hunting witches. Are you still coming?"
"Yeah, of course!" Alfred's excitement was much quieter in his head than when he voiced it. Arthur's bedhead and dark-circled eyes merged from the hallway, buzzing toothbrush in mouth. Sticking to his gentlemanly rubrics, he disappeared back into the bathroom, not daring to speak with toothpaste gushing out of his mouth.
"I don't think he saw you…" Alfred said to Tony before he went to. "Stay hidden. I'll be back."
After getting dressed for the day, Alfred went into the bathroom. Arthur had just finished rinsing his mouth. Water poured from his cup as it washed away the remaining toothpaste residue on the sink.
"Morning!" Alfred greeted. He slathered white toothpaste onto his toothbrush.
"Good morning, Alfred." Arthur replied. "What were you shouting at?"
"Shouting?" Alfred said through mouthfuls of toothpaste. "Well, Feliciano and I have some cool plans today. I'm just pretty excited!"
"Don't speak with your mouth full. That includes toothpaste." Arthur splashed warm water onto his face.
"Ugh…" Alfred groaned at Arthur's fuss as he reached for his rinsing cup. His hand froze at Tony seated on the tiled white platform. Wide blue eyes gawked at red eyes as Alfred screamed internally.
"Alfred? What is the matter with you?" Arthur turned his head to face his son. "Your face is as white as paper! Did you see a ghost?"
"Um, nothing!" Alfred's quaking hand turned on the faucet. Ripples shone in the cup's water as rose it to his parched lips.
"Don't worry, Alfred!" Tony reassured in a loud, clear voice. "That limey bastard cannot see me!"
Bubbly, minty water sprayed onto the mirror before Alfred hunched over the sink, painfully hacking water.
Arthur recoiled at the blast of water. "Alfred, you git!" He angrily scolded as he reached for a towel.
Feliciano scrubbed tomato sauce off a porcelain plate with a puffy, yellow sponge. The plate squeaked as bubbles formed. Once when no red smears on its clean, white surface, Feliciano rinsed the suds off with gushing, warm water. The plate clattered as he carefully placed it on the drying rack.
Julius, who was seated at the table, looked up from his newspaper. "Feliciano, il mio bambino," he started, "What time are you going to be back?"
"Probably in the early afternoon." Feliciano answered as he dried his hands with a scratchy cloth. "I'll try to be at the restaurant as soon as possible to help you!"
"You don't have to!" Julius replied. "It's the weekend. Don't be afraid to spend some time taking siestas!"
"No, it's fine!" Feliciano insisted. "It makes me happy doing things for my family!"
"Oh, Feliciano." Julius smiled at his grandson's sweetness. "Any bella will be very lucky to have you."
"All women are bellas in their own way. It's so difficult to choose!"
"Well, you should not have much trouble finding one! I'm confident both of you will be a very happy family."
"Speaking of family," Feliciano began. "When is fratello arriving today?"
"Oh, Lovino..." Julius glanced at the kitchen's clock wall. "It's 10:43. He said he's going to be here by 10:30. Maybe traffic's bad?"
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!" The front door went.
Feliciano jumped. "It's Lovi!" he cried as he excitedly dashed to the front door. White sock-clad feet thumped down the hallway. They dug into the carpet as Feliciano came to a halt at the front door.
The door lock clicked as it was unlocked. "Fratello!" Feliciano greeted, his smile wide and bright as he pulled the door open. "Long time no—see?"
Feliciano's large smile fell into a small, open mouth. His eyes slightly widened, not at Lovino's grouchy frown, the sweat on his puffed, red cheeks, and the burning infuriation in his hazel glare, but rather at the taller, tanned-skin male standing next to him. Antonio Carriedo's close-lipped smile remained on his face, his closed eyes unaware of Feliciano glancing at the tiny green leaves stuck in his disheveled, curly brown hair, the leather luggage bag barely hanging over his shoulder, and the basket of round, red tomatoes cradled in his arms. Feliciano recalled Lovino's text messages from a few days ago. The black text never spelled Antonio's name once during the conversation.
Julius joined Feliciano at the entrance. "Oh, welcome home Lovino! I see we have another guest!" He hesitantly gave a half-smile at Antonio. The smile's authenticity was betrayed by an uneasy chuckle.
"Hola, Mr. Vargas!" Antonio greeted, his lime green eyes sparkling. "I brought some tomatoes grown at our apartment! They are very ripe and juicy, so I would like to share some with you!"
"Uh, no thank you." Julius declined with a hand wave. "We already have enough tomatoes at home."
Feliciano recalled how he fetched the last tomato from the fridge for Julius this morning.
"What about your restaurant? I think they will make your dishes tastier for your customers!" Antonio suggested. "I heard from Lovino that your restaurant is one of the most popular ones here, so you can never have too many tomatoes!"
Before Julius could hesitantly answer, Lovino interrupted. "Enough talkin'! Let's get in!" he yelled, as he slugged his large, black luggage bag over his shoulder and pushed his way through Feliciano and Julius. "Traffic fucking sucks here. There's so many shitty drivers thinking they are hot shit and own the damn road…" His angry rambling became mumbles as his footsteps thumped up the creaking wooden stairs.
"Excuse me." Antonio said as he entered the Vargas house to follow Lovino.
Julius sighed as he placed his hand on his forehead. "Why did Lovi have to bring his boyfriend?" he worriedly asked. "Don't tell me his boyfriend is also coming with us to church tomorrow. What will people think of us there?"
Feliciano was spared a moment of awkward silence when he spotted a tuff of blond hair walking towards him and Julius. "Alfred's here!" Arms quickly embraced Julius. "I'll be back in the afternoon!"
Julius reciprocated the hug with a hearty pat on the back. "Stay safe, il mio bambino." He watched Feliciano and Alfred brofist each other before the two headed away in the opposite direction.
With Tony seated on Alfred's shoulder, Alfred and Feliciano walked through the city park's gates. The park's play structure resembled an abstract boat, colored a bright red, yellow, and blue. It was swarming with giggling children slipping down the slides, stomping up the stairs, and hanging on the monkey bars. The green swing set's chains creaked as kids flung through the air. Nearby, parents sat on benches and smiled at their little ones scurrying about on the playground.
According to Mathias, he was going to meet them at the fountain adjacent to the playground. Placing their backpacks at their feet, Alfred and Feliciano sat at a bench placed against the fountain. A gentle cold mist drifted onto the two. Water sprayed out of its sprinklers and poured into the pool. Pennies, quarters, and dimes were scattered on the aqua-tiled mosaic. The submerged coins reminded Alfred of how his younger self begged Arthur for a coin every time before they left the park together. To little Alfred, tossing a coin was a gift to a fairy, who would return the favor with a granted wish.
Speaking of wishes…
"Have you decided on a wish yet, Alfred?" Feliciano asked.
Alfred shook his head. "Nah. I'm still thinking about it. There're so many things that I want, but I can only one! How about you, bro?"
"I'm not sure yet either." Feliciano sighed. "I don't want to regret anything."
"Take your time! It's understandable." Tony reassured.
"LOOK OUT!" A voice exclaimed. Alfred and Feliciano ducked in a flash as a black and white soccer ball flew past, missing their heads by a few inches. It landed into the fountain with a splash, gushing water onto the two teenagers' backs.
An adolescent boy wearing athletic clothes hurriedly jogged over. "Are you guys ok?! We're so sorry!"
"We're fine! No problem dude!" Alfred responded as he picked the ball out and tossed it to the boy. "Have fun playing ball!"
With a quick "Thank you", the boy ran back to his friends on the grassy field, not saying anything about Tony seated in between Alfred and Feliciano.
"Wow, so only we can see Tony!" Feliciano remarked.
"Guess so. Tony, you really did pick us to become magical boys, huh?" Alfred said to Tony.
"Yes!" Tony answered, looking at Alfred.
Alfred checked his phone. No messages from Mathias yet. It was past 11:00 am, the time the magical boy mentor promised to meet him and Feliciano. Was he still coming?
"Where's Mathias?" Feliciano asked. "Is he still coming?"
"Let me text him."
Just as Alfred opened his text messages, Mathias's voice was heard. "I'm coming!"
Blond and brown hair whisked around as the two searched for the magical boy. Mathias's wild blond hairstyle and blue eyes were nowhere to be seen amongst the crowds leisurely walking past the two.
"Wait, we can speak through telepathy? Man, this is so cool dude!" Alfred grin widened in excitement.
"Where are you at right now, Mathias?" Feliciano asked.
"Just entered the park. To your right!"
As accordingly to Mathias's words, Mathias approached the two from their right. "Sorry for being late." He apologized.
"It's cool!" Alfred replied. "So, are we gonna go fight witches or what?" Stars of excitement flashed in his eyes.
"First, are we prepared?" Mathias asked, eying the backpacks.
Alfred took a baseball bat out from his bag. "Just in case you need backup!"
"I brought some Band-Aids." Feliciano said as he took a box out. "I hope we don't have to use them, but…"
"Perfect!" Mathias exclaimed. "Let's go!"
Mathias led Alfred and Feliciano out of the park. He kept his eyes on his ruby Soul Gem, a ring wrapped around his finger. The gem slightly grew brighter as the three boys' surroundings transitioned from towering, modern skyscrapers to rundown buildings and factory chimneys pumping out smoke. A few trucks and vans vroomed past the trio, the only pedestrians strolling down the cracked sidewalk.
"The gem grows brighter when a witch is near. It must be lurking around in its labyrinth somewhere." Mathias said.
"Labyrinths?" Alfred asked.
"Barriers witches hide in." Mathias answered. "If left around too long, they will start to hurt people. They are the cause of unexplained disappearances, murders, and suicides."
"Scary…" Feliciano whimpered.
"If their labyrinths are close to heavily populated places, it can lead to disastrous consequences. Especially places like hospitals." Mathias added.
"You must spend a lot of time protecting people!" Feliciano said.
"It's a big responsibility! Out of curiosity, how you guys decided on a wish yet?"
"Nope." Alfred answered.
Feliciano shook his head before asking, "Mathias, what did you wish for?" His stomach flip-flopped at Mathias's falling smile. "Mathias?"
"Well…" Before Mathias could answer, his Soul Gem shone like a fiery, blazing torch. Its brightness blinded Alfred and Feliciano.
"Owwww, ouch!" Feliciano whimpered, covering his eyes with his hands.
"Dude, your Soul Gem's bright as hell now!" Alfred rubbed the sparking streaks in his ears with his sleeve.
"That means the witch's here!" Mathias glanced around his surroundings. They were in front of an abandoned apartment building. "Where's the entrance…?"
Feliciano peered up. "Mathias! Look! Someone's up there!"
A dark silhouette stood close to the building's edge. Tilting over, it began to plunge towards the earth. As it got closer, the figure revealed to be a young lady.
In a flash of red, Mathias was garbed in his magical boy attire. He lunged up, leaping high enough to take the lady into his arms and break her fall. Boots landed onto the sidewalk path with a soft tap. Cradling the lady like a bride, Mathias gently set her on the ground.
"Is she all right?!" Feliciano hurriedly asked.
"She's fine. Look!" Mathias pointed to a red bitemark on the lady's neck. "It's a witch's kiss! She was influenced by a witch! Follow me into the building!"
"Dude, what about her?" Alfred asked. "Should we call an ambulance or something?"
"She only fainted! We'll be done quickly! Trust me!"
Through an empty window, the boys entered the building. On a wall adjacent to the stairs was a portal. A hypnotic pattern swirled in its entrance, as if it was a welcoming hand gesturing them to enter.
"That's the entrance to the labyrinth. Alfred, take out your bat." Mathias ordered. "When we enter, stay behind me. I'll take care of the witch's familiars."
"Familiars?"
"Monsters summoned from the witch's magic. Let's go."
Nodding, Alfred took his bat out of his bag as Mathias stepped into the portal. He looked over his shoulder at Feliciano, who returned a nod. The two followed Mathias into the labyrinth.
Abstract, fragmented figures leered at the running boys, their color having the same bold brightness as the graffiti spray-painted on the labyrinth's brick, crumbled walls. Mathias swung his ax at the disjointed humanoid familiars crawling towards them, clearing the path of any danger. Despite not being in the frontlines, adrenaline rushed through Alfred's veins. Fear tingled his senses, making his eyes large and awake. His feet were as light as a feather, allowing him to run endlessly. There was nothing dragging and holding him back, like if he was invincible to his own mortality.
Alfred's heart rushed at Mathias's whooshing cape and the light reflecting off his ax's silver blade. He pictured himself wearing the same flowing cape and wielding a similar bladed weapon. Mathias was a boy in his age group who achieved what Alfred desired, a greater sense of purpose. As if being a basketball star in school was enough, he was also a protector of the helpless, a vanquisher of evil, the epitome of heroism.
"We're close to the labyrinth's center!" Mathias called as he rushed out the end of the hallway. "Stay there! I'll take care of this!"
In the area below, a hip-hop song blasted from six black speakers. The ground violently shook with every beat. A crudely-drawn skull stood in the middle, its distorted graffiti-lettered body grooving to the rhythm.
"Hate to interrupt!" Mathias shouted, smashing one of the speakers. The witch angrily turned towards the fuming grey smokes and the clicking sparks. It stomped towards Mathias and swung one of its arms at him.
Mathias dodged the attack with ease. Gliding to the opposite side, Mathias's ax dug across the witch's body. Snarling in pain, the witch turned towards his direction.
More graffiti humanoids trailed after him. As Mathias swiped the monsters away, his heart skipped a beat as the corners of his eyes caught an enormous shape headed towards him. In the nick of time, he dodged the witch's attack again. The witch's arm whizzed behind him, striking another speaker before searching around for Mathias. In contrast to the beginning of the battle, the witch's movement seemed much slower with lethargy.
"Mathias! The speakers!" Mathias looked up at Feliciano's screaming voice.
"Break them!" Alfred's voice echoed on the walls.
Mathias's eyes lit with a confident grin. "Nice."
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Within a minute, black smoke enveloped the labyrinth. Mathias covered his mouth and nose with his cape as he leapt back towards Alfred and Feliciano. The witch grumbled weakly, its body shattering into an assortment of 2D shapes. Its skull head clunked onto the ground and aimlessly rolled away, no longer animated with life.
The labyrinth faded away, leaving the three boys in the building entrance. "You did it! Good job!" Feliciano exclaimed as he clapped his hands.
"So cool, just like last time!" Alfred remarked.
Before Mathias could respond, something clattered on the floor in front of them. Mathias picked up the foreign object. A silvery ornament encased a pitch-black sphere.
"Woah, what's that?" Alfred asked.
"A Grief Seed. It's something witches can drop." Mathias took out his Soul Gem. "You see how my Soul Gem is kinda dull compared to last time? Watch." He lightly tapped the Grief Seed against his Soul Gem. Following a gentle clang, spots of darkness emerged from the Soul Gem, transferring themselves into the Grief Seed. "See? It's clean right now! My magic's restored!"
"Do magical girls and boys need Grief Seeds?" Feliciano asked.
"Yeah, we do. It's how we restore our magic. Unfortunately, they don't drop all the time. It's hard to tell developing familiars from witches sometimes. They can be used a few times, though. It would be cool if we can share Grief Seeds, right?" Mathias asked at the window.
Silence.
"I know you're there! Come out!" Mathias coaxed.
Kiku protruded his head through the open window. Alfred's shoulders tensed at Kiku's stern gaze moving from him and Feliciano, to Mathias.
"I only used this once. You need it?" Mathias cocked his head as he extended the Grief Seed towards Kiku.
Kiku rebuked, "Why did you bring them into that witch's labyrinth? You could've endangered them! Alfred especially!"
Alfred balled his fists. He was not fragile! No insult to Feliciano, but he considered himself fit enough to defend himself! Feliciano slightly hung his head as the lack of his name being mentioned.
Mathias set his free hand onto his hips. "Just wanted to show them what being a magical boy's about. Unlike you, I'm giving them the choice to become one. Afraid of competition, eh?"
Kiku's arms remained at his side, his stoic posture still and straight.
"You still haven't answered my question." Mathias teased. "Do you need to borrow my Grief Seed?"
"No." Kiku huffed. With a shift turn, Kiku disappeared behind the wall.
Alfred sighed in exasperation through his nose. "Dude, why is he so damn obsessed with me?"
"Mmmm…" With a quiet groan, the lady's eyes flickered open, awakening to Mathias, Alfred, and Feliciano's faces. Shakily sitting up and setting a hand on the side of her throbbing head, she asked, "Where am I…?"
Glancing up the sky, the lady's face whitened in terror at the building's ledge. "N-No!" She shakily exclaimed. Her body began to tremble wildly. "I remember… I was up there… Did I really…?!"
Mathias set a gentle hand on the lady's quivering shoulder. "Don't worry! We got you and you're safe now! Are you from around here? Do you remember anything?"
"No… I can't remember a single thing…"
"Would you like me to escort you to the police?"
"That will be helpful. Thank you very much!"
Mathias turned to Alfred and Feliciano. "I'm going to accompany her to the police station. Do you guys want to come? You don't have to."
"No. I already told nonno I'll help him in the restaurant later today." Feliciano answered.
"I'll walk with you guys." Alfred said. "One of my Dads' café is on the way."
Alfred waved goodbye to Mathias and the lady as he gently pushed the glass door open. As the tiny brass bell rang atop the door, a warm, sweet aroma floated into his nose. His stomach growled at the buttery croissants, sandwiches, tarts, and eclairs sitting in the glass display. Freshy-baked baguettes sat in a basket on the counter.
Since today was a Saturday, it was somewhat surprising that all the tables were vacant. Alfred glanced at the wall clock. Though, it was past lunchtime. The café was probably bustling with customers then. The only present patrons were a father standing by the counter, lightly tapping his foot on the wood tiled floor, and his tottering little daughter, whose admired the candy decorations on a white frosted cake.
Francis appeared from the kitchen and carefully set a transparent cake box onto the counter. "Monsieur, here is your order."
The father smiled at the message written in chocolate frosting. "It's perfect!" he said as he swiped his credit card.
"Merci! I'm happy to hear! Do you want a receipt?"
"No thank you!" The father replied, picking up the cake.
"I wish your wife a bon anniversaire! I hope she enjoys the cake!"
"Thank you! She will!" The father laughed. "C'mon, Ava, let's show the cake to Mommy!"
The little girl giggled as she followed her father out the door. With a "Whew!", Francis wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Busy day, Papa?" Alfred asked, approaching the Frenchman.
"Alfred! You're here!" Francis sighed in exhaustion. "Yes. I had so many orders today. I even haven't eaten lunch yet! Have you and your friends had lunch yet?"
"No. We just went our separate ways."
"Want something? A sandwich?"
"Sure." Alfred sat down at a seat. Sandwiches were not exactly hamburgers, but free food was still free.
As Francis placed two sandwiches on separate plates and filled two plastic ups with ice water, Alfred leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands, reminiscing on the adventure he had a mere half-hour ago. How Mathias saved the lady from her fall, brushed the witch's familiars out of his way, and bravely faced the witch made his heart thump in excitement. However, Alfred wanted to know how it was like to be saving people and formulating plans at the moment to defeat witches. The only way to fully experience the rush was to become a magical boy.
Still, the question remained: What should I wish for?
"You're staring off into space." Alfred jumped at Francis's voice. Francis chuckled, setting down the food. "What are you thinking of?"
Alfred took a large bite from his sandwich. "Stuff." He said in-between bites.
"It must be intriguing 'stuff'." Francis remarked, taking a small bite. "Want to elaborate?"
"It's kinda childish." Alfred admitted, taking another large bite. "I'm thinking about wishes. Papa, if you can wish for anything, what would you choose?"
Francis sipped his water. "Hmmm… To be honest, I don't know."
"C'mon, Papa! There's got to be something you really want! Something that you can't feel complete without! Maybe something that has to do with your café?"
"I'm happy with the café as it is. Unless if necessary, I wouldn't change a thing. Speaking of changes…" Francis paused, putting on his thinking face. "…I need to see if this building is up to date with the city's regulations. It is quite old. The walls are cracked. I'm afraid that it won't stand if an earthquake comes… The city hasn't contacted me once about it, but I'd hate to see people get hurt…"
"Maybe you can wish for your café to be newer?" Alfred suggested.
"Non, I still wouldn't wish for that. The café can be fixed up, but I don't want to modernize it completely. I don't want to get rid of its antique charm."
"Because you met Dad here?"
Francis softly smiled at the memory. "Oui, when I first opened shop here. These days, I was still learning how to run a business and perfect my pastries. There's still a lot more recipes I want to learn today."
"You already know how to make a lot of food, though!" Alfred commented.
"Still, it's always fun to learn, non?"
"Ring-ding-ding!" The bell rang as a young couple walked in the store.
Francis got up from his seat. "Alfred, I need to serve them. I'll be back. Bonjour!" he greeted. "Is there anything you two are looking for?"
As he watched Francis converse with his customers, Alfred's jean pocket rumbled. His phone's screen greeted him with a Minecraft meme sent from " bRUH". Opening the message, air snorted out his nose. A smile crept across Alfred's face as he saved the image.
"Maybe I can get a better suggestion out from Mattie."
"Wanna trade these for 100,000 bells?" Alfred asked, leaning against the wall and watching his avatar scurry around his village.
"Sure, give me a minute…" Matthew said from his bed. He clicked the A button.
"Got it! Thanks!"
"No prob!" Sighing, Matthew set down his Switch, took off his glasses, and rubbed his tired eyes. "I'm gonna sign off." He mumbled as he put his glasses back on.
"Alright. I'll do the same." Alfred replied, turning off his Switch. "Hey, Mattie?"
"Eh? Yeah, Al?"
"If you can wish for anything, what would you wish for?"
Matthew laid his head on his pillow. "Gee, that's a hard question." His brows arched as he blankly stared at the ceiling. "There's so many things to wish for."
"Like what?"
"Well, since I'm taking a lot of AP classes, I hardly have free time because I have to study so much." Matthew's hands clutched the bedsheets at the heaps of class notes he needed to reread tomorrow. "Also, sometimes when I try to talk to people, they don't pay attention! It's like I'm invisible! They only notice me when they want to copy off my homework! Maybe if I was loud and brash like you, things would be different."
"Loud and brash?!" Alfred exclaimed, earning Matthew's amused smirk.
"But don't you see? I'll be more noticeable and popular!"
"Well, I see that, but you also have their rare personality that gets along pretty well with almost everyone, bro!"
"That's because no one notices me! Can't be hated by people if they don't know you in the first place!" Matthew tapped the right side of his head with his index finger with a sad smile.
Alfred laughed at the reference. "Still, it's better than being infamous, right?"
"Yep. You're right." Matthew sighed. "I still wonder what it's like to be recognized. However, the more I think about it and your comments, I think my wishes are pretty petty."
"Dude, I don't think so! People can sympathize! If they don't, they can screw off!"
"I just wonder what other people will think." Matthew began to explain. "I know you'll understand my motives. Not sure if Dad and Papa will appreciate it. If Dad finds out, he'll lecture me on how I'm cheating myself, especially if my wish to get As on everything without trying. And Papa…"
"Papa's more lenient than Dad! He won't condemn you for it!"
"Right, but I just hate faking it to him. He's lenient, but his values are centered on hard work and all that. He might not show it, but I have a feeling that he'll be pretty disappointed in me if I make that kind of wish."
Before Alfred could open his mouth, a muffled shout was heard behind the closed door. "Did you hear that?" Alfred asked.
Matthew turned an ear towards the voice's direction. "Yeah!"
A second muffled voice yelled back.
"Uh oh." The twins slowly tip toed towards the door and set their ears against the wooden surface.
"What can they be fighting about now?" Matthew whispered.
"Last time, they were fighting about money." Alfred quietly answered. "Papa has cut his spending on wine, and Dad's finally starting to use the leaf water bags he left at the back of the cupboard after that, so I think we can scratch that off the list."
"Arthur! I just want to spend some quality time with you! Every time I see you, you're always typing on that laptop!"
"Typing?! I'm working on a bloody novel! Do you think it's easy to write a novel like baking?!
"Of course not!"
"Then I have a justifiable reason to spend more time on it!"
"Are you saying you're putting your career ahead of your husband?!"
"Are you saying that your insatiable sex drive is more important than your husband's career goals?!"
"Shh! Not so loud! The boys—!"
"It's always about sex! That what we do every bloody time when you ask me to spend time with you! I'm so damn sick of it! And I'm always on bott—!"
"ARTHUR! The BOYS can HEAR YOU!"
Silence.
"Should we do something?" Alfred asked softly.
Matthew shook his head. Both of their heartbeats pounded in their ears. The clock from the living room ticked solemnly. Outside, a leaf whizzed in the wind.
"Can you hear anything else?"
"I hear whispering. I don't know what they're saying…"
Arthur and Francis's hushed voices continued to whisper amongst each other. As minutes passed, the soft indistinguishable words turned into dead silence.
"I'm gonna check on them." Alfred slowly pushed the door open.
"Be careful!" Matthew mouthed.
Alfred's feet inched down the hallway, careful not to step on that one creaky floorboard, and rounded the corner. Arthur's closed laptop sat on the dining table. Lights from the TV flashed on the wall. A female reporter informed tomorrow's sunny weather. Francis and Arthur were on the couch, their heads nuzzled against each other. Smiling, Arthur gently squeezed Francis's hand. In response, Francis wrapped his arm around Arthur's waist and pulled him closer, earning a chuckle from his husband.
It's like they never got into a fight in the first place! Alfred snuck back to Matthew's room.
"How is it now?" Matthew asked as Alfred quietly closed the door.
"It's better now." Alfred shrugged his shoulder. "I don't get their relationship sometimes…"
Matthew nodded in agreement.
Brushing his bangs out of his eyes, Kiku hugged his black coat closer to his thin, shivering body. Leaves clattered as they stumbled down the empty street. The only sign of warmth was the bright orange light leaking through the window blinds. As Kiku crept closer to the window, the orange spark in his eyes grew brighter, as if he was getting closer to the blue-eyed, blond boy, the colorful light that chased the shadows out of gloomy, gray lives.
"So, this is where Alfred lives, I guess?"
Kiku halted at Mathias's voice. Muscles tensing, he swiftly turned around at the grinning blond.
Mathias set a hand on his hip and tapped his feet on the ground. "You really can't stop thinking about him! Why is that?"
A lone car zoomed down the street.
"Admit it. There's something pretty special about Alfred. Don't you feel that way?"
"…Alfred has enormous potential." Kiku finally answered. "I've seen it. He'll become a very powerful magical boy."
"Well, Tony's already picked him and Feliciano. You can't stop that."
"I won't allow it. I won't allow any of them to turn into magical boys, especially Alfred."
"Someone's jealous." Kiku's fists clutched at Mathias's sharp remark. "I guess maintaining your sense of superiority's more important than protecting the city!"
"It's not about me. It's about Alfred. You're leading him into trouble!"
"Yeah, if he becomes a magical boy, he'll be risking his life. But he's also going to be extremely powerful! He'll beat all of them with no problem!"
"All of them?" Kiku gave a stern look.
"All of them."
Kiku began to walk away. "Suit yourself and your beliefs. All I can say is Alfred should stay out of becoming a magical boy."
Author's Notes: Just a heads up, the next chapter will have heavy spoilers for episode 3 of Madoka Magica. It's also when things will finally take a darker turn and fulfill the angst and tragedy genre this story is categorized as here, so read at your risk!
My update schedule is probably going to be more irregular. I'll do my best to update regularly on Fridays and weekends. It's just that I also want to work on other personal projects, get back to drawing, and write some oneshots. In regards to oneshots, I get more feedback and interactions on AO3, so I'll probably be more active there. I'll still upload the oneshots here, but it'll probably wouldn't be as immediate. Link to my AO3 account will be provided in my profile.
I didn't plan for Julius (Ancient Rome) to be characterized this way, but it was an idea that sparked while creating an outline for this story. It hurts to write him like this because it reflects some views I do not agree with and follow. Though, it will be important later on in the story.