Mr. Edelstein had forgotten a bit about his younger son, preferring to focus, quite happily, on the eldest one and the wonders (sort of) of his school. For sure this place was smaller and less majestic than the schools in Austria, but Roderich was adapted... and safer than back home.

So when he saw Arthur run away and Francis screamed after him he just thought that probably Francis had just written the end of another chapter of his over dramatic love life. He looked sideways to his wife and continued listening to Roderich, now about his teachers.

"Where are we eating?" He asked.

"Yesterday we ate on the University bar" Gala answered.

"Was it good?"

"Non!"

"Oh... why?"

To be honest Vash rolled eyes a bit because nothing seemed to be good enough for anyone in this family...

"I said the same the firts time, maman, but after a while, you will be used to the cheese and the simple recipes."

"But it is not simple to make the cheese!" Vash interrupted Roderich.

"Anyways, nothing could be compared with the cuisin françoise" Said Gala.

"I do not mind simple food, to be honest. I would love a good beer today" German smiled. "But yes, you are right, Roderich you must miss our cook being here. What do you usually eat?"

"Do you eat French food every day? Made by a cook?" Vash looked at Roderich quite impressed. Why do you still get impressed, dear?

"Yes, I miss it, because it's everything about basically cheese. And... well, how difficult could be put milk in a box with some mushrooms and let the nature be?"

"It's not just like that! We have several types of cheese and each one is unique, it takes time and it is not easy to prepare"

"With several types of mushrooms and yeast"

"Well yes, but you could not prepare it!"

"Can't I?"

"No, you don't have the strength to move the milk, or the recipes that are usually passed inside families for generations., the cheese you eat has a history and many loving hands doing it before you can eat it"

"As yours?" Roderich smiled.

"Yes, like mine! I can prepare perfect cheese"

"And when will I taste one made by you?"

"If you go home with me one day"

"Maybe you could ask to your sister that send us one"

"I could write her, yes. But I will not tell her that it is for you!"

"Send her my best regards"

Gala, by the way, went to Francis to ask what happened

"I will not tell her anything from you!"!

And hopefully Gala will give Francis good advice on what to do.

"Vash don't want me as his brother in law" Roderich explained to his father.

"Oh... why is that?" Mr. Edelstein asked, quite surprised.

"My... sister is younger than Roderich, she is still too small to be thinking on these things"

"Oh, well, when I met Mrs. Edelstein she was young too..."

"She is like three years younger, he is an exaggerated"

"I'm not! I just... she is pure, like an angel, she doesn't need a man like you!"

"What do you mean?" Asked Mr. Edelstein.

"Roderich doesn't even know her, sir" Vash looked at Mr. Edelstein, then turned to Roderich. "Stop trying to make her imagine that you will be good for her if you will not!"

"Vash thinks that his nephews will sprout from the earth"

German laughed.

"I don't... I don't think that! I just don't want them to be... I don't want you to be... part of this!"

"So you have to admit your problem is not her purity... it"s me"

"My problem is... it isn't... it..."

"I think he is just jealous, Roderich" said Mr. Edelstein. Vash looked at him with his mouth open in horror. He also blushed.

"Why?... Because I... believe me, all of us would have preferred that Francis were a girl."

"Well that's true" admitted Mr. Edelstein. "But what I mean is that, if he is your best friend, and you get married you two will not be able to go out and flirt with girls, for example"

"Anyways we aren't so much of go and flirt, are we?"

"Ah, no? Why is that?" Asked Mr. Edelstein. "You were quite success back home, not precisely like your brother but. Is it the same case than at home? No girl is clever enough, or beautiful enough?"

"Yes, well, yesterday I tried to talk with some at the bar, but... you know, they were like..." he did a gesture to explain.

"Not enough for my Roderich... yes, I can understand that" German laughed again.

"They were what? I didn't see you talking to anyone!" protested Vash

"You were dancing with my mother"

Vash blushed.

"Dancing with my wife, huh? Well, I prefer her to dance with Mr. Zwingli than with the rest of the men she usually attracts."

"Anyways... we passed the day with our teacher."

"The one you said I should meet?"

"Yes."

"We should meet him... although it is Sunday, I guess it is his off day."

"Anyways he usually stays in the University, I think."

"Do you know where does he stay or live or where can he be?"

Roderich looked at Vash.

"Well... Scott said the other day he were home all day when he wasn't giving lessons, and he mentioned casually where it is." The swiss answered

"Maybe we can visit him."

"Wouldn't it be a bit... well, I don't know. If you want I can lead you there."

"What do you say?" Roderich asked to his father.

"Let's go" decided him.

"Maybe mutter should come."

"Let me tell her... Gala?"

She was talking with Francis. Mr. Edelstein got closer to them.

"Are you better now?" She was asking him

Francis nodded softly and smiled a bit, kissing her cheek. She hugged him and looked her husband.

"Roderich says he wants us to go to meet one of his teachers. Are you coming?"

"Yes."

"Good. Francis... are you coming too or..." he paused still looking at Gala just to confirm if he was doing anything wrong.

"Do you want to come?" Asked her hugging him.

"I... maybe I should return to the hotel maman."

"No, I don't want you to be alone."

"I'll go. But... Roddie wants you to make fun of that teacher that was so interested in you" Francis sighed.

"Roro, come here and take your brother's hand. He is sad and needs to be cheer up."

"Mamaaaan" Francis protested. "I don't want to take his hand" What he just said!

"We are not babies, maman" Francis sighed.

"Come on, boys... for me" she asked.

"He said awful things, maman" Francis didn't tell her this before.

"What things?"

"Things. I don't want to talk to him anymore because he doesn't... he... well..."

"Rodie?"

"He was doing awful things, he deserved it."

"I didn't deserve it! You were offensive and broken my heart!"

"You were disrespectful and selfish and broken my stomach."

"I didn't say anything offensive to you, I told you, you are just like me, and you said... it was enough with papa saying it, you said it just because! And... you don't love me anymore"

"I didn't love you before neither. And OBVIOUSLY I'm not like you. I didn't DO offensive things on your bed."

Francis looked at him with the mouth open, completely heart broken. Roderich glared him with his arms crossed, relentless.

"Y-you... I... I love you, you are my brother... why don't you love me?" he was even shaking. (Spain where are youuuuuu?)

"Because you do that things without thinking in anybody else! Why do you need to go to bed with one student of my campus? You have all the girls you want! Everybody loves you! This was only to make me angry because I left home!"

"Why would YOU left home and left me there! You like them all, and I hate them but you are out of there and I'm still stuck there! I only thought that if I came here you could share with me, even just for a moment, a part of you perfect life! But you only hate me!"

"Because I'm not grandfather's boy like you. And I can't go to war, I need useful studies. Anyways, you came here and I introduced you to my friends, I share with you my classrooms and my room and how do you answered? Taking, as always, all what you want and then blaming on me all your problems"

"You are awful! And I still love you! I love you very, very much!" Francis was crying... again.

"Well, you need more than share my blood to deserve my love."

"Rodieee" Gala entreated to his son, hugging Francis.

"I don't only share your blood! I share you life!" Francis was sobbing, openly and dramatically.

"No, you obviously don't. You took a very very very different choice in some point. That is obvious."

"You became evil, and awful, and... you are saying horrible things! You cannot think those things! You are my brother!"

"Again... I were you brother when you weren't a selfish and... an homosexual."

Vash closed his eyes with that declaration. Francis just stood there, as if Roderich had kicked him or punched him.

"And don't forget that IT makes me sad and brokes my heart"

"You are also a homosexual, and you are blind! If I were you, Vash, I would run away because he, one day would love you, and the other day would DESTROY you!" Francis yelled, before going away.

Roderich rolled eyes and Gala followed Francis, worried.

"Please, Vash, forgive my brother, he is obviously sick and doesn't have any idea of what is saying"

"Don't worry about me..." whispered Vash thinking that one day Roderich is going to hate him too...

"He is AWFUL, maman, AWFUL! He cannot say those things! And he feels that way! It's papa's fault! I hate them, I hate nazis!" yelled Francis.

"Shhhhhh" Gala asked for some calm.

"He doesn't love me anymore! He hates me, maman! He means it!" Dear god, he is making a hell of a drama.

"Shhhh he is not talking seriusly, he is only hurt."

"He is talking seriously, maman. He will never love me again, he... he said he... he... he" Francis sobbed. Everything was falling apart. "He is stupid, he hates me for something HE IS!"

"He is not hating you, he is just frustrated, and don't know how to deal with it... and you father don't help with his way of think."

Francis wanted to believe it, he really did.

"P-papa said I was the disgrace of the family... and Roddie said it too. They both think it" he had not told Gala that part either.

"You know he is always doing the things like your father... and your father isn't always... right" she sighed.

"You should tell papa how Roderich REALLY is, maman. He only thinks he is perfect because he believes he is like him, that he'll get a girl... but Roddie will not, he is even worse than me, he's never been interested in one! It is not fair that he is seen as perfect and I'm seen like a disgrace!"

"You know that papa doesn't feel that things, is imposible to make him understand... no one of you are a disgrace"

"Where did they sleep last Night?" Francis frowned.

"Who?"

"Vash and Roddie. Were they here? Did something happen? I'm going to tell papa."

"Francis..."

"I'm going to tell him that his perfect Roderich is a fag TOO, and that he also deserves his hate!"

"Francis... don't you think that your brother's situation with Vash and your father is hard enough?"

"Is he thinking of how hard is MY situation with papa and Arthur?

She sighed, because all of this was going out of her control.

"Why can't he be nice... like he was with me when we were kids? I don't want them to hate me, maman..." he looked at her in despair, always so sensitive and fragile.

"I know, but... I think he is just scared."

"I'm scared too, maman, how... how can I fix this?"

"Maybe he will change when he notices that he loves Vash."

"If I were Vash I wouldn't be too hopeful" Francis sighed. "You should help him open his eyes!"

"I'll try, I'll try"

"He is stupid" he added. "I don't want to go with them anymore, I am going after Arthur"

"Don't say it..." She looked him saddly

"Don't give me that look, maman"

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"Nooon, non. Don't be sad, please. I'll go with you if you want"

"I don't want you to be hurt..."

"You cannot control if I'm hurt because of them, but I can control if you are hurt because of me... " he smiled and hugged her. She hugged him in return. "We will be back home tomorrow, and there will be no Roddie, and papa will be at work, and... I will prepare us a Soupe a l'oignon, and we'll open a bottle of wine, one from grand papa's, and we will talk and hug and we will be fine" he promised her.

"I know... je t'aime, mon chou"

"Je t'aime aussi, maman"

"Do you want to go to find Arthur?"

"Don't you think I should?" He asked, blushing a bit.

"Yes, let's go, we will go tomorrow, don't waste your time"

Francis smiled and laughed, nervously

"Wish me luck... any advice?"

"Just... be yourself and for sure he will love you."

Francis nodded and smiled, hopeful. She kissed him softly in the lips and caressed his face.

"Thank you, maman... for not hating me"

"I never ever ever could hate you"

"I know" dear lord with you both, you will only be apart for a few hours!

Anyway, Francis run away. Finally!