Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.
A/n1: Chapter 13 of the Hetalia Awards 2015 updated this week (such a strange thing to say, but I think you'll understand)! In chapter 13, I'm being interviewed! ^^ Yaaaaaaaay so weeeeeeird! *sweats* But yeah, definitely go check it out if you have the time (I have like the longest replies to all the questions, ahahahaha oh god).
A/n2: I wish I could tell you some exciting happenings going on in my life, but really, right know, there isn't that much going on in my life…
Yeah, I'm going to meet some friends this week, and that guy (you know, the guy that took me to T.) wants to have dinner with me somewhere next week (and I don't know if I want to), and there are finals and tests and reports I need to do, but…
Well, let me put it this way: my cats, that spend like 80% of their days goofing off on my bed, have a life that's way more exciting than mine at the moment. And you know what – I don't even care right now. It's just that… well, I just wish I could get an extra job already. It's the only thing that actually worries me.
A/n3: I really like some songs of Twenty One Pilots, I think they are very deep and meaningful. Some songs seem very breezy and happy, but once you go deeper…
It's kind of like Matteo's personality, right? ^^
~~ And Three Makes Five ~~
Chapter 96:
She asked me 'son, when I grow old
Will you buy me a house of gold?
And when your father turns to stone,
Will you take care of me?'
Twenty One Pilots
(House of Gold)
Having iron ankles and having won several Speedrun-on-Heels-contests in Italy is very nice and all, but those kind of übermensch-limbs and glorious experiences still don't protect a girl from craftily-hidden cracks in the floor.
Or, you know. From wearing a little black dress that keeps on riding up her backside, forcing a girl to run and pull down the lower part of her dress constantly.
While crying.
Which I did as I ran and pulled down my dress and tried to avoid those cracks in the floor.
Naturally, it was only a matter of time before I finally got my high heel jammed into a split in the ground, twisted my iron ankle for a solid 80° and finally slammed my body against the ground, instantly giving my dress the chance to crawl upwards even more, rewarding a whopping 40% of all the guests with a full, wide-screen view on my fashionable, but still corrective underwear.
I would have been very concerned about that last part, yes, I definitely would – if I hadn't been gasping for breath because of my ankle and my attempts not to throw up or faint from the mind-splitting pain that was sent through my leg right at that moment.
I heard people gasp in shock and there was a lot of worried murmuring going on, but I didn't see or hear anything clearly for quite a while, at least not before I was eventually picked off the ground by somebody who was panting and sweating a lot.
Of course, it was Alejo, and so, I couldn't help but feel happy nevertheless, even if my ankle was going to look like a mutated giant's foot tomorrow morning.
'Well, this is embarrassing,' I managed to say, as Alejo got all pale and stressed out upon seeing my foot, 'not as embarrassing as your speech – I mean, god, some things you said in that speech – but still quite embarrassing. In fact, I'd say—'
'Would you shut up already?' Alejo glared at me. He had an irritated eye, as if somebody just hit him. 'Don't get all smart and sassy on me when you've just fucking… fucking snapped you goddamn ankle! All because of me!'
I smiled calmly at him. 'Don't worry. Even if I have to give up my foot, things will be okay. They develop great foot prostheses nowadays. I heard you can even make phone calls with them. Wouldn't you like to get a footy call of me?'
'SHIT WOMAN, STOP THAT. NOT FUNNY.'
Or so he yelled at me, but his face still twisted a bit, so victory was mine.
I chuckled as Alejo made his way to the bar – probably to look for my mother.
'No, but in all honesty, Alejo, it's only heavily sprained. I think I suffered from a first to second degree of sprain to my ankle, meaning that, while I might have caused quite some damage to the ligaments of my ankle, they're not ruptured. At least, not completely. My tested ligaments have just become stretched to the point that they became loose, that's all.'
Alejo stared at me. 'What the HELL are you even SAYING. Ruptured ligaments? LOOSE ligaments? My GOD. Are you dying? You're dying, aren't you?'
I ignored his hysterical cackling and eyes my ankle thoughtfully. 'Hmm, but I do need to cool it. It's so unpractical to walk around on heels while suffering from the tumefaction that's most-likely going to occur.'
'You're NOT going to walk around on hee—what the fuck's a tumefaction?'
'An abnormal enlargement of a body part not caused by proliferation of cells.'
'ARE YOU JUST USING FANCY WORDS AS ANOTHER WAY TO TELL ME YOU WILL BE DEAD TOMORROW?'
'No, I'm using fancy words to show off and tell you that a part of my ankle will probably be swollen to the size of a firm tennis ball tomorrow.'
'Oh,' Alejo's tame response was.
I wasn't sure it was so tame because of the reassuring realization that I was going to be okay, or because of the fact that he discovered my mother wasn't where I left her at the bar –but hey, a small first-aid kit that had mysteriously popped up was.
'Where's your mom?' Alejo, who had decided to just not talk about my ankle anymore, asked me. 'I have seen her – she was sitting here just before you smacked your face into the ground!'
'Hmm,' I said, musing as I looked at the first-aid kit, 'well, I guess she's gone off to greet some guests and leave me in your care.'
'What?!' Alejo spat, almost letting me drop. 'She deliberately left you in MY care? Of ALL people? What an irresponsible mother!'
'That's not true, she you left a first-aid kit.'
'SCREW THE FIRST-AID KIT!'
'That's not very nice.'
'I'M NOT A NICE PERSON TO START WITH!'
'I beg to differ.'
'You could have DIED!'
'You're exaggerating.'
'Well, then… then tell me!' Alejo gave me a look that was both very cute as it was extremely anxious. 'W-what should I do? What can I do to help you? And where can I help you? I don't want all those people staring at us – they should stare at my parents and siblings, my part's done now!'
Adorable.
That man.
So adorable.
'What?' Alejo frowned at me as he watched my face turn red. 'oh god, please don't tell me you're getting a fever as well now – I'm not very handy with… with medicines and all, s-so…'
'The Sagrada Família has more chambers than just this one, right?' I told him before he could make more unrelated comments about the huge blush I was carrying. 'Like the room you're planning to hold the buffet. There are chairs and tables there, yes? You can tend my wounds there.'
'Yes. Yes! Let's… let's do that. Let's do that right away.' Alejo nodded feverishly and pushed the first-aid kit in my arms, before speedwalking towards the doorway that leaded to the 'dining' hall.
But before the both of us disappeared into this doorway, he turned around to the guests (most of them were still watching us) and to signal at his slightly less attractive brother, gaping at us from the podium, looking pretty panicky.
'It's okay!' Alejo yelled. 'Everything's fine, Teo! Carry on! I got this!'
'Yes, he got this because I got this,' I said, holding up the great first-aid kit.
For some reason, that bit must have been incredibly funny and witty of me to say, because the room erupted into a loud and relieved laughter, while Matteo gave us two thumbs-up.
'What did I say?' I asked Alejo as we left the obnoxious room.
He snorted. 'Hell if I know. I don't understand a single word you say, ever.'
He looked pretty upbeat, though.
0\0o/
You know, for a moment I had feared that my brother's dramatic confession had bit him in the butt big time when Venetia sprained her ankle like this but then in more extreme italics – but when Allie came to Venetia's rescue like a… a fire ball, a part of me told me that he indeed 'got this'. I didn't need to worry about him, especially not when he yelled across the room that everything was fine.
He was Alejo, after all!~ My big, awesome brother! Just look at him! First he was pleading her to please come save him, and when she actually did come and accidentally face-floored herself, he just turned the tables and BOOM – instant hero!
'What the hell – why's he going to the dining-hall-part-thingy of the basilica?' I heard Luisa hissing right next to me. 'He-he should stay here and give us some moral support, dammit – not smooch around with Tosca's strange-ass daughter!'
I smiled as I looked at her. Most of the color in her face had been drained out after Venetia had fallen, and now that I saw she was slowly getting her own skin color back (mixed with a lot of red, of course), I could tell that she, too, was relieved that things turned out this way.
'Well, fuck him. I guess that we could have seen this coming… somewhat. I just hope they won't make a mess of the dining-hall-part-thingy – it costs you and Raquel hours to make a decent grouping out of all those tables and chairs… not to mention all of the plates, and oh! The plants and flowers! And don't forget that you even—'
'Lulu, relax!' I put a hand on my sister's shoulder and gently shook her. 'Come on, everything's going fine! Have you seen how excited everybody was to watch and listen to Allie? He was a hit! And he hadn't even prepared anything! Isn't that amazing? Allie's like, a natural at giving speeches!~ I'm so proud!~'
'Bullshit,' Luisa bit at me as she wiped my hand off her shoulder, her face folded like she smelled somebody's fart. 'He should have prepared himself, like you and I did! But no, nope, mister "I'll improvise the fucking night away and OH LOOK MY SPECIFIC OTHER LET'S BOLT" had to do things his own way. He's a jerk. I'm going to kick his ass later.'
'Really? Even now Mimi has sort of done that already?' I wanted to know.
Because right after Allie had finished his speech and was waiting for Venetia to come his way, Anya had started to cry a little bit, which was very sad, but Allie only had eyes for Venetia – kind of mean, yes, but I understood. Right before he had started speeching, he had told me that he didn't know what to do with his feelings for Venetia, and then, near the ending of his speech, he decided to just go for her and so…
…well, yeah, I don't think I would have been interested in anybody else either, if I had been in his shoes…
Anyway, it was still very much of a penis move of him, and Mimi – who apparently was a good friend of Anya – gave him a hard smack in the face and a kick in the back when he finally came down the podium to scrape Venetia off the ground. It all happened very fast though – I don't think anybody saw it apart from me, Luisa, Papa Lovi and Papa Toni – and even though Allie really was effected by Mimi's swift attacks and told something to Anya (probably that he was sorry) as he passed her and our cousin, it didn't stop him from going to Venetia as quickly as he could.
Right now, Mimi was consoling Anya and she was laughing a little already, so I guess things would be okay for her anyway. I hoped they would in any case, Anya seemed to be a nice girl and I really didn't want to have her father's rage raining down on the party if she would go complain to him and her mother later.
Talking about Russia and Aunt Fem-Fem – I didn't see them anymore, either! I think they disappeared shortly after Allie and Venetia had…
…
Oh.
Ohhhhhhh.
…
Well, let's hope that Allie's still as good at hide-and-seek as he used to be as a kid!~
Luisa poked my side, instantly making me jump in surprise – I was very ticklish!
'Whaaaaah! Wat are you doing!'
She blinked her already-narrowed eyes at me, not very impressed. 'I poked you.'
'Well don't! Gosh!' I rubbed my side. 'Mia poked me once when we were at the cinema's and I had to pee really badly, and then she poked me all of a sudden, and I swear, if I hadn't gotten off my chair and ran off to a toilet right at that moment, something very embarrassing would have happened!'
'Are you done yet?' Luisa looked at me boorishly. 'Look, don't space out all of a sudden, then I don't have to poke you. Have you forgotten that you're up next?'
I felt a calmness falling over me and shook my head, automatically reaching a hand to my face to adjust my glasses – only to grab in thin air when I felt it wasn't there. Oh yeah – I wore contacts, ahahahaha…
It took me hours to put them in my eyes. Annoying little crappy… see-through… things!
'Are you okay? Are you nervous?' Luisa asked me, her own hands trembling madly as she realized that she was going to be the last of us to share her speech with the rest of… well… Europe, I guess.
'I'm perfectly fine!' I smiled at Luisa. 'And you will be fine as well, so don't freak out so much!'
'I'm-I'm NOT freaking out, dammit,' Luisa nagged, her voice high and shrilly, while I pretended not to hear her rant and waved at Mia, sitting on Papa Lovi's lap. Her hazel eyes got big and sparkly when she saw I noticed her and she grinned wide, waving back at me with both arms – not hands, no, she really used her arms – and smacked both Papa Lovi and Papa Toni in the face a couple of times while doing that.
I felt so proud and happy when I looked at her. My cute, silly little Mia. She was so excited to be here, to spend time with her grandparents and to be part of the center of attention. I know I hadn't always given her all of the attention that she deserved – that she needed in the past, because of…
…w-well, because of… many things…
But I hopefully was now making it up with her. All those times that I sent her away because I rather cried over Kay all alone than with other people – than with my very own daughter, all those times that I ditched her at Papa Ángel and Papa Stefano's place, just so I could burry myself with work, or just… randomly drive around town until the sun would set…
I looked at my very well-prepared speech. Then I looked over at Mia. Then I caught, the glance of my adoptive parents, of Raquel, of Luisa, and, last but not least, the glance my biological parents, who were all watching me in silent curiosity, the corners of everybody's mouth curled upwards.
…
…
And then I tore up my speech and walked over to the mike (ignoring Luisa's horrified expression).
For-forget about my well-prepared speech – I was going to pull an Allie as well! Y-yeah!
0\0o/
'I…!
I'd like to take a moment here to thank a lot of people in my life!
I… well, I had originally planned to… just do my speech, the speech that I rehearsed with Raquel and Mia, and that I pretty much know by heart right now…
But I just don't feel like I'll do any of the people that I love justice with that prepared speech, so… so I'm going to do this thing differently. It's because I want to let you hear what I feel, what I think and what I… uhm… what I AM right now.
It's not going to be very good. I… uhm… you are warned! I… well… I-I'm not very good at improvising, at least… at least not as good as my brother is. He might think that I'm the best at everything I do, but he sometimes conveniently forgets that I'm a complete moron that has made more than enough mistakes in his life as well. I'm actually not so very holy and innocent as you all might believe I am. And I think it's rather mean and unfair of you to think that I am, just because I look like this.
You should never, ever judge people by the way they look! Or, as that famous saying goes, don't make your conclusions based on... um, tables' surfaces!
…
…
Why are you all grinning now? Is there something on my face? But that can't be, I'm not wearing my glasses today.
…
…
Seriously, what's so funny?
Oh well, never mind – I was busy making my thank-you-speech! S-sort of, at least!
Okay! So, anyway…
First of all, I'd like to thank all of you people for coming to this gorgeous, Spanish work of art that is the Sagrada Família. Did you know that this basilica had lots and lots of designers before, during and especially after Gaudí decided to ran his Godly Hands of Creation and Art over it? Also, it wasn't like he was the first person that started working on the great construction. Somebody else made it – Gaudí had to do the decorating.
Pretty much like when it's Christmas, and… and you have grown a special tree to put all the decorations in, but instead of putting all those decorations in the special tree yourself, you ask aid from a professional tree-decorator and he promises you to provide the tree with the BEST decorations EVER, with angels and harps and stars and even little sheep – but then FIREWARS break out, and before your talented tree-decorator can continue his work, those wars have to stop, and then they stop, but then people really not digging fancy Christmas trees come along to razor the tar out of the special tree, and somehow, the tree survives that as well! But then your wonderful tree-decorator gets accidentally killed by a couple of strange persons on a snow scooter on his way to church and what a loss that was, wasn't it? Such a loss. Such a big, big loss…
…
…b-but I digress! Ahahahahahaha, I-I digress…
Like I was saying, um… uhm…
Thank you all for coming! It means the world to us! Especially when you realize that… I… my brother and sister and I, we don't know any of you, really.
Yeah, we vaguely recognize some of the nation kids, yes – like Wolfie, and Mimi (hi! Hiii!~), and Emile, and… yeah, Johnny, I've seen you as well, now please stop climbing on the antique here – it's priceless and if things gets damaged, we don't have the money to repair it.
Also, GOD! You're OLD! You're, like, thirty!
…
…
Oh. Thirty isn't old? Being over 100-200 years is? O-oh. Sorry, it's just that…
Well, I never get to live that long anyway, so for me, thirty years old is VERY old!~
…
W-what's the matter, Papa Ton—
N-no, don't look so sad – no no, it wasn't meant to be sarcastic or funny – please, I-I'll stop talking about that! I-I will! Sorry – I told you I'm not good at this, didn't I? I… um… I'll carry on with another subject now, o-okay?
What… what's I'm just trying to say is… that I'm really grateful to find out this way how much all of you countries seem to mean for my fathers. The biological ones, I mean – y-yes, these two sitting on those red seats right there! Papa Lovi and Papa Toni! Y-yeah!
I-I know…
…
I-I know that… I don't know anything about your kind of people. You're all immortal beings that are just here, that are just… trying to make the best of their lives. I can't even being to imagine how difficult your life must be. You can't even make new friends without feeling some sort of regret, of sorrow, upon… losing them later. While you continue to live on like nothing has happened. Like God has forgotten about you. I don't understand how that works – but I do understand that your endless lifespan is filled with nightmares, fears and sadness, whenever life gets rough on you. Sure, there are plenty of good, nice and wonderful things as well! Of course! But the depressing facts – they are there. Always.
S-so thank you, personifications that are here.
Thank you for… still being happy, still being here to celebrate this party with my family, still being there for my fathers – they appreciate that. And so do I and my siblings.
We can't thank you enough for taking care of Papa Toni and Papa Lovi for all this time. Please promise to always do that – now, and over a hundred years as well. Look after them, especially when they need it.
…
…
U-uhm, no, you—
…
…y-you really don't have to applaud me—
…
I-I'm not finished yet, I…!
…
I have more people to thank!
…
…
Thank you.
Um, for stopping your clapping, I mean.
Ahem.
The next people I need to thank are… are Papa Ángel and Papa Stefano.
My fantastic, sometimes very unreasonably overlooked adoptive parents.
When mean people forced Papa Lovi and Papa Toni to give me, Alejo and Luisa away, it was them who decided to adopt me and my siblings. They didn't hesitate for a second. They didn't even mind the guilt that they know would occasionally struck them in later years, when we started growing up, when they came to the unsettling realization that they, and not our biological parents, would witness all the events that Papa Lovi and Papa Toni would never see.
I-I know you had a hard time, dads.
…
Yes, Papa Stefano – talking about you and Papa Ángel.
…
I heard the two of you cry at night sometimes. I also know there were times you fought a lot, just because – I found out later, when I was a dad myself – you sometimes almost couldn't bear having denied Papa Lovi and Papa Toni's right to watch me and my brother and sister grow up. You struggled. Sometimes, you lashed that out on us – not in a really bad way, but I get that frustration sometimes just got the better of you.
But you know what? You never gave up on us nevertheless. You took care of us, you loved us – and still do! – you made us dinner, you taught us about how to be responsible adults and you are fantastic grandparents for Mia.
By the way, you can go ahead and be stricter with Mia. Really. You don't have to… make up things with me, or anything.
Oh, and the same things goes for you, too, Papa Toni and Papa Lovi: it's okay to treat Mia like your grandchild, but don't use her as a way to atone for the fact you couldn't look after us. I-I thought that I was okay with that at first, but really, you'll only hurt yourself, and… and the four of you…
…
…r-really, you have been hurt by others more than enough. Don't hurt yourself. You don't have to punish yourself for things that are in the past. You're not bad people. None of you.
Just… just look at me and Allie and Lulu as your sons and daughter, and view Mia as your adorable granddaughter. Because that's what we are, to all of you.
And we love you very much. We do! We really, really do!
…
…
O-oh, can… can somebody give them some tissues? Papa Ángel's… okay, good job, Seb. Thank you.
…
Oh! You, um… y-you have some for Papa Lovi as well? I… he's… thanks! I have to take back what I told you earlier, Seb – I guess you really were right to bring along so many tissue boxes with you!
…
…they were originally for the results of Luisa's speech? Oh. Oh well, you… I appreciate you sharing them with me…
…
Now…
Well, now that I – you okay, dads? – now that I have thanked Papa Ángel and Papa Stefano… I think I should thank my biological dads as well…
S-so…
…
P-Papa Toni. Papa Lovi.
Thanks for… for all you have done for me and your other kids.
We weren't able to spend a very long time together, and you might fear that we don't have very clear, very trustworthy or very fresh memories of the time we did live together underneath one roof.
And that's true.
That fear's absolutely justified.
We don't have that many memories of being with you. It was half a year. It were six months. We were very young kids back then – Allie and I were four years old, Lulu was three. You can't expect kids that young to somehow be able to remember everything. You are pretty lucky that we were able to remember, because… because if we had been younger, we probably wouldn't have remembered anything at all.
We never celebrated birthdays, important holidays or even… even your very first wedding anniversary.
Or we did, but in that case, I just… forgot.
And… a-and I know that sounds very sad… I-I know that… that this makes you feel unhappy and depressed, even, but it's the truth, Papa Lovi, Papa Toni – I-I can't help that – I really can't help that, and I wish that I could have spend more time of my childhood with the two of you, because the things that I AM able to remember about you… all the things that I am able to recall of those happy days…
…it are all good things!
All of them!
Every single memory I have in my mind that's about you and Papa Toni, Papa Lovi – they're all positive!
You…!
…
You were the best parents a tiny, slow, silly boy like I was could wish for!
Papa Lovi, Papa Toni – you never minded me running around in dresses and wanting to play flower games with you. You played along, you told me I was adorable and you encouraged me to never give what other people thought of me a second thought. You showed me it was okay to be me, and that it was okay to cry, and to blame Mia for wetting my bed, and to be afraid and lonely sometimes.
…
N-no, sweetie, I'm talking about that other Mia.
…
Anyway, dads…
You never told me I was bad for being different. You didn't always understand it – but you accepted me, you accepted the way I wanted to be, and you made me feel like the luckiest kid alive.
I never forgot those lessons – I never tried to be "normal". And I think… I think it's all thanks to those very early life-lessons you learned me, papa's, that I've never been unfaithful to myself.
It's… it's like Allie said: you let us know that there are always people on this planet that love you, no matter what. You let us know what it was like to have good parents. You showered us with love and attention, you allowed us to explore our horizons and you never, for one moment, made me feel like I really was a dumb kid.
You… y-you loved us, you truly loved us.
Even while knowing that was stupid thing to do.
You loved us.
Even when you found out we wouldn't be in this world as long as you will be.
You still continued to love us.
But why – why would immortal, almost… almost godlike creatures spend their time on loving kids that will eventually die? Isn't that just a bother? Just another scar on an already bruised body?
No, it isn't.
It's… it's because you're not.
You're no gods. You're personifications.
The most humane people of all.
You're an example to every single human being – person wise, personality wise and parent wise.
And I love you.
For everything you are.
I love you so much…!'
0\0o/
I broke down in tears after managing to stammer how much I cared about Papa Lovi and Papa Toni – I just… I-I couldn't help it, I was just suddenly overcome with such a strange feeling of both resignation and helplessness… I couldn't continue further right now. So balled my hands and squeezed my eyes shut, but the waterworks still came.
'M-Matteo, are you okay?' I heard Luisa say, while the rest of the room was… well, pretty quiet, actually. I heard people muttering and mumbling concerned things, but it was all in a very polite volume, which I was thankful for: at least they weren't gossiping or anything…
But even before I could try to get myself together and answer my worried little sister, I suddenly saw Raquel climbing onto the podium, helped by Seb and the Netherlands.
Oh.
Raquel.
She was just…
She looked like an angel. Wearing a silver-colored dress that was slim and simple from the top but fell down like a gorgeous waterfall at the bottom, making her look like an angelic whirlwind whenever she made a step.
I didn't know anything about fashion and the like, but if even Alejo had been ogling her like a perverted creep, she must indeed have looked just as beautiful as I always think she does.
'Matteo?' Raquel hurried herself to where I was, giving me a questioning, careful look as she touched one of my clenched hands. 'Hey, you… you don't have to carry on if you feel like it's too much for you.'
I stared at her.
Oh, that's right.
'I-I mean, your speech already was… very touching. All your fathers are crying, a-and I was having a hard time as well, I have to say, s-so…'
I needed to thank her, too.
'Don't say more than you want to say, okay?'
I'd better go do that right now.
I took a few deep breaths, and then I swiftly grabbed both of Raquel's hands with my hands, looking up at her in awe.
I could continue now.
0\0o/
'Thank you, too, Raquel!
Thank you, for… for appearing in my life, right on a moment when I thought it would never happen again.
I had never thought I could love another woman after Kay. I…
Kay was my life, you see? My heart, my soul, my everything. She was the very first person I fell in love with and whenever I was with her, it felt like the two of us were put here just so we could be together. Smart, calm, beautiful and very confident, she was like a bright, shining light that simply couldn't help drawing me towards her. She blessed me with a relationship, and later, even with a beautiful little girl. I was very happy. I was so happy. I thought my life was complete. All that there was left for me to do was marrying Kay and that was it.
But Kay fell ill. Suddenly, out of the blue – and it wasn't a "friendly" illness, either. None of that peaceful passing away in a clean hospital bed-nonsense. When Kay died, she couldn't do anything anymore. She was like an elderly woman, not even being able to get to the toilet in time. She… s-she wasn't even conscious when she passed away. I… I told her many things – that I loved her, that I'd always love her, that she shouldn't worry about me and Mia – but I fear she didn't catch anything of that. She was just that sick.
And then she was gone.
The love of my life – gone.
And I wanted to be alone. I didn't ever wanted to get another woman after her. In my mind, with every day, every week, every month and eventually, even every year that passed, the pedestal I had mentally built for Kay became higher, bigger and more impossible to fight. Not a single girl could reach her level. Not one. I always found myself comparing them to Kay and everything she'd do better than the girl I tried to date.
So I… I kind of gave up, after attempting to date people.
I wasn't looking for love at all when I rang your doorbell that day.
And yet, it happened. Almost immediately. Just one look at you, Raquel – one look, one word, one spark – that was all it took.
I fell in love with you right away.'
(The crowd let out a big "awwww" that sounded like a long sigh. Raquel, who had been patiently listening to me going on and on about Kay, suddenly got very red and flustered, and quickly pulled back her hands. She tried to get off the podium – because I apparently seemed fine again – but I laughed and stopped her, wrapping my arms around her thin waistline.)
'Nooooo, no no no, you're not going anywhere now, not as long as I still have some things to tell you, My Highness!~
I haven't told you this before, because I… I wanted to be careful, and I was afraid it might be too soon to say this, and… that's kind of a strange thing to think if you realize how insanely fast we hooked up, ahahahahaha… b-but…
But I… I love you, Raquel!
You see?
I love you!
I love you!
I love you with everything I am!
You're just so beautiful, and sweet, and princely, and beautiful, and sweet, and cute, and you are such a clueless ditz, and you are nothing like any girl I have ever known, nothing, and I love you a gazillion times for that alone!~
Thank you so much!
Thank you for being my second love!
Thank you for being Mia's role model!
Thank you for always protecting me!
And especially, most of all, Raquel, my beautiful, female prince…
Thank you for being exactly who you are.'
0\o0/
People started clapping and cheering, loudly, while Raquel was trembling and gripping my shoulders like she had lost it. But I didn't mind it – I just smiled and hugged her, caressing her bare back, feeling her warmth and altogether greatness.
'I mean it, you know,' I softly told her while the approving whistles and hollering got even louder when Mia was also put on the podium by Papa Lovi. 'I love you. I should have told you earlier. But I think it's a bit early to say that you love a person after just one night, so… so I had to wait for at least a month.'
Raquel pushed me back a bit, her gray eyes big and wet and stupefied.
'You wanted to tell me you loved me after the first night already?'
'Yes.'
'How! H-how could you tell me that so crazily fast, after just one night!'
'I don't know.'
I held on to her a bit firmer and stole an unexpected kiss from her.
'It was your fault,' I told her afterwards, while Raquel swallowed and wobbled a little bit on her feet. 'You tell me.'
'I love you, too,' she stammered – which wasn't really what I asked for, but so very much more, and I suddenly felt so happy, so overjoyed, so… so praised for the most stupid, non-comprehensible things – I wanted to kiss her again, and again, and again, and again, and again and again…
…but then my eye fell on Mia.
My little Mia, watching me and Raquel with a big, wide grin on her face.
The last person I felt I needed to thank, and certainly the most important one.
So I wordlessly nodded to Mia, to let Raquel know what I was up to. She understood – she's so smart, she understand everything!~ – and let go of me, and I instantly crouched down in front of Mia, taking her little hands in mine the same way I held Raquel's, only… well, somewhat differently.
This was Mia, after all.
0\o0/
'Mia, I…
…
…
…I-I know that… that life with papa hasn't always been… easy for you.
I-I should have given you more attention after mama died. You were still very young when mama died, and I… should have tried to explain the situation to you when you got older. You had the right to know why I'd let you have sleepovers at your grandpapas' place and why I was crabby and sad sometimes. And I'm sorry for that one time, when… when you caught me crying and I didn't want to tell you what was wrong.
I… I could have been a better papa.
I'm so sorry that I wasn't always that papa.
And I'm so sorry uncle Allie and aunt Lulu had to kick my butt a few times to make me realize I should be that papa, always.
But Mia?
Never forget, not even for a single second, that you are the most important person in my life.
I love you so, so very much, I can't even put it down in words.
And I'm so glad I got the honor to meet you – to be with you – to be your papa.
Thank you for being my… my silly, quirky, sassy, smart little cactus, Mia.
Thank you… thank you so much… for being born.'
MH
I dun get it.
Was papa makes happy teears or sads?
…
Ewwwww, snot.