Disclaimer: Do not own.
"What's cooking, Pops?" Alfred asked, placing his elbows on the granite countertop and leaning forward to watch his father season some ground beef.
"Meatloaf." Replied the older Jones. He smiled at his son, blue eyes twinkling. "Your brother is coming for dinner."
The grin on Alfred's face immediately dropped and his entire demeanor seemed to sour. "Oh." He said blankly, straightening up. "I'm going to Matthew's then."
"Alfred." George said sternly and when his son paused, reluctantly, and looked at him, the older man continued. "Arthur is your brother, my boy. This is the first time he's been home since he arrived back in the States."
"Yeah but its not like he's going anywhere." Alfred grumbled.
"You used to adore Arthur, Alfred." His father frowned. "You followed him everywhere."
"That was before he left and started being a jerk." And before he drove a wedge between me and Matthew, Alfred added mentally.
George sighed, still marinating the ground beef. "Why don't you invite Matthew for dinner? Would that make it more bearable?"
"Just forget it." Alfred barely held himself back from snarling as he stomped out of the kitchen.
Yeah, invite Matthew over for dinner. With his luck Matthew would make doe eye at Arthur all night in between giving him guilty looks and staring at his steamed broccoli in an attempt to distract himself from the eyebrowed wonder across the table.
Maybe Alfred wasn't being fair. He had Matthew's word and Alfred knew Matthew would confront him and be honest if anything had the slightest chance of happening. But it was Arthur and that was what worried Alfred the most.
Arthur, Alfred maintained, was not a good guy. He drank, smoked, and had piercings. He went through women and men faster than socks and could make even a sailor blush when he was really mad.
That wouldn't even be so bad if his brother was upfront about it. But no, instead Arthur covered himself in the veneer of a gentlemen now. He wore tweed and sweater vests and pretended that he didn't know how to hotwire a car nor did he use his pipe for substances other than tobacco.
His mom and dad and Matthew didn't hear Arthur joke with his friends on the phone at midnight, reminiscing about their exploits at school. Alfred, in his underoos and hiding behind the couch, used to listen to the sandy-haired teen and eventually realized that the other had changed and didn't regret it.
So when Arthur told him to not to go into his room, Alfred "accidently' spilled grape juice on the other's textbooks that were scattered across his desk. When Arthur told him not to answer the phone, Alfred picked it up and told Arthur's Portuguese girlfriend that her boyfriend had the runs. When he came home from baseball practice and found Arthur teaching Matthew rugby in their backyard, the sandy-haired boy teasingly grabbing the younger in a mock-tackle and spinning him around in the air (both laughing), Alfred had stormed back inside, throwing down his baseball mitt, and found Arthur's favorite tea and flushed it down the toilet.
Needless to say, the Jones-Kirkland family was a warzone whenever Arthur returned from school and soon the older son just stopped coming back during holidays.
"Pass the salt."
"Say please, douche."
"Alfred don't speak to your brother like that!"
"Sorry Ma. Here's the salt, Eyebrows."
"Alfred."
"Well its true."
"Alfred."
"…Sorry, Arthur."
"Its fine. Thanks for the salt, git."
"You're welcome….limey."
"Heard that, Yank."
"Fuck you!"
"Get bent!"
"Boys!"
"Matthew!"
Said blond turned at the sound of his name, hand poised to grab a carton of eggs from the shelf. "Margot?" His eyes widened as the pretty blonde waved at him before hurrying towards him.
His stomach immediately plummeted and the boy looked around, wondering if he could make a quick escape. But, alas, before he could move, the girl was already next to him.
"Hi Margot." Matthew said, an uncertain smile playing on his lips. "You look good."
The girl laughed, looking down at her navy flats before fidgeting and peering back up at him. "So do you, Matthew." She replied softly.
Margot had been his girlfriend last year….before he met her brother, Lars, and his affections switched to the other sibling.
"Um…making waffles?" The blond male asked, violet eyes curious when he noticed the bags of flour and powdered sugar.
"Yup." Margot smiled at him. "Special study snack." She giggled.
Matthew smiled at her, remembering how it was that same giggle of hers that attracted him in the first place. She had been having some trouble with guys harassing her and Matthew, returning from a hockey game and still running on adrenaline, had stopped to help her.
Margot had giggled when he apologized for his strong language after the jerks had run off and offered to buy him dinner as thanks.
They dated for a full month before the girl brought him home to meet her family.
They lasted another week after that.
"A delicious study snack." Matthew agreed, shifting from foot to foot as he studied the other's face for any sign of lingering anger.
Margot hadn't even yelled at him when he told her the truth. She had just looked at him,
The blonde's face softened at his discomfort. "I'm not mad, Matthew." She explained softly. "I still want to be friends."
Matthew looked at her warily and she continued. "You avoided me after that day and Lars told me what happened. We're okay. Its not your fault." She reached out, tousling his blond waves fondly with a smile that almost made his heart skip a beat.
For not the first time, Matthew wished he could just have a relationship and keep it.
"Hot chocolate with whip." Alfred smiled charmingly when Matthew looked up at, pulled his head back to give him a curious look, one eyebrow quirked.
"Occasion?" He teased, taking the Starbucks cup and feeling its warmth seep into his fingers.
"Do I need one to buy my best bro his favorite drink?" The other blond retorted, collapsing gracelessly into the empty desk next to the Canadian. He popped the lid of his coffee, steam from the hot liquid curling up in faint plumes.
"Its just awfully generous of you." Matthew mused, taking a small sip lest he scald his tongue. "But thanks, Al."
Alfred looked at him, a different grin on his face—less brash and cocky and all around softer at the edges. "Anytime, Mattie."
Matthew's heart skipped a beat.
Fuck.
"Profoundly disturbed by the death of his father, Prince Hamlet returns to the Danish court and struggles to find some meaning in his once familiar world." Arthur looked out at the class, pleased to see that at least no one was dozing despite the fact that every student wore similar glazed expressions. The teacher continued, "I expect the book to be finished by this Friday. We will spend the next class period discussing the first two acts. Shakepeare's language isn't the easiest to keep up with so make note of phrases you don't understand. Ask yourselves this as you read: Can you ever truly be certain?"
His sharp green eyes surveyed the class. "Now you lot can leave." He shook his head, turning to his desk as the sound of desks and chairs scraping the floor filled the room and the students began to chatter, shuffling to their feet and getting ready to rush to wherever.
A gaggle of girls walked past his desk, giggling loudly and throwing him sweet smiles as they passed. Other students said goodbye while others still just rushed out without another glance.
"Thank you Mr. Kirkland." A soft voice caught his attention and Arthur smiled as Matthew walked past, violet eyes cautiously avoiding too much eye contact.
"Take care, Matthew."
"Whoo! The last Jello cup." The student cheered, snatching up the red jiggling cubes, paying no attention to the blond that had been about to grab it.
"Hoser." Matthew muttered, reaching for an apple instead. Grabbing a carton of chocolate milk, the teen quickly paid for his lunch and, having received a text that Alfred had to cram for a Physics quiz during lunch (that also requested that Matthew bring him a sandwich soon otherwise he'd waste away to skin and bone) located his teammates sitting at a round table next to a window in the lunchroom.
"You didn't get any Jello?" Matthias asked, already slurping up the dessert. "Sucks to be you."
Matthew glared at the taller teen and took a seat. "Watch yourself at practice." He muttered darkly, unwrapping his sandwich and balling up the cling wrap and dropping it to his tray.
Berwald held out his bowl of Jello, but Matthew shook his head. "No, its okay."
The bigger teen put it on his tray anyways. "You're a grow'ng boy." He said, voice barring any argument.
"So how was class with Mr. Kirkland?" Matthias teased.
"We're reading Hamlet." Matthew replied curtly, violet eyes annoyed. "Nothing is going to happen, Matthias so shut up."
"Maybe if you showed a little more skin…"
Tino's eyes turned frosty and Berwald's face darkened.
It was at that moment Anders reached the table and, his pale blue eyes narrowing, drove his elbow into the back of the other boy's head as he sat down.
Fridrik, taking a seat next to Matthew, added, speaking to the wild-haired blond. "You might want to skip practice."
"Ham and cheese." Matthew tossed the wrapped sandwich to Alfred who was frantically working out a physics problem, one hand putting in numbers into his trusty calculator even as his pencil scratched across the notebook paper.
"Thanks." Alfred said distractedly.
Matthew pushed himself up onto the table, careful not to disturb any of his friend's papers. "Good luck on the quiz." He said softly.
"It's a pop quiz." Alfred admitted with a quick laugh, before boxing his answer neatly. "I overheard some guys in the hallway mention it and, well, I'm not taking any chances." He paused, finally registering the sandwich. A sly smile overtook his face and, in a sweet voice, he asked, "Feed me?"
Matthew raised an eyebrow and just stared at the other's innocent expression. "No." He replied flatly.
"Please?"
"No."
"Please."
"No."
"-"
"Fine!" Matthew scowled, snatching the sandwich and tearing it open, holding it out for his friend.
Alfred leaned forward, taking a large bite of it, crumbs falling to dust his work, chewing nosily.
Matthew had a faint blush on his cheeks and he surreptitiously looked around, hoping no one was watching.
"Check." Alfred said, leaning back and sighing. "I've been thinking, Kiku."
The Japanese student, dark eyes flickering over the chessboard vainly in an attempt to avoid the mess, just hummed in response.
"Why should I just let Matthew go without a fight? He's my best friend and its not like boyfriend is a huge step. Sure, we just hold hands a little more…maybe kiss…" His face pinkened at the thought.
Granted, he had dreamt of more…kinkier scenarios (pro tip: never watch porn before bed), but to actually do have the things he fantasized about…well…
…Baby steps, Jones, baby steps.
Seeing that Kiku had made his move, Alfred reached for his rook. "Check." He said, before continuing. "I mean, I've waited for years for him to just look me like he looked at everyone else. But no more pussying out." He clenched his hand into a fist, a determined glint settling in his bright eyes.
"You will confess?"
"Better. I'll win him over." Alfred snickered. "He'll totally forget about Arthur."
"Do you have a plan?" Kiku asked, scouring the board for yet another way out. Finding one, the corners of his lips briefly curved upwards.
"Even better, dude. I have confidence. Checkmate." Alfred finished, flashing a winning grin at the other boy.
Kiku didn't know if the way his stomach churned was because he had just lost the match or because Alfred was running into another half thought out plan.
Or if it was indigestion.
Btw, when I asked about pairings last chapter...not gonna lie...but I said threesome as a joke. ...And then I saw the response. o.O And I just said "...Oh goddamnit...Maybe it could work..." But, idk right now. To be honest, I don't even know what's going to happen next chapter guys. Lol.
Happy New Years everyone!