Warnings: Previous warnings apply
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership, though not for lack of trying.
Matthew groaned, slowly slipping back to consciousness. The back of his head throbbed painfully and he cursed quietly in French as he rolled on his side, cheek rubbing against the carpet. It was then he noticed his old plush polar bear placed in the crook of his arm and the memories of earlier came flooding back.
His apartment was haunted.
The blond shivered, sitting up quickly and looking around, pulling Kuma-somethingsomething closer to him.
Nothing felt out of the ordinary and Matthew didn't feel like he was being watched, but he couldn't quite quell the flicker of fear in his gut. Trying to keep from hyperventilating, Matthew scrambled to his dresser and grabbed his cell phone, punching in the first number that come to mind.
" 'ello?" A sleepy voice answered him after a few rings. The familiar accent soothed Matthew's nerves. "Who's this?"
"Um, its me, Arthur." Matthew whispered, briefly looking over his shoulder.
"…who?" The Englishman asked gruffly, voice thick with sleep.
"Matthew."
"Oh, right." Arthur paused and Matthew could imagine him mentally kicking himself for forgetting again. "Do you realize what time it is? What's the matter, lad?"
Matthew, gaze flickering over to the clock, felt a jolt of guilt go through him. He had woken up Arthur, most likely, and the man had to work tomorrow (unlike Matthew who had no classes for the day).
"Well, it's just…" He trailed off, now suddenly not so sure that it had been the best idea to call his brother. "I'm afraid."
The man was silent for a moment before he exhaled deeply. And when he spoke again, Matthew could hear the irritation in his voice.
"Of what Matthew? You're wearing that talisman I gave you, yes? No harm will come to you."
Matthew's hand immediately went to the metal coin hanging around his neck from a leather cord, a gift that Arthur had given him when he went off to college. Though Matthew had secretly rolled his eyes at the other man's interest in the occult, he had graciously accepted the gift, touched that Arthur did care about his wellbeing.
"I am, but…"
"Spit it out Matthew." Arthur was getting more annoyed and wanted to get back to sleep quickly, thus making him more short-tempered than usual.
Matthew bit his lip knowing that if he told Arthur his apartment was haunted by a ghost, the sandy-haired man would sigh and tell him that it was just a lost soul who wouldn't hurt him and that sometimes it was better to be on good terms with members of the supernatural world and then he would hang up and Matthew would be left with a ghost.
Arthur might be used to extraordinary things, but Matthew much preferred normality, thank you very much.
"I'm just afraid, Arthur." He said quietly, genuine discomfort lacing his words.
"Matthew—" Arthur started, idly pinching the bridge of his nose.
"No, no its okay." Matthew said suddenly, his chest squeezing painfully at Arthur's reaction. "It's just a new apartment and I'm not used to it, I'll be fine."
Arthur's eyes widened at Matthew's words. New apartment?
Quickly he looked over at his wall calendar and, written in Matthew's tidy scrawl, was a note about him moving. Barely holding back a groan, the older man ran his fingers through his short hair and mentally kicked himself.
Bollocks. He was supposed to go visit Matthew today.
Guilt gnawing at his ribs, Arthur tried to speak again but was not heard over Matthew's babbling.
"I'll just call Gilbert or Francis—"
Oh bloody hell no. Green eyes narrowed and Arthur authoritatively cleared his throat. "Nonsense, my boy. I'll come pick you up and you can stay with me and we'll get this mess sorted out."
"I don't want to impose—"
The guilt began to claw with a vengeance. Arthur, ashamed and angry at himself regarding how he treated his younger brother, said in a much softer voice, "You wouldn't be imposing, Matthew. You're my brother and what kind of older brother would I be if I didn't take care of you?"
"Arthur…" Matthew really didn't know what to say. He still wasn't quite sure how to handle his brother's emotional turnarounds.
Arthur, contrary to what Francis believed, truly did not mean to shut Matthew out. And it killed him a little every time Matthew balked in front of him or went to extremes in order to not inconvenience him.
"Just give me the name of your building and I'll be there."
Matthew, a happy grin creeping onto his face, gave Arthur the name before hanging up. Then, with one last look around his room, he grabbed his coat, wallet, cell and Kumajirou before locking his apartment and rushing downstairs to wait for the Englishman.
Alfred, on the other hand, was sitting on the edge of the roof, idly kicking his legs and sulking.
"Way to go Alfred. Heroes are supposed to catch people who faint, not send them into a terror-induced coma." He pouted.
After Matthew had fainted, Alfred, realizing that he was the cause of the incident, high-tailed it out of the room and sought sanctuary on the roof. And soon Matthew would wake up and then move out and then Alfred would never be able to spy on him in the shower because someone else would move in and that person would be most likely ugly and probably not be able to see him at all and then he'd never be able to catch up on House and his stories.
"And now how will I ever find out who Juanita chooses?" Alfred grumbled. "Miguel the sexy but poor farmer or Alejandro the dashing and wealthy chef?" His pout deepened. "And what about Esmeralda? Will she ever find her real father? Will she?" Alfred cried, shooting to his feet and shaking his fist at the sky. "First you don't let me in and now this?" He glared up at the sky.
The stars twinkled mockingly at him from against the inky night sky.
Alfred stuck his tongue out in response.
"Here you go, Matthew."
The blond took the offered mug gratefully, hiding a smile behind his curling hair as Arthur bustled about, wrapping a wool throw around the younger man's shoulders before patting him lightly on the head.
"This isn't necessary, Arthur." Matthew objected. "And you have to work tomorrow."
"Pish posh, my lad." Arthur snorted. "You were trembling when I pulled up."
Matthew lowered his eyes and took a sip from his mug. It wasn't like him to get so shaken up, but, then again, he had never met a ghost before.
"Would you like to tell me what had you in such a fright?" When Matthew shook his head, Arthur sighed, sitting back and studying his younger brother.
'When did you get so big?' He thought ruefully, an adorable little boy with wavy hair and adoring violet eyes who clung to his hand bashfully. Now that little boy was a man, independent and on his own.
No thanks to Arthur.
"You know, I am very sorry about today."
"Don't be." Matthew said soothingly, looking up at Arthur with no bitterness. "You were busy, I understand that."
"Its no excuse Matthew." Arthur said firmly. "And, remember, if there is anything at all I can do for you, I want to know."
Matthew withheld a sigh. It seemed Arthur was entering one of his 'In the name of the Queen I will make things right no matter what so shut up you git and take the coddling like a man' modes.
"Um, well there really isn't anything—"
"Unpacking?"
"Done."
"Do you need any furniture?"
"No." At Arthur's questioning look, Matthew reluctantly said, "Francis."
Arthur's face turned an odd shade of reddish purple. It was no secret that Francis tended to spoil Matthew and had the means to do so on a daily basis thanks to his expanding fashion line. Arthur, on the other hand, was a writer and editor and sometimes substitute High School English teacher.
"Oh." His tone was clipped. He quickly searched his mind for other ways to aid the violet-eyed teen. "Then—"
"Really, Arthur." Matthew smiled kindly. "I will let you know. Now, maybe we should both get some rest." Now that the fright from earlier was disappearing, Matthew could feel his eyes getting heavier and the weight of the day was hitting him full on.
Arthur, taking in the other's tired demeanor, nodded and stood up, wincing as his knees creaked ominously. He was really getting old. "Then off to bed it is." Nudging Matthew up and slipping the cup from his lax fingers, Arthur pointed the boy into the right direction of his room and watched, a faint fond smile on his lips as the younger man walked away.
Alfred frowned, studying the empty apartment wistfully, no sign of the blond anymore.
It seems he had scared away his new roommate.
He exhaled deeply, plopping to the ground and lying flat on his back, staring up at the blank ceiling as silence reigned around him.
He felt bad, really. He didn't mean to scare Matthew. He was just trying to be polite. Seriously, if they were going to be rooming together, then aren't introductions necessary?
Alfred just didn't expect the other boy to outright faint. Its not like he was even going to hurt him.
Just mess with him a little bit. And maybe hog the remote.
And it wasn't even as though he wanted to spend his afterlife chained to his former apartment. In fact, Alfred had been ready to march through the pearly gates and party like an angel (and test out those kickass wings).
Unfortunately, he had been unable to step through the gate. At first he nearly died again because he thought he was going to the other place (and he had no idea why, unless it had something to do with that one incident that one time in that one place, then yes he knew exactly why). But the elderly fellow at the gate had reassured him that: yes, you're in the right place. But you just can't enter yet. Someone is forcing you to stay.
But before Alfred could ask just what exactly the man meant and if he could at least have a pair of those wings because they were straight up bitchin', he had found himself falling backwards and hurtling back to Earth where he landed in his living room.
And here was, again, sprawled on his living room floor. And he'd probably be stuck here forever, alone and bored, forever and ever and ever…
Suddenly he sat up, a bright smile spreading across his face. Maybe he could fix things.
Arthur quietly peeked into the room, hovering in the doorway for a moment watching as Matthew slept on. The blond-haired boy was dead to the world, chest rising and falling softly. The normally stern man's face softened as he watched the younger man sleep before he exited, shutting the door softly behind him.
Matthew had fallen asleep relatively easily and for that Arthur was grateful. Whatever that frightened the teen had been forgotten for a moment. Matthew, Arthur knew, was a levelheaded lad, not prone to ridiculous fits of terror. It took a lot to scare him but the boy had been spooked and Arthur was worried.
Maybe the talisman's magic was wearing off?
He shook his head, grabbing his briefcase. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a framed photo. The picture was of him and a taller man. Both males looked a few years younger. Arthur was standing, arms crossed, and face fixed in a deep scowl, prominent eyebrows knitting together and looking doubly intimidating. The other male wore an easy smile, hair neatly brushed back save for a stubborn cowlick, his eyes hidden behind a pair of aviators. One arm was slung around Arthur's shoulder, tugging the shorter man close.
It had been over a month since the funeral.
Coughing sharply and trying to ignore the dull throb that rose whenever he thought of the deceased individual. The two of them had a tumultuous relationship, one that, only over the past few years, started to mend its self.
When he first heard of Alfred's accident, he had panicked, already despairing about losing one of his few friends. He didn't want to lose Alfred so soon. He had been impulsive and acted foolishly, not really caring about his actions or their consequences.
Matthew, the poor boy that unfortunately had a face too similar to his former friend, suffered more than usually did thanks to Arthur's shortcomings. Why he still stood with Arthur when Francis was waiting with wide arms was incredibly humbling to the Brit.
Arthur wasn't proud of some of the things he had done, but he truly wanted to repent if at all possible. It just couldn't be too late.
See Arthur is a big softie. Right so, keeping it short today guys. I decided to update because I've been toying around with ideas so I decided just to get them out and posted. :) I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I wanna bring in Francis soon, but he needs an entrance as fabulous as he is. So, this chapter kinda takes the story a little bit further-explaining things and stuff, y'know? Thanks to everyone following this story, fav'ing it and me, reviewing. You all rock. *3*
Remember, all comments and criticisms are welcome.
Now I'm gonna go crawl into bed. I'm sleepy.