Sorry it took a while, wrote this months ago, but my iPad, where it was written on wouldn't let me publish. Hope you like it :)
Matthew had been kissed before of course, but not like this. Warmth spread throughout his body the moment their lips touched. Francis' hands reached around Matthew's hips and pulled him closer. Matthew let his hands trail up Francis' chest slowly to drape his arms around his neck. He had no clue how long they'd remained like that until he was startled out of the moment by the sound of a door slamming open behind them and Matthew jumped away from Francis, blushing profusely.
It was the tall man from the garden, who seemed to realize what he'd just walked in on and a wide grin stretched across his face. "Lo siento, I knocked, but no one answered. I am Antonio, jack of Hearts, at your service. Mi amigo, your presence is required elsewhere." He finished, his attention jumping quickly from Matthew to Francis. He spoke with a very obvious spanish accent and had an easygoing manner about him. Matthew thought he would have no trouble getting along with Antonio.
Francis glared at his friend, obviously displeased at having been interupted, but he stood up and offered Matthew his hand, to help him stand. Matthew smiled at him and took hold of it gratefully, certain that he'd of been unable to stand on his own. He stood up shakily and leaned against Francis, who wrapped his arm around his waist gently and smiled down at him. Matthew was still a little uncertain about Francis' past, but he couldn't let past mistakes shape his view of the man. Everyone had a past, and that's where it should remain, in the past.
Antonio motioned for them to follow him out into the hall, and they did. They followed Antonio down a series of long hallways that stopped at another huge set of doors, this time leading into a room that contained a large table which occupied 3/4 of the room. There was a large ornate carved chair at the end of the table, obviously for the king, and smaller, less extravagant versions of the chair around the table for others. Matthew looked around and noticed two figures standing in the corner but he couldn't quite determine anything other than that they were both blond too.
Antonio announced Francis' arrival and the two figures turned around, one of them already glaring daggers at Francis from what Matthew could see. Francis sighed and walked to the big chair, his arm still protectively around Matthew's waist. As he sat down in the chair, he pulled Matthew onto his lap and motioned for Antonio to stand behind him. "Matthieu, I'd like you to meet the king and queen of Diamonds, Alfred and Arthur." Matthew spent a moment examining the two men standing in front of him before letting out a small gasp.
"Alfred?" He mumbled as his eyes widened and he jumped off Francis' lap, blushing. He hadn't seen his brother in years. Since he'd left a note saying he was "Sorry bro, but I've found something I gotta do, love ya man." Matthew had felt lost without his elder brother with him, not knowing how to handle it. He'd locked himself in his room for months, unable to even comprehend that Alfred had just abandoned him so easily. And here he was, standing in front of him with his arm around another's man waist and looking as happy and easy going as he'd ever been.
Alfred looked stunned for a moment and the man beside him glanced back and forth between Alfred and Matthew. "Mattie? W-What are you doing here? I've missed you man! Sorry I had to leave and all, but Artie here just absolutely needed me to stay here with him and all." The man beside him, Artie(?) frowned at the name Alfred called him and glared at him angrily, an action which made his bushy brows seem even thicker.
Matthew's gaze left Alfred and rested on the slightly shorter man beside him, looking at him for the first time. He had short, messy blond hair and lime green eyes. He was trying to look superior, as though he didn't care about any of this, but Matthew could see how his eyes rested on Alfred when he thought no one was looking and the love that was there, in those fleeting glances. He wore a light blue outfit, similar to that Alfred was wearing, with diamonds on each side of the lapels. The man's eyes widened when he finally understood who Matthew was but he didn't get a chance to speak before Alfred started up again.
"What are you doing with this french guy anyways? You're supposed to be back at home. This place is wayyyyy weird." Alfred smiled at Artie(?) and squeezed his waist quickly, a sign of affection, and Matthew suddenly wondered why he'd leapt off Francis's lap despite the fact that he hadn't been doing anything wrong. So he sat back down. Francis' face lit up in a smile. Despite the fact that he'd been quiet throughout their exchange, he'd been worried Matthew might be ashamed of what they'd done, and not want to show his... brother? So when Matthew settled back into his lap, he couldn't stop the relief from showing in his face quickly, before putting an arm around Matthew's waist gently.
Alfred frowned at the arm around his brother's waist and took a step forward only to be stopped by the man beside him putting his hand on his arm and shooting him a look.
"Matthew, I'm sorry we haven't had the opportunity to meet before. This bloody idiot did it all wrong, leaving a note like that. Dimwit. My name is Arthur, I'm the... queen... of diamonds, and your brother was picked to be my-...the king. I thought he might be intelligent enough to explain his reasons to his family, but he didn't and then it was too late. Would you care to tell us how you found yourself here? In the kingdom of hearts with this damn frog too?" The man beside Alfred said, speaking with a british accent.
Matthew glanced at Francis over his shoulder, who shrugged and smiled playfully, before turning back to his brother and Arthur and speaking. "It's nice to meet you, Arthur. And Alfred, I missed you too. I followed, Peter, I think he was called, and fell through a hole and Francis found me and told me where I was. He's been nothing but nice to me."
"I believe you had important matters to discuss, oui? You wouldn't make the long journey here just to talk." Francis said, raising a very valid point. He glanced back and forth between Arthur and Alfred, frowning. Rulers rarely left their own kingdoms, unless it was for crucial matters, which meant something had happened.
"Oh, right. Feliciano's gone missing, and he was last seen here. Lovino and Ludwig are going mad with worry and think he's here. I recommend going to look around your big garden to make sure he didn't just get lost. And keep Matthew safe frog, or you'll never hear the end of it." Arthur finished, glancing at Alfred in case he'd forgotten to mention anything. When Alfred had nothing to add, he glanced at Francis for his opinion.
Matthew's mind flashed back to the garden and the hyperactive italian he'd met there, worry showing on his face. Feliciano had been nice, and showed him the way back, he didn't want to imagine him lost somewhere in the garden, crying and alone.
Francis looked at Matthew's worried face and reached over to squeeze his hand gently. "Understood, merci for coming and informing me. Antonio, you'll stay here and make sure everything is alright, Mathieu and I will go explore the garden and see if we can't find Feliciano. Arthur, I assume you and Alfred can find your own way out? Or remain in the guest room, you know where it is."
Francis pulled Matthew up with him and headed towards the door. Matthew pulled away for a second to go hug Alfred quickly before returning to Francis' side and waving to his brother from the door. When the door closed behind them Francis turned to Matthew and cupped his cheek. "Don't worry about Feli, I'm sure he probably fell asleep somewhere without thinking of the time. If you want, you can stay and catch up with your brother for a little while, mon ange. I don't want to split you apart." Matthew hurried to shake his head. He loved Alfred, with all his heart, he was the only family he had, but Alfred had abandoned him. Matthew knew that if he even tried to talk to Alfred properly and seriously he would end up crying, and Alfred would feel horrible. If a serious conversation was even possible, Alfred was sure to smile and shrug it off, pretend like none of it mattered, as he always had before. Matthew assumed it was his way of coping, despite the fact that talking about things always seemed to lift a burden from his brother, when he was ready to be serious that is.
Matthew smiled at Francis and took his hand again. "No, I'm going with you, I can catch up with Alfred another time, but finding Feli is important right now. I know how terrified I would be if I got lost in the garden, and I don't want Feli to be scared. Come on." Matthew tugged Francis down the hallway in the direction he thought they'd come from.
The moment Matthew started getting lost in the castle, Francis took the lead and they reached the garden rapidly enough. Francis looked around the courtyard making sure Feliciano wasn't in plain sight before grabbing a map, shoving it in his pocket and heading into the maze, motioning for Matthew to follow him.
"Feli!?" Matthew called, tired and worried. They'd been searching around the maze for about an hour and a half, or so Matthew thought, he wasn't quite sure of the time anymore. Francis hadn't needed his map at first, knowing most of his garden like the back of his hand but now he held it open and traced his finger along different paths, trying to remember where they'd checked already and where they hadn't. Francis sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair, disheveling it and making him look younger. Matthew glanced at Francis and bit his lip shyly, he knew he should be worried about Feliciano, and he was, but seeing Francis so frustrated made him want to comfort him.
"Maybe we should take a break?" Matthew asked, peeking up at Francis. Francis hadn't noticed Matthew get closer to him and jumped, startled. He breathed out another sigh and nodded. "Oui, maybe we should, getting restless isn't gonna help find Feli. I'm sorry Mathieu." Matthew shook his head gently and took Francis' hand, leading him to the centre of the maze, where the fountain was. Matthew'd started to know his way around after about an hour in the maze and now he could make it to the centre and back to the castle easily enough. "Don't apologize, come, let's sit." Matthew sat down on one of the benches around the fountain and patted the spot next to him until Francis sat down. "I'm sure Feli's fine, don't worry." Matthew whispered, leaning his head gently on Francis' shoulder and closing his eyes.
"I'm not worried about Feli, I know he's fine. I'm worried what Ludwig might do if Feli's gone for too long. For all I know he could come for you if he thinks I have Feliciano. I can't get you caught up in this, you want to go home right? You shouldn't get too deep into this world, Mathieu, or it'll never let you go."
Matthew didn't know what to say for a moment, his brain processing what Francis had just said. After a while, he lifted his head from Francis' shoulder and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Of course, I need to go home at some point. That doesn't mean I necessarily WANT to, immediately that is. Alfred is here, he's my family, and the only thing back home is school. This is an adventure, and if I go home without living a little, then there'll have been no point... And that's why, I'm gonna do this." Matthew finished speaking, pressing a soft kiss on Francis's lips, afraid he might get pushed away.
Those thoughts quickly left his mind however the moment that Francis placed his hands on his hips and pulled him onto his lap, so that Matthew was practically straddling him. Matthew pulled back for a second to catch his breath and found himself staring into Francis' eyes, mesmerized. He bit his lip and reached forward to brush a finger along Francis' bottom lip and causing a hitch in his breath. Francis reached up and grabbed Matthew's hand, peppering it with kisses before he looked back at Matthew and smiled. "You have no idea what you do to me, mon petit Mathieu, we should get back to looking for Feliciano. We can... Have an adventure when we get back to the castle." Matthew blushed at Francis' words but a small smile still slid onto his face.
Francis stood up, with Matthew beside him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, before pulling out his map again. As they started heading down a pathway, they heard a shuffling sound and Feliciano popped up in the path opposite them. "Matthew! Francis! Ciao! I fell asleep in a dead end because it was so boring and I didn't want to turn around and try to find the centre again and then I overslept and when I woke up I had no clue in which dead end I was and then I heard noises and followed them and then here you were! Oh I'm so happy I found someone! And the centre! I can go back to see Luddy now! And Lovi! Yay!" Matthew blinked, still dizzied by the speed at which the Italian boy spoke.
Francis held out the map to Feliciano, pointing in the direction towards the castle. "Before you head home Feli, please go let Antonio know that you're safe and sound, so he doesn't worry. Mathieu and I will catch up." Feli nodded, smiling and skipping away down the path, unaware that he'd caused panic for everyone.
Francis chuckled and headed in the opposite direction as the one he'd just sent Feliciano. "Let's take a detour, we're in no rush now, right, mon ange?" Matthew nodded and was just starting to follow behind Francis when he felt a hand clamp over his mouth and someone hit Francis over the head, knocking him out. The last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness was the sight of Francis' still form lying on the grass and the one terrifying thought that maybe he wouldn't get back up.
Feel free to review and let me know how it was!~