Chapter Two

Francis and Arthur agreed that they would put off telling Matthew about their decision. The young man still had the slight hope that somebody would ask his parents, instead of his parents having to do the asking. Francis chose to wait until he received the acceptance letter from the Braginski family before telling Matthew the news. There was no sense in getting him worked up for something that wasn't actually going to happen.

The day the letter arrived was similar to the day that the first letter was sent. Matthew was sitting on a bench outside again, with his Siberian husky, Kumajirou, curled up next to him, but his brother and his friends were inside, probably playing pool or some other game. Another difference was the amount of stress that Arthur and Francis were feeling. The Braginski family accepted the proposal, making the idea of Matthew marrying Ivan that much more real.

"Matthew, could you come inside for a moment?" Matthew heard his papa call for him. He stood up and dusted the dirt off the bottom of his coat and walked inside, Kumajirou following close behind him.

"Yes, papa?" He asked, taking his coat off and looking down at the floor. He had started the habit of calling him "papa" when he was a small kid and learned the word in his lessons. Matthew still called Arthur "father" though.

"Your father and I found a husband for you." Francis told him, gesturing to the sofa across from him in the room.

Matthew's eyes snapped from the floor to him, surprised and a bit disappointed. Francis noticed that once he sat down his posture was less straight and happy. He had known for a while that his parents would be asking another family, but he hadn't wanted to hear it. Matthew still hoped that he could have attracted somebody's attention, and their parents would ask his papa. Alfred usually stole all of the attention most of the time at the parties, leaving Matthew to stand in the corner and work up the courage to ask somebody for their company.

"Who?" Matthew hoped it would at least be somebody nice, that he could happily live with.

"The Braginski family." Francis watched his son's neutral expression fall as the words sunk in.

"Oh. Well, thank you for informing me." He whispered as he stood and walked upstairs to his rooms. Matthew locked the door behind him and sat down at his desk, laying his head down on his arms.

"I don't want to marry the scary man, Kuma." Matthew said to both himself and his dog. Kumajirou whined and nudged his hand, knowing he was upset. He stood up and sat back down in his favourite chair, letting his dog jump up partly on his lap. "I have to, though. I didn't get any attention, so papa and father had to do the asking." His dog whined again and licked his owner's nose, making him smile a little.

"Maybe he won't be so bad."

"I didn't know the Bonnefoy family had two sons until we got that letter. I only heard about Alfred." Sofiya told her husband.

"Neither did I. Apparently, Matthew and Alfred are identical twins. I hope that Matthew isn't like Alfred. He is much too loud and boisterous." Alexander sat down and sighed. "Not much to do now except have them meet and tell Ivan about his new fiancé. I don't want to tell him, after how he reacted to Natalia."

"I don't want to tell him either. The letter said that Ivan is welcome to their home in Ontario whenever he wants to meet Matthew. We could just send him without telling him. Francis and Arthur would have to do it." Sofiya told him her idea.

"That's a good idea. I don't like making them tell him, but it's too easy for him to sway us."

They agreed to fly Ivan to Ontario with a sealed letter written by Alexander, telling Francis what the situation was. As they were leaving the airport, they hoped that Ivan didn't do anything to make them change their minds.

In Ontario…

"I don't understand why I had to give them the letter in person. Couldn't they just mail it or something?" Ivan mumbled to himself, walking up the path to the front door of the Bonnefoy estate. As per his father's orders, he took the family jet to Ontario with the unopened letter, not knowing what was going to happen. He stood outside the estate doors, glaring daggers at the polar bear door knockers.

After a few minutes of standing there, he knocked on the door and took a step back. A petite male in a servant's uniform answered the door. "I'm sorry for making you wait, sir, but the masters weren't expecting any visitors." He opened the door more to let Ivan walk inside and took his coat.

"My father told me I was expected here, with this letter." Ivan gave him the envelope addressed to Francis and Arthur Bonnefoy.

"I will take the letter to Master Francis if you would like to wait in the sitting room, sir." The servant led Ivan to the correct room and the Russian sat down in one of the chairs. The servant quickly walked to his master's study and knocked. Francis opened the door and the servant handed him the letter. "I'm sorry for the interruption, Master Francis, but there is a letter for you and a young man waiting in the sitting room."

"Thank you for telling me, I'll take care of it, if you would please return to your duties." Francis made it a point to be polite whenever possible to the help, even though Arthur frequently accused him of flirting with the maids, which he wasn't. He closed the door once the servant left, having a strong suspicion about who was downstairs waiting for him.

He broke the seal on the envelope and took out the letter.

Francis and Arthur Bonnefoy,

As you know, we have accepted your proposal for your son, Marcus. The only problem is that we were not sure how to go about breaking the news to our son. You have my deepest apologies for forcing the responsibility on you, and I hope Ivan is a pleasant guest.

Alexander Braginski

Francis sighed and sat down at his desk for a moment, running a hand through his hair. "His name is Matthew." He continued to sit there, trying to think of a way to introduce the two young men.

Downstairs, Matthew had run inside. "Papa! The sunflowers are growing beautifully! Papa! Where are you?" He asked loudly as he reached the sitting room, seeing Ivan sitting there impatiently. "I'm sorry; I didn't know you would be visiting today. I wish I knew; I could have dressed better." Matthew said nervously, removing his jacket and fixing his hair with his hand. Ivan looked at him, confused.

"Why would it matter to me how you are dressed? It should only concern your parents and your fiancé." Ivan replied bluntly with a bit of malice.

"B-But, you are my fiancé."

Second chapter, I hope you guys enjoy it :) Just warning you now, updates are going to be a bit...random. I have no clue what my schedule looks like and sometimes more important things come up.

Song of the Chapter: Little Lion Man feat. Johnny Depp by Tanto's Giant Nuts