Chapter Five

Matthew gave up on sleeping after two hours of nightmares. Despite how the Russian man treated him, his condition in the hospital still worried Matthew more than he thought it would. He got up from his bed and sat down on the couch, picking up the book he was reading and turning on a lamp. Kuma whined and sat down next to his owner, closer to him than he would have normally. Matthew absentmindedly stroked the fur on top of Kuma's head and neck as well as scratching behind his ears, thinking about convincing the driver to take him to the hospital to visit Ivan the next day.

He was caught off guard when he heard somebody knock on the door, signaling that it was 9:00 in the morning, when breakfast was served everyday to the family. Except Alfred, who preferred to sleep in as late as possible. Matthew opened the door, revealing Francis, rather than the usual servant that came to get him.

"Breakfast is ready, Mattie." Francis told him, leaning on the door frame. The nickname caught him off guard, Francis hasn't called him that since he was ten, but it made him feel better.

"Thanks for telling me, papa, but I'm not hungry." Matthew replied quietly, attempting to close the door, even though Francis's foot was in the way.

"No, Matthew. I know you barely slept last night and you need to eat something before you try to convince our driver to take you to see him."

"H-How d-did you-"

"It's obvious, Matthew. If you eat a good breakfast I'll take you there myself." Matthew sighed and nodded, getting his hoodie from the back of his desk chair and put it on, following his dad to the kitchen, where they ate breakfast at the smaller table.

"Morning, Matthew. I heard you're going to visit that bloody wanker at the hospital." Arthur greeted from where he was already sitting at the table. Matthew blushed lightly and nodded, sitting down next to him and across from Francis.

"Don't say rude things about him. He might choose to be nice to me." Matthew replied quietly, getting a good sized stack of pancakes and drowning them in maple syrup.

"Doubt it." Arthur muttered under his breath before eating the small stack of burnt toast he made, resulting in the horror of his husband, who thought the Brit shouldn't be making anybody food, much less himself.

"Arthur, stop. It is Matthew's choice to do this, and I doubt there is much we can do about it."

"That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. This entire situation is just cruel. Matthew is too nice and quiet for anybody from the Braginski family." Arthur retorted, getting angry at Francis and almost ignoring Matthew, who just stared down at the now empty plate.

"I'm going to get dressed now." Matthew said suddenly and quietly, standing up and handing his dishes to the maid that was working in the kitchen. He went back up to his room and picked out a pair of light blue jeans that were a little skinny on him and a t-shirt with the cartoon of a polar bear, he then put on his hoodie, which was red with a white maple leaf on it.

Kuma came up and licked his hands, whining a little. He never liked when Matthew went places without him. Matthew bent down and giggled when Kuma began licking his chin and cheeks. "Kuma, I'm just going to go check on Ivan. That's what a good almost fiancé would do. That and I'm really worried about him." Kuma licked his cheek once more and then jumped up on Matthew's bed, curling up and falling asleep. Matthew giggled and went back downstairs, where Francis was waiting by the door.

"I promised I would take you to see Ivan." He said, not looking upset but not particularly happy either.

"One second, I just need to get something." Matthew ran outside to the sunflowers and picked a few, making sure they were in the best condition to give to Ivan. "Alright, I'm ready." His dad looked at him oddly for the sunflowers, but shrugged and led him out to his personal car. "Thanks for taking me papa. I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it, Mattie. I just want to make this up to you in some way."

"Why would you need to make something up to me?" Matthew was confused because of what Francis said. He didn't do anything to suggest that he would have to do that.

He pulled into a parking spot near the front entrance and shut off the car. "I'm the one that sent that proposal letter. I did it because it was my stupid responsibility to make sure you didn't live your life without anybody. It was my fault that Ivan came early, not knowing what was going on; my fault he lashed out at you and made you so upset. It is my fault that you are stuck with this cruel man and there is nothing I can do about it." By the time he stopped talking, he was almost crying into his hands, leaning on the steering wheel. Matthew, in all his life, had never seen his dad cry, no matter what happened he always kept his head in the worst situations.

"Papa, it's alright. You did what you had to do, and you couldn't have known what he would have said to me. It's okay, completely." Matthew took his seatbelt off and hugged his dad, even though he was getting his shirt a little wet on the shoulder. "I think you should go back home. I have plenty of money for a cab and lunch if I get hungry." Francis nodded and started the car back up as Matthew got out.

"Call me if you need me." He told his son as he pulled out of the parking spot and then the lot. Matthew walked inside and up to the front desk, where a lady was typing swiftly on the computer in front of her.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked Matthew once she saw him in front of her desk.

"Yes, I w-would like to visit I-Ivan B-Braginski, please." He stated shyly, looking down at the floor and blushing.

"Of course, visiting hours have started half an hour ago, at 10:00, and they end at 4:00. Can I please see a form of picture ID, along with your relation to Mr. Braginski?" Matthew nodded and got out his driver's license.

"My name is Matthew Bonnefoy, and he is my fiancé, or well, engaged to be engaged." Matthew blushed harder and she smiled.

"Of course, Mr. Bonnefoy. Here is your name badge, please wear it at all times, and Ivan Braginski is on floor three, room 3.14." She handed him his visitor's badge with his name on it, as well as a barcode. "That barcode will help you get into the ward itself, as well as the cafeteria. Have a nice day."

"Thank you, you too ma'am." Matthew pinned the badge on the front of his hoodie before going to the elevator. It was a quick ride by himself, the closer he got to room 3.14 the more nervous he became. What if Ivan was still mad at him? What if he started to really hate him? He walked up to the entrance of the ward and showed his badge to him, who opened the door from behind the desk. "Excuse me, which way is room 3.14?" He pointed down the right hallway.

"Fourth door on the left." He nodded and went down the hallway, faintly hearing a Russian voice yelling coming from the room, most likely at an orderly or a nurse. The young man holding a bunch of sunflowers smiled slightly and opened the door, letting the nurses out. Ivan looked up at him, surprised to see him.

"I h-heard that you were in t-the hospital, and I w-wanted to see that you were o-okay. I know that s-sunflowers are your f-favorite, and I was g-growing a lot in the b-backyard, so y-you wouldn't h-hate me as much and I l-like sunflowers too." Matthew stuttered violently, blushing bright red and looking at the floor, placing the flowers on the table next to Ivan.

"Do stop stuttering if you can. It makes you sound like a foolish child." Ivan said to him after a moment of him standing there awkwardly.

"I'm s-sorry, I'm just n-nervous being around y-you." He frowned and stood farther away from the young man in the bed.

Ivan sighed and remembered what his father told him to do. "I'm glad you are here." Matthew looked up at him, shocked, smiling. "I would like to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. I was merely surprised by the news." He tried to sound as sincere as possible. It looked like the smile Matthew gave would split his face in half.

"It's okay, I w-was surprised t-too, when I found out." Matthew sat down in the chair near the bed after Ivan motioned to it. He then remembered that the Russian has yet to formally start the courting. "Is that all that you want to tell me?" He looked up at him expectantly. Ivan sighed mentally again, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"Yes, there is something else. I would like to formally ask for your hand in marriage. I would do something different, but it has been short notice." He shifted uncomfortably and got the ring box from the small pile of personal objects found on his person. He handed the ring to the grinning young man in the chair next to him. Matthew took the ring and opened it, his eyes looking a little tear-filled.

"Yes! I will! I'd love to. I'd hug you right now, but you're hurt." Matthew put on the ring and smiled at him. Ivan withheld the urge to roll his eyes while remembering one thing that his father always told him. 'Keep your fiancé or spouse happy.' He weakly moved one of his arms so that Matthew could hug him. The younger male quickly wrapped his arms around his torso and rested his head on his new fiancé's chest.

In a fleetingly small moment of affection for the smaller boy, he started stroking his hair lightly as he nearly curled up in the bed next to him, thinking that if the rest of his life was like that moment, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Hey! Let me just say how sorry I am for making you guys wait so long for this chapter, which is the longest one so far. I hope you all enjoyed it. School is starting soon for me, so chapters will either be more often or less often than they are now, depending on how much I pay attention in class.

Song of the Chapter: The Denial Twist by the White Stripes