"Matthew! You can't just go to Russia, lad. It would be awkward and embarrassing for all involved." Arthur shouted from Matthew's bedroom door, next to a smiling Francis. "Well say something you bloody frog!"
Francis sighed and looked at Arthur. "I agree with Matthew. If you had gone off without any warning at all, I would fly to England in a heartbeat to give you a piece of my mind." His husband yelled incoherently in response and ran a hand through his hair.
"If you leave this building, I will freeze all connections to our money. You wouldn't even be able to pay for the taxi to the airport."
"So I'll unfreeze them. Arthur, he is old enough to decide if he wants to chase after his fiancé or not. You can't control him forever." Arthur huffed and stormed away, grumbling under his breath, causing Francis to smile at his favorite son and put an arm around his shoulders. "Are you sure about this one, Mattie? I wouldn't blame you or be angry if you break this off. It might be a while until somebody else is found, but I don't mind looking."
Matthew sighed and sat heavily on his favorite sofa. "I don't want to. I like him, Papa. I couldn't tell you why if I tried, though." He chuckled and looked down at his hands. "Would it be rash of me to go see him?"
"I was telling your father the truth. If it was me, I would go after him in a heartbeat. I can't lie and tell you that I like Ivan, but you like him. I don't know how he will react to seeing you in Russia. I don't think anyone could predict that."
"What would I even say? 'Hello, Ivan. I missed you and leaving like that without telling me was rather rude'?"
Francis shrugged and sat down next to him. "Tell him the truth, that you are upset. I know he hasn't reacted well to the truth lately, but at least he'll know that you're serious about this engagement, even if he isn't."
"Part of me wants you to come with me, but I know that won't help anything." His papa nodded.
"If you do go, any time you want to come home, the private jet will be there before you can say the word." Matthew smiled and hugged him before standing and going to his closet.
"Can you call for Maria? I think I should stay for around a week and I'll need help packing. Even if the Braginskis kick me out, I'll just stay at a hotel and explore. If I'm going to marry him, I should learn about his country." He grinned and started pulling shirts and hoodies off of the racks to pack.
"I hope you enjoy your trip, Mattie." Francis told him before going to find Matthew's personal maid.
"Why do you act so intimidated by me at times?" Ivan asked his mother over tea. It was a daily tradition that he missed when he was staying with the Bonnefoys. Every day it would be just him and his mother, time that they both greatly enjoyed.
Sofiya smiled and leaned back in her heavily-cushioned chair. "You must promise not to tell your father." Ivan nodded and leaned forward. "I only act that way so he doesn't feel weak. It isn't that he is intimidated, he is just so shocked by your temper at times, so he lets you do what you want. I don't think he really has a problem with it, though. His job is to be stern to the people, not to us." Ivan chuckled.
"I have been working on my temper, ever since I almost destroyed the room I was staying in."He looked down into his cup sheepishly as his mother laughed.
"Did you at least apologize?" she asked, regaining her composure.
"In a way, yes. In a much truer way, no." He told her as he tried to sneak one of the cakes to Vlad while he was curled up at his feet.
They finished their tea and talked about anything, enjoying their tea time together after Ivan's prolonged stay with his fiancé.
"The doctor said I should take small walks every day to stretch everything out. Can you help your dear old mother up from her chair?" Sofiya grinned up at her son as he handed her the cane she was given to help her get around.
"You could never be old, mother. It just isn't possible." She placed a hand on his forearm to help hold her weight as she slowly stood up from the chair.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Ivan, but I need both a cane and your help to get up. I'm officially old." She smiled as Ivan helped her out of the room and through the halls, Vlad walking behind them. After a while Sofiya was a little out of breath. Ivan looked worried as he guided her towards a chair. "No, Ivan, I'm fine. Just take Vlad for a walk outside. I'll get Alina to help me to my room. I should probably rest." Ivan nodded and went to the foyer for his coat and Vlad's leash. Watching them leave, Sofiya smiled and sighed. "Matthew Bonnefoy, I hope you know what you're getting into."
"Um…the Braginski estate please?" Matthew asked the cab driver, earning a confused look. "Braginskiy nedvizhimosti, poz halvsta?" He asked in broken Russian, barely able to pronounce the one phrase he had looked up on the plane. Luckily, the driver was used to unpracticed Russia and he could piece together just enough to understand where he needed to go.
An hour later, the driver was lightly tapping the glass to wake Matthew from his doze. He looked out the window to see an enormous estate that looked almost like a castle. He paid and thanked the driver after getting his luggage. He used the heavy, bear-shaped knocker on the door and hoped he wouldn't be entirely unwelcome.
A timid maid answered the door, asking what he needed in heavily accented English. "I need to speak to Ivan, unless he is too busy. My name is Matthew." The maid nodded and led him to a sitting room.
"I will fetch him, please stay here." Matthew chose to sit down on one of the small, stiff couches after she left, looking around the spacious room.
After half an hour he heard footsteps on the staircase behind him. He stood and turned around to see a woman with a cane smiling at him. She had auburn hair pulled into a bun and was wearing comfortable, but sophisticated clothes. The only wrinkles she had were evidence of a life of happiness and laughter.
"Hello, Matthew. You can call me Sofiya. I understand you are looking for my son?" She sat down in the closest chair and crossed her legs.
"It is an honor to meet you Sofiya. I just need to talk to him about something."
"What is that something? You can tell me." She smiled reassuringly.
"The day he left our family estate, I told him that I was having strong feelings toward him and he told me that he would never return them. I stayed outside, alone, for a while, and when I came inside, he was gone and my Papa was the one to tell me he left." Matthew tensed, thinking of the numerous rejections Ian had given him. "I don't even know why I came here. I think I should just give up the idea of him ever seeing this engagement as something other than a business agreement."
"If it makes you feel any better, he talks about you a lot. It sounds like bad things, but I can tell that he is very fond of you. Just yesterday he was complaining about your 'stupid, cute hair curl.'"
Matthew blushed and pulled his sleeves over his hands. "I don't mean to offend, but I doubt he said anything like that."
"I assure you, he did. I doubt he knows he did, but that doesn't really matter." They talked for a while, mostly Matthew telling Sofiya the details of Ivan staying at the Bonnefoy estate.
"Mother, father told me I had a visitor while I was walking Vlad." Ivan called out in the foyer, handing his coat and Vlad's leash to a servant.
"I'm in here, Ivan. So is your guest." She called back from the main sitting room. Ivan rounded the corner and saw he shy demeanor of his fiancé sitting on a couch with his mother, looking up at him.
"Mattvey! What are you doing here?"
"He is here for an explanation, which you definitely owe him. Especially since you left to come here without telling him." She looked up at him sternly, waiting for an answer.
I hope updates happen at least a tiny bit faster now. I have a new laptop and I am recovering from my terrible case of writers block.
You can still follow me on tumblr at
sburb-has-failed-me
Song of the chapter: "Hospital Beds" by Cold War Kids