Thanks for the encouraging remarks guys X) Here's the next chapter!
By the time Arthur had gotten Francis to stop worrying and go to sleep, Antonio was downstairs, talking with Gilbert. Antonio had papers in his hands and they seemed pretty excited about something.
"Were you able to think of something?" Arthur asked, coming into the room to sit on the couch next to Gilbert.
"Ja!" he said excitably. "Antonio's got an idea."
Arthur looked over at the grinning Spaniard. "What is it?"
Antonio held up some papers. "My café has enough to cover Francis's losses. If we combine our businesses, we can save A Taste of Heaven!"
That lifted Arthur's spirits. "That's great! What do we need for that?"
Antonio handed him a paper. "Francis's signature. I've already drawn up the contract."
Arthur smiled. This would mean so much to the Frenchman.
/ *_* /
Francis didn't want to get up the next morning, but he knew he had to. Matthew would get more depressed if he saw his father so bad. He sighed and pushed himself up. He took his time showering and getting ready before going to Matthew's room.
The younger blonde was still asleep, his polar bear tightly curled in his arms. Francis sat on the bed next to him and ran a hand through the boy's hair. He sighed to himself.
"Francis?" He looked up at Arthur who was standing in the doorway.
"Oui, mon cher?"
"You should come downstairs," he told him. "Antonio wants to talk to you."
Francis nodded and stood to follow him downstairs. Antonio and Gilbert had fallen asleep on the couch and armchair. Gilbert was still asleep but Antonio was awake with a cup of coffee. He sat with Francis at the dining table and explained their idea.
Arthur leaned against the back of the couch and watched as Francis realized that his restaurant had a chance again. He smiled widely at him friend.
Arthur shook Gilbert's shoulder until the German woke up. "Take Mattie out today," he told him. "Meet us at the restaurant at opening."
"Wha?"
Arthur pushed him off the couch.
"Okay. Okay. I'm up." He stood from the floor and headed upstairs to wake Mattie up while the other two laughed at him.
"Hey, Birdie?" Gilbert knocked on the door. He peeked into the room. "You up?" He saw that the answer was no, Matthew was still asleep.
Gilbert walked into the room, ruffling his hair. He sat on Matthew's bed.
"Birdie, time to get up," he said, shaking his shoulder.
"Hm?" Matthew hummed tiredly. He blinked at the other. "Gilbert?"
The albino smiled a little. "Come on, Birdie. Let's get something to eat."
It took some coaxing to get the younger one out of bed and getting ready. Francis let Gilbert borrow his shower and some clothes while Matthew got up. He took Matthew's hand and headed out before he could protest.
/ *_* /
"Gilbert, what's going on?" Matthew asked tiredly as he leaned his head against Gilbert's shoulder. After being dragged out of the house, the albino had taken him out to breakfast, than to see a movie, and then out to lunch. After that, they had walked around the park and then Mattie had stayed the night with Albert. Gilbert had been taking him out all day, every day, for the past week. Right now, he was sitting on the hood of Gilbert's car while Gilbert leaned against it in a parking lot.
"Whatever do you mean?" Gilbert asked, wrapping an arm around Matthew's shoulders.
"Why are we out here?" Matthew asked, looking up at him. "Again."
"Why not?" he retorted. "You've been having fun, right?"
Matthew blushed. "Oui. I have."
"So, this is to continue that," he grinned.
Matthew smiled a little back at him. He lightly nuzzled his head against Gilbert's shoulder, closing his eyes. Gilbert's phone went off and he looked at it. It was Antonio, saying that they were almost done.
The others had been working all week on moving things around in the restaurant and spreading the word that it was going to be a little different. They had enlisted Ludwig, Feli, Feli's brother Romano, Alfred, and several other of the teen's friends with promises of free food. They were hoping for a bigger reception than usual when they opened in a few hours.
/ *_* /
Gilbert saw the pout on Matthew's face when he turned the corner towards A Taste of Heaven. It turned to a curious surprise that Gilbert shared when they saw people waiting outside for the place to open. Gilbert parked and they got through the crowd to the door where Alfred let them in.
"Hey, Mattie!" the spectaled blonde greeted.
"Matthieu!" Francis called, coming over to him.
"Papa?" Matthew was very confused. The tables had been moved around, and recolored to warm reds, yellows, and soft blues and white. There were still candles and vases of flowers on each table. A spot had been cleared out and made into a dance floor, with a stand for a live band when needed. It was like a classic ballroom almost. Still family friendly and comfortable, but highly romantic and sweet too. "What happened?"
He was handed a pair of black slacks, a white button down shirt, black vest, and black shoes. "Go change, mon petit," his father told him. "We open in less than an hour."
"But. . . I thought. . ."
Francis smiled at him. "Antonio and Gilbert thought of a way to help. We're keeping un avant-goût du ciel."
Matthew stood there for a second and then widely smiled. He ran off to change as Francis turned to Gilbert.
"Merci, mon ami," he said.
Gilbert shrugged with a smile. "Es war nichts." (It was nothing) He walked off after Matthew to talk to him. He found him in the men's bathroom, looking over his uniform. He turned to Gilbert with a wide smile and ran over to hug him.
Gilbert laughed a little nervously, wrapping his arms around Matthew's waist. "Glad to see you smiling again."
Matthew looked up at him shyly. He leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to Gilbert's lips. He pulled back with a blush and got his things together, going back out to meet his dad. Gilbert stood in shock for a few minutes until it hit him. Matthew had kissed him! He grinned and went out into the main room.
Matthew, Alfred, Romano and Ludwig were working as waiters. Antonio, Feli, and Gilbert were helping Francis in the kitchen, as they had added more than just French cuisine to the menu. Arthur was working management and helping in the dining room as needed.
As the door opened to let the customers in, Gilbert could hear Matthew say, "Bonjour, bienvenue à 'un avant-goût du ciel."
Gah, I'm sorry that this one seems sort of choppy and uneventful. I didn't want to do a day by day thing, that would have taken away from it. . .
Anyway, on a better note, I only plan to have two chapters after this. One for FrUk and one for PruCan. Lemons as promised to come X)