It seemed as though the celestial beings from above were smiling down on Alfred and Arthur's loving resolve (or at least that was Alfred's dramatic Hollywood induced version of it) for little Charlie's colic seemed to subside only a few day later. He stopped his crying from nine in the morning to nine at night and instead returned to his normal easy going self. "I swear to god Artie, the universe loves us."
"Oh please Alfred," Arthur scoffed and sent a sideways glance towards his husband as he changed their son's diaper. "The universe has nothing to do with it. Maybe your brother did something." The Briton mused as he finished patting down the sticky straps of Charlie's new diaper.
"Well that's no fun Artie. Can't you at least pretend it was something cool and mystical like?" Alfred asked hopefully.
"No," Arthur replied as he lifted the wriggling, burbling Charlie off the changing table and into his arms. "You know I can't stand that over dramatic, cheesy, Hollywood induced stuff."
"That's a lie. When we were dating you thought my cheesy romantic lines were charming."
Arthur eyed Alfred curiously as he adjusted the baby in his arms. "How did you know about that when I've never told you before?" Arthur inquired suspiciously as he scrutinized Alfred's expression.
"Uh…" Alfred glanced around nervously- having forgotten completely that that little bit of knowledge was supposed to be kept secret. "Well I uh… I may have… stolen your journal once or twice while we were dating… but it was just to see what you thought of me I swear!"
Alfred turned a light shade of red and his green eyes spread wider, "G-git! Those were my private thoughts regardless of what you were using them for!" Arthur exclaimed; flustered and embarrassed at the thought of Alfred stealing his personal writings and peering into his deepest thoughts and feelings. The American merely grinned innocently and scratched at the back of his neck, trying to calm Arthur down lest he scare Charlie with his angry shouting.
The couple's small squabble, however, was interrupted by the sound of the telephone ringing from where it sat perched on its stand downstairs in the kitchen. Arthur's flustered shouts died down- his cheeks still burning slightly- as he sent his husband a glare that sent the wordless message of 'Go get the phone you lazy git.' Alfred was down the stairs in a hurry (still wondering why after living here for nearly four years they still haven't invested in buying a phone for the upstairs portion of the house) just barely making it in time before snatching the electronic up and bringing it to his ear. "Hello?" He called into the receiver.
"Um... h-hello Alfred, it's M-Matthew…" A shy quiet voice barely resounded from the other end of the line.
"Mattie!" Alfred exclaimed with a boisterous laugh. "Hey Bro, how've you been? We were just talking about you." Alfred grinned (something instinctual by this point in time).
"I-I've been fine, Al. A-actually I'm glad you picked up… I wanted to talk to you." Something in the younger man's tone- something that just seemed to go deeper than Matthew's normal shy self- and it threw Alfred into over-protective-and-concerned-older-brother mode.
"Talk? Yeah sure Matt, I'm all ears." Alfred replied; shifting the phone from one to ear to the other to make sure he would be comfortable for the long conversation.
"W-Well… actually Al I was hoping we could talk face to face." Face to face? Oh man this had to be serious? Usually Matthew had no problem conducting long conversations over the phone with Alfred, but wanting to meet personally meant something really must have been up.
"Sure Mattie. I have to keep an eye on Charlie while Arthur works, but he's probably gonna nap soon so it'll be okay if you come over."
"Alright, I'll be over in a little while. Thanks Alfred." The younger man spoke softly; exchanging a brief goodbye with his older brother before hanging up leaving the dull beep of the dial tone to echo into Alfred's ear. After a few moments of standing there Alfred finally brought the phone down and hung it back on the receiver.
"Who was that?" Arthur voice floated into the room as Alfred turned around to see his husband enter the room; Charlie happily squirming in his arms.
Alfred smiled softly as he strode up to his husband and son; scooping the little boy up in his arms which earned the American a big toothless grin (something that Charlie had only recently discovered how to do) from the baby, "Uncle Mattie's comin' to visit, won't that be fun Charlie?" Alfred cooed loving as he held the baby up in front of his face. Charlie squealed excitedly and smiled, kicking his legs and waving his chubby arms a bit. Alfred grinned happily at the sight of his son so happy.
Arthur smiled softly at Charlie's energetic attitude and gave a small chuckle, "Uncle Mattie, huh? Is everything alright with Matthew, Alfred?" The Briton asked; concern dancing across his features.
"Yeah, yeah it's nothing horrible. He just said he wanted to talk was all so I told him to come over." Alfred explained as he brought Charlie down into his arms; kissing the baby's soft round head in the process.
Arthur pursed his lips slightly; also realizing that there was mostly likely something plaguing his brother-in-law's mind. "Oh well, I certainly hope everything is alright." He expressed his concern. "Now then, if you have Charlie I really should get to work. My editor is practically breathing down my neck for the next parts of my book."
"Yup don't worry Artie; super dad is on the job!" Alfred grinned from ear to ear; leaning down to tickled Charlie's chubby belly which earned him another excited squeal and a wide grin.
Arthur smiled; giving his head a small shake and his green eyes a roll, "Alright super dad, don't get him too riled up or he'll never nap." Arthur warned as he gingerly turned around and headed down the hall back to his study where Alfred knew he'd be busy at work until dinner time. Alfred gave his husband a brisk nod in understanding before the American shifted Charlie to lye against his chest.
Alfred strolled around the kitchen; murmuring soothing sweet nothings and rubbing gentle circles against Charlie's back as he calmed the boy down for his afternoon nap. The baby wriggled and burbled for a while before finally his exhaustion got the best of him; his little mouth opening wide in a yawn before his blue eyes fluttered closed. The American smiled tenderly down at his son; giving his head a soft kiss before heading upstairs to put baby down in his crib to sleep comfortably. Just as Alfred put Charlie down in his crib and tucked a blanket around his tiny form the doorbell rang signaling Matthew's arrival. Alfred snatched up the baby monitor up from the bedroom before he sauntered down the stairs and to the front door where his younger brother was waiting to be let in from the cold late fall weather.
Sure enough when Alfred opened the door there Matthew stood; dressed in his favorite red sweatshirt (The one with the maple leaf on it he had gotten on a trip to Canada) with wind whipped cheeks and nose to match the scarlet hue. "Well that didn't take very long," Alfred commented; noting his brothers reddened cheeks. "Ha, what you do walk here?" The American joked with a small laugh as he opened the door wider to let his brother inside.
"A-actually I did…" Matthew replied shyly as he stepped into the warm house.
"You did what?" Alfred replied with a bit of shock. "How the hell'd you get here so fast if you walked?" He inquired curiously as he closed the door behind Matthew
.
"W-well… t-to be honest I… I-I was at Francis' house." The younger man replied; his already reddened cheeks deepening in their scarlet hue.
Alfred arched one deep blonde brow, "Francis' house? Why were you-?" Alfred was promptly cut off by Matthew.
"T-That's what I wanted to talk about…" He replied; violet eyes shyly flickering behind the lenses of his rounded glasses.
Alfred pressed his lips together. The American recalled the memory of what had happened the first time Francis and Matthew had met those many weeks ago. The way they looked at each other as if they had been in love their entire lives (A look Alfred only recognized since he had seen it on himself many a time). "Well… alright. Let's go sit in the living room and we can talk." Alfred said with a small jerk of his head towards the direction of the living room. Ace was busy padding around the room when they walked in- sniffing at the air and curiously examining the man that smelled like pancakes and warm maple syrup. Bromsley on the other hand was curled up on the arm chair, paying absolutely no mind to anything else but his beauty rest. Matthew smiled softly and picked Ace up; settling down onto the couch before placing the little kitty in his lap to give him a loving pet.
Alfred took a seat next to his twin," So… what exactly is it with you and Francis?" Alfred inquired; feeling somewhat protective and possessive of his baby brother.
Matthew shifted nervously as he kept his gaze solely focused on the cat dozing off in his lap. "W-well… I uh… Francis and I have b-been kind of... you know… s-seeing each other…"
Alfred didn't respond at first, "Sooo… you're dating?"
Matthews face bloomed a brilliant shade of red and his violet eyes spread wide "N-no, I-I mean well… I mean yes b-but it's only been a few dates, n-nothing else!" Matthew sputtered back nervously.
"Look Mattie it's okay… alright sure Francis isn't one of the first people I woulda picked for you, but whatever makes you happy." Alfred replied back, putting a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "Matt no offense or nothin' but… I kinda always had a feeling you were like me."
The younger man continued to blush; his violet eyes down cast to the floor. "Well… yes, I'm gay. I always kinda knew even when I was really young, but I was too scared to tell anyone. Luckily for me though Dad was so focused on you that he never really noticed the fact I wasn't getting girlfriends."
"Well Dad is a pretty one track kinda guy." Alfred said with a small laugh. "Mattie you know I have no problem with you being gay; well of course I shouldn't since I am myself. There's nothing wrong with it either- love is still love no matter who it's shared between." The American reassured his younger brother with one of his signature smiles. One of those smiles that just made others want to grin along with him.
Matthew smiled back gratefully; Ace then jumping down from the man's lap to go annoy Bromsley on the chair. "I-I know Al it's just…" His voice trailed off and he pressed his lips together. "I… I think I really l-love Francis…. He's so kind to me and treats me like the most important in the world. I always have been shy and kind of unnoticeable, but Francis notices me and… I really love that." Alfred listened intently as his brother continued with his speech. "I want to keep seeing Francis- really I do- but… I'm worried…"
"Mattie there's no need to worry. Sure Francis is a bit of a flirt- okay a lot of a flirt- but I think he's decent enough that he wouldn't hurt you." And if he ever does I have a chainsaw in the garage and a government ID to ward off the cops. Alfred added silently.
"No that's not what I'm worried about; I positive that Francis wouldn't cheat on me. What I am worried about is… t-telling dad…" Well that was perfectly understandable. Matthew had seen the way their father had exploded in absolute fury when Alfred had come out. It was only natural for the younger man to feel afraid of the same reaction. "Ever since you came out to him he gave up on you being the glory of the Jones family name and then he pinned all those expectations on me since I was all that was left…. I'm worried about him being angry, but… I'm also worried about disappointing him…" Matthew's expression turned solemn; his hands tightly gripping onto the material of his jeans.
Alfred pressed his lips together. Maybe Matthew was much more similar to him than he thought. Alfred had felt the same way when he had come out to his father. Not only was he afraid of the man's anger, but Alfred knew full well that a lot of his father's dreams were pinned to his shoulders and if he told his father than all those dreams would come crashing down. But what was the price of true happiness? If Alfred had given into his fears than he would have been forced to spend his life miserably all set in one gigantic lie after another. The way Alfred was happy with Arthur well… there was no one in the entire world that could make Alfred feel as happy as he did with Arthur and the price of his father's disappointment was one Alfred had been willing to pay to stay true to himself.
"Look Mattie… I know it's really scary- believe me I've been there, I know- but… you're really happy with Francis right?" Matthew confirmed Alfred's question with a small nod. "Then that's all that matters. Dad may be angry and disappointed, but in my book that's a price worth paying if it means that I can be happy for the rest of my life. It sounds selfish I know, but sometimes you have to think of yourself before others." Alfred leaned forward, placing a reassuring hand on his younger brother's knee. "Besides we're adults Matt, dad can't control us forever no matter how much he wants to."
A pregnant pause hung in the air between the two before the silence was broken by a chuckle from Matthew, "I may be an adult, but sometimes I think you have yet to grow up." The younger man teased.
Alfred breathed out a small sigh as a smile graced his lips, "Of course not- growing up is no fun." He laughed along with his brother. The two shared the brief moment of relief from the tension before Matthew once again tensed up- gripping onto material of his jeans.
"Y'know…" He said softly. "I think I'm going to tell dad."
"That's great Mattie. Don't let him scare you off." Alfred proclaimed to add to Matthew's new found confidence.
The younger man smiled softly, "I'll try not to but… Al… do you think maybe you could come with me?" He asked shyly- violet eyes flickering nervously behind his glasses. Well so much for new found confidence, but Alfred couldn't really blame him (After all their father was rather terrifying when furious or livid).
Alfred gave an exasperated smile, "You bet Mattie. Isn't that what brothers are for?" He said with his million dollar grin. Just then the sound of happy burbling echoed from the baby monitor placed on the coffee table causing pairs of violet and blue eyes to fall on the small device. "Well that wasn't long…" Alfred commented. "He must want to see his Uncle Mattie."
Matthew smiled softly- that lovely affectionate expression he got anytime he was around his dear darling nephew. "Sounds good to me."
Finally an update! I've been trying to alternate updates of my stories that way I'm not paying too much attention to any one story. So we get some insight on Mattie this chapter and new chapter we'll have the big coming out scene. We'll see how ol' grumpy Lou will react ;)
Reviews are always greatly appreciated lovies! Thanks so much for all the love so far!