Disclaimer: 'Don't own the characters~
Matthew needed to get away. With the help of Detective Bonnefoy, he ends up living with Ivan Braginski who wants nothing to do with his mess, but later accepts the boy's presence. When "he" finds Matthew and threatens to take him away, what would Ivan do to keep his new found joy? AU. RusCan.
He was not deaf. Of course he heard the poor kid the first time he was asked to let him go. But it was so much fun to see his flustered face that Ivan just couldn't help but to continue carrying him like a blushing bride.
"Um, Mr. Braginski, Sir, I can walk now."
And years of experience in the business firm made him well aware of the inimical glares the albino walking beside him was sending. "We could have gotten him a wheelchair." He said. Ivan replied with a blank smile.
"If you just want some care taker for your house, then let me help you find one. I'll even pay for it myself. There's no need to for Mattie to stay with you."
Remembering the conversation earlier made his blood boil. Still, he composed himself.
"But Matthew himself said he prefers to stay with me."
The doctor was doing some final check - up and prescription for the youngest of the trio. Ivan and Gilbert waited impatiently outside of the room, each eying the other party in an accusing manner.
"I don't know what's keeping him from leaving but he certainly does not need someone to add to his problems."
"And exactly what problems?"
Gilbert released a threatening growl as a response which was cut off when Matthew and the Austrian doctor got out of the room. Ivan was sure of one thing though, he did not like the way the German told him off. Supposedly, Beilschmidt was also a detective – a good one at that too – and a close friend of Francis. It made his curiosity about the soft spoken blonde boy grow and dislike for the older male deeper.
Problem? What problem? Why is Matthew here?
Said boy was squirming in his arms in an attempt to get away. He tightened his grip around him and lowered his face to whisper, "I know about the cut in your foot. I don't like owing people. So let me do this in exchange." Matthew's face blanched.
'Of course… typical of Ivan… and I thought our relationship was getting better.'
The drive didn't last long. Gilbert, much to Ivan's disdain, insisted on sitting with Matthew in the backseat of the car. There was difficult silence inside the vehicle. Matthew looked back and forth the German and Russian. He wanted to desperately dissolve the unnerving stillness, but even he had his matters to think of, so he let the older males deal with themselves albeit not the most responsible choice.
The stew in front of him was prepared by his (technically) landlord. Matthew needed to do a double take before snapping out of his reverie. Across the table, the said man was smiling at him as if urging him to try it. Not wanting to seem rude, he picked the spoon and did. To his surprise, he actually liked the taste. Then the small bits became more and soon he was eagerly consuming the stew.
"Uh, thank you. It's been so long since someone did this for me." He shyly said. Ivan's smile remained the same though there was a light sparkle in his eyes marking his amusement. "Da. Did you like it?" Matthew nodded, setting the utensils down as he was done.
As soon as they reached the front door of Ivan's house, Gilbert was harshly ignored and advised to "run long and don't bother." The albino left with promises to come back soon. And that specific soon wasn't something Ivan was hoping for. To make matters worse, Gilbert really is his boss's brother – meaning he couldn't actually do anything to him unless he's looking forward to getting fired and/or sentenced to community service (the latter part, he was sure he could pull a few strings for that.)
Two nights later, he was ready to get back to work. It was a double edged sword for him though. It was wonderful that he'll be able to get back to doing what he was good at and bad because Gilbert would be spending more time in his house, alone with Matthew since the lad wasn't allowed to school until the following Monday and Gilbert will be there to assist him in basically everything and, more importantly, to keep him from dying out of boredom.
But the thought that in a few more days, Matthew will be completely back to normal, and that things will be back to how they were somehow comforted Ivan and it was in this belief that he held onto to keep himself from locking Gilbert down his basement.
It wasn't until later one night when he lay wide awake on his bed, listening as Matthew struggled to walk past the hallway to the kitchen to fetch a cold glass of water, that he realized getting back to the normal routine means the other boy's existence is equivalent to nothing. Nada. Zilch. For some damned reason, the idea didn't quite satisfy – a deep contrast to when he just learned of the boy's arrival. Finally tired of the sound of Matthew's losing feat to get downstairs, Ivan got up from his bed in nothing but his boxers.
Matthew had a dream. No, nightmare would be a better term. He was running, running, running. Something was there. In the dark, it hides. And although he did his best to get away, he soon found himself enveloped in a dark material that restricted his moves. And then he heard his name –
"Matthew… Matthew…" – sung in a cloying manner. Suddenly he wasn't alone anymore. Alfred, Mrs. Jones, Francis, and Gilbert were there too. Only that, black spears were thrust to their bodies, multiple of them. And he screamed and screamed but no voice came. "Matthew… Matthew…"
He woke up after that horrid scene. He clutched the stuffed polar bear to his chest and focused on getting his breath even. His pyjamas were soaked with sweat and the sheets and blankets tossed in different direction. Usually, Matthew slept with minimal movements and finds his self in a position not much different from when he slept. The nightmares make him like this – a dishevelled wreck.
Getting up and reaching the stairs had been hard enough. He had to lean on the wall for support or he'd fall face first in the wooden floor. Every move he made hurt and the cut on his foot didn't make things easier.
"You're not getting anywhere, da?"
Matthew let out a gasp. His footing slipped and once again, he was falling. He closed his eyes in anticipation, but instead of the pain, cold arms wrapped around his torso and he was drawn to the broad chest of Ivan.
"I hope that it's not one of your hobbies to fall down a flight of stairs.— " Ivan gave an amused chuckle "— I'm starting to think that you're quite a masochist, Matthew."
He was deeply embarrassed, alright. If it weren't so dark, his red face would be funnier to look at. "Uh, no, I'm usually, ah, very careful, it's just—uhm …" He trailed. Noticing that the older male's hand was still wrapped around him, Matthew let out a small yelp before distancing himself. "Sorry. I was just going to fetch a glass of water. Sorry to wake you."
"Nyet. I was awake anyway." Matthew did not meet Ivan's gaze which amused Ivan all the more. The blonde was stuttering in front of him; he was uncomfortable yet to polite to just leave. "If you'd just to back to your room, then I'd get you water. Da?"
Matthew was forced to follow seeing that Ivan had gone down without waiting for his reply. With a defeated sigh, he limped his way to his room.
The young blonde curled in his bed, clutching his stuffed polar bear. It was taking Ivan a while that he wasn't that thirsty anymore. His sheets were still in the tangled mess he originally left them and he had no intention of fixing them soon. The nightmare was keeping him awake.
Losing a few bits of memories wasn't entirely unusual for Matthew. As a matter of fact, it was his defence mechanism. Memories from nights he unconsciously deems frightening are automatically locked up somewhere deep and dark. When he tries to recall things, all Matthew could see were hazy snippets. They were never enough to answer his questions.
And what scared him most was that what if moving all the way to Canada was pointless. The earlier incident has left him doubtful. What if—
There came a small knock and Ivan entered the room. Matthew sat up and took the glass from Ivan. In several big gulps, the contents were emptied.
"Thank you," he murmured silently.
"Francis called earlier," Ivan started, "He sounded really upset. He says he wouldn't answer your phone and that of his annoying friend goes straight to voice mail."
"Uh, about that… I sort of lost mine when I fell" along with some other personal belongings. He left it unsaid feeling like the matter was unimportant to the other. "I'll save enough money to get a new one and –"
"That cannot be good. It'll take quite some time, da? Tomorrow we shall shop for your new phone."
"But I have no –" Matthew was completely cut off.
"It's is taken care of, Matthew." The Russian clasp his hands together in a childish way with delight in his eyes. So rest now and I'll see you in the morning."
The door closed with a gentle thud and Matthew was left alone once again.
"I can't even walk straight yet."
Due to the aforementioned condition, Matthew and Ivan didn't get to leave to shop until the day before Matthew was due to be back in school.
Whether it was the way the taller man looked or a certain air around him that made people freeze, it felt weird walking beside him. People were constantly looking their way. Girls ogled at them. The shorter boy clutched the paper bag that contained his new mobile phone tighter. He can practically hear them loud and clear. "That man looks Russian, he's kinda hot…" "That blondie is cute too…" "Do you think they have girlfriends?" "Better yet, aren't they together?" Hearing the last comment, he moved a little farther from his companion. Matthew felt a little uncomfortable. It wasn't every day that people noticed and stared at him.
Ivan wasn't oblivious to the whole conversation of the brats just behind them. And the last comment irked him especially; it made Matthew move a little farther from him.
Ivan Braginski was a man who confronted his, fears, enemies, and obstacles head on. Sure, the feeling was relatively new, but he wasn't a coward. He knew that these past few days something about Matthew he didn't see then was clear presently. He couldn't help but notice how hard the boy tries to be independent, or how thoughtful he was even in simple things. Matthew's laugh when talking to Gilbert who dropped by often was something he wanted to have too. To him, it was the sound of purity and peace reverberating in his whole house.
Like? Love? Or a mere amusement? Whatever it was making Matthew an odd man out; it doesn't change the fact that Ivan has feelings for him.
The two men were about to cross the street to get to the parking lot when a cheerful voice followed by a scolding one called out.
"Matthew!"
"Slow down, you idiot. You're making a scene!"
Though most people perceived the twenty one year old Lovino Vargas as someone who was solely rude and insecure, Antonio knows his little love was more than that. He was actually very perceptive of the people around him. He was very observant and possessed a keen eye for details. So, when the Italian voiced that something was off with the man that bumped into them, Antonio knew that it was close to the truth if not the truth itself. Finding their blonde friend at the base of the stairs confirmed the suspicion. "I knew he was holding Matthew's shirt, dammit!" Lovino cursed.
The whole night was spent pacing and knitting eyebrows. There was nothing that Antonio said that calmed the Italian. After all, there were a very few number of people that Lovino genuinely liked and Matthew Williams was one of them.
"You stupid Canadian! You didn't even bother calling us." The Italian huffed, arms crossed over his chest, and an angry frown on his lips. Behind him, Antonio had his hands on Lovino's shoulders, calming the shorter boy. "What Lovi here is trying to say is that we were really worried about you. You see, when we tried visiting the hospital, you were already discharged. We also realized that we didn't know where you stayed. And we sort of – ahh – bumped into this suspicious guy before we found you unconscious with that albino." Antonio explained all too quickly sounding as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I'm sorry," Matthew uttered surprised, "I lost my phone when I fell."
"Hm, fine. When are you getting back anyway? Last time I saw you, you looked like you were ran over by a truck three times." Lovino didn't shift from his position.
"Actually, I'm well enough for class starting tomorrow." Matthew answered.
It was Antonio who first acknowledged the presence of the older man with Matthew. "Hola, Señor," He greeted. The response the other gave was a brief nod of the head and the unchanging smile.
"Ow, Antonio, Lovino, this is Ivan…um… I'm staying with him—"
"You're living with him? He's not your boyfriend or anything, is he?" There was sudden incredulity in Lovino's voice as he eyed the said man from top to bottom with a threatening gaze.(Or at least something that resembled that mood, because it was a bit obvious that behind the tough act the Italian was putting, he was cowering.)
"Ah! No! It's nothing like that. Some things happened back home and I have to stay here for a while." Lovino let out a satisfied hum. "Fine—" he looked at the time "Look, we've got to get going if we don't want to miss the movie. We'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Bye Matthew. Bye Ivan." Antonio waved and the two young men left.
Curiosity. Yes, Ivan decided that it was indeed curiosity that got him noticing his housemate. Watching his interaction with his friends and how reserved his answers about his situation were, it made him more aware of the boy's attempt to seclude himself. Puzzles had always intrigued the man; so perhaps, he was seeing Matthew as one. After all, life was getting boring and he was sure as hell not going to lose any more bidding any time soon.
He put down the stack of papers he was holding and removed his reading glasses. Pushing the table so his chair would roll further, Ivan stretched his limbs and yawned. The clock on his desk flashed: 9:45 PM and deeming it as a respectable time to rest, he stood and turned off the lights.
In the room not far from his, the object of his attention laid on the soft mattress of his beds.
Unbeknownst to both, a letter was left clinging to the window of the younger male. It fluttered against the glass as the cold sea breeze blew, but never was the wind enough to displace it. Oh how he would wish it had been the case. There is a reason people say that ignorance is bliss. Though anyone can admit that it doesn't bring much good too.
Only one word was written in the beautiful and practiced cursive script: 'Matthew'.
(A/N: I'm trying really hard to improve my writing , I'm still not satisfied with this but I hope it's not that bad because I'm spending every free time I have (it's not much too) trying to properly write this. The story is bound to be done in four chapters more, I think though I know I've mentioned that this wasn't supposed to be that long. I think it's because I desperately want to establish my characters. Too bad I'm not doing such a good job at it.
Also, I just can't wait to write a story for my OTP that's why I included a bit of them here.
Like always, reviews are welcomed. And my mood in doing this is highly affected by people's responses. Bueno, hasta luego~)