Me: Hey guys! So I've noticed how much I have been putting Arthur in the bad spot of this story. I just wanna say sorry about that and before the chapter starts I wanted to touch a little face on that.

Francis: What kind of face? Ohonhonhon~

Me: Not the kind you're thinking of, now get back in the story before I let my friend's cat do his business on your face! *Shoves Francis back into the story* Anyways, the reason I have been putting Arthur in the bad part is well, I can kind of sort of see him in that spot and the story is meant to be angsty so I have to anyways! I love Iggy, but for purposes of the story I have to make him be a meanie so the story flows and makes sense. Another thing is I wanted to see how Arthur being a stressed out single father taking care of two kids would work out and, so far, I think it worked out well.

Arthur: I ended up hitting one of my sons and made the other one run away last chapter! How did that work out well?!

Me: That just added some much needed conflict between you two! You two sort of made up at the end, right? And besides, your estranged husband's friend found Matthew! Also, I'm warning you now that next chapter will be a one month time skip to November which means Thanksgiving chapter! This took way too long, now on with chapter 8! (Make sure to read the ending author's note too!)

Matthew woke up expecting everything that happened the previous night to be a dream. He thought running away from Dad and Alfred's fighting was a dream, he thought falling asleep in an alleyway was a dream, he thought meeting Antonio was a dream, he thought staying in some stranger's guest room was a dream. Just everything that happened last night was a horrible dream. But it wasn't.

He really ran away from home. Dad and Alfred really did fight. He really did fall asleep in an alleyway. He really did meet Antonio. He really did sleep in some stranger's guest room. A sigh escaped his lips as he got out of bed and went to the living room just in time to see Antonio put breakfast on the table and put on a suit jacket. Said man looked over and smiled as he went to Matthew and sat him down at the table.

"I'm about to go to work so you're going to be on your own for a few hours. If anyone knocks on the door then look through the peep hole to see who it might be. I'll understand if you don't open the door for anyone. Also, help yourself to anything if you get hungry and don't go on any pay per view channels. And don't watch any porn either." Antonio said as he got his things together and left the apartment. Matthew couldn't help but burst out laughing at the last thing the Spaniard said. Seriously, why would he want to see THAT stuff?

Antonio stayed out the door and listened to Matthew's laughter. Such a delightful noise. He felt like the boy needed it after running away from home last night. Looking so lost, confused, and broken like that. By how skinny Matthew was led him to believe that his family actually forgot to call him down for food when it was meal time or he just starved himself. He shook the thought of his head as he walked to Francis's apartment.

He took out the key he had and opened the door to see Francis sitting on the couch drinking a bottle of whine and watching TV while a cigarette was burning in the ash tray. He must be taking Arthur's latest rejection and his recent job loss hard... Antonio thought as he turned the TV of and took the bottle out of his friend's hands. Francis got up glared at his friend.

"What the hell is wrong with you that you can't simply knock when you want to enter my home?!" He angrily asked as Antonio put the wine bottle where he'd thought Francis would have gotten it from.

"I just came in to check up on my friend of almost ten years and I come to find that friend drinking and watching TV while smoking like nothing else mattered. Why aren't you on the computer trying to apply for a job?"

Francis sighed, "Why would I bother? I was just going to do something to fuck up and get fired anyways."

"Just try Francis! You'll never know what job opportunity's may lie ahead!" When Francis groaned, Antonio knew he hit a break through.

"Fine. But only because you'll be on my ass if I don't. What happened to you last night, did you get lucky? You seem a bit giddy this morning like you can't wait to tell me something." Antonio was supposed to drop by last night but something must have come up other wise he would have been there.

"I was on my way but there was a teenage boy in the alleyway and I couldn't ignore him." Francis cocked his head to the side. That's what happened? Seriously? This was Antonio! The only teenage boy that would ever be in his apartment was that Italian kid but only because Antonio is a family friend.

"So, in other words Lovino is crashing at your place because he ran away from home?"

"What? No! Not Lovino! His name is Matthew. I found him in only pajama pants, a red hoodie with a maple leaf on it wearing a pair of boots while holding on to a stuffed toy. He said that his family was fighting and he was caught in the crossfire of it all so he couldn't take it anymore and ran away." Francis took in what Antonio knew about the boy so far. A teenage run away? This was kind of new.

"I only met the boy last night and I'm all ready concerned for him."

"Why?"

"I think he used to cut himself. I saw the cuts on the wrists having seen them somewhere else." Antonio looked to Francis when he said that. The French man touched his left wrist that was usually covered by foundation when he was in public.

"I've grown from that Antonio. I'm still trying to get clean." He said gently rubbing the spot where a thin line of skin was a little darker than his usually pale skin.

"Anyways, I've got to head to work mi amigo. I'll drop by after work after I check up on Matthew." With that, Antonio was out the door. Francis thought about what the kid was like. Maybe he'll visit later because first thing's first, applying for a job.

Time skip to later in the day with Alfred (**WARNING! SAPPY TEENAGE LOVE SCENE COMING UP!)

Alfred was not having a good day. His brother ran away last night and he was afraid of never seeing him again. He sighed as the final bell of the day sounded. Today was kind of slow for the teen. He actually payed attention in class today to try and get his mind off his missing brother.

"I scare myself sometimes." He quietly said to no one in particular as he went to his locker but stopped mid-step when he saw Feliciano standing there with his back against the locker looking a bit stressed and confused. Alfred swallowed the little lump in his throat and walked to his locker.

"Hey Feliciano." Said Italian looked up to see Alfred and smiled as he moved out of the way of the taller one's locker.

"Oh, hi Alfred. Can I talk to you about something behind the school?" Alfred nodded and Feliciano left in a hurry leaving Alfred even more confused. When he was done at his locker he went behind the school where he found Feliciano.

Alfred walked up to Feliciano and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know how to ask. They stood in silence for a few minutes until Alfred finally found the courage to break the ice.

"Feliciano, tell me the truth. Do you really like me or am I just imagining things? Ever since you kissed me in the hall that day I've been trying to talk to you about it and you've been ignoring me to no end. I was telling the truth that day. I really do love you. Even if you don't feel the same way, I'll keep waiting until you give in."

Alfred was about to walk away thinking Feliciano would not do anything but then suddenly he was grabbed by the wrist and pulled back and the next surprise came when he was pulled down by the shirt collar and kissed by his crush. He was surprised at first but then he kissed back. They stayed like that for a few seconds and then let go of each other. The Italian blushed as he sighed.

"I love you too Alfred. I didn't know how to tell you because I was nervous, and I know this is kind of sudden and fast but, will you be my boyfriend?" Alfred nodded as he trapped Feliciano in his arms and kissed his forehead. This was the beginning of something beautiful.

Arthur was frantic. He had been driving all around town asking if they'd seen Matthew but no one had. The Brit couldn't blame them. They never saw him before so they wouldn't know. He walked into the bar he frequented and saw Yao in his usual seat crying into a beer. With a sigh he sat down next to his drinking buddy and ordered a water for himself.

"What's wrong with you?" Arthur asked as he took a sip of water. Yao looked up and looked back into his drink with a sigh.

"I tried to talk to her."

"What happened?" The Chinese man took a long swig of his beer and then slammed it down on the bar and banged on the table and yelled for the bartender to get him another drink.

"Lin said that the kids hate me. She say Li Xiao is denying that I'm even his father, Im Yong Soo threw out everything I ever gave him, Kiku is barely hanging going out of the house anymore and Mei just stares out a window all day! I've tried to talk to them but every time I try they run away like I'm some stranger who is going to kidnap and rape them!" Yao cried more and drank his beer. Arthur sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. At least Yao wasn't going through any of the shit he was going through.

About an hour went by with Yao crying about how he's never going to be able to talk with his children ever again and Arthur silently thinking to himself about how he's going to find Arthur. Yao sensed this coming from his drinking buddy and looked at him.

"So, what the hell wrong with you? You seem sad about something too. What happen? Estranged husband come and take custody of kids?" Arthur shook his head.

"It's nothing like that. You see, I tried to talk to Francis yesterday to ask him if he could stop calling me because me and the boys were going through a tough time at the moment and then we fight. On top of that I had a job interview I think I bombed and one of my sons were sick yesterday so when I told him about how I think the job interview went he suggested asking his father to come back and help out.

"He didn't even know I went to visit his other brother and neither does my other son! So then I went to my room and cried for a while then I got into a fight with my other son and that just made Matthew mad enough to grab his damn bear, a pair of boots and leave. I tried to run after him but he was too fast and I quickly lost him in the crowd." The Brit explained. He was in such a bad situation right now, he didn't really know what to think anymore. Yao sighed as he took another swig of his drink.

"Your situation just as bad as mine. I lost my apartment today because I couldn't hold down good job to pay rent and have to live in crappy shelter. I've been here all day glued to my bar stool." He said swooshing his ass in the stool to demonstrate a point.

"Why don't you live with me and my son until you get back on your feet?"

Yao's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas, "You really mean it? You're not just playing with my emotions?" Arthur nodded as he got off of his stool and took Yao's wrist and led the possibly drunk Chinese man to the back seat of his car as he got in the driver's seat and started driving off to his home. Hopefully, Alfred won't mind a guest in the house.

When they got to the house Arthur immediately got Yao on the couch and made him fall asleep. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at Yao. Was this how he looked when Francis had to pick him up from the bar when he passed out drunk? Probably. He sat down in his chair as he started to read a book.

Matthew sat on the couch and watched cartoons. He still couldn't believe someone actually noticed him. He was sure Antonio was a nice guy but he had no idea what to think. Random stranger picking up a runaway 14-year old boy. He barely knew this guy!

The door opened and in came Antonio loosening his tie and taking his suit jacket off then putting some of his things down. The Spaniard sat down next to Matthew and turned the TV off. Matthew turned to looked at him with a questionable face as Antonio sighed.

"Look, if you are going to continue living here in this apartment then you have to tell me the truth. How did you really get those marks on your wrist?" Matthew was shocked. He seemed to believe his statement about them last night. Antonio looked serious as he stared the boy down. After a few minutes Matthew let his guard down.

"I got them on my wrist because I really used to cut myself. In fact, the last time I cut was yesterday. The reason I cut was because my twin brother and father were fighting a lot and it took a toll on me. I didn't tell them what their fights did to me since they'd fall back into their own routine. A friend of mine tried to help me but I'm beyond any help." Antonio listened and was heart broken listening to the words he had to say. Matthew seemed like a really great kid but to have to go live with that for a good fraction of his live must have really hurt him emotionally. He was about to ask where his mother was in all this but then Matthew continued his story.

"I have no mother. She's somewhere else in this world. My father told me that she wanted no part of me and my brother so she gave us to him and Papa to take care of. In fact, I think she may have been some irresponsible party girl who didn't want to take care of me and my brother. I remember Dad saying her exact words about us. She called us little mistakes that she couldn't wait to get rid of." Matthew cried a little.

Could you imagine not being wanted by your own mother? Matthew had absolutely no idea he was telling a complete lie though. Arthur and Francis told him and Alfred that so they wouldn't be confused on how a guy was able to give birth to them. Let alone have the functional reproductive organs to carry a child and have a safe birth without death of the host. If anyone forgot, Arthur gave birth to him and Alfred. Antonio was trying to stop himself from crying but then he remembered something. The boy mentioned have a papa.

"Where was your Papa in all this? Couldn't he have had stopped the fighting between your father and brother?" Matthew cried more at the mention of Papa with memories of the day he left flooding in his mind. That day would forever be burned into his memory. It was like a bad dream he could never escape from.

"Papa left when I was five. He and Dad got into an argument over Papa cheating on Dad. I remember Dad slapping him and I cried for them to stop fighting and then Dad chucked a suitcase at papa telling him to get the fuck out if he was going to turn his back on the family and then me and Alfred, my twin, followed Papa to their room where he was packing his things.

"He said that while he was leaving forever he wasn't completely out of our lives or that he stopped loving us anymore. While he was getting finished packing me and Alfred went to block the door thinking Papa wouldn't leave. Dad had to put Alfred in time-out when he wouldn't move when I did and that's when Papa was starting to leave. I grabbed his leg and said that I wasn't letting him go. It worked until my other father came out and got me so that Papa could go.

"Papa started to leave but then I bit Dad's hand and chased after his car. I screamed for him to come back, take me with him, and not to go. He was gone. I don't know if he ever heard me screaming for him and I don't think he cared and that's why he kept driving..." Matthew cried.

Antonio was stunned. All of this happening to such an innocent boy. First there was the fact of knowing that his own mother never wanted him from the moment she found out about him and then there's losing one of his fathers and not knowing where the other is. Then there's also the remaining father and his own twin fighting causing him to cut himself.

The Spaniard couldn't help himself as he hugged Matthew tight as he cried. Matthew returned the hug never having told anyone else this story before. He hated remembering that day. It was the cause of his problems. The reason why Papa never called or visited. The reason Dad and Alfred were always fighting. The reason he started to cut himself.

"Shh. It's okay. Stop crying, Mateo, stop crying. I shouldn't have asked that far." Matthew kept crying until he eventually put himself to sleep by crying. Once the teen's sobbing was replaced by light snores, Antonio gently laid him down on the couch with his stuffed polar bear and placed a blanket over him. From what Antonio knew of the sleeping boy so far, he came from what you'd call a broken home. He sighed as he thought about what the hell kind of place did this kid come from?

Alfred came home as excited as ever because he was hanging out with his new boyfriend. He walked inside and went to the living room when he saw a stranger sleeping on the couch. He would have screamed but didn't as he calmed himself down and saw Arthur in the chair beside the couch.

He took the book from Arthur's hands and laid it down gently and looked in his father's eyes.

"Dad, why is there a stranger sleeping on the couch?" Alfred asked in a quiet voice not to wake the stranger.

"He's a guest Alfred. His name is Yao and he is a drinking buddy of mine who has fallen on some pretty rough times right now and I didn't want to leave him in the bar so he can get piss drunk so he's staying here for a while until he can get back on his face." Great. Another one of Dad's drunk friends staying over. Instead of having a snappy comeback he just nodded.

"Okay. Did you have any luck of trying to find Matthew?"

"No," Arthur shook his head, "I didn't have any luck. I even asked people if they'd seen him and no one has. I can't blame them though, Matthew just has one of those forgettable faces." Alfred walked up the stairs and flopped right on his bed. It was his fault Matthew was gone. Him and Dad fighting on an almost daily basis. I guess if he wanted to, he could call living here World War III... Alfred bitterly thought as he fell asleep on his bed thinking and possibly knowing his brother was never coming back. Ever.

Francis closed his computer as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back on his couch. He had been working on finding a job all day, he foud a job that was willing to have an interview with him tomorrow. An accomplished sigh left his lips and he thought about inviting Antonio and that teenage runaway he invited into his home over for some dinner.

He got up from the couch after placing his lap top on the table and walked to the phone. He dialed his friend's number and waited for a few minutes until it was picked up.

"Hola?"

"Bonjour Antonio! Guess who has a job interview tomorrow!"

"Congratulations mi amigo! What job?"

"I got a job interview for a job interview for a French restaurant opening up and I'm going to work there as a chef! If you want then you and Matthew can come over for dinner and have a free taste of what will hit the public's taste buds." There was silence on the phone for a few seconds and then Antonio sighed.

"I think I'm going to have to take you up on that offer for Thanksgiving at my home next month. I made Matthew cry by asking him to tell the truth if he wanted to stay in the apartment with me and that made him spill his life story. Even made me cry from just hearing how he lived."

"Mon Dieu! You could have waited until he was settled at your home for a couple of days! Made it a Hallmark Channel moment between you two and asked him on Thanksgiving or Christmas!"

"I had to know Francis. I would have felt awkward letting a runaway teen stay in my home and not know anything about him."

"Since you had your own reason I guess I can't really judge you. So, are you going to have him call you Uncle Toni?" Francis joked. It would be the cutest thing if a kid called him Uncle Toni.

"If he gets comfortable enough to call me that. I have to go and make dinner for me and Matthew. Would you mind calling Elizabeta and Roderich for me to make sure that they're still coming over for Thanksgiving dinner?"

"No problem. Bye." Antonio hung up the phone on the other end and then Francis dialed Elizabeta's phone number. The phone rang for a couple minutes until it was finally answered.

"Elizabeta speaking. Talk or I hang up." Elizabeta's cheery voice said from the other end of the line.

"Bonjour Elizabeta! Antonio asked me to call you and Roderich to make sure you guys are still coming over for Thanksgiving dinner. Are you two able to make it?"

"Of course! We wouldn't miss it for the world. Is it true that you've been trying to talk to Arthur into seeing your boys and you lost your job?"

"Oui. But that job sucked and I guess Arthur is still bitter about it. I have a job interview tomorrow and guess what Antonio let in his apartment!"

"What? A cute homeless kitty?"

"Non! He actually let a runaway teenager into his home and it's not even little Lovino!"

"Really? I never would have guessed! Did you meet the boy yet?"

"All I know is that his name was Matthew. I haven't gotten a chance to meet him yet. I'll probably meet him later."

"Okay. I have to go now, bye!" Elizabeta hung up and Francis smiled a bit. Maybe today was a good day. He put the phone down as he took a shower and fell asleep. He couldn't get the image of a teenage boy crying his eyes out of his head. Maybe he'll meet Matthew at Thanksgiving dinner if he doesn't decide to go home.

Me: Okay! This chapter was so long! I'm sorry if it was kind of crappy for I have a chapter eight curse* and I tried to avoid it in this chapter! Anyways, as announced in the beginning author's note and an tumblr, next chapter will be a time skip one month ahead into Thanksgiving! It makes sense since it's almost Thanksgiving in a couple weeks. Plus the Uncle Toni thing was from a guest reviewer who gave me the lovely idea which I will be using later on because it sounded like a cute thing I should add! So... That's all folks! Don't forget to review, favorite, or follow! This is Janae AKA OrgyMemberXVII signing off ! Bye :D

*Chapter 8 curse is when I get to the eighth chapter of a multi-chaptered story and said chapter turns into crack chapter which I later either leave unchanged and regret posting or have to go back and change after my viewers have seen it.*