Alfred Is Not In This Chapter

"Alfred, the next time you–"

"Matthew! Matthew!" Matthew threw his hands up in the air, wheeling about on Ramon, causing the both of them to hesitate.

"Oh, sorry Matthew!" Ramon tried to shrug it off. Matthew sighed, putting his head down. He really hated shouting at people (well, except for Alfred, but doing that just seemed normal), but there seemed to be no other way to remind some people that he was not Alfred.

Honestly! Matthew wore bright baggy clothes, Alfred wore American Eagle/Ambercrombie and Fitch/Old Navy/whatever he wanted, but it never looked like what Matthew wore. Matthew's glasses were round, Alfred's lenses were smaller and more like an oval. And...

Matthew was quieter? Damn, it was hard to think of anything– no! He was nothing like Alfred! Good in some places, sort of unfortunate in others. What could he say?

"Yeah... no problem, eh." He gave Ramon a smile as the other walked off. Ramon was probably mad at Alfred for stealing his cigars. Alfred said he could do these sorts of things because he was their doctor. Matthew was certain that was not right, but Vash did not seem to care so he supposed it was legal. At least, according to Vash.

Despite these thoughts Matthew continued on his way to the house.

From what he knew of Alfred, this house was perfect for the man. It was small and it did not stand out. It certainly looked like it needed fixing up, which Matthew instinctively knew was half of the reason Alfred wanted it in the first place. All of the buildings off of Pacific were far enough apart, the garden also looked like it would be a mess to deal with. Right up the hill and amongst the trees he could just make out Kiku's house.

Matthew smiled. I can see why he'd really want this place.

"Alfred?" Matthew took a deep breath and by the time he turned Kiku was a bit awkward and blushing. "Ah... I am sorry, Matthew-san."

"Eh. Don't tear yourself up over it," Matthew responded, not exactly certain what to say. Well, he doubted Kiku was about to shake down Alfred for cigars, like Ramon was going to do. "I think he was actually going to be doing some paperwork at his office..."

Saying the words sounded strange, but Kiku did not miss a beat. "Yes, thank you. Thank you." With that, he bowed slightly and left.

"No problem, eh," Matthew responded slowly as Kiku left. Honestly, his brother had problems. The two obviously liked each other. So why was it they both were just dancing around the issue?

Finally, Matthew turned his attention toward the house.

"Matthew!"

"Ivan?" Matthew looked over toward the taller man as he ran over, instinctively crushing him in his grip (though thankfully with less nails than his cat, who was currently Velcroed to Ivan's shoulder). "Hey!" He struggled slightly in order to make Ivan loosen his grip, of which the other did so.

"Matty... I need you helping me," Ivan said, voice muffled on the top of his head. "Vhat should I do for Toris?"

"For Toris?" Matthew asked, confused. "What do you mean, eh?"

"I zink... vell..."

Ivan told him.

And Matthew laughed.


Notes:

Matthew certainly has a different perspective of Alfred than everyone else does.

Ramon = Cuba. I feel bad, but I chose the name after looking up some names of Cuban cigars. Yes, I know, how racist of me.

Vash does not mind Alfred stealing cigars because Vash is against smoking. His ethic morals get in the way of his job. Sometimes. Vash is weird, it is why Maddox likes bothering him.

Brian and Roy are Vash's deputies. He makes them because it keeps them out of trouble. And he makes them do it at the same time because if only one has the authority the other one will end up in jail and paying Erin's bar tab.

And for once one of my characters is not being a hypocrite. Matthew thinks Alfred and Kiku are wasting time because he is actually trying to accomplish something with Ivan. Funny, that.

Matthew's initial reaction to Anastasia was something along the lines of: "You are seriously not keeping that, eh."