~*~
Chapter Two: Snow Child
~*~
Arthur was very happy with the choice of keeping the young French-Canadian. Matthew must've known English before contracting amnesia, because he learned the language fast from both Alfred and himself. His accent, though, reminded him a little too much of one Frenchman who was starting to get on his nerves with his incessant calling.
One morning, two days after their finding of the Canadian, it was time for the two English-speaking men to go back to work. Arthur and Alfred whispering to each other in the kitchen rousted Matthew earlier than usual. Matthew padded quietly into the kitchen, his new pajamas, thankfully, covering what clothing usually hid.
"I'll ask Ludwig if I can leave early to find Matthew a job…" Alfred was saying, an empty bowl in front of him.
"That's a bad idea!" Arthur replied, slamming down his half-emptied cup of tea, "Ludwig would never allow it. He runs that café like an army barracks!"
"I know… but—" Alfred finally noticed the younger blond in the doorway, "G'morning, Matthew…"
"Good morning, Alfred," Matthew replied, taking a seat next to Arthur, "What were you discussing?"
"We have to go back to work today… and we need to find something for you to do while we're there…" Arthur replied.
"Will this… this Ludwig person allow you to do that?" Matthew asked slowly, still finding his words.
"I hope so," Alfred said, ruffling the boy's hair like a proud parent.
~*~
"No," one Ludwig Bellschmidt shouted in the American's direction, "You are our best cook, and I can't just let you go like that…"
"But Ludwig… do you want this one to go with Francis, for Christ's sake!" Alfred shouted.
"Aw~ Come on, Ludwig. Let him go!" a small brunette said. He was carrying a rather large bin of cups under one of his arms. An almost mirror image of this one was on the other side of the popular café, looking over at the group near the counter. Alfred's blond boss thought for a moment but shook his head once more, "No. You're too valuable to lose so early in the day!"
The brunette sighed and pushed his way behind the counter to wash the dishes. "Thanks for trying, Feliciano~" Alfred called after him. He turned back to Ludwig and beckoned Matthew forward, "Look at him, Ludwig… he can't stay home by himself, and I need to know that he's in good hands… besides, Arthur keeps threatening that he'll send Mattie over to Francis's if I can't find him a job…"
"Ummm… that sounds like you're taking care of a dog and not an amnesiac, you know…" Feliciano's mirror image said, coming up in the path of the three blondes. Looking closer, one could see that this boy's hair was darker than the other's, and his eyes were about the same shade of darkness as his hair.
"That is what I said, Lovino-cher," a familiar lilt said from behind Alfred and Matthew.
Lovino grimaced at the Frenchman and moved his way behind the counter. Francis grinned up the taller German man, "Oh, Ludwig~ Give these boys a break. Poor Mathieu was found all alone in a snowstorm, and Arty and Alfie were kind enough to let him into their home…"
Ludwig, even though he looked stoic, could not resist the charm of the Frenchman. He could join a club, actually. He sighed weakly and turned to Lovino and Feliciano, who had returned from the kitchen, "Do you think you guys could take him under your wings?"
Alfred suddenly hugged the other in a tight bearhug. Matthew was pushed into Lovino's arms, causing both to blush madly. At that point, Arthur ran out from the kitchen, "Guys! Lunch rush! Alfred, Ludwig, back to your stations!"
Ludwig glared at Arthur, and Arthur shrank back, "Right. Arthur, Francis, get to the tables to greet people. Lovino, Feliciano, restock the cups in the cupboards and look out for Matthew!"
The workers saluted and got to work, Lovino and Matthew the last to get moving, as they were still blushing madly. But that stopped soon, as Feliciano handed his brother about a third of the cups in his hands. He handed another third to Matthew, who accepted it graciously. Let the work begin!
~*~
Matthew was a very astute young man. He watched his new coworkers with awe as they worked. Matthew himself worked hard to catch up in his abilities as busboy. He was still flustered around Lovino, which was an odd feeling, completely new to him, it seemed. But the others fascinated him more.
He liked Francis. Not only because he could speak French, and would rather converse with the French-Canadian in the beautiful tongue, but also because of the charisma he had at work and with his coworkers. He seemed to be able to wrap everyone there around his finger, but he never really did. The only time Matthew had seen the Frenchman do something like that was with Ludwig to get Matthew the job at the Café Rose. Every time, though, he looked at Feliciano or spoke to the small Italian (wherever Italy was), the boy would blush crimson and either walk away or begin to babble. To which Ludwig would drag the babbling brunette back to the kitchen.
Ludwig was a sight, too, when around Feliciano. Though the German man was stoic and strong, Matthew saw his defenses drop around the young Italian. Matthew wondered if Ludwig would be angry or sad that Feliciano had feelings for Francis and not him. Not like anything could happen between the Italian and the Frenchman anyway… Francis seemed too interested in Arthur to care about the feelings of l'amour that his young coworker had for him. Arthur, on the other hand, seemed to flush around Ludwig more often than not.
That's complicated… the French-Canadian thought as he wiped down a recently deserted table.
And where were Lovino and Alfred in this mix? Well… Alfred seemed to not like anyone there, and Lovino…?
Oh, Lovino. The adopted brother of Feliciano was beginning to grow on the French-Canadian's mind a little more every minute they were in each other's company. Lovino seemed to like him back, since he was always flushing and at a loss for words around the blond boy.
As Matthew took another glance around the café once more, he smiled. He was glad he was around such warm people, and even if most of them were being idiots about the ones they loved, he felt that one day, it would all turn out okay.
"Mathieu! We need more menus from the back! Can you get some, s'il te plait?" Francis asked, breaking him out of his thought process.
"Mais oui, Francois! Right away!" Matthew called, running behind the counter.
As Matthew grabbed the stack of menus from the counter, he hoped that one day, all his new friends would be happy and together, both in romance and in friendship.
~*~
Translations from French:
S'il te plait – "Please"
Mais oui, Francois – "Of course, Francis"
~*~
Yey! A second chapter! Okay... here's the deal with this one. It is going to be a big fat mystery set in the winter. Ivan will appear as the main bad guy, and there are SO MANY PAIRINGS. from one-sided little jaunts to big past affairs, this thing is going to blow your minds into the 22nd century. And I apologize. As I was plotting this thing out, it went from fluffy drama to HOLY COW SO MUCH DRAMA I'M DROWING HELP MEEEE (TASUKETE, DOITSU~!)
Anyway. What's this? Lovino and Feliciano are adopted brothers? This will be important later. As will several relationships. And Matthew's past. HOLY CRAPMONKIES. Epis stuff ahead, folks.
You'll just have to read on, mon chers.
Please review, prego e grazie!
Ciao~!
~Anastasie~
