~*~

Chapter Eleven: We Can't Go Back

~*~

Matthew hugged the white bear close to him. "Thank you so much, Kat…" he said. The white bear's blue eyes twinkled at him, even though they were made of glass, and the weather was grey. Matthew and Katyusha were by the shore, looking out at the nearly frozen-over ocean. Christmas shopping was insane at that moment, but the park was nearly empty except for a little blonde boy and his same-sex parents.

"Mama!" the boy was calling to the more… feminine male, "Push me on the swings, please?"

Matthew waved at them: regulars of the Café Rose, especially on Saturday afternoons. Peter, Berwald, and Tino were their names, a family Scandinavian background. They were due for a trip to Berwald's country of Sweden any moment now.

Katyusha laughed as Peter ran into the small French-Canadian and said, "Did you bring us cookies and hot chocolate, Mr. Matthew?"

"Not today, Peter…" Matthew replied, smiling sweetly at the young boy.

"That's too bad… see you Saturday, Mr. Matthew~ Your girlfriend's really pretty by the way~" Peter called, dashing across the snow, back to his 'Mama' and 'Daddy.'

Katyusha blushed, but said nothing. "Cute kid…" she said.

Matthew nodded.

Then there was silence. Matthew sat down in the snow, and in a few moments, Katyusha joined him. "You ever think about settling down and having a child?
Katyusha asked, watching as Berwald pushed his adopted son on the swings. Tino looked on with laughter in his eyes.

Matthew smiled, "Yes…" Then he thought about the statement. "I… I'm seeing someone right now…"

Katyusha turned from him, "I… could tell…" she replied.

"Well… he might or might not be the one. My friends kind of made me think real hard about who I really wanted…" Matthew ranted.

"Really? You look cute together…" Katyusha said.

Matthew blinked. He hadn't seen Katyusha around when he was with Lovino… so how had she… unless… "Arthur's my housemate…" he said quickly.

Katyusha blinked.

"The green-eyed one that did most of the talking at the store?" Matthew prompted.

Katyusha thought back… and then began laughing, "N-No… I know that. This Arthur's not your type, Mattie… I meant the other one… the one that looks kind of like you… except taller…" And more manly…

Matthew blushed, "Alfred? He's not my boyfriend. I'm dating a Lovino Romano," Matthew replied slowly.

Kat blinked, "The boy who took his adopted brother to their Senior Prom?" she asked.

"Did he?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, right… you were homeschooled…" Kat mused. "But yes. Roddy decided to break Feliciano's heart because Eliza came back to him… and Lovino stepped in and saved the day… That's when I figured out they were adopted brothers…"

Matthew was reminded of Kat's scary intuition when it came to love and relationships. So… did she know that… maybe… just maybe… Matthew was harboring feelings for his American housemate?

"But I'm sorry I embarrassed you…" Katyusha said, looking at her former boyfriend. She kissed him on the cheek, "I was just coming to terms with myself that… we can't go back…"

Matthew was reminded of Kat's brother's voice in his dream that morning. He still couldn't see Ivan's face in his mind, not that he really wanted to, though it unnerved him. "Yeah… you have Ivan to worry about… and I finally have a life…"

~*~

"Alfred… let it go…" Arthur said as he unlocked the door and pulled the groceries and Alfred (by his collar) into the house.

"But… Mattie had a girlfriend, and a bully… and this girl!" the American said, pointing to Natalia, who had followed the Brit and the American to their house, as Katyusha and Matthew had taken off in her car.

"'This girl' has a name, and it's Natalia Arlovskaya, thank you very much," Nat huffed as Arthur closed the door behind her.

"All right, Natalia," Arthur said, "Help me put away the food, and spill the beans. Who is Katyusha to Matthew?" the Brit asked, handing her a bag.

Alfred shrugged and followed them into the kitchen. He instructed Natalia in where everything went, though he himself had no clue. (And Arty was being OCD about it anyway.)

"Katyusha was his first real friend and his girlfriend up until a few months ago. Her brother, Ivan, is mentally unstable, and anyone in his little sister's life besides him and me makes him extremely jealous and he goes into fits. In one of those fits after learning about Matthew… he… Ivan beat him senseless and left Matthew in the snow…" Natalia replied. "We tried to move him… but Ivan saw us and … moved us away…"

Arty handed her a box of cereal, then, thinking better of it, gave it to Alfred. Then he thought better of that and took it back, putting it up in the cupboard where it belonged. "So… she's special to him."

"Yes. Perhaps. I don't know…" Natalia snapped, now feeling useless. She went to stand next to Alfred.

"Aww… is someone jealous?" Alfred asked, looking down at the smaller woman.

Nat's eyes snapped up at him, "No!" she shouted.

Then she paused, "Yes. But not of Katyusha. I… I love her," she whispered fiercely.

Arthur finished the last box and slammed the door closed, turning to her, "So… why did you bring her here?"

"After Ivan moved us to Fou, Kat got really depressed. So I vowed I would bring her back here for some… closure… We had some time, with Ivan away on business…" Natalia replied, slowly.

Arthur and Alfred nodded. After a few minutes of tight silence, Natalia went into the living room. Arthur restrained Alfred from following her, silently telling the other man that the woman needed her space.

~*~

Katyusha turned the ignition off and the two sat in the car and stared at Matthew's house. "You lived in an apartment in our building. Ivan still owns it. I heard it was torched after your final… you went unconscious…"

Matthew flinched, "Well… I'm glad Arthur and Alfred found me and brought me into their home."

"You love pancakes and maple syrup. Oh! I have the recipe for maple fudge… you made that for my birthday last year…" Kat said.

They had been playing that game since the car ride had started. Katyusha was reminding Matthew of his past life, trying her hardest not to bring Ivan into the picture. It was working very well.

"We should go in… Nat's probably with them…" Matthew prompted, opening the door and pulling Kumajirou close to him.

"Oh… okay…" Katyusha replied, and followed the French-Canadian into the house.

Arthur tackled Matthew upon entering. Natalia hung back for about a minute, and then tackled Katyusha. After a few moments, Alfred came out from the kitchen (it smelled like polenta) and saw the hug fest. He smiled, and brought the two couples together in a giant group hug. Katyusha laughed.

"I like this one, Mattie~" she said, glancing at Alfred.

Matthew groaned, "I'm not liking this one at the moment," he said, glaring at Arthur.

"Well… I hope gaining your past life back was enjoyable, Mattie… but I missed you while you were out and…" Arthur was putting on a show.

Matthew decided to stop him, "Okay… you have been spending waaaaaay too much time with Francis. Could you two, like, start a theatre troupe together or something?" Matthew asked.

Arthur blinked. Then he blushed. Then he looked at his feet. And then he bolted up the stairs and slammed his door closed. The other four blinked. Natalia glanced at Alfred, who shrugged. Katyusha blinked, and then took Natalia's hand in her gloved one. Natalia blushed lightly, but the other girl didn't notice.

"I guess we should be getting home, Nat…" Katyusha told her.

Natalia nodded, grabbing her purse and the bag of groceries she had to pay for when Katyusha had run off with Matthew. Matthew hugged Kat, "It was nice to see you again, Kat…"

Katyusha smiled, "You too. Stay happy, Mattie…"

Matthew nodded, "You… You try to stay happy. At least Ivan is nice to you…"

"Don't be like that, Mattie. We'll… well… Goodbye, Matthew. Goodbye, Alfred…" Kat said, "Oh! Your last name is Williams…" she said over her shoulder, smiling.

The girls shuffled out. Matthew stood, thunderstruck, but slowly remembering. Matthew… Williams. Alfred and Matthew waited until the car lights weren't shining through their window anymore to speak.

"Did you have fun?" Alfred asked.

Matthew nodded, then looked up the stairs towards Arthur's room. "Lemme go talk to the Queen of England…"

"Yes… Her Majesty needs a stern talking to. As for me, I have polenta to make…" Alfred replied, nodding for Matthew to go. Matthew did, and Alfred went back into the kitchen…

~*~

Yes... you know I had to make the joke about Arthur being the Queen of England someday...

And, oh my, a couple more strings. This is getting to be a Tangled Mess more than a Love Web... -maniacal laughter- Oh, and Russia does not a have a sister complex. He is simply taking the 'protective older brother' role a little too seriously. And that triggers his insanity. Usually he's a sweetie-pie-and-a-half. It's just... don't date Ukraine... unless you're Belarus, but Bela and Russia are in a (mostly one-sided on Russia's (Quoi?) part) relationship.

I swear things will get happier. Soon.

Please review, mes amis. No threats, just pleas. Actually... review or I'll go Hamlet (read it.) in the corner.

'Cause I'm an emo kid. Er, Hamlet-kid.

Adieu~

Ana-chan