I AM SO SORRY! I have been busy with finals, and then my mom and step dad were fighting. It wouldn't be that bad, but I have a little almost 7 year old brother. Actually, his birthday is Sunday, January 13th. I was going to update on Christmas, but then I was uninspired to write! So please no one kill me! I am so sorry! I will begin right away! This story is not discontinued, but the updates will be slightly scarcer. Sorry if my cliffhangers seem to be the end. They aren't!
Approaching Valentine's Day
It was now a week before Valentine's Day, and a week after Matthew and Alfred learned that a blast from the past was teaching at their school. Of course, the boys had talked to their benefactor, who only ignored their pleas to leave. Not that they particularly wanted to, but they had to try and protect Arthur and Gilbert.
All around the school, people were going about, trying to find their Valentine's date for the dance. Alfred and Matthew had been asked by some people, which they declined. It wasn't that they didn't want a date, because they did. It was just that Ivan made them more cautious.
Since they learned of Ivan, they had gone out of their way to avoid everyone. They became more reclusive and quiet. They only talked to the person they roomed with when it was necessary. Of course, this worried the friends they had made over the few weeks they were at the school. It was now lunch time, and the normal group, minus Alfred and Matthew, were sitting in their normal spot. They all had a clear view of Alfred and Matthew in the corner of the room.
"So what do you think happened?" Gilbert asked, feeling worried for Matthew.
Arthur sighed. "This behavior started right after Alfred met Mr. Braginski. Do you think he has something to do with this?"
"More than likely. That guy is creepy!" Lovino shuddered, thinking of the man's creepy smile.
"Before we get too engrossed into this conversation, isn't Kiku coming transferring back into the school tomorrow?" Ludwig asked.
"Yeah! I can't wait to see him! We can hang out with him again!" Feliciano was happily daydreaming about what he and Kiku could do.
During this conversation, Alfred and Matthew were having a conversation of their own. "I don't think we should have quit cold turkey like that," Alfred said, looking depressed.
"What did you expect us to do? If we didn't, we both know we wouldn't have stopped talking and hanging out with them. Now come on. We have a mission to do tonight." Matthew stood up, noticing the group they had befriended looking at them. Matthew motioned for Alfred to look.
"You don't think they are worried about us, do you?" Alfred asked.
Before Matthew could respond, a shadow descended upon his frame. "Privet Comrade Matvey, Comrade Fredka. Would the two of you join me for lunch tomorrow?" The smile on Ivan's face was one that promised pain if they didn't accept.
"Of course, Mr. Braginski. We'd love to. Now if you would excuse Matt and I, we have some things to do." Alfred and Matthew turned away from the man.
Arthur, Gilbert, and the rest of the group watched as Matthew and Alfred left, as if in a rush. They waited until the twins left to resume talking. "I would say that our theory on Mr. Braginski is correct. But what can we do about it?" Ludwig was watching Mr. Braginski warily.
In unison, Arthur and Gilbert sighed, shoulders slumping. "I don't know," they said in dejected harmony. They glanced at each other, then at everyone else, who had similar expressions, though not as severe.
"Well, they can't stay in this funk forever. Just leave them alone for now. If it gets too bad, then confront them." Everyone looked at Antonio surprised. He actually said something worth noting. "What?" he asked when he saw the stares. "That is my method with Lovi~!" He then proceeded to hug said Italian, who cursed up a storm. Everyone decided to take Antonio's advice, deciding it was the best way to go.
X~That Night~X
"You ready to go, Al?" Matthew asked from his place on top of the building they were on.
"As ready as I'll ever be." The two shared a look before they attached a cable to their belts, jumping backwards off the roof. They climbed down until they were at a window. They noticed a guard by their target: the Glittering Dog.
"You have the tranquilizers?" Matthew asked Alfred.
"Yup," he answered as he silently opened the window with his special glass cutter, taking aim at the man standing with his back to them. He let the projectile fly, hitting the target dead on.
The man grabbed his neck, pulling the dart out. He took one look at it, his eyes rolling back into his head before he collapsed. Alfred gave Matthew the thumbs up before they descended into the building. Finding no trip wires or invisible lasers, they proceeded.
Once they reached the gem masterpiece, they noticed it had a weight trigger alarm. Matthew pulled out the already prepared note. The boss said to make noise, so they didn't have to be as careful.
On the count of three, Alfred quickly snatched the statue, running for the window. Matthew placed the note down as the alarm blared from the speakers. Matthew hurried to follow his brother, reaching the rope to pull himself up as more guards came running in. Matthew made sure his mask was in place before he climbed up the rope.
"There they are! We have permission to shoot!" Alfred looked up from his climbing brother, surprised to see the guards have guns instead of tasers.
"Hurry!" he called to his brother, worried about him and the guns trained on him.
"Easy for you to say!" Matthew replied. Just as he was about to grab Alfred's hand, though, Matthew let go of the rope with a scream. Alfred barely managed to catch his hand before hauling him out the window. He put Matthew over his shoulder, climbing down.
He quickly ran to the car they had, hurrying to get the hell out of the area. "What happened, Matt? What was with the scream?"
By now, Matthew was panting and grabbing his left leg. "Th-They got a bullet in me. Hurts like a bitch. We gotta get it out at the apartment."
"Maybe I can be of assistance?" a voice over their in ear communicators said.
"Kiku?" Alfred asked incredulously. "Is that seriously you? I thought you were back in Japan?"
"I was, until I heard you two were being all depressed. But we can talk about this later. We need to get that bullet out of Matthew. Let's hope they missed a main artery." During this conversation, Matthew was trying to stop the bleeding to his leg.
A few minutes of reckless driving later, Alfred was bursting through the apartment door, slamming it closed behind him. He noticed the plastic on the table, as well as some other surgical things next to it. He placed Matthew on it as Kiku came in from the bedroom. The boy looked up with his brown eyes, his black hair swept out of his face with clips.
Alfred looked at the Japanese boy, then at the in pain Matthew. "Please fix him Kiku…I don't like seeing him in pain."
Kiku rolled his sleeves up, walking up to Matthew. "He will be fine. I don't think it hit a major artery. He would be dead otherwise. He is losing blood though. You have to help me, okay?" Alfred nodded stiffly, steeling his nerves.
For the next half hour, Kiku and Alfred tried to get the bullet out. Alfred had to hold Matthew down while making sure that his creams were muffled. Since this was an unexpected development, Kiku wasn't able to get anything to help with the pain during the extraction.
Kiku stitched up the wound while Alfred held his twin in his arms, he himself crying. "Don't ever get shot again Mattie! I couldn't stand it if you left me!"
Matthew sniffed, wiping away some of his tears. "I promise. Same goes for you." Matthew, with exhaustion in his eyes, looked over at Kiku. "And hank you Kiku. It's good to see you again. But what are you doing here?"
Kiku could only shake his head at the two. Despite Kiku being the same age as them, he was much more like an adult. "Our benefactor was worried the two of you were getting depressed. Oh, and to help make sure Ivan behaves. So feel free to relax and live a normal teenage life. Well, as best as thieves like us can."
"What about Yao?" Alfred asked.
"Aniki didn't want to come. You still owe him quite a bit of money Alfred."
Matthew giggled at Alfred's red face. "I-I promised I would pay it back honestly! No stealing! So he has to wait a bit longer."
"I know. Now, Matthew, I wrote a fake doctor's note. Here are some crutches as well. That wound needs to close a bit before you can walk on it. I'll also drive the two of you back to the dorms. After all, I have to sleep in them too." Alfred and Matthew cheered to have their friend joining them at school.
(A/N: I was planning on ending it here, but you guys have been awesome enough to wait, so I continued~!)
X~Next Day: Alfred~X
The first thing Alfred did when he woke up was tackle Arthur. "Artie~!"
Arthur, still groggy from having been woken up, sat up as much as he could with Alfred on him, asking, "What?"
"I'm sorry for the way I have been avoiding you! I was wallowing in self-pity, and a friend helped me out of it!" Alfred used his puppy eyes on the teen beneath him.
By this time, Arthur was wide awake. Looking at the adorable face in front of him, he could only sigh and smile.
"I forgive you. Was your brother doing the same thing?"
Alfred nodded. "Yup. But we are good now. Now get up~! We have people to meet!" Alfred rushed to get dressed. Arthur could only smile. Alfred was back.
X~Next Day: Matthew~X
Matthew woke up, but did not jump on Gilbert. Instead, he grabbed a chair and hobbled onto it. He was sitting next to Gilbert's bed. He placed a hand on Gilbert's shoulder, shaking him slightly. "Gilbert. It's time to get up. You forgot to set your alarm again."
Gilbert rolled over. "Five more minutes Birdie…" Matthew sighed, counting down from five on his fingers. When he got to zero, Gilbert shot up. "Birdie is talking to me again!?"
Matthew laughed lightly and nodded. "Yea. Sorry for ignoring you. I was just going through something a little difficult. But I'm good now."
Gilbert only threw himself at Matthew, causing them to fall from the chair. This caused Matthew to give out a small shriek of pain from the injury from the bullet.
"Did I hurt you Birdie!? I'm sorry! I'll kiss it better!" Matthew blushed at that, but pushed Gilbert off him, grabbing his crutches to help him up.
"It wasn't that. I just hurt my leg, and you jumping on me agitated it. It's nothing too bad." Matthew didn't like the way Gilbert was frowning.
"Can I see?" Gilbert asked.
"It's wrapped up in gauze and I don't have any more at the moment. I have to wait for my friend to give me some. Now come on, we have to meet everyone for breakfast." Huffing Gilbert did as he was told, though he knew he would press Matthew for what happened later.
Everyone met up for breakfast, happy to see Matthew and Alfred out of their funk. They also couldn't wait until the twins met their friend who was coming.
Just as Feliciano caught eye of Kiku and was about to call him over, Matthew and Alfred shot up from their spots on their chairs and launched themselves at Kiku. "KIKU! You have to meet our friends! Come on!" Alfred started to drag Kiku along, Matthew pushing him from behind.
Just as Alfred was about to introduce him, Kiku spoke up. "There is no need to introduce us, Alfred. We all know each other. I actually used to go to this school."
"Really? That's awesome! So you all know Kiku?" Matthew asked, sitting back down next to Gilbert.
"Oui…But how do you two know Kiku?" Francis looked as confused as everyone else.
"When they were in Japan, we knew each other for a bit." Kiku gave a light smile, reminiscing about those days.
"Speaking of having gone abroad…Kiku, you have to tell the Commie Bastard we don't want to eat with him!" Alfred took Kiku's hands in his. When Kiku was going to refuse, Alfred used his puppy dog eyes, making Kiku stop.
Said Japanese man sighed, knowing he couldn't refuse. "Okay. I'll tell him. Now, I believe the two of you have something important to do? I do believe a dance is coming up, and you two need dates."
Alfred and Matthew looked at one another. Matthew spoke first. "Want me to ask first, and then you?" Alfred nodded. Matthew then nodded, took a deep breathe, and then looked directly at Gilbert. "Gilbert?" he asked the albino.
"Yes…?" Gilbert asked cautiously, trying not to get his hopes up.
"Will you take me to the dance?"
Everyone looked at Matthew in shock. Shy Matthew just asked Gilbert to escort him to the dance. Everyone looked to Gilbert for the answer.
Gilbert was blushing, but he was trying to hide it with a smirk. "Of course the awesome me can! I mean, it would be unawesome of me to tell you no."
Matthew let out a relieved sigh. "Your turn, Al," he said ask he took Gilbert's hand, lacing their fingers together.
Alfred looked to be the shy one now. He was completely red and seemed to be at a loss for words. "Kiku," he started to say, but was cut off with a hand.
"You have to do this on your own. Now man up." No one but Francis noticed the slight relief on Arthur's face when it was clear that wasn't who Alfred was asking.
After one more deep breathe, Alfred quickly stumbled out the word, "Athurwillyougotothedancewith me?"
Afraid he heard wrong, Arthur asked, "What?"
"W-Will you go t-to the dance w-with me?" Alfred was now looking him in the eyes, but he was still blushing.
It was now Arthur's turn to turn a shade of red. "S-Since you have no one else to go with, I-I guess I could accompany you."
Alfred actually jumped up and fist pumped. "Yes! This is going to rule!"
Unnoticed by everyone but one at the table, who were congratulating the two new couples, a certain pair of eyes was watching what was going on at the table. Kiku knew he would have to keep the Russian away from the boys...especially Alfred.
So I finally finished the chapter! Again, I am so sorry for the really late update. I was finally able to be in a writing environment that didn't involve an asshole of a step-dad yelling at my mom every day. So, until next time, read and review, and I will get the next chapter up when I can~!
~Doitsu No Joso