I am so sorry my little button holes! I know it's been a really long time since I've updated, and honestly, I have no real excuse. I mean, I guess I was distracted by real life? I DID figure out that I'm a non-binary trans person(and feel free to shoot me any questions about that in a PM, if you're curious), and school is a scary, scary place, so take those as explanations? Hey, and Inner Kiwi is gone, because screw that noise! Evren Lee is a strong, independent person who don't need no verbally abusive inner voice! No beta for this chapter because I wanna get it out as quickly as possible. Anyway, getting on with this, because you guys have been waiting far too long!

They hit a few more stores after the dress incident, wandering around for a good hour, before Feliks suggested they grab some lunch before heading home. Everyone agreed pretty quickly. Even for those who had built up a tolerance, you could only walk around the mall for so long before you started to get tired.

Everyone split up at the food court, heading off to buy their food. Matthew decided on New York fries, feeling a craving for some good old-fashioned poutine. Thankfully, the line was reletively short, so it didn't take long before he was up at the counter. He ordered, internally wincing at his over-use of the word please. Damn his stupid polite tendencies!

Soon, he recievedhis order, and he smiled, thanking the employee one more time before turning to find where his friends had went. Unfotunately, they were all still waiting in those obscenely long food court lines. Sighing, he prepared to go find them a spot to sit, when he heard an unfamiliar voice call his name, accompanied by a tap on his shoulder.

Behind him stood Yao, looking nervous yet determined. Matthew felt a momentary spike of panic in his gut, instinctively glancing around for Ivan, although he knew there was no way he was out of jail. After affirming that the Russian was not in fact there, he focused his attention back on the boy in front of him.

"Uhm, y-yes?" Mathew managed to get out, willing his hammering heart to calm down. Yao winced.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, that wasn't my intention," He apologized, sounding sincere. Telling himself that Yao wasn't here for some nefarious purpose, Matthew took a deep breath, letting his body relax.

"No, it's-it's okay, you just startled me, is all." He assured the other boy, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "Can I help you?"

Yao straightened up, the determined look coming back into his eyes. "Right. I wanted to say I'm sorry.I heard about what happened, and I can't help but feel responsible. You have every right to hate me, but I just want you to know that I had no clue that you and Ivan were together. He said he didn't do relationships. If I had known I never would have become involved with him."

Matthew's eyebrows scrunched together in surprise and confusion, before he scrambled to reassure him.

"What? No, of course I don't blame you, Yao. I never once thought that any of this was your fault. Ivan is the one who chose to cheat, and you can't blame yourself for his actions, especially when you didn't even know. You're just as much a victim in all this as I am."

All the tension drained out of Yao's body, and he looked massively relieved, as if a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank God, I've felt so guilty since everything happened. It feels so good to finally be free from that."

Matthew felt a stab of anger in his gut toward his ex. God, how many people did Ivan fuck over? Instead of letting any of his anger show, however, he simply gave the other boy a small smile. "Listen, how about we exchange numbers? I'd like to get to know you."

Yao nodded, and soon they were typing each other's numbers into their contacts, before parting with a promise to speak again soon.

By the time Matthew's conversation was finished, everyone had already gotten their food and found a large table to sit at. Matthew walked over, sliding into the empty seat beside Gilbert and digging into his lunch.

"What took you so long?" Gilbert asked around a mouthful of burger, raising his eyebrows. Matthew shrugged.

"Just ran into somebody I knew."

PAGE BREAK

After lunch, the crew piled back into Liz's van and returned to the house, Only to find the boys staring up at the TV, tears in their eyes as Steve Rogers battled theWinter Soldier on screen.

"Seriously?" Bella asked incredulously, bag-laden hands resting on her hips. "Are guys really crying over a silly superhero movie?"

"It's just so saaaaaaad!" Feli wailed, turning to bury his face in Ludwig's shoulder, who seemed to be the only person in the room who wasn't crying.

"Okay, yeah, that's enough of that. Put on something else, Captain America is so lame." Gilbert drawled.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Lovino yelled indinantly. "You wish you were half as badass as Captain America, you potato-humping bastard!"

"Bullshit, everyone knows Iron Man is the most awesome hero ever, so suck it loser!" Gilbert shot back. Lovino looked ready to deliver a scathing retort before Lilli jumped in.

"Stop it, both of you! There's no need for fighting. Can't we all just agree that the Black Widow is better than every other male superhero and leave it at that?"

With a little grumbling, the two begrudgingly agreed, and eveyone settled in to watch the rest of the movie.

(by the end of it, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Not even Ludwig.)

Okay, so I'm sorry this is so short, but I'm currently in the middle of exam week and I'm honestly only throwing this together because I feel guilty over how long it's been. It's hard writing when you don't have any inspiration! Thankfully, next chapter is going to be a dream/memory chapter, so I already have it planned out. Hopefully I'll have it out before three months have passed, but I make no promises. Anyway, love you guys, stay safe and please review!