A/N at bottom
Chapter 18
1763 (right after the last chapter)
Matthieu- or Matthew, rather, had never tried harder to hold himself together. At the same time, he had never been in such an awkward situation. After saying goodbye to Francis (don't cry, don't cry) the two of them had walked in silence towards a carriage that Arthur had waiting. So far, the silence has not ceased.
The carriage ride had to be the most uncomfortable part of the journey back to Arthur's home.
On the one hand, Matthew wanted to keep silent and prove to the man that he was capable of not breaking down.
On the other hand, Matthew happened to be a genuinely nice person, and even though he wouldn't show that side of himself to Arthur just yet, he couldn't stand the quiet.
But he wasn't about to give up. He was locked into a non-verbal war with Arthur, and he was not about to lose. That man woul- wait, was he asleep?
Matthew looked over to find Arthur with his eyes drooping. Well, at least that ended the need for conversation...
It was nearly dark by the time they reached Arthur's house. Matthew tried to subtly nudge Arthur awake, and when he woke up, he glared at Matthew, like Arthur had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to do. Matthew averted his eyes towards the floor and let Arthur lead him inside.
Arthur didn't bother to light a candle, preferring to stumble around in the dark. Matthew, unfamiliar with the layout of the house, stood still and awaited further instruction. Arthur seemed exhausted, to say the least, but he still managed to navigate his way to the nearby kitchen, reach into his cabinets, and locate both a glass and a bottle of scotch. Before Matthew could ask where he was supposed to sleep, Arthur filled his glass.
He took a sip, then another, and then then downed the entire thing.
Matthew had never seen somebody consume so much alcohol at once without passing out on the spot, but Arthur put his glass down and sighed, albeit a little wobbly. Then he turned and saw Matthew, suddenly remembered the past 3 hours, and said:
"Your room is down the hall. Be careful not to wake Alfred."
Oh, Alfred. Matthew nearly forgot. His so-called "brother", that he now had to deal with.
But he was too tired to argue, and Arthur now looked slightly drunk (he hadn't stopped drinking), so Matthew kept his mouth shut and trudged off to his room.
"I'm sorry," Arthur whispered, so quietly that Matthew swore he imagined it.
"What?"
"I said 'good night.'"
"Oh... good night."
Matthew didn't sleep at all, and even hours later he still heard Arthur downstairs in the kitchen, drinking.
A/N
I'm back! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always, criticisms are greatly appreciated! The next chapter goes up next Friday!
Also, I started a new story if anyone is interested. It's basically about Canada, ghosts, and history. It's called:
The 5 Ghosts Canada Met Throughout His Life (And 1 Bonus)