Thank you for reading "Mathew's Monster".
This work is only an exploration of the effects of sexual abuse on a child, and is not meant to be taken as a glorification of pedophilia. I tried my best to not make it smut while still showing the situation clearly.
I choose not to end this story with a Happily Ever After, because experiences like this can follow the victim for the rest of their lives in some cases. It's a long and daunting road to recovery, and I know it might disappoint some of you, but I didn't want to shove him into a peaceful happy relationship and make everything just go away.
As for why I had his Cousin Lucille(Monaco) and her daughter Michelle( Seychelles) take him in instead of Arthur and Alfred? I felt like I was doing that too often recently and it was time for a change. Lucille is new to this, she's never raised a boy, let alone a traumatized one, But I tried my best to show some of what she's doing to help him in that last chapter (giving him a lock for the inside of his room, providing a nightlight, explaining this clearly with no judgement, reassuring and comforting him as she can). Now she does still make mistakes (Calls him "Mathieu" instead of "Mathew", tries to hug him to comfort him,etc) But she's trying, and learning as she goes.
It was a bit crammed in the final chapter because I had so much I wanted to show that I hadn't been able to address in the rest of the fic, and despite my best efforts,I ended up having to cut out some details because they just didn't fit. (Such as Mathew's other friends, Lars and Carlos, mentioned in Chapter 3, and how they approached Mathew after his father was arrested.) I'll leave that up to your interpretation.
As for if Mathew ever goes to visit his father? Yes, one day when he's eighteen, he'll go to see Francis, and struggle with the guilt he feels when he sees how prison had affected his father, the disgust he feels at his own self when he remembers the things his father did for him, and the love he feels for his father despite all of it. He'll pour out his feelings about all his father did, explain the dirty feeling it left, the fear and anxiety, and al the details of how it hurt him, why he did what he did in telling Arthur, then the police, everything, and how it hurt to love his father when he hurt him like that.
Originally I was going to write this scene, but when I tried it felt too private, and in the end, I left this scene, the words said and tears shed, secret, only known to the two of them.
As for how Francis truly feels, if he regrets his actions or not...
I'll leave that to you to decide.
I tired to write Mathew a little younger than his age (which is hard because I have not talked to a twelve-year-old in a long time) to further emphasize how much he was trying to play up his childishness in an attempt to discourage his Father's sexual advances. I tried to hint at it, but when Mathew showed how young he was, Francis would feel guilty and stop molesting him for a few nights (as seen when mathew wet the bed), but now as Mathew approaches his teens, that trick isn't working anymore and is making Mathew more uneasy.
And Finally, I realized in hindsight when I was one chapter from finishing that this fic makes it seem like I am playing up the hated Hetalia headcanon in which France is a creepy perverted rapist. This was unintentional. I had decided from the start to make Canada the victim (because of his quiet personality) and to make America the "Hero" who saves him (because I love this trophe), therefore he had to be in a different family. Additionally, I've been making England the villain a lot (because its just really fun) so I thought I should do someone else as a villain this time, so I split them with the English half vs the French half, and by default poor France became a POS. He didn't deserve this fic, I'm sorry France...
In conclusion,
Thank you for reading, and sorry for Danish-slaughterhousing poor France!
-Author Reinvented