Alfred didn't come home for a week. It was a complete surprise to Matthew when he did. He walked in and Alfred was just there, acting like he was here all along and the reason for his disappearance was only a distant memory.
It made Matthew upset, but he had a whole week to brood and now he was ready to poke and prod.
"Is Feliciano feeling better?" Matthew asked as he went to put the shopping in the fridge just to see it stocked with fast food and takeout. He scowled and pushed it aside.
"Yeah, he's feeling as good as he can be. He's got all his family over now so he doesn't need us there."
"I can't imagine what it must be like to lose my twin," Matthew said as he shut the fridge and leaned on the counter, watching for Alfred's reaction and hoping he'd rise to the bait.
"Yeah, luckily that's not something to worry about," Alfred shuffled uncomfortably and Matthew's heart squeezed. Everything he was meant to keep hidden was showing on his face because what the hell did that mean?
"You never know," Matthew forced out as he fought to get his face back in line so he could keep on acting. "There's a killer out there!"
"Well, you don't have to worry about me if that's what you're thinking," Alfred added, completely misunderstanding what Matthew was trying to dig at. "I can take care of myself!"
Matthew crunched the empty grocery bag in his hand as he thought about how to get the conversation back on track.
"Would you even care if I got killed?" He bit out before he could think better of it. Dammit, he was trying to slowly and painfully drag this along and now he's gone too far.
"Yeah, of course I would," Alfred said with dismissive confidence. "Who else would make pancakes that slap as hard as yours?"
Alfred stared at him like Matthew was expected to respond in a certain way but he had no idea what his brother wanted. He had no idea why his brother just couldn't love him as much as he loved the friends that he always put first. Matthew realised his face must be putrid right now, contorted in a way that wasn't passive and pleasant, a way that showed the hurt no one cared he had.
"You know I love you, right?" Alfred said as his smile slowly caved down.
Matthew wanted to say 'No, I don't,' but a calmness swept over him. Instead, he levelled Alfred with a stare and walked off to his room.
Alfred didn't come after him, but for some strange reason, he finally replied to that text Matthew sent over a week ago.
hey, your dinner's in the fridge
-1 week ago
thanks Mattie! 3
-1 minute ago
Matthew left him on read.
From now on, he had no brother. He already knew he had no parents. So not only was he an orphan, but he was a single child too.
Matthew figured the funeral must've happened at some point. He didn't have an inkling when because Alfred didn't tell him when he was going or showed any signs of having been to a funeral, physical or emotional.
The news was still talking about the Trail Killer at every opportunity, even if no new details were brought to the table. Alfred was always on his phone during dinner but when the presenter announced the Trail Killer he'd put it down and desperately focus all his attention on the TV as if his attention alone would suddenly give police a lead. Matthew knew Alfred would rather not look at the TV at all, but his roommate's optimism always convinced him that 'this time, he'll get what's coming to him.' Alfred was always left disappointed and angered.
The internet was worse than the TV. The news was concise and filtered whereas the internet was not. Matthew enjoyed browsing the internet more for that reason. The memes were amusing and were showing no signs of coming to a halt as everyone had an opinion of the murders. The police never confirmed they were connected but just by acknowledging there might be a connection that had been enough for the public. Some prominent theories included that the Trail Killer lived in the park and hunted at night, whether it was a bored homeless person or something more... supernatural was unknown but highly speculated.
Matthew started browsing the internet in his room because the smiles from amusement were starting to become difficult to contain and were in no way appropriate to be seen by someone else.
A couple of monotonous weeks had passed and Matthew didn't get another opportunity to add a newspaper to his collection, though his walks never stopped and he was confident he could find his way home from anywhere with his eyes closed. Maybe he should become a delivery driver. He'd never get lost and probably be given many opportunities to obsessively engage in his hobby.
It was a night like any other as he sat down on the couch with dinner in hand and Alfred at the opposite end. Matthew leaned his plate on the armrest instead of using the table and diligently waited for the news to come on. He didn't expect anything of note to be reported, but the one day he doesn't spend glued to the internet is the one day he gets blindsided.
"Top story tonight, the Chief of Police has made a statement confirming the murders of Arthur Kirkland, Francis Bonnefoy and Lovino Vargas are all linked. The police have named the Trail Killer the sole suspect and responsible for all three murders. Police have yet to discover a motive but confirm and warn that a serial killer is stalking the streets of this city."
"How good's that?" Alfred laughed humorlessly as he scowled. "I only have to find one asshole to beat up for killing all my friends."
"You're not searching are you?" Matthew asked, alarmed. If Alfred was actually actively searching then Matthew would have to know about it. Coming and going from the house would be compromised and so could just wandering the streets-
"No," Alfred said all too quickly, but Matthew could tell from his face that he really wasn't thinking about it before and now Matthew just gave him that idea... great.
The TV changed to the familiar police Chief Beilschmidt making his statement. Apparently, they decided the murders were connected because of the neck wounds. What genius figured out that three bodies within one area all sporting slit throats were connected. Matthew just knew that the internet would eat this up and spit out memes before the broadcast was over. It wasn't made known to the public until now that all victims had slit throats, but if they told everyone before then it wouldn't have taken an elite team to figure it out since it was so obvious.
Beilschmidt went on to say that the knife was the exact same length and size, holding up a model knife to demonstrate what it would look like. Matthew thought it was pretty accurate as he fiddled with the weapon in his pocket. A habit he doubted that anyone noticed. All in all, the statement held a whole lot of nothing and it was wrapped up with the usual plea for information. Matthew wondered if the Police thought it reassured the public that they begged for information.
He was so pleased at finally being labelled a serial killer that Alfred abruptly standing caught him off guard.
"Sorry Mattie," he chuckled and grabbed both of their plates. "I'm really tired so I'm going to go to bed now. Thanks for dinner! Goodnight, I love you!"
Alfred dropped the plates in the sink and darted off to his room. He thought he was so cunning but Matthew could see right through him and knew exactly what he was doing.
Matthew wasn't about to stop him, because he really couldn't. He wasn't going to try. Instead, he just turned to his phone to see the internet exploding over the confirmation of the Trail Killer.
An hour later, Matthew pushed open Alfred's bedroom door to find the room empty and the window open.
Matthew went to bed and didn't lose any sleep.
No matter how hard Alfred tried to hide it, not that he tried at all, Matthew could see how obsessive he was about his delusions about catching the Trail Killer. Every night Alfred 'went to bed' earlier than he had before and in the morning would drink twice as much coffee. Bags formed under his eyes and his renewed vigour for his childish idolisation of superheroes returned as he openly fantasised about ideas far removed from reality. It was hard to think that people would say that Matthew was the ill-adjusted one.
Matthew never crossed paths with Alfred while he was hunting. While Matthew would take an opportunity to kill whenever it arose, Alfred had it in his mind that the Trail Killer was only active at night, completely forgetting that Arthur was killed closer to noon than nightfall. Sometimes Matthew would return from his hunt hours before Alfred started his. Matthew never said anything to his brother about the fruitlessness of it all. Instead, he slept soundly for the entirety of the night while Alfred stalked around with a baseball bat no doubt bringing suspicion with his every movement.
Yes, that's right, Matthew wasn't oblivious to the fact that Alfred pulled out their old sporting supplies and now some not very innocuous makeshift weapons were missing. Considering the tension on the streets and the attitude of the public since the confirmation of a serial killer, it was only a matter of time before Alfred brought the wrong sort of attention and was rudely reminded that his heroic fantasies should remain as such.
Though sometimes when Matthew couldn't sleep he'd walk around at night. Only now he had a dull sense of reluctance at the thought of crossing paths with Alfred. He tried to reason that it was unlikely. The city was big, Matthew was observant and would see Alfred first, if not then Alfred would just see right past him like he usually does and nothing would come of it. But still, for reasons unknown Matthew couldn't tolerate the thought of Alfred seeing him in his element, whether he noticed Matthew or not. Matthew knew trying to stop Alfred would never work, they were both as stubborn as each other. But he could find a way to work around it. Matthew would just have to find the right angle.
He brought it up during dinner. He and Alfred were on opposite ends of the couch and the TV was on, still talking about the Trail Killer. There wasn't any new information, only advice about how to keep safe and be aware of your surroundings. Matthew didn't think the advice really would've helped anyone he did kill, but it was probably just so the public felt safer.
Alfred was only halfway through his dinner so Matthew was on a deadline. Once Alfred finished eating and the news was over, he would 'go to bed' and Matthew would have to wait another night before getting what he needed from him.
"Hey Alfred," Matthew put his fork down and looked at his brother. "Where have you been going at night?"
Alfred choked and spluttered as his food went down the wrong hole. He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth as he tried not to panic and die. Matthew stopped himself from sighing as Alfred took a moment to sort himself out.
"I'm not going anywhere?" He said dumbly, then laughed abruptly. "Do you mean clubbing? I hope I didn't disturb you when I came back in after a good night!"
"I know you're not clubbing. I know you're trying to find the Trail Killer-" Alfred quickly tried to deny it but Matthew just spoke over him. "I know I can't stop you and I'm not going to try but please at least share your location with me! How do you think I feel knowing you're out there all by yourself. At least give me the peace of mind that if something happens I can find you eh?"
Matthew made sure to pull his most concerned face. He was ready to argue tooth and nail to make Alfred keep him in the loop. Though he supposed if Alfred was too resistant... Matthew knew his password and could always get on his phone later. But at least having Alfred keep him in the loop consensually would help him avoid him better. Alfred might even stupidly offer information. It wasn't like Matthew could ever know what Alfred was thinking if he didn't hear it directly from him.
"You're not going to stop me?" Alfred seemed gobsmacked, which was how Matthew felt when Alfred didn't try to dig his heels in and deny what he was doing. "I would've thought you'd nag at me to stop."
Matthew gave Alfred a dead look as he thought about his next move.
"Well, Arthur was my cousin too."
Alfred looked much more serious at the mention of Arthur.
"Well I'm glad you understand why I have to do it then," he said, his voice gravelly. "That monster has killed three of my friends and all my other friends are fucked up because of it. Someone's gotta be a hero and put a stop to this."
Matthew wanted to point out 'That's what the police are for' but he was trying to get something from his stubborn brother so it was best to be as cooperative as possible.
"How often do you go out?"
"Pretty much every night. From when I go to bed after dinner to about, I don't know, 1 or 3 in the morning?"
Matthew hummed as he filed away the information.
"Where do you search?"
"Uhhh, I have a couple of routes that I cycle through. They all connect to the park though, since that's where everyone was found so I just search the city areas around the park perimeter too."
"That's quite a bit of distance. You should share your location with me so if something happens I can come help."
"I really don't want to bother you, Mattie. Besides, there's nothing I can't handle."
Now Matthew was getting frustrated. If only he and Alfred were friends, then he'd see the value in 'bothering' Matthew.
"I know you can handle it but it would just make me feel better since I'm not the one going out there. Please, Alfred."
Alfred seemed conflicted before sighing and rolling his eyes.
"Fine!" Alfred took his phone out. "There, happy? You can stalk me all you want now. Now you promise you won't try and stop me?"
"Yes I promise," Matthew said as he checked on his phone that he could see Alfred, satisfied that he was given 24/7 hour access to his life. "Thanks, Alfred."