The next morning, Mathias had some difficulty waking. The sun was an irritant and far too bright. But the smell of food had drifted into his room and stirred him. He was starving and last night he just couldn't bring himself to eat the food Tino had brought up. The whole night Mathias had stayed up thinking about Niels. They had been so close and then Tino had to come and ruin things with bland food that Mathias didn't have the stomach for. He knew that Tino had meant well, but damn, damn, damn.
Slipping out of bed, Mathias tossed on some fresh clothes but didn't bother with his looks. He never did and his stomach felt like it would rip its way out of Mathias' flesh if he didn't stuff his face soon. Even though he had almost died he felt stronger than an ox. There wasn't an ounce of fatigue in his limbs and Mathias didn't really think about his sudden good health. Descending the stairs though, everyone at the tabled hushed at Mathias' sudden presence, revealing how odd Mathias' quick recovery was.
Niels sat at the table with wide eyes, with a mug placed at his lips, Eirik was stopped midway through taking a bite of his porridge, and Berwald was bent over the table reaching for a slice of bread. Mathias couldn't help but chuckle at the site as he said in a bright voice, "What? You all act as if you've seen a ghost."
"You shouldn't be up." Eirik stated factually.
"I'm fine kiddo." Mathias answered as he pulled a chair at his empty, usual spot. There was no plate but Mathias merely reached for the thickest slice of bread he could.
"I'll get Tino ta set ya a place." Berwald mumbled in his deep voice but Mathias stopped him with, "No need I'm just having bread."
Berwald frowned but remained in his seat. The three men at the table ate as they eyed Mathias spread butter on his bread then cover it with every dish on the table. Porridge, eggs, jam, and berries all went on that slice making Niels huff and Eirik moan. Mathias really didn't care about their disapproval, he just wanted to fill his stomach the quickest he could. Taking a bite he chewed it quickly but his face twisted in disgust.
"Bad combination?" Niels asked blandly.
Mathias forced himself to swallow and nodded. Bad combination didn't describe the putrid food in his mouth. Sometimes Tino's cooking was straight out foul and Mathias guessed this was one of those days. But Mathias ate away at his bread and even licked his fingers clean after he was finished. His stomach twisted in protest but Mathias leaned back waiting for his stomach to settle.
Watching the other three members of their household eat, Mathias spoke loudly, "I think we should start makin' them chains today."
Niels quirked an eyebrow. "I was going to today, but don't you feel tired? You lost a lot of blood."
"Nah, like I said last night, I feel fine. Sturdy as a sailor."
Eirik commented in a sarcastic tone, "On land or at sea?"
"Both!" Mathias laughed before sitting properly. "What ya say Niels? We'll start welding them bits and Berwald can keep working on the bicycle frames." And deep down Mathias wanted to get a chance to talk to Niels some more. He couldn't just ignore what happened last night. But how to catch his attention once more. Mathias' palms felt sweaty already just thinking about talking to Niels about his feelings. And maybe if he was lucky he could taste more of his skin, feel his lips on his.
Shaking his head of the images, Mathias added, "Really I'm fine. We need to put out this new bike before anyone else does in town if we want to turn in a high enough profit."
Niels shrugged and nodded, "If that's what you want. But as soon as you feel sick, I want you back in bed."