Author's note: Sorry about the delay with this chapter! Real life stuff, you know? I can assure you that this fic will be updated more quickly from now on, no worries!
Mathias would’ve been more inclined to stab himself in the foot with a fork than go to dinner that night. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Lukas again. He loved him just as much… And that was the problem. Who he didn’t want to see was her. He’d spent as much time as possible avoiding that moment, but it had to come at some point. He’d have to face her whether he liked it or not… If he ever wanted to see Lukas again.
The music on the radio was set to full blast, knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. He did as much as possible to distract from the ever-increasing hole in his heart. He needed to do this. It was vital if he wanted to put his plan into action. Rule number 1- know your enemy.
He pulled up to the familiar apartment building, checked his hair once in the rearview mirror before walking to that one apartment, not even bothering to check the number before knocking. Just as his luck would have it, she answered the door.
“Oh, hello, Mathias,” She leaned against the doorframe like she was guarding the house. Her accent was still the same, not as much a childhood in England as it was just trying too hard.
“Hey, Alice,” He crossed his arms in front of him, trying not to glare. Alice looked him over a few times before finally allowing him into the impeccably organized living room.
“So,” She said, failing to sound even remotely innocent in her obvious interrogation. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been great,” Mathias replied with a fake smile.
“That’s good.” Her moves were slow, like a cat, and he finally noticed the much-too-formal black dress and heels she was wearing. “So, I have to know, are you still…”
“Gay? Yeah, still am.” The question made Mathias want to cringe, no matter how used to hate he got. Part of him wondered how Alice could even still remember, from all those years ago in high school. But of course, being “that gay kid” wasn’t something people just forgot.
Alice just cleared her throat and nodded. “Good to know you won’t be hitting on me then. God, my last boyfriend’s friends always looked at me like I was a piece of meat.”
Mathias grunted in reply, not even pretending to be interested, only glancing at the hallway. “Where’s Lukas?”
“Still getting ready. Sometimes he takes more time to dress than I…” Her words became meaningless as Lukas walked in, wearing a crisp white button up shirt that matched the crispness of his apartment to a tee.
“Hey, Lukas!” Mathias smiled and stood, and Lukas gave a nod in return.
“Hei, Matthias.”
“I brought your favorite!” Mathias gave a smirk as he held up his bag and pulled out a butter cake. Lukas couldn’t help but let his eyes go wide.
“You really shouldn’t have, Mathias, I mean, really…”
“But I wanted to.” His smile became more sincere. “For you… And Alice too, of course.”
“Right…” Alice stood as well, practically yanking the cake out of Matthias’ hands. “I’ll just put this in the kitchen, then. Thank you so much, Mathias.”
His eyes stayed locked with Lukas’. “My pleasure.”
There was another, barely audible knock on the door. Lukas walked off without a word, and after a few minutes walked back in with a familiar young man. “Alice, you remember Emil?”
“Oh, of course I do!” Alice scurried back from the kitchen to grasp Emil’s hand in both of hers in some sort of overbearingly affectionate handshake. “How could I forget Lukas’ little brother? How have you been?”
“Fine,” Emil said with a shrug. He didn’t even have to roll his eyes, the tone of his voice making it very clear that he did not care.
“Hey, kid.” Mathias smirked. He had known Emil when he was still a puny, pre-pubescent middle schooler and Lukas was nothing but an awkward freshman. Man, had things changed. Some things, like the curt nod Mathias got as a greeting, however, did not.
“Well then!” Alice gave a forced chuckle. “I suppose we should start dinner then, before it gets cold. Right, Lukas, love?”
“Yes, of course.” The Norwegian snapped his eyes up from the ground. “I made fish, I hope that’s okay.”
Mathias boomed, “Sounds great!” Emil just nodded again.
“In that case, you’ll love the place settings.” Alice laughed once more, even more forced than the last one, as she led them all to the dining room.
The dinner was relatively quiet. Every attempt Alice made to start up conversation was met with a few stoic remarks and then stark silence.
“The Bears are having a good season this year,” She reported off-handedly.
“Oh really?” Lukas’ interest was obviously strained. Besides, it was a common fact he hated sports, especially how their old high school football team was doing.
Alice nodded. “My brother’s the team captain, no surprise, and he just can’t stop talking about how well their doing.” She chuckled, “I think I’ll bring my old pom-poms to their next game!”
“Is your brother still gay too, Alice?” Mathias spoke without thinking, surprising even himself.
Alice practically choked on her food, “I can assure you that Alfred is not…”
Mathias just shrugged, “Whatever you say.” Lukas kicked him under the table and gave him a look that said “behave.”
After that, Alice gave up on trying to be polite. Mathias tried to pretend his plate was the most interesting thing to look at, but every so often he’d look up. Lukas and Alice would steal quick glances at each other, and they even held hands under the table for a time. The sight made Mathias look at his plate some more.
“Does anyone want drinks?” Alice’s chipper voice came to them while Lukas washed dishes. Emil shook his head. “I have to get back home. Studying for an exam tomorrow. Bye Lukas, Alice… Mathias.” They nodded to each other once more before Emil left without looking back.
Mathias practically shoved Alice with his shoulder so he could get to the kitchen, where Lukas stood, scrubbing dishes in the sudsy sink. “Lukas?” The Norwegian half-glanced up from his work. “I should be getting home too… I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“You’d better, idiot. What’s wrong? You didn’t talk much at dinner. Usually I can’t get you to shut up.”
“Oh,” Mathias quickly glanced over his shoulder, back into the living room where Alice stood. “I just have a lot on my mind, I guess.”
“Well, don’t forget about Saturday, alright?”
“Saturday?” Then he remembered. “Oh, right, guy’s night.” The smile finally returned to Mathias’ face.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Good. See you then.”
“Bye!” Mathias gave him a wave, passing Alice without a thought. The drive home was once again spent in deep thought, his mind swirling with memories he wished he could forget.
Oh God, Alice, do you eat babies for breakfast and sacrifice critters to the Dark Lord Satan? Do the statues in the church start bleeding when you enter, holy water turning to black pools of the void between the stars, do the passers-by turn to monstrous mutants and arrange their fetid bodies into groups of six, six, six? Do your eyes envelop the onlooker, is your laugh an unhallowed screech of a million damned souls, do your teeth drop venom as your words do--and finally, do your pom-poms serve to invoke Beelzebub Lord of Flies unto the Earth to join you in Cheerleading for your brother of dubious sexuality?
...because holy shit, are you a BITCH.
(Ehem. Despite the incrediby bitchy female role, I really like where this is going. I like how you characterized Den, and Iceland was also nice--he's a difficult character to write, and I think you got the cold-exterior-that-hints-at-something-else pretty well! Keep up the good work!)
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I Do (2a/?)
(Anonymous) 2013-03-29 02:22 pm (UTC)(link)Mathias would’ve been more inclined to stab himself in the foot with a fork than go to dinner that night. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Lukas again. He loved him just as much… And that was the problem. Who he didn’t want to see was her. He’d spent as much time as possible avoiding that moment, but it had to come at some point. He’d have to face her whether he liked it or not… If he ever wanted to see Lukas again.
The music on the radio was set to full blast, knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. He did as much as possible to distract from the ever-increasing hole in his heart. He needed to do this. It was vital if he wanted to put his plan into action. Rule number 1- know your enemy.
He pulled up to the familiar apartment building, checked his hair once in the rearview mirror before walking to that one apartment, not even bothering to check the number before knocking. Just as his luck would have it, she answered the door.
“Oh, hello, Mathias,” She leaned against the doorframe like she was guarding the house. Her accent was still the same, not as much a childhood in England as it was just trying too hard.
“Hey, Alice,” He crossed his arms in front of him, trying not to glare. Alice looked him over a few times before finally allowing him into the impeccably organized living room.
“So,” She said, failing to sound even remotely innocent in her obvious interrogation. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been great,” Mathias replied with a fake smile.
“That’s good.” Her moves were slow, like a cat, and he finally noticed the much-too-formal black dress and heels she was wearing. “So, I have to know, are you still…”
“Gay? Yeah, still am.” The question made Mathias want to cringe, no matter how used to hate he got. Part of him wondered how Alice could even still remember, from all those years ago in high school. But of course, being “that gay kid” wasn’t something people just forgot.
Alice just cleared her throat and nodded. “Good to know you won’t be hitting on me then. God, my last boyfriend’s friends always looked at me like I was a piece of meat.”
Mathias grunted in reply, not even pretending to be interested, only glancing at the hallway. “Where’s Lukas?”
“Still getting ready. Sometimes he takes more time to dress than I…” Her words became meaningless as Lukas walked in, wearing a crisp white button up shirt that matched the crispness of his apartment to a tee.
“Hey, Lukas!” Mathias smiled and stood, and Lukas gave a nod in return.
“Hei, Matthias.”
“I brought your favorite!” Mathias gave a smirk as he held up his bag and pulled out a butter cake. Lukas couldn’t help but let his eyes go wide.
“You really shouldn’t have, Mathias, I mean, really…”
“But I wanted to.” His smile became more sincere. “For you… And Alice too, of course.”
“Right…” Alice stood as well, practically yanking the cake out of Matthias’ hands. “I’ll just put this in the kitchen, then. Thank you so much, Mathias.”
His eyes stayed locked with Lukas’. “My pleasure.”
There was another, barely audible knock on the door. Lukas walked off without a word, and after a few minutes walked back in with a familiar young man. “Alice, you remember Emil?”
“Oh, of course I do!” Alice scurried back from the kitchen to grasp Emil’s hand in both of hers in some sort of overbearingly affectionate handshake. “How could I forget Lukas’ little brother? How have you been?”
“Fine,” Emil said with a shrug. He didn’t even have to roll his eyes, the tone of his voice making it very clear that he did not care.
“Hey, kid.” Mathias smirked. He had known Emil when he was still a puny, pre-pubescent middle schooler and Lukas was nothing but an awkward freshman. Man, had things changed. Some things, like the curt nod Mathias got as a greeting, however, did not.
I Do (2b/?)
(Anonymous) 2013-03-29 02:22 pm (UTC)(link)“Yes, of course.” The Norwegian snapped his eyes up from the ground. “I made fish, I hope that’s okay.”
Mathias boomed, “Sounds great!” Emil just nodded again.
“In that case, you’ll love the place settings.” Alice laughed once more, even more forced than the last one, as she led them all to the dining room.
The dinner was relatively quiet. Every attempt Alice made to start up conversation was met with a few stoic remarks and then stark silence.
“The Bears are having a good season this year,” She reported off-handedly.
“Oh really?” Lukas’ interest was obviously strained. Besides, it was a common fact he hated sports, especially how their old high school football team was doing.
Alice nodded. “My brother’s the team captain, no surprise, and he just can’t stop talking about how well their doing.” She chuckled, “I think I’ll bring my old pom-poms to their next game!”
“Is your brother still gay too, Alice?” Mathias spoke without thinking, surprising even himself.
Alice practically choked on her food, “I can assure you that Alfred is not…”
Mathias just shrugged, “Whatever you say.” Lukas kicked him under the table and gave him a look that said “behave.”
After that, Alice gave up on trying to be polite. Mathias tried to pretend his plate was the most interesting thing to look at, but every so often he’d look up. Lukas and Alice would steal quick glances at each other, and they even held hands under the table for a time. The sight made Mathias look at his plate some more.
“Does anyone want drinks?” Alice’s chipper voice came to them while Lukas washed dishes.
Emil shook his head. “I have to get back home. Studying for an exam tomorrow. Bye Lukas, Alice… Mathias.” They nodded to each other once more before Emil left without looking back.
Mathias practically shoved Alice with his shoulder so he could get to the kitchen, where Lukas stood, scrubbing dishes in the sudsy sink. “Lukas?” The Norwegian half-glanced up from his work. “I should be getting home too… I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“You’d better, idiot. What’s wrong? You didn’t talk much at dinner. Usually I can’t get you to shut up.”
“Oh,” Mathias quickly glanced over his shoulder, back into the living room where Alice stood. “I just have a lot on my mind, I guess.”
“Well, don’t forget about Saturday, alright?”
“Saturday?” Then he remembered. “Oh, right, guy’s night.” The smile finally returned to Mathias’ face.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Good. See you then.”
“Bye!” Mathias gave him a wave, passing Alice without a thought. The drive home was once again spent in deep thought, his mind swirling with memories he wished he could forget.
Re: I Do (2b/?)
(Anonymous) 2013-03-29 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)Lovely as always author anon, keep up the good work!
Re: I Do (2b/?)
(Anonymous) 2013-03-30 01:09 am (UTC)(link)...because holy shit, are you a BITCH.
(Ehem. Despite the incrediby bitchy female role, I really like where this is going. I like how you characterized Den, and Iceland was also nice--he's a difficult character to write, and I think you got the cold-exterior-that-hints-at-something-else pretty well! Keep up the good work!)