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“Sometimes, you really make me want to punch your face in, you know that?”
Matthew, sprawled on the bed, looked up from his phone. Alfred stood with his hand on the doorknob, scowling, his Captain America t-shirt slightly crumpled. Matthew himself was a bit tired; it had been a long day. A fun day, but a long one. He wasn’t in any mood to pick a fight with his brother. “Oh yeah?” he said casually, going back to his Instagram. “What did I do now?”
“You went out with Ivan.”
Not this again. “Yeah, I did.” Matthew raised an eyebrow, glancing up at Alfred.
“You didn’t tell me!” Alfred snapped, entering the room and shutting the door behind him, deliberately hard so it would bang and reverberate. Such a drama queen. “I found out from fucking Instagram that you two were watching Spiderman together? Are you kidding me? I thought we were going to watch Spiderman.”
“I didn’t tell you because you get so angry whenever I hang out with him.” Matthew sat up. “And we said we’d watch Barbie together. It’s not a big deal, Alfred! Ivan’s my friend!”
“Ivan is a jerk,” Alfred hissed. “You KNOW I don’t like him. Why do you keep hanging out with him?”
Between Alfred and Ivan, Matthew couldn’t catch a break. This had been a persistent fight all year, ever since Ivan and his sisters had transferred to their school and Ivan joined the hockey team. He was a hell of a defenseman, and with Matthew playing center forward, they made a great duo. Besides, Ivan was lovely. He was kind and funny and a cool person to hang out with, and Matthew genuinely enjoyed his company. But Alfred had decided from the word go that he hated Ivan, because the two of them had gone up against each other for debate club president elections and Ivan had won. But Matthew suspected there was a lot more going on than met the eye. There was always more to Alfred’s temper tantrums than what appeared.
“I think you need to get to know him,” Matthew replied calmly. “You guys have a lot in common.”
“Like hell we do.”
“You’re both very leaderlike,” Matthew counted off his fingers. “You guys both pretend to be happy when you’re not—”
Alfred flushed. Matthew knew all his little quirks too well.
“You’re both extremely competitive. You’re both quite popular, although for different reasons. And,” Matthew added with a raised brow, “You both fight over me like babies. Grow up.” And he flopped onto his stomach and continued scrolling.
“Screw you.” Alfred turned and left, slamming the door a second time. Matthew sighed. He dropped his head onto his pillow and let ten minutes pass before he sat up again. Hopefully Alfred was a little calmer by now…
Gingerly, Matthew went looking for his brother, and found him sulking at his laptop, window-shopping on Etsy of all places. “Al?”
“I’m not talking to you.”
“Don’t, then. Just listen.” Matthew shut the door and perched on Alfred’s bed. Alfred’s toe was digging into Matthew’s knee. Alfred glared faithfully into his laptop, the blue glow of the screen reflecting on his glasses. His frown was not so much angry as it was sad. “I want you to know that it’s okay. It’s okay that you like him.”
“WHAT?” Alfred shut his laptop with a concerningly loud thwack! and set it aside on the bed. He launched upright, fingers digging into the mattress. “I’m not gay. That’s insane. What the fuck are you talking about?”
Matthew squeezed his knee. “Mom and dad will be okay with it too, if that’s what you’re concerned about. And Ivan…yeah, I’m pretty sure Ivan likes you, too. All I’m saying is that you’re all right. You’re all right.”
As Matthew spoke, he could see Alfred’s lower lip tremble. He had become very tense. He angled his body away from Matthew, arms crossed over his chest. “How’d you know?” he asked in a small voice.
“Come on,” Matthew smiled, “Chris Evans is your laptop screen.”
Again, Alfred violently blushed. “Captain America is my laptop screen, because he’s my favourite—stop smirking at me!” he wailed, dropping his head in his palms. Matthew immediately scooched over to rub his back. Alfred’s body was shaking, as if from the effort to not cry. He hastily wiped his face. “Look…Feliks came out last year and he got fucking suspended for wearing a skirt. And bullied. I can’t—nobody can—you don’t—I’m fucking scared, Matt,” he finished, his voice thick, allowing Matthew to hug him. “Ivan’s gay?” he added in a tiny voice.
Matthew nodded, still holding Alfred in that protective embrace. “Are you mad that I confronted you about this? I didn’t want to force you to come out to me or anything, but I’ve been noticing that it’s been eating you up lately. Frankly, I’ve been worried.”
“No, you’re fine, I…” Alfred swallowed. “Actually, it’s kind of a relief. I feel…lighter. Yeah.” He pulled free from Matthew, wiping his eyes again. His hands were trembling. “Can I ask you something? You and Ivan…?”
“We’re friends,” Matthew reiterated, smiling despite his exasperation. “Actually, I was going to ask out his sister, Katya.”
“Dude, what?” Alfred chuckled. “She’s older than you.”
“Only by a year. What? It’s fine.”
“I don’t think mom and dad will be thrilled with you dating a legal adult.”
“Okay, she’s eighteen, not forty-six, let’s all calm down.” Matthew patted his back. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Alfred muttered, staring at his feet.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Do I need to figure it out tonight?”
Matthew smiled. “I guess you don’t. You know I love ya, right?”
“Stop being such a dweeb.” Alfred shook him off and stood. “I really will punch you. I’m gay, I’m not a sap.”
“You’re the biggest sap I’ve ever met, and that never had anything to do with your sexuality,” Matthew casually retorted, stretching his back as he stood. “You cry while watching Meg Ryan romcoms.”
“That’s a normal thing to do. You’re the ice-cold one,” Alfred huffed. “Whatever.” He stopped, staring at Matthew, and then turned away. “Thanks,” he added briefly. “I really do feel a lot better now. You were right…it was weighing on me.”
“I'm glad you're feeling better. Now will you let me hang out with Ivan in peace?” Matthew grinned.
“No. I’m going to ask Ivan out and then we’ll be boyfriends and you’ll become the third wheel.”
Oh, god. Matthew hadn’t even considered that. Well, it was a better arrangement than this, anyway. “Okay.” He rolled his eyes fondly. “Good luck.”