Isolation

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Matthew sighed closing the door behind himself. He was trying to be as quiet as possible, but still ended up waking Bryce. The red head had fallen asleep on the couch watching tv. Kumajirou was curled up on his chest and growled as he shifted. The bear hopped off and waddled over to the blond.

"What time is it?" Bryce asked groggily sitting up and stretching.

"Almost one." Matthew said bending over and picking Kumajirou up. The cub instantly fell asleep in his arms.

"You're home late." The ginger said through another yawn. "How was it?"

"Good." He said quietly. He didn't want to wake the sleeping bear. Bryce smiled seeing the red on the Canadian's face. He knew it wasn't from the cold.

"He didn't try anything, did he?" The red head asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, he was a gentleman." Matthew said a small smile on his face. The blush still lingered. "He asked before he attempted anything."

"That's good." Bryce said standing up. He cracked his back with a wince. "Don't need to grab the shot gun then?"

"No." The Canadian laughed quietly and the green eyed man smiled softly. He hadn't seen the blond happy like this since Kumajirou had shown up; he'd never seen him this happy before then. This guy seemed like he was going to be good for Matthew. He might get out more often other than for jobs or to go to the bookstore.

"Well I better clean it soon. Just to be safe." The ginger joked. Matthew rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I'm going to bed." Bryce yawned again. He lightly patted the blond on the back as he past. "Good night."

"Night." Matthew hummed. He started towards his room as well. He entered and carefully set the cub on the bed before closing the door. He changed into his pyjamas before grabbing his book and crawling into bed. The Canadian yawned settled in for a night of reading. Kumajirou woke up and toddled up to him. He ran his hands through the cub's soft fur.

"Sleep." Kumajirou murmured pushing his head into Matthew's hand.

"I'm not tired." The Canadian said. The bear narrowed his eyes. "Really."

"I know you have nightmares. I know you have trouble sleeping." Kumajirou said and Matthew frowned. "It's not healthy."

"Really Kuma, I'm okay." The blond said trying to convince the bear.

"Please?" The cub asked looking up and giving him puppy dog eyes.

Matthew sighed and gave him a small smile. "Okay." He mumbled setting his book on his side table. He couldn't say no to those eyes. He turned the light off and slid under the covers. He turned over and got comfortable. Kumajirou curled up on top of his back so he couldn't go anywhere.

The Canadian was dead tired, but didn't want to sleep. His nightmares had been particularly bad the last few weeks. He had tried sleeping with his window open, but it didn't help. Even sleeping outside wasn't working anymore. He knew he could take pills that could help him sleep, but he didn't want anything to do with them.

Matthew huffed and stared at the wall. He didn't like letting his mind wander too much, it didn't normally go to good places. He would end up thinking back and wondering if there was a time that he could have escaped earlier. He knew there were opportunities that he didn't take and hated himself for not taking them. It could have saved him a lot of bad memories, but then he might not have met Bryce or Gilbert.

The Canadian also thought about his last owner, Peter. He knew the man was still alive and running the business. He hadn't seen the man around the city luckily. The blond didn't know what he would do if he did. He hoped that he'd kick his ass, but he was nervous that he'd revert back to the scared kid.

Matthew sighed again and closed his eyes. He started to think about Gilbert. The blond smiled replaying the night over in his head. He was excited at the thought of their new relationship. He couldn't wait to see the albino again.

-❄️"Love is like a fart. If you have to force it, it's probably crap."❄️-

Five years earlier

"How's the job search going?" Bryce asked the small Canadian as he cooked. He jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Not g-great." He said quietly. Matthew plated the food making sure to give more to the man. "Nothing yet."

"Oh well. Soon hopefully." The ginger said as the food was set down in front of him. "You should apply to be a chef. Your cooking is amazing, lad." The blond just shrugged and ate quietly. The kid wasn't really one for talking, neither really felt the need to fill the silence with conversation.

Once they were done the kid took their dishes. Matthew hummed quietly as he did them. Bryce absentmindedly watched him. The kid had only been around for a little over a month, but he was growing attached. He'd learned a bit about his past, the blond had been accidentally letting bits slip here and there. The red head knew from the timbits that it wasn't pleasant.

When he first took the Canadian in he had been really jumpy. He still was, but a lot less than before. His speech was getting better; he had almost lost his stutter. The kid definitely looked a lot healthier. He'd gained some weight despite hardly eating. Most of the wounds had fully healed and faded to scars.

Bryce knew that the kid never went to school and had next to no actual education. He knew that there was a very small chance that he'd be able to get even an entry level job. The ginger had thought about telling Matthew he was a mercenary. He also thought about taking the Canadian on as an 'apprentice.' He figured that the skills he could teach him might give him a confidence boost.

'Well, no time like the present.' Bryce thought clearing his throat. "Hey Matthew?"

"Yes?" He asked pausing for a second.

"Could I talk to you for a second?" The green eyed man asked. Matthew dried his hands and sat back down at the table. He looked down at the table nervously scratching his arm. "Don't worry it's nothing bad."

"I don't know if I believe that." The blond mumbled still not looking up. He lightly traced the scars on his arms.

"Really it's not." Bryce sighed. "Remember how I told you I am a private detective?" He asked and Matthew nodded slowly. "Well, that's not completely true." He paused watching the Canadians reaction. He didn't want to scare the kid. The blond just looked up and raised an eyebrow. "I'm more of a mercenary. I get paid to do stuff that's not exactly legal."

"Why are you telling me this?" Matthew questioned. He didn't seem to care about the illegal stuff.

"I know you've been having trouble finding a job and you're not really a people person." Bryce started and the blond nodded slowly. "I'd be willing to train you as a mercenary. It's good money, but a lot of the jobs aren't pretty most of the time."

"What kind of jobs?" Matthew asked curiously.

"Some are easy, like tailing someone. Others are harder, like beating someone or maybe killing a drug dealer or pimp. No two jobs are the same." The ginger explained. "It's not an easy career, it really tests your morals. Don't take this decision lightly. Once you're in, it's next to impossible to get out."