Matthew's eyes slowly fluttered open, the dim sight of a bright light creeping into his vision. Blinking hard, he opened them fully to see that he was lying on a crystalline, sandy beach, the sun low in the sky to create a comforting, orange glow across everything in its path. "What...?" he mumbled, sitting up and looking around. "I didn't know there was a beach here, too..."

He heard jovial laughter beside him, as he turned to find Angelus making a sand castle with Francis. They seemed to be in rather dated bathing suits of sorts, Francis' a flowing white, transparent-like dress while Angelus' was a cute, ruffled pink and white childish looking miniature, dripping with lace, frills and bows.

Francis' hair seemed to be tightly braided around the base of his head, and down his back in an attempt to keep the long, flowing locks off the ground as he wore a lace bonnet to shade it. Angelus, on the other hand, had her hair done into two, high pigtails on the sides of her head, her light blonde wavy hair bouncing on her shoulders playfully.

Smiling calmly to himself, Matthew looked down and noticed that he was dressed in red swimming trunks with white maple leaves on the two pant legs. It was a nice color-switch, he supposed as he stood up and started walking over to them. I must be asleep, he thought, trying to remember what he had last been doing in the real world. Or knocked out again... Hmm...

"Oh! Matthieu dear, you have returned!" Francis piped up, calling to him cheerfully with a regal wave, "Come join us!"

"Certainly!" Matthew called, laughing as he went to join them. Whatever had happened in the real world he could deal with later, right now, it was time to have fun with his waifu and his kids! …

… Perhaps he had been spending too much time with Alfred.

He heard Angelus giggle and comment, "Maybe he's got sand in his shorts!"

Matthew laughed and stuck his tongue out at her playfully. "Who has sand in their shorts?" he asked with a wink.

"You! Or you wouldn't be standing like a draft horse!" Angelus retorted childishly in her high-pitched, rather endearing voice.

"Oh, whatever," Matthew retorted with a smile. "Is the water warm?"

He heard splashing and something jump into the air from the waves as Philippe yelled, riding a dolphin into the air with a laugh, "I don't know! It's your head," he smirked, "Eh?"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Matthew replied, laughing at him before running and jumping into the water. He had always enjoyed the smooth, clean feeling it left against his skin, and the feeling of refreshment after popping his head up above the cool waves. He turned around to look back at Angelus and Francis still on the beach before waving. "Come on! I don't think there'll be any storms today." He laughed at himself for his horrible attempt at a joke before diving back underwater, looking for unique, tropical fish now.

Francis stiffened slightly and gave the water an anxious look, mumbling, "I can't swim..."

Angelus patted his shoulder sympathetically and then hugged her Mother, "It's alright, Mama..."

When Matthew surfaced again, gasping for breath, he turned around and blinked at them. "What's wrong?" he called before swimming back over to the shore. Having been underwater, he didn't hear of Francis' special situation.

Said male, blushed as his wings fluttered, and he mumbled before being cut off by their daughter who yelled, "Mama cannot swim!"

"You can't!" Matthew exclaimed with slacked jaw. He shook his head as he stepped up onto the dry sand. "That won't do at all!" Grinning a little he grabbed his hands. "I'll have to teach you."

Blinking in surprise, he panicked, squawking in shock, "M-MATTHIEU!" feeling himself suddenly be lifted into said male's arms, he flailed, squealing, "W-What are you-!?"

"Relax," Matthew said as he carried him to the water. "I was a lifeguard once, I can train you!"

Popping his head out of the water with his dolphin companion, Philippe mocked, "Oh, you hosers have lifeguards in Canada? What, for the moose?"

Glaring at him, Matthew smirked a little when a huge wave came and toppled over him. "Oops, sorry, must have gotten a little upset~" he said as he stretched the skin under one of his eyes and stuck his tongue out at him.

Philippe squealed as he was pulled under and his dolphin cried out a peal of laughter, causing angered bubbles to rise up to the surface and pop, hearing the preteen's voice yell at Matthew, "Hosers!"

Rolling his eyes, he turned to Francis. "Why does he use that word so much? I rarely hear or think it!-!"

Calming, Francis laughed melodically, "I'm not sure, I've at least heard you use it about Alfred a few times-"

"I have not!-!" Matthew yelled, pouting and crossing his arms.

"Wow, I really am in denial all the time," a familiar, older voice said. It sounded like... the voice that told him to take the sword out...

Turning around, Matthew's eyes widened as he saw that... it was him. Only he looked older, around the same age as the dream Francis, and, if he did say so himself, he looked good. He wasn't a gangly teenager anymore, he was a well-toned, tall, fit man with his hair being just a little shorter than it was now, his curl still grown out long and free, though.

Francis blushed a bit, stammering, "O-Oh, I'm, uh, mon amour-"

"You seem surprised," the older Matthew said, chuckling a bit before pecking his love lightly on the lips.

Blushing more, Francis smiled and looked as if he was about to drool...

"Control yourself..." both Matthew's muttered, only the younger one was blushing slightly. Turning to look at each other, the older one laughed as the other stared up at him in wonder.

"How did you get here...?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

Poking his forehead, older Matthew winked at him. "I was born from when you kissed Francis yourself, freely, for the first time~"

"... Oh..." he muttered, blushing more before his mind started racing. Eyes widening, he exclaimed, "Wait, are there even more now!? Since I … er, me and Francis... k-kissed more..." he flushed immensely, not finishing his sentence.

Francis paled, exclaiming, "More?! Three children are a hassle already! And don't get me started on morning sickness-"

"Relax, both of you," the older Matthew said, holding his hands out and smiling weakly. "It doesn't work like that..."

"Then how does it work?" his counterpart asked, looking up at him.

"... Well..." he started before blushing a little and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "It only comes from kisses that are extremely pure in nature..." smiling sheepishly yet knowingly, he added quietly, "the last few you shared with him weren't exactly, ah... "pure.""

"Wh-what!" Matthew stammered, blushing and shivering. Covering up his stomach since he felt very bare all of a sudden, he took a step back. "But we didn't d-do anything!-!"

"Oh, please," the older Matthew said with an eye roll. "You're me, you know exactly what I mean. Here, notice the difference between this," he wrapped his arms gently around Francis, smiling at him before kissing him lightly. "And this," he finished, smirking a little as he practically buried his mouth into the other's.

Blushing as dark as a tomato, Francis and Matthew both flushed in unison while the poor "kissing model," squeaked in surprise and shivered, flailing a bit.

Pushing against his chest slightly, Francis squealed, "M-Matthieu!"

"Oh come on," he whispered, laughing a bit. "It's just me and our kids~"

"Is this how I imagine myself...?" Matthew muttered dishearteningly. He wasn't like this at all - confident, cool, sure of himself...

"Evidently s-so!" Francis stammered, blushing more and giving the older Matthew an annoyed look.

"Oh, what?" the older one asked incredulously, pouting slightly before releasing him and turning away. "It's not like you didn't like it..."

Sighing slightly, Francis smiled softly and replied, "You messed up my braids of angelic perfection~"

"You need to stop worrying about your hair," he said, rolling his eyes. "When you learn how to swim they're just going to get messy anyways."

"My hair is like a family member!" Francis insisted, turning from him with a huff, a hurt look on his face as he did so.

Young Matthew was about to step forward to comfort him when the older one beat him to it; reaching forward, he placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned a little. "Okay, I'm sorry..." Blushing slightly, he tried fixing Francis' braids. "I just haven't seen a lot of you since I was made~"

Sighing, he turned around and hugged him, resting his head on his shoulder and replying, "It's fine, I-I just didn't expect you to be so-so-"

"Eager?" the older Matthew supplied with a chuckle. "Needy? Forceful? Rough? There's so many adjectives to choose from, you know."

Blushing more, Francis gave him a pout and stuck out his tongue, suggesting, "A poor role model~?"

Snorting with laughter, he covered up his mouth. "S-sure, I guess you c-could say that!" He grinned a little before kissing his tongue, laughing as he saw Francis' face enflame. "Catch me if you can!" he called before running away, ruffling his younger self's hair before jumping into the water.

Staring, Francis waved his arms and swore, horrendously flustered, at him in French, which Matthew guessed he should be glad he couldn't translate...

Trying to go unnoticed now, since he was a little embarrassed by his older dream self, he tiptoed to the water to get some more swimming in before he woke up. Unfortunately, Angelus caught him...

"Papa! I thought you were going to teach Mama how to swim!" the girl accused, putting her hands on her hips and pouting.
Looking up from a large, heavy-looking book, Rosaire adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses and hugged his blanket, inputting with a gentle smile, "She is right, you know."

Laughing nervously, he rubbed the back of his head, standing up straight. "W-well... wouldn't the older me be better for that?"

"I think Francis is a little mad at me right now, eh?" he heard his older self say, laughing a little. "Besides, we're the same person, so it doesn't really matter."

"... Well..." Matthew said weakly before looking over at the blonde.

Francis stopped mid rant and smirked, peering at the two and asking "innocently" with a purr, "Are you just saying that because you're jealous~?"

The older Matthew, who had been floating on his back in the water, almost fell in as he squeaked in surprise. Splashing around a bit, he glared at Francis, grinding his teeth. "That's completely ridiculous!-!" he yelled, doggy paddling over to him. "How can I be "jealous" of myself!-!"

Smirk-grinning, Francis leaned in and said slowly, "Well, I haven't kissed you on my own yet, have I~?"

"... Th..." the older one stammered, blushing. "That doesn't even make sense!-! You're still Francis, and I'm still Matthew, and in the real world you've... it's not logical!"

"Denial~" Francis sang in an almost low purr, fluttering his lashes and giving a cheshire smile.

"I am not!" he yelled before taking wide strokes over to him and clambering up onto the beach. "First of all, there's nothing to be in denial about!" he said, walking up to him and poking him in the shoulder. "Second, you're out of your mind, and third, I'm not - stop that!"

Throughout his whole speech, Francis looked at the younger Matthew mischeviously and mocked his older counterpart's word with over exaggerated facial expressions and hand motions, causing the boy to burst out into laughter.

I guess I really am the jealous type, he thought to himself with a chuckle before he stopped, suddenly remembering what had happened in the real world... With Ivan, and Francis' ice form...He frowned as he looked back at the older versions of him and Francis, thinking about how that type of emotion only caused problems...

"You're not listening to me!" the older Matthew complained, stomping his foot into the sand. "I told you, I'm not jealous..."

Stopping through mid way pantomime, Francis dropped his hands and stared oddly for a moment, before conversing with himself in French aloud, sounding as if he was in a confused debate with... Himself?
"... Francis, honey," both of them muttered, "What are you doing?"

Blinking, he turned to them and replied blankly in English, "Wondering why the sky is blue...? Is that a bad thing?"

"..." Both Matthew's were in a state of shocked silence, turning to one another to see if the other hand any idea as to how to react. "Well..." the older one said after awhile, turning back to him with confusion written all over his face. "It's just a little odd, considering what we had been talking about beforehand..."

They saw their lover stare for a bit, before bursting out into laughter, clutching himself and keeling over slightly as he replied, "Le sike!"

The younger Matthew groaned, facepalming himself. "I never should have used that terminology around you..."

"You're telling me," the older one said with an eye roll as he patted Francis on the back. "Yes, yes, very funny, as always..."

"Well, it's funny," Francis explained, wiping an eye and still giggling warmly, "Because I would have thought you two would have learned the beautiful language of French by now!"

"I'm not that far in the class yet..." the student complained, frowning slightly.

"And I only know what he knows, since I'm a part of his soul and not Francis', so..." the older one trailed off before smiling at the boy. "Yeah, we don't..."

Raising a brow, Francis gave a huff, turning a nose to the air and crying aloud dramatically. "Such a shame! To not be able to speak the language of love should be a sin!"

Young Matthew blushed slightly as a set of "flirty" words entered his head that he wanted to say, but was way too embarrassed to voice... Luckily, his older self seemed to know exactly what he wanted.

"Well," he drawled, leaning down and saying lowly to Francis, "if I'm already sinning, why not go a bit further~?"

Stopping in his dramatic pose, Francis' jaw slacked a bit in surprise as his body flushed a dark hue quickly, and he exclaimed in a flurry of words, "W-What did - the Hell - Matthieu!"

Laughing a bit, the older Matthew twirled a finger around his long curl, staring up at it rather than him. "Well," he started, having enough modesty to blush slightly, "I was going to say something more like, "I wouldn't mind you whispering words of love into my sinning ears," but I thought that would be better..."

Francis stared at him more, and mumbled with a warm look of affection as he looked down at the sand, "Oh, you are a silly one, mon minou..."
Giggling a little, the older Matthew said, "I know... And that's why you love me, non?"

Chuckling, Francis looked up and then swiftly moved his arms around Matthew's neck, replying, "Oui, and because you are my little chou~"

Blushing a little more, Matthew grinned as he wrapped his arms around Francis' waist and pulled him closer. "I'll never get tired of those nicknames~"

"Bien, because I have more embarrassing ones to use on you later~" Francis smirked, pursing his lips and giving a teasing air kiss before shifting and looking at the younger Matthew, and asking in a teasing tone, "Don't you think it's time to throw this dried carp back into the sea~?"

"Is that any way to speak to my older self?" Matthew replied, laughing as he saw anger cross his doppelganger's face.

"When you become an old man like him~" Francis answered, grinning mischievously, "I would say so~"

Chuckling darkly, the older Matthew smirked. "May I remind you that you're hundreds of years older than me, dear~?" he smiled sickeningly sweet before adding, "So, technically, doesn't that make you a pedophile...?"

Stiffening, Francis gave a him a crazed look, before the eery, sharp strings Matthew had heard surrounding him before began to play as the blonde replied sharply, eye twitching, "Would you like to sleep with the fishes, instead of me tonight~?"

"Well, considering you were calling me a dried carp earlier, perhaps they'll be nicer to me..." he replied with a glare, tightening his grip almost painfully.

They stood staring at each other intensely for a minute before the younger one moved forward and said timidly, "Um, guys? May I remind you that you're happily married with three kids...?"

The older Matthew's eyes widened as he turned to himself, paling slightly. "Oh no..." he muttered, "Never use the "M" word in front of him, Matthew...!"

Mood immediately perked up, the shrieking strings being replaced by a heavenly hallelujah choir as his eyes brightened and he rambled, exploding into a mouthful of happiness as he practically bounced up and down in the older Matthew's tight grip, "Married?! We're finally getting married! Oh my goodness, I'll have to start planning right away with preparations, who'll be invited, my dress, the food, keeping Arthur out of the kitchen, our honeymoon arrangements-"

"H-hold on, sweetie," the older one said, patting his cheek lightly and laughing a little nervously. "No one said that, who said that? Not me!"

Stopping mid sentence, Francis' jaw hung open as his eyes dilated. The beautiful choir drifted off as a dreadful sounding horn number began, striking an unsettling and downright nerve wracking aura as Francis' mouth twitched slightly. Quietly, he asked slowly, "Not... You?" he inquired, saying "you" with a rather large amount of force that made both Matthews stiffen.

"N-no!" the older Matthew desperately tried to explain, holding up his hands defensively. "I-I didn't meant it like that! I swear! I, I just meant..." He groaned in frustration, "Look, Francis, I want to get married to you eventually, just-"

Suddenly he was interrupted mid-sentence when suddenly, as fast as lightning, the usually frail-looking blonde picked him up with a slightly comical, rageful yell and threw him into the ocean, causing the older Matthew to screech in surprise and the younger one to stare in complete and utter shock that Francis could even do that!

"Fr-Fr-Francis," the older Matthew stuttered, staring up at him fearfully. "Please, c-c-calm down!"

"I have been waiting for years!" the blonde screeched furiously, jumping in after him whilst seemingly ignoring his lack of ability to swim and going at his neck, as if to strangle him. "And you haven't even proposed!?"

"I-I'm sorry!-!" Matthew forced out weakly, his face starting to go blue from the lack of oxygen.

"You damn well better be!" the blonde finished heatedly, releasing him and fuming as his wings made a dramatic downwards slap against the water, splashing the older Matthew as his love stomped out of the ocean. "By this rate, I might as well be an old maid!"

"Francis..." he muttered, frowning before a determined light set in his eyes and he dived down into the water to find something. The younger Matthew stared at where he disappeared, watching out of the corner of his eye as Francis stalked out of the water and back to the beach radiating rage, and even slight hurt...
He started walking to the blonde when he saw himself pop up, a clam in hand and a small smile on his face. He swam out of the water as fast as a fish, stumbling out of the water and running to catch up to Francis, grabbing him by his shoulder and spinning him around. "Okay, you're right..." he said, a little out of breath from all of that. "You've been waiting for such a long time, and, okay, maybe I have been in denial and am stuck in my "confounded 21st century ways" or whatever -"

"And your crown is beyond dusty and the hilt of your kingly blade rusted, mon roi!" Francis spat, glaring angrily up at him as he crossed his arms with an, "I told you so!" look as well.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Matthew just nodded his head politely. "Right, and all of that... but, I think I'm finally..." blushing a little and getting down on one knee, he smiled up at Francis as he held out the clam shell. "I'm finally ready to commit, one hundred percent, and without hesitation..." smiling more warmly, he grabbed one of Francis' hands gently, caressing his thumb over the back. "I want to give you everything, Francis... myself, happiness, the world, you name it! I'll do anything in my power to give it to you, so..." he opened up the clam to reveal a shiny, gleaming white pearl resting on the tongue of the clam. "It's... it's not a ring, per say, but we can make it into one, and I'd be the happiest man on the earth or anywhere if you'd agree to be mine... forever."

A look of pure shock radiated on Francis' face as his jaw hung open slightly. His pupils, dilated while his eyes unblinking, stared for a moment till, the next thing both Matthew's knew, the blonde had tackled the older Matthew into the sand and was happily squealing rapidly in between a storm of kisses that attacked the man under him, "I do I do I do I do I DO!"

Laughing and blushing, yet extremely happy, the young man hung his arms loosely around the other's neck, not wanting to deter his affection. "I'm so glad... I know you've been waiting for so long, and I'm sorry... I just didn't want to rush into anything, but I shouldn't have kept you waiting like that -"

"Oh, just shut up and kiss me, you fool!" Francis interrupted, kissing the rambling Canadian under him with a surprising force as the younger Matthew watched with a mixture of emotions swirling inside him.

On one hand, he was extremely happy for them and almost felt like blushing. But on the other, he was actually feeling a small tinge of jealousy, because he wasn't the one getting attacked... which he knew was stupid, since that was him, technically... And still on another hand, he felt embarrassed because he couldn't help but think of himself proposing to Francis in the future as well... B-but that was still a long ways away! Yeah! He wouldn't have to worry about that for a wh-while...

Meanwhile, the older Matthew was kissing Francis back with everything he had, his eyes half-closed and his stomach fluttering as he felt complete. Like he had everything he could ever want and more, all in one sweet, delicious, kind package~ Made even sweeter by the knowledge that he was completely his, now.

Francis released his lips and happily flopped into the sand on his back, giving a love struck sigh and nuzzling the clam shell against his cheek, singing dreamily.

Laughing happily, Matthew stared at him with love clear in his eyes, sighing contentedly as he turned on his side to get a better look at his fiancé. "I'm glad you like it..."

"I don't like it, I love and adore it~" Francis sighed, lashes fluttering as he purred.

They both turned their heads as they heard the younger Matthew clear his throat rather loudly, smiling a little when they saw how flustered he looked. "Erm, uh..." he started, obviously not getting this far in his mind. "W-we should swim... now..."

Suddenly they saw Francis get up and sing happily, running down the shore line and laughing with glee, leaving the other two behind in his love maddened state, as if reaching his own cloud nine and floating high in the sky.

"Don't worry," the older Matthew said, causing the other to turn to him. "Some day, you'll make him that happy as well~" He smirked and winked, laughing hysterically as he saw how red he got. "Yeah, marriage is a little scary..." he said, wiping at his eyes a little before looking over at the overly happy Frenchman warmly. "But... just look at how happy he is. Besides, it can't be that tough, right?"

"... I suppose..." Matthew muttered, sighing as he watched the blonde still going, singing loudly in French, as if wanting the whole world to share in his moment of pure and utter joy.

Popping out of the water, Philippe commented in amusement, "Wow, I'm surprised you managed to actually man up, Dad."

"Just get back in the water, Philippe," the older one commented before grinning. "What happened to the sweet little boy who would draw pictures for me and ask for a hug and a kiss every day?"

Blushing profusely, the boy gave an embarrassed whine and sunk back into the water, a few slow bubbles popping in a sulking like fashion.

The younger one laughed, turning to him with a smile. "So that's how we handle him?"

"Well, there are other ways, too," the father told him, laughing. "But embarrassment works the fastest." Turning to Angelus, he spread his arms out. "Come on, Angel!" he called, smiling at her, "Want to swim with Daddy?"

Looking up from her castle, which seemed to have a unicorn fighting a dinosaur made of sand, she squealed happily and ran into his arms while her older brother Rosaire looked up from his book and chuckled, turning back to it and adjusting his glasses.

"Come on, Rosaire," the older one called as he spun his little girl around. "Why don't you join your happy family in the water?"

The boy looked taken back by his statement and shut his book, frowning uncomfortably and clutching his blanket tightly, mumbling to it in French.

"What's wrong?" the younger Matthew asked as he walked up to him, the older one watching them out of the corner of his eye as he played with Angelus.

Biting his lip, the young boy's large glasses slipped to almost the end of his nose as he looked down timidly, and whispered, "B-Blankie will get lonely..."

Matthew blinked at him for a second before a smile wormed it's way onto his face and he hugged the boy tightly. "I'll tell you what," he whispered as he laid a hand gently on it. "I'll stay here with Blankie while you go have fun, okay?"
The boy pushed his glasses back up and nodded, handing the blanket carefully to Matthew with a scared look before taking off his glasses and handing them to the Canadian, mumbling in French before padding over to the older Matthew with an unconfident appearance.

"You'll do great, honey!" the younger one cheered for him just loud enough for him to hear before sighing and hugging the blanket to his face, a few happy tears coming out as he realized just how sweet his child was... And how cute, looking so worried like that for his blanket, and how he walked away unsurely... It was obvious he was a polite, considerate boy, and Matthew couldn't help but feel proud, knowing that he would someday truly be that kind boy's father.

"I'm happy you're joining us," the older Matthew said as the shy boy walked up to him, one arm around his stomach and attached to his other arm that lay rigid at his side, his head tilted downwards.

Nodding, he continued to speak in French, his voice not coming above about a whisper.

Chuckling slightly and putting a gentle hand under his chin, Matthew lifted his head up. "Come now, Rosaire..." he said with a smile, "What is there to be so nervous about? We're all family here."

Nodding firmly, as if not wanting to displease his father, he sniffled and then latched on, hugging the older Matthew's arm and burying his face into it as a few scared tears slipped out.

He smiled at him sadly, reaching forward and ruffling his hair a bit. Matthew knew how much he loved his security blanket... obviously he was trying to substitute his arm for it, but there was no harm in that, right? "Come on," he said softly, placing his hand on the boy's small back in a slight hug. "Let's get some swimming in, all right?"

Nodding, the boy looked up with bright, curious eyes, just as if he were engrossed in another heavy novel he could barely carry, and gave a small smile.

Chuckling throatily, he ruffled his hair. "Hey, come on now... aren't you supposed to be courageous?"
Giving a pout, he objected quickly, "Non! It is because there is a high percentage of poisonous creatures in the water combined with rip tides-""

"Okay, okay," Matthew interrupted, laughing. "I got it, you're a worrier. Just start swimming!"

Pouting more, Rosaire took off into the water and yelled, "Come and get me!" he then zipped through the water, as if he were born in it, sending a speedy wake behind him.

"Have at thee!" the older one said gleefully before lifting Angelus onto his back and swimming after him.

The younger Matthew watched them all having fun and laughing, sighing with a goofy smile of his own. Looking at them, he almost felt like he was having a daydream of him and his future life... he briefly laughed at himself, holding a hand up to his head and shaking his head slightly as he realized that maybe he shouldn't be okay with all of this... Most people his age freak out at the prospect of someday having kids, but for him... he'd always wanted to have little munchkins running around for him to take care of and fuss over and turn into respectable human beings. He didn't know with who, per say, but... Well, he was pleased with the outcome, he supposed.

Although, there was the idea that none of this would happen in the future and that it's just a very articulate daydream he's having... But for some reason that seemed less likely.

Clutching the blanket in his hands, he blinked down at it. It felt so real... Soft, light, nice... How could he imagine something so tangible? He had always thought that his imagination was a little extreme, but not to this extent. Not to the extent of creating a family for him and his older self... Although if they really were part of Francis' soul, then...

Matthew groaned a bit before laying down and looking up at the sky. "I wonder what I should tell mom..."

Which reminded him - could Francis visit his mom with him over breaks? And what would he do when he did? … Images of Francis chewing her ear off about every little detail and wanting to wear her dresses entered his mind, but he quickly waved them away. Francis had said before that he couldn't leave the school... but what if they do find a way for him to be able to leave and his mom actually does meet him? What if he starts talking about them and everything they've been through? Or, worse, bring up marriage around her... She was just a little overprotective of him (single parenting can do that to an adult), and Francis was probably a bit more over the top and, well, boyish than she was expecting from her quiet, shy son.

Then again... Francis was rather feminine looking... What if she just assumed that he was his girlfriend? No, no, his voice was clearly masculine... she might think "she" has a cold, though... Oh, dear, he had never really checked how his mother felt about gay marriage and the like - he had just assumed she'd be fine with anything he chose... It wasn't really a hot topic at their house, either, since Matthew hadn't really shown interest in any sort of romance until very recently.

Well, all he could really do was hope for the best, he supposed. His mom was usually very reasonable, so he just hoped she'd take a liking to Francis... Which should be very easy, considering his kind personality.

Yet wait... What about the curse? And the dueling? And the soul shards, and the random possessions, and the sword-swallowing, and the roses, and... and...

Running a hand down his face, he knew he better start thinking of what to tell his mother, since even if he did tell the truth she probably wouldn't believe him... and if she did, she'd completely flip out and probably take him out of the school immediately. I mean, the idea had even crossed Matthew's mind once... but he had worked too hard to get to this school! He didn't want to leave so quickly! Especially now that he knew about Francis, and how he's trapped here to deal with this horrid curse, and every full moon...

Not to mention the fact that the two were dating now, and if he couldn't see him anymore and Francis couldn't leave... The Frenchman already freaked out after every little instance where Matthew didn't respond exactly the way he wanted, what would he resort to if he finds out he couldn't ever come back...? And even if they find a way to allow Francis to leave, his mother might ban them from seeing each other, effectively crushing his already pieced-back-together heart... And then what will become of him? If he's free of the curse, and can do as he pleases, but not spend time with the person he really wanted to be with always, it seemed like...

Matthew paled. If that happens... what if Francis simply does go and kill himself? The curse would be ended, he would be depressed, he could actually kill himself if he wanted to...

Shaking his head, Matthew looked out at the dream family again, forcing a smile onto his face and banishing such negative thinking. He just had to believe in this... he had to believe that everything would turn out just as he was seeing here, and if that meant a little lying, or hardship, or trouble along the way, then that would be okay. As long as he believes that everything will turn out all right in the end, it's bound to happen...

Right?

… Right...

Sighing, he took his glasses off and started rubbing his right eye, almost wishing he had his normal life back... yet also finding himself thankful that he had something more than homework and chores to complain about. It's weird how the teenage mind works, isn't it?

Putting his glasses back on he gave a yawn, suddenly feeling rather tired... Which felt odd since he was in a dream...
Laying down in the sand, he held the blanket gently in his arms and closed his eyes, basking in the sunlight. All the while, his mind began to ebb as the darkness of sleep soon overflowed him, and he dozed away.