I Drink My Coffee Black [Matthew]

Lars walked through the streets of the town. He had been separated by Lovino one way or the other. And even though he didn’t miss the Italian’s whines at all, being alone in a situation like this wasn’t exactly what he had been hoping for. It was so quiet, it didn’t seem natural anymore. though that was something he was almost used to by now. The thing that bothered him more right now was his arm. The monster had bitten down on it hard. He had managed to disinfect the wound, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop. For lack of proper bandages, he had wrapped his scarf around it to stop the bleeding. Even though it pained him to see his dear scarf in such a condition, stained by his blood, it was the closest he had to bandages, so it would have to do.

His first objective right now was finding people. Other nations, to be more specific. Preferably one that he got along with, or his siblings. But right now he would even be glad if he came across Spain. And that said something. He glanced over the deserted street. It didn’t look like finding someone would be easy. Maybe if he looked around in the buildings some more…?

He had ended up in the part of town with most of the shops. Not far from where he had woken up, he realized now he looked at it more closely. As he looked at the several shops in the street, he noticed a coffee shop (and no, not that kind of coffee shop). Ever since he had woken up, he hadn’t had something decent to eat or drink. He did have some cheese he and Romano took from the kitchen of the house they’d been in, but that wasn’t enough to keep a big guy like him going. And the prospect of coffee was pretty inviting. Normally his day wouldn’t even start without having a cup.

He entered the coffee shop and took a look around, pleased with what he saw. He went over to one of the many coffee machines and set to work on making himself some coffee. Judging by the disgusting drink he had after just waking up, he couldn’t say if it was safe to drink the coffee once it was done, but it was worth a shot. The Dutchman was craving some caffeine right now.

((OOC: So Matthew didn't actually get separated from England and Australia, but since Gilbert said timelines could be damned, I am now able to RP 2 threads at once.))

The fog was thick and made everything look like it had been blanketed in a layer of white, not unlike snow, but a lot less pretty to look at. Some time before, Matthew had found himself separated from Arthur and Keith when they went to find the Australian, as well as Matthew's lost polar bear, Kumajiro.

He listened for the rattling of a trolley, that would indicate Arthur and Keith's presence, but heard nothing. Uneasy at the lack of sight presented by the fog, as well as the loss of his bear, Matthew slid and dashed down the streets, pressing his body against the sides of buildings and broken houses, trying to make himself as invisible as possible in case a monster happened to be lurking about.

Mist clung to his red hoodie, making him wrinkle his nose in displeasure. Gross. He had little luck in finding nations ever since he separated from his brothers, and the general quietness of the town was getting to him.

Or it might be the fact that he hadn't eaten since his...capture? Matthew didn't know what to call it.

'Pancakes would be good,' he thought to himself. 'And coffee...with lots of maple syrup.' He smiled softly as he envisioned the light, fluffy pancakes coupled with a enourmous mug of steaming bitter coffee, sweetened with maple syrup...

A scratch, scrabble, and thud behind (or was it across, he couldn't tell) him maade him freeze, eyes widening in fear. He stood stock still, not daring to move, even sucking in his stomach and holding his breath. His eyes darted left and right, trying to locate the source of the noise.

Again. Louder.

Matthew looked down at his hands. Nothing. He had dropped his only weapon, a large, blunt club, when the now missing Kumajiro had tackled him.

When the sounds started getting closer, to the point where he could swear it was almost next to him, he broke off running at full sprint, not knowing where he was going. The shapes of houses (or monsters?) rushed past him as he ran without looking back to see who (or what) it was that created the noise.

A large shape in front of him made him panic, until he spotted what was clearly a door and windows, not the gaping mouth of a monster.

Without hesitating, Matthew wrenched the door open so hard he nearly tore it off its hinges, then slammed it shut behind him. Immediately, the strong smell of brewing coffee hit him.

"Lars?" he gasped, breath coming out in short puffs from his run. He barely registered the other nation from the blood pouding in his ears. Staggering slightly on adrenaline-shaky legs, still jumpy from the thought of monsters surrounding him, he took tentative steps toward the other nation.

"What are you doing here?"

(( OoC: Lars isn’t separated from Romano yet either, but yeah, screw timelines. They weren’t making much sense anymore to begin with.
Also, I don’t know if you are familiar with the history of the Netherlands and Canada? The countries have one of the closest relationships in the world. Canada liberated Netherlands in WWII, and kept a part of the Dutch royal family safe during the war. In gratitude, the Netherlands send Canada 100.000 tulips and continues to send them 10.000 tulips every year. So I imagine them as being good friends already. ^^ ))

The smell of the coffee alone already managed to make him feel a little better. The liquid he craved was almost done now. Yes, he was pretty much a caffeine addict. Though then he was interrupted by something behind him.

Lars immediately turned around as he heard the sound of the door opening. His hand automatically grabbed the still unloaded gun that he had found after waking up and pointed it in the direction of the door. Yes, he didn’t have any bullets, but whoever (or whatever) had just entered didn’t know that.

As his eyes focussed on the person at the door, it took him a while to realize just who he was pointing a gun at. He blinked a few times to make sure of it that this town wasn’t playing any tricks on him. It was only when Matthew spoke that he snapped out of it and lowered the weapon. “Making coffee.” Was the first thing that left his mouth, for lack of something better to say.

He tucked the gun away and made his way to the Canadian, his pace a little fasted then necessary. He put his hands on Matthew’s shoulders and after a moment of thought, pulled him into a short embrace. Yes, he was really here. It was as well a relief as a bad thing. He was glad to see a friendly face, but he would have preferred Matthew to be safely back in Canada. After he pulled back out of the hug, he looked at the other.

“So they got you too, huh?” He said in a bit of a bitter tone. Yes, it wasn’t an easy thing for the Dutchman to admit that someone had caught him off guard. It helped that he wasn’t the only one though. As far as he knew all the nations were stuck in this town. He sighed. “I’m glad to see you though. It’s not safe to be out there alone.” He knew Matthew could actually take care of himself pretty well when it really came down to it, but sometimes he just looked so… vulnerable. It would make him more likely to be attacked by the monster that was out there. Because he was sure of it that the thing had jumped Romano instead of him because he was looking like an easier prey.

This thought made him look the other over. Maybe he had already encountered the beast that was roaming the streets and houses of this town. If it was only one beast, that is. whatever it was, it was very much possible that there were more of it. “Are you hurt or anything?” He wanted to know.

((OOC: ^^ Don’t worry, I’m quite familiar with their relationship; (lives in Canada)))

Matthew doesn’t even notice the gun that is pointed at him for a split second before being quickly shoved away. The delirium of finding another country after all that’s happened is at once sharpening yet dulling his senses (somewhere, at the back of his mind, he thinks it might be wise to notice such things, but that thought is dismissed when the Dutchman pulls him into a hug).
He falls into the hug easily, relieved that Lars was safe (images of once-fertile fields scarred by artillery shells flash through his mind, screams and explosions--).
“I’m so glad I found you,” he breathes out, scanning his eyes over Lars for sings of wounds when the other releases the hug. His eyes caught on a nasty looking wound on the other nation’s arm, blood soaking through what looked like the other’s scarf.

He tilted his head to look up at the other, brows furrowing in concern.
“I’m unhurt,” he said with a small smile, laughing slightly, “I actually haven’t even been caught by a monster, but you…” his voice trailed off as he looked at the wound on Lars’s arm again. Gently, he reached his fingers out to brush very lightly against the surface of the scarf covering it.

“You’re hurt,” Matthew stated, biting his lower lip in worry. He didn’t like seeing others hurt, and though no one could call him a wimpy (except Alfred), the sight of wounds still made him cringe and think back to the Wars.
“We should treat it properly,” he suggested, then blushed. “If you’ll let me. I’m sure there’s something we can use as a bandage, like…a tablecloth”, he glanced around, spying a half open cupboard and white cloth peeking out.


((OOC: Sorry for the late reply!))

(( OoC: Well, I’ve met Canadians through roleplays who didn’t know about it, and over here in the Netherlands there are also a lot of people who don’t know, so…. ^^;; ))

Upon finding the other unhurt, Lars sighed in relief. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He looked down at his own wound when Matthew mentioned it. “Hm, there was this huge spider, but it had at least ten legs and just one large eye.” The thing really hadn’t been a pretty sight. And the Dutchman had gotten a nice look up close as well, when he was trying to get it off of Romano.

“It tried to eat Romano. And me as well, but…” He chuckled. “Apparently I didn’t suit it’s tastes.” The wound was still fresh and he could feel it throbbing, but other than that it didn’t hurt that much anymore. “We already disinfected it.” Lars said. They had managed to find some strong alcohol to do the trick. But bandages were nowhere to be found. He looked at the Canadian, and seeing the blush on his face he couldn’t really deny him. Matthew would probably keep worrying about it anyway if he didn’t get to take a look at it. “Though you can check if you want.”

Lars started to take the scarf off his arm. “I lost him some time ago. Romano I mean. I’ve also met England and Seychelles earlier, but we got split up as well.”

When the scarf was removed, Lars took a look at the teeth marks in his flesh. It didn’t look good, like was normal with wounds. But considering the situation and the means he had to treat it, it could’ve been much, much worse. It hadn’t completely stopped bleeding yet, so Lars pressed the already blood soaked scarf against it for the time being, until Matthew would find something more suitable to bind it with. “Did you see any others yet?” Lars wanted to know.

((OOC: It's no problem~ ^^))

“EH--?!” Matthew couldn’t hold in his yelp. Great. The way Lars described the monster just cemented his belief that this was too much like one of Alfred’s horror movies. It didn’t help that now images of Kumajiro being swallowed up by huge black spiders were running through his mind. It had been a while since he had last seen the bear, and every time he tried searching for his companion, Matthew had ended up running from mysterious threatening sounds.

Romano. That meant that probably more nations were around the town somewhere…maybe even all of them. “Was Romano okay?” he asked, rummaging around in a bottom cabinet for the white tablecloth he had seen peeking out earlier. His fingers brushed against cloth-like material, and he took it out with a small triumphant “hah!”.

“I met up with England and Australia, but we got split up.” He paused, looking down slightly in embarrassment. “Well, actually, I got split up. Kumajiro wandered off and I went running to find him before I realized what I was doing.” He gave a small laugh, shaking his head at himself.

He opened up more drawers, finding nothing but mugs and cutlery. Pursing his lips slightly, he tried another drawer, surprised and pleased to find a small, scratched white first aid kit. He blew the dust off the tin, opening it to find disinfectant, ointment…but no gauze pads, disappointingly.

Matthew turned back toward Lars, carrying the supplies with him. Gently taking the other nation’s wounded arm, he carefully removed the soaked scarf, wincing at the wound. That didn’t look good. He could see teeth marks in the torn flesh and the area was still leaking blood. He cleaned the area with a damp cloth he had brought over, then soaked a cotton ball in alcohol disinfectant.

Looking up at Lars, he gave the Dutchman an apologetic smile. “This is going to hurt a bit,” he warned, then carefully started dabbing the soaked cotton ball onto the wound, trying to go as light and quick as possible. He finished by spreading ointment over, worried of infection, and wrapped it up securely with the tablecloth.

“Done.” Matthew sat back, blowing a small puff of air through his lips at his work. “I’m not much of medic though, sorry.”

Lars gave Matthew a small nod. “Romano was bitten in his arm and his side. He was more wounded than I am, but he’ll live. If he doesn’t run into that monster again, that is.” The Dutchman watched Matthew as he scurried around the room to find things he could use.

“Something in this town seems to be rather good at splitting people up.” Lars sighed. He wondered what had happened to Seychelles. England had left with her when they split up. something must have happened to make them lose sight of each other as well. He hoped she was okay. Their countries weren’t particularly close, but she was a good girl. First time she had gone to a world conference too, such a shame that it had to be like this.

“How were they? England and Australia.” Lars wanted to know. When Matthew came back with some supplies, he allowed him to take his arm and remove the scarf. His eyes followed the movements of the Canadian’s hands. His eyes slowly drifting up to the other’s face, looking at the concentrated expression he wore while he treated the wound. Even in a situation like this, he couldn’t help but notice how pretty he looked. Despite the things the Canadian had been through the history, he still hadn’t quite lost the youthful features in his face. Canada would be considered one of the younger countries, unlike those old men from Europe.

As Matthew dabbed his wound with the cotton ball, Lars winced, but didn’t complain. “I’ve endured worse.” He said. And he knew Matthew was well aware of this. In a few months time it would be exactly sixty-six years ago that the Canadian had liberated his country. When the other found him, he had been in the worst shape possible. He had been exhausted, badly wounded, and the hunger winter was very much visible on the man’s way to skinny body.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Matthew announced that he was done. Lars took a look at his arm and flexed it a bit. “Thanks.” The bandaging looked better than what he had done with his scarf. He took a hold of the blood stained fabric. Damn, he really liked this scarf. Maybe he would be able to get it out when he got back home. If they got back home.

Then he noticed the coffee he had been making was about done by now. So he walked over, taking out a few mugs that looked clean. “You want some?” He asked Matthew. They could both use the extra energy, he figured.

((OOC: OTL;; so sorry this is late ;A;))

Matthew went to wash his hands clean of blood, grateful that although the town seemed dead and deserted, it still had somewhat running water. He mulled over Lars’s comment in his head. The Dutchman was right, it did seem odd how everyone some way or another seemed to lose sight of each other.
Sighing softly, he wiped his hands dry on a towel and turned back to the taller nation.
”I don’t know, really. They were unhurt when I left them, but Australia had separated in the fog, though we could still hear his voice. Kumajiro had wandered off and he went looking for him. Then England and I followed after.” He paused and furrowed his brow thoughtfully, “I thought I saw Kumajiro then, so I broke away from England without thinking first…” he trailed off.
“I hope…they’re alright,” he murmured softly. England and Australia, if they did find each other, should be fine; both were strong nations and England, especially, had been through enough battles to know how to fend for himself and Australia both, but it was really his small white bear he was worried about. Matthew had never encountered a monster face to face yet (though he did seem to spend nearly all his time running from them), but he could guess that a chubby bear like Kumajiro would make a tasty snack for whatever it was out there.
He snapped out of his thoughts when Lars called to him. Smiling brightly at the other, he nodded. He was starving, and tired. Coffee would perk him up.
Matthew was so glad he had found the other; he trusted the older nation and the other’s presence made him feel a lot safer than just by himself.
He padded over to Lars, the smell of coffee making him remember his hunger a little too well. “Let me help,” he offered, sliding in beside the other.

(( OoC: That’s alright. I’m patient and late as well. ))

Lars wanted to say he felt sorry for Matthew that he had lost them, but then he would be lying. If Matthew hadn’t lost England and Australia, he probably wouldn’t have found Lars. And Lars was truly glad that he had.

Lars let out a low hum in agreement when Matthew said he hoped they were alright. They weren’t the people that Lars was worried about the most though. He wondered how Belgium was doing. She was a strong woman, he knew that. But as her older brother he couldn’t help but worry about her. He hoped he would find her, or at least hear news about her soon.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Matthew approach him with a smile. “Good to see you can still smile.” Lars said, returning him a small smile of his own.

When Matthew slid up beside him, Lars’ hand brushed against the other’s. “I’m going to keep an eye on you though. I’m not planning on losing you here as well.” He tore his gaze away from Matthew, busying himself with pouring coffee into the mugs. He had been friends with the Canadian for a long time already, and over the past years his feelings for the blond may or may not have developed into ones more than merely friendship. He had never addressed the subject though, and now certainly wasn’t the time to do so either.

“You can see if there’s any milk or sugar around here.” Lars suggested as Matthew offered to help. Lars himself was perfectly fine with drinking his coffee without those, in fact he preferred that. But with the sweet tooth Matthew was known for having, he expected him to like something to take away the bitter taste of the coffee. “I would only go for the powdered milk though.” They didn’t know how long everything had been standing here already, and he wouldn’t want to ruin good coffee with bad milk.

Lars finished pouring the coffee, putting one mug on the counter for Matthew while raising the other to his lips and taking a sip.

Matthew’s smile grew wider and he let a small laugh make its way past his lips. It felt good to do that; since waking up in that closet, in the middle of this abandoned town, he hadn’t felt very cheery, to say the least. Lars’ presence was soothing, made him feel at ease. He was still worried about England and Australia, though he had a feeling they should’ve found each other by now, and his unease about Kumajiro’s happenings hadn’t faded, but those events had led him to the taller nation, and he was grateful.

His thoughts turned for a moment to his brother. He couldn’t say he was too worried; Alfred was a superpower, and dumb he may be for much of the time, the American could more than able to make any monster think twice before attacking. Still, Matthew was a born worrier, but there was nothing he could do except hope for the best.

His hand tingled slightly where Lars had brushed against it. He turned to the other and gave a small grin, replying, “I’m not losing you either, even if this town is bent on separating people.”

His mouth watered as the smell of coffee was presented to him. Inhaling deeply the scent, he gave a content smile, choosing to just hold the hot mug against his palms and bask in the warmth for a few seconds. He shook himself out of his trance when he heard Lars speak. No matter how good black coffee smelled, Matthew preferred a bit of sweetness in his drinks, and so went to rummage for it.

Grimacing at the half can of milk lying in an open cupboard, (really, why didn’t the owner put it in the refrigerator instead, like any normal person??), he reached instead for the packets of sugar lying nearby. No powdered milk, which was a shame, because he liked milk in his coffee. But, considering the circumstances, the fact that there was coffee, and sugar too, was enough for him.

He took a long sip, sighing contently when the bitter-sweet taste flowed into his mouth, warming his chest on its way down. Scooting closer to Lars, he rested his back against the countertop, murmuring a soft “thank you” to the other nation.

(( So sorry for the late reply. My laptop was having issues for a while. ))

Lars gave Matthew a nod as a reply when he thanked him.

The Dutchman stayed silent for a while, just enjoying the hot drink for now. He wrapped both hands around the mug to warm them up. He had barely noticed the chill up until now. He suppressed a shiver. Luckily the coffee somewhat managed to warm him up.

After a few moments Lars broke the silence by asking a question to which most likely neither of them would know the answer. “What do you think we should do now?” He turned his head to face Matthew. “As far as I know there’s no way to get out of this town, other nations are trapped here as well, and there are monsters on the loose.”

Lars sighed after he said this. Looking at it like that, it almost seemed like some bad horror. But they couldn’t escape the fact that it was reality at the moment.

He glanced at one of the windows in the shop. Outside was still nothing to be seen. For now they would probably be safe here, unless there was also a monster hiding out in here, like had happened when he was with Lovino. It had caught them by surprise at that time, but now Lars wouldn’t let them catch him off guard. Even if he didn’t know how many of them there were exactly, if they came across one, Lars felt like he should be able to beat it off.

They would have to leave the shop eventually though. Except coffee there wasn’t much else to help them survive. So the question now was, where would they go?

((OOC: no problem! Aha, my reply is kinda late too ;A;))

Matthew's fingers pressed into the heat of the mug, feeling the warmth spread and slow through his bones, loosening them. The chill of the outside was slowly disappearing, though his clothes still clung with tiny wet droplets of mist from the dense fog. Outside was just was murky as before, though for now, at least, Matthew couldn't detect any monster-like shapes.
His mind keep trailing back to Kumajiro. Lar's question was something neither of them wanted to answer, but Matthew couldn't just abandon his white furry friend like that. Also, as nice as the coffee shop was, he knew they couldn't stay forever in it. He had an urge to find the other nations, make sure his brother and his two father-figures were safe (because fend for themselves they could, but after seeing what a monster had done to Lars, his gut clenched at the thought of that happening to Kumajiro or his family).

Chewing on his lip, he took in a last swallow, emptying the bitter-sweet liquid from the mug.
"We...." he started, trailing off. He didn't want to force Lars into accompanying him and risk the other nation getting hurt, but he was scared of losing the other man as well. "Kumajiro is still out there. I...I need to find him, and I'm worried for the other nations, my brother, too...and Papa and--, but--" he suddenly cut off, turning swiftly around to face Lars.
"I don't want to lose you! In the fog, or have a monster attack you, a-and it's selfish, but please come with me!"