Chapter Twenty Five: One of the Guys

The next morning I woke up and saw Roderich sleeping next to me. He looked so peaceful and calm, you would have never known he and I had gotten into a fight the other day.

I watched him sleep for a bit until his eyes slowly started to open. He looked at me and smiled. "Good morning sweetheart" he said sleepily. I smiled back stroked his cheek. "Morning dear." He snuggled closer to me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to his chest. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, after letting out a long yawn.

"Yes, I slept alright. And you?"

"Very well, knowing that you were next to me."

I chuckled and said, "My my, you sure are the sweet talker this morning."

"I haven't seen you all week. I've missed you so much." He pulled away from me and looked into my eyes. "I want to spend some time with you today. Just you and me."

His violet eyes looked so loving, so peaceful. They made me feel much easier. "Alright, what do you want to do together?" I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eye.

Roderich rolled onto his back and stretched his arms into the air. "I was thinking we could go into town for breakfast this morning. Somewhere nice and quiet."

"That sounds nice, how about we get dressed and then head out in half an hour?" I said, sitting up. "Okay, I'm going to have a shower." Roderich got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. I stayed there, looking around the room. "Okay, I guess I better start getting dressed to."

~~~After getting ready~~~

"Come on Roderich, hurry up!" I was waiting by the door with my jacket and everything on, and Roderich was still getting ready upstairs. "I'm coming, hold on."

Roderich came down stairs and walked to the closet to get his shoes on. "How is it you can always be ready before I am? I thought it was the women who took longer to get ready?"

I opened the door and stepped onto the front doorstep. "I'm not exactly like that type of woman; I at least get ready in a decent amount of time." Roderich slipped his foot into his left shoe and said, "I suppose."

I walked down the steps and towards the car. Just then, someone shouted my name. "Hey, Eliz!" I turned around and saw Alfred and Matthew driving up the driveway, and Alfred was pretty much hanging out the window. I waved back as they pulled up next to me.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" I wasn't really expecting to see them for a while after yesterday's fiasco.

Alfred got out of the car first and said, "We came to take you guys out for a nice breakfast! I thought it would be nice since Rod just got back." Matthew came up next to Alfred and quietly said, "I-I hope we aren't intruding or anything..."

I was about to say something when Roderich came walking over. I think Matthew stopped breathing.

"What are you both doing here?" Roderich asked. I gave him a strong look, and he coughed before saying, "I mean, why are you here so early?"

Alfred stepped right up in front of Roderich and said rather loudly, "We came to take you and Eliz to a sweet breakfast at this cool restaurant." Roderich flinched at Alfred's tone, and then looked pass him to me. I nervously smiled and scratched the back of my head.

"Um... Elizabeta and I were going out to have breakfast together before you came around." I could hear the bit of rudeness in his voice.

"Eliz? Can I talk to you please?" Matthew asked quietly. I took one last look at Roderich, and then turned my attention to Matthew. "Yes? What is it?"

Matthew looked nervous, the grip he had on his bear was tightening, his eyes weren't focused, and his body didn't really stop shaking. "U-Uh... I just wanted to say... sorry about yesterday..."

He was looking down at the ground, refusing to meet my eyes. "What do you mean you're sorry? What do you have to be sorry about? Especially since you did nothing but help me yesterday."

He shuffled on his feet and said, "B-But wasn't it because of us we got your husband upset?"

I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled. "No, he was probably more upset with that Bad Touch Trio being in the house. You did nothing wrong Mat." He looked into my eyes and gave me a small, warm smile. "O-Okay."

"Eliz, who are you talking to?" Roderich asked. He looked past Alfred and was a bit surprised to see Matthew. "Oh, Matthew. I didn't know you were here too." Matthew stopped moving completely and stumbled on words. "Uh... I um... He he..."

Alfred turned around and looked at the both of us, and then turned back to Roderich. "Well Rod, what do ya say then? We will treat both of you to breakfast." Roderich adjusted his jacket and walked past Alfred and next to me. "Thank you for the offer, but I would rather eat with Eliz in peace. Now we will be going." He got into the driver's side of the car and slammed the door shut. I felt a bit embarrassed by Roderich's attitude towards Alfred and Matthew.

"I'm sorry about Roderich guys, he just really wants to spend some time with me after being gone so long. Maybe we can have breakfast later?" Alfred and Matthew looked at each other and sighed. "Alright, see you later then?" Alfred said, opening the door to his car. "Yeah, see you guys."

Before Matthew turned the car on, I remembered the plan for the picnic. "Oh wait! I was wondering if you two would like to come to a picnic we are having. It's going to be at the city park next week, Saturday."

Alfred smiled and nodded. "Okay, we'll be there! Oh hey, can we bring some food too?"
"Uh, sure, if you want." They both looked happy as they left, and that made me happy. I turned around and got into the car.

Roderich turned it on and adjusted the mirrors. "Okay, let's get going."

~~~At the Restaurant~~~  

"That was delicious, and it's so nice here" I said, setting down my fork. Roderich smiled and wiped his mouth with the napkin. "Yes, it was pretty good. We should come here again sometime."

I looked out the window at the many people walking by. "Uh huh, that would be nice."
I turned my attention to Roderich as he got up. "I just need to use the washroom, be back in a second."

"Okay."

He left, leaving me to wait at the table. I went back to looking out the window, I found it entertaining watching what was going on outside. "So many people with somewhere to go" I said to myself.

"Hola~!"

I jumped and screamed a bit when Antonio popped his head up from outside. When I finally realized it was a cruel joke, I was a bit miffed. Next thing you know, Francis and Gilbert pop up on each side of Antonio.

I looked towards the washrooms and didn't see any sign of Roderich. I heard a tap on the window and looked back. "What?" I asked. They all looked at each other and then pointed to their ears, saying, "We can't hear you."

I sighed and said, this time a bit louder, "What do you guys want?"

They shrugged and said, "Still can't hear you!"

Now this was ticking me off, because they were only joking with me now. I was about to get up when Roderich came walking over. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, grabbing his jacket off of the seat. I looked back at the window and saw no one there. "Uh, yeah. Let's go."

We paid for our meal and then left the restaurant. I thought we were heading home, but apparently Roderich had something else in mind. "Where are we going then?" I asked.
"You'll see."

I crossed my arms and leaned back. "Alright then."

We drove for a while until we made it to the park. "The park? Why here?"

He parked the car and turned it off. "Well, I thought we could take a stroll around. You know, talk and just be a happy couple."

He was looking at me with those eyes again. I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Okay, let's go."

We got out of the car and began walking down the stone path alongside the lake. It wasn't too early, but there weren't too many people around either. "It's nice this morning, isn't it?" he asked, reaching for my hand. I took it and nodded. "Yes, it is pretty nice this morning."

We walked a bit further until Roderich stopped walking all together. "What's wrong?" I asked. He didn't look at me and just kept his eyes set ahead, right at the three men walking towards us.

"Hola chica, what are you doing here?" Antonio asked in an innocent voice with a sweet smile to follow.

"Ohonhonhon, looks like the Mr. and Mrs. are out on a stroll. How sweet~" Francis said as he winked at me.

I was surprised when Gilbert didn't say anything; all he did was stare at Roderich with a blank look in his red eyes. "Eliz, how about we get going then?" Roderich said. I could feel his grip on my hand getting a bit tighter. "Alright, but first..." I pulled my hand away and walked up to the men. "Would you all like to come to a picnic we are having? It is next week on Saturday, here in the park."

"I would love to mon cher."

"Si, me too!"

I turned to Gilbert and he said, "Ja, sure. I wouldn't mind going." I smiled and thanked them before returning to my husband's side. "Ready to go darling?" I asked.
He nodded and led me past the men. I think he was moving a bit faster than he needed to be. "Roderich, slow down, you're going to make me fall!" He began to slow down until he stopped. "I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't focused."

"It's alright, let's just keep walking and enjoy our time together, alright?" He smiled and nodded. "Yes, that is a good idea."

~~~Back home~~~

We had spent the entire day out and about around the city. I think it was the best time I've had with Roderich in a while. Although I didn't expect to be so tired when we got back... or to find Lovino and Feliciano waiting by our front door.

"What on earth are they doing here?" Roderich asked as we pulled up the driveway and parked next to the red convertible. "They must have just gotten here. Don't be rude now."

Roderich mumbled something under his breath as he got out of the car. I suddenly heard a small cry when Roderich slammed the car door shut. It was the Vargas brothers, they were staring in fear as Roderich made is way over to them. "What are you two doing here?" he asked.

Feliciano was trying to say something, but he was a bit scared so he wasn't really getting any words out. And Lovino was just standing there, staring at Roderich with a blank look on his face.

"Lovino, Feliciano, good to see you two. What are you guys up to?" Immediately Feliciano lit up, along with Lovino, sort of. "Eliz! We came by to visit! And we were hoping to give you something!" Feliciano said cheerfully. Lovino nodded. "Here" he walked up to me and reached his hand into his pocket. He then pulled out a small, green velvet box. "... What is it?" I asked, taking the box from him.

"Open it."

I shrugged and opened the little box. Inside was a ring with a small tomato charm on it. It was a very pretty and looked very detailed as well. I took it out of the box and held it up so everyone could see it. "Aww, it's so cute! I love it guys, thanks!" I walked over to the two and embraced them in a big hug. Little did I know that Roderich was on the verge of exploding.

"Ve, I'm glad you like it Eliz! We just thought it would be nice to give you something." Romano nodded and crossed his arms. "Yeah, well, we got to get going. See you later Eliz."
Before they could get away, I said, "Would you two like to come to a picnic? It is on Saturday next week, at the park."

Feliciano smiled and said, "Ve! I'd love to! I'll bring a lot of pasta too!" Romano nodded and said, "Sure, we'll come."

"Great, see you next week then!" I waved as the two got in their car and drove away.
"So they gave you a ring?" Roderich asked, walking up next to me. "Yep, look at how nice it is. It must have cost them a lot."

I was about to slip the ring onto my pinkie finger when Roderich said, "Why a ring though? Why not something like a purse or even a hat?"

"What's wrong with a friendly ring? It's not like they were proposing to me or anything." I put the ring on and held my hand up. "Isn't that nice?