Ex's to Lovers

Chapter 27

In Which Alfred's Family Intimidates his Ex-boyfriend

Alfred was on a really, really, bad mood, and for once, it wasn't solely caused by the gently smiling face of his rival, who was trying very hard to look calm, but Alfred could read Ivan's agitation. No, the bad Mood was caused by both of his brothers, but primarily his twin, who had stalked into the classroom just before their math test started, and had invited- no, he'd ordered- Ivan to come for dinner. Mathew, who was usually gentle and kind had been stubborn and stern, leaving no room for arguments or declination. Alfred resented his twin for that.

Of course, there was still quite a bit of irritation towards Ivan as well, who had clearly seen Alfred mouth "Don't you dare say yes" and then had flashed his provoking smirk at Alfred before plastering on a pleasant smile and responding "Da, sure! I'd love to do that!". But on the other hand, it was pretty much impossible to change Matthew's mind once he decided on something, so Alfred hadnt really expected Ivan to turn down the offer anyways.

He was annoyed at Arthur too, of course, not only for being the one to propose this idea, but also for being a terrible cook. Alfred refused to lose face in from of his rival, especially since Ivan often bragged that he was just as good of a cook as his older sister (though, Alfred pondered, Ivan had never actually said his sister was good at cooking). So , to save his reputation from falling after Arthur tried to serve unseasoned chicken, Mathew and him had pushed Arthur out of the kitchen and prepared the meal themselves.

But it was everything together that made his mood bad, and the cherry on top was seeing Ivan beam and chat with his family as though he was comfortable, even though he could tell by Ivan's tense smile and shoulders that the blazing stare Mathew and Arthur were aiming at Ivan were taking his affect. Alfred wasn't really sure what exactly was bugging him, but everytime Arthur asked Ivan a barbed question in a delicate tone and stared at him with fierce eyes, Alfred felt his mood drop worse.

Finally, Arthur stoped playing around and got to the point.

"Oh, By the way Alfred, I noticed you have a bit of a mark on your cheek since after you visited Ivan last night! Do tell me what happened?"

Arthur phrased the words like a concerned brother, but Alfred resisted the urge to cower at the tone, grateful that the tone wasn't aimed at him. He glanced at the one the jab was actuary meant for, and Ivan met Alfred's eyes, and Alfred could have sworn Ivan was a little flushed, and also desperately trying to tell Alfred not to tell them anything with a look. Unfortunately, Alfred wasn't good at reading hints like that. If he was, he would have definitely said whatever Ivan didn't want him too.

Alfred could feel Arthur staring sharply at him, and opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly he felt like he probably shouldn't say something about underwear, although he wasn't sure why he was getting that vibe. He hadn't done anything wrong, not really, other than manipulating himself into Ivan's house, moving things without permission in Ivan's room, drawing on the mirror, sitting on Ivan's messy bed and going through Ivan's pile of (hopefully) clean clothes.

Alfred closed his mouth again as he realized that actually, he'd done quite a bit his older brother would definitely consider "wrong" and that if he told Arthur he'd definitely get scolded for being improper.