It was not a difficult thing in any true sense to see that discontent that so lingered upon the features off his companion in that moment. That very inquiry off his parents seeming to prompt a tension of sorts to the younger man's entire figure. Matteo so hardly surprised by that reaction. In all the years he had known his adoptive son any mention of his parents so tended to prompt either a near vicious shutdown, an apathetic grunt, notable distress or indeed- in his younger years- an outright anger. Matteo in turn so very rarely mentioning them unless Aiden had done so first if only for simple respect for the boys feelings and yet- that very mention here and now was surely hardly misplaced. Aiden was older, more capable of dealing with a mere mention of his Mother and Father without becoming angry and yet that distress existed all the same. It was not so raw as it had once been. Not so tender like a newly opened wound and yet, he suspected, one that would never cease to hurt. His own hand lifted to rest upon the Were's shoulder in that silent comfort even if, he suspected, it was truly not enough. Aiden sighing softly as he struggled with those words, his gaze cast down towards his feet, that admittance that he knew what he needed to do and yet could hardly do it just yet prompting that warm simper to the Frenchmans lips, even though such a gesture was surely unseen by his companion in that moment. For Aiden to admit to those very feelings was perhaps more significant than many would truly realise. Matteo so hardly willing to push him further upon it. He had, after all, hardly brought him here to ruin that very vacation. Those easy words parting the near ancient Fae's lips then.

"When you are ready, you hardly need face it alone."

It was perhaps a very reiteration off his early promise and yet he meant those very words. For Aiden to admit to those very feelings was one thing, for him to admit he needed help a far more significant beast the Frenchman doubted they were truly ready to battle today and one he was willing to ignore for now. Matteo instead offering that tale off his own family. A story he had not uttered in years and indeed precious few were ever privilege too. For all the Frenchmans near flamboyant nature, Matteo remained a decidedly private person in every sense Any personal information upon himself rarely offered to any. That very question of his own Mother hardly anticipated and yet, he supposed, it was a logical one in every sense. The immortality of Fae a curious thing and one it seemed Aiden was inclined to call into question. The Frenchman offering the rest of that tale off his Mother's unfortunate demise some thirty years ago during that war. Those softly uttered condolences met with a loose wave off his own hand. That easy smile returned to his lips.

"You need not be. The life she lived was good and I believe she had few regrets upon any of it."

Those accented words were offered simply, as if, somehow, a life lived long and well might yet justify that death in some fashion and yet after so many years himself the Frenchman had perhaps come to view death far differently then he had as a young man. He missed her still, after all, she has existed within his life for so terribly long that for her to simply cease had been...difficult. Even if those emotions had since softened. Alexander his last remaining tie to the very world he had once existed within. The Hunters death, when that came, would be a far more difficult one to handle. Matteo's hand reached easily into the back pocket off his jeans then, that wallet easily plucked from within only to offer it toward Aiden then. The Fae flicking through those pictures to find that very image off his Mother. A girl whom appeared not more than fifteen or so, before the rest of those photos were idly turned through. Dorian, Sebastian, Herbert and Aiden himself. That look of incredulousness he was offered by his companion at the sight of himself prompting that ready chuckle from the Fae. Matteo so hardly offering the very truth of that photo here and now. The Frenchman instead choosing to comment upon that uncontrolled mop that had become his companions hair over the years, his hand reaching up to ruffle it in a wholly teasing fashion only to find himself shoved aside. That laughter escaping him more readily now, even as Aiden promised to deal with that hair in Paris.

"Ah, but I will not forget this promise, Aidun. I know a good barber too. He will delight in such a challenge I am sure."

The barber, he suspected, would not delight in it at all and yet such a task promised to be amusing all the same. Matteo turning to lead the way out of that cemetery then. That bloom of flowers left in his wake. They returned easily to the street then. Matteo content to continue that near lackadaisical stroll through that peaceful, quaint town. The remains of that baguette duly handed to his companion to finish as they wandered. That afternoon sun hardly lacking warmth or pleasantness. That very store he desired to visit reached but a few moments later. For all Aiden so insisted he hardly knew what he desired to do with his time during that holiday, the sight of that candy seemed to readily inspire him. The boy already reaching for one of those paper bags before scoffing at the idea the Frenchman might only desire half. Matteo's own eyes rolled lightly before offering the younger man free range. Aiden, it seemed, hardly requiring any further prompting in this task. Matteo taking up the task of filling his own bag. The woman whom ran that very store wandering toward him but a few moments later. "Il est énergique! Est-il celui que tu me dis?" That soft chuckle found the Fae's lips once more. Matteo adding several gummy candies to his bag before so replying to that very query in english.

"Yes, this is him. What you are seeing now is quite a rarity though. In his natural habitat he can rarely be prompted off the couch."

That short little woman burst into laughter. Matteo readily expecting that look he was sure to be offered from Aiden in turn before returning to that task at hand. The near ancient Fae considering his own candy selection with a decided care before placing that bag on the counter for the woman to weigh and calculate. Aiden appearing beside him a few moments later. Matteo's own silver gaze so suddenly widening.

"Where did you get two!?"

When and how Aiden had filled a second bag he hardly knew. A near genuine bafflement crossing his features then before his head so merely shook. The woman behind the counter chuckling once more before proceeding to total that candy. Matteo handing over that credit card before reaching for those three bags.

"I will take these home first, I think."

The Frenchman disappeared near instantly then. That woman taking that moment to introduce herself to Aiden in turn. Her english decidedly good for that small town. Matteo reappearing a minute or so later without those bags having stored them safely within the kitchen. Riding back with bags, after all, would hardly prove an easy task. The Fae holding his hand out to Aiden all the same to drop several of his chosen sweets into his palm to eat on the way. Those goodbyes offered to the woman before Matteo lead the way back out onto the street to begin that walk back to where they had left the bikes. The Frenchman sucking on that sherbet lemon as he did. How....nice it was, to so be able to spend time with his companion like this. Away from that city. Away from all off it. That short holiday nowhere near long enough to heal that very damage already done to the WereKing and yet it was important, somehow, for Aiden to know a world and a life outside of that city existed still. This time, perhaps, something of a salve for those wounds- even if it might never be enough.

"Let's ride back along the road, most of them are country lanes. We can get far more speed then on those forest tracks. A late lunch is waiting for us."

That ride back to the towering chateau he called home proved to be significantly faster than the ride there. Neither man holding any fear for pushing those bikes to their very limits upon those country lanes. A lack of any other cars affording them both that chance to throw caution to the wind even if Aiden was prompted to distraction, several times, by the mere presence of cows in those fields. The Were man seeming to find the beasts quite the anomaly. Matteo's extensive driveway proving to be worthy of yet another race to the front doors. One worthy of substantial debate between the pair on just whom had won before Matteo led the way back into that chateau. Only for Gregory to throw his arms in the air at their mud-splattered shoes and jeans. The elderly butler contant to proclaim that he had known this would happen all along. That children were an eternal source of mess. The near ancient Fae seemingly content to ignore his blustering manservant as he strode across those polished marble floors leaving footprints in his wake.

His housekeeper, in the least, was far more receptive to their return. The woman having laid out that delectable platter of cheeses and ham and bread along with that multitude of dips, pickles, grapes, olives and dried apricots. An entire dish of butter resting neatly beside that bread (surely much to Aiden's eternal joy) along with that olive oil to drizzle across it. Those glasses of wine resting beside them. Matteo so gesturing for Aiden to take a seat at that kitchen bench and help himself to that platter. The Frenchman reaching for his own wine as he stepped into that kitchen.

"Thank you, Maria. I can take over from here. Darling, Aidun knows where chicken comes from you do not have to hide it."

The very sight of the young man seated at the counter had prompted the housekeeper to cover that neatly plucked bird with a tea towel, as if the sight of a freshly prepared rooster might somehow terrify the city boy. The short little woman seeming decidedly unsure before at last uncovering it. "How was your afternoon, dear?" Those very words were directed toward Aiden himself. Matteo taking another sip of that wine before reaching for those shallots and a sharpened knife. The Fae expertly beginning to slice them in preparation for the evening's dinner. This, he suspected, the most domestic Aiden had surely ever seen him. Matteo leaving the pair to converse a moment before thanking that housekeeper once more.

"Maria, before you go, could you please tell Gregory when he sets the table that we do not need the candles. I have already foreseen his use of them. I am not trying to date, Aidun."

His own head shook lightly. Maria bustling off to do just that. Matteo reaching for a slice of cheese before picking up that potato peeler and beginning to expertly skin those potatoes. His fit figure leaning easily against that bench as he did.

"I am making Coq Au Vin, I think you will enjoy it. It is like a stew of sorts. I also hope you are enjoying that cheese. That, Mon Amie, is real cheese from the cows here. All of that food was made here."

One eye arched upwards, that very comment of 'real' cheese wholly potent. Matteo hardly having forgotten that very argument they had held within the Ark the night Arya had visited. The Frenchman very near daring his adoptive son to suggest that cheese from the city he came from was in any fashion superior. Matteo reaching for a piece of ham then before returning to his potato peeling. Those words mused then.

"I think, tomorrow, if you are not opposed, I have a plan for the morning for your birthday- no I have not forgotten it, when do i ever forget it? Then we will work on your teleporting. Tonight we will eat and after dessert we can make use of my hot tub. I don't know about you but my ass felt those jumps- and do not say it is because I am old!"




m a t t e o
it's tough to be a god