#and btt

Note: For me, this not a ship but rather a father-son relationship. I HC for Francis and Mattie to be around 20 and 3 years old, respectively.

🍑 Francis was thrust into fatherhood while "studying" abroad for college. He first learned about his son's existence when he discovered his baby boy abandoned/left for him in his college dorm room. Seeing this as a sign from the universe that he needed to get his act together, he raised Mattie as a single dad along with some help from best friends, Gil and Toni. After college, Francis and Mattie move back closer to Francis' family to help him with babysitting Mattie while looking for work.

🍑 Mattie speaks primarily French. Francis (Papa) wanted him to know his mother's native language so that a piece of her always stayed with them, even if she didn't want anything to do with the two of them. At a young age, Mattie is not familiar with many other languages, but the more time he spends with his uncles and aunts -- Gil (GiBi), Toni (TonTon), Alfred (Alfrere), Arthur (Tonton Papa), and Kat (Kata) -- the more he picks up things from them. He is an absolute chatterbox in French, talking about everything and anything, but can be extremely timid when he isn't acquainted with neither the language nor the person speaking the language. Eventually, he picks up English and resorts to only speaking French with his dad.

🍑 Despite the hardships of mostly parenting alone, Francis has not once been cross with his son. In fact, he encourages him to be as authentic as he possibly can, even if he does something wrong. A small "we don't do this because..." to course correct his behavior once in a while is needed, but overall Mattie is self-sufficient and not interested in "bad" behavior during his younger years. Francis just supports his son's endeavors as much as his friends and family have supported him.