A/N: Hello, everyone. I'm back to writing fanfiction now. I've been writing original works as of late, so I haven't had much time to write fanfiction. The original works are on Fictionpress, and if you wish to read them, you may send me a private message, and I will disclose the name. (This is a semi-advertisement.) Anyhow, I've been watching Hetalia a lot lately, and decided that it was time for me to write a story for it. My favorite pairing is Prussia x Canada, and seeing how it has so few fics, I decided I'd write something for that pairing. Warning: Human names will be used.

Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to Himaruya, not me.

There were some days when Matthew wondered why he and Gilbert had ever become friends. Even now, as he was cleaning his living room alongside the albino man, he questioned it. When you really think about it, he said to himself, we're nothing alike.

And it was true – Matthew was shy, quiet, and was far too accustomed to having his opinions unheard and his very existence forgotten. Even after they'd graduated from high school, he was constantly overshadowed by his abrasive, loud, obnoxious older brother, Alfred. He was often confused for Alfred, and as a result, he ended up taking the heat whenever Al did something to anger someone. While he certainly didn't appreciate being confused for his overzealous brother, he neither blamed nor hated him. Still, he didn't have many friends – just Carlos, sometimes Lars, Ivan – even though he was frightening, he was actually a fairly good person – Katyusha, and Al himself. With the exclusion of Alfred, none of his friends ever remembered him on a regular basis, leaving him alone most of the time to be comforted by his pet polar bear, Kumajiro.

Gilbert, on the other hand, was even more abrasive and obnoxious than Alfred. He was loud, extremely self-confident to the point of arrogance – something that annoyed Matthew and yet made him admire the silver-haired man – and would let no one forget his name. Everyone knew him, but most people were annoyed by him, just as Matthew had initially been. They'd all seen him as the stereotypical jock, a boy that was all brawn and no brains, as well as a bully. But there had been one instance where Matthew and Gilbert had been alone together – it had been just once, but in that moment, his opinion of the crimson eyed boy completely changed.

It was his third year of high school, he recalled. Matthew had decided to linger for a bit after school, knowing that neither his papa nor his dad would notice his absence until night fell. Deciding that a long walk through the fields and gardens surrounding the school would be quite nice, he fairly strolled out the door, passing by the security guard that was supposed to keep him inside. The man didn't so much as notice him.

He walked slowly, admiring the flowers and plants. While he knew that he could never be a botanist, he recognized some of them and named them aloud – quietly, of course – as he walked. The fields were like a maze, and once you arrived at the part of the field that was covered by trees, both tall and short, you were sure to get lost. Matthew liked getting lost, and in this beautiful part of the school, it was all the more enjoyable.

After walking for a short while, he arrived at a clearing and laid down, resting his head in the soft grass. He closed his eyes, the better to listen to the quiet sounds. The wind rustling the leaves, a bird chirping softly... and footsteps?

Growing frightened, he quickly rose to his feet and hid behind a tree, knowing that his lithe form wouldn't be seen behind the thick tree. He peered around the the tree cautiously, until someone came into his view. It was Gilbert, the boy from his fourth period class.

What is he doing here? Matthew wondered.

After looking around to make sure no one was watching, Gilbert knelt in front of a large bush, and pulled the leaves apart. He rummaged around for a bit before finding what he was looking for. "Ah, there you are," he said, gathering something that Matthew couldn't see into his hands. "I thought I'd lost you. I brought some food. You hungry?" A chirp followed the question, and Matthew saw Gilbert pull some seeds out of his pocket. The silver-haired boy sat down so that he was facing the tree, allowing Matthew to see the object in his hand. It appeared to be a small, yellow puffball with a beak, but when it chirped, Matthew realized that it was, in fact, a bird.

The little bird proceeded to tear the seeds in Gilbert's hand apart. He chuckled and stroked its head with his other hand. "Sorry that I can't come more often, vögelchen. Once I get some money, I promise I'll buy you a cage and some food and you can stay at my house." He ran his finger along one of the wings, which Matthew now noticed was bandaged. "I hope your wing heals soon. Wouldn't want ya to be grounded forever, right?" He smiled, but instead of the usual cocky grin he gave in school, it was a sweet smile that Matthew could only describe as one of pure happiness. For some reason, he really liked it. He stepped closer to get a better look, only to trip on a tree root and cry out as he braced himself for the fall.

But it never came. Instead he landed on something warm and soft, instead of the cold, hard ground he'd been expecting. Blushing, he looked up and came eye-to-eye with the crimson-eyed boy he'd been watching. The bird was now on his head and the smile he'd had before was gone. "What are you doing here?" he asked, annoyed. "Why were you following me?"

"I... I wasn't following you!" Matthew protested, removing himself from the boy. "I came out here first, and then you showed up! I didn't know who it was, though, s-so I hid!"

Gilbert took a moment to process this information before suddenly giving an amused look. "You that scared of me, Mattie? I know I'm awesome, but you don't have to be scared."

"Mattie? Y-you know my name?"

"'Course I do! You're in fourth period with me, and I remember all people that I deem awesome!"

Blushing, Matthew decided to change the subject. "S-so, that bird is yours? Why does it have a bandage on its wing?"

"Oh, that?" He brought a hand up to stroke the little bird, and it gave a tweet of approval. "He had a gash in his wing when I first found him. It looked like a bite mark. It was fucking huge, so I cleaned it up for him and took care of him. He can fly around now–" Here, the bird stood and flew around Matthew's head, as if it had understood what was being said and was demonstrating, "–but I keep that on there just in case it ever reopens, y'know?" Matthew nodded, not knowing what else to do. Gilbert sounded as if he was truly concerned for the bird.

"So what brings you out here, Mattie? Takin' a walk?" Gilbert inquired, probably trying to hold Matthew's interest.

"Oh... yeah, I was. I just wanted to get away, you know? My papa isn't expecting me home for a while, so I figured I'd kill time here instead of in that school."

Gilbert chortled. "I hear ya! I didn't wanna stay in there, either – that's half of the reason I came out here!"

Matthew giggled at this. Before he knew it, they were having a long conversation about everything, and about nothing at all, as if they'd been friends for years. As they spoke, Gilbert told Matthew a bit about himself – what he liked, what he hated. Matthew noticed that the former list was much longer than the latter. He also noticed that Gilbert didn't brag about his abilities nearly as much as he'd expected, nor did he ever say anything particularly rude. He seemed like any other ordinary, nice guy.

They had just started talking about why glasses make you look smarter – causing the bespectacled blonde to adjust the ones on his face – when Matthew felt the compulsion to glance up at the sky. It had turned to a light red color, signifying the sunset."Merde! The sun is setting! I've got to go now, or Dad will have my head!"

Gilbert merely grinned. "Scheiße, Mattie, calm down! You'll get home on time, don't worry!"

"But all of the buses are gone!" Matthew replied. "How am I supposed to get there in time by walking?"

Gilbert grinned, and Matthew knew he was in for it. With a quick "Come with me," Gilbert grabbed the blonde's hand and sped off, pulling him along. The bird atop his head chirped excitedly as they ran through the garden. After getting lost several times, they soon arrived at the school, and Gilbert lead a breathless Matthew to the parking lot, where a shiny red bicycle was leaning against a teacher's car.

"You're letting me take your bike?" Matthew asked. "But you don't have to..."

"I'm not that nice, Mattie," Gilbert replied. "But I will take you home."

Matthew stared at the silver-haired boy, trying to figure out what he meant. After glancing at the bike, then Gilbert's grinning face, then the bike again, he soon realized it. "You can't be serious," he said as he eyed the vehicle. It was a bicycle for one. The only way Matthew could ride on it was if he sat on Gilbert's lap – that was sure to kill them both – sat in the basket on front or on the handlebars – either way was sure to kill him – or rode on the pegs on back. While extremely dangerous to him, compared to his other options, this seemed like the safest route.

Gilbert sat down on the seat and glanced back at Matthew expectantly, who hesitantly climbed onto the pegs, sitting down on the small space between the seat and the back wheel. "Are you sure this is safe?" he asked warily. Gilbert grinned.

"Sure it is! Don't worry, vögelchen, we'll be fine!" Before Matthew had time to protest – or inquire about the German word – Gilbert had started pedaling out of the parking lot. After wobbling a few times (and terrifying poor Matthew), they managed to ride out of the parking lot safely.

They rode for well over an hour, possibly even two, with Gilbert getting lost and taking "shortcuts", and Matthew forgetting whether to turn right or left for every other street, not to mention the breaks they took when Gilbert got too exhausted. To add to the amount of time, Matthew and Gilbert couldn't help starting a conversation once they sat down to rest, which added even more time to their journey. After the ordeal, they found themselves pulling up to a small, two-story house that Matthew declared to be his home. He got off of the bike, feeling glad to be alive after almost falling in the street a few times.

"Thanks for bringing me home, Gil," Matthew said, smiling. "I really appreciate it."

Gilbert grinned. "No problem, vögelchen! But this ride's gonna cost ya!"

Matthew's smile dropped. Of course he'd want money, he thought as he reached for the wallet in his pocket. "How much do you want?"

"What? Nah, I don't want money," Gil replied. His grin widened, confusing Matthew even further. "My fee is that you have to be my awesome friend!"

Matthew stopped to stare incredulously at the silver-haired boy before dissolving into a fit of giggles. "That's so cheesy!" he managed to said amidst his laughter. "But if that's your fee, then I'll gladly pay."

"Cool!" Gilbert exclaimed. He pulled a small piece of paper and a pen out of his jacket pocket and scribbled something on it. "Here," he said, handing it to Matthew. "That's my number. Text me so I can get yours, ja?" He turned the bike around so that he could head for home. "I'll see you at school! Auf wiedersehen!"

"Au revoir!" Matthew called after him. He watched Gilbert as he rode away from his house. Once the constantly grinning boy was out of sight, he went inside. Of course, he was thoroughly reprimanded for being out so late, but it was well worth it. As he crawled into his bed that night, he glanced down at the piece of paper on his night stand and smiled. I made a friend, he thought. And he won't forget me.

That day had been one of the best of Matthew's life. Just recalling it made him smile fondly.

The next day, Matthew had woken up and prepared for school as usual. The good feelings from the night before had worn off and the blonde was fully expecting the albino to ignore him and for things to go back to the way they were. To his surprise though, when he arrived at the school, he found that the boy had been eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Matthew had woken up late that morning, but thankfully, was able to catch the bus. As he approached the doors to the large school, he saw a boy reclining against the wall just next to the door. No way... he thought, squinting and adjusting his glasses to get a better look. Is that Gilbert?

By the time he was at the doors, he could clearly make out the pale skin and silver hair. It was him alright. Gilbert opened one crimson eye when he (barely) heard Matthew's light footsteps. Grinning upon seeing the shy Canadian, he pushed off of the wall, moving to pat him on the back in a friendly manner. "Guten morgen, vögelchen!" he exclaimed.

Remembering the name, Matthew smile shyly. "Bonjour, Gilbert," he replied. "What does that mean, anyway?"

"What I just said?" Gilbert asked, his grin widening. "It means 'good morning, Birdie'."

"Birdie?" Matthew repeated incredulously. "I'm not a bird."

"Nein, you aren't. But it suits you!"

Matthew smiled, deciding to take the statement as a compliment. "Merci, I suppose. I'll have to pick a nickname for you, then. Come on, let's get to class."

As they walked, they continued to talk with the greatest of ease, as if they'd been friends for a long time. Occasionally, Gilbert would say something so hilarious that Matthew would have to stop walking and rest his head on the albino's shoulder, attempting to catch his breath. The small blonde grew nervous every time the laughter wore off, worried that Gilbert would find it annoying. Whenever he glanced up at him, though, his face still had that happy grin on it. After several more minutes of this, they reached Matthew's classroom. Though he wished to keep talking, he knew that he had to go.

"I'll talk to you during fourth period, okay?" Matthew assured Gilbert.

"Alright, Birdie! Auf wiedersehen!" the albino – Matthew found out that he was albino the day prior while they had been talking – replied, speeding down the hall to his own classroom. Giggling to himself, Matthew entered the room, thinking only about their next encounter.

Matthew stopped scrubbing the coffee table and smiled. I'd never been that happy before, he thought to himself. Gilbert was like the friend of his dreams. He was smart – though he didn't act that way – and kind – but in very sneaky ways – and funny. He never ignored Matthew, or mistook him from Alfred. Even better, he stood up for Matthew when others were cruel to him. The best thing he ever did when they were in school, though, was to listen to him when no one else did.

As the time that they'd been friends went from weeks to months, they began to subconsciously form patterns in their daily activities. For example, whenever Matthew arrived at school and saw Gilbert waiting for him, he'd smile excitedly and bound over to him, and they would go off together to talk about everything and nothing at all until the bell rang. Today, though, this was not the case. Matthew noticed the grinning silver-haired boy, and he managed to give a small smile and wave, but he could do no more. After nearly being killed by someone that had an issue with Alfred and, of course, believed that he was his abrasive older brother, he wasn't in the mood. His face still hurt and he knew it was puffy and red – though, no one would notice that. They never did.

They walked together as usual, but this time, it was different. Normally, Gilbert would begin a conversation and lead it, with Matthew laughing and giving his own two cents here and there. Today, Matthew said almost nothing at all, and barely smiled, let alone laughed. Gilbert noticed this and stopped walking, forcing Matthew to do the same.

"Mattie," he said, turning to face the petite blonde, "is something bothering you? You haven't laughed or said anything since we came inside."

"It's... it's nothing," he replied, averting his eyes away from Gilbert's gaze. "Don't worry about it."

Gilbert opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by the loud ringing of the bell, signifying the start of homeroom. Matthew tore himself away from the albino."Fourth period," he mumbled before walking slowly into his classroom. He watched as the taller boy walked away, but did nothing when he gave Matthew a sad, dejected look.

The class went on without much excitement. No one noticed Matthew – the teacher barely did – and as such, he managed to get away with not paying attention for the first ten minutes of the period. As the clock struck seven, the door was pushed open, allowing Matthew to come eye-to-eye with the crimson-eyed boy.

"Yes, may I help you?" the Greek teacher asked, her accent prominent in her words.

"The principal sent me down here to get someone," he replied, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders. His blood red eyes scanned the room, as if he was having trouble locating the person, before finally locking on Matthew. He pointed at the small blonde, who jumped a bit in surprise. "Him."

"Oh, Matthew." the teacher mumbled, as if she was just seeing him for the first time that day (which was very likely). "Very well. Matthew, go on. Take your things with you."

He did as instructed, sighing as he put all of his notebooks and pens into his backpack and threw it over his shoulder. He followed the albino obediently as he walked out the door. Matthew vaguely wondered what the principal wanted with him as he trailed after Gilbert, who was presumably headed for the principal's office. He noticed, though, that the albino was headed in the exact opposite direction of the office.

"Gilbert," Matthew whispered, as if disclosing a great secret, "where are we going?"

"Shh," Gilbert replied as he lead them toward the exit. The security guard was gone – probably for breakfast, Matthew thought – and they strolled outside with no difficulty at all.

"We can't cut school!" Matthew hissed. "It's-it's not right!"

"It is now," Gilbert replied, sounding strangely serious. They headed in the direction of the fields – the fields where they'd first met. After walking in silence for some time, Gilbert picked a spot where the trees began and sat down in the soft, green grass. Matthew sat next to him. "It isn't good for you to be somewhere you don't want to be when you're upset. Makes you even more irritable."

"...wh-what are you talking about?" Matthew asked.

"What happened, Mattie?" Gilbert asked. "You haven't been yourself at all today. And this..." He reached out and gently brushed his hand against Matthew's injured cheek, which caused the smaller boy to wince. "This is the kind of injury you get from a fight, but I know you'd never do anything to anger someone, so it couldn't have been your fault. Tell me, Matthew. Where did this come from?"

Matthew cringed. He'd called him by his real name, which meant that Matthew wasn't allowed to lie about this. He sighed. "Alfred pissed someone off again," he muttered, "and they thought I was him, so they took it out on me."

Gilbert growled. "And you let them? You have to stand up for yourself more!"

"I know..."

He sighed. "Never mind that. Something else is wrong, other than that. Something worse. What is it?"

Matthew glanced at him warily. "Well... this whole thing about never being noticed and being 'invisible'... just really gets me down. I mean, you're the only one that notices me – and you'll never know how grateful I am for that – and everyone else either doesn't see me or thinks I'm Al. And I... I'm just sick of it. No matter what I do, it's like I'm not even here. Like I don't even m-matter." Both Matthew and Gilbert were shocked to find that he'd stuttered, and Matthew was even more shocked to feel the burning in his throat that warned of oncoming tears. He turned his head so that Gilbert wouldn't see as he wiped at the tears, but they just kept coming, even more forceful until Matthew was nearly sobbing.

"Mattie? Are you... crying?" Gilbert mumbled, surprised.

"N-no!" Matthew snapped back, still hiding his face. Gilbert sighed and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder, forcing him to turn around. When Gilbert saw Matthew's face, he frowned.

"Come here," he ordered the bespectacled boy. Matthew frowned as well, but reluctantly moved closer to the albino, and gasped in shock when arms wound around him and crushed him against Gilbert's chest, causing him to flush in embarrassment. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Mattie." he said, his voice quiet. "I never really thought that a good person like you could have problems like that. But... if anything's wrong, you can talk to me. I wanna be there for you to help you out, y'know? I mean, we are best friends, right, vogelchen?" He managed a small grin, and the blonde managed to grin back.

"Yeah." he agreed, winding his arms around the silver-haired boy in a hug. "Thanks, Gil."

"You're welcome, Birdie." Gilbert said, smiling. It was a genuine smile. As Matthew smiled back, he noticed something in the albino's eyes – a twinkle. He wasn't sure what it was, or what it meant, but he thought that it lit up his scarlet eyes and made Gilbert look absolutely beautiful.

Matthew's smile dropped at the memory. Yes, that day had been the first time he'd ever called someone beautiful. It had frightened him when he realized that the "someone" was not only his best friend, but a boy. There was no way he could have feelings for the albino – he looked at girls and thought they were attractive all the time, so how could he even consider it?

But then he would smile, Matthew thought, his body tensing a bit, and I'd get all nervous.

Yes, no matter how hard Matthew tried to convince himself that he did not, in fact, have feelings for Gilbert, those feelings grew and grew each time the crimson-eyed boy smiled, and eventually, those feelings grew too strong for him to hold back.

After Matthew had cried in front of Gilbert, perhaps being the first time he'd ever shown weakness to someone he wasn't related to, the two boys had become extremely close, and thus decided that they were now close enough to get to know one another's family. When Gilbert first arrived at Matthew's home, he was surprised to see that the first thing to greet him was a small, white bear. Matthew quickly explained that it was a polar bear his papa had found as a baby and brought home, and that it was tame. The little bird that was almost always on Gilbert's head seemed to think so as well, for it flew onto the small bear's head and gave a chirp of approval. The bear had toddled away soon after, intent on playing with the little puffball. After a thorough interrogation, courtesy of Arthur, Matthew had managed to get his parents to allow him and Gilbert to be alone in his room (Matthew wondered why this interrogation was necessary for all of three seconds, before he saw his Papa kiss his Dad and remembered). Even though Arthur was fairly certain that Gilbert would never force Matthew to do anything, he still gave the same list of rules before the boys went upstairs, even months later: "No kissing, no touching, no fighting, no loud noises." Within the first few minutes of their being in Matthew's room, they'd always break the last rule.

Today, they were supposed to be doing homework, but about ten minutes in, Gilbert grew bored and threw a pen at Matthew, initiating a war in which they threw the nearest object they could find at each other. Excited laughter rang out as papers and pencils and anything light enough to lift (but not heavy enough to hurt) flew through the air. Midway through this battle – Matthew couldn't remember when – Gilbert had tackled Matthew to the ground in a playful scuffle. They rolled around on the floor attempting to pin the other down, both laughing loudly and wildly. After several minutes of the play-fighting, they had both stopped to catch their breath. Matthew had an arm around Gilbert, and Gilbert, in turn, had an arm around Matthew's shoulders, and was practically pressing the smaller boy against his chest. Upon realizing this, the blonde's face was overcome with red. With anyone else, he'd have been embarrassed and quickly moved away, but ever since he'd, for lack of a better term, spilled his heart out to the silver haired boy, Gilbert had started to touch Matthew more – he would casually wind an arm around his shoulders when they were walking down the hall, or he'd lean on the shorter blonde's shoulder if he got tired. Gilbert holding him like this was nothing new either – he did this when they studied together and when they watched TV. Matthew had grown accustomed to it, and, although he was loath to admit it, he rather liked the closeness.

By this time, they were both breathing normally. Gilbert must have noticed this, but he did not release Matthew. Instead, he pulled him closer, greatly surprising the blonde. "Gil...?" Matthew mumbled, looking up at the albino. His expression was unreadable. "A-Are you okay?" he asked, his heart pounding furiously in his chest.

"Ja, Mattie, I'm fine," he replied, his voice more serious than Matthew could recall it ever being. "When I'm with you like this... I'm happy."

"Wh-what?" Matthew said. His heartbeat sped up, and the blush on his face darkened. Does he... feel the same? He wondered, staring up at the albino incredulously.

"I'm always happy when I'm holding you," Gilbert continued, "and when I make a joke, and you laugh. You have such a cute laugh." Here, the albino's face turned a light shade of pink. "I mean, I know it's weird for a guy to be so affectionate to another guy, but..." He paused, as if trying to find the right words. "...but, it just feels right to me."

"I-I... Gilbert, what are you trying to-to say?" If his heart beat any faster, Matthew was almost certain that it would burst out of his chest.

The albino inhaled deeply. "I guess, what I'm saying is... I li–"

Any confession that the silver-haired boy intended to make was cut off by the sound of the door being pushed open, and Francis's sudden cry of, "L'amour!"

"P-Papa!" Matthew cried, sitting up and disentangling himself from Gilbert, who kept an arm around the blonde. "Shh! Wh-what if Dad hears you?"

"Desole, mon fils!" Francis cried, looking both surprised and pleased. "But how can I resist when I see that you and Gilbert are basking in l'amour? It is simply too beautiful!"

"We-we weren't 'basking in l'amour'!" the embarrassed Canadian protested. "R-Right, Gil?"

The albino scratched the back of his head nervously. "Actually..." he mumbled. "I was gonna say that... I like you, Mattie. As in, more than friends."

Everything seemed to stop as the words came from Gilbert's mouth. Matthew stared at the albino boy. M-More than friends...? he thought. "Gilbert, I..." Even his father's squeal of delight didn't register in his brain as he tried to think of a response. What if he's l-lying to me?

"...I like you t-too," he found himself saying. He quickly lowered his gaze, not wanting to see the mocking look he feared would be in Gilbert's eyes. This fear was alleviated, however, when a hand moved to grasp his chin, and lifted his head up. Matthew's violet eyes soon darted up to meet the albino's crimson ones, and in them, he could see no trace of malice or mockery. All he could see was the twinkle that had been there for months, making his eyes shine brighter than ever. In that moment, Matthew realized it – the strange look he'd been seeing in the albino's eye that made his heart flutter had been this all along. It was affection.

"Mattie," Gilbert whispered breathlessly, and that was Matthew's only warning before the albino leaned down and their lips brushed.

Francis gave another squeal and disappeared down the stairs to retrieve Arthur, but neither of the two boys noticed as they pressed further into the kiss, albeit tentatively. After holding the kiss for a bit longer, Gilbert pulled away from it, and smiled down at Matthew. "How was that?" he asked. Matthew didn't respond, but instead cupped the taller boy's face in his hands and pulled him down for another, more passionate kiss. Gilbert, understanding what Matthew wanted, wound his arms around the petite blonde's waist and pulled him even closer, until their chests were touching. Matthew hummed contentedly into the kiss. Is this what it's like to have someone? He wondered as he felt the albino's hands rake through his hair. Is this what Papa and Dad feel like? As Gilbert pulled away to kiss down Matthew's slender neck, he smiled. Yes, it must be, he told himself, covering his mouth to keep his sounds of enjoyment from being too audible. I think... I think I might lo–

"MATTHEW!" a shrill voice bellowed, utterly derailing the small blonde's train of thought. He glanced over at the door, where a livid Arthur and an apologetic-looking Francis stood. He stomped over to the intertwined boys and yanked them apart, ignoring Matthew's sound of protest. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, boy! I should have known that you'd seduce Matthew sooner or later! Leave, now! I don't want to see you with my son ever again!"

"Wh– Dad!" Matthew exclaimed, hoping to stop the British man's rage. In his blind fury, however, he didn't hear his son yell.

"I didn't seduce him!" Gilbert yelled, rising to his feet and looking particularly angry. "I would never do something like that to Mattie!"

"That's a lie! How dare you sit there and-and lie, to my face–!"

"Dad!"

"It's not a lie, dammit! Francis can attest for me, right?"

"Well–"

"Francis, are you really going to tell me that you're siding with this little b–"

"DAD!" Matthew screamed, so loud that it hurt his throat to do it. The room fell silent and all eyes were on him. "Dad, please listen. Gilbert didn't seduce me. I-I kissed him. Because I... I l-like him, and he likes me." He paused to scoot closer to Gilbert, who instinctively threw an arm over his shoulders. "And I really hope you can accept that." Arthur looked between the two incredulously, at a loss for words.

After a few moments, he opened his mouth to speak. "If you're going to date my son," he began, "you have to do it properly. Take him for dates, be kind, and be gentlemanly. If I hear anything from Matthew about you hurting him, or fooling around behind his back –" Here, his face took on an unexpectedly dark look, "–I will hunt you down. Do you understand?"

"I... y-yes, sir." he replied, straightening his posture as a new recruit would do to their sergeant. "I'll be good to him, I promise."

"And you," Arthur added, direction his attention to Matthew. "Behave yourself, and don't let Gilbert do anything to you. Especially anything too affectionate."

"Wh-why not?" Matthew inquired.

"Because if you do, you'll end up like me." his father replied, glancing up at Francis and smiling slightly. "Stuck with a man who will love you for as long as he lives."

"Oh, mon amour, je t'aime!" Francis cried dramatically, gathering his husband into his arms and spinning him around. Matthew smiled as he watched the two men, and saw the happy smiles on both of their faces (save for Arthur, who was trying to scowl and was failing miserably). I wonder if I'll ever get to be that happy, he thought. He felt Gilbert pull him closer, and smiled up at the albino, who gave his signature grin in return. Yes, I think I will. Some day.

Matthew's smile returned at the memory. That was probably the best day of my life, he thought. For the rest of that year, and the next year, he and Gilbert dated. It was a secret at first, but when Feliciano – the brother of his friend Lovino and, coincidentally, the boyfriend of Gilbert's brother Ludwig – caught them holding hands and kissing after school, word got out and it became public. Some of the girls (and some boys) that were known for being "home wreckers" appealed to Gilbert, trying to get the handsome albino to sleep with them. He somehow managed to turn them down each time, stating that he belonged to Matthew. Even Matthew got some propositions, all of which were promptly turned down (mainly because Matthew had the habit of fleeing once the proposition was made). Somehow, they'd managed to make it through high school and college together (though there were the occasional ups and down, and they had taken a break once). And here they were now.

They'd been living together in a small apartment for a little over a year, having moved in together right after they left college. It wasn't very comfortable, and there wasn't always enough money for food and utilities since neither of their jobs paid well. Still, Matthew thought, smiling to himself, we have each other, and that's all that matters.

"Mattie," Gilbert said, derailing Matthew's train of thought. The blonde turned to face his boyfriend, and saw that his eyes were fixated on him pointedly. "I need to talk to you."

"Um... yes, Gil?" he asked, feeling a bit nervous. Is this the "I'm breaking up with you" talk?

"Well, it's just..." His voice trailed off, but soon picked up again. "You know I love you, right?"

"Oui, of course. And I love you too."

He smiled, but it was a nervous one. "And you know that I want to be with you for a long time, ja?"

"...yes..."

"Mattie, I– I-I mean that–" He sighed, muttering "Fuck, this is hard..." under his breath.

"You... aren't breaking up with me, are you?" Matthew asked, trying to mentally arm himself in case this was true.

"Nein! Mein Gott, Mattie, I'd never leave you again!" he cried, sounding incredulous. "No, Mattie, I wanted t-to... agh, verdammt! Fuck this!" With lightning fast speed, he withdrew something small from his pocket, sped over to the confused Canadian, got down on one knee, and shouted, "Marry me, Mattie!" as quickly as he could. He lifted his hand up to the Canadian. In his palm was a small silver band.

Time seemed to slow down, as Matthew tried to process this. Gilbert wanted to marry him. He wanted to be with him forever. He wanted to love him forever. Tears welled in his eyes, until Gilbert was blurry and almost unrecognizable, if he hadn't grown to know the face so well. Gilbert loved him.

"Ah, verdammt! Mattie, why are you crying? I-I'm sorry, did I scare you? I didn't mean t–"

"Yes, Gilbert," Matthew interrupted, his voice strained from the burning in his throat and the tears running down his face. He threw his arms around the crimson eyed man, and pulled him close, crying into his shoulder. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!"

The albino was shocked and confused for a moment, but quickly recovered and wound his arms around the sobbing blonde. "Shh, don't cry," he whispered, running his fingers through Matthew's hair. "Ich liebe dich, mein liebling." There was another sob, followed by a response of, "Je-Je t'aime, mon cheri. Forever."

A/N: At last, I've finished. This was quite difficult to write, but it was fun all the same. I do so love their relationship. Perhaps next I'll try my hand at Germany x Italy. Does anyone have any requests? If so, please send a private message, and I'll see what I can do. Thank you for reading, and please review.