"Bruder~"
The soft word seeped into his unconscious mind.
"Bruder~…"
He sighed and turned over in his sheets.
"Bruder!" The harsh word combined with the light turning on grated on his senses. He groaned and pulled the blankets over his head.
"Oi, Westen…was ist das?" he whined.
"It's time to get up, Bruder. Now." Mercifully the light turned off as Ludwig left. One hand reached out of the blankets and fumbled around for his cell phone. Once he found it, he unplugged it from the charger and turned it on, peeking out as the screen lit up. He had several texts waiting for him. One each from Elizabeta and Roderich, asking (or demanding) where he had hidden Roderich's glasses. He couldn't remember, so he simply replied 'Suck it'. One from Ludwig asking what he wanted for breakfast, two from Feli proclaiming 'PASTAAA~', one from Lovino with his usual insult. He didn't reply to those and scrolled down to the ones from his two best friends, Francis and Antonio. Both wished him good morning, then Francis went on to use a lewd pick up line while Antonio apologized for both Francis and Lovino. He sent 'Hey, s'up?' to both of them, then he moved to his last messages as he waited for their replies. He sat up, suddenly more awake as he saw who they were from.
'Hey Gilbert.'
'What do you call it when a caribou is following its larger cousin?'
'Moose Tracks :P' Gilbert laughed.
'Sorry about that. Lame joke.'
'When are you coming over?'
'Pancakes, right?'
'I'll have them ready and waiting. I'm also trying my hand at some of your German bratwurst, which you so conveniently "forgot" here :P'
'Heyyyy hot stuff, call me ;P' Gilbert raised an eyebrow at that. That didn't sound like Matthew.
'Sorry, Alfred tried to use my phone to text a girl. He lost his again XP'
'But yeah, call me when you wake up :D' Gilbert dialed the familiar number and held the phone to his ear. After two rings, a bright and cheery voice answered, "Bon matin!"
"Says who?" Gilbert grumbled. Matthew laughed.
"Hello Gilbert. How are you this morning?"
"Hung over. And my leg feels like it was ripped off, run over, and then sewn back on."
"Oh, poor baby," Matt cooed sympathetically. "I'll have my hangover remedy waiting when you get here."
"Magic fingers?" Matthew laughed.
"Sure, Gilbert."
"Awesome. Thank you~ Birdie."
"You're welcome Gilbert." He got out of bed and started pulling on clothes he had left lying on his floor. He held the phone between his ear and shoulder.
"So, you're making wurst?"
"Yep. I think I'm doing okay." The sound of sizzling filled the phone for a second. "But to make sure, Alfred is supervising. Isn't that right, Al?"
"Yep!" Gilbert paused, his pants hanging off one leg.
"Birdie, am I on speaker?" he asked, suspicious.
"Sorry Gilbert. I really need my hands free to cook. It's only been on for a minute, since I started talking about Alfred. Is that okay?"
"Sure. Fine. Whatever." He finished putting his pants on.
"Je suis désolé~" Matthew whined.
"Nein."
"But Gilbert~" He shivered at the sound of his voice in that heavy French accent.
"Ach, fine. Fine fine fine."
"Thank you, Gilbert."
"I demand extra pancakes!"
"Whatever you say, monsieur."
"Ha! I knew you would submit to me eventually!"
"'All Hail Prussia'. Hurry and get here, Gilbert. Oh, and, wear a jacket."
"A jacket? But—hold on." He set the phone down and pulled his favorite black shirt on over his head. "Sorry, was getting dressed. I don't wanna wear a jacket, it'll cover my awesome albino skin."
"Gilbert, have you looked outside?"
"No."
"Do so, please." Gilbert growled into the phone as he walked to his window.
"You know I only do this for you, right Birdie?"
"Yes Gilbert."
"Good." He moved the blinds and peered out at the sky. "Oh, ew. You're right, Birdie, the weather's nasty." The sky was gray and looked like it could start pouring rain at any moment.
"Mmhm. So please wear a jacket, Gilbert."
"Ja, Mutti."
"Gilbert! I am not your mother!"
"I know, Mattie. You're more like my wife."
"We are not married, Gil."
"But Birdie, you cook for me, you're really good at cleaning, plus you totally look like a cute girl when you put your hair back in a little ponytail." Matthew stomped his foot.
"Gil!" Gilbert laughed.
"Okay, Birdie, I'm sorry. I'll be there soon. I love you, Mattie."
Matthew huffed angrily before reluctantly saying, "Love you too, Gil." He grinned.
"Kisses!"
"Gilbert!" Gilbert laughed and hung up. He walked over to the birdcage and poked Gilbird through the bars, waking him up.
"Hey Gilbird. Wake up, little buddy. We're going over to Mattie's house for pancakes. You know what that means, right? Yeah, you get to play with Kuma." Gilbird chirped and hopped closer to him. Gilbert opened the little door and gently lifted out his friend. Gilbird fluttered up to perch on his head. Gilbert patted him before leaving his room and clattering down the stairs.
"Bruder? You didn't answer my text," Ludwig called from the kitchen.
"Yeah, I'm going to Mattie's house. Remember?" Ludwig frowned.
"Who?"
"Matthew. Matthew Williams? Quiet little blond kid? Alfred's twin brother?" Ludwig still looked clueless. Gilbert sighed. "Why did I ask you to wake me up this morning?"
"So you could go to…" Ding. "Oh."
"Yes. So I won't be eating breakfast here." Ludwig nodded. Gilbird flew over to his shoulder and pecked his ear. Ludwig gave him a bit of toast. Ludwig reached into a cupboard and paused, then pulled something out.
"Bruder, whose are these?" Gilbert looked up from pulling on his shoes. Ludwig held a pair of glasses.
"Oh, those are Roddy's. Could you get those back to him for me?" Ludwig sighed and went back to his cooking.
"Oh, Bruder, Feliciano is coming over today."
"Okay. Have fun with your boy-toy, Luddy." Ludwig's face turned red and Gilbert laughed as he walked down the hall to the closet.
"He's not my boy-toy, Bruder!"
"Whatever Luddy! Come on Gilbird!" Gilbert put on a gray jacket from the closet and opened the front door. "Oh hi Feli!" The small Italian stood with his hand raised to knock.
"Ve~ hi Gilbert! Is Ludwig here?"
"Yeah, he's in the kitchen. Go on in." Feli and Gilbert switched places and Gilbird flew outside. "You two lovebirds have fun now!"
"Bruder!" Gilbert cackled and shut the door. He looked up at the sky and pulled his hood up over his head. Gilbird burrowed inside. Gilbert put his hands in his pockets and kept his head down on the walk to Matthew's house. When he got there, he jumped up onto the porch and knocked on the door. There was some shouting inside the house and he took a step back, then the door was thrown open. He blinked at Alfred who was panting and glaring at him.
"Is Matt—?"
"Get out of here, you albino freak!" Alfred slammed the door. Gilbert could hear more yelling and crashing sounds, and then it grew quiet. Gilbert cautiously opened the door, not expecting the sight that greeted him. Alfred was laying flat on his stomach in the hallway, his pants around his ankles. Matthew was standing next to him, holding him down with a foot on his back and a hockey stick pressed into his neck. The big difference between the two was that Matthew wasn't wearing pants at all. And the way he had his leg raised to hold his brother down lifted his large shirt over his waistline, giving Gilbert a nice view of his nether regions.
"Do you give?" Matthew asked, leaning over his brother and further exposing his rear.
"Alright, I give! I give!" Matthew straightened up, satisfied, and turned to greet his guest.
"Hi Gilbert."
"Hi Matt." He raised an eyebrow. "Nice panties." Matthew turned the same bright red as his underwear as he looked down at himself, then he simultaneously shrieked, dropped his hockey stick, and jumped over Alfred to run into the kitchen. The hockey stick fell on Alfred's head, and he rubbed the spot as he sat up. He grudgingly took Gilbert's offered hand and got to his feet before pulling up his pants. Alfred went to close the door and Gilbert turned to watch him.
"British flags on your boxers? What would our dear friend Arthur think about that, I wonder?" Gilbert mused.
"S-shut up!" Alfred said, blushing. Gilbert smirked and shrugged.
"So what was all that about?" Alfred stalked over to him and stared him right in the eyes.
"Do you want to date my brother?"
"What?" Gilbert looked at him weird.
"The things you said on the phone! You called him your wife and then told him you love him!"
"Dude! We're just friends! I joke around with Francis and Antonio all the time!"
"That doesn't answer my question. Do you have, or have you ever had, any intention to date my brother?"
"No! Sheesh!"
"Good. Anybody that wants to date Mattie has to go through me first."
"I'll keep that in mind," Gilbert said, rolling his eyes. "So have you been keeping up in your training?"
"Yes. I met with a few of the guys yesterday and we did a practice game," Alfred said. Gilbert nodded as they walked towards the kitchen.
"Good. You need to keep in shape for when the season comes back around."
"I know, coach." Gilbert paused in the doorway.
"Hey Birdie. Nice to see you've got your pants back on." Matthew looked up from the stove, his face still red.
"Um, the food's almost ready. Alfred, come finish your breakfast, it's getting cold."
"Yes Mom," the other blond said. Matthew just shook his head and went back to cooking. Alfred retrieved his plate from the counter and took a seat at the table. Gilbert sat down across from him and trained his eyes on Matthew. The younger boy moved with a certain type of grace as he flipped the pancakes. Gilbert found it fascinating. A moment later, Matthew brought over a plate piled high with food. Gilbert grinned and put his hood down. There was a chirp, then Gilbird wiggled out of the hood and fell into his lap. The bird righted himself and flew over to Matthew, chirping at him.
"No Gilbird, this is for Gilbert." Matthew brought over a tall glass filled with thick green liquid. A small white bear wandered into the kitchen. Matthew nearly tripped over him as he turned around. "Oh, there you are, Kumachi! I was wondering when you'd come out." He set a bowl of food down for the bear, and Gilbird landed on Kuma's head. Matthew started washing the dishes, glancing back over his shoulder occasionally at the others. Gilbert looked up once and met his eyes. They smiled at each other. Alfred frowned. He grabbed his plate and carried it over to the sink, stealing Matthew's attention. Gilbert scowled.
"Mattie! My leg is hurting more!" Matthew looked back over his shoulder.
"Okay Gilbert. Head on up to my room and I'll be there in a minute."
"Awesome!" Gilbert carried his plate over and handed it to Matthew. He quickly leaned in and kissed his cheek before running from the room laughing. Matthew blushed and Alfred glared after the albino. Gilbert stopped running when he reached the top of the stairs and calmly walked into Matthew's room. It was obvious the room belonged to the boy. There were posters of hockey players and teams on the wall. A Canadian flag hung over his bed. His hockey gear was piled in a corner. White teddy bears of varying sizes were placed around the room, on the desk and dresser, on the windowsill, but the oldest of all held the place of honor on the bed. Gilbert knew that one was the first gift Matthew had ever received, and it was very special to him. As he looked around the room, he noticed the closet door was open an inch.
Huh. That was odd. Matthew usually kept his closet shut and locked. Gilbert walked over and opened the door, curious about what his Canadian friend was hiding. As the door swung open, he stared into the closet. …well that was disappointing. Just a bunch of clothes on hangers. He pushed them aside and looked at the floor. There were a few bags filled with what appeared to be future birthday and Christmas presents for family and friends. He reached for the door to close it again and froze as he realized what he was looking at. No. Way.
I've been working on this when I get stuck on Une Nouvelle Famille. It was because of a dream I had about a week ago. It was intended to be a one-shot, but then it just kept getting longer as I threw in random things. It hasn't really been proof-read...and I feel like I've forgotten something. Oh well. It's late and I'm tired.