AG: So, I have no idea where I got the idea for this fanfic from, but I just got the idea and went with it. That, and I like randomly coming up with things for PruCan. Have a PRUCAN! *throws PruCan at you*

CanaDERP: *catches PruCan and runs away squealing with delight*

"Matt! Get down!" Gilbert forced Matthew into the dirt right as someone took a shot at him, then he pulled him up and ducked behind a tree. "Zhat vas close. You need to be more careful! I've heard zhe var vill be over soon, don't get yourself killed vhen ve're so close to zhe end!" Gilbert smiled at his young friend. Matt had told him he lied about his age to join the army, and they had just recently celebrated his eighteenth birthday together.

"Y-yes, sir! …Uh… about that… You know that letter I got the other day?" Gilbert nodded, a bit worried; he knew that tone, Matt always used it when it was bad news. "Well, it turns out my dad just died… And all our property's been repossessed. So… I won't have a home after this."

Gilbert couldn't bring himself to say anything. No words seemed right. So instead, he hugged Matt around the shoulders. "Vell, Matt, you can come live vith me vhen zhis is all over! Ve have been buddies zhroughout zhis whole var, I vouldn't mind letting you come home vith me!" Matt was shaking. "Yes, sir," was all he said.

"Oh, don't call me sir, ve're buddies, ve don't need zhat formal army junk! You vant me to start calling you 'Corporal Mattie'?" He chuckled; the name sounded weird, no matter how it was said.

"It's 'Corporal Williams!' I don't call you 'Sergeant Gilly', sir!" He was trying to be serious, but there was the slightest hint of a smile on his face. "I suppose… I could live with you after the war. …If I make it that long."

"Hey! Don't be talking like zhat! Ve have been in zhis togezher for three years now! You can survive a vhile longer, don't you dare give up now!" There was the sound of a twig snapping, and Gilbert covered his mouth and Matt's. The footsteps were getting closer, and Gilbert raised his gun. It was silent except for the sound of leaves crunching underfoot.

An older, middle-aged man came out from around the tree that Gilbert and Matt were hiding behind, and they were both relieved to find it was their colonel.

"There you are. Get up, we won! The enemy retreated; you've lived to fight another day!" Gilbert smiled, and stood up, offering his hand to Matt. "See, Matt? You can't give up! You have to keep fighting!" Matt nodded, "Yeah, but we've been fighting for three years… I don't want to see any more blood for the rest of my life if I can help it," and sighed.

The two of them went back to the camp where the rest of their regiment was already celebrating. Gilbert started celebrating immediately by filling up a mug with beer.

"Mattie! C'mon, join me in having a drink! Ve von, it's zhe perfect time to celebrate!" Gilbert had an arm around Matthew's shoulder, and was a bit too happy, since he had been drinking. "Gil, you know I don't drink…" He tried to push Gil off of his shoulder, but he was heavy.

"Awhh… But Mattie! You should make an exception! Ve may never get a chance to drink togezherrr!" He leaned on Matt, who nearly fell over under his weight. "Ugh… Sir, with all due respect, get off!" He pushed Gil one more time, and it was just enough to make the drunken Sergeant lose his balance and fall over, laughing.

"Hehehehehe!" Matthew was quickly getting tired of Gilbert's drunken antics, and went into his tent to retire for the night. However, he was rudely awakened by two drunken privates that dragged Gilbert in and left him on his bedroll. Matt sighed, "Goodnight, Gil…" rolled over, and went back to sleep.

The next morning when Gilbert woke up, Matt was already awake, sitting on his bed. Gil had a hangover, and wasn't really in the mood to talk, but Matthew persisted.

"Gil… Did you really mean what you said yesterday…? About letting me come live with you if we ever get home?" Gilbert just held his head and groaned. "Ughh… Not right now, Matt… Ask me again later…" Then he lay back down, pulling the blanket over his head. "Ok, Gil… Later then." He stood up, then knelt down to touch Gil's shoulder, and whispered, "You want me to bring you breakfast? It'll make you feel better." Gilbert just nodded and curled up in a ball. Matt smiled, then stood, and left the tent.

Shortly, Matthew returned with two trays of food, setting one next to Gil, and sitting down on his own bedroll to eat his food. While he ate, Gil started to snore. "If I let him sleep, his food will get cold… I know he wants to sleep, but I'm not going to let him go without food." He leaned over and poked Gilbert in the back. "I know you're hung-over, but you need to eat breakfast or it'll go to waste."

Gil rolled over and looked at Matt, half asleep. "Ngghh… fine…" He sat up and ate breakfast, then lay back down and went back to sleep again.

"I guess I'll just have to wait. He did drink a lot last night… But how can he drink when there are members of the enemy army that would gladly sneak in and just shoot at us at any time?" Matt sighed; he was ready for this war to be over, and it couldn't be over a minute too soon. He began thinking about the days in training, when he had first met Gilbert. It still bewildered him as to why Gilbert was made a sergeant when he was only a corporal. "Maybe it's because he's so self-confident and loud… I know I can't raise my voice very loud…"

After another two hours, Gilbert had finally slept off his hangover and got out of bed. "Finally back from the dead, Gil? Welcome back." He smiled, remembering the last time they won a battle and everybody celebrated. It seemed that his hangover was much worse last time; Matt had to wait over four hours after he woke up before Gil would get out of bed that time.

"Nghh… Is it time for lunch yet?" Matt shook his head. "I zhink I'll go back to sleep."

"Gil! You can't just go back to sleep! I wanted to talk to you!" Gilbert was propped up on his elbow, about to slide back under his blanket. "Oh, ja, you did say you vanted to ask me somezhing… Vhat vas it? I forgot…" Matt rolled his eyes.

"I wanted to ask you…" he looked at the ground, "if you were serious about letting me stay with you when the war is over. So… did you really mean it? I mean, it would be ok if you didn't, I can always find somewhere else to stay…"

"Of course I meant it! How could you zhink I vould joke about zhat? It's not like it vould be a big deal for me, mein older Bruder is a Lord, our home is huge!" He patted Matt's knee, "Und my home is your home!" and flashed him a confident smile. Matthew couldn't help but feel happy at his words, but then there was something he hadn't told him…

"Thanks, Gilbert! I'm really glad I have a friend like you! I don't know what I would do without you." He smiled back at Gil; he wasn't smiling on the inside. He would have to tell him his secret eventually, but not until they were out of the army. That is, if they made it out alive. Even with his father dead, at least Matt had a friend he could turn to now.

It was later that day that a messenger arrived with letters from the families of some of the men. Gilbert even got a letter. Matthew didn't get one, but instead he read over the letter he received several days earlier, notifying him of his father's death. Likewise, Gilbert was sitting on his bedroll, stewing over his own letter, and he was quiet, which was very unusual for him.

After a long while of silence, Matt couldn't stand it anymore. "What's wrong, Gil? It must be bad news…" He would understand if Gil didn't want to talk about it, but he was really worried for him.

"Mein Bruder… Roderich… He's dead. Und zhat means zhat I inherit his title as Lord…" A thought occurred to him. "Vith him dead… If I tell zhe colonel, he has to let me go home! Und since your fazher is dead, he has to let you go home. Mattie, ve can go home! Ve don't have to vait 'til zhe end of zhe var, ve can go now!" Matthew smiled genuinely this time.

"So you're saying… these letters are our tickets out of the army?" Gil nodded, "Since you're zhe only surviving member of your family, you can go home any time! I zhink ve have fought in zhis var long enough, it vould be nice to go home!"

Though Matt was smiling, he was worried, but he knew he couldn't show it. Gil had his heart set on taking him in like a little brother, so Matt wouldn't object, but he knew he would have to tell Gil his secret sometime. It wasn't just a secret from him; it was a secret from everybody. Matt thought it was sad that he couldn't even tell his secret to his closest—and only—friend.

Shortly hereafter, the two men went to speak to the colonel. It went better than Matt had expected, the colonel took their letters, read through them, and told them they were dismissed from duty. What's more, the colonel saluted them, and told them he was proud to have two young men like them as part of his regiment for so long.

Matthew and Gil were given their official written orders that day, and started home the next. They were escorted to the nearest town, and took a carriage from place to place in order to get to the town where Gil lived. Though Gilbert seemed to enjoy the scenery, Matt was fretting during the whole trip. All the time he was getting closer and closer to the moment where he'd have to give up the act and tell Gilbert everything.

"I don't know if I can do this… What if he turns me in, even after all we've been through together? What if he does something… worse? He might… I mean, we've been away from everything for three years. And he's…" "Hey, Mattie! Look, zhere's my home!" Gilbert was pointing out of the window of the stage coach at a castle overlooking a small town and grinning widely.
"You live in that… in the castle up there?" Matt could only stare in disbelief. "I know he said he was a Lord now, but I wasn't expecting anything THAT big…"

"Heheh… I haven't seen home in such a long time! I can't vait! I'll get to see Lutz again! I sure have missed him, it's a shame I'll never see Roddy again, zhough…" It wasn't long before the carriage stopped in front of the castle, and the two men got out with their belongings and paid the driver. The last few minutes of the ride were spent in silence—and a rather uncomfortable silence for Matt. He couldn't stop worrying no matter what he told himself, because the danger was always present.

They walked together into the large building Gilbert called his home and were instantly greeted by many servants, along with his younger brother Ludwig. Nobody noticed that Matthew was there, which was a great relief to him… for now. His lack of prominence was probably what kept him alive long enough to see the end of his service in the army.

"Lutz, zhis is my friend, Matt! He saved my butt in zhe army a lot… Hehe! He's almost as awesome as me!" Gil dragged Matt by his arm to talk with his brother, "See? Zhis is zhe reason I vas able to come home, Luddy!"

Ludwig looked him over briefly, then returned his gaze to his brother, a worried look plastered on his face at all times. "Vell, I guess if he saved you so many times, zhen zhere's no reason not to let him stay…"

"He's a girl. How has this girl been in the army three years and nobody has noticed? I saw her… him… her… for five seconds and I knew he was a she! I bet my brother doesn't even know… And when he does find out… I feel bad for her, but it IS against the law for women to join the army… I'm just surprised she's lived this long…"

Matt looked up at Gil, feeling more nervous than ever. He didn't get the chance to meet his eyes before one of the many servants took hold of his wrist and dragged him with his belongings to a guest room, talking the whole way.

The servant—who was a girl—would not shut up long enough for him to get a word in at all. She talked so fast, Matthew could hardly keep up.

"So you're Gilbert's buddy, huh? We've missed Gilbert so much; we were terrified that he'd never return home again! He wrote to Ludwig about you a whole lot, you know! I'm sure we have you to thank for him coming home safely!" By this time, she had led him to a room opened the door, and dragged him in. "Now, you really need to change out of that grubby uniform! Here, I'll help you!" She began to unbutton his military uniform before he could even say anything.

"Wah?! No! No no no no no no!" He grabbed her by her wrists and pushed her hands away. His voice was still quiet, and the young servant had finally shut up. "If she finds out, she'll blab to everyone!" "Uh… Could you please ask Gilbert to come here for a moment…? I, uh… need to talk to him…"
She stopped and looked him in the eyes for a moment, a bit bewildered by his sudden outburst. Soon she was smiling again, however, a look of recognition and realization in her eyes. "Oohhh, you're just shy, aren't you?" she giggled and nodded, "Alright, I'll go get him, and you can change by yourself. Hehe!" She left the room and Matt practically collapsed.

"That was close… too close… I have to tell Gil, though… I don't care if I have to go on pretending for the rest of my life, I can't keep this from Gil…" He could do nothing but pace the room over; his uniform was filthy, and he couldn't bring himself to sit down anywhere because of it. After ten minutes of pacing, Matt decided to just get changed as it seemed Gil was in no hurry to see him, or perhaps the servant forgot.

Whatever the case, Matt took the new clothes she had brought for him and went behind the changing screen.

Her real name is Madeline. She went into the military because her father was sick, her mother was dead, and they needed money. The army gave her money every month, and she sent it home for her father to live on. As long as she kept up the charade of being a man, her father was fine. That is, until he died.

She was only 15 when she joined, and that was three years ago. During the first week of her training, Gilbert had joined as well, and they became good friends. She hadn't expected to live to see the end of her service in the military; in fact, she expected to be shot in battle and killed long ago. Now she had no choice but to tell Gilbert the secret she had been hiding for three years.

She was undressing behind the screen when Gil entered the room without knocking. She stared down at the bandages around her chest, lost in thought. "Would Gil… turn me in? It was so much easier to hide these three years ago… But they keep getting bigger, and I can't do anything about it." Gil was right behind her, but he saw the bandages and freaked out.

"Matt! Vhat happened to you? Vhy do you have bandages on?! Vhen did you get hurt?" Madeline turned around with a start, her hands going to her chest. "Does it hurt?! Really, vhat happened, Matt?!" He grabbed her hands away from her chest, and seeing no blood, he calmed down, until he realized what the bandages were for.

"…M-matt… You're…" He backed away a bit, staring at her. "A girl?! I can't believe it… Matt's been a girl this whole time… and he-she… saved my life so many times! I can't turn her in for it, either. She's my friend…" When he finally came to his senses again, Madeline was on her knees in front of him, crying.

"Gil, please don't turn me in! I don't want to die! I know I've lied to you about being a man for three years, but please! Don't turn me in!" Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Vhat?! Turn you in…?! I couldn't do zhat to you…" He took her hands and helped her up off the floor gently, as though she might break. "You've saved my life, und I von't turn you in…" Grabbing the clothes that she had been about to change into, he averted his eyes and held them up to her. "Just… put zhat on for now und stay in here… I vill explain everyzhing und… und you can go back to living as a girl… Alright?"

"What do you mean… 'explain everything'?" She had just finished putting on the new shirt, and he was about to leave. "Would he… kick me out instead of turning me in? I don't see how I could stay here and live as a girl, so that must be it. He's going to kick me out and get rid of his problem… which is me."
He turned to look at her, but he didn't completely turn. He spoke over his shoulder, "I'm going to tell anybody zhat has seen you so far to keep zheir mouths shut, und zhat you vere not in zhe army. Zhat's all zhere is to it. Nobody vill ever know about it… Und also…" He turned around to face her, "Vhat is your name…?"

"Oh… Um, it's Madeline…" He nodded, and she added, "But you can call me Maddie…" she blushed slightly, looking down at the floor. "I've never been able to talk to him… as myself. It might be weird…" Before she looked up again, he was gone and she could hear the door close as he left.

CanaDERP: *strokes the PruCan lovingly* *whispers* AG wrote PruCan. AG IS WRITING A MULTI-CHAPTERED PRUFEM!CAN CDBXHDJKX

AG: Yes, we know. ... Why do I feel like EVERYONE writes better stuff than I do?

CanaDERP: *flicks AG's forehead, cuddles the PruCan* Because you're like me. And like 90% of the rest of the people here. 8D anD YOU DON'T SEE HOW AWESOME YOU ARE AAAHHHH

AG: Well, whatever you say. I hope you guys liked it. I'll try to update soon.

CanaDERP: *glomps AG* *whispers sensually in her ear* PruCannnnn. *floats violently away*

AG: You can't leave. You still have to give me pocky! You can't run away with my pocky!