Anticipation was an extremely dangerous thing. Matthew didn't know if he wanted to vomit, crawl in a hole, stay where he was, or dance around the mall with endless joy. He was down to his final ten minutes.
His soulmate was ten minutes away from him. If that wasn't the most thrilling feeling, he didn't know what was.
Next to him, Alfred was chatting amicably about what he expected the fireworks show to be like that night. "It's gonna be the best bang to end my birthday! Ya know, like it always is." Right. Birthday. Matthew was supposed to be focusing on his brother's birthday. They were here at the mall to find Alfred a birthday present from himself. "And - dude, why didn't you tell me?"
Matthew snapped his head back from surveying the surrounding area to stare at Alfred in confusion. "Tell you what?"
"That you were meeting your soulmate on my birthday!"
He blinked, bemused. "I did. This morning. When you were eating pancakes."
Alfred sucked in a breath. "Right, right right. Forgot." He looked at Matthew apologetically. "How're you holding up?"
Honestly? His hands were shaking, his knees felt like they would give out at any given moment, his stomach was restless, and his heart was racing a mile a minute. This was the worst Matthew had ever felt in his lifetime, but at the same time the most exhilarated. His life would change in a few minutes which was ninety percent exiting, ten percent scary. Or was it ninety percent scary, ten percent exiting? Either way, Alfred needed to stop watching Armageddon every time it was on TV.
"I'm fine," Matthew said. Alfred gave him the look that told Matthew that Alfred knew he was lying. Thankfully, though, Al didn't push the subject. "Have you seen anything you want?"
Nine minutes.
Alfred shook his head. "Not yet. Let's keep going."
The further they went into the mall, the closer they came to Matthew's soulmate. Each step was another second gone by, another minute. He was surprised he hadn't gone into cardiac arrest by the time his timer got down to three minutes.
His brother, for the most part, was breezing past store fronts that didn't interest him and slowing down at the ones he liked. Still, they had only gone in one store in the past six minutes without any luck in finding Alfred a present. They didn't know what they were looking for, only knowing that they would know it when they see it. Matthew figured they would find his soulmate first before the present. That thought only made the task more daunting in his eyes.
Two minutes.
They were coming up to a store that Matthew knew Alfred liked. They would probably slow down to look in the window and check what they had on display. But he was barely thinking about the present anymore. All he could think about was the blood rushing in his ears and the timer on his wrist getting closer and closer to zero.
Unsurprisingly, Alfred stopped at the store and dragged Matthew in. He immediately started scanning the shelves and other various displays. Matthew tried his best to focus, but the timer ticked itself down into one minute remaining.
Where had those ten minutes gone? He wasn't ready for this!
The seconds passed with each heartbeat. Alfred was beginning to make his way out the door a bit sullenly. He was muttering something to the effect of, "We'll never find something." His eyes were still glancing from side to side when they seemed to catch on something. His face brightened and he turned to his brother and pointed. "There! That's it, Mattie!"
But Matthew wasn't looking at his brother, or whatever his brother had picked out. Instead, he had his attention focused on the person who had just walked into the store.
It was a man. An incredibly pale man with incredibly blond hair and rust colored eyes. Rust colored eyes that were currently staring right back into Matthew's own blue ones. This was him. This was Matthew's soulmate and after the rush on the initial feeling upon seeing the man, Matthew felt anxious all over again.
Out of nowhere, the sight of his soulmate was interrupted by a hand waving in front of his eyes. "Hello," Alfred was saying. "Earth to Mattie?" Somehow, Matthew was able to snap his attention back onto his brother. "You zonked out there for a minute." He then proceeded to direct Matthew's attention towards the item of his current infatuation, the supposed "only present for me this year" and the "present that's so much cooler than any other present."
Matthew was only half hearing this because he was still glancing at his soulmate who appeared to be talking with the people he entered the store with — a pretty brunette girl and stoic brunet man. It didn't take long, however, for the man to break away from his (friends? family?) companions and walk confidently over to where Matthew was standing.
Inside, Matthew was panicking. What if he said something stupid? What if Alfred said something stupid? What if they were completely wrong for each other? What if-
"Hi," the man said.
"Hi," Matthew responded, shyly.
"Hi," Alfred interjected. Both Matthew and the man stared at him. "What?"
The two ignored him and the man stuck out his hand for Matthew to shake. "I'm Gilbert."
"Matthew."
Gilbert smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you, Matthew."
"You, too."
"I'm Al!" Alfred stepped in front of Matthew to have Gilbert's full attention. "Isn't today great? Like, it's the best birthday ever. You're totally invited to my party tonight."
Gilbert raised an eyebrow. Matthew tried to not let his brother's embarrassment get to him. "Thanks, I guess."
Alfred demanded Gilbert's number to text him the address. Instead, Gilbert took Matthew's number and gave his own to Matthew in return. This was the start to a beautiful relationship with a third-wheeling brother.
Now, Matthew anticipated the day Alfred would leave him and Gilbert alone.
A/N: Day 4 of Anime Expo! Happy Fourth of July, guys! It's the last day of the convention and, yeah, I'm sad, but I'm still gonna have fun. Yesterday, I saw the Miraculous Ladybug panel, and let me tell you I'm excited for season 2. Also, my dad's favorite movie is Armageddon and he will watch it every time it's on TV (and it was a line from Owen Wilson's character that I was alluding to). Thank you guys and have a miraculous day! :)