Silence filled the room around Matthew. It was just another lonely day when he found himself home without anyone to keep him company. A cup of coffee that was three quarters full of maple syrup and the rest coffee was in his hands. He stared outside at the cold winter day and watched the snow glitter in the light of the sun. His polar bear Kuma was taking a nap in the corner, not making a single sound.

Suddenly the phone rang and broke the silence. Matthew set his cup of coffee down on the kitchen table and grabbed the phone. Kuma stirred in the corner and lazily opened his eyes before shutting them again. "Hello?" Matthew answered. On the other end of the phone he heard Gilbert's voice say hello. "Um Birdie I have found myself stuck in a situation involving a bag of popcorn." He said. Matthew raised an eyebrow and became quickly hidden in the curls of golden hair that fell on his forehead. "What is that problem?" he asked softly.

"Am I supposed to put the popcorn in the microwave or the oven?"

The Canadian laughed softly. Then he realized that Gilbert was serious. "The popcorn goes in the microwave Gilbert." He answered. "Thanks Birdie, goodbye." He said. The phone beeped and Matthew realized that he had hung up. He sighed and replaced the phone before returning to his seat by the kitchen window. The mug was still hot as a burning flame in his hands and he was careful when he took a sip of the liquid. It tasted just perfect.

Matthew was finally getting comfortable again in his seat. The wind against the roof of the house was even beginning to lull him to sleep. Then the phone rang again. Startled he jumped from his seat and spilled some of his coffee on the floor.

"Gilbert what is it this time?" He sighed. "Do I have to take the plastic off of the popcorn before I put it in the microwave?" he asked. Matthew slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead. The noise woke Kuma up again. "Stop that." The bear muttered, then fell asleep again. "Yes Gilbert, you take the plastic off. If you left the plastic on the bag then it would burn in the microwave and start a fire." He answered. "Thanks again Birdie, goodbye." Gilbert said. He hung up again.

Matthew grabbed a paper towel to clean up the coffee that he spilled on the floor. The phone rang for the third time. "Mattie, how long do I put the popcorn in for?" Gilbert asked. Why isn't Ludwig there to answer his questions? "Your microwave is different from mine but it would be three and a half minutes." He said. Then he hung up before Gilbert could even say thanks. Normally he wouldn't have cared if Gilbert called him every minute of the day but Matthew wasn't feeling so great and his lover was really starting to get on his nerves.

For the next hour Matthew didn't hear anything else from Gilbert. He didn't call him again. He was glad and slightly worried at the same time. Maybe he shouldn't have hung up on him so fast. Even if he wasn't feeling the best he should have been more patient. With a large gulp he downed his second cup of coffee and reached for the phone. He was dialing the first number when it started ringing. It was Gilbert again. "I need you to come over here." He said. Matthew sighed but was happy that he hadn't hurt Gilbert's feelings. The Prussian never shows it but he is very sensitive, if Matthew hurt his feelings he might not talk to him again for the rest of the day. "Is it about the popcorn again?" He asked. He heard the kesese of Gilbert's laugh. "No, I just need you to come over here right now." He answered. "Okay, I'll be over there as soon as possible. See you in a bit." He said.

Matthew shoved his hands into the pocket of his favorite red hoodie and walked outside.

When Matthew first knocked on the door no one answered. He knocked yet again and still no one answered the door. He was about to knock for the third time when Gilbert opened the door. "Sorry Birdie, it just took me a minute to get here. I was in the basement." He said. "It's okay." Matthew said. Gilbert grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. Matthew made sure to shut the door behind them but Gilbert didn't stop as he pulled him towards his room in the basement.

After a second of thinking Matthew's face turned as red as his hoodie. "U-um G-G-Gil? Where are w-we g-going?" he asked. He tried to push back memories and thoughts of Gilbert naked and hovering over him but they appeared anyways. Gilbert looked back at him and when he saw the blush on the Canadian's face his face and neck turned red also. "Nein, it's not anything like that Mattie… Just wait and you'll see." He said

Finally they walked down and were at the bottom of the basement steps but Matthew couldn't see anything because everything was pitch black. "Are you ready?" Gilbert asked. "Yes." He answered. What was it that Gilbert wanted to show him? Gilbert flipped on the lights and the TV from upstairs was in front of his bed. There was a large bowl of popcorn and stack of movies on his bed. Gilbert reached behind him and grabbed roses from the table behind him and held them out to Matthew. "Happy one year anniversary Birdie." He said. Matthew took the roses then wrapped his arms around Gilberts neck and kissed him. "Je t'aime tellement." He said. "Ich liebe dich auch Matthew." Gilbert said.

Matthew kissed him again harder than before then pulled away. "Now how about we see what kind of movies you got, eh?" he said. He skipped happily over to the bed and sat down. He smiled then looked again at Gilbert and felt something warm and fuzzy in his heart.