A/N: So I'm sitting here at home, in Oklahoma, at my desk, with a nice hot cup of tea. Outside, there's a storm raging. Thunder, lightning. All that jazz. With that you can kind of see where I got the idea for this little one-shot bit.

But here's the thing about Oklahoma.

If ever the world were to end, it'd start here.

Because as of recently, we've had a lot of earthquakes ( one which was actually the largest on OK history ), and then last night we had a huge thunder storm that I'm fairly certain spurted out a few tornadoes. Earthquakes. Tornadoes. Thunderstorms.

Oh, and flash floods.

Yup.

Isn't Oklahoma just…exciting?

Thunder in the Skies

"Got any fives?"

"Go fish."

"Damn it…"

Matthew let out a laugh as he watched Gilbert's exasperated look increase. The Albino reached out and snagged a card from the deck, letting out a frustrated snort as he added it with his other eight cards, creating a grand total of nine.

"I don't suppose you have a three, do you?" Matthew queried, fingers already poised over his own. Gilbert flashed a glare at him over his fan of cards before grumpily handing over his three of hearts.

The house was incredibly silent that evening. The lights were off, air conditioner silent, electricity out. Outside, a heavy rainstorm was gradually making its way over Vancouver. The steady thrum of water droplets colliding with the house was the only sound filing the home except the old grandfather clock upstairs and Gilbert's grumbling. The Albino seemed to adjust to the lack of power, if it weren't for the fact that he just got so damn bored with everything so quickly. Matthew found it a bit more difficult to reacquaint himself with the eighteen hundreds, however.

"This game sucks." Gilbert groused, looking about ready to just rip up the cards in his hand or set them on fire with the candles they were using for light. Matthew just laughed, snatching the four of spades the Albino had begrudgingly gifted upon him.

"You're just saying that because you're losing."

"There's no point to it!" And there went the cards. Matthew idly watched the jack of hearts flutter to the ground. What a shame…He would have won with that one. "There's no strategy to it at all! It's just a guessing game!" Gilbert was running his hands through his hair irately. Quite the dramatist, Matthew noted. "I mean seriously! Don't you have any good games like…like…"

"Risk…?" Matthew offered, and Gilbert immediately jabbed out his pointer finger.

"Yes! Now that's a game I could play." Matthew didn't doubt it. Gilbert was quite the strategical genius.

"Don't have it." Matthew couldn't stop himself from smiling when Gilbert wailed in agony. The man just didn't do well with boredom. With any luck, though, Gilbert would get so fed up that he'd actually clean Matthew's house for him.

Hey, he'd done it before.

The Canadian laughed quietly to himself at Gilbert's despair. The elder man was making a huge show, rolling across the carpet on the cards, hands on his face as he groaned "I'm gonna diiiieeee!" quite pitifully.

Matthew eventually collected himself—as did Gilbert—and they both started picking up the cards. Kumajirou waddled by at one point, however, and managed to snatch one of them before quickly making his way out of the living room. Neither of the two men bothered to catch him. Matthew just didn't want to be troubled with the chase; Gilbert was still so angry at the cards that he would have preferred Kuma take the rest of them.

"We could have played Bridge if we had two more players…" Gilbert grumbled. "Kuma kinda knows what he's doing…and Gilbird's really smart but…" He continued to mutter under his breath, eventually deciding that, even if Kuma was a talking, semi-knowledgeable bear, the fact that he couldn't even remember Gilbert's name meant he'd have been of no use in the game.

Gilbird was simply too small for the cards.

The rain outside suddenly kicked up, decreasing the visibility to nothing more than a dense gray. Matthew peered outside rather warily, tapping the cards into a neat stack. Gilbert looked up just in time to see a bright flash of light stretch across the sky, hear a loud crack of thunder, and then watch as the cards Matthew had so carefully picked up and organized go flying everywhere.

"Uh…" Gilbert blinked dumbly as he stared at Matthew. The poor boy was wide eyed and stiff, hands frozen where they had previously been holding the cards. "Mattie…?"

Matthew snapped his gaping jaw shut, quickly lowering his hands. "S-sorry. I just…th-the thunder, it…uh…" He trailed off helplessly, scrambling to get the scattered cards picked up again. Gilbert merely sat quietly, watching him confusedly until another loud burst of thunder rumbled through the house.

There was a loud squeak on Matthew's behalf, and the cards went everywhere once more. Matthew quite suddenly stood up, looking flustered and nervous.

"I-I'm sorry!" He was shaking, Gilbert noticed with interest. It was a little difficult to catch onto in the dim candle light, but Matthew was most definitely shaking. "I just…I gotta, uhm…" Matthew didn't even give a reason before he started for the hallway ( probably the bedroom, Gilbert assumed ), but the Albino reached out and snagged the sleeve of Matthew's sweater between his fingers. He had to twist around a bit to look at him.

"Hold up, Blondie." Gilbert tugged at the red fabric, urging Matthew to either get back down on the ground or lean over a bit. Matthew opted for the latter. "You aren't…afraid o' thunder, are you?"

Matthew stared at him wide eyed for several moments before he broke into nervous laughter. "Wh-What? Wha-No. No, what are you talking about? I'm not—I mean I j..just—"

Whatever excuse Matthew was planning on giving quickly went out the window when a low rumble echoed through the skies. The poor blonde stiffened and ducked his head down, wavy blonde hair blocking his expression from view.

Gilbert blinked.

Gilbert stared.

And then Gilbert busted out laughing.

Matthew felt like dying as he sank to his knees. Gilbert was laughing at him. Laughing at him. He must have thought he was so childish and stupid to be afraid of thunder of all things! The Blonde slumped over, face pressed into the couch cushions as he tried to hide his expression and become one with the fabric.

It wasn't working.

"S-sorry! I just…Christ, Mattie!" Gilbert managed to decrease his laughter to a series of derisive snorts—most unattractive. Gilbert clamped a hand over his mouth to keep those from coming out again—before he spoke again. "Thunder? Really?"

"Shut up. I have a very good reason…" Matthew murmured into the couch cushion. He felt Gilbert shuffle over next to him, leaning his back up against the couch. His shoulders were still shaking from chuckling. The ruby orbs that watched him were…slightly unsettling to be honest. Matthew refused to look up at him.

"I don't believe it. How can I just now be finding this out?" Gilbert nudged him slightly.

"The last storm we had was on my birthday last month."

"…Really?"

Matthew finally tilted his head to the side a bit, giving Gilbert the most pitiful look the Albino had ever seen. It kind of made the elder of the two melt a little on the inside. "You fainted because you were sick and had walked to my place in the rain. So you passed out and were unconscious for most of it."

"I did not faint." Gilbert denied with a frown. Awesome people did not faint.

"You collapsed right on top of me! You can't tell me you didn't! Alfred was eve—" Another low rumble cut Matthew off, and he quickly turned his face back into the couch cushion. He even muttered out a curse, which didn't happen too often unless there was beer or hockey around.

Neither of which were present. It was off season and Gilbert had yet to restock the fridge.

"You're seriously afraid of thunder…" Gilbert said incredulously, and received a bit of a nod in return. "Dead serious?"

"…yes…"

"…care to explain why?" Gilbert watched as Matthew lifted his head to look at him. His glasses were crooked, but neither of them bothered to fix it. The blue-violet gaze met with Gilbert's briefly before it shifted back down and away.

"Uhm…" Matthew hesitantly turned himself around, pulling his knees up to his chest. His hands were still trembling, but he managed to keep the rest of his body a bit more steady. "It…was quite a while ago, but…"

"How long?" Gilbert asked, suddenly sounding all serious-like. Any sign that he had laughed and teased him moments before were completely gone.

For several moments, there was nothing but the sound of rain pelting the window panes, and the soft rumbles of thunder in the sky. Those didn't seem to scare Matthew quite as much, but he still stiffened.

"About sixty-five years ago. Give or take a few."

Gilbert did the math, and his mouth tasted something sour. "World War Two…" He stated flatly.

"Normandy." Matthew elaborated quietly.

"Oh…"

"Y-yeah…"

There was utter silence between the two of them. Gilbert most likely lost in thought, possibly in memories that weren't exactly too pleasant and increased the bad taste in his mouth. Matthew was quietly watching Gilbert from the corner of his eyes, gauging his expression.

"Is that why you never go to Alfred's firework displays?" Gilbert finally asked, head tilting towards Matthew. The blonde nodded slightly, gaze shifting down. "Because it reminds you of…guns and mortars and stuff…"

"Yeah…" Matthew honestly felt kind of stupid and weak to be afraid of noise. But it had been a fear for over sixty years now. He was fairly certain it wasn't going away. "It's…it's kind of dumb, really…"

"I don't think so." Matthew felt Gilbert wrap an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. He couldn't help but blush a little. "I think it's perfectly reasonable." The blonde could have sworn he felt Gilbert press a kiss to the top of his head, and his blush increased tenfold.

They had only been together a month. He couldn't help it.

"You really think so…?"Matthew mumbled, tilting his head up a bit to look at Gilbert. The albino had his lips pursed, gaze off in the distance but focused on the corner of the coffee table in front of them.

"Yeah. I mean…just because we're nation-people doesn't mean we aren't human. We still have all the technical bits. We just live longer and heal faster, y'know?" Gilbert gave a bit of a shrug. "After World War Two, I had a bad leg for quite some time. But even after it healed I still walked with a limp." He stretched out his left leg, lightly smacking his hand near the knee. "Still do on occasion. West points it out to me from time to time."

"Oh yeah…" Matthew shifted slightly, sitting up a bit straighter; only to shrink back again when the house rumbled. "I-I remember when you were sick last month. You walked kind of funnily. I was tempted to ask if you were hurt but…"

Gilbert shook his head. "Nah. It only hurts when I get hassled. I hate bein' sick, so you can imagine how stressed I was." He let out a noise that resembled a growl. "And on your birthday of all days…" He grumbled.

Matthew laughed quietly, turning his face a bit more into Gilbert's neck. The man smelled rather nice. Was he wearing cologne…? He never thought Gilbert was the cologne kind of guy… Either way, it managed to put Matthew's thoughts at ease a bit more. Gilbert idly began to rub his thumb in a circle on Matthew's shoulder as they continued to talk.

"You still gave me a nice gift. Even if it was late…" Matthew said softly. Gilbert hummed in agreement.

"Your face was hilarious after I kissed you." He chuckled. Matthew hid his face a bit more, murmuring a muffled "Shaddup" into his neck. It made Gilbert wriggle a bit because anybody talking into your neck would be ticklish. "I'm serious though! You turned redder than the sweater you're wearin' right now!"

"I said be quiet, Gil." Matthew mumbled helplessly, but the Albino just continued.

"You actually ran off and hid in the bathroom!" Gilbert slapped his hand against his thigh, laughing rather loudly. "I've never seen anybody act so cute in my entire life! Not even Lutz when he was a kid, and he was fuckin' adorable!"

Matthew let out a noncommittal grunt, starting to pull away. "You talk too much…" He mumbled, thoroughly embarrassed and not really liking Gilbert that much at the moment. But the discussion had gotten him curious. He peered over at Gilbert, finally adjusting his glasses so they sat more evenly on his face. "What about you?"

"Hm?" Gilbert's head lolled to the side against the back of the couch. "What about what?"

"Are…are you afraid of anything?" Matthew hesitantly began to stretch his legs out in front of him. The thunder had died down somewhat, which meant he could be a little more at ease. He just hated when it got loud.

"Me?" Gilbert looked surprised for several moments. He turned his head back toward the ceiling, a deep frown settling across his features. As Matthew watched, he couldn't help but notice the slight shudder Gilbert gave, eyes squinting shut before he suddenly suppressed the actions and pulled on a flat expression.

"Losing my awesomeness." Gilbert stated flatly. The shudder that came after seemed decidedly fake.

Matthew didn't have a chance to make a comment on it, unfortunately. It was about then that the loudest bash of thunder echoed throughout the skies. It came with little to know warning, just a loud 'BANG!' that made even Gilbert jump in his place. Matthew choked out a whimper; his chest heaved and heart stuttered as he suddenly slumped forward and curled up into a ball.

Oh, Gilbert thought, gaze on the hunched over figure next to him, well that wasn't good.

Gilbert immediately went into action, well aware that if he didn't do something, Matthew would likely pass out from hyperventilating. He could already hear the ragged breaths Matthew attempted in a vain attempt to calm his nerves. Gilbert maneuvered around so he was crouched in front of Matthew, hands on his shoulders. "Matt?" Gilbert shook him lightly, trying to get him to sit up again. "Matt? Birdie, c'mon. Look at me."

Matthew merely shook his head wildly.

With a frustrated huff, Gilbert used a bit more force to push Matthew back out of the curled up position. "Birdie, c'mon. It was just thunder." He shifted forward just enough to ensure Matthew wouldn't roll up again. His hands rested on either side of Matthew's face, holding it steady. "Birdie…Vögelchen, it wasn't guns. You're fine, okay? No guns, I promise. Just thunder. It…It was just…"

Matthew's breaths were extremely uneven, and his eyes were clamped shut. Not good. Definitely not good. Gilbert didn't like seeing the younger male so frightened. Not like this. It was making him panic. "Matthew, look at me. Please?" The Prussian urged, grimacing when he got another wild headshake.

And just his luck, more thunder that shook the house, rattling the picture frames and everything. Gilbert was starting to feel a little terrified himself with how utterly frightened Matthew was becoming. He tried everything he could think of: quietly murmuring Matthew's name, trying to gain his attention; shaking him lightly; hugging him close. He even tried speaking in French, but Matthew didn't even seem to register any of it.

None of it worked.

Gilbert hissed out a curse, looking around agitatedly. Kumajirou was nowhere to be seen, likely hiding under the bed with Gilbird.

Useless animals.

And on top of it all, Matthew wouldn't fucking respond to him because the god damn clouds wouldn't stop their god damn clambering!

Gilbert let out an angry snort, and finally gave one last attempt. In a panic, fearing the worst for his companion, Gilbert did the only sensible thing that came to mind. Which was lean forward and press their lips together. Matthew needed a distraction, so that's what he gave him.

To his relief, Matthew let out a slight gasp—an actual response—and reached up slightly.

Now…a few things should be said.

First of all, Matthew and Gilbert had only just entered into their relationship. Gilbert had never been in one before, and Matthew hadn't really bothered with dating for quite some time. In the entire month that they had been together, they had kissed a grand total of maybe three or four times…

Which was probably why Matthew stiffened underneath Gilbert's hold and stared when he pulled away slightly. His breathing was back to normal though. That was a plus. Gilbert was able to relax a bit more with that.

But Matthew just stared, eyes wide.

Gilbert suddenly felt as if he had done something horribly wrong. A light blush spread across his cheeks as he inched back a bit, hands still loosely framing Matthew's face as he did. Gilbert just…wasn't the type of guy for romantic cute things like that. And the fact he had done such in a spur-of-the-moment way was a little…uncharacteristic. He felt sheepish, which was completely unawesome in his opinion.

"G-Gilbert…?" Matthew mumbled out.

The albino looked down and then away, hands starting to pull back. "I…s-sorry. I just. You weren't responding and…uhm…and I sorta panicked…and…" He trailed off, looking utterly embarrassed and possibly mentally berating himself for doing something so impossibly stupid. You don't just kiss a guy having a panic attack. You go looking for a paper bag for him to breath into. Or something like that. Gilbert was fairly certain that was what people having panic attacks did. Breath into paper bags…

The Prussian barely had time to register Matthew grabbing onto his shirt before he was yanked forward rather violently. He let out a fairly un-awesome noise—something of a squeak that he would vehemently deny later—just before their lips connected again. He started in surprise, until he felt Matthew's arms slide around his torso to hold him in place.

As flustered as he was from his previous little blunder, he wasn't about to pass up on an actual kiss that Matthew initiated.

And, as luck would have it, it proved to be an excellent distraction from the thunder rattling the window panes. Matthew's shaking had decreased quite considerably, as did his erratic breathing.

Gilbert slid an arm around Matthew's shoulders, the other one entangling his fingers into the blonde locks of hair as the kiss deepened. To Gilbert's utter surprise—and possibly horror—it was Matthew he took dominance in the kiss this time around. He started to pull away, mouth already open in protest until the blonde shook his head wildly.

"Shut up." The younger male interrupted before Gilbert could even utter a word. Gilbert arched his brows, looking utterly taken aback and surprised. "Just shut up and keep kissing me, please?"

Gilbert…didn't quite have a choice in the matter. He didn't even have a chance to point out that, even though Gilbert had kissed him first, it was obviously Matthew kissing him now. But he wasn't going to complain. Not if it meant Matthew was no longer cowering or hyperventilating or nearly having a heart attack because the skies were banging all their pots and pans outside.

Matthew had pulled on his shirt again, yankng him forward to connect their lips once more.

Gilbert finally came to the conclusion, after several long moments of lip-locking, that maybe letting Matthew dominate a kiss wasn't so horrible. He easily found himself falling into the groove of it. Growing more accustomed to having someone else take control for once.

It wasn't half bad, honestly.

Somewhere along the way, Gilbert had moved so he wouldn't have to lean over so much, and he ended up with his knees planted on either side of Matthew's thighs, seated right between his legs.

In the entire month they had been together, they had not once made out. Gilbert was trying to figure why in the hell they hadn't, especially when Matthew was obviously so talented in that area—while Gilbert had only really been with two other people in all his eight hundred years of living. The fact that he was probably a little sub-par to Matthew was quite a kick to the ego, but he managed to ignore it just this once. He couldn't help that the blonde was part French.

Just as they started to part for breath, there was something that sounded like a click, and then a rush of air throughout the A/C system. Matthew and Gilbert both pulled apart just as the lights flickered back on, illuminating the entire house. Behind Gilbert, the TV suddenly sprang to life, exhibiting a meteorologist tracking the current storm. Neither of them bothered to look at or listen to him though.

Gilbert gently brushed a stray lock of hair out of Matthew's face. "Better?" He murmred, to which Matthew gave a light nod.

"Much…" Matthew replied, a light smile tugging at his lips. "You're blushing."

"S-so are you," Gilbert accused, starting to pull back a bit more. However Matthew still had his arms secured around him.

"No, I mean you're really blushing, Gilbert." Matthew started to smile widely, shoulders shaking with the onset of a laugh.

Gilbert pulled his lips into a thin line, pointedly looking away. "You shut your face." He grumbled, shoulders slumping. Matthew just laughed.

Suddenly Gilbert found himself pulled into a hug, face nestled into Matthew's neck as Matthew pressed his face into Gilbert's. "Thanks, Gil…" Matthew murmured, and Gilbert found himself at a loss for words. "I appreciate it a lot…"

"Y-yeah, well…" Gilbert fumbled for what to say. "Th-that's what the Awesome Me is here for, right?" He pulled back slightly, curiously glancing over Matthew's expression. The blonde had a soft smile on his face, blue-violet gaze shifting over Gilbert's own visage.

But then a large grin split across Matthew's face. "Oh my God, Gilbert. You need to see how red your face is."

"That's it. I'm leaving." Gilbert suddenly stood up. Matthew just cracked up laughing. "I can see where this is going and I don't like it. I'm out. I'm done. Can't do it. Nope. Nein."

Before Matthew could muster up a response between his fits of laughter, Gilbert was already half way up the stairs. "N-No! Wait! Gilbert, I d-didn't me-mean to…!" He was still laughing outrageously as he chased after the albino. "Come back! I'm sorry!"

"I don't believe you! I ain't listenin' to a word you have to say!"

"Oh, come on, Gil, I was only telling the tru-"

"La la la la! Can't here you, Matt. Gotta speak up to be heard!"

"Gilbert, you-!"

There was a loud thump upstairs as Matthew tackled Gilbert to the ground. A loud squawk echoed throughout the house along with Matthew's laughter.

Downstairs, the forecaster announced that the rain was well on its way out of Vancouver and that the cold front should only last a few more days. The lightening had stopped, and the thunder in the skies had finally silenced itself, moving on toward the mainland. All that was left was the light pitter patter of rain against the window panes.

End Note: So I should probably apologize for my inactivity. I'm finding it really hard to get anything out on paper ( which is making NaNoWriMo an utter bitch ) but I somehow managed to pull this out of my ear and slap it into print. I realize I still have a one-shot left that I owe, and I'm trying my hardest to get the damned thing typed out.

It just…isn't working. OTL So I might just draw a picture instead ( which, in my opinion, is so much easier and more awesome ).

Anyway, a few things about this fic, it IS a prequel. Sorta. It doesn't quite tie completely in with "Spiders in the Kitchen", but I managed to weave a little of it both into this fic. Sorta. Also, this fic ties in with "Canada's Journal" if you guys noticed. Geez, that story was written forever ago...Before i really got into the series actually.

It was also before I started thinking of Canada as MANada, but whatever. That's beside the point.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, Gilbert is…a little less uh…aggressive when it comes to things like kissing and stuff. This is because Gilbert has a rather extensive religious background. I can't see him as a very sexual guy until maybe the eighteen or nineteen hundreds (not to say he never had sex until then…that would be rather sad).

Uhm.

Yeup. I think that's about it. XD