This one-shot is inspired by the song Lovely by Twenty-One Pilots.
There was that fake smile again. Blonde curls reflected the harsh fluorescents of the meeting room and violet-blue eyes sparkled. "I'm fine," his sweet voice sang out softly. "Just thinking."
Gilbert Beilschmidt sighed. He knew better.
Of course, not technically being a nation anymore, the man formerly known as Prussia had plenty of time to tune out whatever boring political matter the other countries were currently discussing; therefore he had plenty of time to focus on him. Matthew Williams, the object of his affections for the past... what had it been? 150 years?
The man currently sitting beside his obnoxious American brother, fending off Francis' concerns for his mental wellbeing as he always did, participating quietly and nodding silently along with whatever was being said. To be quite frank, a part of Gilbert wished that Mattie didn't put up that strong front so often. Did he not realize that the other nation's representatives cared? Did he seriously still believe that nobody ever remembered him? Never mind that Gilbert made damn sure that didn't happen; Matthew had become almost impossible to ignore and push to the side after his incredible contribution to the allies in World War II.
He had made his mark, no matter what his insecurities told him. Canada, and Matthew by extension, had become noticeable, important, a force to be reckoned with. Gilbert told him this every opportunity he had and yet the tall young man still thought he was invisible.
It was tragic, in the German's opinion. He loudly proclaimed this to his stern brother, Ludwig, all the time back home in Berlin.
Deep down, however, in a selfish and deeply flawed corner of Gilbert's mind that he was far too arrogant and self-important to acknowledge, he liked being the only one of the nations to ever see Matthew's vulnerable side. He liked being the one who Mattie turned to- not the American asshole; not Angry Eyebrows; not even his slightly filthy-minded close friend, Francis, whom Gilbert would never trust with his precious vögelchen, matters on the frenchman having raised Matthew aside.
No, Gilbert was the one that the meek Canadian trusted in his weakest state, when he spilled out every dark thought that crossed his mind, when he confessed his feelings of constant inadequacy beside his powerful brother and sobbed into Gilbert's shoulder over his fears of failure and deep-seated self loathing. No matter how much it twisted Gilbert's heart to see his precious vögelchen in such a wretched state, all of that meant that Gilbert could be the one to whisper sweet nothings into the blonde's ear. Gilbert alone had the privilege of running his hand through Mattie's soft curly hair and telling him how lovely he truly was. Some may have seen that as a burden, to have to comfort Matthew in a mindset which made him very unlikely to trust any kind words anyone spoke to him, but Gilbert knew it was a gift.
Modern day foreign relations had demanded Matt spent much more time with his boss, and Gilbert cherished his alone time with the love of his life, no matter what they spent that time doing. He liked being the one to kiss Matthew in any place he could access, and he loved that he was the one, the only one, who could fall asleep with Matt curled against his chest, hand tangled in Gilbert's pale locks of hair and legs wrapped around his own. Sometimes, Gilbert didn't even need to say anything, and simply having Mattie asleep against him while a generic movie droned on in the background was enough for both of them.
It was a perfect kind of moment that Gilbert almost believed he didn't deserve, and thanks to Mattie, his life had been filled with them. Take now, for example: Matthew sat almost directly across from the pale man at the large oak table that filled the large office where Matthew and his boss handled their country's affairs. Ludwig sitting oblivious beside him as he spoke of Germany's new environmental bill or something, Gilbert was pulling the skin on his face at odd angles in an attempt to make the blonde boy laugh. The self-proclaimed Prussian really hated seeing Mattie sad, and thus, every time he was sad Gilbert went to every measure necessary to make him smile that breathtaking, genuine smile again. At the moment, Matthew was trying to stifle his giggles by resting his mouth across his palm, but he could see even from across the imposing table that the violet eyes he found so entrancing were losing the last traces of their melancholy to be replaced with shameless mirth.
These kind of moments, Gilbert thought to himself, really were his little secret, to be shared with Matthew and nobody else. These kind of moments made Gilbert thankful that he could act as the Canadian's guardian angel.
Yes, Matthew was insecure and it tore Gilbert apart sometimes, but in the end, it was Gilbert who was lucky enough to piece them both back together. And anyway, one day the albino knew that his birdie would see how lovely he was. Until then, well... Gilbert would just have to keep telling him.
So that was very short. My apologies! I didn't intend for the first chapter to be very long, especially since nothing really happens. The chapter is just Gilbert's own thoughts and reflecting on his relationship with Matthew. (I'm also terribly sorry if Gil seems a bit OOC. I wanted to explore his, erm, sensitive side.) A little run-down of how this is going to go:
-some chapters will be less than 1K words. some will be several thousand. there's really no telling until I've written and revised them.
-feel free to leave POLITE constructive criticism! one of the main reasons I've decided to write on here is to get feedback on my writing and tips to improve. please, though, don't feel obligated to review. it's enough to think that someone is reading and enjoying these.
-also feel free to request songs and even ships (but there's no guaranteeing I will write the ship you suggest. right off the bat, I can say that I will not write any PruHun, RusAme, Japan/America, Japan/Britain, LietBela or incest. Anything else please feel free to suggest!
-it's also worth noting that the majority of these will likely be PruCan, SpaMano, GerIta, USUK, SuFin, and RoChu, as well as a few others (TurkEgy, Turkey/Greece, Giripan, PoLiet, maybe some RusLiet but no promises).