Day 1 Challenge: Holding Hands
Title: "Doll Face"
Enjoy
Gilbert lost a bet. He thought Ludwig and Feliciano would be together in three weeks, while Francis and Antonio thought it would only be two. He lost. Good for Ludwig, bad for Gilbert. Now he was at the mercy of his friends, two thirds of the Bad Touch Trio. They were walking through the mall, Gilbert with his hands tucked securely in his pockets while Antonio walked in front of him and Francis behind him, to make sure he didn't try to run for it. Whenever the trio made a bet, they never said what would happen if someone lost, because then they wouldn't want to even go into the bet in the first place. The idea Gilbert had if he won involved streaking and rainbows, if that gives any indication.
Now, Gilbert just had to wait and wonder what the hell his friends came up with on their side of the bet. Neither of them were even trying to hold back wicked grins as they walked through the mall. People brushed past them, some of them knowing the trio from school and either admiring as they walked by, or running away as fast as possible. That was how you could tell the difference between the ones that actually knew them and the ones that got too close. The Trio didn't exactly have many friends outside of their small group.
Finally, they stopped in front of a rather large store. Gilbert had seen it many times before and made fun of the poor suckers that wasted their time and money on something so stupid. Above the entrance, in bright, green neon, was the word "Dolls." Gilbert bit back a groan as they walked into the store. It could be worse, he reminded himself. Antonio went ahead to talk to the man behind the desk while Francis stood next to him. This was the place where people desperate enough for a date went.
Dolls lined the walls around them, all of them with their eyes closed, as if they were sleeping. Gilbert knew none of them were alive, but they all had artificial intelligence. They were there to give the customer as much satisfaction as possible. Life-sized, fake people for the most desperate people that couldn't even land a date. Gilbert was attractive, he wasn't going to lie, all three of the Bad Touch Trio were attractive, he could get himself a date if he really tried.
"So this is what you two came up with?" Gilbert scoffed with a smirk. "How un-awesome."
"Just wait," Francis hummed happily with a smile on his face. He admired the dolls as well, looking far too long at the boobs on some of the girl dolls. Gilbert rolled his eyes and slouched against the wall while he waited for Antonio to stop talking to the manager or whoever the hell was behind that desk. Gilbert didn't really care. The faster he could get this stupid bet thing over with, the better.
Finally, Antonio and the person behind the desk walked over through the dolls, talking to each other idly. The one they stopped in front of, however, made Gilbert's blood run cold.
"No," Gilbert muttered, standing up straight while Francis chuckled behind him. "No fucking way, man. You can't do that to me."
"You lost your bet, mon ami," Francis hummed happily.
Gilbert groaned, throwing his head back dramatically just as a few, giggling girls with a little too much weight walked into the store. He had made the mistake a little while ago of coming out to his best friends. He was gay, or bisexual, or whatever the hell. All that mattered was that he found certain guys attractive. Sure, his friends were supportive while Gilbert was freaking out about it. Now that he'd come to terms with it, however, that meant that they had free reign to mess with him for it. The doll Antonio had chosen was, in fact, a male.
"Fuck both of you," Gilbert glared at him while Antonio beckoned him over. Gilbert grumbled under his breath as he joined his friend and the employee. He was sure that people at this store were trained to not make fun of anyone they saw, since this was a store for the insecure and the desperate. Now Gilbert looked insecure and desperate to everyone in this fucking store.
"This is one of our best sellers," the man explained to both of them while Gilbert looked at the doll. He was cute, that much he would give him. Gilbert didn't even know what his type of boy was, but he had no doubt that Antonio and Francis could come together to figure out his type in a matter of minutes. He had kind of long, wavy blonde hair and had a soft, boyish face. He was wearing normal clothing, thank God. A large, red sweatshirt and jeans. "A lot of people like his shy demeanor and small chivalrous acts."
"Yeah, yeah, cut to the chase," Gilbert sighed, arms crossed over his chest. Antonio laughed beside him while the employee messed with a few controls on the stand the doll was standing against. After a few seconds, the doll opened his eyes, blinking only a few times, before focusing on Gilbert, who stood right in front of him. Gilbert was a little shocked at the gorgeous indigo eyes that he saw in front of him, but made sure he didn't say anything to give anything away to Antonio.
"Hello," the doll said quietly, obviously a little uncomfortable with the direct eye contact they were sharing. "My name is Matthew."
"Gilbert."
"It's good to meet you, Gilbert," Matthew smiled shyly. So this was what was popular with the desperate people, huh? It made a little sense, Gilbert figured. They wanted someone just as socially awkward as them, maybe even more so.
"Basic rules with the dolls," the employee said and Matthew didn't even seem to notice he was there. "No physical contact aside from hand holding and hugs. Sexual acts are forbidden at the risk of an additional fine and a ban from the store. Bear in mind this doll has been and will be at the hands of other customers and act accordingly."
"I get the gist of it," Gilbert sigh and Antonio snickered beside him.
"The allotted time you have paid for is an hour," the employee continued, glaring slightly at Gilbert, who glared right back at him. "The doll will give you a five minute warning. If the doll is not back at the store after the allotted time has passed, you will have an additional fine and be temporarily banned from the store. Questions or concerns should be addressed to-"
"Fuck this," Gilbert rolled his eyes and swiftly held onto Matthew's wrist before pulling him towards the entrance of the store.
"We paid good money for this one, Gilbert!" Francis chimed after him and he and Antonio shared a good laugh while Gilbert rolled his eyes and continued to pull Matthew through the mall.
"Where are we going?" Matthew asked quietly, his voice hardly heard over the sound of the other shoppers at the mall.
"I don't know," Gilbert sighed. "Just away from that stupid store." He stopped when they were beside a small store. The crowd wasn't large there, most of them walking along the main hallway of the mall.
"What do you want to do?" Matthew asked with a very adorable smile. Gilbert had to admit that the guy was cute, but he was a doll, not even human. He was preprogrammed to make people want to go out with him.
"Cut the generic shit with me," Gilbert sighed. "I'm supposed to rate you or whatever the hell after I'm done and if you're just going to say something to please me or something you're already programmed to say, I'll give you a low rating." Gilbert inwardly groaned at himself. That wasn't even much of a threat, anyway.
"You're…different from the others," Matthew said and Gilbert raised an eyebrow. That was definitely something he didn't expect.
"Aren't you not supposed to remember other people?" Gilbert asked. He didn't know much about these dolls, since he didn't pay much attention, but he'd heard that they were programmed to only think on that one date, the memories of other ones would be wiped out as soon as they were over.
"Yes," Matthew nodded carefully. "I'm…different from other dolls. The only reason I know that is because one person hired two at once. The other one was a girl. That man broke the rules, but the girl didn't seem to care. The man liked me better because I fought back."
"Interesting," Gilbert mused, looking at him carefully. He tried to ignore the shiver that went down his spine at the idea that someone broke the rules with this doll. He didn't even know what rules that guy broke, but it didn't seem like it could have been anything good. "Let's get some food or something."
"I can't eat," Matthew said.
"Will it do something bad to whatever's inside you?" Gilbert asked.
"I don't think so," Matthew shook his head. "One girl got carried away and forced me to drink a shake with her. Nothing bad happened."
"I won't force you to do anything, don't worry," Gilbert smirked. "But I'm starving, so if you wouldn't mind going with me…"
"I don't mind at all," Matthew shook his head. Gilbert let out a small sigh, realizing that was probably a pre-programmed thing inside of him. He couldn't exactly deny anything except, apparently, something breaking the rules. Gilbert swiped Matthew's hand in his own, deciding to go ahead and go through with the date without breaking any of the rules. He'd been on dates before and hand holding was something normally done.
People in the mall went through their business as usual, a lot of them not even knowing that Matthew wasn't actually a human or alive. A few of them recognized the doll and gave Gilbert an understanding nod, apparently thinking he was socially awkward and needed to pay for a date with a virtual personality. Gilbert scoffed.
"Do you not like the idea of this service?" Matthew asked carefully.
"I just think it's stupid that people are desperate enough to need dolls," Gilbert sighed. "I mean, originally, if you needed to pay for a date, you got a prostitute, but now they have dolls to do that work. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, really, until stores like yours are made without the rules."
"Why are you here if you do not think you're desperate?" Matthew asked and Gilbert quirked an eyebrow.
"I never said I didn't think I was desperate," Gilbert smiled slightly, holding onto the hand just a little tighter. He was starting to like this doll.
"Your demeanor tells me that you're too self-confident to admit to anything like that, even if you were that desperate," Matthew smiled.
"Okay, I lost a bet with my friends and that's the only reason I'm here," Gilbert said proudly. He wanted to cross his arms proudly over his chest, but that would involve letting go of Matthew's hand. And he really didn't want to do that. "I'm not desperate, never will be. If I wanted a date, I could easily get one."
"I'm programmed to read people to find out what it is that they want from me," Matthew explained. "I can tell when a person is lying and there was a small part of what you just said that was a lie."
"Whatever," Gilbert muttered. "Tell me something you like."
"Changing the subject, then," Matthew giggled and Gilbert stopped himself from smiling at how adorable it both looked and sounded. "I like hockey. There was one customer that had me watch hockey with him and I really liked that."
"Awesome," Gilbert smirked. And, before he could stop himself, "I like cute things. I have this little pet bird, who's adorable. And this adorable Italian kid that likes my brother, I like him, too."
"Do you like me?" Matthew asked.
"Of course, your fucking adorable." The words spilled out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He stopped in the middle of the hallway, Matthew stopping with him. Angry shoppers shoved into them as they past while Gilbert's face quickly heated up. "I…uh, I didn't really…"
"Thank you," Matthew smiled. "That was a nice compliment. I like you, too."
"Is that just pre-programmed?" Gilbert asked curiously.
"Actually, in order to prevent certain customers from getting too attached, I'm not even supposed to say things like that," Matthew mused.
"Looks like you break rules, too, huh?" Gilbert smiled.
Gilbert cackled from his seat at the food court, half eaten pizza forgotten while he talked with Matthew. The doll was actually really hilarious when he wanted to be. His voice was still soft and he definitely still seemed shy, but that was a personality feature that Gilbert supposed Matthew would never get rid of. Gilbert refused to let go of Matthew's hand, holding onto it over the table as they continued to talk.
"I should tell you," Matthew muttered quickly. "You were talking during the five minute warning and I didn't want to interrupt you."
"Wait, how much time does that leave?" Gilbert asked. Matthew just smiled before he closed his eyes and fell limp in the chair. "Matthew!" Gilbert stood up from where he sat, Matthew's hand limply falling out of his. "Dammit…" Gilbert muttered and quickly walked over to him. If the time was up, that meant he'd probably get fined or something, so he should head back. He quickly picked him up and started walking. Luckily, it wasn't a far walk to the doll store.
He got a few odd looks as he passed people by, but he paid them no mind as he continued on. Just in front of the store, he ran into Francis and Antonio, who were previously sitting down, leaning against the wall of the store. Upon seeing him, however, they immediately stood up.
"Did you have a little too good of a time?" Francis chuckled.
"What were you two doing for so long? I figured you would have been back long ago to return him," Antonio gave a knowing smirk.
"Shut the hell up," Gilbert sighed, looking down at Matthew. He looked like he was sleeping, but the face was too perfect. It was obvious that he was a machine like this, shut down until the next time he would be used by someone else. Maybe intent on breaking the rules. Gilbert gritted his teeth as he entered the store.
"We were just about to send someone after you." The same employee was still there and Gilbert rolled his eyes.
"Relax, I just lost track of time," Gilbert rolled his eyes and quickly moved to return Matthew to his stand where he was just an hour before. He stood perfectly still on it.
"Since you returned him and it was only a few minutes, you will not be fined this time," the employee said, typing on some computer.
"What do you mean this time?" Gilbert scoffed as a girl with a too obvious tan came in and immediately ran over to Matthew, apparently excited for their next date. She gushed over how adorable he was.
"I will see you next time you come for a date," the man hummed and moved over to talk to the girl, obviously a favored customer.
"Fuck both of you," Gilbert growled, leaving the store and glaring at his two friends. "I lose the bet so you basically make me come out to the whole fucking mall?"
"But did you have fun?" Antonio asked.
Gilbert sighed.
"Oh, he had fun," Francis chuckled. "And he'll be coming back. I know it."
"Shut the hell up," Gilbert rolled his eyes while Francis wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"You don't deny it," Francis hummed, looking at him closely. "How interesting."
"Fuck off," Gilbert muttered and didn't deny his friends when they went off to buy some ice cream. Gilbert had to force himself to not look back at the store. He didn't want to chance watching Matthew walk around with that chick.
There were 10 other dates. 10 other people. Matthew didn't like them as much as he had liked Gilbert. He was very sad when he had blacked out for just a second, but he was met with that girl, Ashley, instead of Gilbert. But he continued his job like he was programmed. He went through the motions, putting on that smile. Ashley tried on clothes for an hour and Matthew said she looked great in everything. Martin talked to him for a while about how he and his wife were getting a divorce and he didn't know what to do, so Matthew gave him words of encouragement. Lucy and Meg fought over him and he assured them that they were equally beautiful. So on and so forth. They all blurred together.
Matthew admitted to himself that Gilbert wouldn't be coming back. He didn't like the idea of the doll store in the first place. But holding someone else's hand just didn't feel right. Talking to them as he was programmed was forced. He would prefer to be more like himself, as much as the programming would allow him. Gilbert let him be like that.
George broke the rules. And Tina after him. They were both fined and banned because of video proof. Matthew took video of every date so that they could make sure no one broke rules. But they didn't do anything to the dolls after someone broke rules. They cleaned them up, if that was necessary, but Matthew was never awake for that.
Finally, Matthew opened his eyes and was met with a smiling albino.
"Hello," Matthew said, his programming taking over for him while he fought not to do anything stupid in front of the employee beside them. "My name is Matthew."
"Gilbert," the albino smirked and Matthew smiled. Gilbert held out a hand for him. "What do you say, doll face? Wanna go on another date with me?"
That's right! I'm doing a 30 day challenge! I'm doin' it and I'm gonna rock it! Basically, I did this because I realized it's becoming impossible for me to come up with a one-shot, and so I gave myself a challenge to get back into the one-shot groove. All of them have been planned out for a while, because I decided to do this while writing two stories and once. It took roughly three hours, but I was able to plan all 30 days. And I've decided to start this one Matthew's birthday because I've skipped his in favor of Alfred's two years in a row now and so I owe him this much.
Anyway, this was the first day and I've wanted to do this AU for quite some time and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Especially at the end! Gilbert's such a dork! An adorable as all hell dork. You can think about what happened after this all you want. Maybe Gilbert found some way to spring him out of the store to have him for himself, maybe he threatened anyone else that tried to take Matthew out on a date, who knows.
I plan on all of these being interesting and a few of them took so long for me to come up with an interesting AU for (like cuddling, making out, and genderbent, to name a few) and I hope they're enjoyable to all of you!
Tomorrow's challenge is Cuddling Somewhere. It's titled "Minefield." See you then!
I do not and never will own Hetalia. Not mine. Never mine.