+ Raul and Mathilda. Possibly two of the most dithering people ever to exist. Put them together, and they're worse than ever. Oneshot.

+ Warnings: Dithering. Lots of it.

+ Disclaimer: I own it not.

+ A/N: Silv3r Ang3l's request.


Ditherers

When it gets to that stage in a relationship where it's time to move things along a bit further, it's usually pretty awkward. Even more so for the relationship in question. For Raul and Mathilda, it had taken at least three days for them to admit that they liked each other. When it came to holding hands, Mathilda would squeal every time Raul's hand neared her.

It was pretty frustrating for people to watch, and Julia had gotten so fed up of Raul and Mathilda, that she had forced their hands together, and taped them up so they couldn't pull apart. It had seemed to do the job, because now the two could hold hands without any trouble, though Mathilda did still turn red every time they did.

When it came to kissing, the most Raul had done was kiss Mathilda's cheek. And she had nearly fainted when he had done that. Needless to say, he hadn't tried to kiss her fully on the mouth, yet. He feared she might actually die. But, Julia had noticed that Raul and Mathilda's relationship was yet again going nowhere, and had decided to talk to her little brother about things.

"Raul, don't you think it's time that you and Mathilda moved things along again?" Julia asked.

"I would. But every time I try and get my face anywhere near hers, she squeals and moves about ten feet away," Raul replied, sighing.

"You don't loom over her like a big looming thing, do you?" Julia asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, how else am I supposed to try and kiss her?"

"Not by looming. No wonder she moves away."

"Well... how should I try to kiss her, then?"

"I don't know... just... slowly. Without looming."

Raul was meeting Mathilda that very afternoon, and felt that his sister could've given him some better advice in preparation for that afternoon. He frowned, and tried thinking about how he couldn't instigate a proper kiss without his looming. He could not think of a single thing, and just knew that the afternoon probably wouldn't end well.

When he went around to Mathilda's that afternoon, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. He knocked on the door, and waited for Mathilda to answer. In his mind, he was going over all of the possible things he could to say or do to make a kiss happen, but his mind was still drawing blanks.

Mathilda answered, and Raul moved forward to give her a hug. When they broke apart, Mathilda's face was as red as a burning sunset. Just from this, Raul knew the kiss was going to be difficult. Hell, everything about their relationship had been difficult so far.

"Are you okay?" Mathilda asked, as she led Raul into the lounge.

"Yeah... are you?"

"Of course... you seem a little quiet..."

"No, I'm okay. Just thinking about things, that's all."

"Oh, okay. Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure," Raul replied, shrugging.

As Mathilda hurried into the kitchen to get a couple of drinks, Raul's brain went back into overdrive. Maybe he could sneak an arm around her shoulders, and... no. She'd scream. Maybe he could say she had something on her mouth... no. She'd run upstairs to the bathroom to make sure she didn't.

Mathilda returned with the drinks, and sat down next to Raul, placing two lemonades on the table in front of them. Everything fell quiet between them, Mathilda staring off into space in front of her, and Raul twiddling his thumbs.

"So, erm..." Raul began, not quite sure of what he wanted to say.

"Er, well... do you like... I dunno... want to, er..."

"Well, er... we could, er..."

Oh God. Everything in Raul's mind was spinning as he realise that they'd begun to dither. They could go on for this for hours, and not actually have a proper conversation.

"Mathilda, we could, er, you know, go a bit, er, further and, er, kiss and stuff, you know..."

"We can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because, er, you know... it's, er..."

"Mathilda, we should just try it."

"Okay..."

Even though Mathilda had agreed to try and kiss Raul, Raul himself knew that it would possibly take hours to even have just a peck. He slowly leaned in towards Mathilda, his face nearing hers, and tried not to loom too much. He was just inches away, when-

"Eeeeeee! No! I, er, can't do it!"

"Oh, come on Mathilda! We were so close!"

"Well, er... we could, erm, try again, I guess..."

Raul leaned in once again, and was so close to kissing Mathilda, when the girl let out another high-pitched squeal, and launched herself backwards so hard that she fell off the couch.

For the next hour and a half, things continued like that. Them getting so close to having their first kiss, and then either Mathilda or Raul messing it up. Mathilda's ditheringness had begun to rub off on Raul. Badly.

Multiple times, Miguel stuck his head around the lounge door to see how the couple were getting on. He had lost count of the times he had tutted at them. If they didn't kiss each other soon, he would have to take matters into his own hands...

Miguel watched from the doorway as the two neared again. He watched as Raul's face scrunched up (attractive...) and just knew that this wouldn't be the one time they kissed. He was right, because as soon as they were about an inch away from each other, Raul seemed to spontaneously combust and jolt backwards.

This was ridiculous.

"Right, you two. I've had enough," Miguel said, storming into the room.

"You were watching us?!" Mathilda exclaimed, her arms flapping, and her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Yes, but it's more interesting watching two fish swim backwards!" Miguel replied. "I can't stand anymore of your dithering!"

"We don't dither," Raul said.

"No, not much. If you two don't kiss right now, I might just have to force you."

Mathilda and Raul exchanged a glance. They could tell from the look on Miguel's face that he was serious. But was this the only way to get their relationship to go further? By getting their friends to give them a prod in the arse? Figuratively speaking, of course.

The couple leaned in again, very aware of the fact that Miguel was watching them with beady eyes. Suddenly, trying to kiss one another seemed so much more awkward than before. The two pulled away before they even really neared each other, causing Miguel to groan and grab at his hair in frustration.

"You. Two. Are. So. Annoying!" Miguel said.

Mathilda and Raul stared as Miguel advanced on them. Both gave a slight gasp in shock as Miguel grabbed their heads, and forced their faces into each other's.

"YOU WILL KISS!" Miguel roared.

It was easy to say that Miguel had officially lost the plot. He released their heads, and Mathilda and Raul pulled away from each other, gasping. Of all the first kisses to have, they were not expecting that one.

"Miguel! What did you do that for?!" Mathilda exclaimed.

"Because if I didn't give you both a shove, you'd be there for days trying to snog!" Miguel replied, shrugging.

Miguel shuffled out of the room, and Mathilda and Raul watched him leave before turning back towards one another.

"So, ready for round two?" Raul asked, grinning.

"Yeah... no dithering this time," Mathilda replied, smiling.

And there was no dithering ever again. Okay, so that's a lie. Their next kiss involved no dithering whatsoever, but sleeping together took three years. Their marriage was one big ditherama, and having kids was even worse. But at least they had each other to dither with.


+ A/N: Cue shitty ending. I don't know why Miguel popped up. The bastard.