SMALL SPOILER RIGHT HERE: I'm not sure whether or not Gilbert stays with Oz and Alice for a long time or not after the manga ends (because Vincent disappeared and Gilbert said how it wouldn't be long before he joined him, too) but Gil is gonna be in this fanfic a lot, so…. yeah. Enjoy ch. 2!

Pasta, TV, and The Fear of Cats

Oz and Alice were in the living room of the house, with Oz reading a book on cameras, and Alice lying on the couch, taking a long nap. Gilbert was cooking food in the adjacent room, the smell waking Alice from her sleep.

"Hey, Oz," Alice said with a yawn.

"Yes?"

"What's seaweed-head making?"

Oz smiled at Alice's nickname for Gil. "I think it's pasta."

"Pasta?" Alice asked in confusion.

Oz looked to Alice with wide eyes. "You've never had pasta?"

"Nope. What is it?"

Oz scratched the back of his head and explained. "Pasta is made up of noodles, which are… I'm not exactly sure how to explain it, but they're very good! And - sometimes people make pasta with meat sauce."

At the mention of meat, Alice jumped up and exclaimed in a loud voice, "I, the great Alice, will try this pasta!"

In the other room, Gilbert heard Alice loud and clear. "Shut up, stupid rabbit!" he shouted while mixing the pasta sauce in a heated pan.

"Argh, you shut up, seaweed-head!" Alice responded, pouting and sitting on the couch with an annoyed expression.

Oz could do nothing but laugh at the scene before him. He turned his attention to the TV, which Gil hadn't taught him how to use yet. "Hey, Gil!" he shouted towards the kitchen. "Can you show me how to use this… um…"

"-TV?" Oz heard Gilbert's voice as Gil came into the room to check on the two. "Or, also called a television. Most people call it a TV, though. Here, I'll show you how to use it."

Even Alice paid some attention to what seaweed-head was doing, for she was always curious about new things before her. Gil began by explaining what a TV was actually used for, and continued by showing them the TV remote and how to turn the TV on. When the screen lit up with all kinds of pictures, all Alice and Oz could do was watch in amazement.

"I kinda remember seeing something like this when we walked around once," Alice began to explain, "but I never really realized what it was at all."

Gilbert explained how to use the TV remote (and also having to show Alice that she had to point it at the TV, not at the ground.) He then showed them all kinds of popular channels, including the news channel, game show channel, etc. He let them play around with the TV before realizing that the pasta was still cooking in the kitchen.

Gil sprinted to the stove in the kitchen, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that the red pasta sauce was totally fine. He mixed it a bit more, adding spices for enhanced flavor. Once in awhile he'd check on Oz and Alice, laughing when he saw them fussing over channels or remote buttons and whatnot. After another couple minutes, the pasta was nearly ready. Gil just had to combine the sauce and noodles.

"Oz! This channel is all about cooking meat! WE MUST WATCH IT!" Gil overheard Alice shout out.

"Alice, do you ever need anything other than meat in your life?" Oz asked back in a more sarcastic tone, but with a smile on his face.

"Of course I do! Don't you know, Oz? We're best friends! And I guess seaweed-head is too, since he always helps us. And you help me too, Oz! So, therefore, we are close friends!"

Alice's sudden outburst startled Oz (and Gil, who was eavesdropping). Oz scratched the back of his head. "Aw, gee," he said quietly. "I never knew we were so close, Alice. I'm glad we're great friends, 'cause you helped me a lot, too."

Alice smiled brightly and with pride exclaimed, "I'll always help you if you ever need me! And don't keep secrets from me, because if there's something wrong, you need to tell me! If there's a word for being closer than close friends, then that will be us!"

Closer than close friends..? Oz wondered what that would be. Super close friends? Mega-ultimate close friends? He shook his head, knowing that there was a much better term for this…

"Hey, the food's done!" Alice and Oz heard Gilbert shout from the kitchen.

"Yes! Come on, Oz!" Alice grabbed Oz's hand as they ran into the small dining room, which consisted of one wooden table and four chairs. Alice and Oz sat on one side, while Gilbert sat on the other, eyeing the two. Turns out, he had heard the entire conversation. He soon forgot about it when Alice scooped up much more food onto her plate than he would have liked her to.

"What are you doing, stupid rabbit?! That food's for all of us, not just you!"

"I don't see a problem with it. There's enough food for you and Oz."

"Yes, but…"

"I have to say I agree with Alice on this one," Oz said with a small smile.

"Haha! See, even Oz agrees, and he's your master, so you have to listen to him!" Alice told Gilbert with a smirk.

"..."

It turned out that there was enough food for Gil and Oz, and Alice very much enjoyed the pasta, it being her first time trying it. She, of course, added a lot of the meat sauce onto her noodles, but Gil and Oz didn't mind. Soon enough, the three were extremely full.

"Ughhh, I think my stomach is trying to reject the food…" Alice groaned as her stomach ached. She walked out of the kitchen and to the living room, where she watched the TV. After a couple minutes, she passed out on the couch.

Gil and Oz were still sitting in the kitchen.

"Hey, Oz." Oz looked to Gilbert, who seemed very nervous for some strange reason.

"What's wrong?" he questioned worriedly.

Gil stuttered as he spoke. "W-Well, I was going to go to the flower shop by the park, but the - very kind, of course! - lady there… well…" Oz motioned Gil to continue. "... She has cats. A lot of cats."

There was a moment of silence before Oz began laughing loudly enough to wake up Alice, who angrily stomped to her bedroom for a moment of quiet-time. Gil was super embarrassed, his face turning very red and his voice shaking as he spoke.

"H-Hey, stop it. You know I don't like c-cats!" Oz still continued laughing, and Gil almost passed out in embarrassment.

"No, no, it's fine," Oz began, wiping his eyes of tears. "I just haven't been so happy in such a long, long time. Being with you and Alice, without the fear of danger always near us, it makes me feel so relieved and glad. I hope it'll always be like this."

"Me too," Gilbert said with a big smile. "Now, we should go now before the shop closes!"

"Wait," Oz thought of Alice. "We should ask Alice if she wants to come with us."

Gil sighed. "Fine. She'll probably try to eat the flowers, though."

Alice ended up joining the two, obviously not tired anymore. The trio made their way to the shop -trying to avoid cats as much as possible- and spent the rest of the remaining day decorating the house with flowers of every color.

Hope you enjoyed Ch. 2, and see you next time!