02
- NEW ROUTINE -
When Tuesday came, Matthew found himself seated at the dining table, tiny legs dangling a good three or four inches off the ground as he watched Gilbert cook.
It wasn't as if he had much say in the matter. If Matthew were capable, he would force Gilbert to sit down instead, but due to certain…circumstances…Matthew was currently unable to do so. It didn't exactly help that Gilbert had suddenly gone into a very over-protective mode.
Prime example of such: Just minutes before, Matthew had been standing on a stepping stool cooking breakfast. Even with the added leverage, he was still a little short and had to work extra hard to keep the pan from slipping through his fingers and onto the ground. Gilbert had walked in, took one look at the boy, and then burst out into a barrage of frantic yells and flailing, and ordering Matthew to, "Get off that fucking chair or you'll end up BURNING YOUR FACE OFF!"
And so Matthew was whisked away by a pair of large pale hands that had slipped beneath his arms and deposited into a chair at the dining table. No questions asked other than the startled, "Wha!?" That managed to slip through the young Canadian's lips. Gilbert gave him a cold stare, turned around, and then quickly picked up cooking from where Matthew had left off.
Matthew more or less felt very annoyed however. Annoyed, angry, and a little hurt.
"Gil, I can cook fine you know…" He mumbled as he laid his head down on the table. Absently, he began swinging his feet back and forth. The frying pan sizzled as Gilbert poked at the sausage and eggs.
"Regardless of if you can cook or not, you could have fallen or something."
"I could've gotten back u-"
"Fallen and taken the frying pan with you." Gilbert looked over his shoulder and leveled a steely glare at the small child sitting at the table. "Not the best way to start off a day, even if you'd heal rather quickly…" He huffed, his shoulders falling lax and shifting his weight to his left foot before turning back to the food. Matthew said nothing, opting to fall silent as well and trace patters onto the table with his little fingers.
"I was doing fine…" He grumbled, but Gilbert didn't hear him as he cracked another egg over the frying pan and the sound of sizzling filled the room.
The breakfast was eaten in a sort of awkward silence. Matthew was fumbling with his fork, not used to the utensil being so big in his hands. Gilbert was constantly getting distracted by the way Matthew's cheeks would puff out or how his eyebrows would furrow together when the fork slipped in his fingers just as he was about to take a bite.
He just wasn't used to Matthew being so small.
That was it…
…Really…
Matthew broke Gilbert from his trance when he set his fork down rather loudly. He bit his lip and looked up at the Albino with wide blue-violet eyes. "Uhm…Gil, I'm gonna need new clothes…"
Gilbert took a moment to respond, furrowing his eyebrows and sitting up a little straighter. "Wah?" He hadn't even swallowed yet…
"I need new clothes." Matthew repeated as he fiddled with the over sized shirt draped over his shoulders. "All of my clothes are too big now and all I can fit into are the shirts." He paused briefly to pull the sleeve up on one side as it was slowly starting to slip off of his shoulder –Gilbert didn't miss that small action at all— and then continued. "And I don't think I have any of my old clothes either…" He glanced up from his plate to look up at Gilbert.
The albino seemed to be in his own world of some sort, eyes somewhat distant and absently chewing on his food. "So…You want to go…shopping…?" He asked slowly.
Matthew nodded stiffly.
"I…uh…" Gilbert set his fork down and leaned back in his chair. Sighing heavily, he scratched the back of his head and stared hard at the table. "What exactly do you need?"
"A shirt and some pants…Maybe shoes as well…" A brief pause before he added in, "And a jacket since it's cold outside."
"Anything else…?"
"Erm…U-underwear…" Matthew looked down at the table sheepishly. It was a miracle he didn't have to go running about the house in his "birthday suit". Silently, he thanked whatever god there was out there that it hadn't been Gilbert who was a turned into a child. There would have been many chasings of a naked albino boy through the house if it had been said man.
Gilbert pressed his lips into a thin line. "And how do you expect to go outside in that?" He waved a flippant hand towards Matthew's current attire.
The whole outfit Matthew was wearing consisted of an over sized hockey jersey and absolutely nothing else…
Matthew blushed deeply and brought a hand up to his face, covering his mouth slightly. "U-uhm…I'm sure…we can find something…"
Gilbert sighed deeply and slumped in his chair. "I suppose…" He grumbled. "But you owe me kid…" Matthew smiled timidly. "But we'll have to go tomorrow…" He added in. "We've gotta find something for you to wear out there…"
"O-oh…I suppose I can wait…" Matthew mumbled. He pulled at the jersey slightly and frowned.
"Yeah. Francis gave me a few days off because he thinks you're sick, so we've got a lot of free time. We should be able to find something for you to wear." Gilbert paused to take a bite of his sausage. "Also, I called up eyebrows earlier. He's gonna come over for a lil' chat around six o'clock."
Matthew's head snapped up, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "Wha-WHAT!?"
Gilbert merely grinned, standing up and scooping up their plates before walking off.
Matthew was left at the dinner table utterly alone and suddenly dreading the day ahead of him.
There was no way he could see Arthur like this.
It just wasn't possible…
-----
Gilbert and Matthew suddenly found themselves falling into a rather crude version of their usual daily routine. When the German wasn't working, he would stay at home and relax with Matthew, occasionally doing chores or going out for a walk if the boredom ate at his conscience too much.
So far, Matthew had been proven incapable of successfully doing the laundry, as he could hardly get the clothes in the washer now. It didn't help that he had to drag the laundry basket instead of carry it. When Matthew had attempted to drag the laundry basket downstairs, Gilbert had intervened and lifted it up underneath one arm.
Matthew had pouted, but followed Gilbert downstairs only to be told that Gilbert would "take care of it."
Matthew was most definitely not amused.
So Gilbert ended up doing the laundry, and Matthew was forced to sit on the couch watching a movie that he didn't quite understand as he wasn't paying much attention to it.
Matthew continued sitting on the couch for a majority of the day as Gilbert did the things he deemed the little boy too small to do. This included dishes, wiping off the dinner table after they had eaten lunch, making the bed, and other such chores that normally the Prussian wouldn't even think of doing if it weren't for the fact that he was so stressed.
So he took out said stress on doing menial tasks about the house. If he had the option, he would have gladly sat down in his chair and chugged beer for the rest of the day, but the fridge was a little short on booze…
So he cleaned.
All. Day. Long.
It was about four o'clock when Gilbert finally collapsed on the couch next to Matthew. The little Canadian said nothing, merely pulling his tiny legs close to his chest and leveling a rather ferocious glare at the albino as he draped an arm over his face.
"I really need a beer." Gilbert grumbled.
Matthew narrowed his eyes until they were nearly slits. "You think I don't? I wouldn't mind a few shots of Vodka myself but—oh wait! I'm too small now, aren't I?"
The sarcasm dripping off of every word actually sent shivers down Gilbert's spine and suddenly he was reminded of another northern country; One that was rather tall and intimidating and had a freakish smile that never reached his cold, violet eyes. He lifted his arm slightly, cracking an eye open to look at Matthew before he finally assessed that, yes, Matthew was indeed very pissed.
Matthew almost never got angry unless Gilbert was doing something stupid. ( Admittedly, Gilbert did do a lot of stupid things…but… )
"Stop treating me like a kid." Matthew grumbled, turning his focus back to the television.
Gilbert sat up, crossing his legs and propping his head up with his hand. "Do you really think you can reach the sink with those little legs?" Gilbert asked. Matthew didn't respond so he continued. "And you can't quite reach the whole table either."
"Your point…?" Matthew mumbled, his chin was planted in the nook between his knees.
"I'm saying you can't do those things now because you're not tall enough."
"But you don't have to treat me like a kid Gilbert! Christ, I can still do something around here!" Matthew suddenly lifted his head and glared at Gilbert.
The Prussian frowned slightly. "Like what…?"
Matthew opened his mouth to respond but just as quickly as it had opened, shut it. He bit his lip, anger suddenly deteriorating as he sank into the cushions of the couch. "I…" He tried, but his brain failed to provide a reasonable response to Gilbert's question.
Gilbert seemed as if he had been expecting such and smiled pleasantly, looking completely and utterly full of himself.
Matthew only wished he could slap that expression off the albino's face. Wished, and wished hard.
"You'll have to get used to it for now, Vögelchen." Gilbert reached out with a pale hand to muss up the little Canadian's hair. Matthew flushed at the contact, and sank lower in his seat.
"Just…don't get used to it…" Matthew mumbled. "I don't like being treated like a kid…"
Gilbert laughed and wrapped his arms around the tiny waist, pulling Matthew into his lap. "No such luck, kid. You're too cute."
Matthew protested loudly, kicking his legs and balling his tiny hands into fists and Gilbert erupted into raucous laughter. Matthew's too large shirt suddenly found itself riding up until it exposed a rather…vital part.
Matthew let out a horrified yell and hastily yanked the shirt back down. "DAMN IT GILBERT!" He hollered, but the Prussian continued laughing, lanky arms holding the small Canadian close to him.
-----
Arthur, being the very proper gentlemen that he was, arrived promptly at six o'clock that evening. He pushed the doorbell once, and then waited patiently with his hands folded neatly at the small of his back. Gilbert opened the door, frowning slightly when he was met face to face with two large bushy caterpillars.
He adjusted his gaze, tilting his head down a good forty-five degrees to look Arthur eye to eye.
"Either you let me in and explain, or I'll just turn around and leave and send you a bill for the gas money I just waisted." Arthur grumbled.
Gilbert's lips twitched in the beginnings of a smirk as he opened the door wider and stepped aside to allow the Brit inside. "Keep your head on, brows, it was worth the drive. Trust me."
Arthur scoffed, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at the Albino. "I highly doubt that, Kraut."
"Whatever, Bushes. Take a seat in the living room." Gilbert waved his hand lazily as he meandered into the Kitchen. Arthur gave the man an apprehensive look before he did as instructed.
"Bloody idiot, calling me out here on such short notice." Arthur murmured as he slipped his jacket off and hung it on the coat rack. He slowly made his way into the living room, glancing about the old house and taking in the many pictures hanging on the walls. There was one particular one, sitting on a table behind the couch that caught his eye, one of Matthew and Gilbert smiling brightly at the Camera. It was takin' at a beach of some sort, Gilbert in nothing but his black and white swim trunks, and Matthew in his red ones with a white shirt covering his torso.
He didn't know what was so strange about the picture to make him stare at it for so long, but perhaps it was because the smile on Matthew's face wasn't one he had seen often.
He had only seen it when the Canadian was with Gilbert…
Sighing heavily, Arthur stepped around the couch to take a seat.
He froze, however, when he saw a small child staring up at him. The blue-violet eyes were wide with horror and his little mouth hung open, cheeks ablaze and tiny hands clinging to the over sized hockey jersey draped over his thin shoulders. Arthur stood there for several moments, staring back at the child with wide, forest green eyes before he let out a strangled noise from the back of his throat.
"Wh-WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO!?!?"
In a split second, Arthur had gone from the living room to the Kitchen, gripping the wooden doorway like it was his life line. His face was already turning red as he glared at the Prussian who promptly shrugged in response and handed him a glass of tea.
"I was hoping you'd be able to answer that question for me, caterpillars."
"M-ME!? ARE YOU BLOODY KIDDING ME!?!? AND STOP CALLING ME THOSE BLASTED NAMES!" Arthur curled his hands into his hair, hunching over. "Bugger, Gilbert! You better give me an answer! WHY IS THERE A CHILD IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!"
Gilbert sniffed indignantly, taking a large drink of his own beverage ( black coffee for lack of a better substitute for the missing booze ) "I knocked Mattie up a while ago. Forgot to tell you we had a kid. Ha ha. My bad." He deadpanned.
"G-GILBERT!" This shriek was not from Arthur, however the young boy who had suddenly appeared behind said Brit. The boy squeezed past and slammed a small fist irately against the Albino's stomach. "D-DON'T SAY THAT!" The barrage that followed only managed to elicit a laugh from the Prussian.
Arthur watched, horrified as Gilbert scruffed the young boys head and then turned him around to face the guest. "This," Gilbert said simply. "Is Matthew."
The glass that had been shoved into Arthur's hands just moments before, slipped and landed on the floor, shattering into oblivion and sending tea splattering everywhere. Matthew jumped, clinging to Gilbert's leg and looking down at the ground. He refused to look up to see the Brit's expression.
Gilbert however smiled when he saw Arthur's look of pure horror.
Arthur opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again and attempted to force something out…but it was all jumbled and ended up being nothing more than unintelligible spluttering. The Englishmen whirled around, storming off into the living and began a furious pattern of pacing back and forth.
Gilbert picked up Matthew and stepped over the mess. The little Canadian yelped at first, but he was quickly set down on the ground as soon as his bare feet were no long hovering over broken shards of porcelain.
"Brows, you have some explaining to do." Gilbert said as he stepped into the living room and sat down in his chair. Arthur gave him a very stern look, and then followed suit, settling into the couch cushions.
The Brit let out a harsh sigh and began massaging his temples. "Just don't…" He murmured. "Don't tell him."
And with that, Arthur launched into his explanation.
-----
Magic was a tricky thinkg. A very tricky thing indeed. It took much concentration, a skilled hand, eye, ear. Perception unlike that of any other. An inherent ability to even do magic in the first place was also very crucial.
Arthur may have had all of those, but after almost fifty years of not ever touching a spell book, he was a little rusty.
To perform a spell, or a curse as Arthur had been attempting just days before, one must picture the victim clearly in their mind. To have a picture helped, it was even preferred as the mind could sometimes slip up and forget a very crucial detail.
However, even with a picture, the mind could still slip up and forget a very…very crucial detail indeed.
Like the fact that Alfred did not have one single curly hair. Or that his eyes had no traces of violet in them whatsoever. Nor was his hair wavy in any way, or parted down the middle.
Simple things that the mind just seemed to slip up on…
Or just downright stupidity as Gilbert had stated bluntly.
Arthur cradled his head in his hands, wishing to god that he would be smited right then and there. He didn't very much care if it left a nasty stain on the Canadian's couch, so long as he was far, far away from the two men ( or rather…man and child ) who were staring both intently, and warily at. Matthew was wringing his hands in his lap, biting his lip and looking to be on the verge of tears.
Gilbert did not look the least bit please after hearing Arthur's explanation.
"So…You originally tried to cast a spell on Alfred…" He mumbled into the palm of his hand. Arthur didn't look up, but he nodded stiffly. "…And you used a picture of Matthew by accident…?" Another stiff nod from the Brit. Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you some kind of idiot!?"
Arthur's head snapped up so fast his whole world started spinning, but he quickly forced his dizzy eyes to focus and glare at the Albino. "It's not my bloody fault they look similar!" He snapped.
"They don't look anything alike, England!" Gilbert snapped back. Arthur flinched slightly at the suddenly formal name and sank back into his seat.
"B-but wh-why?" Matthew piped up, swiftly breaking the awkward silence quickly advancing on the trio. The young boy had tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and he hastily wiped them away before they slipped free.
Arthur chewed on the inside of his cheek and looked down at the carpet. "He was being a bloody git, that's why. Thought I'd finally teach 'im a lesson…"
"B-but what on earth were you doing using magic!?"
Arthur cringed slightly. "I'd rather not talk about it, Matthew." He said quietly.
Gilbert stood up abruptly. "Don't want to talk about it, hm?" He sighed heavily, lips tugging down into a frown that was extremely uncharacteristic of the Prussian. He stepped forward, reaching out and grabbing the collar of Arthur's shirt. He yanked the short man out of his seat and leveled a rather nasty glare at him.
"What the bloody-"
"You better fucking fix this, Arthur." Gilbert growled.
Arthur paled drastically, and nodded weakly. Those red eyes weren't just fabled to strike fear into the hearts of many. Even if it had been a good century or so since the Prussian had been in a real battle, he was still very intimidating when need be. The grip on his collar went lax and Arthur hastily regained his composure.
"I-I can't guarantee you anything." He said, straightening his tie and giving Matthew and ( especially ) Gilbert a wary look. "B-but I can try and find a reversal spell…It doesn't always work…so…" He flinched whenever he saw Gilbert's expression darken.
He silently wondered how Matthew could stand living with such a bipolar man, but kept his mouth shut and hastily added instead, "I'll do my best though, and keep you updated just…don't…" He paused again. "Just don't do anything stupid, understand?"
Gilbert arched his eyebrows. "…stupid…?" He repeated
Arthur gave a stiff nod. "Yes. Meaning don't bloody do anything to hurt him." His voice was suddenly stern and he gave Gilbert a very hard stare. "No funny business. He's a kid now a—"
"A-arthur! Just because I—" Matthew squeaked.
"And that means," Arthur ground out over Matthew's attempted protest. "That he's much more likely to get hurt if you're not careful." Arthur watched as Gilbert's face shifted into an expression of pure bafflement.
"Wha—"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Gilbert." Arthur said matter-of-factly as he turned around on his heel. "if you'll excuse me, I need to get home…" The Brit then exited the living room, grabbed his jacket, and left the house without another word.
Matthew and Gilbert watched the short man leave, Matthew looking highly confused and Gilbert looking just a bit bothered.
-----
Matthew was currently taking a bath, leaving Gilbert alone and bored out of his mind.
The Albino found himself lying face down on the couch, his head tilted to the side as he flipped through channels on the television. Kumajirou was resting on the arm of the couch by Gilbert's feet, Gilbird burrowed into the fur atop his head snoozing as well.
The house was quiet, and Gilbert didn't like that.
Mostly because it gave him time to think and that just wasn't something he needed to do.
But as the grandfather clock in the hallway chimed, letting the household know that it was now twelve o'clock, and the television spewed news about current world affairs, Gilbert found his thoughts caught up in a rather chaotic mix of things.
All of which were focused on Matthew.
One of the few things that was floating about in Gilbert's head was the fact that Matthew as a kid was abso-fucking-lutely adorable. No question asked. Gilbert had always been a sucker for cute things, and Matthew was no exception. He constantly felt the urge to pinch Matthew's cheeks or cuddle him close to his chest, but for the sake of his dignity ( and awesomeness ) he refrained from such actions and settled upon a mere poke to the side or kiss on the cheek instead.
Matthew as a child was starting to make it a whole lot harder to resist those urges however.
The second thing floating through the deep dark abyss called Gilbert's mind, was the fact that his sex life was now completely. And utterly. Ruined.
Gilbert was not amused in the least about this fact.
There was something in the back of said deep dark abyss that said nothing much had changed, just that Matthew was a tad bit more tinier than usual. There was no reason why they had to stop being all romantic-like and whatnot, right?
But then again…small things tended to break more easily…
There was a rough, exasperated groan from the man lying on the couch and Kumajirou opened a beady black eye to examine the man. After assessing that it was just that weird guy with the red eyes, the bear closed his eye and dozed off again.
Gilbert buried his face into the couch pillow, lifting a hand to clamp down on his hair and tug irately.
This can't be happening! He thought bitterly, lifting his face enough to peer over the arm of the couch and stare out the living room window.
He couldn't do anything with Matthew anymore, could he? He was too little! Too fragile!
Another groan and Gilbert buried his face into the pillow again, taking deep breaths as he attempted to steady his fried nerves.
On the arm of the couch, Kumajirou cracked his eyes open again to stare at the white head on the opposite side of the sofa. The man had fallen silent and lay unmoving. Turning his head, Kumajirou moved his focus to the television and the commercial currently playing.
The "Meow Mix" melody began playing and Kumajirou suddenly forgot about the distressed man as images of fish and other such products appeared on the screen.
A/N: Uwaah~ I don't really have much to say about this chapter except my Arthur is such a fail. XD Not only because he just does, but because I'm not that good at writing him. xAx I have no idea how British slang works so I tend to over use the words "Bloody" and "Bugger" and so on. Ah~
And sorry for confusing some of you~ Hopefully this chapter clears up a few things. ;)
Also...My tummy is yelling at me. xAx I'm thinking eating that cake batter was a bad idea...Urrrrgh~
Thank you so much for the reviews guys~ Much love to you all!
By the way, in case you guys were wondering, this is the story I was talking about in "Game Time". The one where my head's been crankin' the gears and steamin' away?
Oh yeah. |D There's pictures and everything, but if you want to see those, check out my LJ, there's a link on my profile. c: