Title: Love for Sale
Fandom: Hetalia(alternate dimension where they aren't actually countries)
Theme(s): Romance, angst, comfort
Pairing(s): PruCan, FraUK, SpaRom, GerIta, and RusUS(because I'm sadistic like that, k?)
Summary: A little nightmare here, a bit of sucky job there, and you have a whole Gilbert! But let's not forget his oh-so-adorable soul mate; Matthew! What started out as a simple house sale might just blossom into a budding love, as the handsome real estate agent falls head-over-heels for his gorgeous blond-haired client.
Author's Notes: Disclaimers, blahblah! I own nothing except the right to this idea/story!~ Ok, so in this chapter things get a bit complicated for our poor, sweet Gilbert. All in all, I think I did good. ;D
Chapter 4: L'amour
It didn't take long for the two to reach the house where Gilbert lived with his younger brother. He couldn't help but pull a grin as he watched Matthew realize just how close the house was from his own. Before either could say a word, a tall, muscular man appeared next to the passenger door to the truck, tapping on the window. It was still raining and Gilbert was surprised to see Ludwig there waiting. The door opened, and he all but fell against the younger man.
"Ouch.. Hey, Luddy. Why were you waiting for me?" He received an odd glance, as if his brother had just seen the other man in the truck.
"I.. was worried, bruder. I had a bad feeling about today, and I was going to tell you. But you were gone by the time I woke up.. which is kind of rare for you," he paused, "Why did you get up so early?" Gilbert glanced back at Matthew, giving him an apologetic grin.
"I promised my friend I'd help him move in. But I turned out to be more of a nuisance, huh?.." Why the hell did he just say that so readily, and in front of Ludwig no less! That nightmare was still just out of reach, but he had a feeling that whatever it was, it was affecting him big time.
"Not really a nuisance, you were just slower than you thought." Matthew offered. Gil gave a soft sigh, thankful that the blond had managed to catch that. Ludwig leaned into the truck a bit to shake Matthew's hand, and the two exchanged names. A wave of dizziness struck Gil hard, his eyes closed as he swayed and leaned on his brother's arm for support.
"Mein gott, can you just get me inside the house? I feel like I'm about to lose my stomach, here. And trust me, it won't be pretty." Ludwig took the hint and thanked Matt for returning his brother, offering to help unload the truck when the weather let up. Gilbert frowned at that, but wasn't able to get a word in before Matthew accepted. He sighed, waving to the man before the truck door was closed and the truck pulled out of the drive. Gil fought off another wave of dizziness as his brother hooked an arm around his shoulders and helped him into the house and onto the couch.
The next few hours were a blur, his consciousness fading in and out, and frequently he came-to in a cold sweat. He had given up on a shirt, simply tossing it onto the back of the couch and forgetting about it. Gil had begun to think that maybe he hit his head a little too hard when he had hit the floor, that maybe he had a concussion. Ludwig had quickly proved that wrong, which he wasn't happy nor upset about that. At one point, one of his brother's dogs had wandered over and laid its head in his lap. Normally being against the dogs even being near him, he was too tired to shoo it away, instead resting a hand on the German Shepherd's head and giving it a soft smile.
After blacking out a few more times, he woke up to the sun annoyingly bright on his face. With a groan, Gilbert shifted an arm to cover his eyes and found that the little dog they had was curled up, content on his chest. He went to put it on the floor, but he paused, thinking about his nightmares. He could remember broken phrases and words, and he didn't want to know what they had said all of a sudden. With a resigned sigh, he leaned back onto the arm rest, simply staring up at the ceiling. He didn't think Ludwig was in the house, probably outside with the two bigger dogs. It gave him time to think about the past two days.
Gilbert knew he had met Matthew for a reason, but he couldn't figure it out. There was something bigger going on, something out of his control. But then again, he had always controlled his life before this. He ran over all the things that they had talked about the first day, going on about their families and jobs, how neither of them really had any really close friends... Sure, Gil could count Francis and Toni as friends, but.. they weren't that close to him. Of course, he had joked about them being gay. He hadn't realized it then, but as he thought now he couldn't help but remember that Matthew had seemed a little odd about that conversation.
He gave a frustrated growl, shoving a hand into his face to rub at his eyes. He just didn't get any of it! What could Gilbert, one man with a life full of mistakes, do to keep this one friend? And then it hit him. What if he liked him more than just that? But he wasn't gay! And with a startling realization that he might be, he grimaced at the outcome. He needed to make a phone call.
After removing the dog from his chest and setting it back gently on the couch, he moved into the kitchen - furiously brushing dog hair off of his bare chest - and grabbed the house phone. Gil paused, thinking over several options. He could call her, talk about Matthew, and have her fawning over him and other shit. Or he could call him, talk about Matthew, and maybe get some help in this whole situation. Elizabeta or Francis? With a groan, he dialed his friend's number and waited for the Frenchman to pick up the line.
"Bonjour, Gilbert! How is mon meilleur ami today?" Ugh..
"Heeeey.. Francis. I need.. advice." Gilbert made a face. He couldn't believe he was actually asking!
"Oui, this I figured. Is it a petit madam?" Fuck..
"Um.. no."
"Non? This is surprising. Does that mean you are embracing open-minded amour?" What?
"What does that even mean? Look, just.. Can you grab Toni and meet me at the cafe? I need some serious help."
"Oui, this I can do."
"Danke.."
And with that, he hung up the phone and sank into the nearest chair. Gilbert drew a heavy sigh, unwilling to think of the ridiculous things his two buddies would come up with after hearing that he actually liked another guy. He didn't even hear Ludwig come in, but he jumped when a dog nose was shoved against his pained hip.
"OW! Fuck.. Luddy, get your stupid dog away from me! That hurts.." Gilbert pushed at the dog - somewhat weakly, but of course he wouldn't admit to being weak - until a sharp whistle from the other room called its attention away and it trotted out of the kitchen. He sighed again, rubbing at his face before standing slowly, using the table to make his way over to the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of water, kicking the door shut before rummaging in the cabinet for pain killers. He knew better than to take any kind of drug with alcohol, as he had done it before, and he wasn't about to let himself meet the floor again anytime soon. He popped a couple pills back and drowned them with the water, groaning softly as he tossed the empty bottle in the trash and headed down into the den to get a change of clothes.
Gilbert couldn't help but stare. His car was in the drive, completely cleaned from the body and down to the tires. That scratch along the driver's door that he got from some jackass who had parked too close was filled in and painted over. How long had he been going in and out of sleep? He debated asking Ludwig, but decided against it, shaking his head and letting out a sigh. He could see Matthew's car over at his house, and the truck was backed up close to the porch. He wondered if everything had already been moved in or not. Once again, he shook his head, quickly moving over to his car and sliding into the seat. He blinked, picking up a small sheet of paper with one hand as he closed the door with the other.
"Hey, I noticed a few things about your car. I hope you don't mind, but I fixed all the minor things.
I would suggest getting your oil changed, though. c:
Matthew"
Gilbert let out an amused snort, a sliver of a smile creeping onto his face. He hadn't really thought of the blond to be much of a car person, but he'd been wrong before - though he wouldn't admit that. He folded the paper and shoved it into his pocket, pausing to glance at his seat belt. Gil couldn't remember the last time he actually wore it. Slowly, he pulled at the strap and moved it around his body to click it into the lock. It wasn't all that uncomfortable, even if it did cut into his shoulder just a bit. He took a deep breath, turning over the engine and letting out a hum of pleasure at the purr of his special baby. With a grin, he put the car into reverse and pulled out of the drive slowly, quickly putting it into drive so he could tear out onto the road. It felt so awesome to drive his own car, it gave him a freedom that nothing else really could. He glanced at Matthew's house as he passed, setting his jaw and gazing back at the road ahead. He had a lot to ask.
"So why'd you call us out here again?"
"Toni, mon cher, Gilbert is in need of assistance."
"Yeah, so try and remember it." Gilbert took a bite of the massive sundae in the center of the table, watching the blond and brunette argue for a moment over a cherry. In the end, Antonio had given up but Francis let him have the cherry if the other would let him feed it to him. Gil made a face, reaching over and smacking the back of Francis' head.
"Stop hittin' on Toni, you loose bastard. I'll tell Kirkland again." He was satisfied when he got a quick glare from the Frenchman.
"Mon dieu, I can't even have a little fun with my friend? Really, Gilbert, you're so harsh!"
"Whatever, drama queen." Francis made a face at Gilbert, to which the albino just grinned and took another bite of the sundae.
"So.." Francis started, pointing his spoon at Gil, "Who is our little Gilbo crushing on?" Gilbert choked on part of a cherry, swallowing harshly and clearing his throat. Oh man, how was he going to explain?
"Wait, Gil's got a crush on someone?" Toni's eyes lit up with a sly grin at Gil, and the albino had to look away.
"Look, it's not a crush okay? I don't know what it is, just that I'm.. attracted to this person."
"This is not strange for you, my friend."
"No, you don't get it. The.. person is... Well, it's complicated to explain."
"Is it a woman?"
"Not exactly.."
"A man?" Gilbert went silent, staring hard at the napkin dispenser that had suddenly seemed very interesting. Francis shared a look with Toni, grinning before he picked a cherry from the sundae and plopped it in his mouth.
"Makes me think of Lovino! He's a man, but he looks so girly in the body. He's so adorable!"
"Oui, and my amant angélique- I mean Arthur.. is the same." Gilbert shifted uncomfortably in his side of the booth. He knew that his friends were openly homosexuals, and he had never really judged them for it, but it felt weird for him to be attracted to a guy! He had always enjoyed seeing chicks, ecspecially the ones with big breasts that liked to wear tiny bikinis. He just felt so strange.
"It's cool for you guys to be all whatever about this, but I'm not gay! I've never once even thought about guys in any kind of sexual way," Gil paused, toying with the spoon between his fingers, "..Of course, he doesn't look much like a guy. He's got soft-looking wavy blond hair. These gorgeous.. kinda blue-violet eyes, with glasses. Ach mein gott, his curves.. he looks nothing like a normal guy!"
"Oui, he is feminine. There are many of them out there."
"But he's different! There's just something about him that draws me in, man. I swear it's got to be those eyes."
"Your eyes are different, so what's all that great about his?"
"You haven't seem them, Toni. They're fucking amazing," Gil leaned his head on the table, gazing out the window with a distant expression, "I could seriously just lose my mind in those eyes.." Francis gave a bright grin, making a crooning noise in his throat.
"This is much more than a simple crush, or attraction. Mon cher, you're in love!" Gilbert's head shot up, the spoon clattering to the floor under his feet. Love? How the hell could he be in love with a guy? He wasn't even bisexual, let alone gay!
"No, no, no. No, you have to be wrong. I can't be-"
"Does your heart pick up when you think of him?"
"I.. yeah."
"Do you get hot in the face when he's around?"
"A.. little bit.."
"And tell me, mon cher, how much time you've devoted to him. How often have you spoken to him since you met? Do you get upset when others are around?" Gilbert let out an annoyed sound, hitting his head on the table loudly enough so that the other cafe-goers looked over.
"We talked a lot the other night, I was helping him move into the house he bought, we spent over two hours talking when I was showing him the house, and it pissed me off when Luddy said he'd help him move in." With a heavy sigh, Gilbert finished speaking. God, he hated himself for admitting all of that.
"Oui, it is so clear! Our little Gilbo is in love!"
"Gilby has a boyfriend~ Gilby has a boyfriend~"
"You guys are assholes.." How the hell could he have fallen in love with this guy? They had only met a couple days ago! And hell be damned if he believed in that 'love at first sight' bullshit. Was he really in love?..
*** Read and review! Hope you enjoyed it!~ ***