"Here, Mattie, your pajamas." Gilbert placed a pressed pile of blue and white striped flannel into Matthew's arms. Matthew took it, pressing it to his chest.
"Oh... thanks."
"Go get changed. The blue door is your changing room. The yellow door leads to my awesome sleeping quarters. Don't be afraid to barge in and ask me anything, okay?"
"Sure." Matthew smiled softly before going to change, the flannel feeling warm from the imprints where Gilbert's hands had been. He wasn't used to all the kindness being shown to him by the albino, seeing as his previous owner and all the people at Objective treated him with disdain.
All the things that went on at night at his previous owner's house were not to be spoken of. Matthew wanted to forget the screaming intermingled with shouting, the scent of blood and bodily fluids that was steeped into the carpet and the very walls itself. The muscled forearms that pinned him down as he was thrust into the headboard of his master's bed over and over again.
Maybe things would turn out different this time.
Matthew left the room, clutching the filthy white button-down shirt and black pants he had discarded. Gilbert poked them with a slender forefinger.
"I think we need to burn these, don't you?"
Matthew giggled, before stuffing them into Gilbert's arms. "Here, you take them." Gilbert recoiled and dropped the disgusting things on the floor, staggering back as if they were infected with the bubonic plague.
"Ugh, we'll just take care of them tomorrow."
Matthew watched in fascination as Gilbert removed his shirt, revealing sizable muscles.
They're not as big as you-know-who's...but, damn.
"This okay? Me without a shirt?"
"Mm, it's alright. I've seen worse." Matthew teased, sliding under the covers of his gauzy four-poster. Some of the shyness was falling away, and he felt comfortable unleashing some of his flirty side.
"You're cheeky, for somebody in your position." Gilbert jumped onto the bed, landing on his shoulder, and wiggled his way under the covers. He grabbed Matthew by the front of his shirt and twisted, licking his lips.
"Gilbert..." Matthew's flirty facade fell away, replaced by worry and fear. "You w-won't do anything...right?"
"Well, I could..." Gilbert let go of Matthew, who released a pent-up breath, "...but I won't."
"Thanks."
Gilbert ruffled Matthew's hair affectionately. "No problem. Consent is the most important part of a relationship."
Matthew, as a way of thanks, leaned into Gilbert's chest, letting the albino embrace him. "Mmm, you're so warm."
The two sat in silence for a minute, snuggled up against one another.
"Good night, birdie."
"Good night, Gilly."
...
Lovino woke up the next morning on the floor.
His back hurt, there was a sticky wet patch in the corner of his mouth, and the covers were all in a pile on the bed, leaving the spitfire brunette shivering alone on the carpeted (yet still hard as hell) surface of his bedroom floor.
"Good morning Lo- hey, where'd you go?"
"I'm down on the floor, asshole." Lovi sat up and rubbed his eyes like a small child, yawning. "You didn't tell me you tossed and turned in your sleep."
"Oh. Well, I toss and turn in my sleep." Antonio peeked over the corner of the bed, grinning sheepishly. "You look really cute when you sleep. Did you know?"
"W-what?" Lovi glared at the curly-haired brunette, who was smiling at him as if nothing was wrong. "You were staring at me while I was asleep?"
"I woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water."
Lovino groaned, before standing up and stretching his arms. "So are we going to have breakfast or what?"
Antonio slid out of bed and joined his purchase, staring at him intently. "We're having pancakes for breakfast today, and we have a few things to take care of. You two both need to be microchipped, and I'd like to do something about this."
Antonio ruffled Lovino's head of overgrown brown locks, beaming. "And, of course, I'd like to spend some more time with you! To get to know my little tesoro."
Lovi just scowled back, gruffly accepting the hug Antonio pulled him into. "I'm hungry."
"But of course! How could I forget! But..." Antonio looked the angry brunette up and down. "You need to get dressed first."
Lovino sighed before walking over to the ornate closet and throwing the door open.
White button-downs, red vests, black pants...are all of these the same outfit?
"We wanted to keep you in something simple to identify at the moment, but we can get you some new clothes later." Antonio explained, poking his head out through the yellow doorway. Lovi randomly grabbed one of each clothing article in hope that they would be his size, or, at least, fairly close.
"Don't stare at me when I'm changing, bastard!"
"You shouldn't be changing out in the open, in a glass walled room."
"Cazzo..."
...
"Good morning, Antonio, Matthew, Gilbert, and...who's this?"
"That's Lovino. I bought him yesterday. Isn't he cute?"
Francis looked the brunette up and down, smiling. "Yes, I'd say so. How adorable! Come to think of it..."
Francis paused for a few minutes, forgetting to stir the pancake batter he was working on.
That one Perfect at the museum looked quite a lot like him...Feliciano, wasn't it?
"Oi, Franny, you okay?"
Francis smiled graciously before refocusing on the batter. "Oh, nothing, just lost in my thoughts."
"Pancakes for breakfast? Awesome." Gilbert stretched and yawned, sliding into his regular seat at the table, Matthew sitting beside him.
"They'll be ready in a few minutes, you'll have to wait." Francis poured the silky batter into the sizzling pan, delicious smells of baking pastry wafting up from his station at the kitchen. Gilbert groaned.
"Why do pancakes have to take so long?"
"Compared to more complicated desserts like mille-feuille or milk crepes, pancakes take no time at all." Francis hit Gilbert on the head with his spatula, causing the albino to hiss like a cat sprayed with a wet hose.
"So, what's on the agenda for today for you both?" Antonio tried to break up the fight between his two friends.
"Well, we both have to take these two to get microchipped," Gilbert gestured to Lovino and Matthew, "and then I'm going to lunch with Mattie."
"I'm going to work from nine to five today, I'll try to bring you all something sweet to eat."
"Hey, bring me some of those macaroon things I like. I want Birdie to try them." Gilbert said excitedly, grinning as Francis slid two piping hot pancakes onto his plate.
"Macarons. There's a difference." Francis placed two of the delicious breakfast pastries onto Matthew's plate, smiling at the shy Perfect. "There's maple syrup if you want it."
"Thanks." Matthew said quietly, picking up the bottle.
"I need to take Lovi to Braginski's place as well as the doctor's office, and then we'll go eat lunch." Antonio poked Francis in the side in place of a request for more pancakes. "What about Ludwig?"
"He's staying home today. Don't know why; I offered for him to go with us."
"Probably tired, or sick, or something." Antonio shrugged. Lovi scoffed before giving his solitary pancake a poke with his fork. Antonio nudged him with his elbow.
"Eat. You need your strength. It's going to be a very long day."
Lovi stabbed his fork into the pancake once, twice, three times, leaving puncture wounds in the poor pastry. Antonio stifled a giggle.
"You're very funny, Lovi."
Lovi said nothing, only continued to mutilate his breakfast. Matthew stared at him sadly. He had gotten used to living here with Gilbert already, but only because of the extraordinary kindness shown to him by Gilbert. Had Lovino been treated differently? Abused? He didn't seem to show any recent marks, even half-healed ones.
"We need to start heading out, we don't want to be late." Antonio stood up and carried his plate over to the sink, tapping Lovi on the shoulder as he went. "Your doctors appointments start in half an hour and we do not want to be late. Feliks gets cranky if his clients are even one minute off schedule, and it isn't pretty when he gets cranky."
"Nope." Gilbert agreed, shaking Mattie (who had dozed off) awake. "Come on, Mattie. We definitely don't want to be late."
"Okay, okay." Matthew stood up and took his plate, yawning. "Come on, Lovino." Lovi followed his movements, a growl simmering under his breath.
"Alright, everyone ready? Good!"
Antonio grabbed Lovi's arm and headed for the door, Gilbert and Matthew following behind him, and Francis heading up the tail.
They all (minus Francis) piled into Gilbert's car, it being the biggest of the two, and headed into the city. Matthew and Lovi were crammed together in the back seat, while Antonio took the passenger seat, and Gilbert drove.
"So, after the doctor's office, Mattie and I are going to explore the city. I'm gonna leave the car in front of the doctor's office. We can meet up around 1:00, okay?"
"Sounds good. I think I'll have enough time to finish my errands by then, as well as lunch."
"Okay then." Gilbert turned a corner sharply, causing Lovi to crash into Matthew awkwardly.
"Sorry." He muttered, returning to his original position, leaving Mattie blushing and stuttering out his own apologies. Antonio giggled.
"Such a silly boy, Lovi. Can't you keep your hands to yourself?"
Lovi's face blossomed red, and he almost tore Antonio's face off right then and there. Luckily, Gilbert came to his rescue.
"Aw, come on, 'Tonio. You know that wasn't his fault, it was a sharp turn."
Lovi issued a silent thanks as he confirmed the statement with a nod. He didn't think that speaking would be the right decision at this point in time, seeing as he was already blushing furiously and any words that dared to come out of his throat would most likely be insults. Gilbert and Antonio kept up a steady stream of chatter throughout the bus ride, sometimes asking for Lovi and Matthew's opinions, more often than not letting them keep to themselves. The ride took around fifteen minutes, but to Lovino, it was fifteen minutes of hell.
Then again, when was living without Feliciano not hell?
Hello! I just wanted to say thank you for all the support I have received thus far. Your reviews always encourage me to keep writing (sometimes it gets really hard to just sit at the computer and go). Grazie, danke, gracias, and thank you!
-Aria
