"Ungh… Matthew would you stop trying to kick me?" I asked, groggy. I sat up in bed, looking down at Matthew. He was completely still, and on the wrong side. I rolled my eyes. "Kumajiro, stop smacking me because you're jealous."

He merely huffed, hitting me one more time for good measure.

"Hey Matthew… come on wake up." I gently shook his shoulder, my legs crossed and my body relaxed. "Wake up Matthew." I called, still shaking him.

"Oh, good morning Gilbert. Glad to see you back with us." He smiled, his voice as soft as ever. My heart melted just a little at that smile, and I replied with a devilish grin of my own.

"Good to be back, I'm glad nothing happened while I was down for the count." I grinned sheepishly, secretly relieved. Yesterday could have gone horribly. I could have killed him again, and then be made to wait a thousand years to see him again. "Matthew… I'm sorry for scaring you." I sighed, hugging him close to me. I buried my face in his soft hair, inhaling deeply.

"Oh ick, Gilbert don't do that! I haven't bathed!" Matthew complained, wriggling in my grip.

"Mmmm perfect. It smells even more you than usual then." I smiled, refusing to let go. He smelled like such a girl, but it was wonderful and if you inhaled enough, you could almost taste a deep lime scent about him. "You smell so wonderful Matthew." I commented, nuzzling his exposed neck.

He had stopped struggling and was just sitting there, pouting with the cutest face. I grinned, kissing his nose. He didn't seem to know what to do with that, so he just sat there still, blinking a few times, his cheeks reddening a little.

"Gilbert, would you please let me go?" He asked, wriggling a little. "I need to bathe, I feel gross." He whined delicately, his teeth having taken his bottom lip hostage.

I stared at his plump lips, licking my own. He was perfect, perfect to kiss, to hold, to have.

"Gilbert?" He repeated, a tiny note of fear in his voice. It was that fear that broke me out of my stare. My red eyes snapped up to look into his own violet ones, unobscured by his thick glasses. He flinched back a little as our eyes met, and it almost felt like a slap in the face.

I released him, slowly though, savoring his body warmth. I tried to shake off the flinch, leaning back on the cushions of the bed instead. "Oh go ahead, sorry. Can I watch though?" I asked, waggling my eyebrows at his deeply blushing face.

Suddenly, he grinned back. "Sure." He told me, standing up and offering his hand to me. I frowned, but took it anyway, a little confused. We both made our way to the bathroom, Kumajiro on all fours behind us and growling.

Matthew dragged me into the bathroom, closing the door before Kumajiro could follow. Matthew smiled at me, a sultry smile that made my cheeks heat up.

"Turn around." Matthew told me, his thumbs in hooked in the waistband of his jeans.

My eyes widened, and I did as he bid me, looking away from his form as he began to strip down.

"Alright, go ahead and look." He said, his voice so small I almost couldn't hear it. But I did, and I turned slowly, my eyes level with where his would be… if he wasn't invisible.

I laughed, throwing back my head. "Now I get it!" I crowed, slapping my knee. I heard Matthew giggle, then watched the spicket turn and water gush from the pipes. "Would you like something a little fancier?" I asked, moving to a small cabinet with oils, soaps, and rags stuffed inside it.

"Ah… what do you mean?" He asked, his voice wavering.

"Oils, soaps, a rag?" I threw over my shoulder, already grabbing a bubbling soap and a rose oil, along with a soft rag. "Get in, and I'll pour in the soap." I told him, watching as the water was displaced. I leaned over, feeling my hands brush against his skin. I poured some of the soap into the tub, watching as it began to cloud the water.

"Thank you." Matthew's voice was still faint.

I smiled, "No problem, now swirl the water around a little bit, it'll cloud the water a little more, and then you can turn visible." I told him, "We can talk then, I don't want you to only have half a mind on it." I continued, moving a little away and then sitting down next to the tub, a little water on the ground.

"Oh… I uh… I hadn't planned…" Matthew stuttered, the water splashing a little, as if he was making a move to get out.

"Don't move." I ordered, my voice a little harder than I meant. The water stopped moving quite so much, so I guess he obeyed. "Matthew, I'm trying to do something nice. Now once the water is murky enough for your comfort, turn visible please." I asked him, looking away from the tub for good measure.

"Okay…" he murmured.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, pleased to see he was visible. "How are you able to do that anyway?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

He caught me looking and blushed, sinking deeper into the soapy water. "I don't know, I've just always been able to do it. It took me a few years to be able to control it. Before then, my mother would be looking for me, and I would be next to her, but she wouldn't be able to see me. It scared her for a long time. I can't turn my clothes completely invisible, but I can camouflage them, make them less visible with a simple spell." He explained, his voice gaining a little bit of volume as he continued.

I sat in silence, intrigued. "I wonder why you have it. None of your past lives were privy to such an ability. In fact, not a single one of them could wield magic at all. Maybe Arthur helped you out this time and gave you some of his magic. Better chance of survival hmm?" I asked, turning a little to gauge his reaction to my joking tone.

He looked somber, biting his lip. His eyes darted a bit, uncomfortable.

"Sorry." I grinned,not at all apologetic. "Now turn a bit so I can wash you okay?" I told him, sitting up straighter and rolling up my sleeves.

He blanched, sliding away from the lip of the tub. "Umm what? Why would I let you do that?" He asked me, his face very red and very uncomfortable.

I held up my empty hands. "I promise I won't hurt you Matthew, I just want…" I trailed off, confused. Why? "… I want to show you in care about you." I finished after searching for the answer.

"Oh… okay?" He mumbled, turning his body so his pale back faced me, his hair dark gold and dripping wet.

I sighed a little, taking up the rag and dipping it in the water. Matthew flinched away. I almost growled in irritation, but held myself back, it would only serve to frighten him more. Instead I dabbed a little of the rose oil onto the rag, and rubbed it together for a moment, letting it spread out.

Carefully, I began to rub his back, the oil causing his skin to glisten. I held onto his shoulder with my other hand, gently kneading the tensed muscles.

This continued for a while, with my switching off hands every now and then, and moving to different areas of his body. I washed his arms, and lower back, chest, and even a bit of his legs. He laughed and wriggled when I tried to wash his feet, insisting that he was too ticklish, and couldn't handle it.

I grinned, filing away the comment for later use.

Excluding that moment though, the bath was silent. I helped him out, holding out a terry cloth towel for him to use. He exited invisible, but surprisingly, once he was swathed in the towel, he showed himself, his hair still dripping.

I frowned, taking a smaller towel and gently beginning to dry off his hair.

He squeaked in surprise, bending a little to let me have better access to his head. I hadn't realized I was on tiptoe until he bent. He was as tall as I was, if not a little taller.

"Now you go back to the room, have Kumajiro take you. I'm going to bathe myself now." I told him, beginning to strip off my pants.

Matthew blushed, hurrying from the room, closing the door swiftly behind him.

My face crumpled, and I sighed. "So much for having him stay to at least be here with me. Maybe he didn't want to be pressured into bathing me? I wouldn't have asked that though…" I mumbled, sighing as I drew up another bath, this one colder and without the fancy soap.

It felt good to be clean. I rubbed my hair vigorously with a towel, walking from the bathroom into my bedchambers, smiling to see Matthew sitting and waiting for me.

He was clothed in jeans and a blue t-shirt that said "IT'S CANADA DAY BITCHES" in big red letters. I smiled at it, snickering. He noticed, and blushed a little.

"Dude, I love your shirt." I told him truthfully, suddenly assaulted by the feeling of awkward stabbing into me.

He smiled at me in return, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "Thanks, my brother found it somewhere. By somewhere, I mean literally, it came from somewhere. Not a store or factory, I'm not even sure exactly what it means." He began to explain, his features animating.

"Really? But it had to have come from somewhere. How do you know it wasn't from a factory?" I asked, intrigued.

Matthew shrugged, "Alfred is the expert on stupid shirts, he would recognize it, plus I looked everywhere in every language what 'Canada' was, and I couldn't find anything at all. It was bizarre." He smiled again, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in.

"So… What would you like to do today?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck with my hand.

His eyes widened with surprise. "I get to choose?" At my nod, his face expanded into a smile so lovely my stomach fluttered. "You have gardens right? Would you show them all to me?" He asked, tucking a strand of blond hair behind his ear as he spoke.

I nodded, helping him up from the foot of my bed. "First however, I should probably get dressed. Unless you wanna see me prancing around naked~?" I chortled, waving his blushing face out the door.

MATTHEW'S P.O.V.

The gardens were spectacular.

Beauty seemed to sprout from every surface. Although some flowers weren't blooming, the ones that were dazzled me. I couldn't recognize any of them as being from my home country, but they were lovely all the same.

I noticed a small garden gate off to the side when the tour began, and mentioned it to Gilbert.

"What that thing?" He paused, squinting hard at it. "To be perfectly honest I have no idea what that leads to. How about we check it out after the tour?' He suggested, curiosity making him go a little faster on the tour than I think he originally planned.

There was a small pond in one section, and it was surrounded by large boulders that looked like they would be fun to leap from. Another held a small pavilion covered in a climbing ivy.

My favorite was a section that was surrounded by large white flowers that smelled so wonderful I wanted to douse myself in the scent. Gilbert warned me however, to not touch the petals. The oils of y hands would turn the delicate white flowers yellow and brown, making them whither and die faster.

When he finished, we hurried to the beginning, stopping before the gate. When it looked like he wasn't going to move, I reached forward, and pulled on the gate to open it. The metal wouldn't budge.

Frowning, I heaved, pulling with all my might. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gilbert trying to hide a snicker. I glared, snapping at him.

"Oh? Then you open it! You're the one with superhuman strength! Excuse me for being born with stealth instead of strength!" I glowered, crossing my arms and stepping back from the offending gate.

Gilbert blanched, his pale face draining of color a bit. "Sorry…" he muttered, reaching out a hand, and almost effortlessly opening the gate with a squeal of metal.

I grimaced at the sound, but the look quickly fell away as I beheld what was inside the sectioned-off part of the gardens. My mouth opened in a small 'o', and I stepped forward, ignoring Gilbert.

Off to the left in front of me stood a towering weeping willow, its branches brushing the ground in a wide circle. The walls were made of blooming rose bushes. Every other bush was red, and the intervals were either a soft blushing pink, or a deep unusual yellow that turned white at the center. There was a bench underneath the tree, its stone carved intricately. Paths of flowers in purples and soft reds captured my attention as I walked along them, bending to gaze at them.

I had never seen anything so beautiful. I walked to the weeping willow tree, reaching my hands out to card through the numerous hanging branches. The leaves tickled like feathers across my skin, and I smiled at how soft they were.

It took me a little bit to notice that Gilbert wasn't right behind me. I turned to look for him, and saw that he was staring at me, a strange expression on his face. He looked as though he was seeing something glorious that had decided to bless him with its presence.

I cocked my head to the side, smiling when he finally snapped out of it and stepped forward into the smaller garden.

"It's so beautiful in here Gilbert." I told him, turning back to the branches. I felt as if I could float away, the feathery caress making me shiver. I felt a chill go down my spine, and I turned to see Gilbert staring at me, a hungry look in his eyes that made my knees go weak.

"You look radiant." He said hoarsely, seeming to force something down. I saw his skin rippled, and a sliver of fear skittered down my back as I turned to fully face him.

I raised an eyebrow. "Thank you." I replied, feeling my face heat up. His cheeks flamed red, and he walked quickly over to one of the walls of roses, moving as if to hide his face in one. I had to bite my lip when he jerked back, as if realizing the plant was covered in thorns and therefore not suitable for such an act.

"Come, we've spent a few hours here. I'm tired." I said quietly, moving to sit on the stone bench. Gilbert followed, his jaw a little slack.

When the branches touched his skin though, he hissed in displeasure.

"What is it?" I asked, instantly concerned. He moved back from the branches, then parted them with his hands, hissing louder. "Does it hurt?" I continued, standing and moving to help him.

"Nah, it just stings a little bit." Gilbert grunted, moving closer to the trunk. It seemed as if all of the branches were moving to try and get in his way. Finally, he gave up and retreated back outside of the circle of green, frowning at the weeping willow. "Guess it doesn't like me."

I nodded slowly, leaving the circle and stepping close to him. "It's okay, come on inside. I haven't had lunch today." I tried to distract him, pulling him out of the gardens and back towards the house. "I should be able to find something for us to eat."

He followed me inside, never letting go of my hand.

A/N: I am a pathetic excuse for a writer. Like seriously, what is wrong with me? I'm so sorry this isn't my usual length, I tried to make it as fast as I could with all the crap going on right now. The way I work on my writing is fucked up too, like, I work on something if the mood strikes me, and sometimes the mood will strike me for five minutes or three hours. The point is, y'all shouldn't have to wait so long and I'm sorry.

Thank you all so much to those of you who reviewed. I dedicate this chapter to y'all and I hope you enjoyed the little bit of cute fluff. Also, the reason Gil can't go in the willow is because it's a holy tree, a protective tree, and shields those underneath it's branches. So since he's kinda a demon, the tree is like, "Bitch no."

So yes, please tell me in a review what you thought of this chapter, also don't forget to tell me any predictions, or things you enjoyed.

Beware! This chapter is the calm before the storm! What could possibly go wrong?