Author Notes: Yay for two chapters within 24 hours! I know I'm one of those authors who update sporadically and that is all very frustrating, but thank you so much for still reading my fanfic and staying with me x[

In other news: nopenopenope no lemon, not possible. Only implied romantic fluffy stuff.

Also, let's pretend Antonio is half-Mexican half-Spanish so it's okay for him to say "ese"

Disclaimer: honestly, they're never going to be my characters so why bother ;-;

Chapter 10

Matthew said "see you later," but after that first visit, he never came back to Gilbert's room. Everyone else had apparently received multiple visits from said scientist, and that pissed Gilbert off. After confessing he has the audacity to avoid me! He thought to himself. Actually, he wasn't sure how to face him either.

He didn't have a lot of time to think about it too much because his brother kept him busy with physical therapy, recovery training, and other things. Gilbert was discharged after a month, and by that time he had made a decision.

Matthew rarely says things he doesn't mean. And for him to confess must have taken a lot of effort. I'll have to face him eventually… Gilbert ran these rationalizations through his head over and over while walking towards Matthew's lab.

"Hey, Gilbert!" Matthew greeted him normally, which should be odd since he'd been avoiding him for a few weeks already. "Congratulations on your discharge!" he stood in front of his bookshelf reading some graphs or statistics. "Why are you all dressed up?"

Gilbert wore his 'full dress uniform,' which is considered the most formal military uniform only worn at official receptions, ceremonies and other special occasions. "I'm meeting with the person I love and want to look good," he smirked, "Well, more than I usually do."

A shadow passed over Matthew's face before he smiled, "Oh? Who is it?" His smile fell when Gilbert grabbed his hands. He took a step back only to find himself trapped between the bookshelf and Gilbert.

"Matthew Williams, I'm in love with you."

Time suspended and seconds passed like hours. Matthew's head was still trying to process and comprehend what the man in front of him just said.

He stood there gaping in shock until finally, "You're kidding."

Gilbert's eye twitched. "Do I look like I'm kidding?" he asked, obviously annoyed.

The blonde looked away, "Don't make fun of me, Gilbert. That's cruel."

"Hey! Did you mean it when you said you loved me?"

Blood rushed to Matthew's cheeks, "You're straight. It's not supposed to matter if I meant it!" He tried to run away now, but Gilbert held his arms firmly in place. "Let go!"

"Matthew, do you still love me?" Gilbert had never been so earnest. Matthew felt the weight of his stare and looked away from the red eyes that were fixated on him.

"I never expected you to like me back!" he was still trying to pry Gilbert's hands away. "I'm supposed to be your friend!"

"You are my friend, and now I lo-" Matthew finally released a hand and placed it over Gilbert's mouth.

"Stop! Your time at the hospital made you delusional. You're confusing friendship with love. Now stop messing around!"

Gilbert grabbed the hand over his mouth and held both of Matthew's wrists with one hand. His cast was removed the other day, and he wrapped that arm around Matthew's waist to keep him from escaping.

"No," his grip tightened and Matthew winced, "I'm not messing around. Why did you confess if you didn't expect a reply?"

Matthew refused to look at him, "You were depressed that time so I had to tell you. I couldn't just stand by and watch you wallow in self-pity. I had to let you know that…" his voice trailed off and his face flushed red.

That did it. "Mattie, you're so cute," Gilbert pulled him closer and moved the hand from Matt's waist to the back of his neck.

"Gilbert, let go!" Matthew protested even more now, but Gilbert was determined to keep him in place. "Stop i-" his words were cut short when Gilbert's mouth met his and a skilled tongue coaxed a reply.

For a moment, Matthew lost his composure and kissed Gilbert back. They fought for dominance in the kiss, and he let himself be taken in by the pleasure before he came to and began struggling again. "Mmm-mph!" he muffled trying to close his mouth and turn his face away. It only made Gilbert grip tighter and deepen the kiss. Only after biting Gilbert's bottom lip did he finally let go.

"Well that was kinky," he rubbed his thumb over the bite and glanced up. "You're turned on aren't you?" Matthew blushed furiously and pulled his lab coat tighter around as if to hide his body's response.

"What the hell, Gilbert! Stop playing with my feelings! You know I like you so why would you do that? If you want a sex friend then forget it. Our friendship is fine without you having to do something like this. I was content to just stay by your side. Why do you have make it so complicated," Matthew fumed. Gilbert was taken aback by Matthew's response. It definitely was not what he expected. "I don't want anything to change," Matthew continued after calming down some.

Gilbert sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Fine," he conceded. "But I'm not the type to give up." His gaze steadied and his red eyes met Matthew's violet ones, "I will make you mine."

"And then he ran off," Gilbert sighed as he finished recounting the story to his friends.

"First of all," Francis coughed to get their attention, "you tried to jump my Mathieu?" he yelled. If he could, he would have punched Gilbert. But he was still bedridden, and Gilbert purposefully placed himself far away from any hurtful blows his friend might inflict.

"Give him some time, ese,"Antonio offered, "maybe it's hard for him to believe that you're serious."

"That's what I don't understand! I told him so many times that I was serious," said Gilbert, very exasperated and very frustrated. It had been a few weeks since Gilbert's confession, and Matthew had been avoiding him. Again. He even went so far as to move in with Alfred so Gilbert couldn't make a house call. "He won't talk to me and it pisses me off!" Gilbert complained.

"I think he just doesn't want to ruin your friendship. Love almost always complicates things," Francis said after resuming his usual "big brother" persona.

Antonio grinned, "Are you speaking from experience?" He received a wink in reply.

"So we're just going to stay friends and keep this awkward sexual tension between us?" the silverette groaned, "That's fucked up."

"My dear Gilbert, you must show your sincerity. Make Mathieu see how honest and true you are about your feelings! Take him out to dinner, recite poetry, and sing him a song. You remember how to play the piano don't you?"

"I haven't played in ages… no wait, I'm not going to play the piano!" Gilbert groaned again, "He's driving me crazy."

"He's driving me crazy," Matthew dropped his head on the table and left it there. Outside, the sky burned an orange-red that signaled late afternoon.

"Well you keep avoiding him," Alfred said, eyes turned towards the tv. "And you make me send him away every time he comes over."

Actually, Alfred was angrier with Matthew than Gilbert. He thought that Matthew should face the guy already; he disliked his brother's passive aggressive approach. He'd seen his brother suffer from his sexual orientation in high school and was vaguely aware of some failed relationships he had in college. His brother, it seemed, was doomed when it came to love. Of course Alfred tried vehemently to keep Gilbert away the first week; why would he tolerate an asshole who could break his little brother's heart? But he was damn persistent, and one day, Alfred caved.

He stood outside the door and asked Gilbert seriously what his intentions were. Alfred didn't expect the other to be so blunt and outright declare his love. He remained skeptic, but that feeling chipped away with each visit from the silver-haired, red-eyed man. He likes you and you like him. How is that complicated? So when Matthew complained for the umpteenth time, he ignored him.

"I don't know what to do. I wanted to stay friends but I can't even face him now… Al, are you even listening to me?" When his brother didn't respond, Matt sighed and got up. "I'm going to the lab," he announced. "They should be on a mission right now…" he muttered to himself as prepared to leave. Alfred knew for a fact that Gilbert's special ops team did not have a mission, but said nothing as he watched Matthew walk out the door.

Sure enough, Matthew met face to face with the silver-haired red-eyed man right as he stepped onto base. "Hi, Gilbert," he tried saying casually and walked past him.

"Aw c'mon Mattie, how long are you going to be like this?" he followed the scientist who seemed determined to out-walk him.

"Until you remember that you're straight and things go back to normal."

"Hey! I only feel this way towards you, I couldn't get it up for any other guy."

"And that's suppose to make me feel better?" Matt swiveled around and stopped Gilbert in his tracks. "Do you want to sleep with me that bad?"

Gilbert smirked and leaned down slightly to meet Matt's eyes, "Aren't you the same?"

Matthew pushed Gilbert away, "No!" He turned and walked away at a faster pace. Gilbert just sighed and continued walking behind the scientist.

"How long are you going to follow me?"

"Until you accept me."

"I thought you had a mission today."

"I'm on leave this whole week. So I'm going to keep following you," he grinned, "Technically I'm a trained stalker, you know?"

"You're terrible. Is that how you found out where I lived?" Matthew said while typing in a security code.

Gilbert held the door open, "I'll walk you to work and back home every day,"

"Please don't." They had finally reached Matthew's lab.

"C'mon Mattie, why do you keep avoiding me?"

"Because I'm scared of what you might do," Matt calmly replied as he took off his trench coat in favor of the lab coat.

"I'm not going to rape you!" Gilbert exclaimed, following suit and removing his jacket.

"Says the one who forcibly kissed me last time."

"Ugh… I apologized already. I promise I won't do it again," Gilbert whined and plopped himself on the couch.

"I think you should go to the bar and find a woman to spend the night with," said the scientist as he sat down at his desk to turn on the computer.

Gilbert placed a cigarette to his lips and fumbled with the lighter, "I tried that already."

That's a surprise. Matt stood up and took the lighter, "Let me." Gilbert inhaled deeply and slowly breathed out the smoke. "Thanks," he said.

"What happened?" Matt was curious now; he sat himself next to Gilbert on the couch.

"I slept with her, but the whole time I could only think of you." Gilbert brought the cigarette to his lips again. "I said your name when I came," he continued.

At this point, Matthew covered his face with his hands to hide the heat that rushed to his face. "Oh maple, stop talking please. Since when did you become so fixated on me."

Be sincere, Gilbert thought before replying, "When I was waiting to die in the desert, all I could think about was you. Your face kept appearing in my mind and all of sudden you were there, crying and yelling at me not to die."

Matthew thought it impossible for his face to get any redder. "You promised to come back…" his voice in its natural whisper-like tone.

Opaque smoke climbed into the air as Gilbert spoke, "Exactly. When I realized how I felt, I didn't want to die anymore – Argh, I'm not making any sense," he ran his cigarette-free hand through his hair, "I just want to make you happy."

"I am happy just being friends."

Gilbert shook his head and took another long drag of his cigarette. "I'm in love with you, Mattie. That's not going to change."

"You can't guarantee that. For all you know it might just be a phase." Matthew relaxed into the couch. "I don't want you to like me if it's only going to be temporary."

"So basically," Gilbert reoriented himself on the couch to face Matthew, "you're scared I'll break your heart."

"That's not unreasonable to think."

"It is, because I promise I'll never do anything to hurt you."

"You always promise me things."

"And I haven't broken one yet have I?"

Matthew slowly sat up. "So you promise you'll stay with me?" His voice remained low and quiet.

"I promise," Gilbert grinned. As he turned to put out his cigarette on the nearby ashtray, Matthew reached over and kissed him.

Gilbert's surprise lasted less than half a second before he snickered into the kiss, "You started it this time," he wrapped his arms around the scientist and moved him to his lap. "I'm not going to stop," he murmured before nipping Matthew's lip, effectively granting entrance into the other's mouth and commencing a wrestle of tongues. Gilbert held Matthew's waist with one arm while the other trailed up his inner thigh. Matthew gasped, "Wait, let's do this at home…"

Gilbert broke the kiss to whisper in Matthew's ear, "No." before biting down and eliciting another gasp. There were no more protests after that. Gilbert left a trail of kiss marks along a pale neck, nipping and sucking as he went along. His hands crept under Matthew's shirt, memorizing the other's slight form and all the while pulling him ever so closer until he lay beneath him.

Matthew gazed up breathless to see an abdomen that could have been sculpted from marble. Gilbert was peeling off his shirt and Matt tried to do the same until strong arms held him down. "I want to do it," he breathed. It wasn't long before their clothes were thrown haphazardly throughout the lab and they were moaning each other's names.

Day fell and the night brought the moon, bright and unobstructed by clouds. The moonlight filtered through the lab window and bathed the two panting figures in its soft glow. Gilbert's hair shone like spun silver under the light, and glistened as he thrust back and forth. The soft light exposed numerous scars Matthew didn't know existed; they crossed his arms, chest, and back like claw marks. Gilbert bared his teeth at the tightness that enveloped him and his eyes burned crimson with hunger and passion. A beautiful beast, was Matthew's fleeting thought before he cried in pleasure. A beautiful beast indeed, consuming and drowning him. But, Matthew reflected as he reached up to bring their lips together, I don't mind being eaten by you.

Alfred went to an airforce academy and Matthew went to another far-off university so that's why Alfred-dearest couldn't protect his baby brother from evil college boys /shot