Matthew squirmed as the helpful shop assistant (who meant well but had no idea that his hands were so stifling) fitted a black leather strip around his neck, buckling a golden chain.
"It's too tight." The blonde gasped for air, causing Gilbert to motion for the collar to be removed. "Maybe something a little less... stifling?"
The shop assistant (with an original hairstyle that resembled a pair of ram horns; upon closer examination, they turned out to be just that) nodded, removed the collar, oblivious to the red mark it left upon the blonde's creamy neck, and returned with a collar that looked about the same, only bigger.
"This one looks better. Does it fit?" Gilbert walked around Matthew in a circle, checking for any signs of obvious discomfort. Matthew nodded. "It feels fine to me."
"We'll take it." Gilbert handed the assistant a few dollars, and walked out of the shop, almost immediately unfastening the leash from the collar and shoving it into the small drawstring bag he wore around his neck.
"I have to keep the collar on for the errand you need to do." He explained, reaching into his wallet and withdrawing a twenty dollar bill.
"We're walking up to the supermarket now. Can you go in and get some, like, cheap bagged candy? Like chocolate or something. I'm hungry already and I want something sweet."
"You just ate!" Matthew teased, giggling. Gilbert just smiled, handed him the bill, and inspected the tag on Matthew's collar.
"What does it say?"
"Standard information. Your name, my name, my address." Gilbert shrugged. "Look, here we are. Go ahead. People won't touch you if they see you're wearing my collar."
"If you say so." Matthew turned on his heel and entered the brightly lit grocery store, trying to find the candy aisle. Gilbert, as soon as the blonde moved out of sight, rushed across the street, trying to find the right address.
...
"And, here are your everyday clothes. We'll give you a different set when we're going out for a fancy event or such."
Feli watched as the kind lady from before handed him a folded set of pressed clothing, still smelling of detergent and soft to the touch. The brunette boy was currently perched on the edge of the big puffy bed they had provided him with, the one he would be expected to share with the other Perfect that lived in the house. Feli had been quite shocked when he found out that he would be treated like a son, not a slave, and that he would have a siblings. Or, at least, a girl and boy he would be expected to treat as his siblings. The grumpy man (Roderich, yes, that was his name) expressed distress at letting a small (apparently) girl sleep in a bed with him, but the nice lady assured him that he wouldn't hurt a fly. It was true, yes, he was usually quite docile, and he liked small children. They were always very cute and innocent, and hurting them would most likely cause Feli to break out into tears as well as the child.
"As for basic rules, please try not to break anything, and ask before you bake or cook something. Try not to disturb Roddy when he's working. You can wander the house as much as you want, I wouldn't be able to resist the urge to explore either." She punctured this statement with a breathy laugh.
It was true, the house was rather sizable, with three floors and a large backyard. Apparently the first floor was all the utilities such as the kitchen, dining room, and living room, the second was bedrooms, and the third was the various "studies".
"Roddy loves music, Kaiser and Lilly love to cook, and I like to... draw. Is there anything you like to do? I have an extra room upstairs that we thought we would use for Vash, but Vash prefers to be outdoors and you can't really shoot a gun inside." The woman looked at him expectantly, causing Feli to clear his throat.
"I like to draw. I didn't get to much back in the museum, but I have liked to ever since I was little." He smiled faintly, still not too trusting of this new benefactor. She smiled back.
"Of course. Do you like to paint? We'll get you some paper and canvas, and some good quality drawing tools." She patted him on the head and stood up, stretching. She was very nicely dressed, with a long green dress and an apron with frills around the edges.
"I'm going to go make dinner. I'd suggest you don't leave your room until I've introduced you at dinner, Vash gets testy around people he doesn't know." She waved, then left the room. Feli just sat like a sack of flour on the bed, gazing at his surroundings. A bed, with puffy sheets, that he was familiar with. Sky blue walls, with a few prints of clouds on them. A large dresser. An adjoining bathroom, and a lamp on the bedside table. Simple.
"Thank you, god." Feliciano bowed his head in a simple prayer, then went to change into the clothes she had provided him with.
...
Matthew scanned the walls that smelled like sugar and preservatives, trying to find something he thought they both would like. He didn't exactly know Gilbert's tastes, but he assumed that due to his extravagant, daredevil personality that he liked spicy candy and the like. Eventually he settled on gummi bears and those caramels with cream in the center, for everybody liked those. He also picked up a bag of black licorice, for a boy back at Objective had introduced him to it and now he liked it immensely (not the salty kind, he found that disgusting). He paid for the assorted sweet treats at the counter, before standing outside the grocery store and waiting. He did not have to wait long, for Gilbert came running from across the street in a matter of five minutes, holding a shopping bag.
"Hey! Vögelchen! I got somethin' for you!" He barreled into the poor Perfect, who could barely breathe as he grasped him in a death hug.
"Gilbert, please..." The platinum haired man let him go and handed him the bag, barely able to contain his excitement as he looked inside and pulled out the gift.
"A-a polar bear?" Matthew was speechless, half from thinking, Why did he get me a polar bear stuffed animal? And half from, Aw, it's so cute! It reminds me of the one I had as a child!
"Well? Do you like it?" Gilbert was practically bouncing off the walls, earning disgusted looks from passerby.
"It's adorable. Thank you." Matthew buried his head in the fluffy fur of the white bear, and Gilbert pecked a kiss on his forehead.
"I'm glad you like it, Mattie." Gilbert ruffled the blonde's hair, smirking. Inwardly, he was thinking, Yes! Score one for the awesome me!
"Time to go home?"
"Yeah. What candy didja get? I want some..." Gilbert grabbed the paper grocery bag that Matthew was holding and pawed around in it before emerging with the bag of gummi bears and the licorice.
"This yours?" He held out the bag of licorice to Matthew, who grasped at it and tore open the wrapper.
"Why do you even like this stuff? It's gross." Gilbert opened the bag of gummi bears and popped two red ones in his mouth.
"I think it's pretty good." Matthew mumbled, his mouth full of licorice. "My friend Emil recommended it to me, back when I was a slave to Objection."
"Emil? Weird name." Gilbert swallowed the chewy bears with a huge gulp and reached for more. "Didja get any candy for Toni? Because he'll get pissy if you didn't get him any for him and his little tomato to share."
Matthew sighed at the thought of having to give up his delicious caramels. "Yeah, I guess."
"Good!" Gilbert patted him on the back. "To the car!"
Hello! It's here! Yay! Please share this story with your friends, reviews are appreciated, yada yada yada, please pray for our Lovinito because shit is gonna get real next chapter. On that note, bye! *runs away before readers slaughter me because of what I did to our poor lovi*