When a long weekend rolled around, Matthew, Alfred, and the twins were pretty much the only people they knew who weren't going home to visit, aside from the Braginskis, what with their parents being an ocean away. So they settled for a weekend-long gaming marathon at Alfred's demand. It was a set-up to some quiet time… except for all the yelling of course, but much less stressful than usual.

After giving up on Left 4 Dead, (because both Alfred and Feliciano's screaming every time they heard a witch crying was getting on the others' last nerves) they'd agreed on a four-way death match on C.O.D. It didn't take Lovino long to figure out why Alfred had been so insistent they play L4D at first.

Matthew was vicious. Once he'd picked a kit with a sniper rifle, Alfred had looked about ready to throw his controller in defeat, but he started the match anyway, and had earned a bullet in the face just moments after start time.

After awhile, the four settled into a pattern. Matthew would snipe Alfred, or occasionally one of the others, and someone else would shoot him from behind while he was distracted. Then Alfred would pause the game for a swig of Coke and to send Natalya yet another text, and they'd start it up again. Conversation was short for the most part, everyone more focussed on bloodily murdering the others, but after awhile they became so used to it that talking became easier.

"So how come you didn't tell us?"

When Matthew looked confused at the question, Lovino raised an eyebrow expectantly, before clarifying. "You're going out with Ivan."

"Yeah?"

"How come you didn't tell Feli and me that you're gay?"

The blond shrugged, and went back to their game, sniping Alfred quickly, and ignoring his loud protest. "It doesn't really come up in conversation that frequently, and 'hey by the way, I like guys' isn't exactly the world's greatest conversation starter either."

"Right…" He felt a little silly for asking now. It seemed pretty obvious that it usually shouldn't be the first thing you find out about somebody.

But as the four of them sat there in the living room of Alfred and Matthew's apartment, the Canadian really seemed no different in his eyes. He was the same shy, yet secretly vicious and somewhat classy teen he'd been the day before. Why should anything change?

"Just in case you thought of asking," Alfred added brightly. "I totally blame the Braginski sisters for why Mattie doesn't like the ladies."

Both twins stared at the American until he'd finally shot Matthew, and continued. "Well, Katyusha nearly smothered him with those big knockers of hers once. As cool as it would be, it was a near-death experience. That'd turn any guy away… except me. I mean… wow, what a way to go."

The other three just started laughing as Alfred continued rambling about his cool it'd be to show up at the pearly gates, and be able to brag to every car-crash and fatal disease victim up there that he got 'boobed' to death, (Alfred's word choice) and formed a silent alliance against him for the rest of the night.

"So what should we play tomorrow? Seeing as we're done with FPS games apparently."

"We've got a few really cool four-players, I'm sure I'll think of something." Alfred muttered with a stretch.

"Actually, I won't be playing for most of the day." Matthew said quietly.

"Oh that's right… you and Ruskie have a date." The American had stopped stretching, and was now looking very putout.

"You don't seem to happy about that." Lovino noted.

"He's worried that I'll marry Ivan, and then he can't marry Natalya because then it'd be almost incest. I've told him at least twenty times that it's too early to be thinking anything like that, but he doesn't believe me."

"It has nothing to do with that! I'd totally marry her anyway! I just don't trust him, that's all."

"Right. And you don't cry every time we watch Titanic."

"Cheap shot! It's a damn good movie!"

"Made by a Canadian director."

"With American actors!"

"Not all of them!"

"Enough to matter!"

Before the brothers could really get into their favourite argument, Feliciano stood up, tugging at Lovino's sleeve so he would do the same. "We should be heading to bed now. It's kind of late. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We'll order pizza as soon as I'm back, okay?" Matthew suggested quickly, before turning back to Alfred, and pointing out that all the Titanic victims were sent to Halifax to be identified within the same breath.

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Francis and Antonio walked casually down the street, pretending to be immersed in their conversation, and the girls they'd just walked past, though their attention was on the couple just a few feet ahead of them. They'd volunteered to follow Matthew and Ivan on their date, due to Elizaveta still being in a state of shock, and attempting to calm down enough to create a more rational plan.

Gilbert, on the other hand, was trailing behind them, muttering under his breath about how he was going to murder the commie bastard. He and Ivan had been enemies since kindergarten when he had called the boy fat, and got pushed off the slide as payback. He really didn't want the two together.

"So do you think they'll be together for long?"

"They'd better not be."

"It is hard to tell, mon ami. They haven't been together long enough for one to make any such observations."

"I'll give that fuckface an observation he'll never forget."

"Gilbert, please! We are trying to help Elizaveta. If you're not going to, I suggest you go home." Francis snapped, the last of his patience drained.

The albino glowered, but didn't retort, and just shoved his hands deeper into his jacket pockets, and kept following the other two.

He pointedly ignored the fact that one of his best friends was holding hands with his mortal enemy, and didn't even make a sound at any of the innocent kissing, or cutesy gestures. Mostly because he didn't want Francis to snap at him again. He always got this 'I can easily snap you in two if you don't shut up' kind of look when he lost his patience, and Gilbert hated seeing it.

"We should go back." Antonio murmured after two hours of walking, and hiding behind hedges near a sidewalk café. "We've got the pictures she and Kiku asked for, so really there's no point in us being…"

"No way." Gilbert snapped. "Lizzie said that she wants a full report on the date, that means everything that happens." He narrowed his ruby eyes at the pair. "Plus, there's no way I'm gonna risk that bastard hurting Birdie!"

The other two sighed, but continued to faithfully follow their companion, questioning his bizarre motives with every step.

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Thanks for reading~!

Head canon: Gilbert never calls Matthew "Birdie" to his face.