The three of them pressured me into playing more. For the next hour or so, they named songs and I played them. Gil told his friends to stick to popular songs, because that was mostly what I dealt with. I played everything from Eminem to Adele. Finally, they had run out of songs. I smiled and flexed my fingers. Gil smiled and hugged me, shaking his head a little.

"You're incredible, Birdie"

Francine and Antonio nodded in agreement. We walked out of the music room (I think Francine was starting to get a little jealous... oops) and went back downstairs. We went to a small living room, with two couches and a multi-coloured rug on the floor. There was shelf upon shelf of video games, a giant TV and probably every console you could play video games on. That included some handheld devices. I even saw a Gameboy Advance Colour in a glass case. I chuckled when I saw it. I remembered playing the Nemo game for the Gameboy. The three best friends plopped down on the couch. As there was nowhere else to sit, I sat on the armrest. I saw Gilbert smirk.

"Birdie, you can sit on my lap"

I nodded and curled up on him. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his cheek to the top of my head. I looked over at Francine, who appeared to be thinking. She was looking at the shelves of video games, trying to decide what to play. Antonio also thought for a few moments.

"Ah, mon amis... I cannot decide what to play... we 'ave finished almost all of these games"

"A-all of them? But there must b-be over one hundred!"

"Ja, and we used to get together and play a lot... the awesome me can't think of one we haven't finished"

"Si, I cannot think of one either! Wow..."

Francine made a face like she was trying to remember something. suddenly, there was a noise in the room. I looked around to see where it was coming from. The Frenchwoman smiled brightly and grabbed a bright red laptop from beside her. She set it on Antonio's lap so we could all see. She hit a button and suddenly someone's face was on the screen.

"Ah, bonjour, Francis! It 'as been too long, oui?"

My heart started beating like crazy at the mention of the name Francis. I had a cousin who was named that. He practically raised me, along with my other cousin Arthur. However, the chances of this Francis being the one I knew were quite slim.

"Mon ami, there is someone 'ere I would like you to meet!"

"Oui? Put the laptop on their lap then!"

Gilbert sat up a little so I could sit up straight. The laptop was set on my lap. Both Francis and I gasped. He leaned closer to the screen, a giant smile on his face.

"Matthieu? Is that you?"

"O-oui... Francis?"

Francis gasped and clapped. I had a huge smile on my face. It was so nice to talk to someone from my family who wasn't abusive or insane! Gil rested his head on my shoulder so Francis could see us both. The Frenchman smirked in that knowing way of his.

"It seems in the time I was gone you 'ave found yourself a lover?"

Gilbert went a little tense. I grabbed his hand and rubbed the back of it, telling him everything was okay.

"You're not homophobic, ja?"

Both Francine and I almost fell to the floor laughing. Francis didn't have a homophobic cell in his body. He supported love of any kind. He was also the person to help me realise my sexuality. Once Francine and I had stopped our laughter, we straightened up and wiped our tears of laughter. Francis did the same, so I guess he was laughing too. Gil was blushing slightly. I kissed his cheek and sent him a loving smile.

"Oh, oh mon dieu that was a good one, ami! Non, I am not 'omophobic"

I snuggled close to Gil while balancing the laptop on my hip. Francis gave me an adoring look.

"Matthieu... you 'ave grown up a lot since I last saw you. Your 'air is almost as long as mine! When was the last time you got it cut? Or did you miss grand frére that much that you wanted to look like me?"

"I-it was last cut five years ago"

"That is quite a long time... 'ave you been growing it out?"

"Well, I-I didn't have much of a choice... d-dad kicked me out five y-years ago"

Francis was shocked at this. His blue eyes widened and his long-ish blond hair got in his face. He swept it behind his shoulder and frowned.

"That is... quite surprising.. though it would explain 'ow you are so far from 'ome"

"I-I'm not that far from home... h-home is Gil's house"

"Ah. Gilbert, you 'ave been good to mon petit cousin, oui?"

"Ja... I think I've been awesome to him"

"Francis, y-you don't need to worry about that... Gil's been just a-amazing to me"

We talked for a while more. Francine and Antonio left the room halfway through the conversation, figuring it was a personal one. I told Francis all about the last five years. Surprisingly, I only teared up once. Gil held me tighter and kissed my neck when that happened. Mon cousin made an 'awww' sound, which brought me right out of the sadness. I blushed, smiled and leaned back against my lover. When Francis had to go, I frowned.

"F-francis, when a-are you coming back to Canada?"

"I will be back in a year, Matthieu. Do you 'ave any way I can contact you?"

"M-maybe my Youtube account?"

We gave each other the info to our Youtubes and Francis smiled sadly.

"Alright, I must go now. I will talk to you later, oui? Be safe, cousin. Je t'aime"

"Je t'aime aussi, Francis. Au revoir"

"Au revoir"

With that the screen said Francis had left. I sighed and set the laptop back on the table, curling up in Gil's lap after. It was... slightly painful to see Francis's expressions as I said what had happened. I always hated seeing Francis, the only family member I wanted to see (besides Arthur, of course) frown. Gilbert kissed my forehead, bringing a light blush to my face. He smiled gently.

"You'll see him in a year, ja? By the way, the awesome me likes him... not everyone in your family is that awesome, though..."

"Non... h-he and Arthur are the only ones I can stand t-to be around"

Gil sighed and nodded. I frowned. I didn't want Gil feeling sad too! I pulled him down for a kiss. He kissed back immediately, smirking into it. I threaded my hand in his silvery white hair as he deepened it slightly. He pulled back just a little and I think he was going to try to french me, but we were interrupted by Francine. She tapped both of us on the head and had a smirk.

"Mon amis, the food is ready!"

"Is it Chinese food?"

"Oui! That is customary for our visits, ami"

I smiled brightly. I hadn't had Chinese in a very long time. We got up and went to the table, where everything was laid out for us. Francine handed us plates and forks. I took a little of everything and sat beside Gil, who was already eating. There was so much there that we had seconds. For dessert we had pumpkin pie, with lots of whipped cream. I... somehow managed to get the whipped cream all over my face. Gil smirked evily before licking all of it off. I squeaked when he did that. Francine and Antonio cat-called, which made me blush darker than I already was. I was definitely going to have to find a way to get Gil back after this.

After he was finished licking my face, he pulled back with a pleased smirk. I just rolled my eyes and hid behind my sweater. However, Gil wouldn't stand for that. He pulled me in his lap, then kissed me. I heard the other two leaving the room, so I made myself comfortable and enjoyed the kiss. Gil's hand went under my sweater and slowly slid up my bare back. I gasped a little. He smirked and pulled back.

"Your back's sensitive?"

"O-oui..."

"Then how does a backrub of awesomeness sound?"

"Um... m-maybe at bedtime?"

Gil nodded and kissed me quickly, before we stood up. There were the sounds of a video game coming from the living room. Francine and Antonio were playing a hunting game for the Wii. Gil and I sat on the couch and watched them play for a few hours. They were... amusingly bad at the game. They swore and freaked out when a bear was coming at them. Gil laughed at his friends, while I just smiled. Halfway through the gaming session, Gil seemed to remember something. He went out to the kitchen and it sounded like he was making a call. I followed, not sure if I was supposed to or not. Gil saw me and walked over to the wall. he leaned on it and pulled me close to him. I rested my head on his chest and listened to him speak. He was talking to Tino... right! I forgot we had work tomorrow... and we probably wouldn't be back in time for it. I guessed that was why Gil was calling. He hung up with a smirk and looked down at me.

"Well, Birdie, I have some awesome news"

"A-and what might that news be?"

"The pancake place is going to be renovated, so we get the month off! And the best part is, we'll be paid while that's happening"

I smiled brightly at him. Paid vacation sounded good! I nuzzled Gil's neck and sighed happily. We went back to the couch and watched our friends play for a little longer, before we were all yawning. It was already two in the morning... oui, it was definitely time to sleep. Francine informed us that we'd be taking the one free guest room. Gil immediately scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the room. He set me on the bed, then went back downstairs. Gil returned with the backpack. We got changed into pj pants. Gil climbed on the bed first, smiling and patting the spot next to him. I took off my glasses and set them on the small nightstand, then joined him. I snuggled close to him, wrapping my arms around him. But he apparently had a different idea. He slipped out of my hold. I looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Still want that backrub, Birdie?"

I smiled and nodded. Gil gently pushed me so I was lying on my stomache. Gil trailed his fingers up and down my spine, making me twitch a little. He applied light pressure with his nails and ran those all over my back. He even gave me a shoulder massage, saying how weird it was that I wasn't tense. By the end of it I was completely relaxed. I flipped on my back and smiled.

"Y-you're good at that"

"Danke, Mattie.. sleep time now?"

"O-oui... sleeping would be good"

Gil nodded and flopped beside me. I snuggled close to his chest, placing a quick kiss there before nuzzling the spot. Gil chuckled and wrapped his arms around me. He pulled the blanket over us and kissed my forehead.

"Guten nacht, mein vogel"

"Bon nuit, Gil. I-I love you"

"I love you too, Birdie"

I blushed a little and smiled. This visit to Francine's house had pretty much cancelled out the bad part of the day. It was good to get a rest from everything before possibly having to see... him again.

((*sigh* hey guys... I'm sorry that this is super late, but... my girlfriend has been having some massive issues at home. I've been trying as hard as I can to support her... but we lost contact yesterday. Her parents are really cracking down on her. I don't know how long this is going to last, so don't expect fast updates... on a lighter note, since we're probably going to hit 300 reviews, I've decided to do a prize fic for the 300th reviewer! I'll tell you guys the details next time I update. And thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and/or followed this... you guys continue to amaze me with how much you like this story :) ))