"Hey, I wanted to thank you again for staying tonight," Gilbert sheepishly said as he made up his own bed for his guest to sleep in. "I mean, I know that it's not exactly ideal, especially staying with someone that you don't really know, but please know that it really means a lot." He chuckled nervously. "Being alone for extended periods of time does weird shit to you, you know?"

Arthur offered the man as genuine of a smile as he could while not exactly understanding what he meant. "Yeah, I get that," he assured, trying to make the lie sound as genuine as possible. "It must be rough, huh?"

"You have no idea, dude. Growing up is a trap, Arthur." He sighed as he straightened out the comforter on top of the mattress. "They always say that it'll get better when you get older, or that you'll understand with age or whatever. That's not true. It only gets worse. Life sucks, and then you die. I'm starting to believe that happy endings were never a thing to begin with. After all, Hollywood movies always portray things that we all want but can never have. Maybe happiness is included there as well."

After a quick glance toward the pile of things that didn't belong to the man he was speaking with, the blond finally spoke up. "Do you miss him?"

"Who?" Gilbert asked, eyes longingly gazing toward his ex-boyfriend's belongings. "Roderich," he sighed. "I miss him so much that I can hardly stand it. But I suppose that's how all of my relationships are destined to be, you know. People date me, they have fun, we get close, but they never stay for long. Is it me? They always say that it's not, but I'm the only common denominator that I can figure out in these scenarios." He frowned and then shook his head as if ridding himself of the thought. "It's whatever, you know? I need to stop moping about and just live my life as unapologetically as I did back in high school. I should go back to being the Gilbert that Al admired and looked up to. The only problem is that I don't know where that Gilbert went." His red pupils focused on Arthur. "Pretty stupid, huh?"

"Not really," Arthur replied. Longing was something that he could completely understand. After all, everyone wanted something that wasn't attainable. Then again, he didn't think everyone was nearly as focused on mourning the unattainable as Gilbert seemed to be. It made him feel sorry for the older guy. "It's something you want, isn't it? How could that be stupid, Gilbert?"

"Maybe it isn't stupid," the man reasoned. "But even I know that it's too late for me." He finished making up the bed and smiled tiredly. "Here you go, Arthur. Make yourself at home. I should probably head to bed soon. I'll make us breakfast in the morning. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

The blond watched him go, yet something inside of him was scolding him for not reaching out to him. He knew that Gilbert was deeply hurt, emotionally, but he had never been good with comforting others. Yet part of him wanted to chase after the albino and acknowledge his pain, but what would come after that? Simply acknowledging and not being able to help would only hurt Gilbert more, wouldn't it?

Though Natalia didn't seem bothered by what happened between her and Alfred, Arthur had to remind himself that she was the one who did the heart breaking. In this case, Gilbert appeared to be the one who had his heart broken, and not only by Alfred. It made Arthur wonder just how much the older man would put himself through, for the sake of someone else. Who would ever want to live such a self-sacrificial life?

.

The next morning, Arthur woke up to the smell and sound of sizzling bacon in the kitchen. He laid in the bed to orientate himself, freaked out about waking up in an unfamiliar bed at first. Once he had gathered his bearings, he decided to head out toward the kitchen to find Gilbert finishing up preparing breakfast, clad in a pair of black basketball shorts, the top lining of his Calvin Klein boxers peeking over the top.

Gilbert turned to Arthur and grinned. "Good morning, Arthur! How'd you sleep?" he asked, turning off the burners of the stovetop and shoveling the bacon onto a plate. "Was the bed comfortable enough?"

"I slept well," Arthur replied, sitting down at the small table that was set up. "Your bed was comfortable. I almost feel bad for sleeping in it while you were on the couch all night."

The other man waved Arthur's concerns away as if swatting at gnats. "Don't worry about it," he assured. "It's really nothing. I used to have to sleep on that couch all the time. Without sounding like I'm whining, I suppose you could say I'm used to it. Pathetic, huh?"

Shaking his head, the blond smiled. "Not at all. Sometimes life is just like that." He accepted the plate offered to him, mouth watering at the sight of the breakfast food on it. "This looks amazing, Gil!"

"It's really nothing," the albino replied. He then smiled fondly as he thought back to his time with Alfred. "Then again, Alfred always said that I should be a cook." Gilbert sighed. "Maybe things would be different these days if I had chosen to attend culinary school instead of flunking out of law school."

"Law school?" Arthur asked, taking a bite of his breakfast. His face lit up as the bite melted in his mouth. "Holy fuck!" he exclaimed after swallowing. "This is the best French toast I've ever had!"

Gilbert blushed. "It's nothing, Arthur. You're making it out to be more than what it really is." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "It's only breakfast. There's no reason to freak out so much. God, you remind me of Al the first time he stayed overnight and got breakfast in the morning."

"Yeah?" the blond asked. "Tell me more about that."

The albino chuckled to himself. "I suppose I could."

.

Three Years Previous

Alfred blinked his eyes open and looked around, quickly reminded of the fact that he had spent the night at Gilbert's house. He brought the comforter of Gilbert's bed up to his nose and took a deep breath. It smelled just like the older boy, causing the blond to smile. His hands fumbled around the nightstand until he found his glasses, quickly putting them on.

For a moment, he was confused. Where was Gilbert? And then a delicious aroma enveloped him, causing him to get out of bed and follow it to the kitchen, where he found Gilbert and his younger brother Ludwig. He felt nervous around Ludwig, probably due to the boy's stoic expression.

"Hey!" Gilbert excitedly greeted. "Good morning! Did you sleep well? Are you hungry?" He flipped a fully-cooked pancake onto a plate and slid it down the table to Ludwig, who stopped it with his hand without looking up from his newspaper and coffee. "I can make you anything you'd like! What sounds good?"

Overwhelmed for a moment by all of the questions, Alfred took stock of them in his head, ready to answer them in the order which were asked. "I slept great, and yeah, I am hungry. Do you know how to make French toast?" He sat down at the table with Ludwig, albeit as far from him as he could.

The oldest boy noticed Alfred's discomfort and threw a dish towel at his brother. "Where are your manners, Brüder?" he demanded. "Have you realized that we have company? Say hi!"

Ludwig flicked his newspaper down and made eye contact with the freshman. "Hello, Alfred. How are you doing today? Pardon my rudeness; I wanted to be sure to read the newspaper before Feliciano got here for his tutoring session."

Gilbert snorted. "Yeah, tutoring," he teased. "Oh, come on! Stop lying to yourself!" he called after his brother as Ludwig stood up and left the room after a quick apology to Alfred. Red pupils rolling back, he chuckled to himself. "I made a bet with our grandfather that Ludwig will get together with Feliciano before I graduate high school. Gotta make sure I win that."

"Ludwig is….?" Alfred asked, voice trailing off as he was unsure of how to phrase his question.

"Gay?" the other asked, laughing. "Oh, there's no doubt in my mind about it. I mean, he is my brother, so I'd be disappointed if he wasn't at least bi, y'know?" he joked with a wink to the freshman. "By the way, now that we're alone." Gilbert walked over to Alfred and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Good morning, Al."

The bespectacled boy blushed deeply. "Good morning, Gil." He watched as Gilbert went to the fridge and got out the ingredients for French toast. His eyes fixed on him as he watched the older boy prepare his breakfast. Gilbert was so mesmerizing to him; he couldn't look away.

Once finished preparing the French toast, he slid the plate down to Alfred before filling a glass with milk and placing it in front of the other boy. "I can't wait to watch you take your first bite," he said, resting his head on his hand and smiling to himself. "You're going to love it, Al. I just know it."

"You think so?" the blond jokingly asked as he cut off a small piece. He took his bite and his eyes lit up. "This is incredible, Gil! Does all of your food taste like this? Like, I've never had anything like it! Please tell me your secrets!"

Flattered, Gilbert grinned. "Yeah, I know I'm awesome. Praise me more!"

"Have you considered being a chef, Gil? Like, I know your grandfather wants you to go to law school and all, but wouldn't you rather go somewhere where you can thrive?" Alfred had a far off look in his eyes as he continued eating and musing aloud. "I feel like this could be really good for you. My Auntie Alice used to run a bakery before me and Arthur were born, and your food is better than hers! Please keep in my mind that my Auntie Alice always made the best food, in my opinion."

"Then I'll accept that compliment," Gilbert replied, smiling at the other boy. His heart felt as if it were soaring in his chest, and before he knew it, he was kissing the other boy again, the French toast quickly forgotten.

.

Present Day

"You know," Gilbert began, chuckling to himself, "even when I was trying to be romantic, it appeared you were the only person he thought about. At the time, I couldn't help but feel jealous, yet now as I sit here with you, I can see the appeal." Realizing what he was saying, his eyes widened in panic. "I-I didn't mean-"

Arthur chuckled into his milk before setting it down. "Don't worry about it, Gil. There's no harm done. But please, if you would, I would absolutely love to know your secret."

Gilbert laughed. "If Al never got it, don't think you will either," he replied with a wink. "It's a secret recipe only to be known by the most awesome of people, so I'm afraid I can't share it."

"Pity," Arthur replied, grinning. "Do you mind if we continue after I shower?"

"No problem. Allow me to show you where everything is."