"I think I know someone who wants to see you." Francis cooed as he opened his hands to reveal Gilbird, who happily chirped as the face of his lifelong friend was revealed to him.

Gilbert wiped his eyes. "Aww, buddy. I'm always glad to see you." The curly – haired man placed the tiny bird in the hands of the albino, who cuddled him up closely to his cheek. "We always look out for each other, hu little bird? You know, Roderich was always jealous of ya, but don't worry – you don't have to see him anymore." He fondly patted the bird on the head with a fond smile.

"I'm sorry about my outburst." Apologized the German to Arthur with wide, beady red eyes. "Francis is right, I can be a bit overdramatic at times."

"Ah, but that is why we love you." Said Francis who hugged his friend who now had a puffy face from crying so much.

Arthur chuckled. "That's quite all right. You're fine just the way you are."

The Frenchman smirked. "I believe his dramatic antics are like a desperate plea for attention. Gilbert here has a fear of being ignored and forgotten."

Of course, Francis was only saying all of this in order to get Gilbert to blush. And it worked. His once pale, vampiric features were now sweaty and pink. "Hey! Since when do you get off on being my psychiatrist?!"

Francis laughed and blew a kiss. "Hey, at least you're not crying anymore. I distracted you, and it worked."

Unfortunately for Francis, Gilbert was now fuming. "Yeah! And I'm gonna kick your filthy French ass and invade your vital regions!"

Before the Brit knew it, Arthur and Gilbert had gotten into a full-blown hair – pulling contest. However, Francis was a lot stronger than he looked as he currently had the albino pinned down with his elbow.

"Well? What's the magic word?" Asked the blue – eyed man rather smugly with his other hand gripped tightly in Gil's hair.

"Uncle! Uncle! I beg you, not the hair! Uncle!" Screamed Gilbert while flailing on the floor like a maniac. "I'll be your slave, call you Master and do your chores for an entire week!"

"Hmmm…" Francis pondered. "Make it a month, and you have a deal."

Poor Arthur was left on the couch, shaking his head. "You two have a very complicated friendship."

Once Francis let Gilbert free, the German quickly pounced onto Arthur, who had innocently been sipping on his tea and avoiding the whole situation. "Arthur is the safety net! You can't catch me!"

"Oh, that reminds me," Arthur began, the Englishman clearly not bothered by the fact that he was almost being strangled to death by a complete stranger. "I have been sleeping in your room the past few days, so you can have your bed back. I'm sorry about that."

The albino suddenly became very interested by this fact and analyzed Arthur's features thoroughly. "I don't have a problem with that. You're pretty cute. You can stay in my room and we'll have a hell of a good time."

This received the German a quick swat on the head from Francis. "Non, I am looking after Arthur, he'll sleep in my room."

Arthur raised his hand. "Is there any scenario where I can avoid being molested in my sleep."

"No." Both roommates replied simultaneously.

That evening, the Brit had moved his belongings out of the albino's room and into Francis'. "Well, your friend certainly is an interesting guy." Arthur commented.

The curly – haired blond chuckled. "Oh, yeah. He certainly is. I have actually went to high school with both Gilbert and Antonio. You haven't met him, yet, but you will one of these days. And, because I know Gilbert, I also know his brother Ludwig quite well. He, Alfred and I usually like to go out drinking together after work. Ludwig may come off as a strict guy, but he's actually quite fun when he's drunk. You should see it sometimes." He smiled, almost as though he'd been lost in thought.

Arthur gave Francis a smile in return. "Hey, it's getting cold outside, do you mind if we use the heavy comforter tonight?"

The Frenchman nodded. "Oh, of course. I'm not fond of the cold, either. Even though the cold weather may be miserable this time of year, even in San Francisco, I must say I rather enjoy the festivities like Christmas and New Year's. Do you…have any plans for those days?"

Even though Arthur was taken aback by the question, he really would like to spend the holidays with his new friend, and perhaps some other quirky characters as well. "N-no, I'm not busy." He answered with a small blush on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. "I would love to do something with you."

As he enjoyed making Arthur feel awkward, Francis decided he would play along just a little longer. "By the way, what do you want for Christmas?"

The Brit nearly jumped out of bed in shock. "Francis! No, you've already done enough for me and I don't need anything for Christmas. If anything, I should get you a present."

Francis sighed. "Oh, Arthur. You really are more complicated than you look. Besides, I haven't celebrated Christmas with anyone in fifteen years, I wouldn't know where to start."

"Mon, ami… that really is heartbreaking." Francis now joined Arthur under the cozy blankets. "Would I be imposing if I asked why?"

The other man smiled. "I'll tell you…promise not to think I'm weird?"

Francis wrapped an arm around him. "Arthur. I never thought you were normal, and I'm always going to think you are weird. So, you might as well tell me everything. Now, what's with this whole not celebrating Christmas business?"

Arthur took a deep breath. "Well, I haven't celebrated Christmas when I was eighteen, and that is when my family kicked me out after finding that I was gay. I had a boyfriend then, real son of a bitch, and we were supposed to move in together. However, after I came out to my family – and I only did it for his sake otherwise he would have left me since he did not want a secret relationship, I find out that he was sleeping with a mutual friend of ours."

Suddenly, a teary - eyed Gilbert accompanied by Gilbird appeared in the doorway of Francis' bedroom. "H-hey guys. I can't sleep very well. It's cold, and I'm all by myself. Can I come in, please?"

That night, both Francis and Arthur hardly got any sleep as a snoring Gilbert laid sandwiched between them.