He heard his brother the moment he walked in, being his usual loud and obnoxious self. Matthew waited for Al to burst in his room and ask about his nose, but that didn't happen. Even though he didn't want to explain it to him, he felt disappointed. He probably didn't even notice he stayed home from school that day.

If Alfred wasn't going to talk to him, then he would just have to write in his journal. He pulled it out from under his bed and opened it to a clean page.

I have no idea what's going on with Al, but I've been getting beaten up a lot worse lately on behalf of him. He usually doesn't notice me, but he hasn't come in the bother me at all. Strange, right? Maybe he's hiding something. Like weed. Or a bunch of hamburgers he stole from McDonald's since he's broke. Most likely hamburgers, what was I thinking? Oh yeah, getting beat up. A guy broke my nose only a few days after I got food poisoning. What are the odds? And one thing I've noticed is that Alfred always seems perfectly fine. No bruises or scars from fights. How is he avoiding these?! Doesn't make any sense. But neither does Gilbert. Or my entire life, really.
Sincerely, Still Questioning my Existence

He put his journal safely away and resumed being a recluse that most definitely didn't have a journal. Sometime later there was a knock on the front door. "Matthew, there's someone here to see you," Arthur said, his voice right outside his room.

Matthew got up in confusion and opened his door. "Who?"

"Some git who introduced himself as 'The Awesome Me'," Arthur sighed and walked away, not even noticing his broken nose.

Matthew drew in his breath in surprise. He had told Gilbert twice that he didn't need to come over and make him feel better. Yet he walked into the living room and there he was. He froze as Gilbert noticed him and grinned.

"Oi, Birdie. Which one is you?" he asked, looking at a picture hung on the wall.

Matthew walked over and looked at it. "I- I'm on the r-right," he clarified. It was a family portrait, taken when he was about 5. Back then, Alfred and him looked almost exactly alike.

"Of course. You are the cuter one," Gilbert said.

He blushed slightly and looked at the ground. "G-Gilbert, w-why are y-you here?"

"To see you. Can't have my little Birdie all lonely and hurt. So what's wrong?" Matthew looked at him now and Gilbert frowned. "What did you do to your nose? Break it?"

"Um... w-well," he debated between lying and telling him the truth. First he just had to get some words out of his mouth. "Uh, I-I was in a f-fight."

"You, in a fight? You mean more like you were hit and didn't even try to hit back?" Matthew shrugged. That's how it usually went. "That's not a fight! That's bull crap! Who hit you?"

"O-One of th-the jocks," Matthew said and paused, "H-He thought I was A-Al... Again."

"Again? You mean this happens a lot?" Gilbert asked, sounding like a concerned parent. Matthew nodded. Gilbert sighed, "Wow. Don't worry Birdie, I'll protect you from now on. Just think of me as your personal bodyguard."

"O-Okay," Matthew agreed, knowing Gilbert would be his "bodyguard" anyway. Just like how he came over when he was told not to.

Gilbert grinned. "Good. Now I have our homework from first hour." He pulled out a piece of folded paper from his pocket and handed it to Matthew. He took it and unfolded it. "I chose you as my project buddy so you wouldn't be all alone."

"Oh, um, th-thanks," Matthew said, skimming over the words on the pages. It didn't seem too hard. Something about a war they had to research and present to the class. "D-Do you want t-to get s-started on it?"

"Sure Birdie. Let's go to your room. You have a computer in there, right?"

Matthew nodded and led Gilbert to his room. Gilbert quickly made himself at home by flopping down on the bed. He closed his eyes and stretched his arms behind his head. "Wake me up in an hour."

"Uh..." Matthew stood awkwardly and looked at him.

After a few seconds, Gilbert started laughing and opened his eyes. "I'm kidding Birdie. You should see your face right now! Priceless."

Matthew blinked, trying keep up with him. "Uh... o-okay." He moved over to his bed and sat on the edge, turning his laptop on. Gilbert rolled over onto his stomach and propped his head up with his hands on his chin and his elbows on the bed.

"Your background is awesome!" Gilbert said.

"Th-Thanks," Matthew smiled slightly. His background was of them on vacation to Florida last year. They were all on the beach, smiling and posing as a stranger took the picture for them. It was a pretty fun vacation, even if he was stranded downtown and forgotten about...

Matthew opened up the browser. "O- Okay, which w-war are we going t-to pick?"

"I was thinking about the Austrian Succession. Prussia is in it. And Prussia is awesome."

"Y-You mean East G-Germany?" Matthew asked, typing it in. He'd only ever seen Prussia in a couple history textbooks but never learned much about it.

"Ja. East Germany is the best Germany. Which is where I'm from," he smirked and nudged him with his elbow," I know, it's so awesome, you're speechless."

"Yeah, that's why," Matthew muttered under his breath and clicked on a link. Gilbert read the article out loud, inserting "The Awesome" before he said Prussia every time. When he finished, they were able to start the packet to organize their oral report. It only took an hour before Gilbert completely lost interest in the homework.

"You want to take a break, Birdie?"

"B-But we just s-started," he protested, in the middle of writing a sentence.

"Come on, let's go do something else. We're almost halfway done with the packet anyways."

Matthew sighed and finished the sentence. "F-Fine. W-What do you want t-to do?"

Gilbert grinned. "Let's just take a walk."

"A-A walk?"

"You're not deaf are you? I said a walk. Unless your broken nose is affecting your legs," Gilbert smirked and got up.

Matthew rolled his eyes and shut his laptop. "M-My ears a-and my legs are j-just fine."

"Gut. Now let's go."

Matthew sighed and got up. He went out to the living room and slipped his shoes on, letting Gilbert lead him out.

"W-Where are w-we going?" he asked.

"You'll see," Gilbert answered ominously.

"O-Okay," he said, wondering just where Gilbert could be taking him. It could be his own house or something like a tattoo parlor or a bar that served to underage kids. Gilbert kind of seemed like a person that did illegal things. But he quickly found out Gilbert had quite the opposite in mind. "The p-park?" he asked in disbelief.

"Did you think I was taking you to do something illegal?" Gilbert laughed, apparently having read his thoughts, "not yet Birdie, you might have a panic attack if I did that." He walked over to the swings and sat, starting to swing. "Come on Birdie, don't just stand there."

Matthew quickly scanned the area for over- bearing mothers then sat down. He started moving slightly, just enough to keep his feet dragging over the wood chips.

It was silent besides the laughing and yelling of children for a few minutes, before Gilbert spoke, answering his unsaid question.

"I brought you here because I noticed you looked calm and happy while swinging and helping out that little girl."

Matthew looked at him in surprise. "R-Really?"

"Was I not allowed to look at you to make sure you didn't leave?" Gilbert said and smiled, slowing down the swing's pace.

Matthew shrugged and noticed it was silent now. The last children had left and the birds and squirrels were even calming down for the night. The only sound was the creaking of the swings and the occasional car. He looked up at the sky and took in the nice silence. It was one of those silences that wasn't awkward and you didn't want to break. But he noticed that the sun was already setting quickly, the last rays of light making the sky swirls of pink and gold.

"W-We should go s-soon," he said, finally breaking the silence.

"Afraid of the dark?" Gilbert teased.

"N-No," he said, looking at him. The last ray of sun caught his white hair and made Gilbert look almost luminous. Matthew caught himself staring at him, almost as if memorizing his face. Gilbert smiled at him and for once he didn't turn away and returned the smile. Gilbert grabbed the chain of his swing and pulled it so he could put one hand around both chains, bringing Matthew closer to him.

"Birdie," he said a little quieter, a darkness settling over the sky and dulling his features.

But Matthew had already memorized them. He stared into Gilbert's dark red eyes and leaned slightly closer to hear him. "You don't need to be afraid around me. I'll protect you. I promise."

"P-Promise?" Matthew asked softly in surprise, his voice just barely a whisper, which is how he usually talked.

"Ja," Gilbert said, "And I don't care if you say no. I never take no as an answer." Matthew nodded slightly in understanding and loosened his nervous grip on his chain. His hand was just below Gilbert's, who was still holding their swings together. Gilbert brushed his thumb over the back of Matthew's hand with a warm smile and suddenly let his swing go.

He swung sideways and dragged his feet on the ground to stop. He looked at Gilbert accusingly, feeling a small tingle in his hand where Gilbert touched. "W-What was that f-for?" he asked, not exactly sure what he was asking about.

Gilbert laughed loudly, disturbing the quietness around them. "I bet I can swing higher than you," he challenged, completely avoiding the question. Maybe he wasn't sure how to answer either.

"Y-You're on," Matthew said, tightening his grip on the swing and kicked off the ground, swinging himself higher and higher.

Gilbert laughed and swung with him. As soon as they got high enough, the metal structure creaked in protest and leaned forward, as if about to tip over. Matthew immediately dug his feet into the ground and stopped the swing in panic. He didn't want the whole structure falling over.

"Ich gewinne!" Gilbert laughed as he continued to swing, not caring they could have just gotten hurt. Matthew watched Gilbert's hair fly up and down as he swung, a light shade in the darkness.

"You're c-crazy," he said.

"I'm saner than you," Gilbert grinned, "I laugh in the face of danger! Ha!"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "W-we should r-really get going."

"I was planning to be out here awhile longer, Birdie. Don't make me stay here alone."

Matthew knew he wasn't going to sleep for another 2 hours, so he stayed with Gilbert. Eventually, Gilbert walked him home, once again in their comfortable silence.

"You know Birdie," Gilbert said once they were a couple houses before his, "I hate being quiet. Hate it. I can't stand tests where I have to be silent for an hour. I have to talk, and you've probably noticed this," he paused as he walked up the steps onto the porch before continuing. "But with you, I like it. I get why you're quiet. It's peaceful, right?" Matthew shrugged in response. Gilbert shoved his hands in his pockets. "Maybe you could help me with being quieter and I could help you with being louder... We can help each other."

"O-Okay," he agreed. Gilbert smiled and reached his hand up. He hesitated as if he was going to touch his cheek, but instead moved up to his head and he messed up his hair.

"Awesome. Gute Nacht mein kleiner Birdie," he said and turned away, jumping down the steps and heading down the sidewalk. Matthew stood and watched him, guessing at what he said, until he turned the corner and disappeared. He opened the door, thankful it was still unlocked, and walked in. He locked it behind him, took off his shoes, and went to hole up in his room for the night.

As soon as he laid down, his nose started throbbing with renewed intensity. Ever since Gilbert had taken him to the park, he'd forgotten about his broken nose. He took off his glasses and closed his eyes, exhausted, and thought of the kind things Gilbert had said to him. His nose pain was quickly forgotten as he fell asleep, thinking of Gilbert.

Translations-

Ich gewinne!- I win!
Gute Nacht mein kleiner Birdie- Good night my little Birdie

Sweet Gilbert is adorable. I bet you all thought that when they went to his room something was going to happen but nope! And then again at the park! *evil laugh* Matthew is totally, completely, 100% straight. Totally. Like a bubble with all its straight edges (Can you tell I failed my geometry final last year? whoops) Until next time, stay cool! (Unless you live in a place that is hot then lucky you, can I visit? So cold here..)