"Matt! Open up! Maatt!" Alfred banged on his brother's door.
"His car's not here." Ceilí pointed out, gesturing toward the empty parking space.
"Oh. Yeah. Alright then, GILBERT! Open the door! I know you're here!" Alfred continued beating on the innocent door.
"Jesus, Dummkopf, you don't have to knock so hard. I could hear you in the basement." Gilbert wiped what appeared to be sawdust off his face with a scrap of blue cloth.
"Well sorry." Alfred rolled his eyes. "Wait, Matt has a basement?"
"If he didn't have a basement, how would I have been able to hear you from it?" Gilbert tucked the cloth into one of the multitude of pockets on his cargo pants.
"You must be Gilbert." Ceilí said smoothly, stepping between Alfred and the ghost. "May we come in?"
"Who the hell're you?" Gilbert crossed his arms.
"Hasn't Matthew told you about us? I'm his aunt Kayleigh, and this is my brother Walter. I believe you're already acquainted with Arthur and Alfred?"
Gilbert snorted. "Where's the unicorn 'n the bird?"
,,
Matthew was trying to pay attention, really he was. But somehow, Professor Gregg's lecture wasn't anywhere near as captivating as the scenarios playing out in his head. Damnit, I wish I didn't have to go to class today…what if they get there before I do…? Images of Gilbert interacting with his family without himself there to act as a buffer flooded his brain.
Gregg cleared his throat loudly. "Mr. Williams, what is isostatic rebound?"
"Um…it's what occurs when the weathering of a mountain causes it to lift out of the asthenosphere." Matthew silently thanked every deity known to man that he had read that day's chapter of the book the night before.
"Hm." Gregg gave Matthew a warning look before resuming his lecture.
,,
One anxious hour later, Matthew bolted from the lecture hall, making a bee-line for the parking lot.
Please don't be there. Please don't be there. Please don't be there! He skidded around an exhausted-looking car and promptly collided with something large, warm, and human shaped.
"…hello…" Professor Karpusi looked down at Matthew, green eyes reflecting tired amusement.
"Sorry! I-I wasn't watching where I was going. Excuse me." He scrambled past Karpusi, Honda either ignored or never noticed in the first place, and sprinted the last few yards to his truck.
"He's…in an awful…hurry…" Heracles noted as Matthew threw himself into his truck, engine started before he had even fully closed the door.
"I hope that there is nothing wrong." Kiku watched Matthew tear down the street, leaving impressive skid marks.
"I'm sure everything…will be alright. Matthew…is a smart boy."
,,
"Toris? Do you know anyone named Gilbert?" Ivan looked up from his laptop, and the psych paper he was supposed to be writing, watching Toris from under his bangs.
"No, it doesn't sound familiar. Why?" Toris continued absently flipping through his A & P book, barely even pretending to study.
"Matvey. He said that his boyfriend's name is Gilbert, and I am curious about him." Ivan pecked boredly at the keyboard, half-hoping inspiration would suddenly strike, the other half not really caring.
"Matthew has a boyfriend? He never told me." Toris leaned over Ivan's shoulder to check his progress, and wasn't really surprised to be faced with a blank Word document.
"Da. He asked me for advice." Ivan plucked the book from Toris' hands and opened it to a page at random. It appeared to be written in Latin, though Toris had before assured him that it was English.
Toris started snickering. "He asked you?"
"Of course. Who else does he have to ask?" Ivan placed the book back in Toris' lap.
"Well, no one, I guess. But you don't exactly have the best track record." Toris snapped the tome shut, having given up on attempting to cram anything else into his brain for the day.
"I do not believe Natalya counts."
Toris winced. "I wasn't talking about her. I was actually referring to Yao."
"Yao is…not the best example, da?" Ivan smiled almost nervously.
"You dated for a week, and after he called it off he ran away every time he saw you for almost two months."
"As I said, not the best example." Ivan snapped his laptop closed without bothering to properly shut it down.
"I hope you saved everything important." Toris eyed the manhandled electronic.
"I had not yet written anything, so I had nothing to save." Ivan pulled Toris into his lap and rested his chin on the smaller man's shoulder. "When will your bro—"
"Eww! Jeez Toris, get a room!" Peter grinned at them from the doorway, Raivis hovering behind him.
"This is my room, and get out of it!" Toris grinned as he spoke, tone more playful than his words, and threw the nearest object (one of Ivan's shoes) at his brother's best (only) friend.
As the duo scrambled away, Toris could hear Peter saying to Raivis, "I'm glad your brother's gay, otherwise that might have been a stiletto."
,,
Matthew sighed as drove five miles over the speed limit down the highway, flicking his turn signal on as he neared the corner. I hope they're not there…but what if they are? Then what am I gonna do? He ran his hand through his hair exasperatedly.
The sight of three vehicles in his driveway (two familiar, the third appeared to be a rental) assured him that he had, in fact, arrived too late to pretend that he wasn't home.
Pulling his truck into his yard for lack of a better place to park it, Matthew began playing reasons through his head as to why they were there.
"Hey, Mattie! Guess what! You have a basement!" Alfred yelled from the porch as Matthew tugged the key out of the ignition and wondered if he was fast enough to make a run for it.
"Really, Al? I have a basement? I never that. After all, it's not like the realtor gave me a tour of the house before I bought it or anything like that." Matthew rolled his eyes as he spoke, knowing full well that his sarcasm would go right over Alfred's head.
Alfred opened his mouth to respond, but Arthur cut him off. "Why don't you come inside, lad. We've a lot to talk about."
Matthew bit his lip. He'd never heard Arthur use that tone before. It was…solemn, like the voice of a priest listening to a confession. Or like the one confessing.
He allowed himself to be led inside and frowned at the expressions on Ceilí's and Bhaltair's faces. As inscrutable as Arthur's.
"Dad…everyone…what's going on?" Matthew locked eyes with Gilbert for a moment. The ghost shrugged hopelessly.
"That's a helluva good question. What is going on?" Alfred stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Matthew, arms crossed.
Arthur sighed heavily. "We're here…to resurrect Gilbert."
"No."
..
This chapter took forever to write…it turned out okay, though. A & P stands for Anatomy and Physiology. Toris is studying to be a doctor, and Ivan is after a degree in psychology. I've pretty much decided who I'm going to use for the mysterious character, but a few last-minute votes might change my mind!
But anyway, I hope you all liked it! Equilibrium out!