This story is called "Against All Odds" requested by Just A Fish. The request was to write anything with Prussia as one of the forbidden lovers, so I decided to write a Prussia x Canada. I hope you like it!

Gilbert's P.O.V.

I tapped my pencil against my desk impatiently, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. Lunch was definitely my favorite period of the day, and it wasn't just because I didn't have to work or pay attention during that period. There was also Matthew Williams. Matthew and I generally sat alone at the lunch table when Matthew's only other friend, Carlos, was in lunch detention for threatening Alfred, Matthew's brother, again. We were both okay with that and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Matthew didn't know that I've had a crush on him for the longest time.

My thoughts were interrupted as the bell (finally) rang. I packed everything up and headed to my locker, keeping my head down. As I opened it and put my stuff away, I was startled by a presence behind me. I turned around and saw that it was my younger brother, Ludwig. He had a large bruise on his cheek from earlier that morning.

I breathed out, relieved, "West, you scared me. You shouldn't sneak up on awesome people like that."

"Sorry," he answered gruffly.

"It's fine, the awesome me forgives easily." I turned the conversation to the bruise, "You still haven't gotten ice for that or something?"

"Nein," he answered, "I'm a bit worried that he may just hurt me more."

"It's your own fault that he hurt you when you started dating that one guy, Feliciano Vargas," I pointed out.

"It is not," Ludwig contended.

"You know how Vati feels about people like that," I countered.

Ludwig growled, and muttered, "Doesn't stop you," as he went away. Strange, he didn't even tell me why he was there in the first place.

I shrugged and grabbed my lunch box, then went to the cafeteria. Matthew was already there. I flashed him a smile as I sat down, and he grinned back.

"Hi, Gilbert." Matthew greeted me.

"Hallo, Birdie." I said as I took out the extra sandwich that I made for Matthew, a peanut butter and maple syrup (real maple, not that unawesome high fructose corn syrup crap) sandwich.

"Thanks," Matthew bit into the sandwich, and the look on his face was well worth the wait.

We ate in silence for a while until Matthew spoke up, "Gilbert?"

"Ja?" I asked, packing my leftovers in my lunch box.

"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" he asked shyly, "My dad makes the best French cuisine ever. You could even spend the night if you want."

I shifted in my seat nervously. I didn't want to disappoint Matthew, but if my Vati found out about my crush on Matthew and that I spent the night with him, he would freak. But still...

"J-Ja. That sounds awesome." Matthew beamed, and I knew I did the right thing. We talked a little more than usual after that, and when we left the cafeteria, I felt better about tonight. The only problem was telling Vati. I took out my cell and dialed the home phone.

"Hallo?" Good, he was home. Already this conversation was going a lot better than I thought it would.

"Hallo Vati." I started, "A friend invited me over to his house tonight, for dinner and to spend the night."

"Tonight? But tonight's a school night." I sighed. Of course he would make this difficult.

"Ja, I know. If his parents can't give me a ride, I'll be home before school starts." I crossed my fingers and hoped this would work.

After a silence that seemed to last forever, he gave me an answer, "I don't see why not. However, you've been a lot better than Ludwig recently. I want it to stay that way." I heard the menacing undertone in his voice, and I swallowed.

"Understood, sir." I hung up, more grateful than ever that I wasn't going to be at home tonight.

I rode the bus home with Matthew and Alfred. Alfred, for once, was quiet, and allowed Matthew and I to enjoy our conversation on whether polar bears or birds were better. Then I saw my bird fly in through the window and caught him.

"Gilbird, you want to come too?" I asked him, and he answered by nestling in my hair.

When we got to Matthew's house, I was a bit surprised when two men came out of the house to greet us. The taller of the two, a blonde Frenchman, hugged Matthew, then looked at me.

"Matthieu, is this the friend you were talking about?"

"Oui," Matthew answered.

The man walked up to me and shook my hand, "Bonjour, I am one of Matthew and Alfred's fathers, Francis Bonnefoy. The grumpy antisocial one behind me is their other father, Arthur Kirkland." This earned Francis a playful punch to the shoulder from the green eyed man with really bushy eyebrows that I assumed was Arthur.

"Kidding, Arthur," he kissed Arthur on the cheek, causing him to blush.

Arthur came up to me and shook my hand as well, "It's very nice to meet you, Gilbert. Matthew has told us a lot about you."

"It's awesome to meet both of you, too." I said, not sure what else to say.

"Come in, mon ami, it's almost time for dinner." Francis led me into the living room, and I sat on the couch next to Matthew. I talked with his family before dinner, and I found out that Alfred was actually pretty awesome, and not annoying like I thought he was at first. I also learned that both Alfred and Matthew were adopted, hence their differing last names.

Whenever I ate dinner, I was surprised at how good it was, "Who made this awesome meal?"

"Ohohon, do you like it? I was the one who made it. We never let Arthur near the kitchen." Arthur glared at Francis, but kept eating.

"Yeah, dude, you should've seen what happened last time he tried to cook." Alfred remarked, earning a glare for himself as well.

Dinner was over, and we were free to do whatever, so Matthew took me up to show me where I would sleep. As it turned out, I was sleeping on the floor in Matthew's room.

"Kumajiro, we're having a guest staying with us tonight!" Matthew called, and I was startled when a baby polar bear came out of a little tent in the corner of the room.

I was even more startled when it spoke, "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt."

"Not you, him," he tilted his head at Matthew, who huffed.

"How many times are we going to have to go through this? I'm your owner, Matthew."

Gilbird then flew off of my head and landed on Kumajiro, who didn't seem to take notice and went back into his tent.

"Looks like Gilbird made a new friend," I observed, then I started talking to Matthew, "So, Birdie, you have two dads?"

Matthew nodded, looking a little embarrassed, "Yeah. I don't really talk about it because, well, not everybody in this town is the most accepting about that kind of thing..."

Don't I know it, I thought.

"And I don't think either of my parents were surprised when I told them I was gay as well."

I looked up at Matthew, "What?"

Matthew nodded, "And I've actually liked a guy for a while now, but I'm not sure how to tell him. I honestly don't think he likes me back."

My face fell. Of course I wouldn't be lucky enough to have Matthew's affection. Oh well, I may as well encourage him a little bit.

"I bet he does. He would be an unawesome idiot not to." I sat on the floor, looking down glumly.

Matthew moved over to me, and to my surprise, sat in my lap. I was about to ask Matthew what he was doing when he kissed me.

"Je t'aime, Gilbert." Matthew whispered. I just sat there for a minute, stunned. I had taken enough French to know what that meant. Matthew, taking my silence as rejection, got up off of me and sat down on the bed. This time I was the one to sit in his lap.

"I love you too." I said in English, knowing that he didn't speak German (our school didn't offer German as a language class). I began kissing him, and didn't let him pull away, but as it turns out, he didn't want to. The kiss turned into an awesome make-out session, and I pushed Matthew down on the bed, staying on top of him. Eventually, Matthew moved from my lips down to my neck and bit, causing me to inhale sharply. Then Matthew started unbuttoning his shirt. That was when I pulled away.

"Birdie, what are you doing?" I asked him.

Matthew looked at me shyly, a blush starting to form on his cheeks, "I think we should go all the way." My jaw dropped. Surely he couldn't be serious?

"Do you not want to?" he asked me. He was serious.

I sat up on the bed, "Nein," when Matthew looked disappointed, I added in, "Not on the first night. There will be plenty more after this one."

Matthew's face lit up and he sat up as well, "Gilbert, do you mean?"

I smiled and put my arm around his shoulder, "Matthew Williams, will you be my awesome boyfriend?"

Matthew planted a soft kiss on my cheek, "Of course. Although," he looked down as he whispered, "I'll never be as awesome as you."

"That's where you're wrong, Birdie. You're twice as awesome as me." We started making out again, only to be interrupted by someone opening the door. We broke apart as Francis entered the bedroom.

"I just came in here to tell you two-" he stopped when he saw the position we were in, "Ah, I understand what's going on here."

Uh oh. "Y-You do?" Matthew asked, his voice barely heard.

"Oui," Francis winked at me, "Be in bed by ten, tomorrow's a school day." He almost closed the door, but stopped, "And Matthieu?"

Matthew gulped, "Oui, Papa?"

"I told you he liked you back." And with that Francis left, closing the door behind him.

I got off the bed and stared at the door, dumbfounded by what just happened, "Okay, it's official. You're dad's awesome."

Matthew nodded, "Yeah he is," he shifted nervously, "Gilbert?"

I glanced back at Matthew, "Hmm?"

Matthew was blushing furiously, "You, um, don't have to sleep on the floor tonight, if you don't want to. I-I don't mean we, you know. I just mean you could sleep with me in my bed."

I sat back down on the bed, "I understand. Danke, Birdie."

I woke up the next morning with Matthew in my arms. Daylight was streaming from the curtains, so I gently shook Matthew awake. He looked up at me, bleary-eyed.

I pecked his cheek lightly, "Good morning, Birdie."

"Morning Gilbert," Matthew murmured, "What time is it?"

I looked at the clock, "6:30."

Matthew sat up, "Merde. We better get up, before-"

Alfred burst in with a water gun, "Get up, lovebirds, we're gonna be late for the bus!"

As I was riding my own bus home with Ludwig, I was thinking about how awesome my first day being together with Matthew had been. Alfred decided to be an idiot and announce to our entire lunch period that Matthew and I were an item now, which earned us a lot of applause, and me a thumbs up from another one of my friends, Antonio, who was sitting with his boyfriend, Lovino, the other Vargas brother. After lunch, I had asked Matthew to come on a date with me, and told him to meet me at the park at midnight.

Ludwig interrupted my thoughts, "You do realize he's going to kill you, right?"

I smirked, "Not if he doesn't find out."

"He's going to find out somehow." Ludwig insisted, sounding genuinely concerned about me.

I waved it off, "I'll be fine, West, you worry too much."

The bus stopped and let us off in front of our house. I opened the door for Ludwig, then went in myself, dropping my bag on the floor.

"Vati! We're home!" I called.

Our Vati came in to living room to greet us, and purposely avoided talking to Ludwig, "I see that. Gilbert, did you have fun last night at your friend's?"

"I did. Matthew is an awesome friend, and his family is nice."

He quirked an eyebrow at me, "And I assume nothing happened while you were there?"

I lied easily, "Nein. Just the same old boring sleepover stuff."

He walked up to me and I felt a slight ache where he poked the bruise on my neck, "Then who was it that gave you this?"

I wasn't prepared for that, "Oh. Um, well, I can explain." I motioned for Ludwig to go to our room, just in case this conversation turned sour.

"How about I explain for you?" Vati voice was rising, "You're with this Matthew kid, aren't you?" I nodded, readying myself for what would come next, "You know the only reason I approved of your brother dating that Vargas boy is because I am friends with Rome. I don't even know your little fling, and frankly, I don't want to."

"But Vati-" I began, only to receive a harsh blow to the gut.

"No buts. You are forbidden to see him. I won't stand for it," he paused, and I sent a thousand silent prayers that he wouldn't snap when he continued, "What I don't understand is why you couldn't pick out of all the girls in your school. What about that one friend of yours, Elizabeta?"

I was very careful with my wording, "Elizabeta hits me a lot, and she is still upset about her breakup with Roderich. I wasn't going to take advantage of that." And she has a thing for that Belarusian chick, I added in my head, knowing that piece of information would not help me with my Vati.

He sighed, "Whatever. That doesn't change a thing. Go do your homework."

I picked up my bag and went to the room I shared with Ludwig, already making plans to sneak out of the house.

I looked at myself in the mirror, analyzing what I was wearing. I knew I didn't want to go too formal, but I still wanted to look nice. I was wearing a black t-shirt with a little Gilbird embroidered on the front pocket of the shirt, and my nice jeans. I had the actual Gilbird in his cage, because I didn't want his absence signalling that I was also gone. I looked at the digital clock. It read 11:30. I had to hurry if I didn't want to be late. I took one last look in the mirror.

"You look fine," a grumble came from Ludwig's bed, "Turn the light off before you leave."

"Kesese, this is gonna be awesome!" I turned off the light and jogged to the park, taking in the sweet ecstasy of freedom. When i got there, only barely panting, I slowed to a walk, looking around for Matthew. I saw him waiting by a maple tree, and I just stopped, taking in how perfect he looked. He was wearing jeans and his red maple leaf hoodie.

I walked up to him and wrapped my arm around his waist, "Why the hoodie? Are you cold, Birdie?"

We started walking, and Matthew was shaking, "I-I don't know. I guess a little bit."

"I don't see how anyone can be cold in springtime, but okay. Here," we sat down on a bench and I took him in my arms, "my awesomeness will warm you up."

Matthew stopped shivering, "Thank you, Gilbert."

I kissed his head, "Anything for you, Birdie."

"Anything?" Matthew asked.

"Ja." I answered.

"Please don't ever leave me," Matthew begged, "You know Ivan Braginski, right? H-He was my first love. Then one day he just up and left me. I don't ever want that to happen to us. I feel ten times more for you than I ever felt for him."

I was shocked at this, but I still told him, "I won't leave you, Matthew. You're my adorable little Birdie." I hoped I wasn't making an empty promise.

I went home after the date and crawled back in through the window, only to walk in on the worst sight in the world. My father was in my room, holding a nearly unconscious Ludwig by the collar of his shirt. Ludwig was beaten very badly and he was having a hard time keeping his head up. Blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Now I'm going to ask you again. Where is that no good brother of yours?"

"Stop!" I tackled Vati, causing him to drop Ludwig, who slumped to the floor, now entirely unconscious. Vati grabbed me mid-tackle, and I tried to struggle free to no avail.

"You were out with Matthew, weren't you?" he asked though gritted teeth, "I'll make you pay for defying me." For hours after that I was put through the worst kind of pain imaginable.

When we got off the bus at school the next day, Ludwig had to lean on me to walk right.

"West, I am so sorry for getting you like this. Damn it, why didn't you just rat me out?"

Ludwig smiled softly, "I didn't want to ruin your first date."

I heard Feliciano, Ludwig's boyfriend scream, "Ludwig, what happened to you?"

Ludwig tried to stand up straight, "It's really nothing, Feli," he stumbled, and Feliciano caught him.

"I can take him from here." Feliciano assured me.

Matthew stared at Ludwig and Feliciano on his way toward me, "What happened to him? And for that matter, what happened to you?"

I huffed, knowing I had to tell Matthew, "My Vati did this to us because I snuck out to meet you last night."

Matthew was stunned, "Y-Your own father did this to you?"

"Ja. He wouldn't have if we were straight." I was almost crying at this point, but held it in. Awesome people don't cry.

"That's horrible!" he had a very upset look on his face, "You and Ludwig are coming home with me tonight. We're telling my parents about this. I'll get them to call Social Services."

My eyes brightened, but then dimmed again, "But where will we go if Vati is taken away?"

Matthew beamed, "That's the best part. My parents would definitely let you live with us until we finish out high school. T-That way you can keep your promise."

I just didn't know what to say. Ludwig and I were finally going to be safe, and I could spend the rest of high school with my little Birdie. This was, in the very essence of the word, awesome.

I pulled Matthew in a kiss, and broke it only to say, with a genuine smile, "I wasn't going to break my promise in the first place."

Author's Note:

That's the end of my very first real request. Thank you so much to Just A Fish for requesting this, I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you had fun reading it as well. This goes for all of you reading it. I could really use some feedback on these, so reviews are welcome! See you next forbidden love!