"Artie, it's this way!"

"I know where it is, for heaven's sake. And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Alfred slowed his jog down to a walk so he was in stride next to Arthur once more. "Just because I haven't been over to your house in a while doesn't mean I've forgotten where it is…" he muttered.

"Gee, somebody's in a bad mood. PMS, much?" the taller blonde joked with a loud laugh.

"Why, you…!" Arthur growled. Alfred took off in a sprint down the sidewalk, laughing obnoxiously the whole way. "Get back here, you insufferable git!" Arthur chased him until they arrived at the house's front porch, always a few strides behind. Alfred wasn't captain of the bloody football team because he was slow, that was for sure.

"Mattie's probably home already. You remember him, right?" Arthur, doubled over panting from the sprint, nodded to be polite, but in all honesty, it had slipped his mind that Alfred had a brother.

"Of course I remember him. What kind of person do you take me for?" Alfred shrugged.

"Just checking. Not many people seem to remember him. But he seems… I dunno, happier, I guess since a few months ago?" he said as he dug for his keys. "Whatever happened to him, he's less mopey, so that's cool." He finally found the keys and unlocked and opened the door in one swift movement. "Mattie! I'm home! And I brought Artie with me!" Arthur didn't bother to correct Alfred as he followed him through the kitchen and made a left into the living room. There, he found a young man who bore striking resemblance to his brother lounging in an armchair doing what he assumed to be homework. All in all, he seemed very average, and it was no wonder he'd forgotten him before.

The boy looked up from his work upon their entrance. "Oh. Hey guys. Haven't seen you in a while, Arthur. How're things going?"

"Fine." was Arthur's curt response. Matthew nodded and went back to his homework.

Alfred and Arthur sat down on the couch. Well, Arthur sat. Alfred kind of flopped and started rambling about his day to Matthew, who only seemed to be half listening. Arthur couldn't imagine how he put up with living with the guy, what with his habit of going off on tangents about who-knows-what without really paying attention to anything besides himself talking. It was okay, though, because Alfred didn't mind if you were paying attention to something else while he was talking, so long as you didn't interrupt him.

Arthur took this chance to do his homework as well. He didn't know if Alfred was expecting him to stay for dinner or not, so he might as well get it done while he could. He got out his textbook and other supplies he would need for an English project and started on the essay portion. He couldn't really do the visual presentation here; all of the supplies for that were back at his house, but he could do that later anyway-

"Hey, Birdie, who's the guy with the massive eyebrows?"

Arthur jumped slightly at the new voice and accidentally made a stray mark on his paper, which he hurried to rub out before looking up to see who had spoken. Standing next to Matthew was a man with snowy white hair and... red eyes? It sure looked like it. Matthew scribbled something down and discreetly slid it so the man could see.

"Oh. So are they dating or something, or just friends?" Once again, Matthew wrote a note to show the man, this time with a quiet snicker. Arthur raised an eyebrow at the exchange. Why didn't Matthew speak out loud? More importantly, why didn't Alfred seem to hear the man? It wasn't as if he was quiet. In fact, he was quite loud. How odd…

"Birdie, eyebrow dude is staring at us." Matthew glanced up at Arthur for a moment, flickered his gaze over to the man, and then back at Arthur. Another note.

"No, I mean… I think he can see me. He's acting the same way you did, he's paying attention." They both stared at Arthur with quizzical expressions, and Arthur just didn't understand. Why was it such a big deal that he could see this guy? Why wouldn't he be able to-?

Oh. OH…

Gilbert was a ghost wasn't he? That would explain why Alfred couldn't see or hear him. That guy was never one for the supernatural or paranormal. Arthur, however, could see ghosts and other things ever since he could remember. Sometimes they took on wispy shapes. Sometimes odd colors or varying levels of translucency, even combinations of the three. Arthur had to admit, though, it was rare to see a ghost look so… well… alive. He was completely solid, with no wisps or even weird colors besides the hair and eyes, and even those could have been from when he was alive. And here he thought he was the only one who could see ghosts.

The ghost didn't seem to like the idea that Arthur could see him, too. "I should leave…" he said, half turning away. Matthew kicked him lightly in the shin to get him to stay, shooting him a look.

"Um… Al?"

Alfred's relentless babble stopped for a millisecond (Had he really been talking this entire time without noticing a thing?) "Yeah?"

"Uh… do you think I could talk to Arthur in private… just for a little bit?"

Alfred seemed taken off-guard by Matthew's unusual request. "Um, yeah, sure…" He didn't question why, though, and for that, Matthew looked thankful.

"Thanks. Arthur, could you come here for a minute?" he said as he got up and left the room, the ghost going with him. Arthur knew exactly what Matthew wanted to talk about, but he shrugged and gave Alfred a confused look for his sake before following the other brother into the hall and eventually into his bedroom, flipping on the light switch. Matthew closed and locked the door behind the three of them so there was no chance of his brother coming in. He then turned to face Arthur.

"You can see Gilbert." Matthew wasted no time in getting to his point. Arthur nodded.

"Yes, I can see him. I've been able to see ghosts since I was small." he responded. "And you? When did you meet... ah, Gilbert?"

"A few months ago, right after Christmas."

"Oh, that day it was snowing?"

"Yeah."

Arthur didn't speak for a moment, just thinking. Matthew shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. Somehow, that time-frame seemed significant...

"But he seems… I dunno, happier, I guess since a few months ago? Whatever happened to him, he's less mopey, so that's cool."

Suddenly, he remembered what Alfred said about Matthew being happier. Was this ghost somehow responsible?

"Gilbert." The albino looked at Arthur to let him know he was listening. "What exactly is your relationship with Matthew?" Gilbert scowled.

"And whose business is that, huh? Not yours!" he snapped indignantly. A noticeable blush began to creep onto his face, but Arthur didn't comment on it.

"Gil, don't be like that… Just tell him the truth, we can trust him. Who's he gonna tell?" Matthew tried to calm down the ghost.

"Matthew's right. I don't know anybody else who would believe me about such a thing. I'm merely curious."

Gilbert crossed his arms, scowl deepening. "… Fine." He took a deep breath. "We're… friends…" he admitted. Arthur looked to Matthew for confirmation, who sighed, looking a bit hurt.

"Gilbert, I'm not sure if that's the truth. Matthew doesn't seem to think so." Arthur's comment was proven correct when the ghost took a step closer to Matthew, almost in a protective manner. "You two are more than friends."

It wasn't a question. Arthur didn't say anything else and stared at Gilbert, waiting for him to speak. Finally, after what seemed like hours, his shoulders slumped, scowl falling from his face. The blush had found a way back to his cheeks, and Arthur knew what he would say next. But suddenly… he didn't know if he wanted to hear it.

"Okay, you're right… What Birdie is to me…"

How could someone so ordinary and shy become friends with someone so… so odd? That didn't even begin to describe the ghost.

"We're really…"

Not only did their personalities seem to clash drastically, but there was also the small detail that GILBERT WAS A GHOST. It was difficult to fathom them having that kind of a relationship. Of course, he'd seen ghosts in love with other ghosts. People who had literally died for each other, be it because of not being accepted, or perhaps their betrothed died early and the one left alive couldn't take it anymore and thought they would meet in another world. So many sad stories of love that could only be realized in death…

Arthur could only hope that that didn't happen to these two…

"… Lovers."

That word was finally out there, hanging in the air between the three young men. Such an intimate word… lovers… He didn't say boyfriends. This wasn't your average high school relationship. It was serious, with real emotion. As unfitting as the two seemed to be for each other, Arthur couldn't help but see the way they looked at each other after Gilbert said it. There was something there, something deep, something that could only be proven if it had to be stretched across a fine line somewhere. That fine line lies between life and death, and anything that crosses that line is something strong and immortal. It was something to be admired, not labeled as taboo, which was what Arthur assumed Matthew and Gilbert were expecting.

"Dammit, eyebrows, say something!" Gilbert yelled, impatient with Arthur's lack of response so far. "If you think it's disgusting, or wrong, or whatever, you can go fuck yourself, okay? You think I didn't get enough faggot comments when I was alive? I don't give a shit what you have to say, I love Matthew!"

The aforementioned blond seemed shocked at the ghost's sudden confession. Arthur held up his hands in defense and looked between the two. "I never said that! I was just... surprised, that's all. I'm not here to judge, just to understand. I've never seen a romantic relationship between a mortal and a ghost before. It's interesting, that's all."

Gilbert slowly simmered down from his outburst and crossed his arms. "... Okay."

An uncomfortable silence settled over the three, nobody quite sure of what to say.

"Um..." Matthew mumbled. "This is... well..."

"Awkward?" Gilbert supplied.

"Yeah."

"I think Alfred is still waiting for us to come back, Matthew." Arthur mentioned, making his way towards the door. He didn't wait for the two to follow him and unlocked the door to leave. Right as he was about to walk out, Matthew said something.

"Ah, Arthur?"

"Hm?"

"… Thank you for understanding."

Arthur smiled warmly at the timid boy. "You're welcome."

Soon everyone was back in the living room, where, as Arthur had predicted, Alfred was waiting impatiently.

"Finally, dudes! What took you two so long? What'd you talk about? Were you talking about me? I bet you were. I'm a hero after all, why wouldn't you be talking about me? Anyway, as I was saying before…"

Alfred picked back up on his babbling, Arthur and Matthew opting to ignore him once again. Out of the corner of his eye, just as he was about to get back to his homework, Arthur watched as Gilbert sat beside Matthew and gently entwined their hands with motions small enough not to draw Alfred's attention. The blond's lips twitched up slightly in a soft smile.

They held hands like that, simply enjoying each other's touch, until Arthur had to go home.

A/N: I promised you a longer chapter, and look at what I gave you... *goes to emo corner* I updated faster this time, though. Does that count for anything?

Thank you, all who reviewed and faved last chapter :) I loves you all~ *mwah*

Next chapter gets a bit sad, so if you don't like that, stop reading. I wish you would continue, though, because there WILL be a fluffy, sappy, happy ending ^-^

Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review :)

~Jel