Yes! Got this up right on time! I wanted it up at exactly 12 and...Damn two minutes late! Damn the slow internet connection! But it's longer! The longest chapter yet!

Breathless

Discovery number two: Gilbert should be considered a cause of death.

God how he hated Valentine's Day. Really, what was the point of celebrating a day where those without a significant other felt like crap? Did they just want to narrow down the population by driving those that spent the day alone to suicide? 'Oh sorry, your son/daughter was so lonely she had to kill herself, nothing you could do really, it happens every Valentine's Day.' All the chocolate and the jewelry advertisements selling 'happiness' in large chucks and karats. No one needed those to be happy, it was a scam by businesses taking advantage of a human's basic want to feel loved and cared for in their life. Hell, Valentine's Day wasn't even really about love and hearts and all that junk, it was – according to Arthur – a feast day for Saint Valentin who was stoned to death. Technically, instead of buying useless flowers that always died so quickly or chocolates that made you sick or jewelry that either got lost, stolen, or killed your wallet, one should go witness a public murder – what a way to get in the mood. Matthew snorted at the thought, earning an odd look from the few couples that were walking on the path to his house. Perhaps owning property on a reserve was not the best idea, too many people around this time of year. Or more specifically, too many couples to dampen his attempts to forget the fact that not only did he not have a Valentine, he had no one that even remembered him. He could simply go to his cabin, that was far enough away from the stores and people that felt the need to help him die just that tiny bit extra on the inside. Like he really needed to be reminded that the person – even though it wasn't technically a person – that was waiting for him at home was a polar bear that could never remember his name, not that he remembered his, but still he didn't need the reminder that he was virtually alone in the world. He could ask his boss to do away with all the cards and candy and...flowers?

Matthew stopped on the gravel path to his front door and stared confusedly at the bundle on his porch. Sitting on his front steps, obviously not having been there for more than five minutes at most as the flurry of snow swirling around the house had not yet touched the muted purple paper, was a multicolored bouquet of flowers – half of which he couldn't even identify. Well, that didn't happen often, or...ever, for that matter. Who would even bother to send him flowers? Who remembered him long enough to do so? Then again, there was the chance that they were for Alfred and had been sent to him by mistake, it wouldn't be the first time – he still couldn't look Arthur in the eye without blushing from the time he thought his former guardian was in love with him; who confessed through mail anymore anyway?

Sighing, and resigning himself to another disappointment followed by his less than welcome "alone time," he continued up the walk and gently scooped up the flowers. They really were quite beautiful, something he would be thrilled to receive from...well, anyone, really, though it would be nice if they were for someone he cared about. Of course, they were most likely for Alfred, who wouldn't even appreciate how lucky he was that people cared enough to send him things. Still, his "family" should think of him just that small fraction of their time, especially on a day meant for love. He had send them all maple syrup after all (though he made an exception and sent Cuba maple ice cream instead). Maybe the flowers were from Cuba? That would be nice, though perhaps a slight over compensation.

Matthew examined the purples, blues and whites in his arms, searching for a card or some indication of who had sent them. At first there seemed as if there wasn't anything and he just gave up, deciding to put them in a vase and pretend they had been bought for him, it wasn't as if Alfred or anyone else would stop by and accuse him of theft. But as he cut the paper off, a small envelope fell from the stems of the bundle. It was bent slightly where it had been pressed against the stems and there was a small water mark on one of the corners, but other than that it was crisp and perfect. He thought of simply ignoring it, tossing it in the rubbish bin so he could keep up the fantasy, but he saw his name written in a hand he didn't recognize when Kumajirou attempted to run off with the paper.

Someone had actually thought of him?

Matthew beamed at the card, placing it on the table as he set the flowers in a vase. Once the bouquet was set next to his couch so he could see the blooms from nearly every room in the house, he gathered the card and Kumajirou – who was trying to steal the poptarts from his grocery bag – and sat next to them on the couch.

Alright, just calm down, Matthew. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm his rapidly beating heart. He didn't want to think about this being some big joke or that it might be from him because both options hurt like hell. There was no way someone like him would send Matthew of all people flowers, if he sent anyone flowers at all which was less likely than Matthew being remembered at G8 meetings. It made his heart flutter uncomfortably in his chest to even think that the silver haired man would send him something. He nearly ripped the card in his nervousness to get the ordeal over with.

It was a plain card, generic and pretty much the same as every other card sold throughout Canada, but his heart sped up all the same. The inside contained the basic, sentimental lines – though it was entirely French which was weird for cards even there – though no name was signed underneath. A piece of ordinary notebook paper fell out and floated lightly to his lap where Kumajirou proceeded to reach for it. Matthew saved it from the bear's claws just in time.

"Kirakimchi! That's not nice!" The bear simply blinked at him and waddled away. Sighing, Matthew unfolded the paper.

Yo Birdie! Yeah, the Awesome Me is giving you flowers. I bet you feel honored that I even remembered you. If you cry from happiness at me next time I see you though, you'll wish I was that bastard Russia.

Anyway! Don't read too much into this, I found the flowers while I was walking and Feli said to send them to someone who deserved them – it being Valentine's Day and all that bull. Since you have no one as awesome as me with you, I figured you could use a bit of my help – it's alright, most people can't pull off my level of awesome, you'll get close eventually though, babe.

I bet you're gonna ask what those flowers are, so I'll save you the trouble.

Chrysanthemums Stocks

Heliotropes Sweet Williams

Phlox Tulips

Purple Zinnias Viscarias

Blue Salvias Yarrows

Like I said, I found them and thought you could use some awesomeness.

See ya at the next world meeting, Birdie!

Awesome Conqueror of All Vital Regions

Matthew smiled at the paper, holding back his urge to laugh at the sheer stupidity of Gilbert's letter. How is sending – not even sending since a florist would not have these flowers in winter, more like growing and strategically placing on his porch – him flowers and an unbearably sentimental card not something to look into? Especially with the person sending them being Gilbert of all people. The man really could be dense sometimes – maybe that was the key to his friendship with Spain, not history. If he had just found the flowers, how did they just happen to compliment each other so perfectly? Or match his tastes so well? And how did he know all their names? No, Prussia knew exactly what he was doing giving Matthew those flowers. He just needed to find out what. And he had just the person to talk to.

Perhaps he would not be so alone this year after all.

~*~

Francis was more than happy to have his 'son' visit him on Valentine's Day – that is, he was happy about it after he realized that the man on his doorstep was Matthew and not a stripper or something equally as pleasant; not that he was expecting something like that.

"Ah, mon petit Matthieu! What brings you here after all this time? Couldn't resist a date with Papa, oui?" Matthew tried not to blush, though he had thought of it at one time that was before he noticed how big of a pervert Francis was. Plus the whole 'papa' thing just killed the notion.

"Uhm...No, Francis. Actually I-I was wondering if you knew anything about the flowers that G-Gilbert sent me today." He clutched Kumajirou to his chest, hesitating slightly in his want for an answer. Francis might not have been the most reliable source of imformation.

"Oh? Prusse sent you flowers? What kind? I bet they were boring. That man has no idea of the meaning of flowers."

"Meaning...of flowers...?"

"Well, of course, mon Matthieu! Every flower has a meaning, it is very important to pick the ones with the meanings that match your feelings you know." Francis sat on his kitchen counter gesturing for Matthew to sit in at the table – why the man insisted on sitting somewhere else was beyond him. "Quelles sont les fleurs vous at-il donnez?"

"Oh! Uhm..." Matthew fished around in his pocket for the note that had come with the flowers. "They were Chrysanthemums, Phlox, Heliotropes, Zinnias, Salvias, Sweet Williams, Tulips, Yarrows, Stocks and Viscarias. Do...Do they mean anything special? "

"Really? He got you all of those? Perhaps he does know what they mean...for Gilbert to actually send flowers...I wonder."

"I-I don't think he sent them...They hadn't been on my porch long enough for snow to get on them and he said he found them. I th-think he grew them himself."

"Oh? Well then he must certainly know what they mean." Francis smirked, leaning back on the counter with his arm over his eyes. "Mon jeune Prusse a enfin appris les merveilles de l'amour! Je suis si heureuse!"

Really, was there a reason Francis insisted on making things so dramatic? It wasn't that big a deal...was it?

"Uh...Francis..."

"What? Oh yes! I forgot you were here mon chéri! Let's see...A Sweet William means 'finesse and perfection,' a Salvia is 'I think of you,' Zinnias are 'thoughts of absent friends,' Phlox are 'sweet dreams,' while Yarrows are 'healing,' Heliotropes are 'devotion and eternal love,' Stocks ' You will always be beautiful to me,' and Tulips depend on the color."

"They were blue and purple stripped..."

"Ah, that means 'beautiful eyes.'" Francis smiled happily at the color staining Matthew's pale cheeks. His son could be so cute sometimes.

"What...What about the Chrysanthemums and Viscarias?" Was it normal to be this nervous over something as simple as flowers? Surely Gilbert had no idea what they meant. He only picked them out because they looked nice together. But...he had grown them...hadn't he? Well, Matthew didn't know that for sure, it was all guess work. Yeah, Gilbert wouldn't be caught dead growing something as girly as flowers, let alone know the meaning of them so he could give them out. He would sooner cut off his 'five meters.' Right?

"Those I believe darling Gilbert should tell you the meaning of himself." Francis smirked again and shoved a stammering Matthew out the door.

"Well, that was...informative." Matthew muttered as he walked to the airport, his blush still burning in his cheeks.

~*~

By the time the next world meeting rolled around, Matthew was a mess of nerves. He had – barely – restrained himself from using the internet to look up the meanings for Chrysanthemums and Viscarias, preferring that Gilbert said it himself – though that might have been asking for too much – and the flowers were only just starting to wither. He was tempted to plant some of his own, but that seemed too creepy and something an obsessed girl would do. Maybe he would buy some another day, for his birthday.

He was practically jumping in his chair waiting for Gilbert to arrive with Germany. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do, he just wanted to see the man. When was the last time he had come over asking for pancakes? A week? Two? He couldn't remember other than it was before February fourteenth. Maybe that was why he was so anxious, it was because he hadn't been around the 'awesomeness' enough. Yeah, it had nothing to do with the flowers or what they meant. Or that card...that happened to be in his pocket...or the note inside it... Nope, nothing to do with those at all.

"Oi, Birdie, you cold or something? You're shaking like crazy."

Matthew jumped from his chair, his heart in his throat, as a cool hand pressed itself to his burning forehead.

"Hmm, you are warm...a fever then? I thought your economy was doing good too..." Gilbert pressed him face close, only making Matthew flush deeper.

"G-Gil, I'm fine. You don't have to stand so close..." He tried to push the albino away, only to have him move closer.

"No, I think you need something to cool you down. And, of course, if my awesome mind thinks it, it must be true! Come on, Mattie! Let's go get some ice cream!"

"What! Gil! We can't just leave! We'll miss the meeting!"

Matthew dug his feet into the carpet, trying to stop the older nation from pulling him out the door and failing admirably.

"Don't worry about it, West will tell us everything we missed later. Well, he'll tell Feli and he'll tell us, but it's the same thing."

"But...But..."

"Just be quite and follow the awesome me! Yo Francis, cover for me, 'kay?"

Francis glanced over at Gilbert and Matthew being pulled behind him and smirked. "Sure thing, mon ami! Don't be too rough on my adorable Matthieu or I'll have to hurt you!"

"Whatever you say old man!"

"I'm not old you bastard!" The only response he got was a loud laugh as the door shut behind Matthew.

~*~

Had Matthew really been worried about seeing Gilbert again? The man was his usual perverted, 'awesome' self, acting as if the flowers had never shown up at his house or made his heart race at unhealthy levels.

"And then West started yelling about his carpet and Romano tried to hit Toni with the whole pot of pasta! It was totally awesome!" Gilbert shouted, throwing up his arms and getting ice cream all over the floor and the people unlucky enough to sit behind them.

"Gil, just sit the hell down already." Matthew scolded, apologizing to the couple for his friend's behavior. They accepted his apology, but glared at Gilbert as they left, muttering something about how good girls went for the worst guys these days. Matthew blushed, glad Gilbert had been too focused giving Gilbird small spoonfuls of ice cream to notice the others.

Really, why the hell hadn't he said anything about the damn flowers already? It was starting to just get annoying. The man had practically said he loved him with flowers and yet had said nothing about it in person. Even thinking about the flowers had him trying to slow both his breathing and his heart again. It was frustrating. And to make it worse, every time he caught the man's eyes on him he seemed to conveniently forget how to breath for a moment. It was starting to get ridiculous. If Gilbert didn't say something soon he was just going to take a tip from his brother and blurt it out himself and that would be far too embarrassing. Oh, why couldn't Gilbert stop talking about chickens and say something about him already?

"Yo, Mattie, you listening to me?"

"Ah! No, sorry..."

"Geez, you would think you would be listening to my awesome self so you could learn how to be awesome as well. Either way, I said 'let's go for a walk,' I wanna show ya something cool."

~*~

Matthew wasn't sure how, but they somehow managed to get to the top of a huge hill – which really was more of a mountain, but Gilbert insisted it was a hill and he was not one to argue over trivial things. What he was sure of, was that what was on top of the 'hill' was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen outside Canada.

Everywhere, there were flowers everywhere. Purples and blues and greens and every other color he could think of. It was like being in a painting, it was so beautiful he couldn't think straight anymore. Gilbert was smiling at him from farther away, his eyes drifting every once in a while from the blond to the flowers next to him. He picked the biggest one and handed it to Matthew, watching as the violet eyes he adored so much widened just that centimeter more when he recognized what it was.

"It's just like the ones you sent me." Matthew smiled up at him, gripping the blue flower tight enough to keep the wind from taking it away.

"Well I more put them on your porch than sent them. They would have died if I didn't bring them over myself."

"So you did grow them then."

"Nope, I found this place centuries ago! I was so awesome back then I almost forgot about it with all the awesome crap I was doing, but I remembered it a few months ago and came back. I even brought Feli along."

"Oh...So you don't know what they mean then..."

Gilbert snorted. "Of course I know what they mean! How could someone as awesome as me not know that? Plus I asked Feli to look it up for me."

Matthew laughed lightly, smiling up at him again. "Then what does this one mean? It was one of the two Francis wouldn't tell me about."

"That one is special, but I'm not telling ya what it means yet. The other one comes first."

"A Viscaria then, what do they mean?"

"According to Feli, they mean 'will you dance with me.'"

"Oh? That's it?"

"Yup. So? You wanna dance with me Mattie?" Gilbert asked, sweeping a hand through the air in a bow that reminded Matthew of the movies Alfred made about princes. It looked so...natural for Gilbert, even in jeans and a tee-shirt, to simply hold out his hand and wait patiently for the person on the receiving end to catch their breath long enough to say yes. Matthew placed his hand in Gilbert's and was instantly pulled against a warm chest, his heart trying to beat through his ribs and his lungs forgetting how to function. Was it possible to die of happiness and embarrassment? Maybe he was going to die of 'Gilbert exposure,' that was definitely a real disease – at least, it was for people who had actually met Gilbert. Gilbert spun them in a slow circle, leading Matthew through the carefully memorized steps while resting his chin on his head. He kissed the strawberry blond hair softly, his mind yelling at him about being a sentimental pansy, but he decided that it was okay to be a little less awesome for once. Only Matthew would see, after all, and he was far too awesome for something little to ruin it.

"Uhm...G-Gil?" Matthew spoke up quietly, not wanting to break the peaceful silence but curiosity was getting the best of him.

"Hmm?"

"What do the Chrysanthemums mean? You never said..."

"I thought it was obvious, but I guess some people just can't read the atmosphere – must run in your family." Matthew elbowed him gently, earning a small chuckle. "I guess I'll just show you."

Their feet stopped moving, Gilbert's hand moving from Matthew's to his chin, bringing it up so violet eyes met ruby.

"Wha-"

He never got a chance to finish his question as a pair of lips swallowed them, meeting his in a kiss that was far too gentle for the one giving it. It wasn't at all like Gilbert's personality; it was soft and sweet, while Gilbert was loud and obnoxious. Still...Matthew couldn't say he was unhappy with it. The hand on his waist tightened, pulling him closer as his moved on their own to wrap around Gilbert's neck, his fingers threading themselves through the hairs at the very nape.

It wasn't long, nor was it as...passionate as he thought kissing Gilbert would be, but it still left him forgetting how to breath – like so much else about Gilbert – and it took him a few moments before he found his vocal cords again.

"Love you too, Gil." He smiled at the man who grinned back in victory, kissing him again.

And that was how it all started, Matthew's crazy relationship with 'the awesome' Gilbert.

Hell yeah! Pulled over a thousand words out my ass again! I like the ending though, even though when I first got the idea it was supposed to be in a broom closet but I was in a mushy mood even though I'm kinda depressed - every guy I know asked me out except the one guy I wanted to! Guys stink! Anyway! I hope everyone has a good Valentine's Day!

By the way, the part about watching a public murder was stolen from 'Big Bang Theory.' It's the best nerd show in forever!

I hope Gilbert isn't too OOC...I tried not to but yeah... And there really isn't too much interaction between them is there? Ah well, it's fluff, my fluff can't make sense with Prussia in it, it would just turn out awful and weird.

I got the flower meanings off a website, so if someone knows them better than I do, sorry I fail.