Breathe Anew
Turned
Guys, this chapter is SO AWESOME. I've been dying to show you! This truly is the high arc of the story. WE'RE MORE THAN HALF WAY THROUGH, WHAT?
Characters: Gilbert, Matthew, Arthur, Valerie
Rating: T+
Disclaimer: Buckle in, seriously.
Breathe Anew
Turned
Gilbert was sleeping as best he could on the living room couch, when the sound of the doorbell roused him from his sleep. He half fell off from the couch, before getting up and walking to the door. He briefly noticed that Matthew's shoes weren't in their spot and he chose to ignore the fact and opened the door. He was expecting to find many different people on the other side, but the man that was there was the last person he ever expected to see at his place.
"Arthur? 'The fuck you doing here?" He slurred out. Why Matthew's brother was here with a grin on his face was beyond him.
"I wanted to see for myself if what Francis told me was true. Is Matthew here?" Gilbert cringed. He highly doubted that Francis told of Matthew's whereabouts intentionally, but the fact remained, he didn't want to deal with this at the moment.
"I don't think he is. Now bye, bye Eyebrows, I have better things to do." Gilbert tried to close the door, but Arthur impeded him from doing so.
"I'm not quite done with you. If what Francis told me is true, and by that I mean Matthew went out with a nice lady of the name of Valerie, and if he hasn't returned home yet, then I must say, I don't think I'll be seeing much of you for longer.
However, I am curious to know, how does it feel to lose my brother to a girl, hmm? I guess there is justice in this world after all. Serves you right! I'll make sure to send you an invite to their wedding. Who knows, maybe you'll get a chance to be his best man; how would you like that?" Arthur smirked at Gilbert who was trying his hardest not to lash out, but the last comment got to him and made him snap.
"Shut up!" He yelled as he punched Arthur square in the jaw. The shorter man lost his balance and stumbled a bit.
"Don't you fucking dare! Don't you fucking dare say that! Christ Arthur, what the fuck do you get out of seeing me like this?" He yelled. He made a move to kick Arthur's half bent form, but the older man saw his foot coming and pulled him on the floor with him.
"The satisfaction of seeing you fall and suffer." Arthur replied darkly, before punching Gilbert in the stomach.
"You're one sick bastard. I hope they have a place for you in hell." Gilbert made a grab for Arthur's neck, who in turn kneed Gilbert in the chest once or twice. The two thrashed about the front porch; yelling profanities at each other and trying to do as much bodily harm as possible. At some point, Arthur broke a small flower pot on Gilbert's head and the taller man responded with a punch on the nose.
Matthew was sitting in his brother's car when Alfred pulled up in front of the condo he shared with Gilbert. He had a splendid evening the night before and he decided to pay his younger brother a visit in the morning, since he hadn't seen him in a while. He was looking forward to a nice cup of coffee, but when he looked towards the entrance, his entire insides froze.
"Holy shit!" Alfred shouted when he saw their older brother and Gilbert fighting each other. Alfred was the first one out of the car and Matthew quickly followed him. The brothers ran to the two older men as quickly as they could, before something bad happened.
By now, Arthur cornered Gilbert into the wall, while the younger man had his hands firmly set around the other's neck. Because Gilbert was taller than Arthur, the blonde was an inch or so above ground and he was desperately trying to free himself from the other man's grip, before he ran out of air. He tried to kick Gilbert once or twice, but that did nothing in his favour. If anything, the silver haired man squeezed his windpipes just a bit more.
"Gilbert, let him go!" Matthew yelled.
"Matt, stay out of this, please, I don't want you to get hurt." Matthew tried separating his brother from his friend, but to no avail.
"Alfred, do something!" The younger brother tried as well to pry Gilbert's hands away, but the older man's lock was firm.
"Dude, let him go, he's turning blue!" Alfred pulled harder and Gilbert pushed him aside a bit.
"He fucking deserves it! After what he said, this is nothing to what I could have done to him." Matthew looked from Alfred's panicked face to Arthur's quickly changing cheeks and to Gilbert's determined look. He could feel a headache coming and he knew he had to do something quickly, before it would be too late. He placed a gentle hand on Gilbert's arm and looked straight in his eyes.
"Gilbert, please, if not for him then do it for me." The effect was almost immediate. Gilbert's hands went lax after a second or two and Alfred caught Arthur before he could hit the floor.
When Arthur steadied himself, he tried to run in Gilbert's direction, but Alfred was quick to stop him from doing so. Matthew brought his friend inside, while Alfred took their older brother in a different direction. It was clear the two older men couldn't be close to each other for any longer or else there would be even more blood on the carpet.
Matthew brought Gilbert to the bathroom and sat him down on the toilet with the seat down. The younger man was silent and said nothing as he took out the first-aid kit and put on a pair of gloves. He took out the rubbing alcohol and gauze before starting to clean the wounds. Matthew avoided the other man's gaze while Gilbert followed his every move.
It wasn't until his knuckles and fingers were taken care of did Matthew finally break the silence that set between them.
"What happened?" Two words. Two simple words that were neither spoken with hatred or accusation. Two words simply asked by a man who did not understand what just happened.
"Your brother; that's what happened." The younger man said nothing as he taped a piece of gauze to his cheek and started brushing out bits of dirt and flowers from Gilbert's hair.
"He's never liked you, has he? From the start, he's always told me to stay away from you. He has to understand that he can't choose whom I decide to frequent and that he isn't our father no matter how much responsibility he has. I'm not going to stop being friends with you and that's that." Gilbert was silent as he replayed those words in his head. In a way, it almost seemed as though a bit of memory started returning to Matthew, but it could also mean absolutely nothing. He should at least be glad that Matthew chose to remain by his side, once more.
"Where were you this morning?" Gilbert finally asked, after a moment passed.
"I went jogging with Alfred. He wanted to know how last night went. I met up with him this morning." Gilbert nodded.
"I didn't hear you come in last night." He watched as the younger man's cheeks turned slightly pink.
"It was late when I got home. You were sleeping soundly on the couch." It was an acceptable story and Gilbert left it at that.
Alfred pulled his brother to his car and motioned for Arthur to sit on the hood, while he went to fetch the first-aid kit from the glove compartment. He walked back to the front and handed a thick wad of tissues to his brother for his nose.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Arthur?" He finally hissed out. The older of the two said nothing and averted his gaze.
"Seriously, what's the point of going to harp on Gilbert about what's happened? Don't you think he's suffering enough?" Again, Arthur avoided his gaze.
"Christ man, I know you have issues with him, but he didn't do anything to Matt. You have to get over that. Eventually, Matt will completely push you out of his life and he won't be the only one to do that. Let go of the past, start living the present. Gilbert's been good to Matthew. The least you can do is help him out now. He needs support."
"I will do no such thing! He ruined my family." Arthur snapped.
"For the love of God! He's not the one who killed Mom and Dad! Matt didn't even know him then. You're not the only one who misses them. I'm not saying Gilbert's perfect, but he really does care for him. I'm not sure the same could be said about you towards Francis." Nothing else was mentioned and Alfred finished dressing Arthur's wounds with perhaps a bit more gruffness than necessary.
Later that night, when both Gilbert and he were sleeping, Matthew woke up in the middle of the night with a bad case of the munchies. He exited his room and made his way to the kitchen. He grabbed some yogurt and cookies, when he got to the fridge and he was about to return to his room, when he noticed Gilbert on the sofa. Matthew never really understood why the older man didn't sleep in his own room. In all honestly, he never saw it and he suspected that Gilbert didn't often sleep in it.
When he returned home from the hospital and Gilbert gave him the grand tour, they passed by the room, which was closed. Matthew eyed the door for a moment and Gilbert told him his room was in a mess and it was just his room, nothing worth seeing. The younger man didn't say anything about it and let it go.
Matthew surprised Gilbert sleeping on the couch many times, but he attributed to the fact that the other man simply fell asleep there, while watching some late night television, but when he found him with a bed pillow and a comforter, he started wondering.
He noticed the lights were still on in the living room, so he went to see if his friend was still awake. Upon getting there, he noticed Gilbert was sleeping. He was about to return to his midnight snack, which he left on the kitchen counter, but something pulled him closer.
He walked up to the arm of the couch and stood there, observing the dormant man. After a while, he sat on the side and continued watching, half lost in his thoughts. He noticed the rise and fall of Gilbert's chest, with each breath he took and noticed the way his shoulders seemed less tense. He would have seemed peaceful had it not been for the slight frown in his brow.
"There's something I don't understand about you, Gilbert. I can feel this incredible sadness surrounding you. You try to hide it with your smiles, but I see it in your eyes; your smile doesn't reach them anymore.
What are you keeping to yourself? What is it that none of you seem to want to tell me? Is it really that big of a secret? I'm sure I could help you… I want to see you smile like you used to…" Matthew trailed off. His hand found Gilbert's pale locks and started brushing through them. He remained that way for a moment, before he stopped as simply as he started and got up.
"I wish you would share with me your burdens like you used to." He shut off the lights and went back to his room, snack in hands.
Over the following two weeks, Gilbert's wounds healed and Matthew avoided all of Arthur's calls. Alfred visited a few times and apologized for Arthur's behaviour, but none of the two other men wanted to hear of it.
It was Friday afternoon and Gilbert decided to leave work early. There was nothing left to do at the office and he figured that the earlier he got home, the sooner he could kick back and enjoy the weekend.
He put his bag and his jacket away before removing his shoes and walking to the kitchen. There was some left over meatloaf in the fridge and he figured that would go perfectly with a nice can of cold beer and a slice of cake.
He was going to ask Matthew if he wanted him to warm something up for him as well, since he knew that the younger man was home, seeing as his shoes were in the entrance, but when he entered the living room, he nearly got the breath knocked out of his lungs. He was sure he was dreaming, or more like having a terrible nightmare.
There was Matthew, on the sofa, half lying on it, in the living room, with his arms around Valerie's waist, one hand under her shirt, tie loosened up, glasses on the coffee table, suit jacket taken off, dress shirt slightly open to reveal his chest, Valerie sitting on his lap, her arms around his neck, both obliviously enraptured in their own world, both unaware they had a guest, neither realizing Gilbert was highly uncomfortable with having found them making out.
Of all the things he ever imagined would happen, of all the scenarios, of all the possibilities, this was never one he thought he would encounter; this was never on any of his lists. Gilbert felt the little hope that was growing, the small faith he was nursing, shatter to bits as he felt his heart literally get ripped out of his body and stomped on before his very eyes.
He didn't know whether he should voice his displeasure, or leave quietly, or ignore that Matthew was kissing a girl on their couch; a couch that served them well for more than cuddling some eight months ago. At this point, he didn't even know where he would sleep tonight.
He finally opted to quietly step away from the scene and make this as less awkward as possible, but as luck would have it, he bumped into a chair, which made noise and caused both Matthew and Valerie to be startled out of their little affectionate exchange.
"Gil, I didn't hear you come in. You're home early today, eh?" Matthew blurted quickly, pulling on his glasses and sitting up on the couch. Gilbert watched as Valerie slid off from his once-lover's lap and instead, took her place next to him. He saw how Matthew gently took her hand in his, not as embarrassed at being caught as he would have thought.
"I, euh, I finished early." He averted his gaze from them and went to clean up the dish in the sink; anything to distract his mind from completely breaking down.
"Oh, I believe you haven't properly met Valerie. Val, this is Gil; my friend and this here is Valerie; my girlfriend."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a few things about you." Valerie said as she got up and went to greet Gilbert by extending her hand. Gilbert wanted nothing more but slap her hand away and tell her to get lost, but instead, he found himself shaking her hand and asking her if she wanted to join them for leftover Friday. As much as it pained him to do so, he had to remind himself that it wasn't her fault Matthew couldn't remember and that all good things came to those who waited.
At this point, he hoped it was true.
OWARI 11
TO BE CONTINUED
You only know half of it! Pft, c'mon, gimme your best shot! I'm having way too much fun.
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Started writing: September 1st 2010, 1:31am
Finished writing: September 2nd 2010, 1:21am
Started typing: September 7th 2010, 7:33pm
Finished typing: September 7th 2010, 9:32pm