The sun rose earlier than Gilbert had expected, it's warm rays casting a gentle glow on the Canadian landscape outside the window, causing the pond below to reflect water patterns on the ceiling of Matthew's room. Surprisingly, the little blonde remained in his arms when the albino was sure he would be in the bathroom with his head over the toilet. Maybe the morning sickness was a temporary thing? He shrugged and grabbed his phone, being sure not to wake Matthew, and researched (with what internet he could gather) what he would need to get in order to keep the baby nice and healthy. He wasn't taking any chances with it. His shifting unfortunately did wake the sleeping Canada, who only whined in protest to the quickly rising sun. Gilbert kissed his forehead and bade him sleep again, as he needed rest and Gilbert needed to go out and get some things. Matthew didn't like the idea and decided that he was going with Gilbert whether he liked it or not, causing the Prussian to laugh and agree. There was no use fighting with someone who was pregnant.

They got up a few minutes later, Matthew claiming that he was hungry and Gilbert making him everything he knew how to cook. Matthew started to wonder what had Gilbert so anxious, as Gilbert would never cook unless he had something to apologize for. The trip to the store made him even more suspicious. Gilbert had gathered all kinds of strange vitamins and things he thought only mortals needed. Matthew was rather impulsive when they browsed the shelves, which in turn only strengthened the accusation that Matthew was pregnant because the blonde was nearly never impulsive when buying anything. Gilbert, when they arrived home, claimed he wanted another few hours of sleep (after he had locked all the alcohol up in the cellar so that Matthew would have no access to it whatsoever) and left the bag of random vitamins on the counter in the bathroom. With nothing else to do and Gilbert asleep, he figured taking a look at what his boyfriend bought would not be the worst thing in the world to do.

There were, without a doubt, some of the oddest things in the bag Matthew had ever seen. Zinc, iron, calcium… they all seemed rather normal though… until he caught sight of one bottle at the bottom and a little white box. He pulled them out together and raised an eyebrow. A bottle of prenatals and a pregnancy test. Now it was official… he was freaked out. Gil and he hadn't done anything recently and he knew Gil would never… eh… 'receive'. So it must be for him. But why would Gilbert get prenatals if he only wanted to check…? Unless he knew, which was highly unlikely. He might as well use it now, seeing as there was nothing else to do…

Three minutes later…

"He knew… this whole time… he knew." Matthew stared in disbelief at the test in his hand. "I can't… it was only one time…" He walked up to his room, peeking through the door at Gilbert's sleeping form. It was obvious he knew and even more so that he wanted to keep the baby. Why was the only question he had. He sat on the bed and tucked some of his hair behind his ear, gazing fondly at the albino. His silver hair looked so shiny and pretty in the afternoon light, the strands glinting as he shifted slightly. His paleness led those who saw him to believe he was evil, a demon, a ghost… and the eyes usually made it all the worse. Red they were, the color of blood, the color of fire. The color of fear. It made people terrified, afraid for their lives… it made living alone hard. Nobody saw how it felt to him, being alone and being feared. How the darkness felt. How the fear felt. How it made him cry himself to sleep at night and live in the dark waiting for a sliver of light… any light at all… And Matthew knew…

He was that light. The only thing that kept Gilbert from slipping back down into that pit of hopelessness. The single red rose among a garden filled with weeds and thorns, brambles of unimaginable size that threatened to penetrate the fabric of his heavily faded sanity. A child, Matthew thought, would pull away all the weeds and brambles to leave only a blanket of beautiful white snow and a greening bush of red roses as soft as the blue sky above. Perhaps it was Gilbert's way of saying help.

There was a shifting on the bed that jogged him from his thoughts. Gilbert rolled onto his back and blinked up at Matthew, reaching to touch his cheek and Matthew smiled at him softly. The silence didn't last long, as Matthew wanted answers. "So, how did you know?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

"Know what?" A laugh.

"About the baby of course." Guilty, the albino shifted his eyes away.

"Your scent. It changed after that night, I could smell it on you as we kissed before I left the room. I was going to tell you Mattie I promise I was!" Matthew laughed again.

"Hey, calm down. It's fine Gil, really. I was just not expecting you to want me to keep it… kids don't really seem like your thing."

"What do you mean? I love kids! They… just don't really love me."

"Gil, this is half you I hope you know. And I know how much you love yourself." Gilbert pouted. "Hey, it's a joke. Besides, you are the baby's father. It'll love you no matter what."

"I know. It's just different… having people so close and stuff. You know you and that baby are all I have, right? What you have in you right now is my promise to you."

"Promise? Promise of what?"

"My promise that I'll make it back to you alive. When Alfred figures out where I am, he'll come for me and I'm going to challenge him to a fight. No guns, no weapons, just us. Hopefully, I'll make it out alive. I want you to know Mattie, if I don't make it back, that I love you." He grabbed Matthew and pulled him down onto the bed, pulling his shirt up slightly and kissing the lowest part of his stomach. "And you too. Whoever you are now and whoever you'll grow to be." Matthew smiled, pulling Gilbert to his level and cuddling up to him.

"You'll be there for the baby. I know you will. Alfred is strong, but nothing is stronger than your will to live for me. Or your will to see this when it's finished." He took Gilbert's hand to place it on his lower stomach. "This baby wants to see you too." Gilbert smiled and kissed Matthew firmly. There was a noise and Gilbert's red eyes narrowed. He got up and exited the room slowly, making sure Matthew was locked in the room first.

As he suspected, down in the frontmost living room, Alfred stood waiting. His hands were coolly tucked in his pockets and he carefully observed the distinctive and intricate architecture that was Matthew's house. He spotted Gilbert and sighed, shaking his head. "I told you not to see him, I told you to leave him alone… why didn't you listen? This time I'm not taking it easy for Matthew's sake. Your life means nothing now." He reared the head of his pistol, pointing it at Gilbert's head.

"Stop. I've got something to offer you."

"Oh please. What could you offer me that could possibly beat your death?" Gilbert folded his arms as Alfred cocked the gun.

"My death by your hand. And when I say your hand, I mean literally." The gun was lowered. "Ah, I see your interest has been piqued. Then my offer is this, fight me. Just us, no weapons of any kind, and if you kill me then you have your justice. But if I get you down, you have to listen to Mattie and let him tell you what's going on. Let him try to convince you to let us be." Alfred closed his eyes, carefully considering such an offer. Surely there was no way to persuade him away from killing Gilbert now, so even if he was somehow he was beaten, there would be no Gilbert. Win-win scenarios always made him bubble with joy.

"Then I agree." He unloaded the gun and set it down on a side table and pulled on his gloves. "Now don't keep me waiting." Gilbert walked down the stairs, pulling his jacket off and tossing it onto a nearby chair. Matthew, who had picked the lock on his door, peeked around the corner of the second floor. His eyes darted between his boyfriend and his brother, his mind unsure whether to tell Alfred to stop or tell Gilbert to stop or to stay hidden… Would the violence never cease? He stepped out and placed his hands gently on the railing. Alfred spotted him and stopped to look at him.

"Matthew, go back to your room." Gilbert stopped and turned around to look at him.

"Birdie please go back, I don't want you guys to get hurt." Alfred narrowed his blue eyes straight at Gilbert.

"What do you mean? What did I just hear from your filthy mouth?" Gilbert looked back to Alfred.

"Calm your ass down. You wanna know what I said? I said that Birdie is pregnant. Pregnant with my baby. I gave Mattie that baby because I know that you could kill me at any moment and I want my Mattie to remember me. To remember that I loved him more than anything else in the world!" Alfred punched him in the jaw, sending him flying back against the edge of a table, and Matthew yelled across the room for Alfred to stop.

"Stay out of this Matthew!" He looked back to Gilbert. "When I'm done with you, I'm taking Mattie to get that… thing out of him. Your tainted seed doesn't belong in his body." Gilbert stood, standing chest-to-chest with his adversary. They stared at one another, pupils dilated and fists clenched. Blood red against sky blue.

"No. You tell me right now that you have enough common sense to let him keep that baby. Hate me all you want, beat me, kill me! But don't you touch that baby or I'll come back and kill you myself." Alfred snorted.

"I'll get rid of you and that thing whether you like it or not!" Gilbert rushed at him, fist aimed at his face when Alfred raised his hand and caught the punch. He counterattacked, sending his fist for Gilbert's stomach and knocked him to the ground. "You couldn't even handle such a meager attack? How pathetic." Gilbert got up and took a deep breath.

"You're the pathetic one." Alfred went at Gilbert this time, faking a hit for his face and kicking his knee in. Matthew screamed from the top of the stairs, tears accompanying the cries of agony. Gilbert regained his strength easily once again, tripping Alfred up and stomping on his chest, possibly breaking his ribs. Before he could register, Alfred gripped his ankle and threw him down, coming at him with a fist aimed for his head. He rolled, narrowly avoiding it and scooting up against the wall. Alfred was the first to break a rule, as he grabbed the coatrack and broke it to a point, the splintery wood slicing through the flesh of his left shoulder. Blood soaked through his shirt, he sat motionless and Alfred smirked.

"Seems I've won…" Gilbert ripped the post out of his shoulder and threw it at Alfred, buying him time to grab Alfred's gun from the side table. He aimed it at Alfred's chest. "Hey, that's breaking the rules Prussia!"

"You broke them when you shoved that pole through my shoulder."

"Well, need I remind you that there's no bullets in there?" Gilbert smirked.

"Need I remind you that you're the one who cocked the gun and that there's one in the chamber? You were blinded by your own narcissism." Matthew called to him to stop and he came down from his perch on the second floor. He stood behind Gilbert.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is a stalemate and that means Alfred has to listen to us." Gilbert nodded. As Matthew began to explain, Gilbert found his vision got blurry… his breathing got slower… and he dropped the gun. Alfred smirked, Matthew trying to hold him up as he fell to his knees. His blood started to pool around him, soaking his t-shirt and Matthew screamed his heart out at Alfred. "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! HELP ME! I HAVE TO SAVE HIM!" Alfred crossed his arms.

"No. He deserves to die after all he's done to you. Tainting you with a rotten seed, taking advantage of you…"

"Have you not seen that he's followed me relentlessly? That he's stayed in my life against all odds? He came here with me even though he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against you! You're the cruelest, most self-absorbed moron I've ever known! You say this is to save me, but all you've been doing is sating your own taste for his blood!" Matthew picked Gilbert up off the ground and carried him toward the door in order to get him in the car and to a hospital. Alfred stood, his eyes narrowed and his fists still clenched.

"You've been poisoned against me. He's brainwashed you Matthew!"

"Shut up Alfred!" Matthew put Gilbert in the back of the car and ran to grab the gun himself and shoot Alfred in the leg. "That's for Gilbert." He loaded another bullet, shooting it into his other leg. "And that one is for me and my baby." He put the gun down and got in his car, driving as fast as he could to the nearest hospital. Three minutes later, Gilbert's consciousness faded into blurred vision and all he saw was Matthew's golden hair against the blue sky. The sound was muffled a bit, but he could hear vaguely what people were saying.

"Please, he's lost a lot of blood!"

"We'll do what we can, but it'll take a while… you got here just in time…"

Then nothing. Black. No sound.

Nothing.