I love this story. One of the sweetest I've written so far... for now. It's going to get ugly soon.

Chapter Warnings: Sadness, Comfort... wait these aren't really warnings... oh well.

Matthew woke up snuggled against Gilbert's chest. He squealed, crawling backwards, away from the other. Unfortunately for him, Matthew fell off the side of the bed, hitting his head in the process.

The crashing noise seemed to attract a certain Italian boy, who helped the other stand up. He shushed him and led him upstairs and into the kitchen. There, he finally turned and spoke to the equally short boy.

"I wanted to make Ludwig and Gilbert breakfast. Can you help me?" Feliciano asked the blonde. Matthew nodded, and after 20 minutes of searching for the right ingredients, the two spent the next 45 minutes cooking breakfast for the German brothers.

A ruffled Gilbert lazily stepped into the kitchen with a slight full of food. An equally tired Ludwig walked in right after his brother, almost running into him. Both boys stared at the table in shock.

It was covered with plates of eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, and (Thanks to Matthew), pancakes.

The two boys wasted no time in loading their plates with food and started eating. Gilbert stopped and looked at the other two boys, who were sitting quietly, satisfied looks on their faces.

"Aren't you two going to eat?" The albino asked, a piece of egg stuck on the side of his mouth. Matthew laughed before answering the older boy.

"Nah, we finished eating about 30 minutes ago."

"How the hell do you get up so early?" Gilbert looked at the two in astonishment. Matthew looked uneasy about the question, but Feliciano burst out his answer with no shame at all.

"Ve~ I'm used to Fratello kicking me off the bed early in the morning. So I adapted to waking up 2 minutes before he usually does it." The Italian looked at Matthew. "What about you Matt?"

"Oh… I- umm…" Matthew sighed, resting his head in his arms. "I have insomnia."

Gilbert looked at the boy sitting next to him with wide eyes. "What? But you were sleeping last night right?"

'Please God, please tell me that he didn't hear me…'

"Yes actually, I did sleep last night. For the first time in years I actually slept for more than 40 minutes."

Gilbert resisted the urge to sigh with relief. Then he noticed that the other boy was crying.

"Matthew, what's wrong?" Feli asked, genuine worry in his voice.

"They won't stop… the nightmares… they won't stop." Matthew let out between sobs. "I keep reliving the moment… the pain… the cries and screams of the others around me… I remember it all."

Just as Gilbert thought about patting the boy's back, Feliciano pulled him into a tight hug, petting the other's hair.

"What nightmare Matthew?" Ludwig asked, resting his chin on his folded hands.

"The one of me getting shot." Matthew then proceeded to lift his shirt and show them his scar. Ludwig nodded, lifting his shirt over his head and showing Matthew a scar, although his was closer to his heart than Matthew's.

"You're not alone there." The blonde German boy smiled. Something about those words made Matthew smile.

Matthew and Gilbert stood on the porch to Matthew's house. Just as the Canadian was about to put the key in the lock, the door whipped open, revealing a teary eyes Alfred.

"Where the hell were you Mattie?!" Alfred yelled at him, his voice hoarse from crying. Matthew didn't even get a chance to answer the American before being developed into a tight hug. "We thought we lost you again…" Matthew winced at the word 'again', but stayed silent.

Gilbert cleared his throat, making his presence known. Alfred looked up and glared at the albino. "Matthew came to stay at my house because you left him home alone."

Tension was swimming through the air until a voice yelled from inside. "Is that Matthew? Good God, you gave us a scare!" The voice belonged none other than Arthur Kirkland, the schizophrenic boy who is Francis' arch rival. "Alfred and I were going to leave as soon as Matthew got home anyway, so you two can have the house to yourself."

The two stepped around them, walking to Alfred's pickup truck and speeding away. As soon as they were out of sight, Matthew turned to Gilbert and smiled. "Do you want to stay the night?"

*Squeal* So many possiblities... but no, not yet. ;D