This has been written for almost a week... I'm sorry! In my defense for a portion of the time I was on vacation for Christmas in a place with no internet access. I hope that you all enjoy!

Wanting nothing more than to beat the cat up then and there he grabbed the fluff-ball and carried it into the living room.

"Hey Alfred I found Hero. He was hiding in some of Matthew's pots and got stuck in there." Shrugging of the American's profuse thanks he held out the cat that was hissing in his face.

"Hero," Alfred chastised as he took the mostly white animal. "You have to be nice to everyone, 'cause that's what heroes do!" Looking a bit forlorn that his owner had scolded him for being uneasy about the odd, completely unnatural man Hero turned and hid his head in Alfred's elbow.

"Sorry man, he usually isn't like that," the tall blonde said as an apology. Smirking he answered.

"No problem, animals don't usually like me that much anyway." 'Except Gilbird. Wait, did I leave him in the car with all my stuff?!' Scared that his little bird was frozen by now he gave a lame excuse and hurried out the door, snatching Matthew's keys from him on the way. Luckily at that moment their American guest had been looking away, and noticed nothing more than a confused looking Canadian.

As he ran out to the car he was envisioning the worst things possible, and hoping with all his might that they weren't true. Opening the passenger door his friend came flying right at him immediately, clearly cold. Thanking anything that seemed appropriate that Gilbird was alive he gently stuck the bird down his coat to get it warmed up.

Then he picked up one of the smaller boxes from the trunk and started going through it then and there. After a few minutes of deliberation over each item he ended up keeping about half of the boxes contents. Shrugging he went through everything he owned, getting rid of most of it. If he was lucky he could slip into Matthew's with his remaining three boxes without Alfred noticing. From what he had observed so far about the American he didn't tend to be very bright when it came to reading people's intentions.

Carefully he stacked the boxes on top of one another and lifted them up. It was quite a bit lighter than the last time, but he would still have to carry it a long way. He would also have to make sure that someone took the things that he had marked as "free" sitting on the sidewalk. Deciding not to dwell on it he walked through the lobby door backwards and somehow managed to press the button for the elevator.

As soon as the doors slid open he stumbled inside, grateful that there was no one else inside. Panting he put down the boxes with a large thud. Then he pressed the appropriate buttons to get him to Matthew's apartment and waited. As the elevator began to move Gilbird popped out of his jacket and began to fly circles around his head, obviously still confused by the presence of the stocking cap he was wearing.

Laughing he pulled it off and let his bird settle into its usual place, though now nestled in between his ears. Then the doors opened. Cursing himself he shoved the hat over his head and hoped that the older woman waiting to get onto the elevator hadn't seen anything. Quickly he picked up his things and hurried towards the apartment as fast as he could. Gasping for breath he shoved the door open and ran inside before kicking it closed with his foot.

The slam alerted Alfred to his return and he came to see what was happening. Not knowing what he could do to divert attention from himself he grabbed the boxes and carried them down the hall to the closet where he had found his hat. Praying that Alfred hadn't noticed the lump that was Gilbird he shoved his stuff inside and pulled his yellow friend out of his hat. Almost slamming the closet door shut he turned to see Alfred and Matthew coming towards him.

-xXVXx-

The idle chatter had been getting to him when Gilbert finally returned. It was starting to get late, and he was scared that Gilbert would turn into a cat and wander off somewhere, forcing him to go look for him. Sighing with relief as he returned he realized that Alfred was still there. What excuse was he going to give for Gilbert suddenly disappearing from inside his apartment? If he was outside he could just say that the albino had gone out, but from inside?

As he followed Alfred down the hall he noticed a little yellow fluff ball gliding straight at him. He couldn't help but laugh as the bird landed on his head. Turning to find the source of the noise Alfred smiled also when he saw Gilbird. He also gave Gilbert time to yank the hat down over his head.

"That's a cute bird…" He reached out and gently pet the thing sitting on his head. All the while his mind was racing. How could he get Alfred out? Luckily the American's phone started ringing and he went into his bedroom to answer it. Thankful that his brother had some good traits he walked over to Gilbert.

"Gilbert it's getting late! We need to do something," he hissed.

"I know," his friend practically growled back.

-xXVXx-

"What do you expect me to do?!" He could already feel it coming on, though he had been praying that since he was with other people it wouldn't happen that night. Whenever he was with Francis and Antonio it worked, so why not now! "Just keep him away from the closet until he leaves." Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad to be locked in a closet for an indefinite amount of time…

As the American reemerged from Matthew's bedroom he pulled the closet door shut and held his breath as Alfred walked by.

"Yo Mattie where did the albino guy go?"

"H-He decided to go visit some old friends of his last minute…" The Canadian's stutter came out as he lied, clearly uncomfortable.

Meanwhile the air in the closet smelled really stale, and his clothes were starting to feel pretty baggy. After almost five minutes of listening to the two brothers pointless chatter (Mostly Alfred) he was back in his cat form and wanting out of the stupid place he was confined in. It took all of his willpower not to start scratching the door or swipe his paw underneath it.

For some reason he had a lot of pent up energy and being cooped up in a closet wasn't ideal. He definitely had some cat instincts kicking in, because he was sure that he wouldn't normally feel so desperate. Then again, most of the time he could just reach out and open the door. Now the knob was a few feet above his head, and much out of his range. All he could do was wait for Matthew to open the door.

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