Shout out to OtakuFledgeling, Veloncia 999, Amawesomeguest, osa-chan, guest, and guest! I've never gotten so many reviews so soon after an update of this fic! :)

Amawesomeguest: Never let it be said I don't pay attention to the requests of my readers. Thy wish is my command. Consider your request fulfilled...with Gilbird on top. ;) I need some PruCan anyway.

Loven' the love, keep it coming!

Enjoy!

"Hey."

Alice, one hand on the door handle, stopped. She turned back to look at Alfred, only to blink in surprise as he leaned over, putting a hand on her cheek. Before she could ask, he kissed her forehead. Alice froze, breath hitching. When he started to pull away, he hesitated, and for a heartbeat she thought he'd kiss her lips too. He was so close...

She didn't even have time to admit this would be a bad thing before he pulled away for real, reclaiming his hand. Alice was still froze when he gave a wry smile and said, "I'm holding you to that rain check, Iggy."

Alice didn't even scold him on the nickname. She fumbled with the door, shoving it open and tripping out of the truck. The sun was almost clear of the horizon now, he had to get going. Once she'd shut the door and stepped back, Alfred was pulling back out of the driveway.

Shaking her head, Alice marched up to the front porch. Only when she was rummaging for her key did she remember Aunt Rachel. Grimacing, she carefully unlocked the front door, easing it open. She poked her head through the doorway, scanning the front room. Not seeing anything, not even Crumpet, she edged inside, coaxing the door shut quietly.

Alice made for the stairs, but then paused. She checked the living room, and guilt stabbed her belly. Aunt Rachel was laying on the couch, book on her chest, head on the armrest, sound asleep. An empty cup of tea sat on the coffee table. The lamp was still on.

Carefully, Alice slid off her flip-flops. She tip-toed into the living room, taking the blanket from the top of the couch. She draped it over Aunt Rachel after gingerly removing the book, making sure her place was marked before setting it aside. That done, Alice tip-toed towards the stairs, climbing them as quietly as possible.

The first thing she did was take a hot shower. Alice took one look at the mirror, and tried not to cringe. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were rumpled, and her makeup was badly smeared. What were those creatures called again? Ah, yes, raccoon. She looked like a bloody raccoon. How had Alfred been able to look at her and still want to kiss her?

One thorough shower later, clean and makeup-less, Alice wrapped a towel around herself and slipped out of the steamy bathroom. The first thing she did was text Yuki, begging for a ride. She was in the middle of getting dressed when she got a reply. Yuki didn't mind, but she did warn that Heracles would be in the car as well. Alice didn't care, she was just glad Aunt Rachel wouldn't have to drive her.

It was a close call, but Alice managed to rush through her remaining homework just as Yuki was pulling into the driveway. She rushed downstairs, forgetting until she was halfway down that Aunt Rachel was probably still out. Alice froze, then tip-toed as quietly as she could passed the living room. Once the door was quietly shut and locked behind her, she trotted out to the small four-door.

"Thanks, Yuki," she said, pulling the door shut behind her.

"I do not mind," said the human simply, putting the car into reverse. Heracles was dozing in the front seat.

Alice, perched in the back with all three backpacks, rummaged through her own bag until she found her English book. She flipped to the chapter she was supposed to have read, planning to test her skills at speed reading, when Yuki said, "I thought you rode with Alfred."

"We, uh, had to make different plans this morning."

Alice glanced up, and saw Yuki frowning in the rearview mirror. "Are things alright?"

This was a bit of a surprise. Normally Yuki was the last person to pry. But then Alfred was her best male friend, Alice her best female friend. It was understandable if she was worried.

"Things didn't go as planned last night. We're fine, really. I just didn't get the chance to do all my homework is all."

Yuki blinked. "A date? He mentioned plans. I did not know this."

Alice blushed. Apparently Yuki got bolder when romance was involved. So much for not prying.

"Well, we tried to. It didn't work out, but we're going to try again some other time. We...kind of fell asleep."

Now it was Yuki who was blushing. Alice felt herself go fire-truck red. "No, not like that! We tried to go to the museum, but he was really tired between the battle royal from the night before and the test in biology and all the football practices and not sleeping much lately and he got tired so we had to leave early. He got too tired to drive so he pulled over, but he fell asleep and I couldn't wake him up, then I fell asleep too. Nothing happened, don't look at me like that."

Her friend sat at the stop sign, staring at her as Alice babbled away. Only when she finally stopped did Yuki simply smile, and take her foot off the break. "Good."

"Good?" asked Alice incredulously.

"Yes. Good."

It was all Yuki would say on the matter. She looked happier than Alice thought she should be. She had no idea why, but tried not to think about it. Rather, she buried her nose in the English book, trying to force herself to speed-read five pages of Shakespeare.

BREAK*BREAK*BREAK

"Food."

Alice jumped, then turned to stare at Madeline. The other girl had materialized next to her, as was her habit. "Sorry?"

Madeline smile. "Food wakes him up every time. Wave it under his nose and he's wide awake."

The princess felt like she was trying to swallow a chunk of coral. "He- what did he tell you?"

"That I was right and he needs to sleep more," she said wryly. "He had that same look on his face, too. Don't worry, he explained. I'm sorry it didn't work out. He's been exited about that exhibit since they first mentioned they were planning it."

Alice blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah. He's got an archeology streak. He alternated out between Indiana Jones and Superman for Halloween every year. He still does, actually, but he just hands out candy."

The archeology bit was a detail that had been missed by Alice's initial...investigations. She knew people were complex, but Alfred seemed to be so in the extreme. It was hardly a bad thing, despite being a bit annoying, but Alice found she liked it. Alfred was a walking contradiction, and the more she learned, the more time she spent with him, the more she found herself falling for him. She really, really wanted him to be her life mate, but she knew better than to broach that subject now. They hadn't even had a proper date for pities sake.

Even so, it was nice to have things working for a change.

BREAK*BREAK*BREAK

Lovina was torn. She couldn't make up her mind. Should she punch Antonio in the face, or kiss him?

Despite herself, the Mer was growing on her. In that lay the problem. She liked him. She didn't like anyone, except for Nono and Feliciana. Unfortunately, those people had found out someone else had joined their ranks. Even that might be tolerable, but Nono had noticed some of the changes. Not any of the physical changes, thankfully, but other things. Like her lightened mood as a whole. And the fact she could swim now.

The last one she had tried to hide, but Nono had come home early and found her in the pool. She'd been practicing some of the human swim methods Antonio had taught her, but the only one she was comfortable with was a doggy paddle. In her opinion, it made her look completely undignified, but she couldn't even tread water yet. She had edged past the point where the smooth fiberglass was just out of toe reach, and was floundering in a very awkward doggy paddle when Nono had stepped out onto the patio.

"Lovi? You're swimming?" he'd asked in shock.

Ugg. She had refused to explain, which meant he was still nagging her about it. Her fist curled on the picnic table just thinking about it. She was lucky he hadn't gotten the chance to interrogate Feliciana yet. No doubt her sister would babble away everything...knowing her she'd even let slip the detail of both their boyfriends being Mer. It was a doozy, to say the least, and she'd been understandably freaked out at first, but in the end it had been surprisingly easy to accept.

"Lovi!"

Lovina's teeth clinched together. Nerves already frayed, she turned fist first. Antonio wheezed as he was greeted with a punch to the gut. Even so, his smile didn't waver. "Nono annoying you again, Lovi?"

"He caught me swimming," she ground out, turning to glare at the table again.

"You were practicing?" he asked brightly, plopping down next to her.

"Sì," she muttered.

"I'm proud of you!"

Lovina turned to tell him just where he could stick his pride, only to freeze as he gave her a peck on the lips. Antonio pulled back, beaming widely. "Want to go to the beach this weekend? There's a reef half a mile out I think you'd like to see."

For a minute, Lovina just stared at him. She'd just punched him, and not for the first time, but he was still like this. It never made any sense to her. Slowly, she turned back to the table again. "Fine. Bastardo."

Antonio only laughed.

BREAK*BREAK*BREAK

Gilbert cracked an eye. The sun was setting overhead, the air finally cooling from its previously broiling state. He'd been dozing under a large oak tree, a place he'd sought out specifically so he could be alone with his awesomeness. He'd made a habit of coming out to the small park a block away from Bella and Lars's place almost every evening, it was his Awesome me time. This had gotten easier since both Antonio and Francis had gotten together with humans.

No one ever seemed to come out here. Even the animals seemed to be quiet. Today, though, a bird had apparently missed the memo. What's more, it wasn't a chirp of a song bird, or the harsh caw of a crow. Gilbert had grown fond of the various bird sounds he'd heard since coming up on to land. He liked birds as a general rule. There were no such creatures in the sea, and he was fascinated by them. They moved like they were in water, defying gravity and darting about. His favorite was the hummingbird he'd spotted once, an avian so dexterous it could even dart backwards.

Slowly sitting up, Gilbert scanned the tree branches. It took a minute, but he realized it was coming from the other side of the tree. Rolling onto his hands and knees, he carefully crawled over to peek around the trunk.

Gilbert's heart dropped. He scrambled around the tree, only to freeze again. Yes, it was a bird. But the hoarse croaking chirp was coming from a small, yellow ball of fluff. A closer inspection proved it was a canary of sorts, oddly fluffy...and flopping around desperately. Gilbert was no expert, but it looked like it's wing was busted. The poor thing was flopping around, squawking in distress.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," he told the bird. "You're not helping yourself."

The bird kept right on fussing, but the thrashing seemed to slow. Gilbert edged closer, gently coaxing his cupped hands under the bird. It rightened itself on his palms, looking up at him as it continued its stream of squawking. He slowly lifted the little bird until it was eye level with him.

"Any idea where we can get that wing fixed?"

The bird seemed to give a particularly irate squawk. Gilbert grimaced. "Give the Awesome me a break, Sir Fluff. I'm still knew to land."

That earned him a peck. "Alright, alright! I'll find a new name," Gilbert grumbled.

He slowly got to his feet, trying very hard not to jostle the injured avian. The Mer was doing a 360, looking for someone to ask, when he spotted her. A grin spread across his face. Madeline seemed to be avoiding him lately, despite his efforts to expose her to the awesomeness that was himself. To his reasoning, the more exposure there was, the more she'd come around and fully appreciate him. Thus far it hadn't worked, but the year had just started, and Gilbert could be patient if he wanted to be.

Normally, the only time he was guaranteed to see her was in Biology, where she didn't have a choice in the matter. But here she was, ridding down the walkway that crossed the park, heading his way. She was astride the contraption humans called a bicycle. Gilbert didn't understand how they managed to ride them without falling over, balancing precariously on two thin wheels like that, but even guppies no older than five seemed to manage it.

Madeline didn't look to be in the best of moods, but then she never was when she was around him. Gilbert had thought she might be warming up to him after that trip to the principal's office, but for some reason a few days later she'd started shunning him like a jelly fish.

"Hey, Birdie!" he called, walking towards the cement path.

She made a face, coming to a halt and bracing a foot on the path before she could fall over. "For the last time, don't call me that. I've been trying to get hold of you for hours, Gilbert. Why don't you have a cell phone? We were supposed to do the homework assignment together, remember? What- is that a bird? Where'd you get it?"

"The Awesome me found it," said the Mer, cradling it in his cupped hands. "Is there a bird doctor around? His wing is broken. Not awesome."

Madeline frowned, dismounting the bike. There was a basket on the back, secured over the back wheel. In it was a beach towel and what he'd heard called a messenger bag. Madeline fished out the towel, unfolding it a few times. "There's a vet not far from here. Are you sure you just found it? It might be someone's pet that got out. Canary's aren't exactly native to Florida."

Gilbert frowned. "No. I found him. Gilbird is mine." He paused, but the bird didn't peck him. His grin returned.

Madeline brought over the towel, holding it under his hands. Gilbert lowered the bird into the fabric, then took it from Madeline, holding the makeshift nest as gingerly as he had the bird itself. "So a vet can fix birds?"

She gave him a funny look, but said, "They should. If I show you where it is, do you promise to do the assignment when we're done?"

"Ja."

Madeline eyed him. "Do you promise? It's not just your grade riding on this, you know."

"I said I would. And breaking a promise is unawesome."

Gilbert turned his attention back to the newly named Gilbird, who was still flopping around a little. "Beruhigen, ruhig," he crooned, switching to his native German. He coaxed both towel and bird to one arm, freeing his right hand. He petted Gilbird's small head with one finger, all the while saying, "Es ist in Bußgeld. Die Awesome mich und wird sich um Sie kümmern.Verstehen? Wir werden Ihre Flügel fix und Sie werden wieder fliegen."

Madeline watched him for a long minute, then returned to her bike. She knocked the kickstand back up, and started pushing it along by the handlebars. "Come on, it's going to close soon if we don't hurry."

BREAK*BREAK*BREAK

Two hours later, Madeline had yet to accomplish what she'd set out to do. She wanted to feel annoyed, especially since it had almost taken her an hour to track down Gilbert to begin with. That said, she had a soft spot for animals, especially the small ones. She wasn't a huge fan of fish either, but birds and mammals she liked. A bird with a broken wing who also resembled a squawking ball of fluff was something she couldn't walk away from. Doubly so if doing that would mean leaving the poor thing in the hands of someone who didn't even know what a vet was.

They'd gotten Gilbird, as Gilbert had named it, to the clinic about ten minutes before it closed. It wasn't that big a deal to set and bind the broken wing. The problems started when Madeline found out Gilbert also didn't know what a wallet was, or a credit card, or that vets charged money. Only living with Alfred her entire life ensured this didn't leave her banging her forehead against a wall.

That, and the fact that Gilbird seemed to like her. Gilbert had pouted when he had chosen to ride on Madeline's shoulder into the pet store. The albino, now enlightened to the fact that pets cost money, and promised to pay her back for both the vet bill and the supplies they picked up. Madeline was pretty sure she could convince her mother that an animal in distress counted as an emergency, ergo qualifying for the use of the emergency credit card, as she hadn't had enough cash on her for any of it.

Gilbird, for his part, had settled down a good deal. He alternated between Madeline's shoulder and Gilbert's head, occasionally squawking. He'd only protested when Gilbert had asked if he should get a cage. Madeline had rubbed her ear and said, "I think that's a no. But you might want to find something for him to perch on, at least."

Madeline liked to think of herself as patient. Even so, she was getting weary by the time they'd lugged the supplies back to Gilbert's place. He seemed to live in some sort of boarding house with his brother and the rest of the people from Miami. She hadn't asked, just followed him to his room with the birdfeed.

Only when Gilbird was settled on his newly erected perch, a sort of bird sized play-set, his food and water dishes full, did Gilbert look at her and ask, "So what was that assignment?"

Madeline glanced at her watch. The sun had set a while ago. It was getting late, and she was hungry. "You know what? It's late. It's Friday. The assignment isn't due until Monday. I'll come back tomorrow," she said tiredly.

"Ja, and you can check on Gilbird," agreed Gilbert, grinning broadly. "Thanks for helping the Awesome me, Birdie."

"I did it for him, not you," said Madeline firmly.

She turned to leave, but Gilbert asked, "Why don't you like the Awesome me?"

"It's not that I like you or dislike you," she said wearily. "See you tomorrow."

Madeline left before he could ask anything else.

The truth? She liked him. Maybe it was because she had been exposed to similar levels of boisterous obnoxiousness growing up, but she did. More than she thought she should. But then she'd had crushes before. They never worked out. Madeline knew she was invisible, knew most people never noticed her. She'd tried to speak up a few times in her carrier as the local ghost, but as soon as she fell silent she vanished again. She'd found out the hard way it was best to admire the recipient of her crush from afar, and wait for it to fade. It was even worse if Alfred found out. He could be very protective, embarrassingly so. The one time he'd found out he'd threatened to pulverize the poor boy. The only reason Madeline hadn't seriously contemplated scaring away his first serious girlfriend, to return the favor, was because it was Alice. Alice was her friend, saw her more often than others. She liked Alice. If they ended up together permanently, she wouldn't mind.

Madeline had thought about this for what she considered to be much too long. In the end, she decided it was best not to approach Gilbert that way. She didn't want him to end up like the others. Sure he was nice now, but she dared not get her hopes up. As soon as they weren't Biology partners anymore, he'd forget her. They always forgot her in the end.

Beruhigen- calm down

ruhig- easy/quie

Es ist in Bußgeld - it's fine

Die Awesome mich und Birdie wird sich um Sie kümmern- the Awesome me and Birdie will take care of you.

Verstehen -understand

Wir werden Ihre Flügel fix und Sie werden wieder fliegen- we will fix your wing and you will fly again

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If I screwed any of that up, please let me know. I don't speak German, and while I know Google Translate is a bit squirrely it's all I've got.

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