"What are you doing?" Matthew demanded as his feet moved without his consent to the beat of the beautiful song coming from the piano with no player. Gilbert simply smirked and spun Matthew gracefully before pulling him back, close to him. "Gilbert."

"We're dancing," Gilbert said happily and the beat of the song slowly quickened and both of them sped up accordingly, but Matthew still had no control of his body.

"Why?" Matthew asked. Of course, he didn't mind being this close to the cat, but he couldn't get past the feeling that Gilbert was up to something with everything that he was doing. Gilbert spun him again, this time keeping Matthew's back to him and securing his arm across Matthew's chest as they continued to sway to the beat.

"Because I've always wanted to dance with you," Gilbert purred into his ear and turned him back around to face forward again. Matthew couldn't even try to hide his blush. This didn't make any sense. Why was he reacting this much to Gilbert? He'd only met him a short while ago and he hadn't gotten to know him. Gilbert was just around to annoy him a lot. But every little thing he did, the things he said, had Matthew falling. Hard.

"Don't say things like that," Matthew muttered. He couldn't control his head, just his eyes. He refused to look at Gilbert's face. If he did, however, he would have seen the sad smile and the downcast look that Gilbert gave him.

"Why not?" Gilbert asked. The speed grew again and they were able to do fancier turns at a faster pace. Gilbert seemed to enjoy a fast pace far more than slow. He was having more fun now. "You deserve to hear things like that, Matthew."

"I don't understand any of what's going on!" Matthew snapped, looking at Gilbert now. Those ruby eyes giving him undivided attention, his ears perked and ready to listen. "Everyone here knows my name and wants to give me all of their attention! I don't understand! I'm not that special, I should even know that in my own dream. I don't need all of this attention! I don't know why I'm dreaming about it!"

"You don't need to understand," Gilbert smirked, leaning very close to his face, their lips just inches apart. Matthew's heartbeat could probably be heard by Gilbert, considering how close he was, and he let out a shuddered breath. "Just roll with it. That's life."

"I don't know what that's supposed to mean," Matthew sighed. He wished he could control his body. All he could do was bite his lip and inwardly hit himself for wishing to be able to lean his head forward and close the gap between their lips.

"That's fine," Gilbert smirked and released one hand from him, but they still continued their dance. He carefully traced Matthew's burning face, tracing a nail over his lips carefully. That was when Matthew saw the sad look in his eyes. The distress that smoldered in them.

"If you want to kiss me, you should," Matthew said. There was no problem saying something so bold if it was just a dream, after all. There were no real world repercussions.

"Oh, Birdie, I wish I could," Gilbert muttered, cupping Matthew's cheek in his hand.

"What is that supposed to mean," Matthew muttered.

"It's not my place," Gilbert whispered in his ear before disappearing from sight. Matthew blinked in surprise for a moment before he realized he was still dancing against his will.

"Gilbert!" Matthew snapped. "Gilbert, come back!" There was no sound except for the piano and Matthew's steps. His arms were still out, holding onto a partner that had left, and he couldn't stop himself. His blush grew when he realized how stupid and embarrassing this was.

He heard the door open behind him as he swayed to the beat and he heard the sigh of a person he hadn't met yet. There was a slam of the piano cover over the keys and the music stopped. Matthew's arms dropped to his side and he stood still, recovering.

"Was it the cat?" the new man asked and Matthew jumped, looking at him. He was a very large man, but the bright red suit undermined any intimidation he held. He had very neat, slicked back blonde hair and cold blue eyes. His suit jacket boasted a letter in black, just underneath his pink handkerchief. The letter A.

"Yes," Matthew said carefully. "Thank you for stopping the music. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"You are welcome, Matthew," the man nodded to him. "The others are looking for you, the party has started."

"What?" Matthew blinked. No way, Elizabeta had said that the party would be the next day.

"You spent all night dancing," the man said before moving towards the door. All night? How was that even possible? But...even then, this was a weird dream all of the time. "I'll escort you to the party at the Clock."

"The Clock?" Matthew asked. He remembered, when he first got there, he tried walking to the Clock, but he only got to the tea party because of how confusing this place was. Gilbert had said that he shouldn't go there then, but maybe he was supposed to be there now. Matthew nodded and followed shortly after the man. He was mostly silent, but very nice, opening doors for Matthew and walking behind him until there was another door. "What's your name?"

"Ludwig," the man said simply. "I am the Ace of Hearts, their best soldier." Matthew nodded, following him outside of the castle. Ludwig walked with purpose through the forest, obviously knowing exactly where he was going. Matthew followed him dumbly. "I hope you enjoy your party."

"They didn't have to throw one for me," Matthew muttered.

"Why shouldn't they?" Ludwig asked and Matthew blinked. Before he could respond, they reached a new clearing. A large clock tower stood at one end and, in front of it, was a neat and clean large table with a clean tablecloth covering it expertly. Everyone was there, sitting and talking. And all of them looked right at Matthew the second he entered the clearing. They all noticed him immediately. Matthew glanced up at the clock, wondering how time worked there in Wonderland. But all he found was that the clock was stuck. It was one minute until 12, the second hand refusing to move.

"Matthew!" Elizabeta rushed from her seat to greet him and everyone else followed suit. Feliciano hugged him with Elizabeta while Francis and Antonio tried to talk his ear off. Kiku asked him how he was doing and Lovino stayed on the opposite side of him than Ludwig, but still smiled at Matthew. Arthur and Roderich calmly welcomed him to the party and Gilbert smirked from a fair distance away.

"Thank you, everyone," Matthew smiled at them as they moved away, surrounding him in a friendly circle full of smiles. "You really didn't have to do all of this for me."

"Oh, don't be silly," Elizabeta said with a wave of her hand and held onto his hand shortly after, pulling him over to the head of the table. The chair was incredibly opulent with balloons tied to it and the largest spread of food in front of it. Elizabeta sat him down on it and he stared at her in wonder. "We wanted to!"

"I was more than happy to provide the tea you liked so much," Arthur said proudly and Matthew stared at the cup that sat in front of him. He couldn't stop the smile on his face while everyone returned to their seats, Gilbert on Matthew's closest right. They all joked and laughed and included Matthew into everything. It was so different from the real world…

Matthew never wanted to wake up.

Matthew was laughing really hard to a joke Antonio had been trying to tell that Lovino interrupted when he heard an odd sound.

Tick

Matthew paused for a moment before he looked up at the clock. Everyone else followed suit. The second hand was moving.

Tick

"Oh, so soon?" Elizabeta pouted.

"You got so happy so fast!" Feliciano smiled.

"Remember us, won't you?" Kiku offered a smile.

"What?" Matthew asked. The clock continued to tick around them and he stood up. What were they all saying? It almost sounded like a goodbye…What did that mean?

"It's the rules," Gilbert said as he stood up and walked over to Matthew. "You found what you were looking for, yeah?"

"What? No," Matthew shook his head. "I-I didn't find Alfred." In fact, he'd forgotten about Alfred. "I didn't find a way…home…"

"The way home is to find what you came here to look for," Gilbert carded his hand through Matthew's hair. Matthew's heart pounded. It was like all of the others had stopped and it was just him and Gilbert standing there, alone with the ticking of the clock. "I'm so happy you found what made you happy."

"No, I'm not happy," Matthew shook his head, pushing Gilbert's hand away. "No…I just got here, it's only been two days! I can't just…leave…"

"It's how it works," Gilbert shrugged. The clock was moving sluggishly, obviously these seconds were slower than actual seconds. Matthew was scared to look at the face to see how little time he had left.

"Don't you dare say goodbye," Matthew demanded.

"What do you want me to say?" Gilbert asked.

"K-kiss me," Matthew stuttered.

"I can't do that," Gilbert shook his head. "I wish I could."

"Why not?" Matthew demanded. "You go around doing what you want all the time. What makes this any different?"

"It's not my place," Gilbert shook his head.

Matthew took a deep breath and mustered his courage. He'd never find an opportunity like this outside of his dream. He had to do something to show that he genuinely wanted to stay. Maybe he could, he had no idea. Matthew pressed his lips to Gilbert's and Gilbert froze. His lips were soft and cold, almost like they were fake, but Matthew didn't care, he pressed further. He had to prove his point.

Gilbert sighed and pushed him back, not too far away, but definitely not close enough. "I can't. It's really not my place, Birdie."

"But you've wanted to," Matthew protested. "What the hell did I even find here?"

"Friends," Gilbert shrugged. "A place to be comfortable. You were searching for it and you found it. Wonderland can't keep you here anymore. It may have wanted to, but we all care about you too much to let you stay."

"No, I want to stay," Matthew shook his head. "Everyone here…"

"Don't worry about us," Gilbert smiled. Matthew glanced at the table and found that everyone had disappeared from the table. He felt burning tears rise to his eyes, his face stung. "Don't cry for us. Trust me, it'll all be okay."

"No, it won't," Matthew shook his head violently. The clock started to chime loudly and his heart plummeted. "No, please."

"Birdie, I need you to wake up."

"No!" Matthew yelled at him.

"Please," Gilbert cupped his chin. "Wake up. Please."

"No," Matthew shook his head.

"Matthew," everyone's voices chimed at once and Matthew glanced at all of them, who suddenly appeared around him and Gilbert. "Please, wake up. Matthew."

"No!" Matthew held onto his head. "I don't want to!" The chiming of the clock was so loud it was like it was ringing in his head, nearly making it explode. This didn't feel right, he couldn't explain it. This was a dream he never wanted to wake up from. "Please…"

"Wake up."

"Dude!" Alfred shouted, pushing his way through the crowd. He gripped hard onto Matthew's shoulders, looking him right in the eye. "Wake up! Mattie! Come on, dude! Wake up!"

He continued to shake him, subsequently shaking away the dream around them, the people around them. Matthew couldn't do anything, say anything, as that reality was stripped away from him. And he was forcefully pulled back into his actual reality. The one he didn't want to see again.

So many people in the last scene, not enough space or time to write all of them… Sad face. Anyway, Gilbert got to be serious and I really love his serious tone, almost as much as his usual, cocky tone. Now, I know it's a little confusing, but wait for next chapter, where everything gets explained and wrapped up all nice and stuff. It's one hell of an ending, it was actually the first thing I made for this story!

Anywho, please review! No new characters next chapter!