Gilbert was absolutely awed by the Jones's house.
It was much more...Bigger than he expected? Not that he expected them to live in a hovel of some sorts, but he didn't expect the house to be so nice.
"Are your parents rich?" He asked his Birdie incredulously.
"No," Matthew shot him a blank look, "My dad is just really good at lying."
"What." But suddenly, he was shoved aside as Alfred stormed up the stairs, playing a game on his phone intently. Gilbert glanced towards Ludwig, who was awkwardly glaring down at the floor.
Meh, he'll live for two minutes without his awesome presence.
"Birdie!" Gilbert placed his hands on both of Matthew's shoulders and steered him a bit to the side, his heart thumping against his chest. He'd only decided to do this last week, but he hadn't really been anticipating exactly when and how to do it. At the moment, his stomach felt like ice, and he felt his breathing turn shallow.
"Yeah, Gil?" Matthew looked at him expectantly, purplish-blue eyes staring at him over round glasses. Gilbert gave a forced grin, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"I've been meaning to tell you a few things," He said, grasping the hem of his jacket to keep his hands from doing something stupid. Like pinch himself.
Matthew suddenly looked concerned. His eyebrows contracted together and he reached forward, placing a hand on Gilbert's shoulder, sensing something was off.
"Yeah? You can tell me anything, Gilbert."
Gilbert felt uncharacteristically nervous. It wasn't in his nature to feel so shaky, so scared. Should he really do this now?
He allowed his eyes to wander for a few seconds, taking in the pictures, all in which two boys stood next to smiling parents happily. The only truly different one was Alfred carrying a rather irritated-looking blond on his back with a grin like the Cheshire cat. They looked very happy, and Gilbert knew that he'd probably throw himself off of the London bridge if he ruined that.
"I can tell you them later," He said, coming to a final decision, before allowing himself to smirk. "But first, the awesome me wants to do this!"
He leaned forward, angling his head slightly and awkwardly kissing Matthew right on the lips. Matthew's shoulders rolled back a bit in surprise, and he attempted to return it, but their teeth only awkwardly clacked together and they both gave up after a couple of seconds.
Well, first kisses weren't perfect.
"Oh booooyyysssss!" Marie's voice echoed throughout the entire house, and the flannel-wearing woman entered the living room, where Gilbert and Matthew were still standing. She placed her hand on her hip, scanning the room.
"My only request is, don't do it on the couch. I rather like the pattern."
Then, with a flip of her hair, she left the room.
"Does she really expect us to…?" Gilbert asked, eyes following the tall woman. Matthew shook his head, his cheeks tinging pink in embarrassment.
"No, she just does that stuff to scare us off from actually doing it. She did it on Lars, too, and he was so awkward the whole time that he kind of couldn't talk throughout the entirety of dinner."
"Lars sounds lame," Gilbert said, only to flinch when Matthew delivered a not-so-light friendly punch to the albino's shoulder.
"Hey, be nice. I can easily throw you out in the eyes."
"Don't you mean ice, Birdie?"
"No, I mean eyes," Matthew deadpanned, looking Gilbert right in the eye, "Our collection of eyes, Gilbert. Those who disrespected us. I can throw you in them."
The only thing that prevented Gilbert doing something incredibly stupid in response to this was Marie's repetitive call of "DINNER!"
Thundering footsteps were heard above, and suddenly a blurry shape crashed into the staircase banister.
"FOOD!" It was Alfred's voice.
"Well, let's go eat then, eh?" Matthew smiled at Gilbert, which was a bit lopsided, he noted, but it just made him even cuter and dorkier. Gilbert grinned, and patted the top of Matthew's head.
"Stay this way forever, Mattie. Don't Neville Longbottom me."
Matthew's smile turned into a look of confusion.
"Neville Longbottom?"
"You know. Suddenly become a sex god. Just stay really dorky and really cute, okay?"
"Okay, Gil."
Gilbert followed Matthew into the dining room, where two extra chairs were added to the table. Ludwig looked very awkwardly put-out, so, being the amazingly awesome big brother he is, Gilbert strode over to greet them.
"How ya doin', Luddy?"
"Awkward, not fine, I want to leave here," Ludwig said bluntly, "But there is nothing waiting for me back at school."
"Aww. That's my brother. So not afraid to share his horrible feelings with me."
"Gilbert, you know I don't like meeting people I don't know."
"I dunno, man. It was probably the best day of your life when you were forcibly partnered up with Misters Feliciano Vargas and Kiku Honda for a science project."
Ludwig flinched slightly.
"Don't remind me of that, I still have the burns."
Gilbert gave a laugh and stood up on tiptoe so he was nearly eye-level with his brother, booping him in the nose.
"Enjoy dinner, brother o' mine."
"Shut up."
They sat down at the table, where Marie, Matthew, and Alfred already sat. Gilbert had barely scooted his chair in when Jack entered, balancing a dish of casserole precariously in the crook of his elbow. He gave a grin, which was much more lopsided than his son's, and set it down carefully on the table, along with many plates.
"Dig in!" He bowed dramatically, tufty hair brushing the tablecloth. Gilbert instantly reached over, scooping up a large piece of casserole and dropping it down onto his plate. Matthew watched with an amused expression on his face.
Hell fucking yes, he was hella hungry. Stuffing a bite into his mouth, Gilbert chewed, savoring…
Oh god. This was horrible. What the fuck. This tasted awful? Like really really awful? Gilbert continued chewing, an expression of apathy on his face, but on the inside he was actually screaming. Ludwig was already eating beside him, but a quick, shared, painful glance said that his younger brother agreed that the food was awful.
The Jones ((+Williams)) were eating the food perfectly normally, however, oblivious to the boys. Alfred dumped ketchup all over his casserole while Matthew sprinkled syrup on his.
This family was nuts.
Matthew watched Gilbert out of the corner of his eye anxiously, waiting for either a negative or a positive reaction to the meal. When the expression on Gilbert's face remained exactly the same, he took this as a good sign.
Sir Awesomeness approves the meal, Matthew thought with a silently sigh of relief. He began eating his own casserole.
What Gilbert wanted to tell him, he didn't have the slightest idea, but it was fun to guess. Though, it was hard to guess, because while Gilbert may be a predictable in text, he seemed almost unpredictable in real life. Matthew was sure Gilbert knew much more about him than he knew about Gilbert.
But, he supposed, he couldn't rush things. He was still a bit new to dating him, and he'd only ever met him once in real life before, and that surely didn't count as much, right? Maybe they could start seeing each other more often, and actually getting to know him.
His brother was a bit weird, too, Matthew marvelled, chewing his food thoughtfully. He was big and silent, quite the opposite of his brother, though despite the sort of intimidating aura he was giving off, he seemed really out-of-place, unsure of this environment. He was just as difficult to read as Gilbert was.
Alfred, to his right, however, couldn't care less.
"Maaaaan, Artie really wants me to buy him this new album," Alfred was saying to his brother, his casserole more like a casserole-and-ketchup soup sludge, "I'm thinking about maybe caving and buying it for him. What do you think?"
"Yes." Matthew responded, still watching Gilbert.
"Are you paying attention?" Alfred asked, glancing at his twin.
"Mm-hmm."
"Mattie. Mattie, I'm telling this to you, but when we were eleven and dad told me to clean the toilet, I used your toothbrush."
"Yep."
"I'm also actually a woman."
"Yep."
"And since we're technically identical, that means you are too."
"Sure."
"Because identical twins can't be the same gender."
"That's what she said."
Alfred squinted at Matthew, who was barely paying him any attention. Finally, he puffed air out of his cheeks and groaned,
"Laaaame."
"Yes," Matthew nodded, before finally breaking his attention away from Gilbert, who had looked up, made eye contact with him, and grinned. His stomach was fluttering, and he too gave a smile. Until he felt a sudden, stabbing pain in his chest, and his smile quickly turned into a grimace.
Not now, please. Any time but now.
Things I have been asked and am answering-
Q: Are you still thirteen?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you live in London?
A: No.
Q: Are you European?
A: No.
Q: Will anybody die?
A: ;0)
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