Inspired: No Good With Faces by Jack Johnson.
No Good With Faces
Gilbert ducked beneath the awning and watched the rain paint the cobblestones dark and darker. People hurried past him in buttoned coats and umbrellas.
His plain white undershirt was drenched. It puckered and bunched up with each twist of his hips. His jeans were soaked. His combat boots squelched with each step.
The clouds were bruised and leaden and pouring rain over the sprawling town.
It was depressing. And that suited him just fine.
Gilbert shivered. His hair plastered against his forehead in dripping tendrils. He pushed it back from his face and watched the world march past him.
He had wanted Matthew to give him a chance, to give them a chance, but six o'clock had come and gone and here he was. Alone. He had hoped that Matthew could put aside his worries and insecurities long enough to go on a date with him.
One date, that was all he had asked for... One date to show him what the two of them could be together, what the two of them could do together.
One date… And he could not even have that.
He rotated his shoulders in an attempt to soothe the tense muscles, running his freezing hands over the tattoos on his forearms. The fountain in the centre of the marketplace was overflowing.
A man staggered past him with a newspaper over his head. A woman ran in the opposite direction, the hem of her pink sundress sopping wet and maroon.
Gilbert jammed his hands into his pockets and tried to decide what to do. Another shiver danced down his spine but he was reluctant to go home. He could hide under the green and white awning for a little while longer, sure, but not much longer. The shopkeeper was glaring at him.
He supposed that the rain was punishment for pursuing the introverted blonde student. He had known that it would be difficult. He had known that he would have to convince him but it still hurt. Rejection just hurt, whether Matthew had meant it like that or not.
Gilbert bit his lip and studied his reflection in one of the puddles.
Was he unattractive? Was he irritating? What was wrong with him?
He stomped in the puddle and distorted the image.
"Gilbert! Gilbert!"
He looked up to see Matthew running towards him in a red raincoat and yellow rubber boots. He splashed through the puddles and came to a sliding stop in front of Gilbert. He raised one hand as he bent over to catch his breath.
"What…?"
"Hold… Hold…" Matthew gasped. "Hold on a second."
Gilbert frowned. He was breathing hard.
"I thought that you weren't coming."
"I… I…" Matthew straightened up with his hands on his hips. His chest was heaving. "I'm sorry."
"You're…?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm late."
"Late."
"Yes, I…"
Matthew was cut off when Gilbert burst into laughter, clutching his sides.
"Late!"
"Uh…"
"You were late!"
"Uhm… Yes?"
Gilbert leaned against the building for support and ignored the glowering shopkeeper. He was breathing even harder than Matthew now. He had been sure, so sure, that Matthew had rejected him but he was late.
Just late.
"You were just late..." He trailed off, smoothing his hand over his face and chuckling. Matthew stared at him, baffled. Then his eyes widened in understanding.
"Oh! You thought that I forgot! Or that I stood you up!" He blushed with surprise and guilt.
"Well, yes."
"No! I mean, I would never… I mean… I really, really wanted to come!" Matthew stepped forward and waved his hands through the air, awkward and unsure. It made Gilbert smile.
"'Really, really'?"
"I… Yes." His ears were coloured red now too. It matched his raincoat.
Gilbert pulled him even closer and let his forehead rest against his left shoulder in relief. Matthew hummed in embarrassment, unsure where he should put his hands, before settling on wrapping them around the albino.
Gilbert sighed in contentment.
"I'm glad…" He whispered against his burning ears. Matthew held him tighter.
They stood like that for moment before Matthew jostled him lightly, clucking his tongue.
"… You're cold…"
"Mmm."
"We should get out of the rain."
"Mmm."
"… That's not really an answer."
"Mmm," Gilbert repeated with a smile. "Lead the way."
"Where? I think we missed the movie."
"Wherever. You're here. You showed up, that's what matters. I don't care where we go now."
"Ah… We could go to my house and watch cartoons instead. You're soaking wet. I don't want you to catch a cold."
"Okay," Gilbert gestured absentmindedly, suddenly exhausted. Matthew grabbed his hand. He grinned.
They held hands all the way to his house and he caught a cold anyway.
But so did Matthew.
Author's Notes:
Oh look. More sap. More awkward sap. Gosh. Why do we always assume the worse when something fails to go according to plan? We always assume that it was something we did. You know what I am talking about.
Matthew probably just missed his bus, lost in thought and distracted, and Gilbert probably showed up two hours earlier than he needed to. Idiots.