Chapter Eight

Kiss Me Seductively

It was a little strange but now that Ludwig was back, Matthew felt much more relaxed. He hadn't realized how much Ludwig had been on Gilbert's mind and how tense he had been these past few weeks Matthew had known him because of it. But now that Gilbert had relaxed, Matthew found himself relaxing as well.

They spent a quite a bit of time with Ludwig and while it was a little annoying to not have any time with just Gilbert, Matthew couldn't complain. He didn't have the right too, his boyfriend's brother had just come back safe from the war and it was only reasonable that Gilbert would want to spend time with him. Really, Matthew was happy enough to just be remembered enough to be invited along.

So weeks passed and with Gilbert's worry about his brother now gone from his mind, his relationship with Matthew had only grown stronger. Matthew found they balanced each other rather nicely, while Gilbert was loud and spirited and a touch obnoxious, Matthew was more quiet and reserved and a little more polite. While Gilbert helped to bring Matthew up and out, Matthew did his part to tone Gilbert down when necessary.

It was a great relationship, Matthew believed, still, Gilbert standing on his front step late Saturday night was rather unexpected.

"Gilbert? And Ludwig's not with you."

"C'mon Birdie, I don't drag him with me everywhere I go. He's too serious sometimes, needs to get out more, let loose have some fun, maybe air out that stick he likes to shove up his ass sometimes… I swear that's why he joined the military." The white haired man stepped past Matthew and into the house, allowing Matthew to shut the door behind him.

"Did something happen, are you alright?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah everything's fine, Ludwig just… he went to bed early and I had to get out so I thought I would come see you. Is there anything wrong with me making a surprise visit to my boyfriend?" he asked, giving Matthew a quick kiss.

"No, of course not, I just thought… the way you were… ah, nevermind, can I get you anything to drink?"

"Beer!" he called, heading into the living room. He could hear Matthew chuckle from the kitchen with a barely audible 'of course' as he grabbed two beers from the fridge before joining Gilbert on the couch.

"Thanks Birdie," Gilbert said, taking the cold bottle from the man as he gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and started searching the tv for something to watch.

"Anything you're in the mood for?" he asked.

Matthew shook his head and leaned against Gilbert's shoulder, his unopened beer sitting between his legs.

Gilbert continued searching, but Matthew could feel there was a tenseness about him, a kind he hadn't felt before, almost a nervousness. Matthew frowned and sat up, setting his beer on the table. "Gil, look at me," he said. He waited for Gilbert to obey before continuing. "Are you sure everything is alright?" he asked.

Gilbert blinked a few times. "Yeah, of course Birdie, why wouldn't it be?" he asked, seeming genuinely confused.

"Well it's just that… you feel really tense," Matthew replied.

"Oh… well… it's just that…. I've been thinking a lot about something… about you and me and… Gott, this is embarrassing…." His face flushed as he looked down at his lap, setting his own beer and the remote aside for the moment.

Matthew waited for him to continue but when he didn't, he reached out and took Gilbert's hand. "It's fine Gil, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said gently. "As long as you're sure there's nothing wrong."

"No, of course not," Gilbert stated, waving his hand dismissively. "But I really think I should I mean… well, as I've said been thinking a lot… about us… and we've been dating for a couple months now… and we're both adults, you know?"

"Yes Gil, but I'm not quite sure where you're going with this," Matthew said with a confused frown.

Gilbert huffed. "I've decided I want to have sex with you!" he finally blurted. He quickly laughed it off, loud and forced as he clapped Matthew on the shoulder. "You should be honored to be allowed to sleep with someone as awesome as me!" Even his words did little to cover up his embarrassment.

Matthew's face had turned bright red by this point, though he should have expected it really, Gilbert wasn't anything if he wasn't blunt. He was silent for a moment, his mouth gaping open as he tried to find the words to answer. Finally after a hard swallow, he slowly nodded. "Alright."

Gilbert paused. "What? You mean? Ah man Birdie, you don't… I mean—"

Matthew only sighed and leaned forward, pressing his lips against Gilbert's and cutting him off. Talk was getting them nowhere and only making things more embarrassing. They were already in this deep so they might as well go for it.

As the kiss deepened and grew more heated, they let their hands roam and soon clothes were hanging off the back of the couch and sprawled across the floor. It wasn't a first time for either of them, but that didn't make a difference. It was passionate, it was awkward, it was a little bit hesitant and unsure, it was a time that both of them would remember for years.

When they finally finished over an hour later, they laid tangled together a few moments, Matthew resting his head against Gilbert's chest, listening to the racing heartbeats as the gradually slowed.

"Not bad Birdie," Gilbert teased, twisting a lock of Matthew's hair around his finger.

"mmm shush," Matthew replied, letting his eyes close. Despite the cries that had filled the house moments before, everything was peaceful now and relaxing, Matthew hadn't felt so calm in a long while. "We should do this again sometime," he said idly.

Gilbert smirked and gave Matthew's hair a playful tug. "Are you saying you're up for another round?" he asked.

Matthew chuckled. "No, no, I'm beat, I'm just saying that I would like to do this again with you. It was… nice."

Gilbert scoffed. "I just rocked your world and you're saying it was nice?"

"Mmhm," Matthew said with a soft nod. "Very nice."

Gilbert gave Matthew's hair another small tug before letting his fingers tangle in the strands and come to rest there. "Yeah, it really was. I would love to do this again with you Birdie. Maybe even for the rest of our lives."

Matthew had to pause. He hadn't really thought about it. They had only been together for nearly three months and while he had never really seen them breaking up, he hadn't thought about them staying together, it was more of just, as the time comes sort of thing. He was with Gilbert now and that was all that mattered, who cared what came in the future? Still, the more Matthew thought about it the more he liked the idea and with a small smile, he hummed in approval.