A/N: A PruCan request this time. Prompt was fluffy, then sad, and then fluffy again.

The first time they met was when Gilbert saved Matthew from being eaten by a hawk. The little blond naga had frozen in fright, his purple tail standing out starkly against the green of the summer leaves.

"Birdie!"

The shout came from the surrounding foliage and Matthew glanced around in confusion, but couldn't see anything. Then the hawk was diving and he was flinching down, the bird's talons barely missing him.

"No! Dummkopf, move! The birdie's coming!" All of a sudden a white blur shot from the leaves and knocked them both from the branch, just as the hawk made another pass.

Matthew landed with a soft thump on a pile of moss, belly upward. The other naga landed next to him and a moment later was pulling him deeper into the moss-covered rocks to safety. They stopped in a large crevice about a foot under the ground. It was well out of reach of the hawk and there was a fair amount of sunlight streaming through the cracks in the rocks above.

It was there that Matthew first caught a good glimpse of his savior. The other naga was slightly bigger and longer, with white scales, silvery hair, and deep red eyes. An albino. Matthew saw a patch of pinkish-red scales on the underside of his tail near the tip as the naga twisted to face him.

"Thank you..." Matthew said quietly, finding his voice and recovering his manners.

"Dummkopf, I told you to run." the albino replied, coming closer. "Are you all right?"

"O-Oui..." Matthew stuck out a hesitant hand. "I'm Matthew."

"Gilbert the Awesome, at your service." Gilbert shook it with gusto. "Hey, you're kind of cute." And because they were both very young nagas, neither one saw anything strange with that.

"Thanks. You're-" Matthew broke off when a shadow fell over their niche. He glanced up nervously, but Gilbert just snickered.

"W-What?"

"Don't worry Birdie, that birdie can't find us here."

"My name's not Birdie."

"You reacted to it." Gilbert shrugged. "And 'sides, if you're gonna be my friend, you need an awesome nickname."

"Friend?" Matthew stared up at him with wide eyes.

Gilbert laughed and mussed up his hair. "Yeah."

Matthew smiled softly and a new friendship was born.

A few years passed, and the pair was nearly inseparable. In fact, the only times they were apart was when they were asleep. Gilbert taught Matthew how to hunt and escape, while Matthew taught (or at least attempted to teach) the albino how to be more patient and calm. The blond watched out for Gilbert during the spring and summer since his pale scales stood out, and Gilbert returned the favour in the winter when it was the opposite way around.

Over time Gilbert developed a bit of a crush on the quieter snake, though he didn't say anything. His actions around Matthew changed and became more awkward for a while, but he covered it up with brashness and a more frequent use of the word 'awesome'. Matthew noticed the change but was confused as to why it happened so he just left it alone.

"Hey Birdie." Gilbert said one afternoon when they were curled around each other. It was late fall and the days and nights were getting steadily colder. The two of them had long ago decided that warmth was more important than embarrassment or misinterpretation, and now they no longer cared.

Matthew looked at him. The nickname had stuck over the years. "Yeah?"

"Let's go exploring tomorrow." Gilbert pretended to shiver so he could pull Matthew closer. Hey, if he got a chance to hug and snuggle with the other naga, he'd take anything he could out of it. "To The Deep."

"Th-The Deep?" Matthew squeaked.

The Deep was what they called the deepest, darkest part of the forest. Not many living things dared go there, and even fewer returned. Even the famous explorer Alfred, who'd gone in a few years ago, came back shaken.

"Yeah!" Gilbert said excitedly. "I bet it's not as scary as they all make it out to be. Plus, you've got me to protect you!"

Matthew didn't look convinced. "And that should reassure me because...?"

"I'm awesome!" Gilbert replied. Matthew bit his lip and the albino nudged him. "Come on Birdie, it'll be fun! If you really want, we can always turn around."

"Okay then..." Matthew finally agreed, and Gilbert let out a cheer.

The next morning they met up in the edge of their territory. Gilbert was munching on a mouse, but he quickly swallowed it when Matthew slithered into view.

"Ready?"

"I guess..." Matthew bit his lip.

Gilbert snickered softly. "Come on then!" He grasped Matthew's hand and pulled him off towards The Deep.

At first they didn't notice too much change in the scenery around them. The trees and rocks stayed the same shapes, except the scents were different. Then the trees changed from leaf-bearing to needle-bearing and became less frequent. The number of rocks grew, and the overall air seemed to get heavier and darker. Matthew shifted closer to Gilbert, his hand tightening on the albino's. Gilbert glanced down at him and smiled reassuringly.

"Where are we gonna sleep?"

"Don't worry Birdie, we'll find some place in the rocks."

They both suddenly stopped when they sensed the faintest tremors of life coming from the side. Matthew's nose flared and he licked his lips hungrily.

Gilbert's tongue flicked the air. "Mouse." he mouthed. "Stay here."

He let go of Matthew and slithered off, his tail sliding soundlessly over the ground. He vanished into the brush, and silence descended. Suddenly a loud squeak rang out from where he had gone. Then more silence.

"Gilbert?" Matthew called softly.

"I'm here." Gilbert slid into view, something furry in his arms. "It's a heck of a lot bigger than the ones back home." he commented as he held it out.

Matthew accepted the offering with a smile. "Come on, we can share."

The blond ate half of it, leaving the rest for Gilbert. Once everything was gone darkness was starting to fall and they had to search for a place to sleep. Gilbert was excited, but nervous. They were most likely going to sleep curled up together.

It was Matthew who found the empty burrow in the ground. He went in first before Gilbert could protest, but luckily there was no one inside. When the time came to sleep Gilbert curled a bit closer to him than was absolutely necessary, but Matthew didn't comment.

They ventured deeper the next day, seeing the landscape change even more drastically and catching glimpses of strange creatures. The trees grew larger and more twisted, as did the animals. A few times they had to hide when they sensed danger from the larger beasts in the air or on the ground, but overall no harm came to either one of them then.

"Gilbert?" Matthew asked just before they fell asleep that night. "As much as exploring is fun, can we go back tomorrow?" All the strangeness was starting to freak him out, and he missed familiar territory.

"Ja, Birdie. Thanks for coming out here with me." Gilbert replied, nuzzling closer to him.

But the next morning, Matthew was gone and Gilbert woke to find himself curled around a branch. In a panic the albino tasted the air, trying to find a trace of the violet naga. He was slightly reassured when he found Matthew's scent, but the relief was short-lived because the trail was old- two hours at least.

"Birdie?" Not bothering with breakfast, Gilbert set off in search of his friend. "Matthew?!"

His hopes were dashed when, about a half a mile later, Matthew's scent mixed with something else. The new scent reeked of large size, wings, and blood. A large bird of prey. Gilbert's heart plummeted and he lashed his tail in frustration.

"Nein!" Gilbert set off searching once more. It was his fault they were out here, so therefore his fault that Matthew was gone. He had to find him, and would keep looking until he'd found is precious Birdie.

Matthew was in pain, more than he'd ever been in.

Some nimble creature- probably a large mouse or rat- had uncurled him from around Gilbert and dragged him off, for what purpose Matthew didn't know. The blond had been woken by the piercing scream of a diving bird. Even though he himself was much bigger than before this bird was larger still and didn't hesitate to snatch him.

The talons scratched into his tail as he fought, not about to become this predator's prey. The sharp points raked across his scales, leaving long shallow scratches. Matthew ignored them and twisted around, sinking his fangs into the hard flesh of the leg.

The bird let out an annoyed cry and tightened its grip on him, but didn't let him go. The talons drove deeper into his flesh and he winced. He wasn't about to give up though, and he continued thrashing around, occasionally straining upwards to bite at the bird's leg again. He wasn't venomous, but he knew that eventually the bites would hurt too much for the bird to go on much longer. He was right.

There was another shriek from above, and he was dropped.

The ground whistled towards him, though luckily the bird had flown more for distance than height, so he wasn't that high up. He caught glimpse of a shimmer of something metallic in the clearing he was falling towards, and then he was knocked out on impact.

His unconscious bliss didn't last very long. After he hit the ground he bounced, and when he finally settled his tail landed on top of the circle of flat metal- a human foothold trap. The sides of the trap snapped shut, the steel teeth on the edges biting deep into Matthew's flesh, much deeper than the talons.

The naga screamed as he came to, thrashing around in an attempt to free himself. That only brought more pain and caused the teeth to dig in further, so Matthew stopped and laid still for a while, tears dripping from his eyes. He clenched his teeth and hands until the pain abated to a more manageable level and then turned around slowly to survey the damage.

There were long, deep gashes down the length of his tail, exposing the red flesh beneath. Blood had already soaked through the ground underneath him and torn off scales were everywhere. But there was so much blood... He would die if he didn't staunch the flow, and soon.

Not moving his lower half too much, Matthew managed to cover himself with dried leaves and moss, which helped. But he'd already lost a great deal of blood, and he passed out. When he awoke again it was dark once more, and the cold was setting in.

He was alone, cold, hungry, hurt, and defenseless, never good things for a snake.

Gilbert searched for days, with each passing one becoming more frantic. The nights were cold too, and if he was left shivering in burrows there was no telling how Matthew was faring. He'd scoured a great deal of the forest nearby and came up with nothing.

A small voice in the back of his mind was starting to say that it was hopeless and that Matthew was either dead or eaten by now, but Gilbert didn't give up. He couldn't.

Finally he came upon a small clearing. There was a leaf-carpeted lump in the center of it, and as the albino got closer he spotted a glint of metal and a few purple scales. His eyes widened and he shot forward, haphazardly scattering the leaves out of the way.

Matthew was laying on the ground and Gilbert wanted to cry, both out of relief and horror. The blond naga wasn't moving and his tail was a mess of scratches and scabs and dried blood. Fingers trembling, Gilbert reached out to check for a pulse. The skin beneath his touch was freezing cold, but he could feel a faint pulse. He let out a dry sob of relief and hugged Matthew, warming him up the slightest bit.

He eventually had to let him go in order to free him from the trap. It took a good half an hour, but ultimately he managed to lever the trap open using sticks and rocks. Extracting the tail from between the teeth took another ten minutes as Gilbert was trying to be as gentle as possible. Matthew stirred and let out a soft moan, but didn't open his eyes.

Once he was out Gilbert gathered him into his arms. The day before yesterday he had come across some hot springs, and that's where he headed. The water would clean his injuries and warm him up. At first when Matthew was slipped into the water there was no response, but after about a minute his eyes fluttered open. Gilbert immediately slithered into the water as well, moving to hug him again.

"G-Gil...?" Matthew blinked, his eyes hazy and unfocused.

"Ja, I'm here." Gilbert gently kissed his forehead over and over again. "I'm so sorry Birdie." he said lowly. "I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry..."

"You ehh? What...?" Matthew looked up at him tiredly.

Gilbert just laughed softly and kissed him, his lips moving gently against Matthew's still-cold ones. The other naga remained unresponsive for a moment, but then started kissing back.

When they broke away Matthew's cheeks were red and he was smiling slightly. "I was getting worried you wouldn't come..."

"Dummkopf, if course I'd come." Gilbert mussed his hair up. "What happened? How is your tail now?"

Matthew recounted the events from his memory and swished his tail lightly through the water. He winced. "Better now, though it still hurts."

Gilbert nodded. They stayed in the hot springs for a few more minutes and then moved into a cave in the rocks above the pool. It was nice and cozy, the stone being constantly warmed from the sources below. Matthew's tail started bleeding slightly once more and Gilbert bound it with some spare cloth from their pack.

"We can stay here until that heals."

Matthew looked up at him and nodded. "Will it be safe?"

"Yeah. The first time I came here there weren't any other scents, and even now there's only my awesome one." Gilbert pulled him gently towards the back of the cave and curled up protectively around him so that he was closer to the entrance. "But I'll protect you if anything, mein Birdie." He pressed a soft kiss to Matthew's lips.

Matthew pressed back against him and then nuzzled to him. "You know what's unawesome though?" he asked.

"What?"

"It took me almost dying to get you to confess."

A/N: Eventually they made it back to their territory and lived happily ever after and stuff.

I imagine the setting for this to be in a world like this except y'know, there's nagas and that one really deep and dark forest where strange stuff happens and no one wants to go there.

I'm not really used to writing PruCan as a main pairing of a story and therefore just Mattie and Gil, so I apologize for any OOC-ness.