I am going on a trip to France for a study abroad class for about ten days. So instead of just working on a new chapter for Shoulder To Sleep On, I decided to go ahead and work on this as well. This is going to be nine official chapters and a sort of epilogue at the end. I might add a few more scenes in an eleventh chapter of fluff or something if I feel like it. Anyway, I should have another chapter for Shoulder To Sleep On ready before I fly out on Tuesday. I will be writing on my trip, just won't be able to post anything during that time. But that just means I should have stuff to type up when I get back home! Anyway, enjoy the story!

Breathing in the fresh air, Gilbert checked his watch. He had an hour for his lunch break and instead of spending it in the office eating like most of his co-workers, he decided to find a nice place in the shade of the local park in New York City. Being in the direct sunlight without the protection of trees made him miss his home in Germany and the area he lived in. It was nothing like the constant bustle of the city life here in New York. He knew taking on the job as an office worker here would be different, but he needed the money to help his little brother, Ludwig, go to school. After their Groβvater took Gilbert and Ludwig in because of the death of their parents. Gilbert knew there was no extra money to flaunt around. Gilbert was lucky he even got a job after completing his required school years. It was thanks to their Onkel Fritz, Gilbert got an eye for detail. It was just an office job and mundane, but Gilbert made the most of it. Thanks to his persistence with his job, he was able to land the job in New York. Yet, he always felt as if something was missing. It was the lonely apartment he came home to.

An unoccupied bench sat under a large oak tree. The leaves cast a comfortable shadow to keep Gilbert's delicate skin from turning a bright fiery red and burn. His albino mutation made normal sunny days hell on earth if he did not wear sunscreen. Gilbert had grown up being outside and enjoying what the world had to offer because of the shade from the trees back home. Most of the busy people on the sidewalks and streets never seemed to stop and enjoy the day. Gilbert found that rather upsetting.

The worst were the coffee shops. The first time he tried to order something, the barista grew angry at him because he was having a hard time picking a flavour. The drink ended up being way too sweet for him in the long run. But what bothered him was the lack of sitting space to enjoy the coffee in nothing more than a paper cup.

Walking off the beaten path, Gilbert trudged to the bench, dreading the return to work. In his hands was a small paper bag with homemade lunch and a water bottle in the other. Setting both items next to him, Gilbert rolled up his sleeves after he draped his jacket on the bench. He then watched the people around the park.

There were several mothers hoarding children around, a few with strollers or newborn babies strapped to their bodies as they called to other children. The barking of a dog held Gilbert's attention. The golden retriever fetched a Frisbee its owner threw. Tail wagging, the dog brought the toy happily to its master, only to repeat the ritual several more times. The retriever reminded Gilbert of his three dogs, Berlitz, Aster, and Blackie, back home with Ludwig. He wondered if they were still going for a run every day. Knowing Ludwig and his like for routines, the dogs would be doing fine. Chuckling to himself, Gilbert decided it was about time to finally start eating or he would miss lunch and starve until he got home later. But when his hand moved toward the bag, a bundle of ruffled feathers shook out beside him. A small golden and black bird sat near his lunch. Awestruck, Gilbert wondered what he should do.

Birds frightened easily and technically birds were companions too, so to frightened the little thing would be cruel. On the other hand, Gilbert's stomach grumbled in protest about having skipped breakfast to make it to work on time.

"Hello there Vögelchen. I just want to grab my lunch. I'm not going to hurt you," Gilbert said gently as his hand crept to the bag.

The bird's beady black eyes followed the movement for a fraction of a second before flitting towards a grassy patch by the bench. Sighing at the lost companion, Gilbert grabbed his lunch, and pulled out his sandwich. It was a simple turkey sandwich with lettuce and a tomato. After scarfing it down, he then pulled out a bag of berries and nuts, trail mix. When he glanced around once again, the hopping of the little bird from before caught his attention. Had it gotten closer? Feeling elated, Gilbert attempted to contain his delight. The bird was still far away and so he decided to toss a few pieces of dried berries to it. In moments the bird chirped lightly before it took to the food. Smiling, Gilbert watched the bird peck away happily. Most people would never understand the delight of feeding a bird because they were too busy doing something else.

"Vögelchen, would you like to be my companion?" Gilbert asked with a shake of his head. How had he been reduced to talking to a random bird in the park he doubted he would ever see again?

The golden bird hopped closer, cautious at first about the strawberry near Gilbert. Watching in fascination, the bird decided the berry was safe enough and came closer. The bird's beak slowly turned a shade of pink.

"Would you like to hear about my morning at work so far?"

Gilbert had no idea why he started talking about the happenings of work, but it helped. He spoke about the trouble between a rather small Italian with a temper, whose twin worked on the same floor as Gilbert, had gotten into another fight with a Spaniard Gilbert went drinking with. He then steered the conversation toward a rather grumpy young British man who deemed most of the work Gilbert had written up so far, beneath the standards of English grammar. Considering Gilbert's first language was German, Gilbert felt as if his English was rather exceptional.

"And so I had to hear all about how the Franny needed to keep his hands off Arthur. I don't know who has more sexual tension, those two are Lovino and Antonio. Although Lovino is in denial about the whole being in love thing," Gilbert said cackling. Sure his co-workers were friendly and fun to watch, but he still felt out of loop. Perhaps it was because he was still fairly new, or maybe it had something to with that crazy lady and her frying pan on the second floor.

And so it continued for the rest of the lunch hour. Gilbert talked to the bird, and the bird happily ate the fruits and nuts he tossed on the ground. It reminded Gilbert of the long walks he took with his dogs back home. How terribly he missed Germany now. Before Gilbert's lunch hour was over, he had told the bird most of his reasons for coming to America and how much he hated his job, regardless of how the workers made it rather comical on good days. The bird listened with understanding in its beady eyes, ever watching Gilbert and his hand for more food.

"Well, I'm all out of food for today. Come back tomorrow and I'll have more for you," Gilbert said as he packed away the empty bags and stood up.

The bird chirped in response before taking flight. Following the bird with his eyes, Gilbert wondered what it would be like to fly with wings instead of in a metal contraption. He shrugged and headed back to work feeling a little lighter than when he left.

The next day Gilbert returned to the bench to find the bird sitting there, patiently waiting. Upon seeing Gilbert, the golden bird took flight to land on the grassy patch just as it had the day before. Cackling as softly as he possibly could, Gilbert sat down after taking off his coat.

"Waiting for food?" Gilbert asked. A chirp was his reply as Gilbert brought out the fruits and nuts. "Alright, well here you go."

He tossed a few pieces to the bird before taking out his sandwich to eat. He spent the hour talking about what happened at work and told the bird to come back tomorrow if it wanted more food. Gilbert decided he liked to go to the park for lunch now.

The routine continued for a good few weeks. Gilbert started bringing extra food to share with the Palm Warbler, which was the species of bird Vögelchen turned out to be. Having borrowed Antonio's bird watching guide book, it took him until the end of the week to finally figure out the bird's species. The Warbler would listen and wait unless a larger animal was too near the park bench for its liking. By the end of the second week, Gilbert was presented with gifts of acorns and other small trinkets from trees. The Warbler seemed to use the items as payment for the food. He never took until he started putting acorns in Gilbert's lap before eating any food. He would come up to Gilbert's hand, but not quite take food from him. He decided instead of just using the name Warbler or bird for his companion, he called him Vögelchen. Yet, when Gilbert went to the park bench after a long morning, a month later, there was no gift or sight of Vögelchen.

Sitting on the bench, Gilbert felt lonely. The one-sided talks were therapeutic in a sense, but he had grown to enjoy the small bird's antics day after day. Sure the bird had not been a person who could go drinking with him, or even eat at a restaurant, but there was just something about having the bird there. It kept Gilbert from losing his usual pompous and over the top composure towards his work and co-workers. He had even come to enjoy the collection of forestry items the Warbler had left him.

Sighing, Gilbert opened his lunch and started eating, the food tasting nothing more of dirt. Halfway through, a kid who looked to be a few years younger than Gilbert, who was twenty-three, sat on the other end of the bench. No one had sat beside Gilbert except the Warbler. Anger clawed at Gilbert's insides, even if common sense told him it was only natural other people would sit at the bench. Deciding not to look at the new comer, lest he forget his cool, Gilbert concentrated on his sandwich instead. But at the corner of his peripheral view, one of the kid's hands come into view. He dropped something in Gilbert's lap. Two small acorns.

Turning, Gilbert stared at the kid dumbfounded. The kid had wavy golden blonde hair with a curl sticking out in front and amethyst eyes. He wore a red hooded t-shirt and regular jeans with matching converse. Gilbert could not understand why the man had given him the acorn. It was while Gilbert was lost in thought, the kid took the bag of trail mix usually belonging to Vögelchen.

"You can't just go around eating another man's lunch," Gilbert said, giving the young a glance over before leaning forward in an attempt to snatch the trail mix back. But the kid clutched it closer, shaking his head.

"Paid for it," he said quietly, pointing to the acorns.

"That's not paying for it. Besides, you never asked either." Gilbert tried to grab the food again, almost ended up with him on the ground.

"I've always paid in those. You tell stories too, so I gave you two acorns today," the kid said, popping another peanut in his mouth.

"What are you talking about? The only one I talk to or share food with is a bird, not a human." Gilbert ran his hand through his white hair, trying to make sense of the situation.

"What if I told you I'm the bird?"

Gilbert stared at the amethyst eyes reflecting concern and hope before he started to laugh. How gullible did the kid believe him to be? A bird could not turn into a human. It was impossible and yet, the thought made him pause in his laughter to look at the kid again.

"If you really are the bird, what type are you and what stories have I told you?" Gilbert knew the questions could possibly be answered by anyone who visited the park every day and it was all just some huge joke, but it was hard not to play along for a little bit.

"You told me I was called a Palm Warbler who migrated from Canada. The stories ranged from work and your little brother, Ludwig." The kid watched Gilbert's face as he spoke. "You call me Vögelchen. What does that mean?"

"It means birdie in German," Gilbert said, eyes wide in wonder. "Are you really Vögelchen?"

The kid smiled brightly and nodded his head sheepishly. He continued to munch on the trail mix, oblivious to the inner conflict Gilbert now faced. Could the kid have just spied on him and thought to play a cruel joke? Or could he really believe the words the kid said? Either way, Gilbert had to figure out what to do next.

"What exactly are you then?"

"A shifter in training," Vögelchen said, not skipping a beat. "I can't maintain a human form for too long, but that's only because I just started learning. My names Matthew, but you can still call me Vögelchen if you want."

"I'm Gilbert. Why did you only start learning now?" Gilbert asked, a little shocked at how normal the conversation was turning out to be.

"My brother always said humans were dangerous and couldn't be trusted. He never taught me, so I had to learn from a polar bear about a year ago. I never bothered practicing through because I never had a reason to."

"But now you do?"

"Yup."

Gilbert was about to inquire as to what that reason was, when the golden retriever who normally was in the park around this time, caught a Frisbee near the park bench and barked loudly in its triumph. Gilbert chuckled at the prancing dog for a moment until fingers gripped his arm tightly. Or at least he thought them to be fingers, but upon looking down, it was talons digging into his rolled up sleeve and arm, drawing small beads of blood. Matthew had feathers poking out of his golden hair and some on his arm, matching the colours of the Warbler. Large frightened amethyst eyes begged Gilbert for comfort.

"Vögelchen, you have nothing to fear. The scary dog is back with its owner. Now please let go of my arm." Gilbert gave Matthew a soft reassuring smile, feeling the urge to jump for joy and at the same time smoother the shifter before him with comfort. The shifted talons and feathers proved the story Matthew had told him.

Matthew nodded his head, shivering as he slowly removed his hands. Gilbert pulled off his jacket from where it sat on the bench and draped it over Matthew to hide most of the feathers. If anyone walked by, they would believe Matthew to either be an artist who worked with feathers, or a bird keeper at the zoo. Gilbert rubbed soothing circles on Matthew's back until the shifter calmed his breathing and the shivering subsided.

"Afraid of dogs are we?" Gilbert asked, teasing the other lightly.

"Just the big and loud ones," Matthew said quietly, still rather shaken up.

"Well don't worry. That one won't hurt you. He just wanted his toy," Gilbert said, quietly moving back to his original position now that Matthew was better.

Matthew nodded, trusting amethyst eyes never leaving Gilbert's face. The two relapsed into an awkward silence where Gilbert tried to find a new topic to talk about, while Matthew only stared. As Matthew had calmed down, feathers from his hair danced with the breeze. A few landed on Gilbert, making him chuckle. Matthew cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Nothing Vögelchen, just that now we both look like we went to the zoo and played with the birds," Gilbert said, finding he liked spending time like this. But with all good things, how long did he have until Matthew migrated back to Canada? Or had he changed into a human form to tell him he was leaving already? "How long are you going to stay?"

"Stay?" Matthew turned toward the sky as a few birds flew over their heads.

"Well, you have a home right? You mentioned you had a brother, so I would assume you won't be coming to this park all the time." Gilbert wondered if birds like Matthew had a sense of close family like Gilbert did when it came to his brother.

"Oh yes," Matthew said bright. "My brother and I normally migrate together, but he said something about us starting to settle down and start out our families soon. He said we would have to start going separately through the migration period because we are no longer hatchlings. I think sometimes he forgets that we're shifters."

"So I won't get to see you anymore?" Gilbert found his brightened mood suddenly darken. If Matthew left, he would be alone again, but knew he could never ask Matthew to stay.

Hurt flashed in amethyst eyes as Gilbert sat there wrestling with his own emotions. Matthew moved his head to the side, eyes giving off a shimmer. "Do you not want to see me anymore?"

"Of course I do! But you'll have to go back to Canada and it's not even that warm in New York at the moment either," Gilbert said, realising what he had done. Matthew was on the verge of tears. It was spring, but a chill breeze still swept through in the early mornings and late nights. It was only warm when the sun was at its highest.

"I can stay. I'll learn to stay in my human form," Matthew said a small smile on his lips. "If you'll let me."

Gilbert blinked for a moment. What had Matthew just implied with that last sentence?

"Why is it up to me?"

"Because you're the reason I practiced to become human. You're a shifter too right?" Matthew asked, pointing at Gilbert's snow white hair and then towards his crimson eyes.

Now it all made sense. Matthew had come to the conclusion that Gilbert was a shifter because of his abnormal appearance compared to the rest of the people in New York, although Gilbert was sure that he could find someone who looked stranger. He felt a little guilty for having deceived Matthew, but at the same time it made Gilbert wonder if the only reason Matthew had bothered to change into a human form was because of the misunderstanding. Gilbert shook his head.

"I'm an Albino. I'm not a shifter at all."

"Oh."

"Sorry." Gilbert said, having come up with no other response.

Gilbert sat there with a sigh. Of course Matthew was only interested if it meant finding another shifter. But then how could Gilbert explain why he felt so dejected and wished more than anything he was normal for once? In any other circumstance, he would bask in his abnormal mutation and allow people to gawk at him until they were satisfied. But to suddenly be the reason why Matthew had practiced to become a human and stayed in New York was because of the off chance Gilbert was a shifter, it broke Gilbert inside.

"Would you—I mean—oh never mind," Gilbert said, running his hand through his hair. Even he was unsure of himself at the moment or what he even wanted.

Matthew watched, curious eyes following Gilbert's every movement. Gilbert jumped a little when Matthew placed a hand on his shoulder, sad amethyst eyes locking into crimson ones. Gilbert felt as if he was looking into the world's most precious gem.

"It's okay. I understand. I'll leave and never bother you again."

Each word felt like a dagger digging deeper into Gilbert's heart. Matthew had become a friend and now Gilbert was about to lose him. Reaching out, Gilbert grabbed Matthew's hand, looking deep into the amethyst eyes.

"I don't want you to leave, if I'm honest. Just don't tell anyone I said that. In fact, all those stories I told you, don't tell anyone about those either. I have a reputation to uphold," Gilbert said, not looking up at Matthew, who only placed a hand over Gilbert's.

"It's okay. I knew it was a long shot, but I shouldn't bother you." The voice was quiet as the two sat there, hands within hands. Neither wanted to break the silence, but Gilbert's phone decided to play a loud ringtone, scaring both parties into a jump.

"Scheiße. Where is it?" Gilbert asked patting his pockets quickly to find the phone.

"Gilbert, something is," Matthew squirmed as Gilbert remembered where he put his phone.

"I'm sorry Vögelchen," Gilbert said as he pulled out his phone from the front pocket of his jacket. Swiping his thumb across the screen, he put the phone to his ear. "Hallo?"

"Where are you? I told you not to be late for the meeting today. Look at the time."

It was the lady from the second floor who always threatened Gilbert with her frying pan. Elizabeta was a woman no one wanted to cross and at the moment she sounded rather angry at Gilbert. Pulling the phone away from his ear, Gilbert cursed lightly.

"I'll be right there. I'm at the park like usual," Gilbert said before hanging up. He had no time to listen to her shout at him if he was going to make it on time before the meeting started. "Listen Vögelchen, I need to head back to my work and go to a meeting."

Matthew nodded his head, taking off Gilbert's jacket and handed it back. Instead of putting it on though, Gilbert just draped it over his arm, wondering how he would look with feathers all over when he walked into the meeting. He didn't mind, but Elizabeta would not be too happy, he was sure.

"Ah, what are you going to do when I leave?" Gilbert asked, not wanting to leave Matthew by himself.

"I," Matthew looked around, nervous. "I don't know."

Gilbert, gave a small huff, knowing that every second he stayed with Matthew meant another second he would be late for the meeting, but at the moment he knew which was more important.

"Tell you what, come with me. I'll tell them you're visiting family or something. They'll take care of you while I'm in the meeting and then I'll take the rest of the afternoon off. Since your brother seems to have deserted you, you can stay with me," Gilbert said, determined to take care of Matthew since he was to blame for Matthew's interest in learning to shift.

"I c-couldn't possibly do that! You already made it clear that you're not a shifter, so you probably think I'm some sort of freak and want to turn me in to get experimented on," Matthew said, hugging his sides, fear clearly in his eyes.

"Whoa, Vögelchen, calm down. I would never turn you over to scientists. Besides you already said you can't hold your human form for too long right? If someone were to see you shift, it would be bad. I know because of a mistake, but I don't plan on telling anyone. I promise."

"You don't?" Matthew said, as Gilbert held up his jacket.

"Why would I? I gave you my jacket to hide your feathers remember? I won't let anything happen to you. It's my fault you revealed your secret. So I'll take responsibility over you." Gilbert checked his phone, wanting Matthew to hurry up and decide what he wanted to do, but at the same did not want to push Matthew into anything.

Matthew's eyes lowered to the ground for a moment. Gilbert stood, bouncing from one foot to the next waiting. He knew he was probably making Matthew nervous. But when Matthew opened his mouth to tell the other what he wanted to do, Matthew suddenly doubled over in pain. Gilbert tossed his jacket to the ground and stepped forward to help the shifter.

Feathers sprouted all over Matthew's arms and then in his hair once again. Trying to think of what to do, Gilbert quickly picked up his coat and draped it over Matthew. If he was going to shift back into a bird at least no one was really paying attention to them. Getting Matthew to sit on the bench, Gilbert rubbed soothing circles, feeling the muscles and bones under the coat shift and form a new. Within minutes Matthew's body slowly grew smaller until finally a few chirps were heard from under the jacket.

"Are you alright Vögelchen?" Gilbert asked softly as he lifted the jacket to find Matthew as the Palm Warbler he knew.

Matthew ruffled his feathers before looking at Gilbert with beady black eyes. He chirped in response.

"I'm not sure what that means, but I'll take it as a yes. You should have given me a warning before you suddenly changed. I thought you were dying," Gilbert sighed and gave Matthew a little smile. "We'll talk about this later when you can go back in your human form or find some other way communicating. At the moment I really do need to get that meeting so I'm going to carry you to the office. If anyone asks I'm helping you because of a hurt wing."

Gilbert received a chirp as Matthew hopped forward a little. Taking the gesture as a sign that Matthew was fine with this, Gilbert scooped him up along with the jacket, creating a small nest. He held the bundle with the utmost care as he started jogging back to the company he worked for. It took him about ten minutes to get through the rush of the crowd and to cross the rather dangerous street in order to get to the company, but at least he made it with about two minutes before the meeting started. Not waiting for the elevator, he sprinted up the stairs, two at a time, with a ruffled Matthew chirping his concern. Ignoring the pleas to slow down, Gilbert burst through the door to his floor, breathing heavily. Heads turned in his direction, but no one reacted at first. At least not until they saw the bundle of feathers in his hands.

"Dios Mío! Gilbert is that a bird?" Antonio asked as he rushed forward from his cubicle across from Gilbert usually worked.

"Ja. He's hurt and I couldn't just leave him for some cat to eat. So I'm taking care of him, but I have a meeting to go to and didn't have enough time to run back to my apartment. Do you—"

Matthew flapped his wings in a small attempt to fly. Gilbert prayed it was just for show, but honestly had no idea at the moment. He leaned in closer to check. When he was near enough, Matthew fluttered a bit more before grabbing a bit of hair in between his beak and started to climb up Gilbert's head. He made himself comfortable by nestling himself in the snow white ruffled hair and chirped happily.

"I guess he wants to stay there with you. I hope he knows to be quiet or you won't get very far with the meeting," Antonio said with a grin as Gilbert cringed at the pulling of his hair.

"It's not funny Antonio. What if the people in the meeting don't—?"

"Beilschmidt, get your ass over here! The meeting is about to start," Elizabeta said in her delicate lady voice she reserved only for when she was livid with someone or there were higher ups afoot. Today, it seemed both were the reasons. Gilbert tossed his jacket over the chair of his cubicle and grabbed the important to documents he needed. "Why the hell do you have a bird on your head? Oh never mind, we don't have time for this. Get in quick."

"Ja, ich komme." Gilbert sighed, hoping that he was not about to regret coming to work in New York after all.

The meeting went as well as any of them could have guessed. Gilbert spent the first few minutes explaining why he was late and why there was a bird perched on his head. The meeting was about some sort of deal between the German partners of the company and Gilbert had to act as a translator of sorts, which was why he was needed so urgently. But the meeting went smoothly since Matthew stayed quiet on top of Gilbert's head and only ruffled his feathers or snuggled closer if Gilbert happened to walk near an air vent. After the deal was made, Matthew was praised for his well behaviour. The German partners said they were a little sceptical at first with signing the papers, but after seeing how well Elizabeta and Gilbert handled the situation with Matthew, they were more than happy to oblige. They deemed the American company able to cope under stress and adapt to new situations rather quickly. Gilbert prided himself with the praise, but honestly was just glad it was all over. Just as he was about to go back to his chair to relax, Elizabeta stood in front of him.

"That bird, where did you get him?"

Gilbert was ready to bolt before he got hit with a frying pan, but decided to humour the lady who was supposedly above him in the chain of command within the company.

"He's from the park. I've been feeding him since I've started taking lunch there. Today right when you called, he was attacked by a stray cat and I couldn't just leave him there to die or get eaten. So I brought him with me," Gilbert said, hoping Elizabeta would just let it go. Everyone in the office had their eyes turned toward the two, waiting to see what their boss was going to do.

"Have you named him?"

Gilbert tried to figure out where Elizabeta was going with this, but her emotionless face was starting to unnerve him.

"His name is Matthew. Why?"

A smile broke out on her face as she pushed Gilbert down by the shoulders to get a closer look at Matthew. "Thank you Matthew. You saved our butts today at the meeting. I hope your wing gets better okay?"

It was quiet in the office as Gilbert stooped under Elizabeta's pressure for her to get a good look at Matthew. The rest of his co-workers were rather stunned into silence. Most had viewed her as being a little heartless or rather cold to men except for her husband Roderich.

"You just smiled," Gilbert said, as she finally let him straighten up.

"Sure, I like cute things and Matthew certainly fits that description." Matthew chirped what Gilbert believed was thanks. "But you should probably bring him to a vet or something if he was attacked."

"Ja, I was wondering if perhaps I could get off the rest of the afternoon off since the deal went through to take care of him." Gilbert fidgeted under her watchful gaze. It was the truth, but twisted a little.

"Just be on time tomorrow," Elizabeta said as she turned to look at the rest of the office. "Get back to work. We still have a long afternoon with the deal approved."

"Yes ma'am," came the chorus of answers.

Sighing with relief, Gilbert gave a cackle before putting his hands on his hips as if he had just won against a formidable opponent. Antonio smiled from his desk and winked.

"Take care of the pajarito," Antonio said as he shifted a few papers around. "If he's as behaved when he's not hurt you should bring him around more often. Maybe Matthew can help tame Elizabeta."

"I heard that Toni! I better have those reports on file by the end of the night," Elizabeta called from the other side of the room. Antonio cringed for a moment before giving Gilbert a smile.

"Guess I better get to work."

"Ja, see you later Toni," Gilbert said, using Antonio's nickname for the first time since he arrived at New York. The name was weird to say, but he felt a little closer to Antonio than any of the others around his desk for the time being. Who knew it just took bringing Matthew with him to get people to actually take the time of day to talk to him.

Gilbert quickly gathered his belongings before Elizabeta could change her mind and headed out of the office. He was careful about moving his head because he was not to found of the idea of talons digging into his scalp, but found that Matthew perched in his hair was rather endearing. As he made his way down the stairs, instead of using the elevator, people exchanged glances about Matthew. Before he stepped out of the company building, he put his hand up for Matthew to climb on and cradled him in his arms.

"So do I need to take you to the vet?"

Matthew shook his head once and stared at Gilbert, who found the gesture odd coming from a bird.

"Alright, then should I get bird food or something from the pet store? I'm not exactly sure what I need to take care of you," Gilbert said as he walked through the lighter throng of people on the sidewalk, which honestly meant that there was at least enough room to walk two steps without being on someone's heel.

Again Matthew shook his head and snuggled closer to Gilbert as people crowded around them.

"Alright, I guess we just head home them? I'll have to hide you in my jacket when we get there though since I'm pretty sure there's a no pet policy for the apartment I have."

Matthew chirped in response. Gilbert watched as the beady eyes grew heavier with each step Gilbert took until finally Matthew had dosed off in Gilbert's arms, while Gilbert waited for the green light to signal he could cross the street. It took another five minutes of walking through the crowds to get to his apartment complex.

Gilbert enjoyed the accessibility he had the apartment his job paid for, but it was nothing like back home. He sighed, knowing he had about six floors to climb to get to his apartment. But as the doorman held open the door for him, he pointed to the bundle in Gilbert's hands.

"Best hide that," he said quietly.

Gilbert folding the coat over Matthew gently, hoping Matthew would scare from the action. He was glad the doorman had said something because upon entering, he could hear the land lord talking with a couple who Gilbert had seen living a floor below his.

"Pets are forbidden in this complex. I'm going to have to ask that you either find a new complex that allows pets, or get rid of the dog." The small blonde of the couple held onto the small white dog tighter.

"I see. We'll leave. Give us a week and we'll pay the rent as well," the taller said quietly, face dark as if he was seriously pissed off.

"I-I ummm," the landlord looked about ready to say the dog could stay, but just fell silent and went back to his office.

Gilbert shivered, wondering what he was going to do if they ever found out that Matthew was actually a bird. Shaking his head, he quickly went to the stairs and walked up slowly to not jostle Matthew who was still asleep it seemed since he had yet to make a peep. After about the third floor, Gilbert was slowly getting tired. He would have to ask if elevators were okay to ride. It had been a few years since he had really stayed in shape thanks to playing soccer. Climbing the rest of the stairs as he huffed, he was sure to have woken Matthew up, but when he moved Matthew to only one hand to fish for his key, still not a sound. Once he closed the door behind him and locked it, Gilbert uncovered Matthew to see Matthew's chest rise and fall rhythmically.

"Matthew, we're here," Gilbert said softly.

Matthew blinked at Gilbert for a moment, beady eyes still clouded over as he sat cradled in Gilbert's hands. Ruffling his feathers, Matthew gave a small chirp before snuggling back into the jacket.

"Schlafmütze, wake up."

Gilbert sighed lightly before putting the jacket and Matthew on a cushion on his couch. He would have to give Matthew the grand tour of the house a little later. If Matthew was tired, Gilbert was going to let him sleep. He figured shifting and dealing with so many people all in one day was exhausted. Even Gilbert felt tired from only translating for the German partners to the company. Heading to his room, Gilbert changed out of his attire and put on sweats and a t-shirt before joining Matthew on the couch again. Crimson eyes watched the other sleep for a few more minutes before his eyes slowly closed. A protective hand curled around Matthew as Gilbert drifted off to sleep.