AN: Half way through writing this I had a PCS episode so I was sitting up totally straight to help lessen the pain and it was very uncomfortable because I slump when I write. Lasted for fifteen minutes. It was not fun. God, this week's been a general pain, but PruCan always makes me feel better. :]

They were seated at the kitchen table, both staring intently into each other's eyes. Gilbert took in a deep breath and drew himself up to look more intimidating, but it wasn't working. Matthew's steely gaze was trained onto him, silently daring him to just do it. Gilbert's glare matched Matt's tight-lipped look for only a few more seconds before it faltered and he called it quits.

"Okay fine, I'll call him, but if something bad happens it's over your head." He jabs a finger in Matt's direction and his lips pull back into a snarl at the rare and cocky smirk on the blonde's face. He snatched the phone out of his hand before punching in a number. He rests the phone on the joint where his neck meets his shoulder, quietly waiting for him to pick up the phone.

Click.

It was the machine that picked up Gil's call. "Hello, you have reached the Beilschmidt-Vargas residence, but we are not able to answer your call at the moment. Please leave your name, business, and phone number after the beep. Thank you." It said before it was repeated in German and Italian once again.

Gilbert mutters a curse in German under his breath, but Matthew was able to hear it… not that it mattered too much. His German wasn't that good. Gil slams the phone back onto its receiver, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest. "He's not home."

"You could have left a message."

The older male mocks what was said before sighing. "Well, who else do you want me to call?" He spat out. Matthew's only response was the slightest twitch of his right eye, but Gilbert learned from watching hockey with the other that it meant somebody was close to snapping.

"Why are you in such a bad mood today, eh?"

He replied in German and even though Matt had no idea what he said specifically… he had a pretty good idea by the tone. Gilbert's lips pursed together as if he had tasted something bitter and he turned his back to the blonde.

"Mon dieu… Gil…"

His bad temperedness was affecting everybody in the room; including Gilbird who ended up having to be locked up in his cage. The little bird went bat-shit crazy and had tried to attack Matthew when he had walked into the room the bird was in. Gilbert had said he had no idea why he had done that, but Matt had an odd feeling that he knew why.

Matthew's frown grew even deeper when he caught Gilbert blatantly scowling at him at him now. He knew that it had to do with him, but just what the hell was it? Gilbert had let him in when he showed up, but all he's doing is just scowling at him. What did he do? "Was this about last week?"

And he got his answer when Gil promptly stood up, his chair making a screeching noise as it scraped along his floor, and the man stomped out of the kitchen and headed to the living room. From where Matt sat, he could hear the television being turned on.

The Canadian sighed and buried his face into his hands. Gil could be such a woman sometimes, he realized with a slight twinge of amusement to that thought. A small smile made its way onto his otherwise dreary face as he stretched. He was going to need the most of his patience for this day. He quietly got up and stole a peek into the living room.

He retreated back into the kitchen. Gilbert was watching him, glowering at him from the living room. How creepy. Matthew sighed and picked up the phone, fingers already punching in Francis's number, but they stopped midway. He hung it back onto the receiver. There was no way he was calling that man. Maybe he could call Arthur—no, wait, maybe… no… how about Alfred? He blanched just at the thought of doing that. How about Mattias? Wait, he hasn't talked to him since high school. That'll be a bit awkward.

Matt let out a small groan as he took dubious steps towards Gilbert, the man's white-hot gaze still trained onto him. God, this was like a suicide mission or something. He took a seat down next to Gilbert, feeling increasingly awkward when the man's gaze didn't relent. He clumsily smoothed out the wrinkles in his pants, at a lost of what to say.

"So… uh…"

Oh what a smart thing to say.

The hard-edged glint in those eyes softened just a bit, but it was enough for Matthew to gather up his courage once again. Then he ran into a roadblock, freezing up when he realized that Gilbert didn't look so mad… just really amused. Okay, so he still looked mad, but not as mad as he originally thought. "I-I… well… uh…"

Oh dammit, why did that have to be on his mind? A white eyebrow arched upwards as the blonde continued stumbling over his words, trying to find something that he can voice other than that.

"Matt, you okay? You're face is really red."

Oh, and here he thought it was because of Gilbert's broken air conditioner. Matthew patted his face, willing the burning to disappear or at least dull down. But just like the moon, the burning faded away only to come back full force again when Gilbert opened his big… fat… mouth.

"Are you acting so weird because of that gay couple thing? To be totally honest, I thought it was pretty—OOF!" He toppled over, hands instinctively clutching at the thing covering his face. He let out a guttural groan, dazed and stunned from the pillow hitting him square on the face. Gilbert quickly recovered with a shake of his head, chucking the sushi-shaped pillow back to his attacker.

He playfully growled at the other, Matthew having burst out laughing when the attack had missed its target by at least three feet. He faked a start towards Matthew; his red eyes filled with mirth as the two of them slowly eyed each other, daring the other to be the first to move. Matthew made a move first, reaching for a pillow, but Gilbert was quicker. He grabbed one of his iPod-shaped pillows and threw it hard at Matt.

The blonde caught it as it hit his face, his laughter muffled by the thing. He grabbed the thing, blue-violet eyes scanning for the familiar figure of Gilbert, but he found him too late. He let out a yelp when he felt the other wrap an arm around his neck, putting him into a chokehold, and he struggled against the grip for a brief second before both of them broke into raucous laughter again, Gil's hold relaxing so that the Canadian could easily slip through.

Slowly the laughter died down, Matthew holding the iPod-shaped pillow in his hand. He stared down at the thing, chest heaving a bit from the strain of laughing so hard. He couldn't help but laughed again as he handed it over to Gilbert. "Where do you even get a pillow like that, eh?"

Gilbert looked the pillow over, hand running over the fake screen before he tossed it back onto the couch. "How the hell should I know? I don't even know how I got half of the stuff in this place."

"Really?"

"Really."

Matt nods his head absent-mindedly, his line of thought shifting back to the beginning again. He watches as Gilbert moves about the house, picking up the pillows that they tossed at each other. Gil was finally in a good mood and he didn't really have any intention of ruining that, but… he really was curious. "Hey Gil…"

"Yeah?" He didn't even look up.

"Why were you so prissy this morning?"

This time he looked at him, a furrow in his brows. "I wasn't that bitchy was I?" He commented casually enough, but Matthew could see him clenching and unclenching the cushions in his hands.

"You were so bitchy Gil. Like a man with a stick up his ass."

"Okay, I know for sure that I wasn't that bitchy. A bit maybe, but not that much."

"Is this going to be a conversation on how bitchy you were or on why?"

Matt's lips twitched upwards as Gilbert stuck his bottom lip out, pretending to mull over the subject in his mind. In all honesty, Matt found the expression very similar to a duck's face. Not that he was going to tell the man that…

"Can't we keep talking about how bitchy I was?"

"Gil…"

"Fine, fine, fine." He took in a deep breath—face a bit flushed—and made his way over to his couch, settling down amongst all the useless crap he had bought. He motioned Matthew over and once both were sitting comfortably side-by-side did he speak again. "Well, you know how last week we pretended to be a couple?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, heart speeding up at just the memory. "Ah, y-yeah. What about it, eh?"

Gilbert coughed into his fist, red eyes shifting over to the right and away from Matt. He calmly threw his arm to rest along the sofa's top, all the while telling himself that it wasn't some messed form of the 'yawn-and-shoulder-grab.' "Well, after we left you never visited me even once, man." He cursed under his breath when he realized just how girly that came out. Damnit! That came out wrong! ARGH. "I-I mean, you have time to send me flowers, but you don't have time to just sit down and talk to me?"

The Prussian kept his face away from Matthew, could feel the other's gaze just watching him; studying him. He nearly leapt out of his skin when Matthew let his head rest on his shoulder. "Well I'm sorry Gil. I would have visited you if I knew you missed me that much." He smiled, the silver-haired man spluttering. "I've had a busy schedule last week, but I'll make it up to you okay?"

He didn't have the heart to tell him that he just spent most of his time walking around the neighborhood, thinking about this and that and… Gil.

"When?"

"Tonight if you want."

"It's a date then."

"Okay then."

He almost regretted stepping out of the cozy café, the personable yet busy atmosphere having set the two of them into a good mood. It was just a feeling that he regretted leaving, a feeling of being able to be one-self without anybody watching you… judging you because they're busy having fun too. He almost regretted stepping out of the café because of that feeling, but he couldn't really when being with Matthew just set him at ease.

He let out a slow groan as he stretched out the muscles in his body, a small cat-like smile on his face. After that he then proceeded to fix his hair, taking great care in making sure the cornflower tucked behind his ear didn't fall out. It didn't.

Gilbert sighed, taking some of the bags containing their leftovers (Okay, so it's more like Gilbert's leftovers, but everything looked so good!) from Matt as the two of them continued strolling down a familiar path.

They past the same trees from last week, they walked on the same sidewalk from last week, and they were heading for the same place as last week. But despite that, Gilbert couldn't help but stare at everything as if he was really seeing the world for the very first time. Red eyes caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye.

He swallowed thickly.

There was Matt's mittened hand swinging back and forth, open and looking oh-so warm compared to his own cold digits. Hell, it was kind of painful to even flex his fingers. It's not like I'm hitting on him or anything… He tried to catch that hand in a most natural way possible.

It was very difficult.

"Are you trying to hold my hand?"

Gil's head snapped backwards, his look of focused replaced by shock when he realized that he was caught. Crap. He looked down at his empty hand. Crap. He looked up to see Matt's very amused expression and he totally didn't think about how else that face can express emotions.

No, he totally didn't.

"You're trying to hold my hand, aren't you?" He laughed, his hand acting on its own to gently wrap itself around Gilbert's fingers. He couldn't see the faint blush on Gilbert's face in the dark as he answered.

"Um, my answer is dependent to your answer."

"So you're the y to my x?" He asked coyly enough, batting his blonde eyelashes up at the other, but all Gilbert could think about was what he had said. He had heard it right… right? 'Cause something didn't seem to add up.

"I'm the why to your ex?"

"Dammit! It didn't make sense? God, my jokes suck."

Then it clicked and Gilbert's face fell. "That was a math joke wasn't it?"

There was a brief period of hesitation where he could see those eyes dart over to the left and then instantly flicker over to the right. Not once did they stop to stare at him as Matthew suddenly sprinted off into the night, the strings attached to his chullo hat flopping behind him. "Race you to the park!"

It took what felt like a minute before everything clicked for the older man. He gaped after the fleeing figure of the slimmer male, a finger pointing accusingly in his direction. "Y-You bastard! That's cheap! Cheap shot!" He called out as he ran after the man, their laughter soon filling the vast night sky.

The two of them rested underneath the same tree from before, sitting on the cold grass while munching away at cold leftovers. Most things were cold to the touch, but Gilbert felt positively hot (not that he wasn't ever so mind blowingly sexy, wait, wrong word context).

Wide red eyes shifted over to his shoulder, the heat in his face growing even more when he noticed that Matthew's lips had curled up into a little smile. He looked back at the food held in his hands, took a munch of it, and nearly coughed it up when the blonde sleeping on his shoulder let out a little snore. Or maybe it was a snort.

It was definitely a snort.

He looked at him again, resisting the urge to rest his cheek on the man's head lest he end up sneaking a kiss or two from the blonde. Instead he kept his eye on the sky, silently watching as the stars seemed to dance about like a million fireflies.

"Ah…" One star had fallen, plummeting down to Earth at a red hot pace and soon more followed. He jabbed the blonde hard in the shoulder, Matthew making a really funny noise similar to a gargle as he woke up. "Matt, shooting stars."

A finger slipped up underneath his glasses, trying its best to wipe the sleep away from the bleary blue-tinged eyes without messing up his glasses. He turned his attention up the sky, just in time to see another star dash through the sky like an avid streaker running down the school's track. "Stars…" He mumbled to himself. Matt smiled when he realized what he had said. "Stars… did you make a wish yet?"

"Was waiting for you."

"Ah…" Both sat there, eyes moving in hopes of catching sight of another shooting star. None showed up and soon both were starting to wonder if they had missed their chances. Then, there was a flash at the corner of his eye and Matthew could see one, jabbed Gilbert in the shoulder, and pointed to it. "There, there! Make a wish!"

"Oh… oh! There it is!"

Silence.

"… Did you make your wish yet?"

He sniffed; red eyes watching the shooting star carrying both their wishes disappear. "Yeah. Wha'dya wish for?"

"I'm not telling you."

"What? Why not?"

Matthew laughed at the whining tone in Gil's voice as he leaned back to lightly rest his back against the tree trunk. "Don't you know that wishes won't come true if you blab them out to the world?" He said, tilting his head just a tiny bit to look at Gilbert, a teasing smile on his lips.

The Prussian snorted, trying his best to slink down, but the coarse texture of the trunk made that very difficult. So he simply crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You can tell me, I'm so awesome that I'm an exception to that rule." And then he tilted his just like that to mirror Matthew, his red eyes clear despite the dark night. "So what'd you wish for?"

"I'm not telling you Gil."

"Come on."

"No."

"Please?"

"No Gil, stop begging."

"Pleeeaaaase!"

"No is no."

"The awesome me commands you to tell."

The look on Matthew's face fell, his face of puzzlement before a gentle grin broke out and he shook his head. "That was even worse than my math joke." He laughed at the pout on his friend's face. "Come on, I didn't upset you that much did I?"

"Yes, yes you did. Tell me what you wished for and we're even."

"Desperate much, Gil?"

"Come on! Just tell me, pleeeaaase!"

"No is still no!"

"I'll give you head! …Wait…" Silence fell over the duo as the words hung in the air, visible and alarming. Matthew looked away from the man sitting next to him, his hands coming up to cover his burning face as Gilbert gaped stupidly at his back. "Th-That wasn't supposed to come out."

"I noticed." Then a heartbeat later. "Why were you thinking of that, eh?"

"Uh, well… that's a really good question—"

"You know, I don't think I want to know."

"Really?" Relief settled like a fog in Gilbert's mind. At least he wasn't going to have to say what provoked that image of Matthew, legs spread wide apart, his back arching off the grass as he ghosts a finger up along his—Oh. Where was this train of thought going? A cunning little blackmail scheme? Oh~ I likey… "Actually…" The devious glint was back in those ruby eyes. "You know what, I'll tell you—"

"W-What!

"—Or you know, you could just tell me your wish. That works too~"

"Y-You really want to know don't you?"

"Can't extinguish this burning… need." He faltered, the last word just tumbling out of his mouth without his consent. "Okay, bad choice of words after that 'head' thing, but really. Just tell me."

"It's embarrassing…"

"Just tell me!"

"You'll laugh…"

"You'll laugh…"

"Tell me!"

"I don't know…"

"TELL. NOW. Before I pass away!"

Matthew squirmed, felt like there was an assault on all sides and he was trapped. "I wished that you would… never forget me, you know?" He mumbled, a blush making its way onto his face as he squirmed even more under Gil's gaze. He scratched at the nape of his neck, the area quiet except for the chirping of crickets. "I told you it's embarrassing."

But Gil didn't answer. Nope, he was much too busy thinking over what he had just heard. He started rocking back and forth, his eyes looking faraway, deep into the night as he thought and thought. "You know…"

"Hmn?"

"That's a pretty selfish wish." He broke into a grin. "I mean, what about you remembering me?" His voice grew louder, a somewhat frantic note settling into his words. "What happens if you get Alzheimer's, huh? What about you forgetting me? I'm awesome! Awesome! I should never be forgotten, man! Never you hear me, not in a long shot—"

"Okay, okay, okay! I got it Gil, I got it!" Matthew paused only to laugh, missed that fond look sent his way. "I won't forget you. God forbid I forget a man like you." He sighed, his curl swaying slightly from the action. "What did you wish for?"

"Hmn? Me? Oh…" He laughed nervously, scratching at the side of his nose again. "Yeah… I wished that you would lend me money so that I can pay for this month's rent… so how about fulfilling that wish…"

He knew that he had gotten himself into some pretty big shit when he woke up in the morning, legs splayed open in a wanton display. Through bleary eyes he could see the problem that had awoken him and with a curse he hobbled off into the bathroom for a cold shower.

Matthew knew he was in trouble… he just didn't know how much.

How deep he was in this dilemma.