Ex's to Lovers

Chapter 54

In Which - Does Anybody Actually Read These? They're So Long? Also Gilbert is Done With Alfred.

"No way. You haven't talk to him at all since then?"

Gilbert was incredulous, and Alfred half-glared at his friend.

"It's not like I talk to him usually. And what am I supposed to say after that?" 

Gilbert, flabbergasted, chose to ignore Alfred's refusal to admit he had more interactions with Ivan on a daily basis than Gilbert these recent days, and focussed on the other part of the issue. 

"How should I know? I'm not the one in love with Ivan!"

Gilbert froze, realizing he had said something he shouldn't have. Alfred glared at him scorchingly, rather the opposite of Ivan's icy beam, and Gilbert, who had surprisingly managed to avoid reviving this glare before, quailed. 

"I didn't mean to say that!" He squeaked. "Don't kill me!" 

Alfred was feeling a combination of new emotions that he didn't quite think he liked, and was really not interested in investigating. So instead of facing the feeling causing a squirming in his stomach, Alfred snapped at Gilbert. 

"Come to think of it, none of this wouldn't happened if not for you! You though up the egging plan, you ditched me at Natalya's mercy, and you told Ivan that I wasn't kidnapped!" 

Gilbert forgot his fear in the face of this new painful accusation. 

"I didn't say anything! He probably figured it out on his own!" 

Alfred wasn't buying it, but the flopping feeling in his stomach was making it hard to stay angry, and his voice softened without him meaning it to with his response. 

"How?" 

Gilbert, sensing he'd somehow escaped Alfred's Wrath, though he had no idea how, jumped in the chance. 

"Maybe you told him? You did have a raging bad fever." 

 Alfred considered that. He didn't think he did, but he was also pretty sure that he'd litterally seen stars at some point, so Gilbert's assumption was plausible. He was saved the humiliation of having to admit Gilbert might be right and that Alfred might have been wrong by a text in his phone. Alfred dug it from his pocket quickly, snapping a selfie of himself and sending it quickly.

Gilbert, ways quick to move on from a situation, twitched, remembering his exasperation.

"I thought your not talking to Ivan?"

Alfred gave him a blank look. It wasn't so much that he wasn't talking to Ivan, so much as he found it hard to think of something to say to Ivan, so he was choosing to avoid Ivan to save having to worry about what to say, but as that seemed like a lot of work to explain to Gilbert - again- Alfred jsut agreed. 

"Yes?" 

Gilbert was reaching exasperation levels he rarely reached before, and this was including the time he'd had to listen to his younger brother complain about his... Lover? Friend? Crush? What were they even? Anyways, Gilbert was beginning to reach his breaking point.

"Then why do you keep sending him selfies!" 

Alfred looked bemused. 

"He said if he didn't send him one every hour he'd assume I was running away again and he'd make Natalya drag me to him." 

Gilbert was not so dumb that he couldn't recognize an act of care from someone, especially when his other  best friend Francis talked about love so much and always pointed these things out. To summarize, Gilbert could clearly tell that this was just Ivan's way of worrying about Alfred.

Gilbert wanted to slam his head into a wall.