Burgundy

Chapter Two

     The atmosphere at the dinner table was a little tense. Francis made sure that Gilbert and Matthew sat at opposite ends of the table and he kept Gil talking for the most part, to make sure he and Mattie couldn't get to know each other too much. Even though that was the whole point of this dinner. Francis wanted to catch up with his friends and he had wanted Gilbert to befriend Matthew. However all that went out the window as soon as Gilbert showed interest in his precious baby.

     Matthew started getting annoyed with it after a while. He wanted to have a chance to talk.
     "Mon Dieu*, Papa! Let someone else have a chance to talk, oui?" Mattie spoke up after a while. It surprised Francis and he blinked.
     "O.. Oh, of course. Sorry...", he looked down at his plate and picked at his food a little. The blonde sighed and rubbed his face.
     "No, no it's okay. Just, I am sure Antonio would like to be a part of the conversation as much as I would."
     "Sí*!" Antonio quickly nodded in agreement.

     He could easily tell what was going on and knew if anyone could help calm Francis down, it was him.
     "Of course, I was being rude. My apologies." Francis gave a little smile to Antonio.
     "It's fine~" The happy Spaniard grinned, starting a conversation with Francis to distract him. Gilbert took the chance to talk with Matthew.
     "So who would have thought you and I would be having dinner together?~", he purred. His unique red eyes had a cute, playfully glow.

     Mattie's cheeks got warm and he looked away.
     "Definitely not I. Though I really can't say I have a problem with it." He smiled sweetly and batted his eyes in a flirtatious way, without even meaning to. Gil chuckled and grinned.
     "Well I'm happy to hear that~" Matthew giggled a little. He leaned his chin on his hand and hummed a little as he admired Gilbert.
     "Wait... What am I doing?", Matthew thought to himself. He looked away from Gil and sighed with a little frown. Without saying anything else he stood up and started taking care of his dishes.

     Gilbert frowned and got up as well to do the same. He wanted to try and talk with Matthew more.
     "Hey, are you alright? Did I offend you somehow?"
     "No! No, not at all..." Matthew lowered his voice.
     "It's just been a long day for me is all. But you honestly didn't do anything to offend me", he smiled and rinsed their plates off. The blonde hummed as he rolled up his sleeves and scrubbed the dishes.

     Gil leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.
     "How old are you again? I know you're going to Uni here but you look pretty young." Matthew couldn't help but give a little chuckle.
     "I'm 19."
     "Ohhh, I see. Nice, so you're a freshman then?", he tilted his head.
     "Mmhm. I want to be a professional photographer so I've been taking classes to get better." That intrigued Gilbert even more.
     "Awesome! Think I could see some pictures sometime? Francis has said that you are very good."

After thinking about it for a moment, Matthew nodded.
     "Sure, after I'm done cleaning up I'll go get my camera and a few smaller pictures that we have framed." He took care of the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Then Mattie went to his room and grabbed his camera, photo album, and a couple of his favourite pictures. He brought it back downstairs and everyone sat down on the couch, since Francis and Antonio had finished their dinner as well.

     They all looked through Matthew's pictures and he answered any questions Antonio or Gilbert asked. There were a lot from he and Francis' most recent trip to France. It was such a beautiful place and it was always nice getting to catch up with family. Even if they lived in Canada Matthew was still fluent in French.

     It started getting late but the four ended up getting into a deep conversation about politics and the world today. Francis yawned and stretched, checking his watch.
     "Tonio, Gil, would you two like to stay the night? It's pretty late." Gilbert checked his phone and cursed under his breath.
     "Nah, sorry I can't. I have work early tomorrow."
     "Alright. Maybe next time then." The Albino grinned and nodded. He said his goodbyes before leaving.

     Antonio grinned and hummed.
     "I'm too lazy to drive home now. Tortuga will be fine without me though." Tortuga was the Spaniards beloved pet turtle. He was more like Tonio's child in a way though. Due to Antonio being such a sweetheart, girls took advantage of him often. So he wasn't married yet.
     "Well, you know where the guest room is by now!" Francis got up and smiled as his friend nodded.

     Matthew chuckled and stood up with them.
     "See you in the morning. Goodnight." He hugged his father and then went upstairs. Mattie got in his room and changed into his pajamas before laying down. A few minutes after he got settled in for the night he heard Francis and Antonio coming up the stairs. Then the house was quiet, and Matthew started to think. Would his father be mad at him if he fell in love with another man? He didn't think so, since Francis was such an understanding man. But there was still that fear.

     "Gilbert is his friend... That means he trusts him, right?", he whispered to no one in particular.
     "If I'm lucky then maybe I won't see him much around school..." Matthew tried to just figure things out in his head for a while. He decided that he would ignore it if Gilbert flirts with him at all and just get to know him more, be his friend. If he could get to the point where he is with Antonio than any attraction to Gilbert would go away with ease. Or that was his hope, at least.

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Mon Dieu- My God. French.
Sí- Yes. Spanish.