My Brother's Best Friend • Prucan

Austrian Alps

Once Matthew and Gilbert knew they were the only ones left in the auditorium, they slipped out from behind the pile of props they used for hiding and made their way back onto the stage. All the lights in the auditorium had been shut off except for the stage lights, as if the janitors knew it was their plan to stay there all along.

The two entwined their fingers as they walked onto the stage together, admiring the empty, dark auditorium where hundreds of people were sitting only half an hour before. Matthew turned away from the seats and towards his artwork, where the bright lights were lighting up his beautiful Austrian landscape.

"You know, if you had let me paint the grass that one time it would've turned out much better." Gilbert joked, remembering the paint fight the two had had just a week prior.

"Shut up!" Matthew exclaimed, playfully hitting him in the arm. Gilbert laughed at Matthew's response to his teasing and continued to admire the artwork. It really was beautiful. For a sixteen year old, Matthew was incredible.

"So how long does this stay up for?" Gilbert asked, gesturing towards the mural.

"It'll stay up until the spring play and then I'll have to paint a whole new one. The spring play is in March, and I'll probably start the new mural in January. So we have 2 months with the Austrian Alps before they're gone forever." Matthew explained, frowing a bit. He always hated seeing his set designs dissapear. Gilbert frowned as well, not understanding how something Matthew had spent so much time working on could just get painted over. Letting go of Matthew's hand, Gilbert took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the mural.

"There. Now we'll have it forever." Gilbert stated with a grin, admiring his picture before sliding his phone back into his pocket. Matthew's lips curled into a smile and the two made eye contact before Gilbert snorted and let out loud chuckle.

"What!? Is there something on my face?" Matthew asked, wondering what on his face had made Gilbert laugh so hard. Gilbert simply pointed to his forehead and Matthew went cross-eyed trying to figure out what he was pointing at. It took him a moment before he realized that the curl he had been trying to maintain at home had come loose and was now dangling in front of his face like a coil. Gilbert watched on and continued laughing as Matthew franctically tried to swipe the hair out of his face.

"No! Let it stay! It's cute!" Gilbert protested as Matthew continued trying to get the annoying strand of hair out of his face. Matthew immediately froze at Gilbert's words and turned a bit red.

"Really?" Matthew uttered, now growing embarrassed at his flusteredness.

"Yes." Gilbert replied simply, reaching up and teasingly pulling the curl. Matthew yelped and shoved him, sending the German toppling backwards. Gilbert quickly grabbed Matthew's wrist on the way down, sending Matthew flying on top of him with a loud "oof!"

Gilbert hysterically laughed as Matthew pulled his head up from his chest and shot him an 'I'm going to kill you' kind of look. Matthew quickly sat up, straddling Gilbert's waist as the German tried to stop laughing. The white-haired boy was wriggling underneath him for a solid minute before he wiped a tear out of his eye and finally stopped wheezing. Something about Matthew's innocent face trying to look threatening had Gilbert in hysterics.

"You done now?" Matthew asked, a mountain of sass laced into his question. The Canadian was trying as hard as he could to look annoyed, but it was difficult not to smile when hearing Gilbert's ridiculous laugh.

"Noooooo." Gilbert responded, dragging out the 'o' like a child. Matthew furrowed his brow at the response and Gilbert winked before sitting up and placing a hand on the back of Matthew's neck to pull him in for a kiss. Matthew's eyes widened in surprised as their lips connected, eliciting a little giggle from Gilbert. Matthew shut his eyes and snaked his hands around Gilbert's waist, deepening the kiss as they held onto each other.

When the two finally pulled away from each other, they were both grinning. Gilbert bit down on his bottom lip as he looked back up at Matthew. Matthew hid head in his hands bashfully before giggling. The way Gilbert was staring at him was the same way one would look up at the northern lights or a shooting star. Like nothing mattered to Gilbert in that moment except him, as if he were some type of natural phenomenon that came once every thousand years.

"Stop hiding your face you goof!" Gilbert commanded, grabbing Matthew's wrist and pulling his hands away from his face. Matthew smiled and grew even redder before Gilbert pecked him once more on the lips. "So, Matthew. I've been- We've been- I want to-" Gilbert began.

"English please?" Matthew interrupted, giggling at the boy's nervous rambling.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" Gilbert finally mustered in a slightly frustrated tone. His nervousness was getting the best of him. Matthew smiled as he heard the words he had been waiting to hear for what seemed like forever. Cupping Gilbert's face, he pulled him in for a quick kiss.

"So... is that a yes?" Gilbert asked as soon as they pulled away. Matthew chuckled and playfully shoved his shoulder.

"Yes." Matthew shot back. Gilbert beamed and gave him a hug. Matthew was still straddling his waist, so Gilbert's face was smushed against the boy's chest in an awkward attempt to hug him. The two laughed at their clumsy hug and Matthew stood up, holding out a hand for Gilbert to grab. Matthew hoisted him up and the two were once again standing on the stage in front of Matthew's artwork.

"So, you want to head to the after party?" Gilbert asked, eyebrows raised. Matthew hesitated for a moment before remembering the party Gilbert had told him about during intermission. He knew it was going to be crazy and everyone was going to be drunk but he didn't care. At least he could dance. Alfred and Arthur were probably there as well. Maybe he would finally be able to find them.

"Yeah! Let's get going." Matthew replied, taking one last peek at his artwork under the lights before going backstage and sneaking out through the backdoor of the school building. He was excited. He had only been to a few parties before, and he knew that Ivan's were like something straight out of Project X. He hoped nothing would get too crazy though. At least now he had a boyfriend to protect him.

oh my god an update!?! What a surprise!! Okay so I feel like I finally recovered from my writing block with this story. thank the writing gods. But I probably won't be updating super frequently since school is starting in a few weeks! I will try my hardest though. I really enjoy writing this story. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! thanks for reading!