My Brother's Best Friend • Prucan

Damp Blankets & Damp Boyfriends

Matthew woke up on Monday with a slightly anxious feeling. He had been having an awful nightmare before his alarm went off. Ever since practically everyone in the school had found out about Matthew and Gilbert's relationship at Ivan's party, Matthew had been having nightmares filled with bullying and insults from his classmates. Though everyone had reacted rather kindly at the party, Matthew couldn't help but feel nervous. Now that his biggest secret had been revealed, he felt liberated, yet a little strange. Would people start treating him differently? What if his parents found out?

He couldn't stop himself from asking these questions over and over and over again. All he knew was going to school was going to be interesting. Would people stare? Or would life be just as boring as it was before? His anxiety was driving him crazy. He spent a few more minutes staring at the ceiling above his bed before he heard Alfred stumble out of his room. 

"Mattie! Mattie bro we're going to be late!" Alfred yelled before walking into Matthew's room with nothing on but a pair of his favorite American flag boxers. 

"If we're going to be late then why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Matthew shot back, slightly annoyed by his brother's loudness so early in the morning. Matthew knew for a fact they weren't going to be late. Alfred had just forgotten to set his alarm clock an hour back after Daylight Savings Time ended. Alfred had actually woken up a whole hour early, which Matthew didn't even know was physically possible for the sleep-deprived boy. Matthew simply pointed to his alarm clock to let Alfred know he had one more hour of sleep.

"YOU'RE TELLING ME I HAVE AN ENTIRE HOUR MORE TO SLEEP?! SAYONARA DUDE!" Alfred yelled, forcing Matthew to cringe at the sheer sound of his brother's loud voice. Alfred was way too difficult to deal with in the morning. 

Knowing it wasn't going to be possible to fall back asleep, Matthew decided to take the dogs for a walk. Ever since he had been hanging out with Gilbert, Matthew felt like he was neglecting Nova and Penn. He was always texting Gilbert late into the night, leaving him too exhausted to take the dogs for a walk the next morning. Though Alfred always took them for their nightly jog, Matthew had failed to take them for a morning walk in a week or so.

Quickly getting changed into some sweats, Matthew ran down the stairs and grabbed two leashes, causing the two dogs to spring up from their beds in excitement. The sound of the clinking metal in Matthew's hands made the two golden retrievers pounce on Matthew in elated anticipation. Matthew tumbled to the ground in a fit of laughter and struggled to get back up as the two dogs licked every inch of his face. 

When he finally clipped the leashes onto the dogs' collars, Matthew whistled for the both of them to follow him out the door. Waling into the chilly morning air, Matthew shivered. It was freezing now that it was the beginning of December. As he let the dogs sniff around the street and do whatever it is dogs do while you're walking them, Matthew looked down at his phone. It was 6:30, and he knew Gilbert wasn't going to wake up for another hour, but he decided to text him anyway. Gilbert had often reminded him how much he loved waking up to a text from his favorite Canadian, and it always made Matthew smile to think of Gilbert's face when he woke up to one of his texts. 

Opening imessage, Matthew typed a simple text that he knew would make Gilbert either smile or hysterically laugh. Matthew sent a picture of the dogs with the caption "walking the dogs!". Then he proceeded to sent a second text, this time saying "it's so chilly out here! wish you were here to warm me up ;)". 

Matthew laughed at the suggestiveness of his text before slipping his phone back into his pocket. In less than a second, Matthew felt a buzz in his pocket. Taking his phone out, Matthew noticed that he had a text from Gilbert. How was he even awake? Looking down at his phone, Matthew nearly snorted at the meesage from Gilbert, which read "I'll be right over! Give me 10 minutes!" Matthew laughed at his ridiculous boyfriend and decided to text him back.

M: No no no you don't have to come over you'll see me at school you nerd

G: But I wanted to come warm you up!

M: lol I was just messing with you. Why are you awake anyway? Isn't it super early for you?

G: I forgot about Daylight Savings so my alarm went off a whole hour early :/

M: No wonder why you and Alfred are best friends...

G: ?

M: He did the same thing... I don't know how either of you have survived this long in your lives

G: Wow... the sass.... Anyway, I'm still coming over, I'm already in my car. 

M: What?! Why! 

G: Well firstly, I want to warm you up. Secondly, I'm driving you to school so we can walk in together. 

M: That's going to draw so much attention!

G: That's exactly what I want! That way everyone knows I have the hottest boyfriend in school. It's going to be awesome. 

M: -_-

G: See you in 10. 

Matthew sighed at his boyfriend's stubbornness and slid his phone back into his pocket before he called for Nova and Penn. Matthew had let the dogs off their leashes so that they could walk around freely. When Matthew had both of them back on their leashes, he began their walk back home. He had walked half a mile, which he wasn't very proud about, but he figured he could take the dogs for a longer walk at the end of the week. 

As soon as he got back to his house Gilbert pulled into the driveway. Letting the dogs off their leashes again, Matthew ushered them inside before heading back outside to greet his boyfriend. Matthew jogged across his front lawn as Gilbert got out of his car with a blanket in hand. Before Matthew could even say "good morning" Gilbert pounced on him with the blanket, sending them both toppling onto the grass beneath them. 

"Gilbert!" Matthew squealed as Gilbert simultaneously hugged him and wrapped the blanket around him. The grass was freezing cold and the frosty dew was melting into their clothes, so Matthew quickly pushed Gilbert off of him and stood back up with a smile on his face. Matthew looked back down at his boyfriend, who was laying on his back with the damp blanket strewn across him, and shook his head in an "I can't believe I'm dating you" kind of way. 

"Warm yet?" Gilbert joked from the ground, winking as Matthew stared on disapprovingly. Matthew simply laughed and held a hand out for Gilbert to grab, hoisting him and his damp blanket up with a scoff. 

"Let's go inside. I'm going to make us some breakfast before school" Matthew suggested, entwining his fingers with Gilberts as he led him inside. 

"You're the best" Gilbert responded, placing a kiss on Matthew's cheek as they entered the warm house. Matthew felt his cheeks heat up, and he was pretty sure it wasn't from the warmth of the house. 

OKAY KIDS. Now that I'm on break I can actually update!!! Surprise ! Lol sorry I left you so long... my b... also sorry for the filler chapter but what is a gal to do.... Anyway, thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed <3