PruCan

The "Date"

The final part of their short ride to the cozy little diner was, for the most part, silent. A slow tune was just barely able to be heard from the radio, and it was just quiet enough for the lyrics to not quite reach Gilbert's ears, but just loud enough to fill in the background. It sounded like a sweet song. The faint melody alone reminded him of a particular Canadian sitting next to him. Once Matthew had parked in the parking lot of the restaurant, the two got out and headed inside, Gilberts heart racing a bit as he got the door for Matthew.

"Oh, thank you, Gil. That's sweet of you." He said, smiling. He hoped his use of the word sweet made him a little flustered. That was certainly a goal of his here. He wanted to make this as date-like as possible, and Gilbert was certainly helping by— surprisingly— being a perfect gentleman to him. What a sweetheart. Well, Matthew knew why, at least. Oh, it was so exciting to not only be aware that there's someone out there genuinely interested in him, but to also know who they are and that they like them back! This just had to go well.

Gilbert nodded at his thanks, going a little red when he called him sweet. He thought he was sweet! That was a good first step, he supposed. He was still absolutely clueless as to what Matthew had in store for him. Gilbert had assumed this would just be a hang out sort of thing, not a date or anything like that. No, he didn't dare think that. They were shown to a booth, and they took seats on opposite sides. After ordering their drinks, Matthew smiled at Gilbert. It was one of his charming, playful smiles. He had maybe practiced a little bit in the mirror.

"So, Gil, it's kind of rare to meet someone who doesn't disregard my existence. What's so special about you, then?" He asked playfully, grinning. This was something he had been wondering for a while. It wasn't very often at all that he found someone that not only could see him, but wanted to spend time with him as well. He hummed quietly and smiled softly at Gilbert, hoping to maybe make him a little flustered.

Gilbert pretended that his heart didn't shatter when he said that it was rare that he wasn't ignored. And he pretended that the shattered pieces of his heart didn't melt when he smiled like that. Matthew was just too sweet, inside and out, for his own good. He sighed and offered a smile back to the Canadian sitting in front of him as their drinks were brought to them.

"I... don't know. I wish that I did, but I don't have any idea why. All I know is that I am very glad that I can." He said, grinning, and it seemed that it was Matthew's turn to blush. Oh, that made him so happy. When the waitress returned with some straws, their drinks,  and asked what they wanted to order, the two thanked her and then ordered their food. She wrote it down and walked off.

"That's really strange. You know, I think it just has something to do with your heart. You're so sweet and kind, at least to me, I think that has to have something to do with it, you know?" Matthew asked, smiling softly at him. He was definitely trying to be a little flirty with him. Based on the light flush on Gilbert's cheeks, it seemed to have worked pretty well.

"I- Uh... You're nice too, Mattie." Gilbert mumbled, cheeks turning a deeper shade of red at the words. There was a bit of an awkward silence after that, and Gilbert had a mission to fill it. "Tell me about yourself." He said, and the words might have came out a little bit more harsh than he intended, but it was undeniably Gilbert. Matthew couldn't help but like it; he was just so unlike himself and it was attractive.

"Oh... Well, my favorite sport is hockey. I like pancakes, they're my favorite and I make the best pancakes, or at least Alfred seems to think so. Maybe I should have you over sometime and make some for you, I think that sounds like fun. Hm... I like to read in my free time or bake, or hang out with my brother if I can. I suppose I'm a little boring, eh?" He said, chuckling softly and humming. He hoped that Gilbert didn't find him too boring. That might push him away, since Gil is so interesting. "How about you? What do you like?" Matthew asked, smiling again.

Gilbert's heart had reconstructed itself and was now fluttering. How cute! He could just imagine, Matthew in his pajamas all curled up in a cocoon of three blankets, a book in his hands and a peaceful smile on his perfect lips. He could also imagine him on cloud nine after his favorite hockey team won, though the thought that he might have no one to cheer with, especially because he made it seem like hanging out with Alfred was a rare thing, made his heart sink. He blinked in surprise when Matthew asked him about himself. Shit.

"Me? Uh... I'm not all that interesting either, y'know. I guess I like to hang out with Francis and Antonio. They're pretty fun to be around, and we pull pranks sometimes, which is fun. Um... Well, that's about it..." That was not about it. He just felt stupid sharing the rest. He liked drinking, but that sounded bad to say. He liked a lot of things that he felt like would make him look bad, so he didn't say. He sighed softly and nodded. "I'm a lot more boring than you." He said, chuckling.

Matthew smiled softly at his response. "Oh, don't be silly, Gil. You're very interesting, a lot more than you let on." He reassured Gilbert, smiling and purposefully letting his foot nudge his gently. It could have been mistaken as an accident, but it definitely wasn't. He kept the smile on his face.

The food was brought to them soon after, Gilbert and Matthew thanking her. They ate their meals in silence for a while before Matthew spoke up.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" He asked, taking a sip of his drink. He laughed softly when Gilbert turned red and seemed unable to answer his question, just staring at him as the blush slowly took over his face. "Do you not like women, then? That's alright if you don't." He said, shrugging.

"I-I like women!" Gilbert cried, turning red and hiding his face at how loudly he said that, attracting the attention of a few people in the restaurant. Matthew couldn't help laughing.

"Gil, it's really okay if you don't, you know." He said, smiling softly and taking another bite of his food. Gilbert was so adorable sometimes. He just wanted to hug him and cuddle him to death.

"I really do..." He said quietly. "I just... I like men too." He explained, and Matthew nodded in understanding. Well, there's one thing they have in common...

"Hm. I understand. I do too." He said, taking a bite of his food and swallowing it before speaking up again. "So do you have a boyfriend, then?" He asked, smiling softly at him. Gilbert shook his head softly, and Matthew tried to look surprised. "Wow, really? You're so sweet, though! And you're very attractive, too." He said, huffing softly.

Gilbert turned red when he said he was attractive. Did he really think that? Oh, his heart! He smiled shyly. "You're the sweet one." He said, his words uncharacteristically quiet. Matthew giggled softly and smiled. So Matthew wasn't straight, then? He hadn't been expecting that! He brightened considerably.

"I try, I suppose." He said, and their meal was lost in a comfortable silence after that. Once they were finished, they split the bill and headed back out to Matthew's car. Once they got in, Matthew hummed. "You know, Gil, I'm starting to wonder if the secret admirer thing is all a big prank."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure they actually like you." He reassured him.

And, with that, Matthew moved on to phase two of his plan.