The Long Way Home

Thirteen

Matthew,
Since I won't be in town, you don't have to worry about running into me when you visit your father and brother this year. You don't have to go the day after. Hell, you can go every day if you want. I just wanted to let you know.
Love, your dad, Arthur.

Ps. I'm still sorry.

Matthew stared at the email, still unable to register the entire thing.
"So, what are you going to do?" Lars asked, taking a long drag from his pipe. The pair was in Matthew's man cave smoking it up as usual while Gilbert and Peter played hide and seek downstairs.
"I'm probably going to visit them...but I can't take Peter and Gil with me."
"Peter went a few times with your dad."
"Yeah but not Gil. And I don't trust him alone in my house. He'll steal my dildos."
"They're in that box over there, though. He's not allowed in this room."
Matthew sighed. "Yeah, but he's curious aboot it. I don't want him to find my weed stash."
"Okay, how about I smuggle your weed out in my bag?"
"Plants and all?"
"Good point."
"You'd be the one driving. Why don't you just drop me off there and take them out to lunch?"
"I could." Lars sighed. "It would give me a chance to discuss your project with Gil, which might be boring for Peter but I'm sure a McDonald's toy will keep him happy."
"Problem solved."
"Do you want a joint."
"Yeah. Roll me one."
"Roll it yourself."
"I'm busy."
"With what?"
"Laying in my comfy spot." Matthew wiggled his butt deeper into the couch cushions to prove his point.
"Fine." Lars picked up Matthew's dart rolling tray and got to work like the obedient little slave he was. "How is your writing going?"
"I restarted the entire book and now it's going much better. I'm almost done typing chapter one so I'll email it to you tomorrow."
"Did you change anything?"
"The main character has a little sister now...and a best friend."
Lars smirked at this. "That's a first for you."
"Huh?"
"Typically your main characters are either orphans, only children, or loners who ignore their family."
"They are not!" Matthew insisted.
"Don't believe me? Go get all your books and we'll go through them."
Matthew, now steamed up and ready to prove a point, rushed out of the room and headed for the book shelf where he kept all his work.
"Vhat are jou doing?" Gilbert whispered from where he was hiding on the empty bottom shelf. Matthew cared not to ask why he was there and how he even fit. Hide and seek games were serious shit.
"Proving a point." Matthew answered sternly as he gathered one copy of each of his books. They stacked pretty high and he couldn't see over them, so he had to travel by muscle memory. When he reached the fourth step lading upstairs, his foot slipped and he started to fall backwards, screeching in surprise. His life flashed before his eyes. He could see himself playing with Alfred as a child, going to school, waking up in the morning to find his father sobbing on the couch, months spent motionless in bed, and then all of a sudden Arthur was smiling again and there was a new man in his life...and then....
"Vatch it!" Matthew felt arms latch around his waist, catching him before he fell to his death.
"Holy shit." Matthew gasped as his books tumbled onto the floor. Gilbert's body was so close. He could feel warm breath in his ear.
"Jou took a pretty bad tumble."
"I'm okay." Matthew assured him, stepping away before things got out of hand in his pants.
"Let me help jou." Gilbert knelt down and started picking up the books.
"Oh, no, you don't n-whoa!" Matthew, panicking, tumbled forward and landed on Gilbert, knocking him over. On the way down, his hand caught on the front of his shirt, ripping it open and exposing his chest.
"What's wrong? I heard screaming!" Lars stepped out of the man cave, worry on his scarred brow and a rolled dart in his hands which he quickly tucked into his pocket. He blinked, confused at the sight of Matthew crawling all over an almost shirtless Gilbert like some kind of crack whore prostitute.
"I didn't realize it was that kind of screaming."
"No! This isn't what it looks like!"
"It looks like you're trying to make a playmate for Peter."
"Maybe ve are.~" Gilbert purred, exciting Matthew's body.
"Men can't get pregnant." He declared, trying to distract the man below him from the raging boner in his pocket.
"Zhis one can.~" Gilbert poked Matthew on the nose.
"I was not aware." Matthew scrambled off of the Prussian as quickly as he fell. Gilbert continued picking up the books like nothing had happened.
"I'll just help jou get zhese books upstairs."
"You can't go in the room!" Matthew tried to take the books that Gilbert had in his arms but the albino turned so he couldn't.
"Based on zhat smell, I can already guess vhat jou're doing."
"It's not weed! It's...I'm raising skunks and you might startle them..."
"Suuuuure."
"Okay, fine. But only to drop the books off. Me and Lars have work to do."
"It's a deal."

This chapter was NOT supposed to be this long.