Awkward date

Matthew wasn't one to think he absolutely had to find his kindred spirit to actually be happy. Sure, he wouldn't mind a bit more attention from other nations, it was actually something he craved for, but not in the romantic way. He found out being single wasn't that bad after all, especially when seeing the other's love trouble. He was a bit lonely from time to time, but at least he didn't have to put up with the classic lovers quarrel, organize his life depending on GMT and best of all, he didn't have that empty feeling whenever he spent more than a day at home without being able to see his loved one. Having a stable relationship when you were a nation wasn't easy, you could choose a human, but that was dangerous; they didn't always take the idea of having a lover who never aged well, and in the end the nation was alone again. It was something only a few nations risked doing, and they all had that bitter feeling when talking about it. Or you could date another nation, which was also dangerous for their bosses could cut all ties to them without warning, or worse push them to fight each other. And of course there was the fact that they could mostly see each other during meetings, it was proven difficult to go on dates when you didn't share a border. Matthew figured he didn't want to date his brother, it was too gross for him to be dating his twin. So he decided that he was better off without love, despite what his father figure and brother told him.

He was relatively happy, sharing his house with his polar bear. Who couldn't always remember him but well, Kumajiro allowed him to cuddle him whenever he felt a bit lonely. He did from time to time, but it didn't last, as long as he ate some fattening food while watching romantic movies or soap operas-without anyone knowing, it was rather embarrassing-, he was fine.

Which was why he raised an eyebrows at his brother's plans. It involved that account on an online dating site his father figure made him one day, saying he could always try. He had chatted with a few people before, more or less catching one guy's interest, but he never paid it much attention and got busy with other things one month ago, not going back on it. Alfred however had decided that his dear little brother needed to get laid and had barged in one day, stealing some of the pancakes Matthew was making for his breakfast -Matthew had been rather surprised to see his brother up at such an early time, what with him loving to stay in bed until noon- and coating them with jam -Alfred wasn't as fond of maple syrup as his brother, which sometimes led to arguments between them- and explaining to him he had to set up a date with that 'other guy'. Alfred actually thought that other person didn't look like he'd try to take advantage of his brother and was way better than some other nations who could probably be lusting after him. And he was pretty sure his brother would finally be more ready to have fun with him.

His reasoning said that because he hadn't gone on a date in so long he forgot how to have fun and it explained why he never wanted to go to the fair with him. So what if last time they were on a roller coaster he puked and he almost choked him that other time in the haunted house? It probably wasn't related. Beside that tower of terror was a perfect thing for him, what with the setting of an haunted house and the great sensations you had when falling down thirteen floors! He grinned at the idea. Yup, once Matthew had loosened up a little again, he'd get to drag him here. It wasn't fun if he was alone.

So here he was, chewing on the pancakes, which were so good he almost forgot why he was here, while his brother was eating his in that sissy way France and England had taught him. He grinned at his brother, ignoring the face he made at seeing jam and bits of chewed pancakes caught in his usually shiny white teeth, and exclaimed, once again ignoring the frown on his beloved twin's face as bits of what was in his mouth landed on the tablecloth:

"So, I think you should go on a date with that guy."

"Excuse me? What guy?"

That was Alfred alright. Always coming up with ideas and thinking everyone would know what he was talking about. While he rather liked having someone over, he didn't especially appreciate how his brother ate part of his favourite breakfast and utter such nonsense. He smiled anyway when asking, he was, after all, a good host and knew how to be polite thanks to the good education both his fathers gave him. Now he just wondered how his brother came up with that one idea. Dating wasn't for him...

"That one from internet. You liked him right?"

Matthew looked at his half eaten pancake, cutting a perfectly shaped square in it while thinking. A guy on the net... Toni? He remembered him being nice but didn't intend on dating him...

"Yeah, he was nice, but..."

And as usual, he wasn't able to express his view on the point. Alfred looked at him with such an hopeful face he couldn't say no. Though it made him suspicious. Why would his brother suddenly want him to date someone...? He wasn't that much into romance himself. If it had been Francis, he would have understood, since Francis cared about him and couldn't conceive a happy life without love. But Alfred...?

"Alfred, why do you want me to date Toni?"

"Huh, no reason, I just thought you... you'd be lonely?"

He raised an eyebrow at that. In the mean time, his brother smiled at him, looking genuinely concerned for his well being. He sighed, he couldn't refuse him. Plus, it was just one date and... Well, he was getting along with the guy before, nothing bad could happen.

"... I guess I could."

Alfred beamed at him, no trace of pancakes left on his dish.

"Great! I'll organize it, just tell him the date and place! When are you free?"

_________________________________

And, with a bit of arguing and planning, the date was set. Toni had accepted gladly, even if Matthew had been a bit hesitant about it until the end. And here he was, sitting in this café after his hockey practice-and a shower-, waiting.

And wait, he did. He sighed, looking at his watch after half a hour. Maybe he had forgotten... it's not like people remembered him often. However, he said he wanted to go on that date, and just in case the other simply was late, he promised himself to wait one more hour. The café was nice and cozy, his back comfortably sinking in the leather of his seat, since he choose to sit on one of those little table surrounded by armchairs. He had had plenty of time to look at his surroundings, enjoying the cream colored walls that gave a warm and welcoming ambiance, admiring the ebony furnitures around and enjoyed the light lounge music playing. It was relaxing to him, and the coffee he took was served with maple syup following his shy demand.

He was about to pour some in his coffee when he caught a glimpse of carmine eyes staring at him curiously. He blinked, turning his attention fully to the man sitting at the closest table, putting the little maple syrup container down in order not to spill it around his cup. He gave him a little smile, unsure of what to do, which was answered with a toothy grin.

"Say kid, what's that?"

Matthew stared at him curiously, wondering what he was talking about, before remembering the Maple syrup.

"That? It's, em, Maple syrup... why...?"

He wasn't really sure of why he was talking to that stranger. Maybe that little feeling in the pit of his stomach , reminding him of something he couldn't quite put a finger on. The strange guy leaned toward him, his chin resting in his hands, propping himself on his elbows.

"Why don't you put normal sugar in your coffee?"

"I... Well, Maple Syrup is really sweet and I like it better like that..."

"Can I try?"

The other seemed rather confident. Matthew had no real reason to refuse, plus if it would help him wait for his date... he was getting bored after all, and the albino seemed nice. He nodded lightly, not sure on what he wanted to try exactly, ending up handing him the steaming black coffee cup as well as the syrup. He watched as the albino carefully dipped a finger in his syrup -he just hoped he washed his hands after peeing- and licked it, trying not to think of the sight as strangely arousing. Once he was done, a smug smile appeared on his face.

"Damn, kid, that shit is awesome. I can get why you'd want it!"

With that he reluctantly gave it back and called a waiter, asking him to get the same thing in a rather cocky way that made Canada feel slightly sorry for said waiter. Once the albino got his own maple syrup, he watched the sticky treat pour into the dark coffee slowly with glee, and turned his attention to the now sipping Canadian again.

"So, Kid, what's your name? Need to thank you properly for making me discover that."

It startled him a little,he thought the discussion was over now he satisfied his curiosity. He glanced to the door, there was no sign of his date yet.

"Matthew Williams. And you're welcome, it's nothing, really..."

He wanted to ask his name too, but at the same time he wasn't intending on becoming too close to him. After all, he would have his date to become intimate with, and he'll hopefully be here soon...

"Great, Matthew. I'll call you Matt, it's simpler. I'm Gilbert Beildschmidt, usually people call me Sir Gilbert but I'll make an exception with you."

The cocky grin was back on his features as he leaned back on his seat, his legs wide apart and his arms hanging behind the back of the chair, in a rather comfortable and full of confidence posture, his hypnotizing red eyes fixed on Matthew.

"So, Matt. Why are you here?"

He looked at him, hesitating a little on how to answer. If his date never came it would be really, really embarrassing... And it looked like he himself was simply having a fun time on his laptop. There was wifi in this place after all... Remembering that lying was bad, the Canadian sighed and answered slowly, his voice quieter than usual, a little blush making its way to his cheek.

"I'm waiting for my date, actually..."

The prussian stared blankly at him a little, before a knowing look passed on his face.

"So what, they ditched you? Such a shame, since you're so cute."

Matthew spluttered, not sure on how to take it.

"N-no, I mean, he's probably just late..."

" He?"

"Y-yeah. It's the first time we'll meet, actually..."

He didn't know why he said that. For some odd reasons, even if it was utterly embarrassing, he felt like talking with him, and maybe he could feel less nervous about it this way.

"What do you mean? Like a blind date?"

"Almost... we met on the internet and... Well, we agreed on going on a date and..."

"Dating site, really? You never hear about all the psychos on them?"

Matthew simply glared at him. He didn't like being reminded that going on dating sites were for losers. Beside it wasn't his idea, and he didn't want to let him think he was desperate to find someone when he was not really interested.

Gilbert sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't get pissy about it now."

"I'm not pissy."

After a little silence, Matthew decided to try and keep talking to him. He was not that bad after all, and seemed nice enough to become a friend for the time he was here.

"What are you doing here?"

At that the other looked away. After a little time during which hesitation flickered on his face, he finally opened his mouth.

"Updating my blog."

"You never hear about all the psycho stalkers you can get that way?"

Matthew smiled innocently at him.

"... Okay fine I get it drop it now."

"Sorry."

"Anyway, my brother said I was too noisy so he kicked me out and I'm here for the afternoon. Fine with you?"

"Y-yes, sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Matthew was feeling bad. He had snapped a little at him, a total stranger, making him uncomfortable. Then he saw him lift his hand and closed his eyes, too used to Cuba doing that gesture to hit him across the head. He was surprised when it landed softly on his head and ruffled his wavy locks gently before the light touch disappeared again. Gilbert sat on his chair properly again for he had to stand up slightly to reach him.

"It's fine, don't get overworked with it. Beside it's fun talking to you."

They smiled at each other, when the door opened. He was one hour late, but his date was finally here. As Matthew looked up with a happy look, Gilbert turned his chair so he could ignore them, not willing to witness the date or anything, not feeling like he wanted to see the face of the mysterious guy. He went back to typing on his keyboard, his headphones placed securely over his ears, as Matthew stood up to greet the man.

___________________________________________


Matthew was quite enjoying his date with Toni. He was fun, nice, cheerful, and most of the time made him laugh softly or blush by calling him cute, always comparing him to a tomato when he did. They chatted about random subjects, both apparently having a good time. Matthew forgot about Gilbert, talking about hockey, feeling at ease with his date, finally taking it seriously, thinking about how nice it would be to continue with these kind of meetings and in the end, even if it looked weird how he payed only with quarter, and was late, it didn't really matter. He didn't expect dating to be so nice after such a long time. As he was thinking that, the door opened loudly, someone bursting through and smashing it against the wall while pushing it open.

"Antonio, you Bastard!"

Matthew thought he'd rather not be said Antonio. It almost sounded like he was cheating on a possessive and angry wife. As he did, said Angry wife walked over to his table. His blood was leaving his face as his date squeaked out a "Lovino!" when turning around to face the boy.

"You fucking tomato bastard! How dare you cheat on me!"

"L-lovi, listen to me, I wasn't cheating..."

"No? Then how do you call that?"

Matthew stopped listening, staring at them in shock as his date tried helplessly to defend himself, understanding he was late because his husband had the car and he couldn't pay with more than those coins because it would make him look suspicious. He simply stood up and left, his mind totally elsewhere. So much for enjoying dating. As he walked down the street, starting to feel upset, he heard someone call his name. He didn't bother turning around, not willing to deal with that... that lying jerk! Right now.

"Matt, you should be grateful the awesome me decided to run after you."

he blushed, turning around.

"S-sorry, I thought..."

"Yeah, no, Antonio won't follow you. Busy with his grumpy Italian."

Matthew stared at him.

"How do you know...? You were listening?"

"No! Not at all. I was listening to music and stuff. Nah, I noticed it was him when Lovino almost destroyed that door. Antonio is kind of a friend."

Matthew frowned a little. He had no reason not to believe him though. He sighed, feeling more dejected and hurt than he should. He really didn't need someone's pity now.

"What did you want?"

Gilbert patted his shoulder before showing his hockey equipment bag.

"You forgot that."

Matthew attempted a small smile, blushing a little at how stupid he would have looked if he was to come back inside to get it.

"Thanks..."

Gilbert grinned at him, slinging his arm over his shoulders.

"So, Matt... I bet what just happened isn't fun for you. I know the best remedy ever to that kind of situations though; let's go hit the bar. Get yourself a good beer and get over it. What d'you say?"

Matthew studied his face, not sure on how to understand that. All the time he had spent with him, the Albino seemed confident. However, this time it seemed like he was slightly nervous. The younger nation smiled more this time, giving a shy nod. He was out already, and if he could at least get a friend out of it...

_____________________________________________


"Matt, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing much... I just... I looked at Toni's profile on that site again, it still says he's single and looking for someone nice..."

Gilbert chuckled, leaning over his shoulder to take a peak at the computer's screen, his arms slinging around the Canadian.

"It's kind of thanks to him. If you didn't go on that date we wouldn't be like this now."

He decided to back up his point with a quick nip on his earlobe, making his boyfriend turn that shade of red, "like a tomato!" that he himself grew fond of. Red always suited him so well...

"We probably would have met earlier if you weren't a lazy-ass who avoided meetings though, Prussia."

Matthew shifted to look at him, smiling amusedly.

"Well, not my fault if you were still wearing that cute little nightgown when I was dominating them all, Canada."

And, to make sure the other didn't answer to that offending thing to say -he never liked to be remembered about those nightgown, and beside Prussia didn't exactly dominate the world like he insinuated, but it was a cool idea so it would be better not to have it denied-, he quickly leaned in to steal a kiss.