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-Gilbert dreamt of Victorian houses. He dreamt of walking through long corridors, surrounded by people who's whispers filled the room. Raven they called him.

He dreamt of walking into Oz's shadow, always three steps behind him. And as he did so, he saw his master interacting with others. Gilbert saw how easily Oz mingled with the crowd, how beautiful he was when he smiled and how grown-up he appeared when discussing politics.

At least… Gilbert assumed they were talking politics.

For some reason he knew that he was meant to walk in Oz's shadows. He knew that it was Oz's job to always walk in the light, all eyes should always be on him. And even though he feared that one day Oz would leave him. Gil did not reach out to him. He did not try to stop Oz.

"I wanted to believe in your forever."

He knew he was dreaming. Oz had never smiled so brightly at him. He had never gotten so close to him. Close enough, so that all Gilbert had to do was lean a bit closer to close the gap between their mouths. He knew he was dreaming because Oz was sitting on the staircases of a big mansion. Inside a party was going on, but they sat outside, enjoying each other's company while sharing a bottle of wine.

Oz leaned back on the palm of his hands while they both gazed up to the stars. Gilbert had never seen a sky so beautiful. With barely no streetlights, they could see the sky as it was meant to be.

This wasn't a memory either. Gilbert realized. Not even the Gilbert and Oz from another story interacted with each other like this. Something in the back of his head told him that the other him had dreamt of this too. He as well had wished for a moment like this. A moment of peace… Of Oz looking at him with those beautiful emerald eyes. Eyes that rarely missed anything. He had often seen them scanning an area or going over someone. Gilbert had wished that Oz would look at him like that sometime. As if he was some puzzle that needed to be solved.

But to Oz, Raven was no puzzle. He knew him better then he knew himself. And yet at that very moment… Oz looked at him with a focused look. As if this was the first time he saw Gil. The hint of a smile on his lips, and he said something. Gil didn't even care what it was that he said. All he knew was that he was growing impatient. I'm nothing like her- I'm not letting you overthink- Who was she? How could Oz even start overthinking or doubt himself in this situation? Everything went so well. The atmosphere was just right and he had never seen the blond so relaxed.

He placed his hand on Oz's cheek, he knew that they must be freezing. Of course they would. They had been outside for quite some time. But Oz didn't flinch away. Instead he placed his hand over Gil's and slightly turned his head so that he could plant a kiss in the palm of his hand. His lips should be frozen, yet the raven felt no cold. Instead he felt warm and lightheaded.

He didn't think when he finally closed the gap between their mouths. The only thing that went through his mind when he felt Oz slowly gasp for air was, "Finally… Finally…"

Gilbert moved closer. Until there was barely any space between them left. He felt Oz's hands go through his hair while he placed both his hands on the blond's side. The kiss tasted like alcohol. Gil loved how easily Oz followed his lead. The way the boy gasped softly for air between their kisses.

Gilbert knew he was dreaming.

And when he woke up, those past few days started to make a lot of sense to him. Realization came hard, leaving him with nothing but a headache and a problem he did not know how to solve. It was morning. Oz's side of the bed was already empty. Which was for the better. How could he even face his friend after what he dreamt? Gilbert sighed. He allowed himself a little time to panic and think things over before he forced himself to head downstairs. It was already ten in the morning.

The TV was on in the living room, though no one was watching. Oz could be found in the kitchen along with his father. Peter was preparing breakfast while talking to his son. The man made a lot of gestures and almost dropped the pan two times. When Oz noticed Gil's presence, he turned around to face him and offered him a kind smile. One that made Gil's stomach jump.

"Ah Gil, sorry."

"F-for what?"

"For not staying," Oz said, "I went downstairs to drink something and wanted to come back, but as you can see…" he gestured at his father, "Dad is a dangerous cook so I wanted to keep an eye out."

Peter acted as if he was offended, "I'll have you know that I'm a much better cook then you. Last time you cooked we almost had to go to the hospital." He said.

Oz looked slightly embarrassed while trying to laugh it off. Alice had already warned the raven that he should never let Oz cook alone. And the more stories he heard of Oz's cooking skills, the more he feared the day that Oz would cook for him. When Peter tried throwing the pancake in the air but failed miserably, Gilbert offered to take care of breakfast.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly ask my guest to cook for us," the man said while handing him the cooking pan. He ruffled Oz's hair when he walked past him and then left. Oz watched his father go, before he turned back around again. A soft smile on his lips.

One that made Gil's heart miss a beat. He tried hiding his blush by focusing on his new task. He was lucky Oz was distracted. Still it didn't help when he heard the blond walking closer. Oz leaned against the counter, his arms crossed.

"Something troubling you?" Oz asked,

"A-ah no… J-just a bad dream, that's all."

He had excepted for Oz to make a joke, but instead he visibly paled. Oz hummed in agreement while scratching the back of his neck, "Yeah…" he smiled, "Me too." He then smiled, "I dreamt of kissing a toad and then turning into one myself,"

Gilbert laughed, "That sounds way worse then mine,"

Oz laughed as well, "Yeah? What was yours about then?"

You- Gilbert met Oz's gaze, oh damn- he sighed. The kitchen only had a small window, but it was enough to illuminate Oz's face. His soft features, round eyes that seemed to lit up whenever he smiled… everything about the boy was relaxed and at ease. He wore a red shirt with the Coca-Cola brand on and a black jogging, his hair was still messy and Gil loved how domestic he looked. He felt his heart ache, wishing that one day he could wake up next to Oz in their own apartment.

When he didn't respond, Oz's smile slipped off his face, he blinked and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I dreamt of Break confessing his undying love for me." Gilbert then deadpanned. "I think I might have a trauma now." The image of Break saying 'I love you' with a pleading look and a background of pink flowers popped in his head, it made the raven shudder.

To which Oz laughed, "Actually, I think you win, yours sounds way worse then mine."

Gilbert caught himself staring and quickly returned his gaze back to the food he was making. He tried to act as normal as possible while he listened to Oz talk. If he misheard something, he blamed it on the pancakes he was preparing, they obviously needed all off his attention. It certainly wasn't everything about Oz being distracting.

Had Oz always talked this much? While the thought of Oz being the one that talks, and Gil being the one who listened sounded nothing but familiar. He still caught himself pondering if this was always the case.

He knew that when Alice was around, it was mostly the girl that talked. But that's just Alice. With Echo, it was Oz that talked mostly and eventually Echo followed. Oz had this special gift. He made everyone feel comfortable around him after five minutes of talking to him.

A distant memory of a younger Oz sitting in a chair flashed in front of his eyes. The young boy was reading-… no studying. The book he was holding had a long title with at least two difficult words in it.

No matter what… I will be beside you-

"Yey, breakfast is ready!" Oz shouted when they had a small pile of pancakes, enough to feed three people.

For the rest twenty minutes, Gilbert had to listen to Peter complimenting him. "You're a great cook!"

"A-ah it's really nothing… I-it's just pancakes."

"Just pancakes? These pancakes are amazing!"

Oz rolled his eyes, amused by his father's high praise. Though he seemed even more amused to see Gilbert getting all flustered. Gil desperately tried to change the subjects, but Peter would have none of it. He refused to stop praising him, unless the raven accepted he truly was a remarkable cook.

"Do you have a job right now, kid?" Peter asked after he finished.

Gilbert shook his head. Not so long ago, he still had a job at a small drugstore. He had to give up said job because his father didn't like it when Vincent was alone at home for too long. Even though Vincent was already seventeen, and had proved to Gil many times that he could take care of himself. His father would hear none of it.

"I'm sure Helen could use some help in her kitchen, if you're ever interested give us a call, won't you?"

"Huh, how come Gil get's offered a job and I don't?" Oz then asked, he tried to act as if he was hurt by hearing this but the look on his face begged to differ. The young West actually appeared to be rather proud of Gilbert.

"Because son, you're terrible in the kitchen." Peter deadpanned. "If you weren't my child, I would have probably assumed you were some snobby brat that never set foot in a kitchen-"

To which Gilbert snorted, the words "You have no idea," rested on the tip of his tongue. He was smart enough not to speak them out loud. Oz glared at him from the corner of his eyes, there was this familiar look in his eyes. One that said Gil was going to regret making fun of him.

- "Miss Kate is going to scold us."-

"Besides," Peter's voice cut through the memory, he pointed his fork at his son, "You've already got a job at Sir Vesalius's office, you shouldn't complain."

"I got that job after weeks of searching. While I could have just as easily started at mom's restaurant."

"Oh certainly, you could have become the dishes guy!" Peter agreed,

Gilbert noticed the not so pleased look on Oz's face. As if the mere thought of cleaning the dishes upset him.

"Didn't you break your mom's favorite mug a few days ago?"

"Ugh! I get it! I'm terrible at cleaning up." Oz groaned while getting a hand through his hair.

Gilbert smiled softly while he listened to his friend bickering with his father. He loved that Peter revealed all sorts of hidden details about Oz. While it really should come as no surprise that Oz was terrible at cleaning, Gil still loved to hear things. Thus he remained quiet and let the two continue their conversation. So that by the time they were finished, Peter had also brought up that the only reason why Oz's room so bare was; was because he was terrible at keeping it clean.

In the end, Oz got the final word, "Well then," he said with a very evil grin, "If I'm so terrible at cleaning up, I'm sure you wouldn't mind cleaning up the table and the dishes."

"A-ah, I didn't mean it like that-"

Oz ignored his father begging for forgiveness and stood up, "C'mon Gil, let's go for a walk!"

Pure Evil. Gil realized for the first time, that he should be grateful Oz and Break didn't spend that much time together.

He offered Peter an apologetic look. The man simply rolled his eyes in amusement and waved him off, "It's fine, It's better this way. He's really terrible at cleaning." S

"Huh, what was that?" Oz asked annoyed,

"Do you have money on you?"

"I'm not going to buy anything,"

"Nonsense," Peter got up, he grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and handed his son some money. "Go shopping, that way I can focus on my work for a bit." He ruffled Oz's hair.

"You're kicking me out of the house?"

"As a matter of fact I am." Peter joked.

"Fine, Gil and I are gonna buy lots of alcohol and get wasted then!"

To which Peter laughed and shrugged, "Have fun,"

Alice already had her hand on the doorknob when Oz opened the door, she lost her balance and fell with a loud scream on Oz. Who stumbled back and dragged Gil with him on the floor.

"What the hell you stupid rabbit!" Gilbert shouted while he rubbed the back of his head.

"I heard a scream, what's going on?" Peter asked while he ran into the hallway. He stopped though once he saw the three teenagers lying on the ground, both Alice and Oz were using Gilbert as their pillow.

"Huh like this is my fault!" Alice argued, "How should I know you were opening the door at the same time as me?"

"You could have knocked, like normal people!"

"Knock? I haven't knocked on this door since I was five!"

Peter rolled his eyes and muttered something about youth while he went back into the living room. Oz in the meantime started laughing because of the odd situation they had just gotten themselves into. He was stuck between the two fighting people and it didn't look like he was gonna get out soon.

Both Gil and Alice were so caught up in arguing, they barely noticed their other friend.

"-Besides, weren't you supposed to hang out with Echo?"

"I just dropped her off at the bus stop-"

"I can't breathe-"

"Not now Oz! Besides-"

Oh bother. The blond laughed while he let the two bicker. And perhaps Gilbert should have gotten up... but Oz didn't seem to mind how close they were. So he remained on the ground for just a little bit longer.

"-seaweed brain!"

"It's not seaweed you stupid rabbit!"