It was just a normal, rainy day. Nothing exciting was happening, and yet two certain nations were able to keep themselves mildly entertained on this gloomy Saturday afternoon. Gilbert sat on the counter of Matthew's kitchen after getting barked at to move so he could clean. He watched as his Canadian friend brought a mop into the room and began the preparations to use it.

Matthew was in a loose button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and worn out, faded jeans. The knees in said jeans had been worn so much there were only holes, allowing Gilbert to see the paleness of his friend's skin. He had tied his long, blonde hair back into a ponytail, parts of it falling into his face stubbornly. His signature curl also hung loose. Gilbert would've made a comment on how girly he looked with his hair like that, but he remained quiet for two reasons. Reason one being he didn't want to get kicked out and forced to search for entertainment on his own. The second reason being that he'd look rather cute with it up. If he made fun of it, Matthew would surely take it down.

Gilbert lifted his legs to sit cross-legged on the countertop. He set his elbow on one of his knees, resting his cheek against his fist. Silence remained in the air as Matthew lifted the mop, dipping it in the soapy water. He had just made contact with the tiles when the high pitched voice of Kumajiro came into the room. The two watched as the small white head of the polar poked around the corner, asking for food. The little yellow bird that hung around Gilbert, Gilbird, rested on the bear's head. Gilbert leaned over to his left, opening the door to the freezer and tossed a fish at him. Kuma took the fish with a delighted hum as he pounced off. Matthew looked back at Gilbert, gently leaning on the long handle of his mop.

"I could've gotten it for him, you know."

"I know. I thought I'd be nice for once." He gave a lopsided smile that showed all his teeth.

"For once." Matthew scoffed the words with an eye roll. He gave a soft smile to show the albino he was only joking. He continued to mop his kitchen as he had intended.

Gilbert watched with an unnatural interest as Matthew mopped the floor. He was entranced by the way he moved. There was a grace to him that Gilbert rarely saw. Sure, he saw Matthew's grace during winter when he'd be ice skating and not playing hockey, but he'd never seen his on-land grace. The way his wrists would flick to change direction was spell bounding. The small twirls he made to clean a new area were mystifying. The concentration that flickered in the Canadian's forever color changing eyes forced the corners of Gilbert's mouth to tug upward at times in fascination. He pulled himself out of his own mind when he realized Matthew was finally finished mopping and had hopped onto the counter next to him.

"I thought you needed to clean, Birdie?"

"I like the floor to be dry before anyone walks on it, and you cornered yourself. I couldn't just abandon you. Or risk you running across the clean floor against my warnings, anyway. The rest of the house can wait." He smiled politely, swinging his feet lightly while the two waited for the floor to dry.

oOoOo!HeyLookALineBreak!oOoOo

A smirk graced the Prussian's lips as he slipped into Matthew's bedroom without being noticed. Matthew had asked him to stay in the living room while he finished cleaning, to which, of course, Gilbert agreed to. But, alas, boredom had struck by just sitting on the couch. An idea had formed in his head, forcing him to find out where his friend had gone.

Matthew's back was facing him as he made his bed. He bent over, tucking in a corner of his blanket. Gilbert's smirk grew, an awesome opportunity found. He dramatically tiptoed toward his clueless friend. He got as close to him as possible without getting caught. The moment Matthew had straightened up, Gilbert made his move.

"Birdie!" He shouted gleefully. As he shouted, his large hands found Matthew's sensitive sides, pulling him toward him. The victim jumped with a yelp at the sudden contact and shout. He ripped himself out of Gilbert's grip, falling on top of his bed. He looked up at the laughing man while he tried to slow his heartbeat.

"Maple, Gil! You scared the crap out of me!" Embarrassment hit. He felt a faint blush rush to his cheeks as Gilbert bent over in laughter. Gilbert lifted his head, his laughter dying at the sight of his blushing friend. A smile stayed on his face as he simply stared at Matthew.

"W-what are you l-looking at?" He sat up, flushing darker.

"You look so cute when you blush." He smiled when the blush spread to the tips of Matthew's ears. He stretched his hand out. "Come on. You have more chores you want to do, right?"

Matthew nodded slightly, accepting the hand that would lead him down stairs.

oOoOo!HeyLookALineBreak!oOoOo

Matthew was in the laundry room with Gilbert, putting his clothes in the washer silently content. Gilbert was sitting in the floor, looking at each piece of clothing the Canadian owned before it was put in the washing machine. He suddenly picked out a pair of boxer briefs that were pure white give for the red maple leaf on the back.

"Kesesese, Birdie, these are so awesome!" He held the underwear up for him to see, pulling at the edges some. Matthew sighed with a blush, snatching them from his friend.

"Must you handle my underwear?" He whispered.

"I could handle other things." Gilbert purred. Matthew's blue eyes widened, scanning down to gaze upon the seductive face. His entire face lit up to match the color of the leaf on the previously mentioned pair of undies. Gilbert smirked triumphantly to himself when Matthew's only response was a bright blush, what sounded like an embarrassed whimper, and his head turning away from him as he finished putting clothes in the washer.

oOoOo!HeyLookALineBreak!oOoOo

The news had said that it was supposed to rain all day. It said nothing about thunder or lightening. Still, Matthew sat on his porch with Gilbert during a small break, anyway. They shared a porch swing, watching as the rain pounded down. Matthew glanced over at Gilbert. He was staring off in the distance. He took the moment of distraction to observe his old friend.

Gilbert's pale skin was breathtaking today. Something about it had Matthew's heart racing today. He stole a glimpse at his eyes. The bloody red eyes that usually held cockiness, over confidence, and, what Matthew assumed to be, a shield were now soft, content, and showing complete vulnerability. His lips were barely turned up in a warm smile.

Matthew felt himself smiling, as well. He liked these super rare moments, the moments where it was just the two of them and Gilbert dropped his 'I-am-awesome' attitude. Don't get him wrong, he liked that attitude, too, but this one made him feel special. He knew this attitude was for him to see, and only for him. Gilbert hadn't verbally admitted it, but he didn't have to. Matthew just knew.

Gilbert abruptly glanced down at Matthew. The small smile grew slightly. He placed his arm around the personification of Canada.

"You know what, Birdie? I think you're the only one I can stand to be around while you're doing chores."

"Really? I thought you liked to follow Ludwig around while he cleaned."

"Ja, I do, but he always ends up yelling at me." He stared back out into the rain. A roll of thunder was heard.

"I kind of l-liked you being here, too. It was nice h-having someone to talk to while I did things."

"Really?" The cockiness returned to his voice. Matthew huffed at it, dropping his head onto Gilbert's shoulder. Gilbert suddenly stiffened before squirming underneath him. His heart was beating was fast and so loud that Matthew could actually hear it. He thought for a minute he could even see it. He picked his head up, looking at Gilbert. He was taken aback when he saw a blush accompanying a nervous expression.

"Gil, what's wrong?" Matthew asked. The worry in his voice was apparent.

Gilbert gazed down at him. One look into his eyes, which had turned to a light violet color outside, had Gilbert's mind bursting. He couldn't make a single coherent thought, let alone sentence. He let his impulse hit. His large, calloused hands gently held the startled Canadian's face. In an instant, his lips were on Matthew's. His eyes were shut so tightly, his eyebrows furrowed together. Matthew gasped lightly at the sudden action. As he gasped, Gilbert's impulsive actions were still in the lead. He slid his tongue into the other's mouth, searching for then gently massaging his tongue.

Matthew could only sit there as the shock settled in his mind. He stared, numb and wide-eyed, as his friend currently held his face in place as he French-ed him. With a sudden realization, Matthew closed his eyes, returning the passionate kiss that he was receiving. His fingers twisted in the silvery white hair that belonged to Gilbert. With a moan of approval when Matthew tugged at his roots, Gilbert removed his hands from his face. He put an arm around Matthew, pulling him in his lap. His other hand reached up, pulling his Birdie's hair free of the tie holding it up. He placed his hand on the back of his head, trying to push their mouths together even more.

Matthew pulled away, gasping for air. Lightening illuminated the sky as the two personifications stared into each other's eyes, breathing heavily. Matthew pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes to clear his mind.

"W-what was that f-for…?" He finally managed to ask.

Gilbert chuckled. "What do you think?"

"I-I…um…"

Gilbert pressed their lips together once more in a softer, sweeter kiss. "I like you. I want to try dating you. That is, of course, if you agree. So, what do you say? Will you be my boyfriend, Birdie?"

Matthew opened his eyes. He saw the most pleading look he'd ever witnessed on Gilbert's face. He smiled. If he didn't already share those feelings, how could he possibly even think about saying 'no' to that face, anyway?

"Yes. Yes, Gil, I will." He bit his lip as his smile grew. Gilbert suddenly gripped Matthew around his waist with both arms, jumping up, and spinning with joyful hollers that could be heard over the thunder. Matthew couldn't stop his laughter at how weird they must look if anyone passed by. After Gilbert had stopped spinning, he set Matthew down, keeping a grip on his waist.

"Maybe I should've have come watch you do chores earlier than today. Like, maybe, a few months ago." Gilbert thought aloud.

"Months? Really?"

"Y-yeah…" Gilbert hung his head and shuffled his feet. Matthew nuzzled his nose into Gilbert's neck, leading up to his chin, forcing him to look up.

"Want to know something?" He leaned up, whispering in his ear, "I've liked you since the World Meeting we officially met at."

Gilbert's eyes grew slightly before narrowing with his smile. He pulled Matthew into a tight hug. After a few minutes of comfortable silence standing like that, Matthew lead Gilbert back inside with an elated smile, muttering something along the lines of:

"Maybe doing chores can be a good thing…"

.::Author's Note::.

First Hetalia FanFic…I tried. But, hey, wanna know a secret? You guys can leave a review, and tell me how much I screwed up and how I could fix it! :D And if you think I actually did pretty awesome or something, you can encourage me to do a second Hetalia FF by leaving a request for a couple of your choice (excluding FrUk). You can even ask for a certain rating! I've never taken requests before, so I thought I'd try it out. Please review! :]