Chapter 2

Feliciano exhaled as he leaned himself at the corner of the frantic room. He was momentarily regretting coming to the party, despite the points he could get for his report. This one wasn't any high school party he thought he would see 'normal' teens be in (though really, in a way Feliciano was new to this whole 'have a party without parents' idea so there wasn't much he could refer off of to begin with). Despite being underage, there was alcohol. And even though Feliciano himself refused to take a single sip, despite others edging him on with comments and taunts, he could swear he would still get lectured later by the heaven's guards. The Italian gave one glance to the side to spot Francis, groaning to himself when he realized the male didn't hold back one bit, taking large gulps of wine. One look to the other side of the room showed Arthur, too, downing the rum that he brought along with himself.

This was very uncomfortable.

Beings as Feliciano himself, Francis, and Arthur were not permitted to drink. They were to stay clean of any temptation, or will be punished accordingly. One of the temptations that was hammered into their heads from a very young age was alcohol, and Feliciano was still uptight about the education he was given. He muttered a silent prayer under his breath in hopes that the heaven would forgive him for even being at such place, only to have it cut short when he was unable to hold back a small yelp, feeling an arm suddenly drape over his shoulder. The boy jumped and quickly skid away from the arm, quickly turning around once he had some distance to see who was an idiot enough to touch a loner as himself without even asking. Honestly, the boy wasn't surprised when he saw the culprit. "Gilbert…"

"Kesese, you looked lonely!" The albino chuckled, deciding to not comment on the fact the boy rushed away from him like some skittish kitten. He simply took a good gulp from his cup, which, Feliciano noticed, was just some simple fruit juice. Thank goodness; at least someone was sober at this hectic circus. Sighing, Feliciano closed the distance between himself and the snickering male once he calmed himself from the sudden surprise he endured. "Are ya bored?"

"…No, not at all. I just am not the type to jump in and mingle with… That." Feliciano responded, glancing at the insanity one dared to call a birthday party. He heard Gilbert chuckle once more and almost suspected that the drink he was having actually had alcohol mixed in it. Was anything in this room safe? "Ve, is this all this party is going to be, though? I figured it would be more… organized?"

"It'll be." Gilbert snorted, taking a long, last sip from his juice and crinkling the paper cup in his hand. He easily tossed it to the nearby filling garbage can, only eyeing at it once to make sure it went in before he turned his attention back to the Italian. "Don't worry too much, Squirt. Luds is coming back soon with the cake, and then we can have some of that, and then I'll get to opening the awesome presents people brought me. Would that be more organized for ya?" He grinned.

"My name isn't Squirt," Feliciano butted in, before he continued to speak, "And… Yes, that sounds a whole lot nicer."

"…" Gilbert raised a brow when the boy retorted at the nickname he provided him with, before he opened his mouth to almost say something, then stopped himself and closed his mouth. He was sure he looked like some goldfish, gaping and closing his mouth a few times before he finally found his voice. "Uh… Right. My bad, hehe… Fe… It was Fe-something, right?"

"Feliciano."

"…Right. I'll just call ya Feli."

"Please don't." Feliciano sighed once more, raising his hand slightly to rub at his temple. It had been forever since he heard that nickname… Years, even, maybe? He remembered his brother used to call him that… But that wasn't something he wanted to remember at the moment. "Just… Call me by my full name."

"…Alright." Gilbert shrugged after a long pause, sighing. Feliciano for a moment thought the albino would finally leave him alone, so he could maybe sneak out and return back to his hotel. He wasn't in the mood for the party anymore, not after having been reminded of a family member he missed a lot. It just seemed impossible to enjoy something that is meant to be fun when all he could think about was someone dead. However, the albino had no intentions of leaving Feliciano alone. In fact, he made it quite clear by grabbing Feliciano by his wrist, ignoring the squeak that passed the boy at the action, and began tugging him to another room. "I'll just show you around until Luds is ready with the cake, then. How does that sound? Cause you might say you aren't, but you looked really bored to me, and I can't have someone bored at my awesome party."

"…!?" Feliciano stumbled after the older male, almost falling over if it wasn't for the fact the other in a way held him up as well. He blinked in surprise when they stopped in front of the restroom, raising his brow silently, honestly not knowing what the other had planned on doing by showing him where the toilet was, of all things.

"Here's the toilet, in case you get drunk later and need to vomit. I rather not have you ruining the new carpet." The teen teased, and Feliciano simply sighed.

"I don't plan on drinking."

"Sure, whatever you say." Gilbert said simply, reaching for the knob and opening the door. He peeked in, half regretting the fact he didn't knock, but was glad to see he was lucky and no one was inside doing their business. He grinned and pulled the boy inside with him, ignoring Feliciano's protesting squeaks. Closing the door behind them by kicking it, Gilbert led Feliciano to the sink and small mirror, making him face it with his signature chuckle.

"W-What!?"

"I just wanted you to check out your own face." Gilbert continued to chuckle, pulling at Feliciano's cheeks childishly to force the lips upwards. "Ahh, look! You can actually smile, eh? I rather see this at the party…" He commented, continuing on after he pulled the cheeks down instead, creating a rather clumsily crafted frown, "Than this."

Feliciano stared at himself in the mirror for a bit, watching as his cheeks were pulled up and down repeatedly, soon unable to let out a small snort. Gilbert let go at that moment, and the Italian found himself laughing softly, rubbing at his own reddened cheeks. "Don't do that…"

"Why not?"

"Because it makes me look weird." Feliciano recovered from his small laughs and began heading towards the door, only to stop when he heard Gilbert call him. "…?"

"I'm not done with ya." Gilbert used his arms to pull Feliciano back in front of the sink, trapping him there with his two own arms at the boy's sides, blocking his path. Feliciano blinked in confusion and looked up as Gilbert grinned down at him.

"…I don't like spending too much time in a room with a toilet, Gilbert." Feliciano commented with a hint of a tease in his voice, glancing to it a bit before turning his attention back to the older teen, "I mean, if you want me to smile out there, fine. I can do that…"

"Ignore the toilet, it's not like it has eyes." The albino laughed, leaning in. "Besides, this is the most private room in the house. Once you go out there, it's a jungle again."

"…I rather spend the time in a jungle than in-" Feliciano flinched, stopping his retort in the middle when he felt something soft on his lips. He squeaked, closing his eyes tight, taking a long moment before he realized exactly what happened. The soft pressure stayed on his lips for a short time, though long enough for the boy to open his eyes and peek slowly, and them to widen in response. Only after the short few moments did Gilbert pull away, rolling his eyes and without another word, stepping out the restroom, closing the door behind him.

"…" Feliciano said nothing as he leaned against the sink, slowly raising his hand to rub at his lips where the pressure left. He had just been kissed, and though he did a lot by greeting others by kissing their cheeks, this one felt… Different. The boy was dumbstruck for a bit before finally a blush came to his cheeks, if the pressure on his forehead lingering not enough, the scent of the cologne the albino wore still sticking around, making the boy smell it every time he breathed. Shaking his head in hopes to rid of both the smell and feeling, Feliciano glanced to the door before saw it open, widening his eyes when he saw a blond male stumble in.

The man gave one glance to Feliciano with his ocean blue eyes, covering his mouth, before he stumbled his way hastily over to the toilet. His face bright red, the man barfed, making Feliciano's face scrunch up. Well… That moment was certainly destroyed.

"…Ve, are you alright, Alfred?"

"…"

"Did you drink too much?"

"…"

"…Um… I heard water can help… and some oily food." Feliciano knelt down, rubbing the teen's back with his hand.

"I… I'm alright. Just ate Arthur's food by accident is all."

"Bless your soul." Feliciano replied jokingly at the answer he received, giving a small laugh once more. When Alfred seemed calm enough again, he helped him by handing him a towel for him to wipe with, and Alfred took it without a word. After cleaning himself up, the blond male glanced to the brunet.

"…What were you doing in here, alone, man?"

"Nothing special."

"Ah, that means you did something special." Alfred teased, sighing once he felt the spasms fade from his stomach. "Not that it's any of my business… But you should hurry out. The cake just got here, and I'm sure it'll be gone if we don't hurry out there in a millisecond."

At that, Feliciano gave a smile and nodded, deciding to push aside the weird thought he had only moments earlier about Gilbert. He most likely was drunk or something, anyway… With all that alcohol all over the house, it was harder to stay sober, if he thought about it. So with his friend, he decided to just not think too much about it and left the room, joining the others for a piece of cake.