A/N: I'm opening with an author's note this time because I feel like I owe everyone who reads my fanfictions an explanation as to why it has been so long since I updated. If you read any of my other stories, you'll probably find this same author's note posted at the top of my next fanfictions to be updated as well. You by all means do not have to read this, but its here for anyone who has an interest. Here goes:

After I got the rejection letter from my #1 college choice that I mentioned in the author's note of my last chapter, I got really depressed and I had to buckle down and focus on school because I wanted to get into a good college. Unfortunately, I missed the registration deadlines for anywhere I would have wanted to go and I had to register for community college. But then there was an issue with my high school's graduation project where they failed me even though I wrote a freaking book for my project on stupid technicalities when they were the ones who did not make accommodations for my learning disabilities (which is actually a violation of state law on their part) and it turned into this huge thing where they weren't going to let me walk with my class at graduation. Then we started a Facebook petition to let me walk with my class and it got over a thousand signatures and made the news and newspapers several times, and life was just sort of crazy for a while. I did get to walk with my class, though, which is great! They haven't given me my diploma yet, though (because even though I made honor roll and never failed a class in my entire high school career, they still want to fight this graduation project thing), so I won't be going to college until the spring or maybe next yesr. Which means hopefully (although I'm trying to get a job) I will have more time to write. I kind of want to focus on finishing my book because I would really like to publish it so that I can use whatever money I make from it to help pay for school, but I am not going to neglect my fanfictions, I promise. I am so sorry that it has been so long since I've updated, I hope you can all understand.

If you read that, thank you for caring. Now, here is your reward:

"This is amazing!" Gilbert exclaimed, his scarlet eyes lit up light the lights on a Christmas tree, his smile huge with enthusiasm.

"'Course it is," Alfred said in a muffled voice, ignoring the glare he received from Arthur for talking with his mouth full. "Haven't you ever had pizza before?"

The wind spirit waited to answer, reverently chewing a bite of the Italian delicacy and savoring each second before he swallowed. "I've never had anything like this before." He said once he had finished, already reaching into the box for a second piece.

Matthew watched Gilbert with round eyes, still trying to convince himself that this wasn't all just a very vivid dream. He had hardly touched his own pizza, captivated instead by the sight of Gilbert smiling and talking and somehow, impossibly, existing outside of his dreams. He couldn't believe that roughly only eight hours earlier he had found Gilbert dangling in that tree, despite all of the staggering odds against them. Secretly Matthew had been beginning to wonder if Gilbert was some fantasy his miserable thirteen-year-old self had conjured up to keep himself from going through with his suicide attempt. But no, Gilbert was here now and he was very much real, and Matthew just couldn't take his eyes off of him.

"Woah, you mean to tell me they don't have pizza in Germany?" Mathias asked, sounding horrified by the idea. He had one piece in each hand and one balancing precariously on his knee, like he was insistent on not using a plate for some reason. At least it seemed to be entertaining Tino, who giggled and clapped his hands while Berwald and Lukas rolled their eyes over the Dane's childishness.

"Of course they have pizza there," Roderich said incredulously, adjusting his glasses with a sneer. His own plate was sitting in his lap, and he insisted on eating it with a knife and fork instead of with his hands like everyone else. "I've been to Germany several times, they have pizza shops just like any other country does."

"Dude, then how do you go your whole life without ever having a slice of pizza?" Alfred asked, his and Mathias's eyes (basically the only two people in the room who cared about such a trivial topic of conversation) boring into Gilbert, demanding an answer.

"Guys, leave him alone and let the poor guy eat." Matthew interrupted before Gilbert tried explaining to them how pizza wasn't accessible from the sky.

"Hey everyone!" Feliks suddenly shouted, raising his voice over all the others. "Since its Gilbert's first day in New York we should, like, totally take him to The Fae Bar!"

There were an equal number of groans in the room as there was cheers of excitement. The Fae Bar was the group of friends' bar of choice, a relatively new nightclub with a mythical forest theme that was famous for its absinth. The only way they ever managed to talk people like Arthur and Lukas who were normally sticks in the mud over that kind of thing was by reminding them that the people there liked talking about faeries, trolls and elves just as much as they did.

"What's that?" Gilbert asked, his interest piqued. He had some sauce on the corner of his mouth, and Matthew was desperately fighting the urge to reach over and gently wipe it away.

"Its like this totally awesome place with these great drinks and cool decor!" The Pol told him with an excited gleam in his octagonal green eyes.

"Cool drinks?" Gilbert repeated. "Like that Sprite stuff I had earlier?" He had been absolutely enthralled and thoroughly entertained by the way it had bubbled and fizzed in his mouth.

"Sorta like that," Mathias snickered. "You ever try absinth, man?"

Gilbert shook his head, though he looked intrigued. Matthew wanted to interject, but he knew it wasn't right to act possessive of Gilbert, and being so protective would certainly raise suspicion from his friends.

The Dane laughed and clapped his hand on Gilbert's shoulder, thankfully not noticing the wind spirit's wince when he hand landed a little too close to his injured wing. "Dude, you're gonna be tripping serious balls tonight." He said, and with those words there plans for the night were sealed.

.

"No way, aru, this line is ridiculous!" Yao groaned, looking at all of the people lined up outside of The Fae Bar. The line stretched all the way around the corner, and judging by the way some people walked out of line to try their luck elsewhere, it seemed the wait was rather long. "Let's just go back home."

"No way, we can skip the line!" Feliks insisted, spilling on one of his stiletto heels to face his friends. "One of us just has to seduce that bouncer!"

Fifteen pairs of eyes followed the cross-dressing blonde's finger to the muscular man standing by the entrance, allowing people in in small groups. He was practically a giant, with ripple muscles and tattoos all up his arms, even a buzz-cut to top it all off. There was a moment of silence while they all contemplated how a single one of them would be able to successfully seduce one of the most heterosexual-looking men on the entire planet.

"Hey Roderich, go show him your tits." Mathias suddenly said.

The Austrian huffed and glared at him. "I do not have breasts," he said, sounding affronted. "I am a male!"

"Could have fooled me." Alfred snickered, and then he and the Dane high-fived.

Matthew rolled his eyes, hoping everyone would give up and decide to go home like Yao had suggested. He was really nervous about taking Gilbert to the club, exposing him to alcohol and drugs and whatever perverts might be lurking in shadowy corners. What if Matthew accidentally lost him in the throng of dancing bodies and they got separated for another eight years? He knew that his fears weren't completely rational, but thankfully someone spoke up again before he could worry himself into a panic.

"I can take care of this." Lukas said calmly, breaking away from the group and crossing the street before anyone had the chance to stop him. Feliks, Tino and Mathias whooped and cheered him on, but Matthew felt doubtful about his chances. Sure Lukas had a pretty face and a killer body, and the booty shorts he was wearing did wonders for his legs, but not everyone was as eager to jump his bones as Mathias was.

The group of friends watched the ash-blonde Norwegian pick himself to the front of the line, his hips swaying in a way that made several of the guys whistle. Matthew clenched his hands into fists and hoped Gilbert hadn't noticed that aspect, watching as their Scandinavian friend waved his hand at the bouncer, beckoning him down to match his height. Lukas cupped a hand around the man's ear and leaned against his arm to whisper something, and they all watched as the burly man's bored expression slowly morphed into one of horror. He jerked away from the Norwegian and nodded his head shakily, everyone's mouth hung open in astonishment when Lukas turned his body toward them and waved the group over with his usual monotonous expression.

"That was very impressive," Kiku said once they made it to the other side of the street. "What did you say to him, Lukas-san?"

Lukas shrugged his shoulders delicately, slipping his arm through his boyfriend's once the Dane found his way to his side again. "If I told you I would have to kill you," he informed Kiku seriously before leading the group inside.

The interior of The Fae Bar was quiet unlike any other nightclub. The main lights were covered in a green film that made everything inside look colored in earthy tones, smaller lights in shades of blues, pinks and golds winking in and out of existence all over the room to imitate the glow of faeries. Every surface in the room had been covered in fake foliage, included vines carefully pinned to look as though they were growing up the walls. Smoke machines provided a layer of fog masking people's legs from the shins down, tendrils of the gray mist raising into the air and disappearing whenever someone moved past.

Immediately upon entering the group disbanded, Feliks and Tino grabbing a hold of their respective lovers' hands and pulling them excitedly toward the dance floor. Ivan and Mathias headed straight for the bar probably to engage in a drinking contest that everyone knew the Russian would win, Yao and Lukas following because they knew an effort to deter them would be fruitless. Kiku and Heracles had gravitated toward the couches, neither interested in dancing or alcohol; they would probably spend the entirety of the night there, snuggled up together. Francis was trying to convince Roderich to dance with him, or at least let him buy him a drink, but all he earned was flustered rejection after flustered rejection. Alfred and Arthur just sort of hovered nearby one another, both of them pretending like it wasn't obvious that all they wanted to do was find the nearest shady corner and kiss each other senseless.

Matthew swallowed a deep breath and turned around, looking up at Gilbert. The albino was taking in their surroundings with the same level of enthusiasm he put toward every new thing he discovered. He seemed to sense Matthew's eyes on him, because he face him with a large smile on his face. "Mattie, there's clouds on the ground!" He said excitedly.

Oh, why did he have to be so cute? It wasn't right, it was literally torture. Matthew had had years to fall in love with this man and he couldn't even say for sure if Gilbert had spared him even a thought the past eight years. Would he be receptive if Matthew ever worked up the courage to tell him his feelings? Did he already maybe feel something for the Canadian in return? He couldn't tell, even though Gilbert seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Matthew didn't have the heart to correct him about the fog and simply nodded his head instead, reaching out to grasp onto his hands. "Do you wanted to dance?" He asked, losing his usual timid stutter when he had to force himself to raise his voice over the blaring of the music.

Gilbert eyes followed Matthew's indication to the mass of people on the dance floor, their bodies pressed intimately against one another and their hips gyrating to the beat of the music. He titled his head, a curtain of snowy bangs sweeping across his forehead. "Looks easy enough," he decided after a moment, nodding his head.

Matthew smiled a bit apprehensively, leading the albino toward dance floor. He was thankful Gilbert didn't know how to dance already, because Alfred had managed to get all of that gene (seriously, that guy could do one hell of a Charleston), and had little practice in this particular art form himself.

Gilbert took a few seconds to look around and observe the other dancers' movements, a look of determination on his face. It didn't take him to to decide that he had the gist of it, turning to Matthew and putting his hands on his hips. All the air rushed out of the blonde's lungs and his heart started beating twice as fast when he felt Gilbert warm, toned body pressing against his and his hips starting to move. Color exploded all over the Canadian's cheeks and he tried to remind himself to stay calm, and not to close his eyes because he was already starting to imagine what this situation would feel like with a significantly smaller amount of clothing between them.

"Am I doing it right, Birdie?" Gilbert asked, and Matthew was both astonished and a slightly impressed with the lewd images the words made his brain conjure up.

Matthew ducked his head in embarrassment and nodded, feeling guilty over sexualizing Gilbert this way. It wasn't like he wanted to take advantage of him, but this was a man who had saved his life and that Matthew had spent almost a decade in love with. Yesterday Matthew had believed that he would never have the opportunity to see Gilbert again, and now that he was here it felt like a crime to waste any time. Patience, He kept having to tell himself. You're not that kind of guy. You actually don't even know much of anything about Gilbert; you don't even know if he likes you that way.

The thought almost made him whimper. Waiting he could handle, he had already waited eight years after all. But the idea of Gilbert never reciprocating his feelings almost made him sick. Gilbert was the only one he had ever wanted, the only person he could picture himself spending the rest of his life with. It had to be Gilbert, or else life wasn't worth living.

"You're doing great, Gil." Matthew assured him, hating himself for being so clingy and Bella Swan-ish; if he was a woman, he would have set feminism back several centuries with that last paragraph.

Gilbert beamed at the praise, a purring sound raising in his throat and getting swallowed by the pounding bass of the music. Matthew could still feel it, though, a relaxing vibration that made him feel at peace whenever their chests bumped together. Not fretting so much any more and putting his shyness aside, Matthew wrapped his arms around Gilbert's neck, even going as far as to lean his cheek against his chest.

You should stop worrying, He told himself. Gilbert is here with you now and holding you now and that's what really matters. Matthew smiled at that, agreeing with himself. He had never felt anything more exhilarating and somehow also comforting than having Gilbert's arms around him and knowing that this was real, that this wasn't a dream and he wasn't going to wake up in tears over someone he thought he would never see again. Those days were over, all Matthew had ever wanted and had ever prayed for was standing right in front of him, and he knew he had no reason to be mopey when all of his dreams were coming true.

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Sorry its short, but next chapter will have some fun with absinth. Sorry that so far Gil and Mattie are kinda OOC.

Also, Switzerland and Luxembourg have been removed from this story because FrAus is my new OTP sorrynotsorry.

Thank you so much for everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed so far. I would love it if you continued to do so, every kind word just means so much to me.

And please forgive my lame pun but The Fae Bar should totally be a real place.