Chapter Text
Matthew stared at his reflection in the mirror. He rocked back and forth on his heels, chewing at his bottom lip absentmindedly. He was dressed in his best casual attire, red and black flannel with his cleanest pair of jeans. If Francis was home and saw this, he would probably sneer at his choice of clothing, saying that life in the states has really changed him, but Matthew didn’t care, he liked Alfred’s flannel. It was comfortable, especially in this season.
A knock at the front door startled him into attention. He straightened himself in the mirror one last time before heading downstairs. Matthew opened the door to reveal Gilbert, wearing the same outfit he had on in school—a white tee-shirt with words in German he refused to translate for anyone and black jeans.
“You should really wear a jacket—or at the very least a long sleeve shirt.” Matthew said not unkindly.
Gilbert shrugged. “Doesn't fit my ‘aesthetic’,” he used air quotes.
Matthew shook his head. “Of course.” He stepped into the cold winter air and closed the door behind him. He took his keys from his pockets and looked taken aback when Gilbert stuck out his hand.
“I will drive us.”
Matthew looked at him as if he were crazy. “What?”
Gilbert snatched the keys from a protesting Matthew. “Where we are going is a surprise, Mattie. Ever heard of those?” Matthew muttered a “yes” under his breath as Gilbert headed with the keys over to Matthew’s car and opened the passenger side door for him. He gestured inside, while smirking over at Matthew. “See? I can be a gentleman when I want to be.”
Matthew had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes as he finally began to move. He was getting used to Gilbert’s seemingly lack of manners. He got in the car and Gilbert closed his door and made his way over to the driver’s seat.
Gilbert slid into the seat next to him and started the car. “Now, cover your eyes.”
“Um, why?”
Gilbert looked at him with a tad bit annoyance in his gaze. “It’s a secret, Mattie. You know, like you don’t know, but I do.”
“Fine.” Matthew covered his eyes with his hands.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
“How would I know if I’m covering my eyes?”
“True.” With that, Gilbert pulled out of the driveway and headed on their way.
“Okay, you can open your eyes now.” Matthew removed his hands from his face. It had seemed like they had been driving for forever and his arm felt like stiff lead. Gilbert had helped him out of the car and onto his feet, but the ground felt like any other pavement.
He took a look around. They were standing in front of a brick townhouse with the word “Pottery” lit up in neon colors in the window.
Matthew looked over at Gilbert, who was smirking as if he was satisfied with himself. “Pottery?”
“I do it in my free time. Don’t tell your brother though, it’s my…secret.”
Matthew was speechless. He had to admit, he was a little touched. “Oh,” he finally managed.
Gilbert grabbed Matthew’s wrist with minimal force. “Come on, the real fun is inside.” Matthew allowed himself to be led by Gilbert into the shop.
As soon as he entered, his nose was assaulted by the smell of clay. It was a quaint pottery, with shelves lining the walls, filled with beautiful works that looked as if they took years to make.
Gilbert let go his wrist and stood in front of him. “Do you like it?’ He gestured to the walls around him. “I’ve been renting this place for a while—well, technically my parents have.”
Matthew paused. “Wait, you made all of this stuff?”
Gilbert shook his head. “No, the one by the counter was made by a student of mine. The ones on the top shelf over there were sent to me by my little brother who is studying in Japan.” Matthew stared at the set of beautifully sculpted vases. They had ornate paintings of cherry blossoms. “I painted them though. Lud can’t paint for shit.”
“Wow, Gil. That’s…wow.”
“I know.”
“But, I thought you wanted to make games?”
Gilbert looked away for a moment before answering. “Well, I do, but I’m only allowed to stay here on the condition that I keep up with my training. I just…find the time for it, honestly. Alfred is a very busy man these days.”
Matthew nodded. He knew. Aside from Carlos (and now Gilbert), Alfred was really one of the main people he hung out with, but with playoff practices and college…Alfred had a lot to think about and do, so they spent less time together.
Gilbert began to move about the studio with ease, Matthew on the other hand was terrified to move, and scared he would tip over something important or run into some sharp danger tool.
“I brought you here because…” Gilbert began looking around the potter’s wheel in the back corner. “Ah-hah! I knew I left that there,” he picked up a round tool that Matthew had never
seen in his entire life. He turned around to face Matthew who was still standing at the entrance. Gilbert waved him over. “Don’t be afraid, come on! I do’nt care if you break anything! I brought you here in the first place, Mattie.”
Matthew listened and came over to where he was, carefully skirting around the many potter wheels occupied with tools.
Once he made his way over, Gilbert continued. “Like I was saying...I brought you here because I wanted to teach you something.”
Gilbert rushed to and fro, setting up two adjacent potter wheels with clay and bowls of water. Matthew just watched silently, unsure of what to say, especially with the semi-serious look on Gilbert’s face.
“Now,” Gilbert started. He came up to Matthew and gently grabbed him by the wrist. He guided him over to one of the potter wheels and sat him down. “Watch me, then see if you can follow.”
He then proceeded to sit down at the other potter wheel. A concentrated expression was cast over his face. Gilbert started the wheel and began to work on the clay, shaping and molding it with his hands. “So,” he finally started. “You are just going to let the clay be shaped by your movements. Use your hands to take off any excess clay and—oh, don’t forget to use this.” He dipped his hand in the water.
“Uh—okay.” Matthew mirrored Gilbert’s movements. He rolled up his sleeves and started the wheel. After dipping his hands in the water and clay mixture he began to attempt whatever it was the Gilbert was working away at.
His creation was certainly not up to par with Gilbert’s.
Matthew looked over at the masterpiece that now rested on Gilbert’s still wheel and then looked down at his own. He was attempting to make a vase—and it really looked more like a mug without a handle—or one of those Japanese tea cups, just extremely bumpy.
He sighed heavily. Matthew knew he wouldn’t be any good at it—then again when was he ever good at anything.
Gilbert must have noticed the downcast look on his face, for he got up and stood in front of Matthew. “It looks great, Mattie.” He smiled an unusually kind smile and shrugged. “Not as awesome as mine, but great.”
Matthew believed that that was Gilbert’s way of complimenting him. “But, it doesn’t look great. It’s lumpy and not what I wanted it to be.” He sighed, but he smiled in a dejected manner.
Gilbert placed a hand on Matthew’s shoulder and gently squeezed. “You are too hard on yourself.” He grabbed Matthew’s creation and carried it away.
“What are you doing? It’s no good.”
Gilbert shrugged. “I want to keep it.”
“I don’t get it.”
“You made it, so I want it. You can keep mine if you want, though I would give it a while for it to dry and I’ll paint it too.” Gilbert came back for his creation, a beautifully curved vase. He put it beside Matthew’s.
“Um…” Matthew tried to hide the blush on his cheeks. “Okay.” He looked anywhere but at Gilbert.
Matthew was unsure of what to say. They weren’t officially dating, but it was sort of an unspoken thing between them. Gilbert clearly showed interest in him and Matthew obviously couldn’t help but reciprocate.
Gilbert came over and pulled up a stool beside Matthew. In a sudden swift moment he leaned over and gave Matthew a kiss on the cheek.
“I really like you, Mattie. I wish you could see how great you are.”
Matthew was once again speechless. “I—I really like you too, Gil. It’s just hard…you know? Like, everyone else is just really good at this one thing…but I’m not. I feel like there’s something wrong with me.”
“I think it’s pretty neat to not be only good at one thing, Mattie. Trust me, when you are it is harder to branch out and realize there is a lot more to life than pottery or football or—whatever. ‘Jack of all trades, master of one’ isn’t that the quote?”
Matthew smiled at Gilbert’s attempt at cheering him up. He leaned over and gave Gilbert a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks. You know, you’re not as pretentious as I thought you were. You’re really sweet.”
“Pretentious?”
Matthew smiled at the confused look on Gilbert’s face and planted another kiss on his cheek. He couldn’t help the mix of feelings blossoming in his chest.
He really liked Gilbert.