Week 4: Gilbert/Matthew

“Oh? Well I guess I’m sorry for that, too,” Matthew said. He smiled as he said this, however, partly because it tickled his neck whenever Gilbert spoke or even breathed, but mostly out of relief that he hadn’t messed up too badly.

Matthew held the embrace for a while, before pulling back slightly with the intention of meeting Gilbert’s gaze. “You have very pretty eyes,” he remarked without thinking. Pretty eyes, really? Did he actually just say something so corny and, well, weird? He winced. “And I think I’m just going to stop talking now…”

He contemplated on how much it would hurt if he just decided to slam his own head against the wall. Probably a lot. So Matthew settled for looking everywhere but at the man in front of him.

Gilbert pulled back so that he could look at Mathew studiously. He brought his brows together as he listened to what the other male said. He looked very serious, as if he were pondering something particularly deep.

His face seemed to crack open from his wide grin. He laughed as he wrapped his hands around Matthew's.

"Heh, that’s okay. So are yours."

Seeing Gilbert’s expression, Matthew wanted to guess what the other was thinking, though he honestly had no idea. But the air of unpredictability about him was probably one of the things that attracted him to the man in the first place.

And Gilbert surprised him with his response once again, though he was far from disappointed with the answer. He smiled, looking down at their hands.

“Thank you,” he said, meaning it for more than just the compliment.

Gilbert squeezed Matthew's hands then let them both go. He looked at the ground for a moment, then back to the blond. He smiled and kissed the other man quickly, then looked away again to fish his car keys from his pocket.

"I guess I should let you get home, hm? Do you need a ride?" He motioned to the black 1972 Camero in the parking lot.

It had red racing stripes.



(Hen, Luddy, and I had much deliberation on this car. This was almost Gilbert's car: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wZkgTL18Qh4/Ss1T2AXk5HI/AAAAAAAAAbo/aKTGCkeJhwg/s400/original-creepy-van.jpg )

“I’m fine, thank y—er…never mind, no, I’m not…”

He’d forgotten that his car had stopped working for whatever reason earlier that day and had had to resort to public transportation. Which had been fine earlier, but now he knew that it was probably crowded and would most likely remain that way for another hour at least.

Also, this way, he would get to be with Gilbert a little while longer, even if it was only several more minutes. “So yes, I do, as long as that’s fine with you.”

(Hahaha, oh god, fffff-)

With a grin, Gilbert flipped his keys in the air. "Well then, follow me if you please."

He headed with an excited pace to his classic car. There was considerable bounce in his step. '72 was a good year for Cameros. The albino grinned as he unlocked Matthew's side door and opened it for him with a light creek from the car.

"What do you think?" He ran his hand along the nearest racing stripe. "I like '70s Mustangs too, but none of them had back seats big enough..."

He nearly slammed his jaw shut. His eyes flicked up to Matthew to see if the younger man had heard.


(Finals…sorry for the delay. My life ended for a short while.)

Matthew followed Gilbert, watching the other’s enthusiasm as he talked of his car.

“Oh?” Matthew’s mouth quirked slightly, though he tried to hide it as best as he could so that the other man wouldn’t notice. The funny thing was, there was a good chance that he wouldn’t have picked up on it if Gilbert hadn’t paused. Even though there were many things he could have said in response to that, Matthew decided that it would be best to keep all of them to himself.

“I like it,” Matthew said with a smile that quickly changed to a small, annoyed frown before he continued, “And I’m a bit jealous, I bet your car’s much better than that piece of junk I got earlier this decade.” But then he remembered that he wouldn’t be where he was at the moment if his car didn’t suck and he smiled again, getting into the passenger’s seat.

Gilbert came back to himself, happy that Matthew didn't seem to get what he'd been talking about. He hurried over to the driver's side and unlocked his door to get in. He tapped the top of the car, speaking across it to the other male.

"What kind of car is it? I might be able to take a look at it." He'd had some help, but he'd nearly rebuilt this car himself after all. He'd even done a little of the body work. He looked across the black and red to Matthew, sort of hoping he would ask him for help, yet also hoping he would not. Gilbert would love to be the other man's mechanic hero and fix his car for him, but he also was afraid to admit he could fix it if he could not.

He blinked. That was stupid. Gilbert wasn't any less a man because he couldn't fix problems with cars as well as a trained mechanic. He shook his head. He blamed it on the "new relationship" stage. He wanted to look perfect to Matthew, and it was stupid.

Matthew shrugged. “Oh, it’s just a Camry, got it used. Sometimes it just dies on me and I usually take the train or bus or something until decides to work again,” he explained before his expression brightened a little, “But if you could fix it, it’d save me a lot of trouble.”

He had tried calling a mechanic, but usually by that time, the car suddenly started working again. Sometimes Matthew could have sworn that the car just hated him. Which, to someone who knew next to nothing about how to fix a car, was as logical an explanation as anything else.

“That is, only if you ever have time…” He would appreciate it whether his car was fixed or not but at the same time, he didn’t want to inconvenience Gilbert. Well, that, and he also was beginning to feel like he was receiving more than what he got in return and he felt a bit guilty.

Gilbert smiled, "For you? Anytime." Then, he looked at his wrist watch. "Well, if you have time after I take you home I could look it over."

He sat down in the car and shut the door behind him. He situated himself--very tactile in the way he prepared himself to drive. He started the engine which was a heavy rumble of a sound. Gilbert adjusted his rear view mirror, checking out his teeth before he put it back into place.

He called out to Matthew, grinning. "You can sit in the car now if you like."

“Hm? Oh right, right.” Matthew chuckled quietly and got into the passenger’s seat, closing the door behind him.

And, to be on the safe side, he opened and closed the door again just to make sure that he could. Because unfortunately, he was one of those people who occasionally embarrassed themselves by being unable to figure out how to open a door in someone else’s car.

“But really? You think you can do it tonight?” He beamed, “If you manage to fix it, I’ll love you forever.” Matthew silently cursed his awkward phrasing, but knew that if he tried to correct himself or made a big deal about it, he’d only be digging himself deeper.

Gilbert's eyes widens suddenly at what his date said. Were they still on a date?

He swallowed and nodded. "In that case, I'll fix it." He turned away so that he could pull out of the parking lot. He turned right onto the street, figuring that if he needed to turn around, with traffic it would be easier just to circle the block. He glanced over to Matthew, watching the blond curle bouncing as he failed to avoid a pothole.

"So, where to?"

“Well, if you take the next right, we should end up on the right road immediately, and then you can just take that for about…ten minutes, maybe? This whole thing should only take about twenty minutes, twenty-five tops.”

Matthew wondered idly about the kind of driver Gilbert was, and, judging from the great care he took toward his car, he highly doubted he was as reckless as certain other people he had had the pleasure of being in a car with.

He eyed the radio and reached his hand forward to turn it on, but hesitated. He suddenly had a very unpleasant flashback involving his brother, a Celine Dion CD and an extremely awkward three-hour car trip and decided that he should ask first.

“Do you mind if I…?”

Gilbert turned onto the street Matthew had indicated with the skill of an experienced driver. "Not at all, please..." He motioned to the car radio/CD player.

He sighed and settled into the drive, leaning his left arm against the driver’s side door while loosely gripping the wheel with his right. He glanced to Mattie across the car. "So...I'll take a look at the car, then get out of your hair..." It wasn't a question, but it was lacking the definition of a statement.

Matthew turned on the radio, adjusting the volume so that he could hear what Gilbert was saying. “Hm, alright,” Matthew said before the second part of what he said sunk in.

“Oh! Don’t go! I mean…you don’t need to go unless you need to…er…” Matthew decided to think before he opened his mouth to tried again; maybe then he’d actually start making sense, then. “What I mean is that you’re always welcome. For as long as you want, it’s no problem.”

Gilbert smiled. He really hadn’t been fishing for such an invitation, but it was good to know he could just hang out with Mattie if he liked, rather than rushing out of there after he looked at the car. Maybe they could just sit around and watch some TV or talk about books they’d read. H

He grimaced because he sounded like a chick, but he couldn’t deny spending time with the other male sounded good in almost any situation.

He glanced over to Matthew and watched that curl bob with the rhythm of the car again. He swallowed, remembering what that small hair did when touched, and remembering that Matthew had told him he could touch it when they were alone. He’d be alone at the blond’s house.

Car…the car. He’d look at the car, then they’d maybe get something to eat and watch some TV. Maybe they’d even find another hockey game on the tube and—

Gilbert winced as he felt his pants tighten. For the love of God, you’re just hanging out with him at his house!

He decided to keep his focus on the road as he continued the short drive.

Matthew watched Gilbert’s expression curiously, which seemed to change with whatever he happened to be thinking. He looked away when the other man looked over in his direction, pretending to be interested in the scenery outside, but looked back just in time to notice a peculiar expression flash past Gilbert’s face; one that made Matthew really want to know what he was thinking.

He soon got caught up in his own thoughts and eventually ended up wondering whether or not his house had been messy when he had left for the game. Matthew wouldn’t want anyone thinking that he lived in a sty and even though he wasn’t crazy organized, he usually tried his best to keep things tidy.

He wondered if there was a way that he could tactfully sneak in beforehand t—

“Oh! A right! Make a right here,” Matthew said, glad that he wasn’t too spaced out to miss the familiar sign out of the corner of his eye.

“Ehh?” Gilbert made an undignified sound as he whipped the car to the right just in time to take the indicated turn. He’d been so busy thinking about what he shouldn’t be thinking about—which (let’s be honest) he kept thinking about—that he’d totally spaced while driving. He was still driving accurately and safely, but his forethought had been on something completely different. He’d been driving much like how a cat might hunt idly in tall grass.

He saw a cozy looking house appear before them. “Oh, this is?” he asked, slightly surprised he’d never been to Matthew’s house before. He’d always liked the younger man, but he guessed their ages and their business didn’t always match up.

“That was sort of last minute—er, second, sorry.” Matthew said with a weak smile before looking at the house Gilbert had addressed. “Yeah, this is it. I know it’s not much, but…” He trailed off, shrugging.

The place he lived in was pretty small, though to be honest, he didn’t really need a lot of room. It wasn’t that much different from the other houses around it; they were all a similar size and though his home was much older, it wasn’t blaringly obvious.

“Would you want to look at the car now? Later? Either way’s fine.” It wasn’t an extremely pressing matter, after all.

Gilbert pulled the car into Matthew's drive, then turned the engine off. He looked out his window and thumbed to the small car alongside his own.

"That one? I can look at it now." He opened his door and stepped from his car while pocketing his keys. He moved quickly around to the passenger's side door and opened it before the blond got the chance to. He smiled at the younger man with a warm, but crooked grin.

“You can? That’s great, thank y—“ Matthew had reached over to the door handle only to find the door opened before him. He laughed lightly as he got out of the car, giving Gilbert an appreciative grin. The smile faded gradually when he looked to his own car and Matthew stared at it as if to say ‘ah, we meet again’.

He fished his keys out of his pocked and walked over to the Camry to make sure that the car hadn’t decided to work again while he was gone. And as patient as Matthew was, if that happened one more time when someone was helping him fix it, he’d just decide the car was a waste of effort and get rid of it.

Luckily (at least for the car, perhaps), the engine still didn’t start when Matthew turned the ignition.

Gilbert grinned and hoped he could in fact tell what the problem was. He popped hood by leaning past Matthew as slowly as humanly possible. He then walked around to the front of the car with a light saunter. He felt he should already be wiping grease off his hands just to be sexy. And shirtless. He should defiantly be shirtless.

On second-thought, mechanics usually weren't pale with clean fingernails. He signed to himself, then rolled up his sleeves.

Lifting the hood he looked into the car and spotted something. He motioned to Mattie while keeping his eyes under the hood.

"Can you try to start it again, dear?"

Gilbert froze. It just slipped out.

While Matthew watched Gilbert pop open the hood and walk around to the front of the car, he realized that his eyes were trailing where they shouldn't be trailing and—okay, this had to be deliberate. Though to be completely honest, he couldn’t say that he wasn’t enjoying the view.

Dear?

Well, that was definitely new. But judging from how Gilbert resembled a deer in headlights at the moment, Matthew figured that he shouldn't make it out to be such a big deal. He wasn't sure why it made him want to grin like an idiot, though.

"Sure thing." He made a second attempt at starting the car, and he wondered if Gilbert had noticed something that could be the cause of the problem.

Gilbert nodded at the car. It hadn't even started to crank, and he was pretty sure he knew why. He reached under the hood, moving his body more to lean over the driver's side of the front as he looked at what he was doing. He was bent at the hips and waist.

"Matthew, do you know anything about cars?" He grunted as he pulled what looked to be a cap out from under the hood.

He palmed it in his left hand as he reached in with his right and ran his fingers over something fairly central. "Yeah...it's your distributer rotor. It's not hard to fix, but the part might cost you around $70." He grumbled. "If you take it to a garage, they'll charge you more than twice as much."

He put the cap back on the distributer and pulled back and wiped his hands on his jeans, then regretted it instantly. He cringed at the light stains on his pants.



(I know nothing of cars sooo...suspension of disbelief please?)

“Is that all it is? In that case, I think I can handle it,” he said. Though to be honest, this was the first time he had even heard of a distributor rotor and probably wouldn’t have guessed that it belonged in a car if Gilbert hadn’t brought it up.

But Matthew felt that it would be too much to ask anything more of Gilbert; he was the person he was dating, after all, not his personal mechanic. Besides, he had said it wasn’t a difficult fix, so Matthew figured he could do it. Maybe.

“Thank you so much,” Matthew said, smiling as he stepped out of the car. “We can go inside now if you like—er, do you think that stain’s going to come out?”

(haha, I have negative car knowledge, it’s all good.)