Matthew didn't eat his ice cream as fast as Gilbert did. He just kept going at the pace he was at. He didn't mind that it was dripping, to busy enjoying the taste rather than rushing through it. It wasn't long before he finished as well. "Me too.." he agreed. Even though they had been fighting earlier, it was still nice at this moment.

For a minute, Gilbert fell into silence. He tried to kid himself that it felt pleasant and it did at first, but the silence stretched too long. He ran a hand through his hair, glancing over at Matthew again. "So...are we cool now?" All the tension of earlier had eased away so he didn't want to bring it up again, but he also didn't know what else to say.

Matthew sighed quietly. "Yeah.. We're cool now.." he agreed. Even though Gilbert didn't really apologize. He just didn't want to start another argument with the man. He was in to good of a mood from finding that flavor of ice cream. Plus, he didn't want to ruin their friendship over this.

"Ah, good. I'm strangely happy right now." It was a little strange and Gilbert would admit that. He still didn't know where to go with this friendship or the way he felt about Matthew, but at least they weren't fighting. Maybe if he asked, Gilbert would be willing to talk more honestly too. For now he just contented himself with the sunshine. "Do you want to do anything else while we're out?"

Matthew smiled slightly when Gilbert said he was happy. That was good; he wanted him to be happy. "I'd like to, but I can't. I have to work an a huge report for school." he told him, regret about it clear in his voice. He didn't want to do schoolwork right now. For once, he felt that it didn't matter. But it was a huge part of his grade for that class, so he couldn't ignore it.

Gilbert made a face, not the least bit envious of Matthew's work. "Oh...well, I should leave you to that then. That's super utterly lame. If you don't wanna do it, maybe you should just not." He laughed a little, showing he wasn't that serious. He didn't mean to sound like a bad influence, but he probably would ditch his homework in the same position.

"I have to. It's a major part of my grade." Matthew told him. He stood and stretched, not really ready to go but knowing he had to. "So.. We can hang out again sometime, right?" he asked, looking down to where Gilbert was still sitting. He had a good time with the albino, disregarding their earlier fight.

Gilbert nodded his head. "Yeah, we can hang if you want to. Just send me a text when you're free. I ain't got no life besides work." True enough, he didn't. His own schedule probably looked bleak next to Matthew's. He pulled himself to his feet and brushed some bits of grass off of him. "So, see ya later?"

Matthew gave Gilbert a smile and nodded. "Yeah. I'll be sure to text you later." he told him. He gave him a small wave as he turned and walked off. He walked slowly back to his apartment, wanting to put off getting to work as long as he could. He was going to be most likely working on it all night anyway.

Gilbert stayed outside for longer despite the sun before he headed back himself, figuring there was no point in staying. At least they talked though.

~~

It had been three days since Lukas went out drinking with their cousin and some friends and Emil was starting to think he missed something. He couldn't put his finger on it because he never asked, but he'd missed something. Making sure his face was schooled into the appropriate amount of 'don't care', he knocked on his brother's door. "Brother? Are you busy now?"

Lukas was in his office at the time, staring at his computer, but looked up when he heard Emil speak. "Not doing anything important. What do you need?" He asked, turning so that he was giving his brother his full attention. It didn't matter what he was doing. If the other needed him for something, he'd drop it instantly for him.

Emil sauntered into the room and leaned one hip against the computer desk to glance at Lukas' work. "Nothing much. Just wanted to know if you were working." He looked from the computer screen to Lukas while trying not to look like he was. His older brother didn't sound off, so why did he keep filling like he missed something?

"Just doing a little bit of work... Mostly just thinking." Lukas responded. He kept his eyes on Emil. He could tell that his little brother was trying to see what he was working on, but didn't call him out on it. Just minimized the page he was on so the other couldn't see it. "Was there anything else you needed?" he asked.

Emil frowned inside when Lukas minimized the page. He crossed his arms and gave his brother a little look. "Why can't I see it?" He didn't want to seem immature, but a hint of whine still seeped into his voice. "I want to know what you've been up to lately. You never tell me stuff like this," he complained.

"I'll tell you when I'm finished with it. Not before." Lukas told him. "I'm almost done with it. You'll be the first person I show it to, alright?" he asked, trying to compromise with him about this. Of course, Emil would be the first person he was going to show anyway. But his brother didn't need to know that.

"Yeah? What exactly are you working on though?" Emil asked. He felt a lot less pouty after what Lukas said though. He felt special being the first to see whatever it was, but that didn't mean he would go and announce that. "I was worried there was something going on with you."

Lukas was silent for a moment, thinking. He wasn't sure he wanted to Emil to know yet what he was working on, but he didn't like lying to him. "There is nothing going on with me. If there was, I would tell you." he assured him. Though there was no way he was going to tell him what had happened when he was almost mugged. "... And if you really want to know what I'm working on, I want you to call me Big Brother first. Like you did when we were younger." He missed those times. Things were so much simpler.

Emil eyed Lukas with a little bit of suspicion. As his little brother, he could tell when the other said something off. Emil couldn't quite say it was an outright lie though. He just wasn't sure. That line of thought evaporated the second Lukas said what he did next. Emil turned a little pink and pulled away from his resting place. "I-I don't wanna! I don't need to call you brother!" he stammered with embarrassment. He was seventeen. There was no way he'd act like a cute kid anymore.

Lukas kept his face completely blank so that Emil wouldn't be able to detect his lie. Keeping his face like that wasn't hard. He did it all the time at work. "Why not? Are you embarrassed by me?" he asked, his tone slightly hurt. He didn't want to admit it, but it did hurt whenever Emil would act like that. What was so wrong with acknowledging that they were brothers? "Is it something I'm doing wrong that embarrasses you?"

Emil lowered his eyes at the tone Lukas took. He really didn't know why his brother had to keep pressing at things like this. It was annoying. "I'm not embarrassed, but I still don't need to call you 'big bro' do I? I can do whatever I want!" He stuffed his hands in his pockets, the picture of a rebellious teenager. He wanted to leave the room because if Lukas kept pressing, he'd probably give in.

"You're certainly acting embarrassed." Lukas stated. He looked Emil over. He really didn't understand his brother. He closed his laptop so that the account will lock so that the other couldn't mess with it before standing. "I'm going out. Wouldn't want to embarrass someone who refuses to acknowledge that we're family." With that, he turned and left the room, intending to go to the nearest bar for a drink.

Emil stared in shocked silence for a second before he went chasing after Lukas. "Hey! I'm not done talking to you! You're not going out drinking now are you? It's not even that late!" he complained. How could his brother leave so quickly after they started talking? It wouldn't be fair if Lukas went drinking because then he couldn't follow and continue this...conversation they were having. It wasn't much of a conversation though. He grabbed Lukas' arm. "Wait!"

"That was the plan." Lukas said in response to Emil's question about him going drinking. He knew that his brother wouldn't be able to follow him into the bar. That was one reason he wanted to go. He stopped though when the other grabbed his arm and turned to look at him. "What?" he asked, voice and face blank.

Emil stared hard as if that would say what he didn't want to vocalize. In the end, he couldn't stop himself though. "Don't leave, bro." Lukas seemed to always be leaving, but maybe that was his perception and he knew his brother was older and had work and a completely different schedule than him. He couldn't fault that, but the house got boring when it was just him and Mr. Puffin. Turning away, he stammered, knowing he did cave and call Lukas 'brother'.

Lukas stared at Emil for a moment. Bro wasn't what he had wanted, but it would do. He turned and pulled the other into a hug. "How can I possibly stay mad at you?" he asked. He knew that with his job, he wasn't around the house very much. He also enjoyed his job, despite hating his manager, and it allowed him to be able to buy the things Emil needed/wanted. Though he made a mental note to try to be home more for his brother and not spend the time he was home locked in his office working on his project.