Matthew watched as the albino interacted with the dog with a small smile on his face. He watched him go, not noticing anything else around him until he felt Alfred pulling him out of the store.

"Let's go to lunch!" he exclaimed, dragging his protesting brother behind him. He really didn't like that albino. And he didn't like the way Matthew had been looking at him. He would have to distract him so that he didn't think about him anymore.

Since Ludwig wasn't home yet, Gilbert decided to set the scene. And by that, he meant putting the dog on his brother's bed where he was sure to have a heart attack, but a good one of course. Then he set about uploading ten different pictures of the dog to his blog. It helped him keep his mind off of the day's events. He really needed to stop seeing Matthew because it was making him messed up, like the empty house just felt that much more empty. Maybe he should have invited the dog onto his own bed...or consider making friends. Maybe.

Ludwig didn't return to the house for another hour. He went inside and went straight up to his room to drop off his stuff from school. Opening the door, he froze seeing what was on his bed. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He took a few steps into the room and dropped his books on his desk before going over to the bed. He hesitantly reached a hand out and lightly petted the dog. Feeling that it was real, he started petting it for real.

Gilbert grinned as he listened with his ear pressed to the wall. No cries of undying love or surprise? He decided to go investigate. Finding his brother petting the dog, a grin split Gilbert's face. "Guess what? I bought you a dog!" He flung his arms out in a grand gesture. "Awesome right? I know you wanted one."

"This is quite the surprise." Ludwig told him, still petting the dog as he turned to his brother. "I thought having a pet was expensive. You didn't have to spend your money on me." he added, not sure how much was spent on the dog, but sure that it was more that they should have spent on it.

"Ah well..." He couldn't exactly say he didn't set out to buy a dog. "I adopted him from a shelter. Cause I was just...this guy...anyway. I had a little extra money this week," Gilbert said, trying to cover up what he almost revealed. "You get to name him! Aw, he totally likes you too!" He flopped down on his brother's bed and grabbed hold of the dog. "Isn't this the face of awesome?" It was hard to tell if he meant the dog or himself.

Ludwig was glad that if Gilbert was going to get a dog, he got it from a shelter. Those dogs always deserved homes before any from a breeder. He sat on the bed next to his brother and started petting the dog again. "Ja.. He is very... cute." he said, thinking of what word he wanted to use. He spent another moment thinking of a good name. "How about... Aster for a name?" He asked, wanting the other's opinion.

As if Gilbert would ever say no to anything Ludwig said. "Of course it's great! With just you, me, and Aster, we'll be great. Don't need anyone else..." He stared at the ceiling before he sat up and fixed his expression. "You keeping your grades up? Come on, tell me about your day!" He often didn't ask such things, but he was feeling lonelier than usual.

Ludwig was starting to be a bit concerned about Gilbert. He didn't seem like himself. But he wasn't sure if he should push the issue or not. "Ja. I'm at the top of my class. My classes are pretty normal; what you'd expect them to be. I had lunch with Feliciano today and that was good." He stated, listing off things that had happened that day without really thinking about them.

Gilbert made a face at the mention of Feliciano. It's not that he disliked the guy. He was all sorts of cute and sunshiney and great to have around, but he also stole away what time he had with Ludwig. "Ah that's cool. You always were so smart. I knew you'd do great in school! Someone in this family has to aspire to something," he added with a pat to Ludwig's shoulder.

Ludwig didn't notice the face Gilbert made at the mention of Feliciano. He attention was focused on the dog. But when his brother spoke, his eyes went to him. "Don't count yourself out. You are a good person, Gilbert. You can do great things with your life. I'm sure of it." he told him.

Ludwig could say that because he didn't know where Gilbert worked. He wanted to keep it that way too. It would be embarrassing to admit at the least. "Aw, you're a great little brother!" he exclaimed as he though his arms around Ludwig. He didn't know how much he believed it, but he liked to hear it. Sure Gilbert was smart, but he didn't seem all that well suited for the world. "But you know you're the only one who thinks I'm a good person."

"I'm sure that isn't true. Surely your friends think you're a good person." Ludwig said. He was surprised when Gilbert suddenly threw his arms around him. But he didn't push him away. He hesitantly returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around his brother. Not many people hugged him, mainly Feliciano, so he really wasn't used to doing it in return.

Friends...yeah. Gilbert obviously didn't share details of his life all that often, even with his brother. "Of course. Yeah." Gilbert let out a little laugh and pulled away, finally vacating his brother's bed. "Because I'm so totally awesome. If I wanted to make friends, I totally could!" He stalked out of the room with his head held high. "I don't get why you'd want them though."

"You're the one who told me how important it was to have friends." Ludwig reminded him. He thought back to the night Gilbert had told him that. It was something he had always taken to heart, like he did with all the things his brother told him. He was surprised that the albino apparently wasn't taking his own advice.

"Uh..." Gilbert stopped in the middle of the hallway, utterly speechless. He had said that before hadn't he? But he always told Ludwig all the best advice, all the things that would ensure Ludwig came out with a better life than him, but Gilbert didn't feel any real need to listen to his own advice. He glanced over his shoulder. "Don't you feel you're sometimes better off without them? Considering our father," he asked. The drunk wasted away all their money and Gilbert knew he was the only person he could trust to keep everything working.

"Never. I couldn't imagine my life without them." Ludwig responded, not even needing to think about it. He was glad to have the two friends he had. Kiku was strange but a good person and he couldn't imagine anybody replacing Feliciano in his life. "I don't see what our father has to do with whether or not we should have friends. If anything, he should have pushed us to be better men than he was."

Ludwig could be so reasonable, but of course, Gilbert was the one who made everything bearable for Ludwig at the time. He was that sort of brother, the one who hid how close they came to being evicted at times. Relationships brought stress not ease, but then, he'd never had anything like a relationship with anyone besides Ludwig. Gilbert ran a hand through his hair, musing it up. "Maybe you're right..."

"You should try to let someone in. It doesn't have to be a lot of people. Just one and you'll see how much your life will change. I know mine did." Ludwig told him. It wasn't very often he was the one giving advice, but he felt this was something Gilbert needed in his life. So he was happy to encourage this.

Gilbert gave his brother another quick hug and muttered a thanks. "I'll try. If it's you who says it, I'll try." With that, he said some nonsense about ordering pizza for dinner before disappearing to his room. Once he'd fallen on his bed, he let himself wonder over this. But could he even make friends at this point? He'd already screwed up all his relationships past the point of repair. He didn't even know if he could do it.

Ludwig watched his brother leave the room before laying on his bed with a sigh. Astor snuggled up close to him and he pulled the dog to his chest before he started petting him. "I wish there was something I could do to help him. But what?" He asked himself, thinking. He figured he'd need more advice on this matter and made a mental note to ask Feliciano when he saw him the next day.

Feliciano hummed as he skipped down the little sidewalk. The sun shone and everything looked so green and blue and wonderful outside. Ludwig told him to come to the little wooden bridge in the park at exactly one. He was only ten minutes late, so he figured he could dally a little more and picked a flower. When he came into sight of the bridge, he waved his hand in the air with a loud cry. "Ludsy!! Good morning!"

Ludwig walked with Astor through the park. The dog was so excited, walking ahead of him and sniffing everything. He couldn't help but smile slightly as he walked. He soon arrived at the spot where he was going to meet Feliciano. As he stood, he checked his watch, noting that he arrived exactly on time. As expected. And, just as expected, the Italian wasn't here yet. He sighed and waited. It was over ten minutes later when he heard the other's voice. "You're late, Feli." he informed him, turning to face him. He meant to be stern, but his voice had a fond tone to it.

Feliciano pouted before he leaned up to place his little purple flower in Ludwig's hair behind his ear. "No I'm not! You said one right?" Clearly he did not view 'on time' in quite the same way, but even Ludwig's fail attempt to be stern didn't phase him. Feliciano's eyes caught sight of the dog and he dropped down with a squeal of delight. "Who's this guy?!" He let the dog give him a kiss right on the mouth and just laughed over it.

"It's after one." Ludwig muttered, knowing Feliciano didn't care about being there exactly on the dot. He didn't say anything about the other putting the flower in his hair, not even bothering with fighting it. "This is Astor. Gilbert bought him for me yesterday." he informed him, reaching down to pet the dog, a small smile forming on his face. Astor's tail wagged quickly, enjoying the attention.