So I found your bird... [Prussia]

It didn't take too long for Gilbert to reply to his text, so as Matthew pulled out some nice scrubbing soap- "Yes Kuma I know you don't like this stuff, but once again, you got yourself into this mess, eh. Honestly, you might be older than I am and you still manage to do this to yourself."- he picked up his phone to see how Gilbert had responded. Hopefully, he found the picture of Gilbird stuck in Kuma's fur as funny as Matthew did- with any luck, Matthew could keep that as blackmail over his guardian bear for a long, long time.

Gil's message made Matthew grin slightly, though it didn't entirely make sense to him. Yao? It wasn't as though Matthew had a great fondness for the man at the moment, but he wasn't entirely certain what kidnapping Gilbert's yellow bird would do in Yao's favor. At least he hadn't already charged ahead with that ridiculous conclusion- he could have gotten hurt. Unlike Matthew, Gil was very, very bad at being unnoticeable, seeming to lack a quiet bone in his body. Matthew didn't mind. Even if he was loud and ridiculous, Matthew also had proof that he was a caring man, and that was what mostly mattered.

He was also amused that Gilbert had just taken this as an excuse to invite himself over. Matthew supposed he ought to make sure he actually had the beer Gilbert wanted. Alternately, just stick with what he had- Matthew didn't drink alone and didn't have plans to have guests over, so he didn't have much in the house, but it would save money to just keep what he already had. Besides, drinking in the house was significantly less fun than hitting the bars, so if Gilbert declared Matthew's beer unsatisfying, they could do that instead and possibly have a great deal more fun with it.

A few days with Gilbert would do Matthew well, he thought. Gil could be loud and exhausting, but he was also fun, another Nation to hang out with, and would show up without any expectations of the war hanging over their heads. Maybe he could rope Gilbert into some hockey. Last time that had happened, it had been fun- well, for Matthew, at least. Alternately, they could just relax, though Gil wasn't much of one for relaxing by the traditional definition. Whatever they wound up doing, as long as nothing urgent came up, Matthew figured he could make a gap for in his schedule.

For now, though, he had to clean up Kuma and Gilbird. He sighed, grabbing the water and dish soap (a surprisingly good fur and feathers cleaner, Mathew had found). Gilbird chirped. Kuma slumped over, resigned to being cleaned up.

---

Ten hours later, Gilbird was tweeting around the guest room Gil normally liked to stay in, pecking at some food Matthew had grabbed at the store for him. His feathers were still somewhat poofy from his bath, and Matthew thought it looked adorable. Kuma had given up on causing mischief with the bird for now, and was instead lying in the sun in the kitchen, looking up at the cabinet. He could, in fact, climb up there if he wanted to, and probably get whatever it was that he was looking for with only a decently sized mess. Matthew had just already mentioned something about taking away syrup privileges for a while.

Matthew himself was trying to figure out when, exactly, Gilbert was going to show up- the texts had suggested that the man was about to immediately get on a plane, completely on a whim with little planning, which was exactly like him. The speed at which he'd arrive probably depended on exactly how many people decided to stop and talk to him or demand to know where he was going or something. If Gilbert had mostly gotten his way, though, he ought to show up just about...

Matthew heard a loud bang on the door. He grinned to himself, walking to the front door and opening it as Gilbert shouted something about Gilbird, grinning at the red-eyed man. It had been a while, honestly. "Gilbird's in your room," Matthew said. "I got him some birdseed. I'd forgotten how picky he was about some of that stuff." He paused. "It's good to see you. So, how long exactly is 'a few days'?"