AUTHOR'S NOTES (1/2): Ever since I made this headcanon that has to do with Vincent and his scissors, I've wanted to write a scenario in which Gilbert finds out. As I thought more about it, the more violent it was growing to be in my head. I was going to originally name this fic, "lobelia", which can imply malevolence in the language of flowers, then, "Hide(by RED) came on and I matched the lyrics to Gil and Vince and Sablier. XD On the other hand, along with the whole idea of my headcanon, self harm is a VERY serious and symbolic thing to me. I say this because I myself was a self harmer for about a year…? Anyway, rated M mostly for coarse language, brothers, and VIOLENCE. :U All things aside, enjoy the fanfic~!

HIDE: A Gilbert/Vincent Fanfiction.

"Closed my eyes, these voices stay,

Haunting me, I can't escape,

For you, just you, time will always wait

while I throw away what I can't replace"

"It'd be all for you."

Gilbert and Vincent are the types of brothers that are connected, yet far apart. Both are dualists, just as in a game of chess. For the Nightrays, this is how the family works. The players keep fighting, and then the game goes on until the king has collapsed. Then it's just over in a blink of an eye. However being that the two were constantly faced with conflict, they had more or less forgotten about the, "King". Nearly a stalemate, but not quite, being that there was still some kind of division with the two.

Most Often, this was how Vincent and Gilbert were around each other. Connected, but still divided by a secret. Two knights, fighting against each other, caught in the equivalent of a stalemate, however. Not that it mattered now what kind of secret lay within though, since they were just going to meet up now.

Vincent was in his room. Scissors in hand, he began to draw the blade along his forearm. Digging in deeper and deeper with each second. Blood. Blood starting to seep from the new cut. Staining his hands, his shirt, and starting to slowly run down his arm… beginning to drip it on the floor. As Vincent attempted to wipe it off with his glove, it only made more of a mess. Clenching his fists, he saw the bloody image in the mirror. "Erase my existence."

Thoughts swirled around in the raven's mind, getting louder and louder, more intense. Nagging at the back of his brain to that of a cacophony. Just inches now from the mahogany door that divided the two. Right as his hand was reaching for the doorknob, Gilbert began to get flustered again. Closer. Closer. and then…

Just before he placed his hand on the brass doorknob, Gilbert heard the noise of shattered glass. Breaking into a million pieces, all causing Gilbert's calm to snap, or at least what was left of the calm. He then pounded on the door and yelled out to the man on the other side. "Vincent…. are you alright in there? Vince!"

While Gilbert was flustered and on the verge of panic on the other side, chills ran down Vincent's spine. For that it was at that very moment he heard Gilbert's voice that his breath was almost taken away. He froze in the act. Scissors clutched in his hand, blades first, they were slicing into Vincent's hand. Harder. Deeper. Deeper. Slicing past the gloves and into the very flesh of the skin. As he was still frozen in his tracks, he was pondering upon whether to open up and keep the secret only to bring more pain, or deny it until the walls come crashing in. Vincent, out of impulse, his his hands behind his back and pulled down the sleeve, now moist with his own blood. "Vincent, answer me! are you even listening?" Gilbert shouted out to the other side. Then removing his hands from the door to see Vincent poke his head out of a crack in the door.

"Yes, Gil?", Vincent chirped. He was much more cheerful then he usually was, or at least should have been. Opening the door to its full capacity, Vincent then beckoned his brother to come in. Vincent's eyes met Gilbert's.

Vincent's eyes. Two irises of gold and wine red. So mysterious, so alluring. While his lips displayed a sign of welcoming, those eyes were full of trickery, and nearly had the words, "Keep Out" written across them. Vincent then averted his gaze, making his way over to the wider chair. Vincent then sat down on it, as he looked over to Gilbert, who was just now entering Vincent's room. "Come in, come in!" Vincent said cheerily to Gil, now making a signal with his hands to sit down. His hands almost drew Gilbert in. Agile in his movements, Vincent poised himself on the chair, in a stance which he was nearly ready to attack. Strategic as Vincent was, that wasn't abnormal for him.

"Er…. Vince, what the hell did you do…?" Gilbert spoke. Looking across the room, he was stuck in what looked like the sight of a hurricane. Vincent's brows then fell. Well that wasn't very nice, brother!", Vincent replied, in a sarcastic kind of tone.

Gilbert finally sat down upon the chair, and began to study the setting they were in.

Before them stood a table with none other than a chess board. A game dividing two players from one another. A game of trickery, secrets, and pure strategy. Nimble fingers going for a pawn, just to carelessly toss it back in search for the black knight. "Well, nothing is certain yet, but…" Vincent picked up, his focus still on the chessboard. Gilbert however, was staring down to Vincent's slender hands, which were now fumbling with the chess piece. A game of chess was really what all of this was. The "Game" would all be over soon. "Vince, you seem a bit"… Gilbert began. "Hm?" Vincent said, quite puzzled in which Gil meant by it.

"What could you possibly mean?"

"Oh, perhaps the sound of glass breaking, how you've hardly even looked me in the eyes, I mean come on!" As Gilbert still searched around, there was then something about him that nearly took his breath away. Blood. Scattered across the chess board, trailing all along the floor, but still tracing back to Vincent. The crimson mess was splattered and stained all along Vincent's wrists and hands. Blood smeared all along the room. The room which had now been adorned with shards of shattered glass all across the floor. A reminiscence of it still lay upon Vincent's face where his hand was rested. Gilbert was wide-eyed, shocked. No wonder he had been acting so abnormal. "Vincent, don't tell me that you—" Gilbert whisper-shouted at Vincent. "Gilbert, nothing's wrong! What could possibly be—"

Then it hit Vincent. Gilbert knew. He KNEW about the cuts. "Shit".

Vincent had started to run off, but the other man was too quick. Gripping onto Vincent's left arm, Gil was able to stop him right in the act. "Gil, no!", Vincent protested, just as Gilbert gained control of him. Gilbert, sliding his hand down Vincent's arm, was trying to make out what lay beneath the cloth that was now drenched in Vincent's own blood. His grip loosened, just enough to pull off his sleeve. Now suddenly gaining grip to both arms, he drew the sleeves back to find a scene that robbed him of breath.

All along Vincent's arms lay dozens upon dozens of scars, scratches, cuts, scrapes, and scissor cuts….. all engraved into Vincent's skin, one by one. Red and white markings that were embedded into the very flesh. Upon the rest lay the new cut that had crossed over the rest of them, now staining the rest of the arm with blood. Gilbert drew his slender fingers along the arm, making Vincent flinch with anxiety. It's not like Vincent had never felt pain from a cut before, but it was rather the one who had touched it in the first place. Yes, it was so much more than that. It was Gilbert, the one person in the world who Vincent cared most about, and he just found out Vincent's biggest secret. The scene had rendered both of them speechless, especially Vincent. As each marking was made out, Gilbert grew paler. While he was in a loss for words, the man in front of him was just… empty."What… happened to you..?"

"It's nothing of concern". That's what Vincent tried to say, but the words just wouldn't come out to be loud enough. "Don't be such an asshole about this Vincent! Do you even realize how much harm you've put on yourself? Gilbert still went on, but the the two looked each other in the eyes. Vincent, such an eccentric man on the outside…. but all Gilbert saw in that moment of time was pure anguish. "Vincent…."

Gilbert soon found himself putting his own bloodstained hand to the side of his brother's face, drawing his fingers along Vincent's jawline. That however wasn't a new scar. Ever since the two had me, Gilbert noticed a scar along there. Ever since the two reunited ten years ago. But now Gilbert knew. He knew where it came from. As his fingers went down further, that's when the unexpected really jumped out. Right at the chin, Vincent then returned to consciousness. Out of nowhere, Vincent slapped away the intruding hand. The touch that caressed him was so familiar that it scared the life out of him. The man that he loved so dearly now became a stranger, because it was something different that got to him. Something strange…. Heavily breathing, Vincent's shoulders began to bunch up, as he put his head in his hands. Taking just a few steps back, haunting memories resurfaced in his mind.

"You can't tell anybody about this."

"Shut Up."

"Once you break this promise, the magic will become a curse…"

"I said shut up!"

Vincent then had his head buried in his bloody hands, starting to sink to the floor. Gilbert took him by the back, scared out of his mind of what was going to go over next. "Vincent….. Vincent!!"

The man was shaking, body clenched in pure fear, as he had gone from denial of his self harm, straight to a state of dementia.

"And then there will be no one to save your brother anymore".

Vincent was now completely absorbed into his memories. Now completely overtaken by them. With all the strength he could muster, Gilbert yanked Vincent up by the arm, grabbed hold of his shoulders, and shook him.

"VINCENT!", Gilbert screamed out. In a mere second, Vincent jolted back to reality. Releasing the tension, stabilizing his stance on the floor. Looking down to his hands and all down his now bare, scarred arms, all he could do after is look back to Gilbert. Now putting a trembling hand on Gilbert's shoulder, he whispered,

"You don't understand Gil... the tragedy... even this… I did it... all for you."

"Bullshit! What are you even talking about?"

Gilbert then took Vincent's hand into his, clutching on to it. "Are you really that much of a fool to even consider doing this much damage to yourself all this time?" Gilbert was now on the verge of anger.

"Unbelievable."

Soon, out of nowhere, Vincent started to slump once more to the ground. It had been no wonder since Vincent lost quite a bit of blood. Gilbert, then taking hold of Vincent, walked him over to the chair, now sitting side by side. They both sat in silence, and it wasn't overly long until Vince regained consciousness. "Gilbert, I'm so sorry—"

"Vincent. Just promise me that you'll never do something like this again for me, or for anyone else." Gilbert spoke out to Vincent. Both of the brothers exchanged looks. Vincent on the other hand, simply smiled and said one thing. "Anything for you, brother."

"I will run and hide until memories fade away,

and I will leave behind a love so strong"

-

AUTHOR'S NOTES (2/2):

So. That's all there is to it. XD I can't believe I finished a story for once! I can say I did a decent job! I myself can have a sense of what Vincent was feeling. Going to the extreme all because you care about someone so was a vent fanfic originally, but then turning out to be so much more. Disclaimer. I do not own Pandora Hearts or the nightrays. No two brothers have ever captured my heart more than Gil and Vince. Also I do not own the lyrics, they belong to my favorite band ever, which is RED. I regret nothing naming a fanfic after one of their songs, because to me, the lyrics represent the GilVince relationship so fucking well. Aaaand, even though I write M fanfics, I am only a teenager, so I don't have the most writing experience either. Some grammatical errors, I'm sure of it.. o3o Also I have no talent in the writing category, so my usage of words and writing tools kinda sucks. Oh well. Hopefully it's… acceptable? Also I want to point out that when Gil touched Vince's jawline, it reminded him of the lady who told him how to open the abyss. The memories resurfaced with Ada as well at Yura's mansion, but it was different with Gil since he's the one Vince did it for. This is also a symbol of the headhunter and a connection with demios, even if Vincent's scar is very faint there. Only Gil knows about THAT, because they grew up together. Vincent is a very, sadistic, masochistic man if I say so myself. Tragedies have a very heavy emotional toll on people, and this would be his way that he still deals with it. Vincent will never forget the pain, because it's engraved into his skin. Also I'm not entirely sure that Vince has a mirror in his room. When he destroyed that, he, "Destroyed his image", just as he wants to do with his existence.