Gilbert stared at the dark ceiling above.
He couldn't sleep.
Of course he couldn't.
How could he, knowing that right across the hall, a little monster was plotting to ruin his very existence? To make his life miserable? Scratch that-More miserable.
First he had to deal with a new dad, a stupid stick-up-the-ass motherfucker. A literal motherfucker, it would seem. Apparently Gilbert's threats of castration by plastic spoon towards his step-father were all for naught. Laughable, the threats of a nine year old.
Mom wasn't just fat, Gilbert had later learned. Oh, no Mom was pregnant. She'd been diseased-carrying around some alien life form that had absolutely no business being inside her. One that made her fat and sick and horribly cranky sometimes.
And she was happy about it?
Gilbert didn't understand. It was like she wanted another kid. They were just fine, just the two of them, without the new dad or a little sibling to steal all of the attention.
Gilbert had done just fine on his own, for years now. He didn't need some brat coming in and ruining everything.
"You'll be fine, Gilbert." they said
"It's a boy, Gilbert." they said
"You'll like him, Gilbert." they said
"We named him Ludwig, Gilbert." they said
"You'll be such a nice big brother, Gilbert." Only mother had said this part.
Ugh.
He covered his ears and rolled over as another earsplitting shriek carried from across the hall.
It was awake again. He was awake again. The spawn of Satan himself. Ludwig.
When a full ten minutes had passed and the only blessed silence to be had were the too few precious moments that the monster decided to suck a breath into its tiny lungs, when Gilbert finally decided no one was going to actually deal with the troublesome child, he thought to resolve the issue by putting everyone out of their misery and just smothering the infant. The pleasing thought crossed his mind for only a moment, but he felt guilty all the same.
So the albino clambered out of bed and quietly scuttled across the hall into the nursery. The boy dug his toes into the soft carpet as he stepped into the room that hadn't been his since infancy. The walls had been freshly painted a coat of sickening blue that was easily illuminated by the fluorescent nightlight. Stuffed animals covered nearly every inch of free space available, and Gilbert nearly tripped on a cream colored stuffed bear, a gift from uncle Roderich no doubt, as he neared the white crib. The wailing had stopped when he entered, now replaced with an almost eerie silence.
Cautiously, he approached the crib. Peering over the side, he stared down at the infant in poorly concealed animosity.
The baby was swaddled in a light blue blanket, tufts of soft blonde hair sticking up every which way as the child tossed and turned restlessly. Tiny fists waved through the air in an almost angry, beseeching manner as if the tyke were determined to make his displeasure known to the entire household, further, aside from the screaming.
At three weeks old, Ludwig was a tiny, frail thing.
Gilbert remembered when they'd first brought it home. He'd stayed at Antonio's house during the actual birth, of course. There was no way in Hell he was willing to witness that miracle of life. Mother had plastered on that smile of hers, the one that used to be only for him, and she'd held out the infant for inspection. Gilbert had taken one look at the pink, chubby thing that smelled of barf and fled the room.
Now, curious, Gilbert crept closer for a better look. The baby yawned, showing off a mouth of pink gums, sniffling in such a pathetic way that Gilbert almost-almost felt bad for it. The infant shoved one of those chubby little fists into its mouth and sucked contentedly.
"Ew... Hey, get that outta your mouth. Look," Gilbert reached into the crib and reached for a discarded pacifier, probably the cause of such discord, "try this." The silver-haired boy took Ludwig's hand and placed the pacifier in his mouth. Gilbert's lips twitched upwards in an involuntary grin as the child suckled on the pacifier eagerly, bright, intelligent blue eyes looking up at the boy.
Gilbert raised a brow, "What? It's me, brat. I'm your big bro." He opened his arms in a dramatic gesture.
The baby blinked laconically, sucking on the pacifier noisily.
"You're kinda stupid." The albino informed, pulling the blanket to the child's chin. "You just eat, cry and crap. Can't you do anything else?" He asked, as if he'd receive an answer.
Ludwig grasped his brother's finger tightly in his small hand, pushing the plastic pacifier from his mouth to replace it with the digit.
In carefully concealed fascination Gilbert watched as a hand that was dwarfed by his own touched him. His little brother touched him for the first time.
The magic was gone as soon as his finger felt wet.
"Oi-!" Snatching his hand away, the boy scowled down at the baby who peered up with innocence, oblivious to what he'd done. Gilbert wiped the
spittle off on his shirt, shaking his head in disdain.
One, two, three beats of silence and the little monster sucked in a lung full of air in preparation to begin wailing again.
"Wait!" The youth shouted in a vain attempt to stop the sound that came anyway.
Fat, salty tears rolled down Ludwig's red cheeks. His small hands clenched at his blankets weakly as his legs kicked and Gilbert gazed at the babe, loathing the child.
Finally, he reached into the crib and plucked the infant out, holding his brother in his arms carefully, like he'd been taught. The newborn did not cease his lament, even as Gilbert cradled the tyke.
"Look, you." The boy said sharply, eyeing his sibling crossly as the child abruptly ceased. "Stop your crying. You've been keeping Mom up all week and she's exhausted. I'm exhausted. You'll get fed in the morning, your diaper will be changed and there are no monsters coming for you. If there ever were, I'd scare them away. I'm your big bro and I'm supposed to take care of you. Mom said so. So shut up." He thought himself to be very grownup just then.
If Ludwig understood a single word of it he gave no sign as he stared up at the elder uncomprehendingly. His eyes looked to Gilbert's hand, the one that had been placed on his chest to steady him and reached for his finger again. Sighing, the albino allowed it, cringing as the digit was once again placed in the baby's mouth. If it shut him up, why not?
Glancing back, Gilbert sat himself down in the white wicker rocking chair in the corner of the room and waited for the infant to fall asleep again. Idly, his foot pushed off the floor and rocked the pair, more for himself than Ludwig's sake. The motion set him at ease; this was the same chair Mother had rocked him in. It was impossible that he could ever remember the action, but he felt safe all the same.
All the while those sky blue eyes, already so vivid and lively watched him.
"I won't like it," Gilbert muttered, "but I'll protect you. I'll be an awesome big brother. You'll owe me when you're older, though." he vowed as the infant suckled. All in all, Ludwig was kind of cute. No way near as awesome as him, but he could teach his brother in time. It might actually kind of be fun. For the first time in nearly ten months, Gilbert started to think of the positive things a little brother might bring.
At some point Gilbert had fallen asleep, and Ludwig soon after, because as the sun rose their parents found the pair still asleep in that wicker chair, with Ludwig cradled in his brother's arms.
Gilbert's finger was still in his grasp.
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