A/N: Alright, my wonderful readers! This is a retelling of my story 'This is the First Day of My Life', so I recommend you read that first. Thank you for reading, you can thank Fingersofbone for this story, who gave me the idea to write it from Hungary's viewpoint. Just for the record, I don't hate Austria, I love him and his pretentious little musician-y ways (because really, all musicians are like that, personal experience). Also, I do not own Hetalia and I'm not writing this for profit. Thank you again, and enjoy! Comments are greatly appreciated.
'Why the hell did he drag us here?' was the only thing going through Elizabeta's head.
At six in the morning, Gilbert had knocked loudly and repeatedly on her door, yelling at her to put on a bathing suit and get her butt into his car. He wouldn't stop until she grudgingly complied, and then he drove over to Roderich's house, where the Austrian teen received much the same treatment until he finally got into the car and Gilbert drove the three of them to the beach.
Honestly, she wasn't against a beach day- laying on the shore, going into the cool water, watching a romantic sunset with Roderich…
It was Gilbert that was the problem. He wouldn't leave them alone! He kept pestering them, trying to get her and Roderich into the water, and then he tried to pants Roderich…although, that last part she wouldn't have minded…
Finally, he gave up and went away to do whatever it was that he did, leaving her alone with Roderich.
A couple of girls walked by the two, wearing what you commonly wore to places like the beach- bikinis.
"Look at them, Elizabeta," Roderich scoffed, "How indecent. Proper young ladies should not expose that much skin."
"Yes, of course, Roderich," Elizabeta agreed, sighing mentally in relief that he was not looking at them for their bodies, unlike certain other, white-haired people that she knew. Her sweetheart- oops, she meant Roderich- was such a good person like that, looking at people's personalities rather than their looks.
However, she watched the girls enviously. Deep down, she wanted nothing more than to shed the blasted, long skirt and cardigan she was wearing; it was so hot and she was roasting, even in the shade. How Roderich was surviving in his blasted pea coat of all things, she had no idea. But, if he could do this, so could she, because she was determined to show him that she was not like the other girls, even if the only thing she wanted to do at that moment was tear of all of her stifling layers and run straight into the clear, sparkling, cool ocean.
"This is so dull," the brunette, bespectacled teen sighed in exasperation, "I am going to sleep, so vake me up vhen ve are leaving."
"Yes, of course, Roderich."
Elizabeta sighed adoringly as she watched him lay down and almost instantly fall asleep. It was no secret, well to everyone but Roderich, that she had a huge crush on the dark-haired Austrian teen.
Gilbert watched Elizabeta as she smiled softly down at Roderich (the stupid, stuck up piano player) as he came back from the refreshment stand. For some reason, he didn't like her looking at him like that, so, with a smirk on his face, he slipped an ice cube down her sweater so that she would stop smiling down at Roderich like that.
"Gilbert!" she hissed, turning to glare at the silvery-haired teen that was having silent fits of laughter after putting on ice cube down the back of her sweater.
She tried to be mad, but the ice felt so wonderfully cool, she found herself struggling to keep up her glare.
"Kesesese~, is zhis Dummkopf asleep?" he laughed, " How unawesome. Anyvay, let's go svimming."
"No!" Elizabeta whisper-yelled, "I don't vant to go svimming. Leave me alone!"
"Oh, please, you're sveating under all zhose clozhes. C'mon, Elizabeta!"
"No," she crossed her arms and looked away.
But, she was rather hot, and the water looked so tempting…but, Roderich might wake up and see her…maybe if she just went to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face, maybe that would help.
She stood up abruptly.
"I'm going to the restroom."
"Oooo~h, I see, are you not going in zhe vater because it's zhat time of month?" Gilbert teased.
"No, it's not!" she blushed and stormed off, almost running.
She was so focused on getting to the bathroom and ripping off her layers that she didn't realize that she forgot to lock the bathroom door. She stood over the sink in only her bathing suit, splashing the sweet, heavenly, cool water on her neck, arms, legs, and face. She didn't hear the door open over the running water, and she didn't notice Gilbert until she looked into the mirror and saw him standing in the doorway, gazing at her in a daze.
"AH! GILBERT!" she screamed, spinning around to face him.
For some strange reason, she felt embarrassed that he had seen her, even though she was technically decent, and tried to cover herself up, but he just kept on standing there, not saying anything, with a weird expression on his face.
"GILBERT! VHAT ZHE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!"
He seemed to snap out of his daze at her scream and his signature smirk crawled back to his lips.
"Kesesese, nice boobies, Eliza," he laughed; of course, leave it to Gilbert to be a pervert.
She blushed and tried to cover her chest more, but failed rather miserably.
"Go avay!"
He smirked in a way that told her she probably wouldn't like what happened next.
"Come here, frau, ve're going svimming!"
Before she could do anything, he had scooped her up, thrown her over his shoulder, and was running across the sand towards the water, laughing like a madman.
"Put me down, Gilbert, you stupid little f**k!" she screeched, her more colorful language that she never used around Roderich because it was 'unladylike' coming into play.
He reached the shallow waves and kept on running to the deeper waters, splashing gracelessly through the salty water with Elizabeta bouncing on his shoulder, and once he was deep enough, he tossed the girl on his shoulder into the sea.
She surfaced, spluttering incoherently, her hair sticking to the back of her neck and her shoulders.
"You should see your face right now!" he laughed, full of mirth.
Elizabeta glared at him, reached under the water, grabbed his ankle, and pulled with all her might.
The red-eyed boy fell into the water with a very unmanly shriek.
When he resurfaced, it was Elizabeta that was laughing.
"You should see your face!" she mocked.
"Oh, it's on frau," he smirked, and with that, launched himself in her direction.
They spent the rest of the time until sunset splashing each other, play wrestling, and chasing each other in the water.
As the sun went down, the two left the ocean, laughing while Elizabeta held Gilbert in a headlock as they walked.
"Elizabeta!" came Roderich's voice and they halted; or, Elizabeta halted, and since she had Gilbert in a headlock, he was forced to stop as well.
"Oh. Roderich, you're avake," she said nervously, her voice becoming 'girly', "How vas your sleep?"
"Cover yourself up. I should think you'd be ashamed to go around like that."
"Yes, Roderich," she murmured, "Of course."
And just like that, her stiff, polite, 'ladylike' expression was back in place, the one that she put on around Roderich because he liked refined women, and she tried to be his ideal woman. Because she loved him.
But, she didn't realize that while she was madly in love, someone else was beginning to realize that they were in love with her as she and Gilbert took down the umbrella and beach towel in the setting sun.
########
A few years later, they had all graduated high school, though Gilbert had barely made it.
Roderich went on to become a musician (not a famous one), having gone to a school for music, filled with other self-important pricks.
Gilbert start working as a mechanic immediately after high school, as well as taking up two other jobs so that he could put his younger brother, Ludwig, through college, something he hadn't been able to do.
Elizabeta did not continue her education. Or start working for that matter. No, she basically became a housewife for Roderich, although calling her a maid would have been more accurate.
She cleaned Roderich's apartment while he was out searching for music gigs or openings in any symphonies or orchestras. She would make his meals, do his laundry, anything that might make him more comfortable, because she didn't mind. Because she loved him.
She would sometimes meet up with Gilbert when he would pester her non-stop or when she needed to watch a sports game. Roderich did not like all of the noise because he needed silence to practice his music, so she would not get to watch them often. But, she didn't mind; she told herself that sports weren't something she enjoyed that much anyway, and she almost convinced herself that that was true.
She also almost convinced herself that she liked wearing skirts and dresses, that she liked going through the trouble- I mean, taking the time in the morning to put on make up, that she didn't mind that Roderich didn't explicitly show he loved her, verbally or physically.
She almost convinced herself that she was happy. Almost.
But, as much as she tried, a little part of her, deep, deep inside that she couldn't- no, didn't want to- acknowledge, whispered to her quietly, reminding her of the fact that whenever she was with Gilbert, the meetings that were becoming less and less frequent, she felt more free, more…happy.
#######
It was a Friday night when it happened.
Elizabeta knew that Gilbert had recently taken up the habit of spending his Friday nights lost in drink at a bar, and she didn't know why, but he was the first person she thought of to go to.
She burst through the door of a bar known for its cheap beer and highly questionable bathrooms, drawing the attention of the people that weren't already too drunk, and locked eyes with the white-haired man at the counter.
Without saying anything, he rose from his seat and guided her to a nearby park, having her sit down.
There, sitting on a bench underneath a lamp, she told him.
How Roderich had lost his place in the local symphony.
How he had come home in a fury.
How he had slapped her.
She held in the tears bravely, but one or two escaped.
After she finished speaking, they sat in silence.
"Vhat? No 'You should see you face'?" she asked, trying to smile, "No 'You look pathetic'?"
Gilbert gave her a small smile.
Not his arrogant, cocky, shit-eating grin that she always remembered seeing on his face.
No.
Just a small, sad smile.
And she looked at him for what seemed to be the first time in a long time.
Really looked.
His eyes were duller than the vivacious violet-red she remembered, with dark shadows underneath them from working three jobs so he could give Ludwig things he couldn't have being the eldest of two brothers who had been orphaned and hadn't gone through foster care.
His hair was messy, not in the way she remembered when he kept it carefully tousled on purpose, but in the way where you either have no time to run a comb through it or are just so dead tired that you can't.
His expression, one she never remembered or even thought she would ever see on his face- a tired expression. Sad. Gentle.
Defeated.
She realized that he had changed, he had for a while, but she hadn't seen it.
"I vould never make fun of you vhen you're zhis down, Eliza. Zhat vould be so unawesome of me," he said, quietly, gently, calling her that nickname that she hadn't heard since high school, wearing that expression she had never seen on his face.
She burst into tears and buried her face in his chest and he put his arms around her, and she couldn't help but sink into his warmth, something she had never felt from Roderich.
"Can I go home vith you?" she whispered.
"Of course."
And he picked her up, carrying her to his home to his shabby apartment while she cried into his neck. He held her through the night until she fell asleep and then kept holding her.
That night she dreamed of Roderich whispering in her ear.
"I just thought you should know," he whispered into her hair, her soft, wavy hair, "I love you. Ich liebe dich."
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, but then, he transformed into Gilbert.
She didn't know why, but she smiled even wider and leaned into kiss him, but before their lips met, she woke up. It took a moment to realize that she was not in her own bed; instead, she was in Gilbert's arms, and her arms were around his neck. Elizabeta didn't know why, but she blushed and quickly retracted her arms.
However, she did not try to remove herself from his embrace.
She fell back asleep, comforted by the warmth.
The next day, Roderich called and apologized, asking her to come back.
She smiled and forgave him and said goodbye and thanks to Gilbert.
He smiled and said, "Anytime."
And so, she went back to Roderich. She told him it was alright, and that he had just been upset. She tried to convince herself that she didn't mind, that he had wanted her back, and that must have proved his love for her. But, there was that little part that had grown louder, reminding her of how warm Gilbert had been. She tried to ignore it, tried more desperately to convince herself that she only liked him as a friend.
Because, she loved Roderich.
At least, she tried to convince herself that she was.
########
After the 'incident', as Roderich called it, things changed.
At first, he would pay more attention to Elizabeta, thanking her for everything she did, all of the small things that she had always done for him. But, then, he changed.
Roderich would become angry when she said that she was leaving, even if it was to go out on an errand, and especially if she said that Gilbert wanted to hang out. She began to go out less and less, losing contact with many of her old friends from high school that she had not lost already, but she only found herself really missing one.
Gilbert must have hated her by then. She knew she would have. She constantly declined his invitations to meet up, and when she did, she knew that she wasn't energetic, or fun to be with.
It was a year after the 'incident' when it happened.
It was a Saturday.
She didn't know why, but he was the first person she thought of. Or maybe she did know, but she had never admitted it to herself. But either way, she found herself dialing his number at one o'clock in the morning on a Saturday as she stood on the edge, staring into the rushing water below her, listening to the phone ringing, hoping he would pick up, fearing what would happen if he didn't. She waited, the rings became unbearably slow and long, the world seemed to spin, the running water thundered in her ears, too loud, she couldn't breathe.
"Ja?"
She almost cried at the sound of his voice, tired and scratchy, but it was like a breath of cool, sweet, fresh air, and she could breathe again.
"…Gilbert."
"…Ja."
"It's Elizabeta."
"Ja."
"I…need you."
"Vhat for?"
"I…I'm afraid I might do somezhing."
She could hear rustling on the other end.
"Vhere are you?"
"The bridge," she whispered.
"Don't move, I'm coming right now."
She let her hand fall to her side before putting it in her pocket and sitting down on the rail. And she waited.
A car pulled up and a door closed behind her as she sat there.
Slow footsteps echoed in the silence of the night.
When he was behind her, she spoke.
"I feel like I just woke up."
He didn't say anything, just climbed up and sat next to her.
"He told me to leave. Said I vas worthless."
He put his hand over hers.
"He brought some chick home. Asked me to give them some privacy."
He brought her hand in his onto his lap.
"It's strange, because it was only then that I realized how everything had changed. My feelings had changed. I had changed. I feel like I've been sleeping all this time."
They sat there for hours, feet hanging over the cold, rushing water far below them. At some point, he had put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder.
"Do you know something, Eliza?"
"Hm?"
"I love. I love you so goddamn much."
"…How long?'
"Seven years now."
They were silent again and the sky was a pearly gray.
Dawn.
They watched the sun rise together. When it had just peaked over the horizon, Elizabeta stood up on the railing, pulling Gilbert with her.
They stared at the sunrise until she turned to him.
"I'm glad I met you," she told him.
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles softly before jumping down.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
He held out a hand for her to join him on the bridge.
"Coming?" he asked.
And she smiled.
And she felt like she hadn't smiled in a long time.
And it felt wonderful and warm, not just to smile, but smile at him.
She took his hand and jumped straight into his arms.
"Vhere are ve going?" she asked.
"I have no idea. But it vill be awesome!" he proclaimed, a sliver of his old self breaking through, "As long as you're happy."
"Alright."
She rested her head on his shoulder, his warm shoulder, feeling his warm arms around her in a way that she had never felt before, giving her warmth to her very core.
And, that was when it happened, walking away from the bridge with the new day on their backs.
That was the first day of her life.
Of their lives.
Together.
########
A year after that day, the first day, the day Gilbert and Elizabeta started dating, Gilbert popped the question.
Things had not been easy at first; no, they had worked hard for everything and earned everything through hard work.
He had become a highly skilled mechanic, with customers willing to pay for those skills. He had regained his old liveliness, his confidence, his laughter, his joy. And his arrogance, but no one minded that much because they were too happy that he was back to being himself.
He and Elizabeta had moved into a nice apartment together.
She had begun working at a bakery that sold pastries from all over the world, and she was wonderful for the job because she knew many Hungarian treats and could make them to perfection. It was actually owned by the grandfather of one of her friends from high school, Feli, who had dated Gilbert's younger brother, Ludwig, since high school. He was very sympathetic when she told him she was searching for a job, and immediately brought her to his slightly eccentric and rather young 'nonno', who welcomed her with open arms and immediately gave her a job.
She had started smiling again. She started wearing jeans and t-shirts and put her hair into messy ponytails and watched sports and could out-swear her boyfriend as well as beat him in arm wrestling.
They went to sports games, to the beach, out on dates, and when they were short on money, they didn't care.
They attended Ludwig's college graduation together, congratulated him, shared old laughs, and even got pictures of him blushing while Feli kissed him on the cheek.
It was a beautiful ring that Gilbert had bought, simple yet elegant, with two small gems, one red and one green, side by side.
He had brought her to there rooftop on their one year anniversary, where he had set up a nice, candlelit dinner (with help from his friend, Francis, and Feliciano, both of whom were excellent cooks) and had her sit down, all the while smiling and fidgeting nervously.
"Now, don't interrupt me until I'm finished," he said in a mock serious voice, as she stared at him suspiciously, until he got down on one knee, and then she stared at him, stunned, almost not believing her eyes, "Elizabeta, you are zhe most awesome woman I could ever hope to have met. I love you, und I'm pretty sure you like me too, because you've put up vith me for God knows how many years. I know you've been treated horribly, but I can promise you, zhis time vill be different. Ve might not get along all zhe time, but ve'll never know if zhis can vork out if ve don't give it a try. So, if you vant to be vith me, vould you do me zhe honor of marrying me und ve can see how zhings turn out?"
She smiled at him with tears in her eyes.
"Goddamnit, Gil, you're so stupid," she said and then laughed, "Of course I'll marry you, you pompous ass."
And she kissed him and knew that she would be happy with him.
Because she loved him.
Truly loved him.
########
The wedding was small with only close friends and family in attendance. Ludwig was Gilbert's best man and Feli ended up being the 'man of honor.' She had done most of the planning with the help of an old friend, Feliks, although she had to put her foot down when he tried to make the colors of the wedding, in his words, a 'wicked, hipster pink.'
She stood before the double doors as the flower girl, a sweet girl named Lili, walked down the aisle, under the careful supervision of her older brother, Vash. Finally, she heard her cue, and the doors opened and she took her first step down the aisle, ignoring the tulips that decorated the pews, ignoring Feliks crying into the shoulder of his boyfriend, a shy, kind young man named Tauris, ignoring the soft, yet quite audible sound of the photographer, ignoring everything except the man standing at the end of the aisle, wearing a white tux and a somewhat shy, somewhat nervous, but blindingly happy smile, that was the most handsome she had ever seen him.
She finally stood before him and they stared into each other's eyes, smiling like idiots, the entire ceremony, almost missing the part where they had to say their vows.
When it came time for them to kiss, Elizabeta shoved the bouquet into the priest's chest, nearly knocking the poor man over, grabbed Gilbert, dipped him like he was a girl, and kissed him full on the lips.
In retaliation, he snatched her up, threw her over his shoulder like that day so many years ago, and walked down the aisle while Ludwig face palmed by the alter, both of them laughing, both completely content to start their new lives together while the exit song played.
This is the first day of my life
Swear I was born right in this doorway
I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed
They're spreading blankets on the beach
Yours is the first face that I saw
I think I was blind before I met you
Now I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been
But I know where I want to go
And so I thought I'd let you know
Yeah these things take forever
I especially am slow
But I realize that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home
Remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange, you said everything changed
You felt as if you just woke up
And you said
This is the first day of my life
I'm glad I didn't die before I met you
But now I don't care, I could go anywhere wit you
And I'd probably be happy
So if you want to be with me
With these things there's no telling
We'll just have to wait and see
But I'd rather be working for a paycheck
Than waiting to win the lottery
Besides maybe this time is different
I mean I really think you like me