"It's not what you think, I swear!"
And still Gilbert was stuck doing nothing but standing still in the doorway, clear shock and confusion in his eyes. What he thought? What did he even think? He wasn't sure, his eyes locked on the bandages wrapped around his younger sisters chest. They were far too tight, he idly noted in his brain, he could see her struggling to breath. It didn't take long for the albino to piece it together though.
After all, Luise had been acting strangely lately. She'd seemed almost upset with her long, silky blonde hair, having taken to stealing one of Gilbert's hats and tucking it all up underneath. Gilbert had chalked it up to her hair feeling too hot and heavy. And then he'd caught her wearing one his suit jackets and admiring herself in front of the mirror. And now this. Gilbert only regretted not figuring it out sooner. Even still, he had to be sure.
The blonde flinched as his elder approached, face unreadable. Shit, shit! He hadn't meant to be found out, not like this. Tears welled in his eyes as he stared at the floor, clutching the button down shirt around him slightly, both humiliated and terrified. Gilbert was going to hate him now… worse, he'd be disgusted. What would the boy do without him? He'd meant to hide it longer; forever if need be. "I'm sorry…" He whimpered, one hand lifting to wipe at his tears. He refused to look at his brother, he just couldn't. It would break his heart to see disgust in those crimson eyes that meant so much to him. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
He wasn't expecting the gentle hand that moved to under his chin, coaxing his tearstained, terrified face up to look at the elder. For Gilbert's eyes to hold such gentle adoration and understanding, the elder brushing their lips together gently.
"You really ought to be…" Gilbert agreed softly against his lip, stroking over his jaw tenderly. "Binding like that is incredibly dangerous.. what if you'd harmed yourself? Broken or bruised a rib? You know how I ache seeing you in pain, Hasi." He smiled against the younger, kissing his head and taking his hand, leading him out of the room and to his own, down the basement stairs and to the bed, getting the younger situated on his lap in front of his laptop. Gilbert's face was thoughtful, lips tugging upwards as he nuzzled the younger. "So the first thing we'll have to do is buy you a proper binder of course. No brother of mine is going to get hurt trying to be comfortable." He said firmly. He didn't miss the way his love's eyes lit up, cerulean sparkling with a happiness that had been missing for far too long.
Ludwig's breath caught in his throat, unable to contain the grin that tugged at his lips at his brothers words. Brother. Gilbert had called him his brother. How long had he ached to hear that, and been too terrified to tell the one he loved? The one he trusted the most? He was glad Gilbert didn't think that this was anything against the blonde boy's trust in him. It was just a scary thing to come to terms with, even himself, much less telling someone else. There was a pause, and then his brother's voice cut through the silence once more.
"Do you have a name picked out?"
There was no hesitation as the younger nodded, fixing his long blonde locks up into a ponytail as he spoke. "Yeah, I do. Uhm.. Ludwig. I chose Ludwig. You call me Lu anyways.. I thought… I could still have my nickname." A timid flush danced on the younger's face, as he looked up nervously at the elder, seeking some kind of approval that he had done well on his choice.
"That's a wonderful name. A good strong name." The silver haired man praised. It felt so good to see his brother smiling so happily, so worry free. He'd been so worried about him lately, about how distant and anxious he had seemed. It had absolutely broken Gilbert's heart, but then, he'd never been able to bear his younger sibling upset. Even when they were kids, and the blonde would crawl into his bed in the middle of the night with the bad dreams that so often plagued him. Gilbert had simply held him close, and promised to protect him. Now was no different. He'd do anything to keep his love happy.
"So I think these binders here would be the best for you, sweet one." He pointed at the screen, dragging the one he was talking about to full screen. "It just looks like a workout tank top, so you could layer it under a button down if you wanted, and it wouldn't look like you were actually binding." Idly nuzzling into his brothers soft locks, the older man continued, a protective arm winding around the youngers waist. "We can get you one in each color; nude, black, and white. Then you're always set with what you need. Sound good? This afternoon we'll go get you some new clothes, and maybe a haircut if you'd like?"
"Thank you, Gil…" Ludwig murmured, turning his head to press a grateful kiss to his brothers jaw. "I'd really like to go shopping with you. Would you help me pick a nice haircut? I want something that isn't going to show off how feminine my face still is. And I know you have really good taste in clothes." A small crimson blush colored pale cheeks, as Ludwig offered the other a shy grin. "Thank you so much. I was… really worried. About… you… well, anyone really… finding out. About what the reactions would be. It really helps that you're being so supportive." Turning in Gilbert's lap, Ludwig pressed a sweet, appreciative kiss to Gilbert's lips, arms draping around his neck. Protective arms wound around him, Gilberts fingers stroking through Ludwig's hair adoringly as he kissed back, before resting their foreheads together.
"Why would I ever be anything but?" He questioned. "Lu, I love you. More than anything or anyone else. I've loved you since you were just a little thing who was too scared to climb trees with me. I'll love you when I'm old and- well, I'm already white haired, but you get the idea. That's for you, not how you look, not what's between your legs. I love you as much as my brother as I did as my sister. And if this makes you feel more comfortable in your skin, then that's all that matters. Who am I to tell you you aren't allowed to feel safe and happy? It's my job to protect you. To love you and support you, no matter what. Besides, I think you'd make an amazing guy." He praised, brushing the others hair off his face. "Come on, Hasi. Up and at em, we've got a lot of shopping to get done for you today."