Love in a Bottle
A/N: Ok, I love this pairing, so I was so excited to write this. I tried to make their characters seem as realistic as possible, this is my first story with these characters. Also, I know that Prussia's laugh is Keeseekeesee, but I didn't know what sound to make Gilbird say. XD
Please enjoy!
Warnings: Bad words ahead!
"Damn!" The dull brunette muttered under her condensating breath as she adjusted the furry shawl that clung to her shoulders. Through the fleeting snowflakes she stormed into the local bar-the last place where she could let her manly attributes come to life.
"Hey!" The entire crowd of locals chimed as she flung the bar's doors open. She greeted each buff drunkard with a unique friendliness, be it gesture or handshake. She finally reached the old brown bar, where she slumped into a stool.
"Well, looks like our little maid has arrived!" The bartender sheepishly chuckled as he cleaned a beer mug.
"I. Need. A. Beer. God, I love him and all, but he can be such a pain in the ass sometimes." Her head lightly hit the bar. "Bitching about every little thing I do, being so damn frugal-I need a little escape!" The beer thumped on the bar right in front of her face as she sat up rapidly to take a big swig. "Ahhhh~" She sighed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a spiky bushel of platinum blond hair towards the end of the bar, terribly disheveled. Curiosity struck her, and she snatched her drink and began to approach it, her feminine senses shining ever so slightly as it mumbled and hiccupped. On closer inspection, it turned out to be the person she expected it was.
"G-Gilbert?" The head teetered up, with a swaying body that nearly swayed right of the stool underneath him. His hands were still wrapped tightly around a beer as he gazed at Elizabeta with ruby red eyes, slightly blood-shot.
"Ellliizzzaaabbeeettta! HAHAH!" He held his head up right to laugh menacingly to the air. "It's beeeen soo long- How' 'Mr. Aristocrat' treatin' yah?"
"He's-"
He couldn't even be bothered to hear about the one guy he really didn't give much of a crap about. "Lookk att yoooOOOoooou!" He hiccupped. "All dresseddd upp! Meheh, going to sommme fancy-scmancy concert or shittt like tha?"
"N-"
"Off course you areeee! HA!" He swung his empty arm in the air around him, only to be occupied by his beer once more. "The oonnlly way. That someone, can tollllerate tha-those things, is to have a bit of drunk in em'!" Everyone was pretty oblivious to him, which lead Elizabeta to think that this has been his usual behavior lately. "That's whyyy being alone is AWEESOME LIKE ME~HAAHA!" With this, she looked on him in pity, feeling bad for the forlorn guy. That's when something overcame her, a trait she rarely displayed. Kindness.
"A-Are you staying in the area? Tonight, I really don't think you're in any shape to-" Gilbert didn't live necessarily close, to be blunt, and Elizabeta was wondering why he would schlep up to a place of such little importance. And this statement was a rather large surprise to Gilbert; Elizabeta would usually just grab a frying pan from her kitchen to beat the drunk right out of him.
"Nahh! Been wandering around the past feew days and end up heeere EVERY day! FuuuuUUUUuuuNNY!" He began to chuckle and hiccup uncontrollably, which made Elizabeta's pity grow even more.
"W-Well, Roderich is out tonight, why don't you just crash at my place?" She knew he was going to be pretty hung-over the next day, seeing how smashed he currently was. Gilbert popped one eye open as he took a last cup of beer. Throwing down some money from his disheveled military suit and his, now empty, beer mug- Elizabeta took this as a yes. She threw down her mug and the exact price before going to Gilbert's drunken side. Wrapping his arms around her shoulder, and making quite a few passes at inappropriately touching her; she barely struggled to hold up their weight. As her childhood was filled with so many battles, she never lost the skill that made this task easy as pie. She just masked it with feminine facades.
She strained her face to smile cheerfully as she left, but was constantly breaking her stride due to the limping guy at her side that clung and grasped for her as his only support. Through the barren snow and ice covered streets the slowly walked, until Elizabeta was finally home with the drunk now on her arm, who threw himself on the plush couch that was in plain sight as they entered.
After removing her frothed shawl and boots, Elizabeta skittered over like the little maid she had become over her time with Roderich, to grab the poor thing a blanket, pillow, and bucket. Like a mother would do unto a child, she propped up his pillow, tucked in and covered him with the blanket, and placed the bucket at the side of the couch. As she was leaving the room and about to turn off the lights, Gilbert, seeming to be half asleep, drunkenly muttered,
"Wha happpeended, Elizabetaa? Wha happened to the good ol' dayyys when we would go hunting an' beat the crap outtta each othfver? Ya' would hate my guuts, well, I did too, but whattevv…Heh, I felt bad 'bout ya' being a girl, but I gueesss it could work out goood for the both of us? Or for that frugal-piano-lover-aristocrat-bastard. MAYBE I'm fine alone…" He let out a lone laugh, just one chuckle. "You, you were greeeat before, hell you were AWESOME! Whell, not as AWESOME AS MEHH~ But pretty damn cool."
A small smile laid across her face as she shut off the light.
"And hot-well, hell, ya' stiiilll arre! Heh…"
" 'Night Gilbert." She whispered as she left the room with a racing heart, beating in time with her hustled steps.
oOoOo
"Hungary-san! Yo' get your lazy ass up to come hunting with me!" The young Teutonic Knight hollered to the young nation that sat on the ground before him.
"Already one step ahead of you!" She slugged a bag of arrows across her back. "Who's lazy now?" She hindered as she began to run towards the forest entrance in glee. The lush, green forest, each tree a unique shade of green, Elizabeta's eyes fit in perfectly with the scenery that devoured her. The sky was piercing blue-it seemed like a perfect day to make a memory, even though the highly doubted it. It would just be another day of hunting, which would live deep within a strand of her memories.
"Last one there has to be the other's maid for a day!" She cried in delight.
"Damn you!" Gilbert yelled as he chased the girl into the forest, running-
Gilbert woke up severely hung-over that next morning when Elizabeta finally noticed him. She was doing her normal, maid-esque chores when she was disturbed by a series of sickly painful moans.
"Well," Elizabeta walked over to the couch to look down on the sickly thing. "Look's like this hapless fellow decided to wake up!" She jutted the broom into the floor, enraged. "It's already noon!"
"Damn-Do I look like I care? Crap, what happened, my head hurts like hell." Gilbert tried to pull himself up, his whole body aching to the bone and his stomach violently swishing.
"It's called a hangover, you shouldn't be that much of a stranger to them, huh?"
"Dammit-I know it's a hangover, it's just…bad." He collapsed back on the couch, arm covering his exhausted eyes. "I-I really drank that much-ah, fuck it, the light hurts." He sighed in unison with Elizabeta.
"You did. I took a peak at the bill, it seemed you were on your 15th beer, based on the tab."
"Who paid?"
"You."
"Fuck." He moved his arm off of his eyes for a moment to look her straight in the eyes.
"Did I say anything, do anything, or go on a drunken rampage or anything like that?"
"Nope." Elizabeta lied; leaving out the groping and rambling he did last night. Although she was hoping what he said, about how she looked, was at least true,
"Good. Damn, I hate when that happens-"
"I stopped you from doing just that. So you owe me."
"Fuck." He covered his eyes once more.
"Next time I see you, some of those beers belong to me, kay?" She grinned. "Roderich will probably be home soon, but stay awhile, if you're still here I'll explain."
And with that you would think he would shrug that right off his shoulder and go back to sleep. But no, he got right up and slowly crept out the door.
"Yeah, I'll get you beer, but listen, I don't wanna bump into that bastard-I'm in no mood to see him. I'll just get going." He stopped in the doorway, staring straight into the blue sky, similar to the one in his dream, and mumbled,
"Thanks a lot…"
And with that, he was gone, and both were unhappy with the departure.
oOoOo
By the time Gilbert meandered down a path that successfully lead him home, the sun had already given way to the serene moon in the pool of the sky. With only half of his hangover gone, he knew that it wasn't a good idea to slip down a little bit of beer, to relax him after his long travels. Once inside, he sunk into a large chair in his living room that allowed him a view out of his window to his garden, all the crops stalled due to the winter frost. He turned to face his red eyes to gaze at the stars. He sighed, depressed by the fact that he was, once again, alone.
"Kee-see, kee-see, kee-see," After Gilbert had stared at the stars through the open window for a bit, in flew his little yellow bird, Gilbird. He swirled over and around his head, before landing on his owner's shoulders. "Kee-see?" The little bird cocked his small head to one side, and, being the lonely soul he is, Gilbert actually replied to him, as if he understood what the bird was trying to ask.
"It's just another night between me and you, huh? Damn, why does the one girl that I ever fell in love with-and have fallen in love with-be married? What's worse is that it's fucking Roderich!" His head let out a sudden throb of pain, which caused him to calm down a bit. "I really need some rest." Gilbird fluttered into his cage across the room, signaling that he understood. Gilbert couldn't find to pull himself out of the warm grasps of the chair, and his eyes began to close, the stars fading dull. "You're such a good, cute bird…" He muttered as the descending stars watched him fall asleep, nearly unconscious.
Gilbert was running, it took him a moment to recall the fact that he was chasing after Elizabeta deeper and deeper into the forest. By the time he stopped to fully notice his surroundings, he was now in the navy military suit he fell asleep in and he wasn't the silly child he was before, he was his current self. In confusion of what happened, he began to look around for something familiar. That's when he saw them. Elizabeta and Roderich, leaning up against a tree next to bushels of roses, their lips pressed up against each other's, the two living in the heat of the moment and enjoying every bit of it. A flash of anger rose up inside of him, his fist clenched as he watched his love being swept off her feet by one of the men he absolutely despised. His reflexes told him to just sock the guy in the face, but something held him back. A gentle wind blew by, rustling everything around him and whispering into his ear, only his.
"Leave the two of them alone…let her go…" This made Gilbert incredibly mad, and in a jealous rage he ran towards them. By the time he reached them, the wind had finally died down, blowing the couple into the roses.
"Kee-see! Kee-see! Kee-see!" Gilbird chirped while zooming around his master, trying to wake him. The warm sun that streamed across his face contrasted with the cold winter wind that blew through the window.
"Damn wind!" He sighed, realizing he had completely recovered from his the side effects of his dangerous drinking. Then he sighed again, remembering the dream, and felt no desire to do anything at all.
oOoOo
"And that's why I need another beer." Gilbert threw down the empty mug, only a bit of froth laid at the bottom. The bartender just stood there, not really knowing what to say as glaring red eyes were staring him down.
"Uhh…Sure." The bartender blatantly walked away with Gilbert's mug in hand.
"Hey!" He heard the rest of the barflies cheer as the doors swung open. He couldn't help but turn around to face the light that illuminated the dark bar. There she was, her hair bouncing as she strode into the bar with pride and her chest noticeably upright. She stopped to chat with one manly man drinking down a rather large glass of scotch, who pointed in Gilbert's direction. He quickly turned away to face the beer in front of his eyes. He didn't take a sip yet, however, he just wrapped his hands around it's cool exterior, and stared into the airy foam. He heard footsteps clack across the wooden floor, creaking closer and closer, until they stopped, and he could see the boots out of the corner of his eye.
"What do you-"
"You still owe me." Elizabeta sighed. "Roderich is going to some fancy party with musicians, he wouldn't even let me get a new dress for it-and I sure as hell don't want to partake in that shit. So I blew him off."
"I can't blame you." He spun around in the stool, not caring about the revelation that Elizabeta had just made about how Roderich was pretty damn cheap. He knew that already.
"So can I spend New Year's Eve with you?" Gilbert's face almost matched the color of his eyes as he spun back around to face the bar, and so she wouldn't notice it. "We probably don't want to be alone." She was right, they both would be pretty lonely that night, and a little company wouldn't hurt them.
"Fine." He took a swig of beer, acting annoyed, when actually, he was extremely pleased.
oOoOo
"You knoow~" Elizabeta slurred as she held a bottle firm in her hand. "This is sssoooOOOOooo much better than being with all those stuck up, idiots with their ruffle-y collars and pianos and socialite behavior-hah!" She mocked.
"Keessekeesee, damn it must suuck to be exposed to that much crap, you better make sure it's not contagious!" Gilbert sputtered as he slammed the bottle down on the coffee table. It really should be called a beer table in Gilbert's case-beer was all that usually occupied it.
It was well into the New Year as the two continued their boozed out conversation. But it soon ended; Elizabeta went to the kitchen to grab another beer and returned to find Gilbert leaning up against the sofa, fast asleep. He seemed so peaceful; Elizabeta couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
"I forgot how cute he looks when sleeping, and how cute he always is! Heh! She sat down on her knees and examined him, then tousled his platinum blond hair that gleamed a rich silver in certain light that filled the room, messing it up more than before. Unbuttoning his green button down, then buttoning only a few back up, carelessly, she tilted her head back to laugh, but only to face him again with a devilish grin. "Heh, I can't help it. I love him, and I love to hate him soo much tooo!" She thrust her lips sloppily onto his, un-reactive yet reeking of beer. She grabbed his shoulders, hoping that he would wake up, but he wouldn't-He was still fast asleep. After a few moments of her pleasurable experience, she sighed and realized that she should head home. She found a clean napkin (Because, God forbid, Gilbert had any paper around) and a pen to write Gilbert a quick note, which she stuck on his exposed chest. Blowing him a kiss, there was a tear in her eye as she quietly left into the cool, early winter morning.
oOoOo
Waking up a bit after 1pm, Gilbert woke up with two things on his mind: His hangover and the unknown feeling on his lips that he couldn't quite place. Pulling his limp and sore body up a bit more upright, he saw the napkin fall off his chest. Picking it up, he tried to figure out what the un-legible handwriting said.
Gilly-Kins,
Thanks so so so much for the fun fun fun night! Did you know, I like beer and it's a new year!
Love Elizabeta
He re-read that note three times, only to start to remember fragments of the past night. Using his brains full potential to seek for the memories in his foggy perception, he remembered something soft pressed up against his lips-
"Kee-see, kee-see, kee-see!" Gilbird chirped, dashing to and from his owner and bag of birdseed. Being disrupted, his thoughts poofed back into the fog.
"Something happened, awww dammmmiit!"
"Kee-see!" Gilbird nodded, but Gilbert didn't pay any notice to the gesture.
"Ah, crap, sorry Gilbird, I guess I forgot to feed you last night. Mehh, just give me a second." He moaned as he pulled himself and avoided the scattered beer bottles scattered about his feet. The whole place just stunk of bitter beer, but Gilbert really couldn't give a crap. Most would hold their nose in disgust, but he just refilled the tray with a scoop of food and returned it to the cage, oblivious to the stench in the air and depression that swirled and orbited around him, ready to strike a heavy blow.
oOoOo
"Heyyyyy!" Elizabeta swung open the door to the mansion in a very outright and drunken exhibition. At the moment of her arrival, Roderich came running down the stairs, his black hair delapitadidly flapping, including his one curl atop of his head.
"Elizabeta! Thank goodness," He stopped himself from getting too overly affectionate and switched to the hard questions. "W-Where on earth were you?" He adjusted the glasses, which he found stylish, that were sliding off his nose.
"Hmmm…I was, I don't really know!" She shrugged her shoulders and laughed as Roderich just looked on her in worry and unsatisfaction.
"P-Please be reasonable…I was terribly worried that-" The scent of beer that slid from her pink lips finally caught Roderich's attention, and slapped his hand against his face in realization. "You're drunk again, are you not?"
"NoooOOoooo! Me? DRUNK? NEVVER!" She teetered, shifting her weight between her two left feet.
"Elizabeta, you have been drinking a bit much lately-"
"So? You don't give a crap!" This statement stabbed Roderich in the heart, a sharp, direct hit.
"That is not true, I care more than anyone else! I love you, but I cannot stand to see yourself damage yourself in such a manner!" Roderich wanted to yell, but couldn't bring himself to.
"I'm finnee! You always bitch about sooo many things-Why can't you just like me as I am? You would, if you really loved me!" Roderich's eyes widened at the fact that Elizabeta, who was stomping over to the couch, just rubbed in his face, crushing his already bleeding heart. "I'm sleeping herreee, away from yoooou!" She spewed as she fluffed a pillow and lied down, facing away from her husband. He hopelessly sighed in her direction, doing his best to remain strong, before creeping slowly up the stairs once more. I guess it is true, He thought. We really have pulled apart, in more than one way.
oOoOo
"Damn…" Elizabeta rubbed her hangover headache hoping to rub it away, but her ears wouldn't stop ringing and her head wouldn't stop panging. In the distance, a nostalgic tune was being punched into the piano, yet the keys let out soft, graceful yelps. It was one of those songs that you never forget the tune, but the title seems to always be a mystery. It took her a few minutes, but she finally inched over to where he husband calmly sat, his hair naturally straight yet untamed.
Upon a first glance, you wouldn't notice the tears that glistened in the early morning sunlight on the piano keys Roderich shoved down. He stopped playing the moment she appeared, but didn't say a word. She just stood in the doorway while he just sat on the pianist bench, staring at a single bar of music that rested on the top page of the song he was previously playing.
"I think I have an idea about what I said last night…" Elizabeta mumbled loud enough for the young man to hear her from across the room. He just shook his head.
"I know that this marriage had not blossomed from true, mutual love. It was simply for mutual advantages. But there was love there; I'm just ashamed to admit it. Because you never loved me, did you?" His voice angrily trembled, as it grew in volume and tension.
"I just hate how I love you so much, yet you still don't understand! In the end, I am the one who is sad to see that I am the one who doesn't understand." The anger subsided, revealing heartbreaking defeat. "There is nothing more I can do to make you love me."
Elizabeta leaned her head against the doorway; she really had nothing to say to this. "I loved you, I really did…It's just, our hearts seem to have grown apart…Recently, we haven't been like we were before, have we?" She sighed when no answer emerged from his lips. The silence was too much of a burden for the both of them. "Maybe…it's time, Roderich…the only thing that keeps us bound is our love-"
"Now that it is gone we may as well…" Roderich croaked, then cleared his throat. He couldn't stand to live with his love if she had no intent on being there to return his feelings. To see her, it would be more painful than not seeing her at all. Because he could just rely on their memories, when they believed to be in love, which was more than enough for him. "But it will be complicated, why don't we speak about the matter later, as far as I know, you are pretty hung-over."
"I am-and you seem quite tired."
"I am. I didn't catch a wink of sleep…my mind and heart just hurt too much…"
'Mine was too' was what Elizabeta wanted to reply, "I'm sorry." Was all that would come out, as the both were both on the verge of a breakdown, not able to handle the mental capacity of destroying their relationship.
oOoOo
"I just want to say…" Elizabeta began as the two stood outside their, once happily shared, mansion. This was the end of them; the string between them was just cut; yet both hearts were internally bleeding. "It was amazing to be with you…I really am going to miss it…" She smiled sadly, as did he.
"As will I." Elizabeta fought the oncoming downpour of ever approaching tears.
"But no matter what," She grabbed his hands gently. "We'll still be there for each other-a-as friends?"
"Of course, there's no way I can ever let you out of my life." They both chuckled as the tears she desperately tried to hide fought free. While squeezing each other's hands, they shared one last kiss, only a small spark from each of them, telling them they made the right choice. However, both were longing for that spark of pure romantic bliss in which inspired them in their memories. They were tired from fighting for their love that they had before, but their momentum had died and they only had memories left. Just memories that could blow away in a matter of seconds or last a lifetime, just how they thought they would be together forever. That memory had also faded away into the wind, as did their relationship, even though Roderich wasn't very pleased to release it freely. But since it made her happy, he was content enough.
Elizabeta graced away from their kiss quite quickly to her car, while Roderich fought the urge to run after her.
"See you…" She called as she started the car.
"Until next time…" He waved, as she pulled away towards her new future, both of them breathing in each and every moment of that beautifully depressing farewell to the past.
oOoOo
Before she knew it, Elizabeta found herself in a position, which she really didn't expect. She found the courage to knock on Gilbert's door; she hadn't been there in so long.
"Look, I'm not interested in any of your marketing crap-Elizabeta?" She kept her eyes glued to the ground, the gates into her soul, through the emerald gates of her eyes remained shut.
"I don't wanna talk about it…I just…kinda need a friend…"
"Ahhh…" Gilbert became slightly flushed, as he didn't really know what to say. "C-Come on in…" She slumped into the room and chair in the spiffed up living room. It was much neater than the last time she was there; then again, they kind of trashed it. But that kind of care that seemed to be put into his cleaning, was unexpected of Gilbert, as was the fact he had a garden. But everyone has his or her eccentricities.
Gilbert slipped into the kitchen and returned with two beers in hand. "Ha, I'm gonna need more than two, buddy." He cocked up one eyebrow, shrugged, and re-emerged with the case a moment later.
For a while, the only noise around them was the cricket's lullaby that rang through the night and Gilbird's occasional chirps as he hovered about Gilbert. Elizabeta was right; she had quickly downed two beers before even speaking.
"Dammit, this week has been hell…" Gilbert asked no questions, doing his best not to be annoying and perhaps get beaten up for sticking his nose in business that wasn't his to jump into. "I would love to go back to the old days…"
"Honestly…I can't believe how long it took me to discover that you're a girl…" Gilbert changed the conversation to one he could partake in.
"I can't believe it took me so long to realize I was a girl!" She haplessly chuckled. They were awkwardly silent for a few more minutes as Elizabeta finished her 3rd beer, while Gilbert just took another small sip. He couldn't bring him to drink that much, it bored him, to say the least. He really, deep down, wanted to catch up with Elizabeta, it had been so long, and he really missed her. But he never said that, he just kept it bottled up in the beer bottle locked away in his heart, along with his love for her.
This kind of awkwardness ensured for about one more hour-simple conversation was exchanged, Elizabeta had another beer, and Gilbert took another lone sip. Finally, Elizabeta got the ball rolling.
"Gilly-kins…I-I'm sad…" Oh boy, He wanted to mutter under his breath. She's drunk now. "I-I don't know what to do…I-I…" Bam, just like that Elizabeta erupted into a fit of hysterical cries. She threw the half empty beer on the table and pulled her feet up on the couch, as her hands covered her stinging eyes, and she just cried. Gilbert didn't know how to respond to this, for a moment, he just sat there, looking at her with sad eyes, like she used to look at him. The situation had been reversed.
He didn't care how he was interfering with her marriage; he sat on the couch next to her and pulled the weakened girl into a tight embrace. "U-Uh…whatever happened…I-I bet it'll be ok…?" His face had become flushed again as he was unaware of what to do for her. She halted her tears and Gilbert tried not to remind himself of how nice it felt to hold her in his arms.
"Y-You're right…" She sniffed. "I-I have you…" Gilbert's face turned as red as one of Antonio's ripe tomatoes as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Wrapping one arm around Gilbert's neck, he felt slightly uncomfortable, yet ecstatic, as she whispered in his ear.
"I always hated you…" She violently hissed, and then her tone became sweet. "But that was then, yoou know? I realized…I've never reallllllyyyy hated you; I just didn't know how to tell you how I felt! I loovee youuu lootsss, and now, I can show you!" Gilbert was fully uncomfortable now as he tried to inch away, but Elizabeta kept a tight grip on him.
"Kiss me, kiss me please, now! I kissed you that night, the New Year, and you didn't even kiss baaaacck! So kiss me nooooww!" Gilbert's red pupils dilated to the revelation of the unknown feeling he had and couldn't place. Pure shock, and excitement.
"I-I really shouldn't…" Oh ho, but he so wanted too, the thought just made his heart soar-stupid morals kept him held back, which is odd, he never really gave a crap about morals.
"NO ONE has to knowwww! Pweeeessse?" She pouted and sat up on her knees.
Fuck morals! Gilbert thought as he pounced on the opportunity. Pushing his lips against hers, beer stained and cold, he felt a tang of guilty pleasure overcome him. He couldn't believe that he was actually doing this, kissing her, full out like he had always wanted to. A few moments during the electrifying spark Elizabeta pushed him off, leaving him leaning up against the edge of the sofa in shock. She crawled on all fours towards him, her eyes revealing a gleam Gilbert had never seen before.
She approached him quickly and sat in between his legs, laughing quietly. She began to untie the skinny brown tie that clung to his neck tightly and pulling at the black button down he was so fond of wearing, then unbuttoning the buttons slowly. Using the now loose tie, she tugged on it for support as she brought her lips to his once more. Gilbert had to admit, she was a pretty good kisser and he thought she was pretty sexy too. But he just couldn't remain where he was; he hoped to have this choice. He pulled himself up a bit more to shove the girl off and jumped on to his feet. She sat limp on the couch, confused and dazed, but still manically giggling with a deranged smile plastered on her face. Anyone could see the dirty thoughts that raced her mind spread across her face like wildfire.
"Dammmmiit! I can't do this! I-I can't-you're fucking married!" Gilbert held his head as he started to pace about in a nervous fit.
"But I love yoooou-" The words innocently slivered out of her mouth.
"And I love you too, but-" He realized what he had burst from his mouth. Saying that he loved the one girl he always thought hated him. The girl he thought was a boy as a child. The girl he had constantly teased. The girl who had just reassured what he had always wanted her to say to him, and he had to say that to her. "Awww, fuuuck, f-f-forget what I said, dammit!"
"So yoooou diid! You meant what you said to me that nighhhht!" Bouncing on the couch, with her fingers pointing at him, laughing childishly.
"Wha-What night?" Gilbert was verrrry alarmed, who knew what she would've or had already done with such information.
"That night, I took you home frooom the barr! Yoou said I was HAWT!" She sneered. "And cooool!"
"Y-YOU SAID I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING DAMMIT!" He began to grow irritated and flustered, his face growing a bright pink that would light up the dark streets of that hour.
"Eheheh I LIED! Hweeehh…" She oddly chuckled, a weird sound that signified nothing but pure drunken stupidity.
"Fuck, th-this ISN'T RIGHT!" Gilbert was stuck in the moment, unaware of what to do. He couldn't send her home; she was far too drunk and would probably get in a hell of a lot of trouble. He couldn't take her home, Roderich would be there, and that wouldn't be pretty, plus, Gilbert didn't want to deal with him. But, he didn't want to see her anymore that night; he needed to clear his mind. He then chose the only sensible choice for him, despite it's compromise.
He took the case of beers (well, beer, there was only one lone bottle left.) back into the kitchen before heading into his room to forget about what just happened. He could hear her following him, and half of him wanted to take her in with him. The other half made him stop her, by shutting her out from his room and locking it shut. He leaned against the door and slid down it to sit down, thinking about only Elizabeta. The past winter when she was there, the past winter he said he liked her, that night when he told her he loved her, that night when she said she loved him-it was all hitting him so fast, yet so slow. He didn't know what to feel, as he heard a sigh from the other side of the door, and footsteps that faded away. To where, he had no idea. But he hoped they were still near.
With a racing heart accelerating with the minutes that ticked by into oblivion, he tried to sleep and forget that night, like how Elizabeta wouldn't remember any of it. But he couldn't. That memory had already been etched into his mind, and, he kind of didn't want to forget it.
oOoOo
"Kee-see!" Gilbird fluttered to his master, alone, sitting on the ice-covered bench in his lifeless garden, just over-occupied with snow. It felt as if he was residing in Ivan's heart-icy cold, barren, and painful, gut wrenching pain that made the soft crystals that cried from the dark clouds sharp and jagged. "Ke-Ke-Kee-see…" Gilbird shuttered and flew right back inside, passing by another shuddering soul, Elizabeta, who was crunching the jagged flakes underneath her feet with ease.
"Hey!" She called into the wind. Gilbert took a quick glance towards her, and then sharply turned to glare downwards.
"I would like to have some awesome 'me' time right now if you don't mind." He quietly snarled. Elizabeta had a feeling that he really didn't mean this, so she sat down right next to him, not caring if this would piss him off.
"I said something last night, didn't I?" She apathetically sighed, the gleam in her emerald eyes from the night disappeared and her eyelids, heavy.
"You barely said anything." He lied in a moody attitude.
"You're such a terrible liar. It's not like I don't remember anything about last night…I just remember pieces…out of order."
Fuck…He thought, he had just forgot about last night and now his mind was racing about what she remembered.
"What do you remember?" His voice was monotone as he groaned.
"…Well, I drank. A lot. I remember crying…and -" She sputtered out the last part, seeming as if she wanted to cover up the fact she remembered that part.
"Well, you told me too."
"Nice try-"
"Dammmmiit-I'm not lying-"
She sighed with a defeated smile. "You're right, I-I just didn't want to say it-"
"-What else did you not want to say, huh?" He snickered. "You came here because of some awful thing that you wouldn't even tell me about!" He saw the look on her face that told him she didn't forget that part. But she just bit her lower lip and glanced downwards, her eyes reflecting the cloudy skies. Barren and hazy, unable to see what laid beyond them. "Well?"
"Roderich and I…W-we…We got divorced, ok, dammit? Gilbert, I-I just don't know how to feel…" She whimpered, her voice softening towards the end. All of his guilt melted into the snow as his eyes widened. "I-I mean, we got married for advantages, not love-but yet we did love each other, I loved him…I just don't get what happened-"
"So the damn aristocrat let you go? He probably found you too expensive-" If she wasn't in such a weakened state, she would've gave him a direct blow to the gut, but she just tightly shook her head.
"No! I-It was mutual…we're just going to be friends and nothing more…" Gilbert was baffled and confused.
"So then you're just not over him-" He really had no clue what it was like to be married, and his mind didn't think like hers, so he was just trying to come up with things she felt, although he had a feeling he was wrong.
"It's because I love you…I'm guilty of loving you, I never knew how to show you…because I never had fallen in love before. Roderich was…different, we developed into lovers, but it just didn't last…with you, I fell in love out of my own will-It makes me feel guilty, it's just, I-I-"
"I probably feel more guilty than you."
"W-What?" Now it was Elizabeta's turn to be baffled.
"I mean, it isn't right to be in love with a married woman, or grope her-"
"Or try to dress her wounds with fucking crotch cloth." She chuckled half-heartedly.
"Y-Yeah. I'm sorry 'bout that…" He muttered as he placed a hand lightly around her waist, Elizabeta following his lead, then placing her head on his shoulder, the jacket warm against her face.
"Well, you're forgiven, but don't get any ideas like that anymore-"
"Does that include se-"
"-In such a public place." She finished, pushing her cold lips up against his, as they fought to keep each other warm in the midst of the winter storm.