Gilbert awoke to the cries of his younger brother. Although he was a little irritated at having to get up, he still went over to Ludwig's room, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"What's wrong, Hun?"

Ludwig shuddered a little, blond head shivering. "N-nightmare..."

Gilbert sighed, lifting the tiny boy into his arms and rubbing his back gently. "It's all right, West."

"But... but you went away, and you didn't come back... and everything started getting big and I couldn't reach... and... and I got left behind because I was too small and I couldn't take care of myself... and you were disappointed in me, I know it..."

"Look." Gilbert held him carefully at arm's length, fixing him with an unusually stern stare. "I am NOT disappointed in you. I am very, very proud of you, and I always will be."

Ludwig took one look at his brother and burst out crying.

"Shh, shh!" Gilbert bent down, pressing a finger to his rosy little lips and kissing away each tear. "I'm here, right here."

Silky hair swished a little as Ludwig buried his face in Gilbert's chest. "Please don't go, Gilbert."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Ludwig sniffled a little, and Gilbert searched his head quickly for a random lullaby to quiet him.

"Lavender's blue, Rosemary's green, When you are king, I shall be queen..."

"I'm not a queen..." Ludwig muttered.

"No. You're not. Maybe you're the king – King Ludwig."

"Does that mean you're the queen?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching a little. "For you, Liebe, I'll be the queen."

"Danke, Bruder." Ludwig nestled up against his brother for a second before sitting up. "Promise you'll always stay?"

"I swear it."

"But – but how can I be sure? What if you really do go away and not come back? How do I know that you'll keep your promise?" Big blue eyes filled with fresh tears.

Gilbert pulled his little brother close, rocking from side to side. "Have I ever not come back before?" he murmured into the soft hair. "No. I'll be here, don't you worry."

"But-"

"No more buts."

Ludwig pushed away from Gilbert. "I don't trust you. You can't promise something like that, you don't know! And when you're gone, who will get me? France?"

At the mention of France, Gilbert pulled him into a bone-crushing embrace. "If that bastard Bonnefoy so much as toes the border, I'll have his pretty-boy French toes strung up on a laundry line!"

"Ouch!"

"Yes, it will be painful, and he'll never – oh." Gilbert realized that Ludwig was referring to his tight grip, and he loosened up a little. "I'm sorry, West. Didn't mean to hurt you."

Ludwig wormed away and hid his face in his pillow. "You just won't mean to not return, too, won't you?"

"Hun..." Gilbert bit his lip, trying to think of a way to explain it. "What do you want me to say? It's 3 in the morning, and I can't seem to convince you that I'm not gonna up and disappear." He was silent for a minute, thinking. "Here." He scooped up his little brother and carried him to the window, brushing the curtains aside. "See the moon, way up there?"

Slowly, Ludwig brought his eyes up to meet the night sky. He nodded, cautiously.

Gilbert went back to bed, sitting down and looking back to the window. "I'm just like the moon. Maybe I won't always be visible, not there every night, but I'll come back."

There in the soft light, Gilbert's white hair glowed like the moon. His expression was unusually gentle as he looked down at his little brother, love reflected in his eyes. "I'll never leave forever, Bruder. I'm always gonna head back to where my heart is, and that's with you."

Ludwig nodded again, understanding what he meant.

"Now, you; you're like the sun. You sleep at night and blossom in the day."

Blond hair drooped gently against Gilbert, a tiny body rising and falling sleepily.

"And so it's time for you to go to bed. The moon needs to get some rest."

Ludwig didn't reply, his eyelids fluttering closed, nuzzling into Gilbert's chest.

"But it's okay if it's here."

They stayed like that all night, Gilbert cradling his brother in his arms.

"Anything for you, Liebe."