There was something intoxicating about the rich colors of autumn. Shrugging his jacket up around his shoulders, the albino looked out at the trees, their leaves seeming as though they had been painted by some clumsy two year old. Hell, half of them were missing a good chunk of their leaves, bare branches exposed to the chilling nights, and a slight breeze that was playfully rumpling any hair it could. Drawing in a deep breath of the crisp air, the albino slowly shook his head, before zipping his jacket up, a faint chuckle escaping him. Summer had come and gone, August had arrived. And although the colors of fall were like a drug, the seemingly sweet air like a poison, there was an undefined amount of bitterness in the albino as he looked over the landscape, soaking it in, his red eyes filled with a sort of bleakness, rather than the pure excitement that had been present last year.
It was the very beginning of fall, he thought to himself as he stepped off the porch, walking down the currently empty street, but it was also the beginning of the end. Scowling at the ground, the albino shook his head once, trying to rid himself of such desolate thoughts. He hadn't come out of the house today, to be like this. He didn't want to spend the last day of freedom wasted and trying to drink his life away: there was someone that he needed to see before he was sent away for who (Word is lying to you, "who" is grammatically correct.) knew how long. He doubted that this person wanted to see him, but that just made him smile a bit. It really was far too amusing to make the Austrian lose his temper, probably because he was far too controlled all the time. Getting out stress was good for him, especially since his marriage was failing yet again, and thankfully the Austrian hadn't realized the real reason the albino liked to get him angry.
Letting out a breath, watching it cloud in the air, another slight smile touched the albino's face. Stupid prissy aristocrat, always getting his panties in a bunch over the stupidest things, he really needed to relax and enjoy life. Just because he was a nation, it didn't mean he had all the time in the world. They could die, just as the ancients had gone, but so few seemed to remember that…granted, he supposed if death was on your mind long enough, you started really savoring life. Tilting his head back, he stopped in the middle of the still empty street, looking up at the clear blue sky, wondering if there really was some sort of God up there.
After a few moments had passed though, and there was no answer to his questions, Gilbert could do little more than shrug and continue on his way, scuffing at a slightly crumpled pile of leaves gathered on the corner of a house. Shaking his head once more at thoughts that were threatening to send him on another drinking binge, Gilbert gave another huff, before striding forward, trying to flee from himself. No matter how fast he walked though, there was no escaping his mind. Thought after thought pounded in his skull, threatening to send him to his knees, but that would be seen as a weakness. He couldn't seem weak, even with his doom looming over his head, he had to seem strong. He was doing this for West, and West couldn't see how much this was affecting him mentally.
Panting slightly, Gilbert broke out into a jog, closing his eyes, before he found himself moving into a full out sprint, breath coming a bit raggedly as he hurtled down the street, gritting his teeth. Cold air ripped at his lungs, it was difficult to breathe by the time he got to the end of the street. Bracing himself on one of the benches for the buses, Gilbert gripped the wood slats almost desperately, his fingers gripping the slightly frozen wood, shoulders shaking. For several long moments, he stood there, eyes closed, chest heaving as he fought to get himself under control, fought to make it seem as though he was okay, as if this was just some average day. Occasionally, the sound of a songbird could be heard, the faint rustle as the town started to wake up. Focusing on those noises and the fact people would be on their way soon, Gilbert slowly straightened, releasing his hold on the bench, wiping his hands on his pants. A seemingly relaxed grin flickered across his expression now; he casually shoved his hands in his pockets, and began to saunter down the street, watching some sleepy people stumble from their houses to get their papers.
He had stayed the night in some hotel, a simple place that was about a ten minute walk from the Austrian's home—a surprise visit, as usual. Looking around, he found that he was about a minute from the Aristocrat's house; it seemed doing a flat out sprint really had a way of killing time. Chuckling faintly to himself, he went right up to the door, and wiggled the knob, not surprised to find it locked. That was what he had prepared for though. Hungary was gone for the day, something he had checked more than once, meaning he had Specs all to himself for the whole day. Grinning slightly to himself, Gilbert reached around in his back pocket and fished out West's credit card, taking a moment to admire the shiny surface, before sliding it into the door crack, and carefully wiggling it around, for the moment glad that Specs was too cheap to get a good lock. A few moments later, he was in.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the hallway, listening to the soft sounds coming from the music room, tilting his head in an almost curious manner. There was something almost oddly familiar about the tune, though at the moment he couldn't place just what it was. Quickly growing bored of just sitting there and listening, Gilbert quietly made his way down the hallway, pausing just before the music room. The music had stopped for some reason. Had he been heard? He had assumed the rustle of the wind against the house had muffled his footsteps…!
Holding his breath, Gilbert pressed up against the wall, eyes closing, not daring to do as much as twitch. A few heartbeats passed, before the piano picked up again, apparently the Austrian had just been getting more music or something—the tune had changed. Slowly peeling himself off of the wall, grinning now, Gilbert sauntered over to the door, grasping the cool handle and ever so carefully turning it, pushing the door in with a careful manner, making sure it didn't even creak. The Austrian was too into his music to even notice the intrusion, another thing the albino had been prepared for (counting on, actually). Slowly closing the door, he quickly made his way behind a cluster of music stands, which had a convenient sheet thrown over them. Peeking out from behind the stands, for a moment, Gilbert watched the Austrian play, wishing that he had had such talent with the piano, before he cast aside such thoughts, and crept out of his hiding place.
Wait! Had he been spotted? Eyes widening as the dark haired man moved as if to turn around, Gilbert promptly threw himself at the other man, tackling him. "Hey Specs!" He called out joyfully, as they crashed onto the hard wood floor, a grunt escaping him as the Austrian somehow managed to slam an elbow into his ribs. "It's a wonderful fall day, and here you are locked up inside. Really now, do you hate the outside that much?" He teased, shifting so he was sitting on the other, poking his cheek in a curious manner, grinning.
"Gilbert!" The ruffled Austrian snapped.
"That's the name!" Gilbert said cheerily, grin widening a touch as he saw the irritation in the violet eyes of the Austrian—though that irritation was just a mask to hide the affection. "You should come outside for the first time in your life," he drawled, "believe it or not, it isn't summer anymore. I know this may be hard for you to believe, but after summer comes such a thing called fall. It's really quite a nice time of the year."
Glaring at the other man, Roderich smacked him in the chest, attempting to shove him off. "Get off of me, you fat oaf," he grumbled at the albino, sitting up and dusting himself off, a blush still brightly coloring his face. "I do not need to go outside in this weather. There is absolutely no reason to do so. And why are you even here? Last I checked, you lived in your brother's basement, not anywhere near me." He growled.
Pretending to be hurt by the words (though they did stab some part of his heart), Gilbert let out a fairly offended sort of sound, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "I came to grace you with my presence!" Gilbert said, shaking his head as though he pitied the other man for not knowing this simple fact. "It has been so long since we last visited," last time they had decided to use the piano for more than it was intended for, "and I was, graciously, thinking about just coming by and brightening your day!"
Roderich was silent for a moment, before he let out a slightly dark chuckle and shook his head. "Of course," he muttered, somewhat under his breath, turning his back to the Prussian and moving to take a seat at his piano again. "I should have guessed that you were horny. That's the only reason you'd visit me." Settling back at his piano, Roderich began to play once more, though he seemed to be slamming his fingers against the keys more than anything.
Blinking at the sudden shift in words, for a moment Gilbert couldn't do anything more than stare at Roderich's back, before a scowl flickered across his expression. Reaching forward, he gripped the other man's shoulder, yanking him off the chair and back onto the ground. "You can be so arrogant sometimes," he said in a growl, eyes flashing. "Always assuming things, putting words in my mouth that never came out, it kind of pisses me off." Still tightly gripping the Austrian's shoulder, Gilbert shook his head in a fairly disappointed manner, before abruptly releasing him, leaving him to 'thunk' fully onto the floor. "Stupid prissy aristocrat," Gil grumbled, leaning up against the wall and glaring at the confused Roderich sprawled out on the floor.
"Wait…" Roderich said, scowling slightly in confusion as he sat up, adjusting his glasses, before taking them off and cleaning them, a nervous tic so to say. "So, you didn't just visit because you wanted to…to…" He blushed furiously now, unable to get the words out, and looked away, almost ferociously cleaning his glasses.
"To fuck you?" Gilbert asked dryly, rolling his eyes, his tone mocking. "Believe it or not, I'm not as bad as you think." He snapped slightly, huffing. "Man, I don't even know why I bothered to visit you. This was just a waste of my time; I could be doing better things right now." This was a flat out lie, but even if Roderich ended up calling him on it, Gilbert would never admit that the only other thing he could be doing was drinking himself into some sort of numb coma.
"W-well, when you come around in times like these, I have learned to assume that is what you want," Roderich stammered, blush growing darker as he played with his cravat, having placed his glasses on once more. After a few moments, he shrugged, not about to apologize to the Prussian. "If you must interrupt my life," he said in a sigh, "then I suppose I'll humor you. You'll just pester me until I give in anyway." Brushing some invisible dirt from his coat, Roderich fixed his hair, before going over to the albino, making a slightly indignant sound, and reaching out, making an attempt to smooth down the albino's hair.
"Stop it," Gilbert whined when he did this, smacking at his hands, though he did grin slightly, unaware of the fact that was what the Austrian had been going for the whole time. "It's windy outside," Gilbert said in a huff, wandering out into the hallway. "It's going to get messed up again anyway. Gott, Specs, you can be so girly about your appearance."
"Girly? There is nothing wrong with wanting to look pristine, Gilbert!" Roderich said immediately, eyes narrowing. "Just because not all of us just jump out of bed and simply throw some clothes on…" He muttered under his breath, though he secretly adored the albino's crazy sort of style.
"Are you talking about those crazy awesome people who actually have a life and places to go when they wake up in the morning?" Gilbert asked in a pseudo innocent manner, looking behind him with wide eyes.
Despite himself, Roderich couldn't help a chuckle as he looked at the Prussian, not believing that innocence for as much as a moment. "Gilbert," he said lazily, "you have about as much chance of being innocent as I do of…" He trailed off, as blush creeping up his face as he looked away.
"Oh! I know the answer to this one!" Gilbert said, grinning widely now, a laugh escaping him. "I have as much of a chance of being innocent as you do of ever managing to top!" Cackling to himself, Gilbert shook his head, skipping out of arm range, listening to the indignant sputtering of the dark haired man behind him, as well as quite a few improper things! "Oh, Specs, what is that coming from your mouth?" He goaded. "That's hardly proper!" Laughing again, he dashed out of the house, leaping down the stairs, the offended Austrian hot on his heels.
"Gilbert!" Roderich shouted as he chased after the cackling albino. "Come back here so I can wash your mouth out with soap! I swear, you…you…!" Words were failing him at this point, panting as he chased after the offender, not used to getting this much exercise at once.
"If you wash my mouth out with soap…you wouldn't like kissing me…so you'd essentially lose…" Gilbert panted, coming to a halt in an empty park, fighting to get his breathing under control.
"Or I…could just…not kiss you," Roderich growled, though the effect was lost with the panting, as he stopped beside the albino, shedding himself of his jacket for the moment, draping it over his arm.
"You honestly think you could go without kissing me, even once?" Gilbert asked, still breathing a bit heavy, but grinning over at the Austrian, laughing breathlessly when he got silence as an answer, cheeks flushed both from the run and his good spirits. Reaching over, he looped an arm around Roderich's shoulders, pulling him into a sort of one armed hug. "You can be too cute sometimes," he informed him, earning an even darker blush.
"Y-you're embarrassing," Roderich muttered, pulling out of the one armed hug and walking over to the fountain in the middle of the park, tugging his jacket back on self consciously.
Shaking his head, a small smile touched Gilbert's face as he walked over to the other side of the fountain as well, before stripping himself of his shirt and tossing it into the water.
"What are you doing?" Roderich asked, violet eyes widening, shivering as a slight wind chilled him, even through his jacket. "You're going to freeze; today is exceptionally cold for August!" He exclaimed, though he couldn't do anything more than just stare at the bare skin, finding himself suddenly wanting the other man. Blushing, he looked away at this point.
And that was when he got hit with the wet shirt. Gasping, the Austrian reeled back, his glasses in disarray, nearly falling onto his butt. "Gilbert!" He gasped, gaping at the other, as though he couldn't comprehend what had just happened to him. Quickly, he adjusted himself, fixing his glasses, before fixing the cackling albino a very angered sort of look, turning on his heel and stalking off, though the fact the other man was still shirtless had him blushing like crazy.
Throwing the wet t-shirt back on, for a moment admiring the way it clung to his firm body, Gilbert choked back the laughter, bouncing after the offended priss. "Come back!" He called out after him, before wrapping his arms around his waist and physically pulling him back into him, not heeding the older man's struggles. Kissing his temple, a lower sort of chuckle came from the albino, a slight purr touching his voice ever so slightly. "Are you really going somewhere without getting some sort of goodbye kiss?" He asked, pressing a kiss on the Austrian's neck now, just above the white (and now wet) cravat, earning a sort of shiver from the usually dignified man, a slightly surprised breath. He had learned a long time ago that the other man was a sucker for touch, and even these soft, seemingly pointless caresses were doing more than any night of passion could ever do.
"P-people are staring, Gilbert," Roderich whispered, his eyes closed, just about melting back into the albino, another shiver escaping him, as well as a faint whimpering sound.
"Let them stare. Let them wonder, hell, I don't really care what they think," Gilbert growled, fully aware that there was nobody in the park, even though time had passed and now it was about mid afternoon, playing along with Roderich. It was a game they had developed a long time ago.
"This is hardly proper," the Austrian mumbled, face flushed from the proximity of the Prussian as well as the fact that this was incredibly pleasurable for him: something that only the albino knew about, for some odd reason. "And I'm still married," he added, feigning a grumpy tone.
"She wouldn't mind joining in a three-way," the albino mused aloud, chuckling a bit. "Then you would be bottoming to two people though, and I still hate the idea of sharing you." Before the other man had a chance to argue, Gilbert had released him, and was standing in front of him, grabbing him by the slightly damp cravat, and yanking him into a kiss, lips meeting Roderich's with an almost desperate feel to them, as though he was afraid of something. If the Austrian had been paying better attention, he would have caught this, and questioned the Prussian on it, but at the moment, he was too lost in the kiss to be able to think clearly, much less read the body language of the albino.
The kiss wasn't heated anymore beyond that, and as Gilbert finally stepped back from the other, he gave him a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Your wife will be home soon," he told the slightly dazed looking Roderich, for a moment admiring those pretty violet eyes of his, and the faint smile that was touching his lips—it was rare for the other man to outright smile so even the slightest hints of cracks in composure was more than enough to make the Prussian's day. "I have no immediate desire to be bludgeoned to death today," a faint chuckle escaped him, though he had to work to make it seem as though he was actually happy.
Roderich was silent for a moment or so, brow furrowing in a bit of confusion as he searched the bright red eyes of the Prussian, tilting his head to the side slightly, as if trying to figure out exactly what he was seeing there. Panicked, Gilbert flashed the other man a cheery grin, chuckling, about to make some sort of joke about thinking too hard.
"Alright," Roderich said slowly, halting Gilbert from saying anything. There was hesitance in his voice though, as if there was something he saw that he didn't like—some sort of hidden truth. "You never told me why you wanted to visit today though. I'm still curious."
Surprised by the sudden statement, Gilbert did little more than shrug, as if the real reason didn't matter all that much.
Shrugging as well, Roderich pressed a very light kiss to the albino's lips, before turning and walking off.
"See you around, Gilbert." He said over his shoulder, before pausing, as though thinking about adding something. For a moment, a faint beacon of hope flickered in the albino, though it was extinguished when the other man continued walking, not looking back a second time.
As soon as he was out of sight, Gilbert allowed the desolation that he had been so carefully hiding to take over, a single tear sliding down his cheek. "No, my Piano Man, I won't be seeing you anytime soon." He whispered, giving a shudder. "I came to say goodbye…"
"I failed to say that though. Just as I failed to say that I loved you. Love you."