Chapter One

"Name please."

He looked up at the strange man. His pale hands gripped the fabric of his father's brown trousers, shying away. He didn't understand what the man was saying to his father from behind his moustache. All the noises made him want to hop back on the boat and go right back home. No matter how tough things were back in Germany with the war approaching and all, it seemed like there it wouldn't be so scary. He looked up at his father who gave up his name to the man with the moustache. His red eyes scanned the area. He looked behind him and immediately looked at two boys behind him. The boy closest to him was a boy with curly brown hair. He smiled pleasantly and waved, his green eyes shining. The other was a blonde whose locks were also curly. However, his eyes were a nice pair of blue. The brunette boy appeared to be speaking either Spanish or Italian. He recognized the language since his father once worked with people of varying nationalities. The other boy was speaking French. The pale boy smiled at the brunette and waved back. That was the first time he had smiled since he had gotten off the boat. Out of his happiness, a pungent shout was uttered from the side; "Next!". He looked up at his mother and hastened to her side, holding onto her leg. Her blue eyes pulled away from the man and down at her little white angel. A gentle, loving hand came down, stroking from his forehead and back.

"It's going to be okay, love," she mused. "We'll all be out of here soon. We'll all be—"

Her comforting words were interrupted. She switched her attention to the baby boy in her hands, the young boy's new brother who was only a month of age. His mouth was open as he let out a loud cry. His little face was red and wrinkled. And by the looks of it, he wasn't sure if his little brother was really crying or was only making more noise.

"Your name, son?"

He looked up at the man. "Gilbert…Beilschmidt." He replied in monotone, scared out of his wits to show any emotion.

"Und this is Ludwig," his mother was referring to the baby in her arms, her heavy German accent and all.

"Right this way," said the man, gesturing to his left.

As his father guided the family away, Gilbert looked back at the two boys in the line. The two were waving.

"Adios!" called the brunette.

"Au revoir!" chimed the blonde.

He didn't know what exactly those meant, but he felt the need to wave and say, "Auf Liedersehen!" Gilbert grabbed his father's hand and looked up at him, smiling bigger than ever. He laughed as he brought a cap down on his head, fixing it accordingly. His father reached down and with a small groan, he hoisted him onto his shoulders.

"Boy, you've gotten rather light since we left home. Are you ready to get something to eat, champ?" his father asked with a smirk on his chiseled face.

"Yes, I'm really hungry." He whined while pouting and kicking his feet slightly.

"We'll be out of here soon, they just need to make sure we're safe and that everyone is well."

"Gilbert…Gilbert, wake up. Come on now, wake up."

The little boy stirred before opening his eyes. He saw the sight of his mother. "Hmm…?" he sighed, still a little groggy from the nap.

"Gilbert, all you've been sleeping and taking your English lessons for a week straight. Why don't you go outside and play?" his mother suggested, her pink lips curling into a loving smile. She matched her son's puzzled look as he sat up. She then added, "Your father and I were discussing this and we thought you should go and try and make friends while you can. You're going to start school bright and early on Monday."

The albino sprang out of his bed. "Really?" he piped. Gilbert hugged his mother's legs, laughing as he took her hand. "Come on, Mommy!"

She paused in her tracks. "I would if I could, angel. But I have to take care of your brother. He's only a baby, you know."

The boy looked down at his feet in deep thought. His red eyes then widened as he ran to his parents' room. "Father! Come outside to play with me!" he cheered. "I want to go make some friends and I don't want to get lost!"

He tore his eyes away from his desk and smiled at his son. He glanced at his papers for a moment. The paper work could wait, he decided. His son needed him. This was the opportunity for him to bond in the New World with his son. "Alright, champ. I heard there's a park right down a couple blocks." He kneeled down to his level, ruffling his hair. "Are you up for the adventure?"

"Yeah!" he rammed into the man, wrapping his arms around him. He let out a joyous squeal as he hoisted the boy over his shoulder. As he made his way for the door, he looked into his wife's eyes.

"Be careful…you know how strange these people are about us…" she advised, making sure to keep her voice low for the sake of Gilbert and baby Ludwig in her arms.

He brought a hand to her soft cheek, stroking it with his thumb. "You don't have to worry. We'll be fine." He grinned as he turned his attention to the little boy over his shoulder. He flipped him so that his face met his. "Isn't that right, champ?" as Gilbert nodded, he put the cap on the boy's head, then one on his own. "That's my boy." He looked back at his wife and kissed her on the lips. His blue eyes then looked down at the baby. "When you're older, I'll take you with us, little man." He promised with a wink. With that, he set down Gilbert and headed out the door, shutting it behind him. The two walked side by side, hand in hand. Gilbert was sure to stay close to his father. The last thing he wanted was to get lost in the hustle and bustle of New York. This place was definitely different from his home back in Germany. He had never seen so many people who didn't look similar to him. There were Germans in his neighborhood, but there were also Italians who differed greatly in not only language but appearance as well. There were Pols here and there, he lived directly beneath a kind Jewish family and next to him was a lovely, elderly Russian couple. The food from the little merchant places was also delicious too. His mother got potatoes from there. However, as he walked on, he noticed a great difference between the immigrant part of New York and the rest of it. It was much busier and a lot more confusing. Everyone was speaking English, but there wasn't much that he could understand. He didn't know how to read the signs on the way to the park, he received strange looks. A little girl on the other side of the street even pointed, but her mother pulled her away. He self-consciously pulled his cap down.

"Don't worry, champ, we're almost there." His father reassured him. He pointed. "See? It's right there. I'll race you."

Immediately lightening up, the boy charged full speed ahead. "Can't catch me, Dad!" he called behind him. As he pulled his attention back ahead of him he saw a flash of brown before crashing into whatever was ahead of him and falling. "Ow…" he muttered as he stood and dusted himself off. He stood up and instantly met a pair of eyes as blue as the sky on a sunny day. He was speechless. Was this person nice? What did they want? Was he going to yell at him for bumping into him? He had remembered the girl on the street and pulled his cap down lower. There was a boy standing in front of him. He was just about his age and only a smidge taller than him. His hair was dirty blonde beneath the cap he was wearing. He took his off before grinning ear to ear. His grin would have been perfect if his front two weren't missing. If he looked closely, he could have sworn that there were very light freckles across his rosy cheeks. "Hiya!" was the boy's response.

"H…Hallo…" Gilbert replied slowly, careful with his words. "I am Gilbert…what's your name…?"

The boy started laughing.

"What?!" he raised a brow at him.

"You talk funny." He said in between giggles.

He furrowed his brows and crossed his arms, pouting and looking away. "Stupid kid." He muttered.

"What did you say? I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," he shuffled his foot. "It's just that I've never heard anyone talk like that before."

"Well—" he gasped quietly as he felt the other child's lips on one cheek then the other. He gave him a bewildered gaze of crimson.

"What? Isn't that how you guys say," he gulped in between his words, "say hello in Geranium?"

"Geranium?" he echoed. "What?"

"Isn't that where you're from?"

He had to pause for a second. Germany. The kid was trying to say Germany but he didn't know what the heck he was talking about. "You mean Germany?"

"Yeah! Gee, I've been spending too much time with my mom in her garden…" he trailed off as he looked down at his feet. "…that you almost stepped in."

Gilbert's eyes shot down to his feet, lifting one. He looked back up. "I…don't know name…"

"What? Oh, my name?" the boy asked. "My name's Alfred. Some people call me Alfie but that's for sissies." He gagged.

"It is pleasure to meet you, Alfred." He smiled.

"Hey, why is your hat so low?" before Gilbert could retaliate, Alfred was already reaching for the cap and he pulled it off. His mouth went agape, but it slowly turned into a smile in amazement. "Golly, that's really neat!"

"What?"

"Your hair!"

He chuckled. "I know." He tried to brush off the fact that he wasn't too keen on his hair color since he came here. He was happy that this stranger liked his congenital disorder. He looked at the cap in the boy's hand and snatched it. "Give." He ordered.

"So where are your folks?" Alfred asked. "Aren't they looking for you?"

Gilbert's eyes widened and he looked behind him. He could've sworn his father was right behind him. "Oh no…" his words trailed off as his stomach began to growl.

"You're hungry, huh? Come on, I know where we can get something to eat!" before he could utter a word of rejection, Gilbert was already being pulled by the hand. He quickened his pace and walked next to his new friend. In his young mind, he could definitely be trusted. He knew he was a German and either didn't know much about the war that had just ended or just didn't care. He hoped it was the latter or both. He looked up at the sign in front of him. He couldn't read very much English so he stared with a blank expression. Alfred looked at him and giggled. "Come on! This place has the best hamburgers."

"Hamburgers?" he echoed. He knew what those were. Beef patties stacked in between cheese, lettuce, tomato and other things. He only tried it once, and preferred his mother's cooking over it. The two boys entered, picking a place to sit.

"Al!" a big man from behind the counter shouted with a big grin. His booming voice startled Gilbert.

"Hey, Mr. Joe!" he piped. "Can I get two liberty steaks?"

Liberty steaks? I thought they were called hamburgers.

He let out a hearty laugh. "Sure! Seems like someone's extra hungry."

"No, the extra isn't for me," he went silent for a moment. "…this time. It's for my new friend Gilbert."

Mr. Joe came from behind the counter and waddled over to where the albino boy sat. "Gilbert, huh? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you—" he stopped as the boy's stomach growled. "Well, he had better not keep you waiting. Hey, get me two liberty steaks and some freedom fries. Make it snappy!"

"Yes, sir," one of the scrawny employees responded, flipping patties and quickly assembling a lovely pair of burgers. He placed them on two saucers and sauntered to the table, placing them neatly in front of the young boys. "There you go, fellas. Eat up, now." He said while ruffling Alfred's hair.

As Alfred dug into his burger, Gilbert looked questioningly at his. He leaned over the table and whispered, "Hey, why did you say liberty steak?"

"Oh…around here, they don't like saying hamburger. They say liberty steak and freedom fries." The blonde explained through mouthfuls of beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato.

"Oh…" he looked down at the burger in front of him and picked it up. He sank his teeth into it, chewing slowly. Well, it was a tad better than what he had back home. Not to mention it was a lot bigger and a lot more filling. As he swallowed a bite, he took a couple of the "freedom fries" and ate them as well. He looked outside and noticed the sun was going down. "Uh oh," he gulped what was in his mouth. "I must go now." He hastened towards the door.

"Hey, wait, kid. I want to see you again!" Alfred admitted, a sad expression on his face.

"I'll be going to school on Monday; Franklin Elementary. Do you go there?" Gilbert asked.

The blonde boy nodded, a grin replacing his look of melancholy. "Okay, I'll see you then, Gilbert. Bye!" he waved.

"See you, little fella!" Mr. Joe called after him with a laugh and a wave. "Come back soon!"

He turned back for a second and nodded before running homeward. He couldn't let his folks worry for too long. But they would be ecstatic to learn that their son was a big boy and took on the New World on his own. What was even better was that he made a new friend.

Author's Note: If you've noticed, there is some dialogue in italics. I did that to represent them speaking in German, rather than let Google Translate butcher it and anger some German fans. Also, there are only two lines that are in their own language (French and Spanish, obviously) and that was to show where those two children were from and to show how it sounded from Gilbert's point of view. Just in case anyone was confused.