Author's Note: I found raw scans of the full manga series, and I died inside. There was this one scene after the big climax that everyone knows and hates that really caught my attention, so I thought I'd expand on it by going down a path difference from the one taken. Enjoy!

Dull Gold Silence

"Gilbert, you're so clumsy!"

Worried eyes darted down to the soup staining the still blond's nightshirt. Fortunately it wasn't too hot, so there was no need for him to flinch once it hit his skin. Serge chewed on his bottom lip as he placed the bowl of soup he was serving onto the nightstand.

"No, don't apologize," he said with a huff before Gilbert could move his lips. "I know how hard it is to adjust to all of this, but that's why I'm here. You don't need to do a thing until you're well again."

Ever since Gilbert got into an accident, he has been unable to speak much or move his limbs. He was practically paralyzed, but Serge was there for him like he always promised himself to be. He didn't mind working in the daytime and being a caretaker at night. No matter if his lover didn't get better tomorrow or years from now, he would still look after him.

He carefully kept him sitting up as he removed his shirt and dabbed at his lightly soup-stained chest with a wet towel. Whenever he was bare, the marks embedded into his skin could be seen. They stretched in uneven diagonal lines over his neck and chest, deep enough with no sign of ever healing. They might never leave, but that didn't prevent the raven-locked boy from loving him all the same. Everybody has scars whether it be inside or out.

If there was one thing they had in common, it was that they had both.

"Maybe I should be more careful next time," he muttered. "After all, you can't move, and it's best you don't if you want to get better."

"Serge."

Turning his head away, he looked towards the doorway of the two's apartment where their friend Pascal stood. The young man had been given a spare key to come in himself since the day of the accident upon his insistence he visit often to help them out. Sometimes he would bring food for them, other times books or medical supplies. As for today, in the basket slung on his arm were small loaves of bread and fruit.

Of course they were grateful for him. Serge needed someone to watch over Gilbert whenever he was out working.

"You've must've been cold, coming all the way here."

"Not really, I took a carriage." Pascal walked over and set the basket by the foot of the bed.

Serge smiled. "Regardless, I have enough soup to serve you, too. Here, let me take your coat."

As their guest was settling in with his jacket off and the active host had given him a bowl of soup, the latter set to fixing Gilbert's hair with a brush. He held each lock with a gentle touch while his busy hand worked through whatever tangled knot he could get at. It was always troubling when he did this for he couldn't tell whether Gilbert would flinch if he accidentally tugged too hard, and the last thing he wanted was to inflict any more pain.

Pascal looked on, forgotten by his friend as he tended to his lover. He didn't mind, it gave him time to examine him. Raven locks have grown longer in the past couple weeks, enough to now be tied back into a small ponytail. His eyes have small bags underneath from lack of sleep and barely visible scratches.

Do you know that you cry and scratch yourself while you're asleep, Serge? It keeps me up at night whenever I spend it here.

His eyes darted over to the table where Karl's letters remained collecting dust. After the accident, everyone back at Lacombrade caught wind of it and it drew in nonstop gossip. He was there when Serge opened Karl's first letter sent to him, but upon reading the first sentence the papers were torn up and reduced to ashes in the fireplace. He didn't have to read it himself to know just what it said.

"My condolences for your loss..."

Gilbert's hair was made neat once more, bangs swept aside to reveal green eyes. They creeped him out now. The accident left them dull and staring at nothing, but he knew Serge saw something else. All he was aware of was that they would surely shine with emotion one day.

"We'll get through this together," he heard him whisper as he placed a tanned hand upon a pale one. "Just like always... I love you, Gilbert."

He made their fingers intertwine, confident his beloved's would wrap around his on its own one day, unaware that they never will. Pascal knew that, Karl knew that, and the rest of the world knew that - all but this delusional boy.

Serge was doomed to receiving nothing but silence.