This is a sequel to my story Practice, which I posted in 2015, so it's been a solid two years. I didn't start out writing this with the intention of it following Practice, but it worked out really well to do so.
I hope you enjoy the story!
Gilbert knew that he was running out of time. There was only one day left in the semester, and he was running late as it was. He wanted—no, needed—to find out if he had a chance with Roderich before winter break started. That way, if he was rejected he had time to heal, and if not then they had plenty of free time to hang out. Roderich had finished his piano competition the week before and had placed second in Nationals- high enough to acquire the scholarship he needed to attend college. Since then, he had begrudgingly allowed Gilbert to follow him around to classes, and occasionally even let him into the practice room.
Gilbert knew that his chances were slim. It wasn't that long ago that his neighbor hated him, or at least really didn't like him. But things had changed since then, and he needed to try. Besides, Ludwig was always saying he was stupid and reckless. It was time to prove his brother right.
Gilbert knew that Roderich would be in the practice room for around two hours after school. He kept himself busy in the meantime by visiting the hockey team practice, where Mattie and Tino were brawling messily on the ice. He paused for a second, confused because he knew that Tino wasn't actually on the hockey team, before moving on. He stopped by the stage, where he saw the worst acting in his life and quickly left with a grimace. He stuck his head in the art room and marveled at the strangely good photography lining the walls before he realized that there was a couple in the supplies closet and hastily ducked out. Sufficiently distracted, Gilbert led himself back to the practice rooms to wait for Roderich.
To his surprise, Roderich was already leaving the music hallway with a small smile on his face, a cello case on his back, and a stack of sheet music spilling out of his hands.
"Roddy! Heading home already? Are you sure you don't want to torture the band director with your presence any longer?" Gilbert teased freely, taking Roderich's backpack and slinging it on top of his own so that the other boy could easily carry his music.
"I'll have you know that the orchestra director adores me, Herr Beilschmidt." Roderich snipped, but the smile didn't leave his face, so Gilbert knew he was in the clear. "And yes, actually. I don't seem to feel like playing today, so I thought I'd go home and try to write some more of the piece I started last week."
"The one you're writing for music theory that was due like a month ago?" For all his fussiness, Roderich was terrible at turning any music-related work in on time. Gilbert loved it.
"Hush, you fool. Art can't be rushed."
"But it was due a month ago. Aren't you failing music theory?"
"I will not have my legacy tarnished by something that I wrote in a week! This project will be a masterpiece, just like all the projects I've turned in before!"
"Roddy, you're fucking stupid!" Gilbert cackled gleefully, before realizing he was trying to ask the guy out, not piss him off. "Hey Roddy, can I tell you something I've never told anyone?" Roderich paused in the middle of what was clearly going to be a rather scathing response to search Gilbert's face.
"Gil, I swear to God, if you try to tell me one more time that the word 'gullible' is written on the ceiling, I'm going to be so mad." Roderich threatened, looking legitimately irate.
"Oh my God, Roddy, no, that joke doesn't work if you tell it more than once." Gilbert wheezed in laughter.
"You've told it to me twice!"
"But you got so mad, it was so funny!" Once Roderich looked properly offended, Gilbert plunged on. "But I'm totally serious this time. Can I tell you something I've never told anyone and can you promise not to laugh at me?" The pair had reached the school doors and Gilbert stopped, forcing Roderich to look back at him.
"I think so? I don't like promising you things, you always take advantage of it."
"So you're saying I'm good at making you laugh?" Gilbert knew he was being unnecessarily cheeky, but he couldn't help it.
"No! Just- what did you want to tell me?" Roderich sighed.
"Well. Do you remember you were getting ready for Nationals and I tried to take care of you because you were being stupid?"
"Key word is tried, and yes I remember, it was only a week or so ago."
"Well, I think I figured out why I helped you. Why I wanted to help you."
"Is it because you're secretly a decent human being underneath all that nonsense?"
"No, obviously not. I just have a really big humongous massive crush on you."
"Now don't be dramatic Gilbert, you can't do that to Erzsebet. There's no reason to make such a production out of a one week fancy." Roderich sighed, turning back to the exit.
Gilbert reared back in confusion. "What do you mean, I can't do that to Elizabeta? What does she have to do with anything?"
It was Roderich's turn to be confused. "Aren't you two dating?"
"No! I thought you were dating her!" Gilbert exclaimed.
"Last week she posted a snap of you falling asleep on her shoulder with the caption 'great night with my bf'." Roderich pointed out.
"And the week before that she put a picture collage of you two on Instagram with the caption 'two year anniversary'." Gilbert countered.
"It was the two year anniversary of me moving to her town, obviously!"
"And any idiot would know that bf stands for 'best friend'!"
"So you're not dating Erzsebet?"
"Wait, do you like me?" Gilbert demanded.
The two boys stopped for a moment to study each other.
"It's complicated." Roderich finally replied. "And why in the world did you tell me you liked me if you thought I was dating Erzsebet?" Gilbert only shrugged. "Well, regardless. I do like you. You've been very… sweet to me since Nationals. And you do make me laugh. Not often, but far more frequently than anybody else." Roderich paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "I like it when you sit with me while I practice. It used to be distracting but recently it's been soothing. More comforting than anything else."
"I love that you're failing music theory. It makes so much sense to me that you love it too much to be academically successful at it. That feels like my whole life. I-I love it when you play cello." Gilbert's speech was rehearsed, but it didn't stop him from stumbling on the words as he grew more excited by the truth in them. "You're not as good at it as you are at piano or violin but it feels so much more powerful and human than any other instrument you play. I was furious when you stopped taking care of yourself to practice, a-and it took me a long time to realize why. And your german chocolate cake is better than Luddy's and I didn't even know that was possible."
"I'm not going to make you a cake, Gilbert."
"Why haven't you said yes yet?"
"You never asked me a question. You just informed me of your really big humongous massive crush on me." Roderich said with a smirk. Gilbert's face lit up and he lunged forward, wrapping his arm around the other boy's shoulders and stepping on one of his feet to prevent escape.
"Well then, how about it, Roddy? As previously stated, I like you, you like me. I love your baking and playing and you love my sense of humor and general presence. Would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend and going on lots of awesome dates with me?"
"Why, Herr Beilschmidt, how forward of you! Don't you know you're supposed to offer me an apple from underneath your armpit?"
"Pfft, don't be ridiculous, Roddy!" Gilbert scoffed. "That tradition is for girls. We're not girls; we're men!"
"Men who like each other." Roderich added, blatantly refusing to make eye contact.
"A lot," Gilbert finished with a smile, moving his foot so that the pair could start walking again. The two made their way down the street in a hesitant silence before Gilbert started speaking again.
"That is a yes, though, right? Cause. You never actually said yes."
"Yes, you idiot, calm down. You can be my boyfriend."
"And can I come over after school?"
"You mean right now?"
"Yes!"
"I told you, I plan to work on my composition when I get home." Roderich pointed out.
"You didn't say no! That means I can sit with your head in my lap while you write and I can bend down and kiss you whenever I want." Despite the glibness of his tone, Gilbert couldn't prevent the blush that heated his pale skin.
"No, you can not. I'm," Roderich cleared his throat, looking away. "I don't think I'm comfortable with that."
"Oh. That's okay too! Am I allowed to touch your hair?"
"If you must."
"Gil, what were you going to do if I said no? We're neighbors."
"Oh, my plan was to run away and never return." Gilbert stated.
And Roderich laughed. "That's such a lie."
"You're right." Gilbert grinned shakily. "I'll always come back to you."
I'm thinking of either writing a story to follow this one, but it would PruAusHun and explain how Gilbert and Roderich decided to proposition Elizabeta, or writing a story to precede this one, telling what happened at Nationals and how the pair coped with Roderich's stress.
Let me know what you thought of this story, and let me know if you'd be interested in reading either of the mentioned ideas (or feel free to propose a new idea O.o).