Gilbert paced around the house quickly, rummaging through piles of stuff scattered disorderly around his house. The hard drumming of rain on rooftop accompanied him, echoing over the near silence of the house.
"Oh, Gilbird! Where could it be?" Gilbert exclaimed aloud to a yellow bird which looked up at him.
Delving into another pile of miscellaneous objects, he declared, "This weekend we are doing some spring cleaning, birdy. No excuses like last time!"
Gilbird tweeted unknowingly and tilted his little head. The bird watched Gilbert as he pulled out a small velvet box and gasped happily.
"Found it!" Gilbert cooed happily and danced his way over to the birdcage, "The awesome me has triumphed once more."
Gilbert, now standing in front of the cage, knelt down onto one knee and flipped up the lid of the box to reveal a silver ring.
"Gilbird the bird, will you marry me?" Gilbert's voice drawled out sarcastically.
With a small chuckle he closed the box and stood up straight, brushing off his knees. Sticking a finger through the cage, Gilbert patted his pet gently.
"Don't be silly, birdy. I don't really want you to marry me," Gilbert assured and slid the box into his pocket, "But tonight! Tonight is the night, Gilbird! I'm gonna do it! I'm taking Roderich out to that fancy restaurant he loves and I'm going to ask him at last. And Roddy, well, he will have to say yes to the awesomeness that is me. How could he not?"
Gilbert draped himself over the cage and sighed dreamily, "Did I ever tell you that I love Roddy? He may just be more awesome than me. That's how much I like him."
From the corner of his eye, Gilbert caught sight of the clock. He stood bolt upright and began racing towards the door.
"Shit! Shit fuck! I'm gonna be late!" Gilbert exclaimed out and threw the door open, "Fucking shit. Sorry Gilbirdy, I gotta go."
Roderich looked up at the clock that adorned his wall, watching the seconds hand crawl across the surface excruciatingly. Gilbert was meant to pick him up at 8 o'clock, and it was already 10 past. Sure, he wasn't exactly one to speak when it came to being on time, but he was so used to Gilbert's punctuality that he had grown dependant on it.
Roderich sat down with a sigh, only to jump back up immediately at the sound of his phone vibrating on the table. Hurriedly, he walked over to it and picked it up, hoping for any news from Gilbert.
Much to his pleasure, there on the screen was a text message from Gilbert.
"ill be late 2 pick u up im stuck in a shitload of traffic see u soon 33"
Roderich rolled his eyes at both Gilbert's lack of grammar and use of hearts. He unlocked his phone and began to type back a response.
"It's okay. I can wait a little longer. The reservation isn't for another half hour."
A second later another text came through.
"its fucking pissing down rain I cant c out the windscreen"
"Don't you think you should be focusing on driving rather than texting me if that's the case?"
"jeez roddy u worry 2 much im fine"
"And I'm being serious Gil"
"but I luv texting u so much~~~ 333"
"I'm sure you love being alive too"
"ok ok ill stop"
"Good."
Roderich put down his phone after a minute of no new texts from Gilbert. Rubbing his eyes, he groaned to himself at Gilbert's carelessness. After a moment, Roderich picked up his phone and sent one last message.
"I love you 3"
Roderich watched the phone in his hand for Gilbert to respond two seconds later, repeating the phrase back but presumably with twice as many hearts, but it didn't come. Roderich sighed and placed down the phone. It seemed that Gilbert was listening to his advice and not texting while driving.
Roderich looked up once more at the clock. It was now 8:45. Unlocking his phone, he scrolled through the series of messages he had sent Gilbert over the past half hour.
"How long will you be?"
"Where about are you?"
"Are you almost here yet?"
"Gilbert?"
"We're going to be late."
"Is the traffic that bad?"
"Gilbert?"
"We are now officially late."
"Gilbert, I know I told you not to text while driving but this is ridiculous."
"Where are you?"
Roderich gulped and sent through another text onto the unanswered pile, his worries starting to get the best of him.
"Why aren't you responding?"
Roderich placed the phone down next to him and leant his head back, taking a deep breath. He could barely wait any longer. Reservations at this restaurant were hard to get, and if you managed to obtain one, you would have at least a month wait.
Roderich sat up straight as the sound of his phone vibrating filled the air. He grabbed the phone quickly and looked at the screen, only to see it wasn't a message from Gilbert, but a call from Ludwig.
Somewhat disappointed, Roderich answered the call and pressed the phone up to his ear.
"Hello?" his voice sounded into the phone.
There was a small intake of breath on the other end, as if the other was trying hard to manage the meagre task of speech. After a moment came the ragged yet familiar voice of Ludwig.
"Roderich…"
Roderich stiffened slightly at the tone of Ludwig's voice and felt his heart quicken within his chest from worry, "Yes? Is something wrong? Have… Have you been crying?"
Another pause as Ludwig no doubt steadied himself before saying, "Yea… Um…"
"What is it?" Roderich filled the next pause, urging the usually resilient Ludwig to speak.
"Gilbert, he…" Ludwig began, spikes of dread shooting up Roderich's spine.
The entire world stopped for Roderich in that instant. His head spun and everything began to hurt. Although it was less than a second, an eternity seemed to pass before Ludwig finished his sentence.
"There was an accident."
The phone dropped from Roderich's hand, hitting the couch with a soft thud. His hands shook and his vision began to blur. His throat burned from the force of choking back tears. The phone beside him continued to emit Ludwig's voice, now a frantic chant of his name.
Roderich crumpled up from the inside out and he heard a loud scream. After a second, he realised it was none other than his own drowning the room in its presence.
Finally, he regained his composure and picked up the phone, keeping sobs from wracking his body.
"Oh?" Roderich squeaked into the phone, "Is he okay?"
Ludwig paused a second, as if trying to pick and choose his words with precise care and answered, "He didn't make it."
Another gut-wrenching silence.
"I'm sorry, Roderich."
Roderich said, his voice as empty as he felt, "It is okay. I have to go…"
Ignoring Ludwig's protest, he hung up the phone and drew his knees to his chest. He tried to sob into them, yet no tears managed to come out. He couldn't even cry for the loss of his love. He stayed in that position for the rest of the evening until sleep possessed him.
