Chapter I: Nostalgia
"You should have seen me today. I was so awesome!"
It was snowing. Not hard, just a light shower of snow fluttered down onto the already white ground... and the Prussian seated upon it. He had a wide grin on his face as he spoke of his "awesome" day. To who? It seemed like no one. Just a slab of stone stood in front of him. If one looked closely, it read "Frederick der Grosse". Though, someone who passed by would just say that Gilbert was talking to himself, which he really was, but (to him) he was talking to his favorite person "Old Fritz". He set aside time to visit the grave at least twice a week for a few hours (sometimes longer), despite the weather conditions.
"Kesesese. You would have loved it!"
Gilbert then let out a sigh, as if winded from his "conversation". He did chat a lot within the few hours he had been sitting there.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure to write it all in my journal when I get home."
He then looked down at his wrist, pulling back his coat sleeve to reveal a watch strapped securely around it. He frowned a little at the time. It was getting kind of late and he had promised his younger brother, Ludwig that he'd be home before sunset this time. He rolled his ruby-colored eyes at the thought and just returned his gaze to the tombstone.
"Well, it was awesome talking to you again. I'll come back tomorrow, okay? Good." He said softly, letting out a white cloud as he spoke before standing up and dusting off the snow that had accumulated on his body, "See ya later, Old Fritz."
Gilbert turned on his heels and strode out of the small section he was previously sitting in, giving a slight wave behind him as he did so. However, the moment he stepped out onto the stone surface, he slipped backwards for there was ice beneath his feet and thus collided with the hard ground as there was nothing he could grip onto to save himself,
"GWAH! Uggh… That was not awesome..." He mumbled before painfully climbing back onto his feet, trying the pavement again.
It was just a small patch of slick ice, so he didn't have to worry about falling again for very long. He let out a relieved sigh as he strode onto the concrete and looked up to the sky, narrowing his eyes. It seemed like the weather was starting to pick up, and he didn't feel like being caught in the approaching storm, so he just returned his gaze ahead and started to walk in a quick pace. It was strange to see Gilbert alone like this. He was usually with at least one person, such as Antonio or Francis or even Ludwig, but not today. Not on days he visited Frederick's grave. He preferred to be by himself whenever he went so "they" wouldn't be interrupted. The Prussian was confronted about it by his younger brother, whom believed that Gilbert may be suffering from an emotional or mental distress. His current behavior had only begun a little while ago, after all. However, he avoided giving a straight answer and ended up slipping away each time. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell him, it's just…
Streift die Stille durch die Wälder. Im Traum aus Eis und Licht.(1)
Gilbert snapped from his thoughts once he heard the German song call out from his coat pocket, slowing to a stop as he pulled out his melodic iPhone,
"Huh? Oh, it's West! Probably calling to tell me to get my ass back home. It's not even that late yet, geez…," He commented to himself upon spotting the name "Ludwig" flashed up on the touch screen, now holding it up to his ear to answer it, "Hallo?"
A few minutes passed as Gilbert spoke to his younger brother, the conversation being entirely in German, mainly because Ludwig wanted to avoid being constantly picked on for his pronunciation of some English words. The elder of the two tended to make a sport out of it, which irritated him. So, due to the precaution, this turned out to be a quick and simple exchange, Ludwig having called to tell Gilbert to pick up some things from the store so he could finish preparing dinner. Reluctantly, Gil agreed to perform said task and ended up hanging up on the other with a short farewell. Why couldn't he do it himself? Lazy dummkopf. He simply grumbled to himself about the matter as he started out of the Sanssouci(2), stuffing the phone into his pocket.
/BREAK\
"Danke. And remember to consider that bulletproof glass idea, ja?"
Gilbert waved to the cashier as he left the final store he had to go to for dinner provisions, several plastic bags strung along both of his arms. It was definitely dark out now, the Prussian having had a lengthy conversation with said clerk which he would inevitably get scolded for later by the younger of the two brothers. Ah well. It was worth it, according to him. He was used to being yelled at, so it would be nothing new.
Despite his lack of concern about the idea, Gilbert's feet moved in a quick style down the sidewalk and attempted to avoid slipping on any more black ice like he had done earlier that day. He was not in the mood to fall again, especially with all of the groceries he was carrying. Though, there were still a couple of close calls that made his heart jolt in shock and cause him to pause for a long time before continuing on home. The short journey home was otherwise uneventful. It was only when he stepped in through the front door when things riled up.
"Vhere have you been? It's been three hours since I called you!"
An angry German voice called out from the next room and, in a blink of an eye, the source appeared in the doorway, standing there with his muscular arms crossed over his chest. He would be very intimidating if it weren't for the white apron he wore, which appeared to have some wavy frills along its strap. Thus, Gilbert could not help but snicker at the sight rather than cower in fear. It wasn't Ludwig's fault, though. Elizabeta had bought it for him and she had told him that it was the only one in his size that wasn't pink, but Gilbert knew that that was a lie. She just wanted to see him in frills and he knew it. The German still wore it, being the neat freak that he was, so it really didn't matter to him, but it was still hysterical to the older man.
"Ja, ja. I know." Gilbert answered dismissively, brushing by just barely to get to the kitchen and set down the grocery bags onto the table, "I got sidetracked. But! I got the stuff you needed, didn't I? And isn't that all that matters?~"
He turned around to find that his brother had followed him and was now leering over him with his arms still crossed in an aggravated way. He obviously didn't agree with the Prussian's logic, but he let out a heavy sigh and stepped around Gilbert to gather the things he needed from the grocery bags regardless of it.
"I suppose, but you really shouldn't take so long. I'll let it slide this once. Just this once." Ludwig answered calmly, though it still hinted that he was irritated.
Gilbert made a mental fist pump as he heard those words, knowing that he was spared from whatever hell Ludwig was going to force upon him. Well, for the meantime, at least. It was very easy to get him to change his mind, so he had to be careful.
"Ja ja. I get it. I won't do it again, I promise." The Prussian assured with a dismissive wave before jumping to the next subject without any hesitation, "Anyways~ What's for dinner?"
Ludwig turned to him with a narrow gaze, a whole ten seconds passing prior to finally moving from the table with one of the grocery bags and taking a few things out to set on the stove, "Vell, I vas going to make sauerbraten(3), but, because you took so long, it vill be bratkartoffeln(4) instead."
This caused the Prussian to whine in response, disapproving of the dinner choice, "Again? Bruder, we just had that last night! And I wanted to have that toniiiiight!" He retorted, throwing a small tantrum and acting as if he were a child.
This irritated the younger sibling, disgusted with his behavior. He couldn't help but feel as if he was the mother of an eight year old brat, sometimes. It was quite difficult to believe that there was a point in time where he had to be cared for by the same man that stood behind him.
"You have no one to blame but yourself. If you hadn't taken so long to get home, perhaps ve could have." Scolded the German, preparing the potato dish that he had mentioned, not bothering to turn around to observe his reaction, "So you vill have to deal vith this. Unless you prefer not to be fed. I'd be happy to oblige."
Gilbert groaned, crossing his arms over his chest in a huff and glancing to the floor, "Ooooh. Fine. We'll have stupid bratkartoffeln." He murmured with a pout, honestly preferring that over starving. He was too lazy to cook for himself, so it was best to not get on the chef's nerves any more than he already had, "… Well, tell me when you're done! I'll be playin' Call of Duty if you need me!"
In an instant, Gilbert was gone from the room, making sure not to allow Ludwig a chance to respond so he wouldn't be sucked into helping with dinner. Sure, he said "if you need me", but he really meant "don't need me". And Ludwig knew that. He knew his older brother and so he didn't waste energy chasing after him. Dinner would be finished a lot quicker without him, anyway. In a kitchen setting, the albino male tended to be… a bit accident prone. Okay, that was an understatement. He was very accident prone. It made Ludwig tense to think of the last time his brother tried to cook. Let's just say that because of him, they no longer have a microwave. It's a long and horrible story that no one would like to hear.
Ludwig shook his head clear of the disturbing thought and continued on with the meal preparations. At least it was quiet. He could have the time to himself without being disturbed. Bliss. Sweet bliss.
/BREAK\
All was silent in the large house. All that could be heard was the soft sounds of plates and utensils clinking together and running water, Ludwig standing at the kitchen sink. Though Gilbert had complained, he really enjoyed the meal that the German man had cooked up and even had a couple of servings. Now he was upstairs in his room, most likely asleep in his warm, medium sized bed by now. He had said that he had a long day, but he didn't do very much. He just went to visit the graveyard like always, and then went grocery shopping. Unless he had some sort of epic adventure in between, he shouldn't be so tired. Oh well. The Prussian was out of his hair, so it was quite a relief for him. Just as he was finishing up and untying his apron, he heard the house phone purr a ring. Who in the world could be calling at this hour? Quickly hanging the apron on a nearby hook, Ludwig made his way to the wireless phone and picked it up to his ear, pressing the "talk" button to answer it, "Hallo?"
"Hola, mi amigo!~ It's me, Antonio."
Ludwig grimaced at the sound of the unfortunately familiar voice, however was glad that it wasn't Francis instead. He would prefer to deal with the Spaniard any day and not have to encounter the Frenchman if he could.
"Vhat do you vant?" He sternly asked, drumming his fingers along the wooden frame of the nearby door, "It's late, so you can't talk to Gilbert, if that's vhat you vanted."
"No no. You've got it all wrong, amigo!" Antonio said in reply, "I don't want to talk to him! I actually called for you!"
"For me? Vhy?"
"Because I need you to help me and Francis with something! You in?"
/BREAK\
(1)The song is Winter by Unheilig
(2)Sanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. This is also Frederick's final resting place.
(3)Sauerbraten is a beef pot roast marinated in vinegar, water, spices and seasonings.
(4)Bratkartoffeln is fried potatoes, often with diced bacon and/or onions.
((Whoo! First chapter! I didn't have any real inspiration aside from the very beginning being a starter for a roleplay I did with someone. I was like "Hey, this could be an awesome story! 8D", so… why not? This will be a short story, so don't expect many chapters to come out of this. I'm planning on three, but who knows. I hope you all enjoy it, though. I haven't played any of the other characters before and I haven't played Gil too much, so forgive me if they seem a bit out of character. I'm trying. If anyone has any pointers or anything, I'd appreciate it. Or if anyone wants to edit it, they are free to. I'm sure to have made some grammatical errors and whatnot (aside from the ones that were obviously done on purpose), so it would be nice to know so I can fix them. No mean comments, though. Please? Thank you. Now on to the next chapter!
EDIT: It was brought to my attention that my location for Frederick's grave was greatly incorrect, so I fixed it! Hopefully this is better. Haha.))