Title: But That's Okay
Rating: T
Character(s)/Pairing(s): onesided!PruHun, AusHun, mentioned GerIta, Spamano, FrUk and PruCan.
Summary: Companion fic for Prince Charming. They had known each other since forever. But that didn't mean they were meant for each other and Gilbert was happy for that.
Author's Note: PruHun one shot for the poll.
Disclaimer: I don't own this series in any way.
They had known each other since forever.
As far as he could remember, she had always been there. His first memory of her – although he wasn't sure that had been the first time they had talked – was of a prideful and stubborn boy who loved to fight. That's probably why they hit off so nicely. United by their love of fighting, dueling and all in all stablishing territory as if they were lords from old times. Rather fitting, since Elizabeta had always loved those type of stories.
They were each other's own company.
It was no surprise Gilbert didn't get along with people of his own age, since his attitude and self confidence always made it hard for him to socialize with others and he realized that Elizabeta also had the same problems with her manly attitude. He always laughed when he saw her in dresses too big and fluffy and trying to look natural in those outfits.
Of course, before that time he didn't know she was a girl.
And for that he always felt a bit guilty, for the way he played a bit too rough with her and his constant cursing. Of course she never minded and always enjoyed it, but still. When he finally found out, it had been such a shock he refused to see her for a month.
After that, nothing had ever been the same.
Everything she did was no longer that of a boy, even when she deliberately acted as such. After the one month long time and Gilbert's awareness as he became thirteen, Elizabeta was suddenly very different to him. The strange feelings he held towards her were silly, he continued to say to himself. What if she was actually a boy, would he still have those feelings? That question always made him too afraid to do anything about it.
He became more delicate with her, as if she was a porcelain doll.
Elizabeta hadn't liked that at all. Whenever Gilbert would act too softly she would just say he was being too much of a gentleman and that it didn't suit him at all. Gilbert would scoff and later laugh at the remark, all the while the words echoed in his mind.
He was no gentleman.
And he loved it. He constantly laughed at his fellow peers who used false politeness trying to impress the young ladies into premature courting. Courting. That was another tradition he hated. If a boy liked a girl, he should just go all in for it. At least that's what he would do. Elizabeta was an exception, of course. She was too much of a boy for that or so he kept reminding himself.
He desesperately wanted to leave this place.
He loved disobeying the rules and if it wasn't for his young brother, Ludwig, who in recent years seemed to have amnesia and often forgot about many things, he would've gladly left. But Ludwig was far too important and the fact the boy no longer smiled or blushed and never once mentioned the sweet Italian girl he had met in a past summer concerned Gilbert. So he continued to live there and divert Ludwig as much as possible, until the boy would finally laugh and be able to make his own choices. If he would ever leave, Gilbert thought to himself, then he would take Elizabeta with him. She deserved so much more than this superficial life stuck in a terrible marriage.
He was no prince charming.
Fairy tales were stupid and both of them had always agreed on it. Enchanted spells, true love's kiss and prince charming did not exist and it was futile thinking so. And, he liked to remind him self, the older ladies often preferred the bad wolf anyway. He was barely in his teenager years and already the hormones were taking control. Many girls had been interested in him and vice-versa. But he never even dared to touch her. She was special. She didn't deserve a bad wolf and prince charming didn't exist.
If there was ever a prince charming, then it would be him.
Everything about Roderich irked him to the core. The aristocrat was far too polite and the fact he usually meant every word just annoyed him to no end. The neat young man was skilled and knowleadgeable and there wasn't a single thing in common with them. Perhaps that was the reason that at the same time Gilbert didn't want to even be in the same room as the aristocrat, he still felt curiosity about him. Roderich wasn't false like so many members of the royalty he had met. And as much as it hurt to know Elizabeta would probably marry him in the future, he also knew he was her best choice.
In a nutshell, Roderich was the prince charming while he was the bad wolf.
And it suited them perfectly. While many girls swooned over Roderich's music abilities, they never found courage to even ask for his favorite song while for Gilbert, starting a conversation was the most natural thing in the world. Ironically, Elizabeta was neither of those. She easily talked with Gilbert and Roderich – and actually managed to make Roderich talk about duels while Gilbert had to appreciate classical music – and when she swooned about Roderich's playing, at least she had the guts to talk with him after it and not admire him from faraway.
After a rough start, the trio got along well soon enough and as much as each could annoy the other, they still stayed together. But Gilbert always felt like the one left out, no matter how much Elizabeta – and even Roderich – wanted to keep him around.
There was no way to stop love, after all.
Their marriage was scheduled to July and he was more than happy for them. The way they looked at each other at given times or little acts revealed the importance of their feelings – such as Roderich dedicating a song to Elizabeta or watching her only while he played for a crowd, or as Elizabeta willingly gave up her fighting arts to spend more time with him and even started acting more lady-like without hating every minute of it – were perceived by everyone around them.
Gilbert obviously felt alone. He had known Elizabeta the longest and vice-versa and Roderich also became someone very special to him. The fact they were leaving him always hurt a little. Even his young brother, now impossible to call little, had grown up into a nice young man.
But he was never really alone. Francis and Antonio, two noblemen who visited Roderich with the sole purpose of annoying him quickly bonded with Gilbert and soon enough, the trio was inseperable. They even earned the title Bad Friends Trio and for the ladies, The Bad Touch Trio. Oh, yeah. The stable marriage life and keeping the family business had never been for him, anyway. Ludwig was excellent at it and that was the purpose his young brother had always dreamed of. The first of many, everyone would realize later, when a happy little Italian came to visit "older brother Francis".
With Ludwig on the family business and Elizabeta and Roderich soon to be married, Gilbert finally found his freedom. He was no longer tied to families, places and he choose which people he would be tied to. That had been the start of a long adventure with his two best friends.
They had travelled the world, met many people and went to many places. In the meantime, they found out about Roderich's now famous worldwide career – even meeting him sometimes – and Elizabeta's first pregnancy. The little baby was the sweetest thing Gilbert had ever seen and every time the little bundle of joy smiled, he couldn't help but smile foolishly as well.
Eventually, every single one of them got their own happy endings: Antonio with the angry twin of said happy little Italian, ironically; Francis with a British guy named Arthur, who all three of them loved to annoy in every possible opportunity; and even himself, Arthur's Canadian nephew – don't ask, that's a long story – the shy Matthew.
They still met each other at every year, if not four times, at least in each country's respective important holidays. Their little European group grew immensely since they were little, with now people all over the country: even some Asians came, as friends of Arthur and his American nephew, Alfred – again, long story – and Gilbert never had such a great time.
They had known each other since forever, but that didn't mean they were meant for each other and Gilbert wouldn't change it for the world.
A/N: This is the side story for Prince Charming, another fic of mine featuring AusHun. love the dynamics of the trio PrusxHunxAus and ship all of their combinations. In this AU, Alfred and Matthew are Arthur's (sort of) nephews since they were orphans, while FrUk is possible – remember when I said I only ship it in certain conditions? – and of course, the BTT has to appear whenever Gilbert is involved! This is the end of my short AU featuring the Frying Pan Trio.
