Before Gilbert even drove up to Alfred's house, they could hear the thrum of a bass drum from a block down. "Kesese, that's Alfred for you, this party is going to be so awesome!" He said with a grin, glancing over at his brother. Ludwig gave a small nod, though he looked semi-reluctant to be going. That is, until Feliciana squeezed his hand with a soft smile.
"Ve, It's going to be so fun! We're going to have a great time," she insisted, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Ludwig's cheeks turned rosy and Gilbert let out another signature laugh of his. Feliciana had grown on him. Sure, he'd always liked her, but he appreciated her all the more for getting Ludwig to do things that Gilbert normally had quite a hard time getting him to do. Not to mention, Feliciana had helped him get closer to Katarina.
A smirk fell onto his lips just at the thought of his sweet little Katzchen. He was all ready to ask her to come to this party with him and be his date, only to find out that Antonio had already asked her. Now that was an unawesome problem. Gilbert was in danger of breaking bro code, and that was something he just couldn't do. But every time that woman looked at him, she took his breath away.
Gilbert refocused with a start as the taxi pulled up in front of Alfred's house. "C'mon Gil!" Feliciana tugged on his arm until he was out of the car.
"Hey, hey I'm coming, don't pull on the shirt, I just ironed it."
"You're as silly as Luddy sometimes," Feliciana said with a teasing smile, taking both men by the arms and pulling them forward to the front door, where Ludwig rang the bell. The trio was dressed smartly, Gilbert and Ludwig in black dress pants, with Ludwig wearing a white button up collared shirt with suspenders that accentuated his toned figure. Gilbert, on the other hand, went for a deep blue collared shirt with the first few buttons undone to showcase his iron cross necklace (and perhaps his awesome chest). The brothers had quite a different style in every way. Gilbert was much more casual, his hair an attractive mess, while Ludwig stood rod straight with his hair slicked back. And yet, they both looked quite well, especially with the lovely Feliciana on their arms. She wore a floral dress that was tapered until the skirt, which spread out in a very fifties style manner. Ludwig found her short sleeved, bright dress very attractive, and so did Gilbert, though the latter did comment that it looked far too Spring-like for a New Years Eve party. And he was right, as Feliciana clung to Ludwig's arm for warmth until the door was answered.
"EY! Gil, Ludwig, Feli, welcome!" Shouted the overenthusiastic American once he had (finally) opened the door for them. "Come on in! The party's just starting!"
Gilbert moved forward into the crowd of people immediately, edging past Feli and Ludwig to walk with Alfred. "Mattie's our DJ," Alfred shouted to him, and Gilbert laughed, looking towards the other end of the large room to see the Danish man jamming out to the music he'd picked.
"Good choice! His music is awesome! Have you seen Francis?" He shouted back, looking around the semi-dark room.
"Uhhh," Alfred lifted his head, looking around before pointing. "By the drinks!"
Gilbert's head swiveled in that direction before squinting. Damn his eyesight, and the darkness didn't really help. "Thanks! I'll catch up with you, man," he said, patting Alfred's arm before wandering off towards where he thought the drinks were. Eventually he caught sight of wavy blond hair and bright red pants, recognizing Francis' outlandish color scheme. "Ach, Francis!" He called out with a smirk, edging over. As he walked up to him he could see the other was filling two glasses. "You know no one's going to be dumb enough to accept a drink from you," he said.
Francis finally looked up, and upon realizing it was Gilbert, gave the other a big grin. "Gilbert, mon ami! You clean up nicely~"
"Yeah, I know," was Gilbert's cocky response, flicking his hair to the side.
"I was going to give this to Arthur, to get him started on drinking tonight, he's much more fun when he's intoxicated, don't you think?"
"For sure," Gilbert nodded, amused. "But I doubt he'll take it from you."
"Which is why I'm so glad to see you!" Francis' eyes sparkled mischievously as he handed Gilbert one of the glasses.
"Me?" Gilbert scoffed as he tried to hand the glass back. "He won't take it from me either, besides, it's wine!"
"Oh come on, mon ami, do it for moi, oui?" Francis pulled that ridiculous puppy dog face, and Gilbert rolled his eyes.
"Alright, I'll try, but if he throws the drink at me, it's your fault," he grabbed a beer for himself and then went off, mock saluting Francis as best he could with his hands full. Gilbert looked around for Arthur, keeping to the edge of the room even if the music made him want to dance front and center like the awesome person he was. He caught sight of Toni, by one of the snack tables looking like he was setting down a basket of something he brought. Probably tomatoes, Gilbert noted, and that was confirmed as Toni bit into the large round fruit happily. He'd say hi once he got Arthur the wine. But wait, if Toni was there, where was Kat? Gilbert let himself look around as he walked, when suddenly he bumped into someone. Quickly, he tried to balance the drinks in his hand to be sure they didn't spill. "Verdammt…"
"Watch where you're going bastardo!"
Gilbert blinked, and finally brought his eyes to who he had just bumped into. "Katzchen!" Immediately his eyes slipped over her body. God, she was beautiful. Her full, voluminous dark hair fell down her shoulders and back, and not even her headband could keep her persistent curl from showing. Her dress was very snug, displaying her figure beautifully, and leaving most of her shoulders bare. "Red is your color, Katzchen," he murmured.
"Stop staring, you pervert! You owe me an apology for almost getting that damn drink all over me!" She snapped, crossing her arms over her full chest. "And what did I say about calling me that stupid word?!"
Ah, that fire. That was something he simply loved about her. He gave a mock bow of his head. "My apologies. Your beauty caught me off guard~." With a sudden idea, he offered the glass of wine to her. "For you."
She stared at it distastefully, and at him distrustfully.
"Come on," he said with a roll of his eyes and a smirk. "I thought Italians liked wine."
She pursed her lips and took the wine from him, so quickly she almost spilled it again, though they both said nothing about it. "Don't stereotype us."
"Alright then, Miss Defensive," he teased her, before holding up his beer in a little toast. "Happy New Year?"
Kat seemed annoyed with him, if her little sigh was anything to go by. "It's not midnight yet," she began, but when Gilbert simply raised an eyebrow she exhaled again and touched her glass to his. "Happy New Year," she muttered as she took a sip.
After Gilbert had taken a rather large gulp of his drink, he saw Kat looking around and asked, "Are you looking for something?"
Her eyes met his briefly before resuming her search. "Just Feliciana."
"She came with us, she's probably off with Ludwig somewhere on the dance floor," he told her, joining her in her search, using his height to his advantage. "Oh yeah, I see her, she's towards the back, they're dancing together."
Kat frowned and lifted herself up on her tiptoes, trying to see where Gil was referring to. Even when the man pointed, she couldn't see. Gilbert's lips pulled back into a smile and he laughed. "Sorry, forgot how short you were, Schatz."
He winced as suddenly the fiery women had smacked him in the shoulder, hard. "Ach, I guess I also forgot you're a bit stronger than you look."
Kat's annoyance faded only a bit to be replaced by a bit of smugness, as she placed a hand on her hip. "That's not something you should forget, caro~." A hair flip added to her sass, as did a sip of her wine.
Gilbert's eyebrow arched and something in his heart felt a little lighter, causing a smile of his own to fall upon his face. "Did you…Did you just give me a nickname?"
"Tch!..." Kat stepped back, caught off guard. "Wha—No, I didn't!"
"You did! You called me, uh, care oh, or something!"
Despite her embarrassment, Kat snorted and turned away. "Don't try to speak Italian, you suck at it!" She said as she walked off.
"Hey, where are you going?!" Gil frowned, about to follow her. But the quick Italian had disappeared into the crowd. With a sigh, Gilbert let it be for now, figuring he'd find her later on in the night. Spotting Antonio by the tomatoes (still), he walked over, an easy smile on his face. "Did you bring those for just yourself?" he asked.
The Spaniard looked over with a childish smile. "Gil! Oh, no they are for everybody! Here, have one!" He offered, only for the Prussian to laugh and shake his head.
"I'm good, Toni, really." Gilbert seemed to hesitate a moment before asking casually, "So uh, you came with Kat, huh?"
Antonio took another bite of his tomato before eagerly affirming. "Yes! Her dress matches the color of my tomatoes!"
Gilbert's eyes drifted down to the fruit slowly, and then back up to his friend, one eyebrow quirking upwards. "Did you tell her that?"
He nods, his smile turning into a little pout. "Yes, then she got all red like a pretty tomato in her face, and ran off. She's cute, but she hit my arm." He sighed a bit dreamily.
Gilbert couldn't help but laugh a little, when suddenly a new song came on, and Antonio's face lit up once more. "My favorite! Let's dance!" He insisted loudly, grabbing onto Gilbert's arm.
Gilbert was never one to refuse to get right into the middle of a party, and so he and Antonio headed for the dance floor, Francis eventually following, and the three of them took to being the wacky weirdos they were with their strange dances. The night continued pretty smoothly from then on, but Gilbert couldn't help but notice that Kat was avoiding Antonio full on. He'd watch as Toni actively searched for his date, and each time, Kat would magically disappear. Later in the night, close to midnight, Toni was again searching for Kat. In fact, he'd gotten Feliciana worried too, as she was seeking out her sister.
Gilbert wasn't worried, more like confused. It was odd of Kat to avoid Toni so avidly. Perhaps it was luck that he caught sight of her stunning red dress disappearing around the corner as Toni's search continued. A part of him felt like he should immediately inform his dear friend or at least Feliciana, but he found himself walking towards her without saying a word to either of them. Leaving the main room of the party, Gilbert watched Kat's silhouette move down the hallway and open a door on the left, closing it quickly behind her. Intrigued, Gilbert followed, his hands shoved in his pockets and he stopped in front of the door staring at it curiously for a moment. This didn't look like a normal room, the door was smaller. In a rather sassy manner, he knocked twice on the door. There was a quiet yelp and a curse in Italian before the door opened a crack.
"You again? Go away!" Kat said, opening the door just a little farther to check to see if he was with anyone else. When she saw there were no other threats, she went to close the door again, but Gilbert immediately put his foot between the door and its hinge. Which, ow, hurt, because she was trying to slam the door.
"Katzchen! Just hold on a second, alright?"
"If my damn sister or that jerk Antonio needs me tell them I'm not here! And you're the last person I want to see, now go!" Kat started yelling.
"Aw come now, I'd say what you need right now is a little bit of awesomeness." He flashed her a suggestive smirk, as he edged the door open and slipped inside, closing the door behind him and keeping his back pressed to it.
"What are you doing you bastardo?!" She exclaimed.
Gilbert held his finger up to his lips and shushed her. "Calm down, katz, I just want to figure out what's wrong with you, alright? Wha…What are you doing in a broom closet anyway?"
Kat took a step back in the very small space, since she and Gilbert were nearly chest to chest it was so cramped. She nearly bumped into some things that were hard to see due to the dim lighting. "I just needed some time to think, okay?" She said, crossing her arms very firmly across her chest and glaring up at him. If Gilbert's eyes were better or the lighting brighter, he'd be more confident in saying that she looked like she was blushing.
"Did something happen between you and Toni?" Gilbert asked bluntly, his head tilting to the side ever so lightly as he tried to get a better look at her expressions.
"Tch! No," she snapped, too quickly. Almost defensively. Scratch that, quite defensively. "It's none of your business, now get out of here, or I'll scream!"
Gilbert raised both hands in mock surrender. "C'mon Katzchen," his voice was suddenly much gentler than usual. "You've been avoiding him all night."
Kat looked like she was ready to deny it, and go into another defensive rant, but seemed to want to try a new strategy. "I have my reasons, now if you please," she gestured at the door impatiently, but Gilbert didn't budge.
"What happened?" Gilbert frowned, trying to discern what could make the girl act so odd.
"Nothing important," she snapped, stepping forward, but Gilbert maneuvered his body in front of the door knob.
With a sickening lurch, his mind gave him a terrible idea. "Did he, I mean maybe he didn't know, but, harm you?" Toni would never even hurt a fly these days, but he could be painfully oblivious. Especially in the department of vague answers. He might have misread a 'not tonight' signal from Kat…Could he? He could see it now, the poor fool didn't even know, and Kat hadn't had the courage to outright say no. "Oh Gott, no Kat, he should've known better, what an idiot!"
"What? No, no, idiota," Kat's cheeks blazed red again and she smacked him in the arm for the second time that night, earning a wince from him. "Toni would never do that to me!"
"Well, I know that, but you were avoiding him and I thought—" Gilbert gestured into the air, as if it were an obvious train of thought.
"I was avoiding him because he was confusing me!" She hissed.
Gilbert gave her an exasperated look, leaning down so their faces were closer. "Confusing you about what? Does that even warrant you leaving him alone all night?"
Kat's temper was rising, as she leaned up (perhaps on her tiptoes) to try to feel more in control. "Well how can I possibly think when he's always clinging to me and hugging me and kissing me?"
"Wow, you're actually upset about having a caring boyfriend?" Gilbert snorted.
"He's NOT my boyfriend!"
They both paused at that, and Gilbert raised an eyebrow, leaning back against the door in mild awe of the latest development. "So you don't have feelings for him."
Kat, was looking around desperately as if the room would give her the words she needed to backtrack, and her fists were clenched at her side. "That's not what I-Well I did, but something else got in the way!"
Gilbert crossed his arms, finding this conversation to still be very much beating around the bush and frankly, confusing. "What?"
"You!"
The words were out of Kat's mouth before she could stop them, and before Gilbert could even register what she had said she went off on a rant. "I was perfectly fine being with Antonio and being with him was good and right and perfect! And then you come along," she hissed, as if he were some sort of murderer. "And you look at me with those stupid bright eyes and smug face, and, and…" She gestured at his clothing. "You wear stuff like that, and you just, look…like…that! And it's not fair!" There was definitely a stomp of her foot. "It's not fair to Toni, or me, or anyone. Stop looking at me like that! Bastardo!"
Indeed, Gilbert's jaw had dropped in shock, and a major part of him wondered if Kat was lying. After all, if she had liked him, it would seem more in character for her to blush and deny anything. But here she was, blurting out truth, well, screaming it practically. "So…It's….my fault," he pointed at himself for good measure. "That you like me?"
"I don't- I never said—Well everything is your fault!" Kat insisted, sounding quite ridiculous as she was overly flustered from having admitted so much.
"Well, I am awesome," Gilbert said, and it was really only because he had no other words to contain his shock, and was therefore reverting to his comfort zone. He was trying to take it as an ego stroke, even though his heart was beating faster in joy and also confliction, thinking of Antonio and the man's love for Kat.
"You!" Kat seemed lost for words, and apparently, wanted to find a new outlet for her anger, because suddenly she'd grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him down, her lips crashing onto his. Gilbert's eyes widened in utter shock and surprise, and before he knew it she had pulled back, glaring up at him. "You potato bastard," she whispered, before forcefully tugging him away from the door and edging out of it.
Gilbert was too in shock to stop her, and then was too late when he finally came to his senses. Kat had just kissed him! She had sworn at him, and blamed him for taking her affections away from Antonio. Kat liked him? Despite everything, the thought made Gilbert's heart leap. Kat liked him, even if she didn't like that she liked him. Even if she possibly still had some feelings for Toni.
This was a bit of a mess. Kind of like Kat, he thought with a smile, leaning against the closed door once again, his fingers brushing his lips as he remembered her taste and feel. In the distance he could hear the countdown for New Years and then cheering. With a small laugh, Gilbert noted that Kat had given him a New Years kiss. "Happy New Year Katzchen, we'll figure something out," he murmured quietly to himself.
