Gilbert sighed as he came into the house.
"Ludwig!?" He shouted for his seventeen year old younger brother, but the house was dead silent. Ludwig had left to go to a friends house, and he assumed Ludwig wouldn't return until the morning.
He fetched a beer from the fridge and sat down in the kitchen.
He had left to go to his girlfriend's Elizabeta's house, but she had been unexpectedly called out during their evening to go and to do a shift at the hospital.
They hadn't seen each other in a week and now they might not for another. Perks of dating a medical student, he supposed.
He sat around in the darkness, wallowing in his own self pity, when he heard the door being unlocked.
Must be Ludwig.
He then had an awesome idea. Wait around in the shadows and then jump Ludwig. He was bound to come into the kitchen. Might as well have a few moments of fun. He quickly moved, and hid just outside the kitchen, in the corridor to the back door.
"Brother, are you here!?" Ludwig shouted from the hallway, but Gilbert kept silent. He couldn't wait to see his face- "no, he's not here, he won't be back until late afternoon if he's with his girlfriend." He heard Ludwig mutter to someone else.
He heard Ludwig and the other person step through the door into the kitchen. Oh no, it better not be Felicia, I'll give her a heart attack he thought quickly.
"Do you want a coke, or beer, or...?"
"God, are you trying to get me drunk and then seduce me? Way below the legal age limit here; I'll just have a coke." He heard a sharp American laugh, and he heard Ludwig laugh a little.
Now Gilbert was interested. He hadn't met this friend before, better scare them and introduce himself, just wait until the best moment of silence-
"Aw, is this you as a toddler?" He heard the American voice chirp.
"Um, yeah." He heard Ludwig reply.
"So cute! And you grew up to be so handsome! Man, this is totally why I wanted to visit your house, to see your life."
"I know, well this is my house. It's not worth all your pestering, it's pretty unremarkable."
You know, this didn't actually sound like talk between friends.
"Hey, its youre house, I wanted to see it!" He could hear the other man pick up the photos on the kitchen cabinet. "And I presume this is your brother. He seems pretty chill."
"You can't tell that from a photo, Alfred."
"Sure I can. His eyes are crinkling in this photo where he's laughing, so he seems like a good guy. He seems like the type of person you could tell stuff to, like you know, about having a boyfriend, being gay..."
What. And then it all started to make sense. Ludwig had a boyfriend. Ludwig had been acting a little distant lately, as if something was on his mind, but Gilbert had tried to ask if he was alright and Ludwig just answered he was stressed from school, which Gilbert believed to be true.
He heard Ludwig sigh. "Mm, I'd like to think so, but I'm not sure..."
This was surprising. He hadn't ever considered that Ludwig would be gay.
"No-one's ever sure how someone will react-"
"Except you with your hippie- free love parents"
"Okay, I fully acknowledge that I'm not the best example. But you said your bro was more relaxed than you, and you're fine with you being gay."
"Your logic is amazing."
"I try."
Gilbert liked Alfred. Maybe he could lighten Ludwig up a bit.
"I don't think my brother would hate me or anything. We didn't have a strict religious upbringing or anything. But we've never discussed it, and he keeps going on and on about how I should get a girlfriend, and when I'm going to get one... He's convinced I should be dating - or is secretly dating- Felicia"
Gilbert squirmed. He felt himself sweat a little and a queasy feeling grow in his stomach. Did Ludwig really feel like that? That he'd potentially hate Ludwig? Over being homosexual?
Alfred tutted. "Well maybe he wouldn't think that if you said you were meeting me instead of her. We've been dating three months, of course all of those meetings with 'Felicia' will look date-y."
"I do meet up with Felicia, though, she's one of my closest friends." Ludwig sighed once more. "It's just that Gilbert seems to go on about it so much, with so much encouragement and enthusiasm, that I can't help that he'd be... disappointed, With how I actually am"
Oh no. Gilbert could never be disappointed in Ludwig, and he was slightly heartbroken to think that Ludwig thought like that.
Alfred snorted. "Hey, if he doesn't react well, then it's not your fault. It's him who'd have the problem."
"I know, but... I never met my father, mother has died, so has grandfather... Gilbert is the only family I have left. If he-" Ludwig paused, and his breath choked. A lot of things were said quite clearly in that pause.
Gilbert felt a few tears prick his eyes. He felt slightly ashamed. He'd accidentally made Ludwig feel uncomfortable with telling him. He hadn't meant to, he'd only been trying to encourage Ludwig that he could get a girlfriend, because he was so shy but Ludwig had taken it the wrong way because Gilbert just assumed he was straight.
Ludwig always seemed interested in girls before... Didn't he? Well now that Gilbert thought back, he always got agitated when Gilbert mentioned girlfriends or dating Felicia... But he'd mistaken in his ignorance that Ludwig was just shy and awkward. Besides, he'd only been teasing, and he thought Ludwig was in on the joke. He should have at least recognised that Ludwig was uncomfortable, and now Ludwig was upset, because of him.
Didn't he know that Francis, his friend, swung both ways, and he was fine with that? Or perhaps he didn't, because Francis was now in a long term relationship -with a woman, and Gilbert didn't discuss his friends sex life in front of Ludwig, because that would be weird-
This was just a big misunderstanding, but Gilbert felt a little foolish. Ludwig should feel that he could tell him anything, but he'd been too pushy
"I get it now." Alfred's voice broke Gilbert from his own thoughts. "Hey Ludwig, I don't know your brother, so you do it when you feel comfortable, but if you think he'd just need a little while getting used to the idea, then I do genuinely think sooner rather than later. You can't wait until college or whatever and just tell him on the day you leave that you take the 'bros before hoes' mantra literally."
"I won't wait that long, and my god, if I told him like that I'd never hear the end of it."
Alfred laughed. "Hey babe, thanks for coke, but now I want something sweeter." Alfred lowered his voice, and Gilbert could imagine Alfred kissing Ludwig.
Ludwig snorted. "Don't be so cheesey, it actually makes me vomit."
"Ok, but I want to see your bedroom. Or, we could do it here, on the table." He heard Alfred tease huskily.
Okay, Gilbert realised he was pretty open about this whole situation, but overhearing his younger brother have sex was definitely not on his bucket list.
"Don't be so vile, I have to eat here!"
Oh thank god.
"Then you better show me your room!"
Ludwig grunted and he heard the pair leave the kitchen.
Gilbert eventually heard them close his door, and Gilbert crept out of his hiding now place. He had a lot to think about.
Gilbert had gone to bed quietly after Ludwig and Alfred left the room. He had decided that there was no point in dragging this whole situation out, and Gilbert firmly believed in living in the present, so he decided the resolve everything the next morning. So he went downstairs early, before Ludwig usually woke up on a weekend.
Around 10, and he heard Ludwig thump down the stairs, alone.
"Morning, Lud!" He said cheerily as the tall blonde entered the kitchen, dressed loosely in boxers and a t-shirt.
Ludwig looked like he almost had a heart attack when he saw Gilbert. "Good morning Gilbert. Err, you're back early."
"Mmmhmmm, and I made pancakes!" He said cheerily. "Have some, idiot!"
"I, err." Ludwig was clearly thinking of what to do about Alfred in his room. "I had a friend round last night- I don't think you've met-"
"And do I get to meet him?"
Ludwig paused, looking confused at Gilbert's words. "Well, I guess."
"Well, you know I'd like to meet my little brother's boyfriend."
Ludwig went pale. "I-"
"Sorry, I overheard the conversation last night. I was going to prank you from the dark, Elizabeta was called out so I was back early." He explained.
"But-"
He pulled Ludwig into a hug, which was difficult because Ludwig was so much taller than Gilbert now. "I don't care Ludwig who you date, as long as you're happy, and I'm sorry that you ever felt that I'd be upset with you over your sexuality- And I'm sorry about the girlfriend thing, I'm a terrible brother-" He started rambling.
Ludwig tensed up at those words. "Oh no, you're not, you've always been there for me, when mother died, when grandfather died, and you always took care of me-" Ludwig trailed off. "I was just a bit... scared."
No more words were said, and Gilbert felt they had both said what they wanted to say. Gilbert continued to hug, but eventually Ludwig pulled away. "You were going to prank me, how old are you?" he laughed.
"Old enough to scare my brother. I was bored, okay?!" he replied, and Ludwig just rolled his eyes. "So do I get to meet Alfred? And how'd you meet him?"
Ludwig blushed a bit. "We met in science club. He likes physics too."
"That's romantic."
"Shut up, Gilbert." He paused. "I came down to get him a coffee."
"Well he can have some of my awesome pancakes if you bring him down."
Ludwig nodded. He was clearly embarrassed about the whole situation, but wandered upstairs.
It took 10 minutes, and heard the shower go. Ludwig was probably insisting that they get ready, as Ludwig was always a stickler for being presentable.
Eventually Alfred was pushed down the stairs. Tall and handsome, with a bright smile on his face.
"Hello, I'm Alfred!" He said cheerily and the pair shook hands.
He seemed nice, a good match for Ludwig. He had to make sure though. "Break my brothers heart and I'll make sure you know what pain feels like." Gilbert said, in a serious tone, and Alfred's smile fell.
He felt Ludwig push him away. "Stop being weird, Gilbert." he muttered nervously, and Gilbert grinned, which made Alfred look slightly relieved.
"Ludwig, I'm joking, now sit down and eat my pancakes!" He said and the trio sat down, exchanging conversation about themselves.
Ludwig, normally stoic and straight-faced, was full of small smiles, and for that, Gilbert was glad.