Ch 2: Snow

REVISED

I hated this chapter at first...xD

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Gilbert stayed home the next few days brooding in his room. He was sore and irritated and generally unpleasant to be around. But fighting with Ivan tends to do that to him.

"Gilbert, where do you keep disappearing to? When you do come back, you hide yourself away and are generally useless. Roderich is very worried since you haven't been over there to bother him. What happened?" Ludwig asked his brother, a little worried as well.

"Nothing, it's none of your business." he lied, sounding a bit pretentious.

"Fine. But I want you to get some time out of the house. You are not going to lock yourself up." He has unhealthy habits already. "Do something useful and go but something for dinner."

"Hmph. Fine." he huffed, sticking his tongue out at his little brother. "But if you see Russia, tell him...hm...what would he hate? If you see him and he's looking for me, tell him I went to visit Belarus."

Germany glared at him for the childish behavior. "You won't actually visit her...right?"

"Of course not! I can barely stand one of them, let alone both. I'll come back with something good. Later, West."

"Don't be gone most of the night again." You worried me sick.

"Yeah yeah~ " The Prussian opened the front door to leave. "Oh West? Please be careful."

Ludwig was left confused as Gilbert shut the door behind him. Was Russia up to something?

Gilbird chirped at they walked down the street on the way to the market. Oh right. I should thank Lithuania if I ever see him around. He's the one who let Gilbird go. He pet the little bird with a small smile as the fluffball tried to snuggle in Gilberts coat. Although it was early afternoon, the sky was darkened by the grey clouds, a blanket of snow covering the ground. Gilbert thought he could probably blend in if he was wearing a while coat instead of a black one. What a nice day for something warm. Pancakes and maple syrup seemed fantastic with a nice hot cup of coffee. Oh shoot. He used the last bit of syrup just yesterday. He'll buy that too. One must never be without maple syrup!

The warmth of the store was comforting. First thing: scan the store for any free samples. Okay, second: To the maple syrup. This was the usual routine. Of course he grabbed the best one imported from Canada. Third: Pick up a bottle of beer or two. He walked down to the end of the store and to his most loved isle. Awesome, his favourite was on sale! He reached for it as something else caught his eye. There was a small figure hesitantly grabbing a bottle of vodka.

"Lithuania?" The small brunette jumped and nearly dropped the bottle.

"G-gilbert!"

"Oh...um. Sorry for scaring you." He eyed the large bottle of vodka.

"Ah. It's not for me..."

"Ivan." Gilbert tensed a little.

"Yeah..." Toris sighed. He studied the Lithuanian's face. He looked so tired and worn. The albino knew it couldn't be...wasn't easy to be stuck there with Ivan.

"Oh, right. Um.." Gilbert looked down with his brows furrowed. "Thank you. Y'know...for helping me out before. I hope you're alright." Damn, that felt awkward.

"I-I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I just wanted it all to stop." Toris spoke quietly. "Uh...I have to get going. He'll wonder what's taking so long."

"Ja." he nodded.

"Goodbye then."

Gilbert watched as Toris walked off. He watched curiously. There was definitely a stiffness to his movements, like...He filled with guilt knowing that Ivan no-doubtedly beat the poor boy for helping him. He knew what it was like. And it was his fault...no. No, he told himself. I didn't do this. It was Russia. I couldn't control what he did. Toris either. I didn't make him help me. It wasn't my fault. If Ivan hadn't stolen Gilbird in the first place, it wouldn't have happened. However, it was still bothering him and it pissed him off that he felt guilty about it. He rushed to catch up with him, but Toris was already gone. He picked up something for dinner as asked, bought his things and rushed back home, the cold wind burning his cheeks.

He burst into the house with a huff and put the items in the kitchen before running back up the stairs.

"Gilbert, are you al-"

"Damn it all!" He slammed the bedroom door. Startled, Ludwig went to the kitchen to put away whatever his brother had bought. Ha, of course. He smirked. Maple syrup, beer, and ingredients for Königsberger Klopse. He decided to wait a while for Gilbert to calm down at least a little, then he would bring some food.

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"But like, seriously Liet, we gotta hang out sometime!"

"I'm sorry, Feliks, but I'm busy. If I can ever find the time." Toris fiddled with the phone cord nervously. He knew he was being overheard.

"You're like always busy! Ivan totally needs to let you...y'know like...see your friends." The brunette sighed in irritation. Yeah, easier said than done, especially after the stunt he pulled. "Um...Liet?"

"Yeah?"

"Ivan is angry at you right now, huh?

"What? How do you...?"

"What did you do? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I...he..."

"Like, I know it must've been his fault that your back is scarred." Wait. How did he know that? "What did you do?"

"It...it's a long story, Feliks. But I need to go. I need to make dinner."

"Liet-" Toris hung up before his friend could say any more.

"Toris~" Ivan's voice was heard from a couple rooms away. "Make some borscht for me tonight, will you?"

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Ludwig knocked on the door. "Bruder?" This was met with some hard object, probably a shoe, hitting said door. Maybe he'll talk to his brother tomorrow instead.

He couldn't believe it, but Gilbert might've looked even worse than when he was locking himself up. What happened the previous evening? Gilbert was laying on the couch, looking as if he hadn't slept for a week. He was still pissed off about feeling guilty when it clearly wasn't his fault. He looked a mess.

"Gilbert, please do something with your day. Get up, shower and get dressed. Stop acting dead."

"Don't tell me what to do, West." Gilbert said half-heartedly, getting up and heading upstairs, doing as he was told anyways. Which now that he thought about it didn't make sense, considering he was the older one. Oh well, he didn't really care at the moment. He slipped into the bathroom and turned the shower into a sauna.

Meanwhile, Germany got a call from...Poland? Why was Feliks of all people calling him?

"H-hello?"

"Er...Ludwig. It's like, been a while, huh?"

"...Ja."

"Well I was like wondering if Gilbert was there." Okay, this was even stranger.

"Sorry, he's unavailable at the moment."

"Ah, I see. Well...do you like, know anything?"

"Pardon me?"

"Well about Liet." Liet? Liet...Liet...oh!

"Lithuania? No, I wouldn't know anything."

"Like, really?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. Why do you ask?"

"Well he like, totally disappeared this morning."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah, he like, actually left Ivan's house. He called me asking where Liet was. But I didn't know."

"Ah. I'll tell you if I find out anything, alright?"

"Like, thank you Ludwig. Do widzenia." The German muttered a goodbye as Feliks hung up. He couldn't help but wonder why Feliks thought Gilbert would know. His brother also mentioned Ivan. What was he hiding from him? Oh, speak of the devil.

The Prussian ran down the stairs putting on a coat and scarf heading for the door.

"See you later, West."

"Gilbert, where are you-" Ah, he could never get a word in.

"I need some time to myself."

Gilbert grinned as flakes of snow fell on the already white ground. Unlike Russia, he liked the snow. It resembled him afterall, therefore it was awesome. He looked up at the cloudy sky, Gilbird fluttering around his head. Yes, this was a great way to push the guilt out of his head. When he got back home, he thought of perhaps lighting the fireplace and drinking a nice cup of coffee. Hm...did they have any marshmallows?

He didn't care to pay attention to where exactly he was going, he just needed to walk somewhere to get his mind of serious things. He'd figure it out and find his way back anyways. There wasn't a lot of traffic on the streets because of the snow, but he watched as a car drove by every now and then.

He could see a person just ahead, waiting to cross the street. He almost turned back when he saw who it was. The issue won't leave him be, will it? But there is no armor against fate[1].

"Oi! Lithuania!" Toris turned around at his name as a oncoming car slid on a patch of ice. In a panic, Gilbert grabbed and pulled back the brunette back harshly. Toris cringed at the contact. The albino blinked confusedly; he didn't grab him that hard. He jumped back as the snow around the Lithuanian slowly started to turn red. Gilbert froze at the realization that he just opened up a recent wound caused by Russia. Toris looked up at him with wide, teary eyes.

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1. Quote by James Shirley

Translations

Polish

Do widzenia - Goodbye

A/N: Königsberger Klopse- Prussian specialty of meatballs in a white sauce with capers.