Roderich's eyes flickered open as he awoke. He sat up and yawned. His hair was messed and his vision, blurry without his glasses. His head turned to the alarm clock right next to his bed, which was probably the only visible thing to him at the time. Five forty-seven…it was far too early to get up. Every time he went to bed late he always wake up early for a reason that filled his heart with happiness.
He remembered times when Elizabeta would wake him up in the morning to go for a walk in the park. He smiled—Wait…Elizabeta?
He soon recalled Gilbert and what he did to Elizabeta. Frantically, he looked around the room and found himself alone. He just sighed. So…it was just a dream?
He smoothed his hair with the palm of his hand. He wished it was real. To actually see Elizabeta again and hear her sweet voice. "I wish my mind wouldn't play tricks on me…" he said quietly.
He laid back down on the bed and turned on his side, closing his eyes. 'Itwasarealisticdream,though…' he thought. He stretched his arm across the bed until he felt a lump next to him. His eyes shot open, he sat up again and this time grabbing his glasses off of the nightstand, and placed them over his eyes. The sight that he saw almost made him burst into tears. Tears of joy.
There he saw his sweet Elizabeta lying in his bed, sound asleep.
It…it wasn't a dream…!
He reached over and shook her shoulder softly. "Elizabeta! Elizabeta, please wake up!"
Slowly her eyes opened and saw Roderich smiling softly at her. "Mm…Roderich?"
"Yes, it's me. Guten morgen…" he greeted.
She yawned. "Jó reggelt, Roderich," she greeted back. "Um, how do you feel?" Roderich asked.
She thought for a brief moment, then opened her mouth to speak. "My head still hurts!"
"Shouldn't we have put ice on it? I think there's a bump on it."
"Hm, oh well."
There was a long silence and they both yawned again. Roderich let out a small laugh. "It's still a bit early to get ready for the day" he said softly.
"Yeah…" she said in reply, "Let's go for a walk."
"You sure? The snow's still out there."
"It'll be fun! We could make a snowman and if Gilbert comes for us then we won't be home! Plus, Koi and Feli love the snow so we can play with them! And I know that they get up this early because Feli always goes on a pasta run and Koi helps Kiku pound rice cakes!" she began to get more and more excited.
He let out another laugh. "Anything you want, Beta…" he slid off the bed and walked to the bathroom. "No peeking!" he said in warning.
She snickered and said, "Okay, okay, I won't!"
Thrity second later, she was already bored. A mischievous smile grew on her face and she licked her lips, getting up and walking the door to the bathroom.
Roderich and Elizabeta walked down the street, in which both Vash, Koi and Feliciano lived on. Their area was more blanketed with snow then Roderich's neighborhood. Roderich, who was dressed casual wear: jeans, regular shoes, and a heavy coat, had a pink blush on his face because of the cold and the fact that Elizabeta didpeek while he was in the shower.
As they got closer to Yao's house, they could hear Vash's victory laugh and they could see eight figures.
"Ha! You lose and I win! HA!" they heard him say.
"No! This ain't over till the fish jumps!" came a loud childish voice.
"You cheated, aru!"
"What do you mean he cheated?" came an intimidating voice.
"Me, Sensei and Koi saw you use a grenade launcher to launch snowballs" came a calm voice.
"Anything goes, remember?" Vash said.
"Ugh, like, talk to the hand cuz the wrist is pissed, Vash!" came a girly man voice.
They came closer and saw Koi, Li, Yao and Feliks angry, on one side of the Yao's yard and Vash, Ludwig, Lilly, and Feliciano on the other, all in heavy clothing.
Roderich and Elizabeta took one more step than stopped.
"Eh…um, what's going on?" Elizabeta asked awkwardly.
The eight turned to them and all of their expressions softened.
Koi tightened her scarf and said, "Not much. Just a Swiss arsonist who cheats at snowball fights."
"It wasn't a cheat!" Vash snapped almost immediately, "Anything goes!"
"That's your excuse for everything, aru!" Yao threw his hands up in the air.
Kiku, Mei, Yong, Badinton and Linh were sitting on the bench in front of Yao's house watching the entire thing.
Yong snickered. "You think if I grope Aniki they'll stop fighting, da-ze?"
"Please, don't…" Kiku replied.
Mei simply smiled. "Do you think I should make dumplings for everyone? I suppose I should count the servings for two more people."
Badinton and Linh almost jumped up in excitement. "That sounds really great!"
Koi pulled herself away from her brothers, causing her to fall face down into the snow. Everyone let out a small laugh, except for Vash who burst out laughing. She picked herself up and dusted the snow from her head and shoulders and acted like that didn't happen. She turned towards Roderich and Elizabeta. "So, how goes it, little Elly?" she asked cheerfully.
"Oh, you know…" she replied nervously "the usual…"
Vash, who had a bandage on his head from his fight with Gilbert the night before, stopped his laughing and looked at them suspiciously and scooted his way towards Roderich. "So what happened?" he whispered.
"Pardon?" he asked.
"You know, between you-know-you and you-know-her!" Vash pointed towards Elizabeta who was chatting with Linh and Taiwan.
Roderich's sweat dropped even though it was super cold out. "I could ask you the same thing between you and Gilbert. Can we talk about this somewhere else?"
"Why wou—"
Motherf**ker, I'm awesome!
No, you're not! Dude, don't lie!
I'm awesome; I drive around in my mom's ride!
Everyone stopped what they were doing looked towards Koi, who immediately reached into her pocket and took out her phone. "Oo, this is Koi!" she greeted.
"Hm? Yah, Gil, I'm outside. You sound angry, ma—Elizabeta and Roderich?" Elizabeta and Roderich paled. They were done for. "Nope, haven't seen 'em…Yes, I'll definitely tell you if I have…Alright, bye." She hung up for iPhone and put it back in her pocket, looking at the two in front of her, and lifting an eyebrow. "You better get in the house. He sounds pissed."
"Do you know?" they asked.
"Come on, you guys actually think you can keep a secret from me?" she raised an eyebrow "Elly, just go inside and Roderich, stay here. We'll handle Gilbert. Vash, you in?"
He pounded a fist against the palm of the other hand. "Hell yeah! I'll get back for this!" he pointed to his bandage.
"Okay, let's g—" Koi's eyes widened as she saw her best friend's car turn a corner and come down her street.
A/N: Gilbert and Koi are best friends.
"Betchot…" she cursed "Li, is she inside?"
"Yeah!" he called back.
She, Roderich, and Vash just watched as Gilbert parked his car in front of the curb, stepping out of it, and not at all closing the door. He looked towards Koi, then Roderich who was trying to restrain himself from hitting him, then back at Koi. "Figured you'd lie. And to your best friend. So not awesome…"
She flinched as he called her the-two-words-that-shall-not-be-named. She pointed a gloved finger at him. "Neither is hitting a woman!"
He stayed silent, keeping his head down, and so did Roderich. Koi continued. "Tell me why…"
He looked up. "Why would you cause Roderich and Elizabeta so much pain?" she said coldly "You would steal her from him…just for a stupid feud. Why didn't I say it sooner? As your best friend you told me everything…especially who you had a crush on…" She turned away.
He took a step towards her. "Stop it! Just stop talking now!" he yelled. She continued. "You don't love Elizabeta…you played with her heart and caused Roderich so much pain. You faked all of it and I know that you're in love with Anri…" Elizabeta's eyes widened. "Was it actually worth it? Was it worth seeing her get hurt?"
Roderich finally looked up and said, "Vash, take Koi and go back to Elizabeta…"
"But—" he stopped when Roderich gave him a look that said 'I need to do this alone'. Vash shut his mouth, grabbed Koi and yelled, Fight for your women!"
Roderich did not make sure that they had gotten to their destination as he was too busy staring angrily at Gilbert. He opened his mouth to speak.
"Well…answer the question, Gilbert." He spoke with venom coursing through each word. "Was it really worth seeing her get hurt?" Gilbert stayed quiet until said in a small whisper, "Yes…"
That was loud enough for Roderich to hear as he tackled him roughly to the ground, signaling the start of the fight. As soon as Gilbert's head hit the cold, snowy ground, he woke up and realized who tackled him. Feliciano gasped, Elizabeta covered her mouth, and Ludwig witnessed what he had wanted to do to his brother for the longest time. Roderich pulled his fist back and punched him square in the face. Gilbert kicked him in the stomach, causing him fall on his back into the snow. They forcefully pulled themselves up, Gilbert, wiping the blood off his face. "Never thought the Austrian had it in him." he smirked.
Any time they were arguing Gilbert would try to start the fight by saying, "Let's go right now!" but Roderich would glare then sophistically walk away. But who would've thought that he would start the fight?
Roderich unzipped his heavy jacket, for it was restraining his stamina. He cast it aside and onto the ground. He waited for Gilbert to make a move. But both just stood there, plotting the next move. No one in the background made a sound, they stayed patient and watched. Vash, Yao and Ludwig's anxiety kept rising and rising while Roderich closed his eyes to concentrate. That was when Koi sniffled and let out a sneeze. Roderich instantly opened his eyes and charged towards Gilbert.
He thrust his fist towards Gilbert and smashed it against his face, mentally asking why he didn't dodge or block it but soon got his answer as he grabbed Roderich's arm and bent his forearm the opposite way it should. He let out a pained scream but raised his leg to kick Gilbert, but he grabbed Roderich's leg with his free hand. He struggled to get free from his tightening grip. He searched his mind of what to do until it came to him.
He tilted his head back and slammed his forehead against Gilbert's, causing him to release his grip and stumbling back. He struggled to concentrate on Roderich but was too dizzy from the blow. Roderich was actually unaffected by the blow, though it left a bloody mark on his forehead.
Feliks: RODERICH used HEAD-BUTT! XD
Koi: It was super effective!
Gilbert shook his head and he able to think straight again. "Now you're gonna get it!" he shouted, turning around and walking to his car, with the door still open. He reached in and almost instantly, he pulled out a large wooden stick, and closing the door finally. It had a crack in its side, marking it as the same one that he struck Elizabeta with. Roderich stared at it and clenched his fists, looking at Gilbert's face. "What do you plan on doing with that?" he asked patiently.
He patted the side of it against the palm of his hand. "Fun for me and not for you," he smirked. Yong watched and soon an idea came to his mind. He ran inside the house, pushing past Yao and Kiku, not at all taking off his shoes and running up the stairs to his, Koi, and Kiku's room. He searched through his things and found the item he was looking for.
He grabbed it and ran out the door again. What he had in her hands wasn't a stick, but one of the two bokken that Kiku made for him with the Japanese characters for 'will of fire' engraved on it. He stopped her running beside Ludwig and waited for the right moment to throw it to Roderich.
"Yes, I'd say it would be fun…" Roderich smiled coldly, his eyes stern. Gilbert's smirk faded into a frown of disappointment. "Stop looking at me like that…" he commanded.
Roderich frowned as his eyes stayed the same. Gilbert's anger grew.
He lunged towards him. "I SAID STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" he swung the stick at him quickly but not fast enough as Yong yelled, "Catch!" as he threw it like a javeline towards Roderich.
He quickly caught and blocked Gil's swing. They began to sword fight like in a kendo battle at Japanese high school. Occasionally, Gilbert would jab Roderich in the ribs. Hard and forceful as if piercing his skin.
"I am getting ideas for a manga…" Kiku rubbed his chin.
"Shhh!" they all shushed Kiku as they were trying to concentrate on the battle.
Gilbert forced the stick between the bokken and Roderich's palm and with a swift motion, swatted the wooden sword away from him, over to the small sakura tree that Kiku had planted three years before. He took another hard swing but Roderich stopped it with one hand, grimacing at the pain of splinters prickling into his skin but was soon caught off guard as Gilbert kicked at his stomach once again, knocking him to the ground. His head hit the ground hard, causing him to let out a small yell in pain. He squeezed his eyes shut as the back of his head made contact with the ground. When he opened them, he saw Gilbert stab the end of the stick against his shoulder and he felt a sharp pain. He let out another yell. He managed to look down at the area and saw that Gilbert had sharpened that end of the stick.
"Roderich!" Elizabeta screamed as she tried to run over to him. But Yao and Koi grabbed her arm. "No, aru! You'll just get hurt too!"
She struggled to get free. "But he needs me!" she cried out. She began to get loose from their grip. "Li, Kiku!" Koi called. The two ran up and grabbed her torso. "Let me go!"
"Roderich-san needs to do this himself!" Kiku said.
"He's fighting for you! You need to let him do this!" Li yelled.
She stopped resisting and after 3 minutes they all released their hold on her. "Alright, if you guys say so…" she agreed quietly, her head low.
Back on the yard, Gilbert began pushing harder onto Roderich's shoulder, causing him to clench his teeth. He soon began twisting it, letting the splinters get into his skin. Blood stained his clothing. Gilbert chuckled. "Hmph, not so tough now, are you?" he said as he pulled it out of the shoulder and stabbed it back in. He screamed in pain. Elizabeta covered her ears and tears formed in her eyes. To add to it, stomped on his stomach at full force, causing him to cough up blood. The blood slid down his cheeks and stained the pure white snow a deep red.
Gilbert was actually surprised. Usually, when they were children and he beat him down, Roderich would cry. He would cry and cry until Vash found him there, sitting on the dirt with small fists held up to his eyes. Then Vash would carry him home on his back.
But this was worse than any beating he had given him before. There was no blood at all in the past.
He continued to stomp onto his stomach, each time receiving a shriek in pain. Tears came to Elizabeta's eyes and she held her head in her hands to hide her face. Roderich was on the verge of tears because of the harsh pain. His eyes were still shut.
"Roderich…" came a sad voice.
He instantly opened his eyes and stared off into the white, cloudy sky. Whose voice was this?
"Roderich, please…I can't stand it anymore…"It was Hungary's voice. She was sobbing and her voice was cracking.
"Please…get up…"He listened to her plea and suddenly a fire of determination burned in his eyes. Gilbert was still in deep in thought of times where he beat others up. Roderich lifted his leg up and kicked Gilbert in his vital regions, making him howl in deep pain.
Feliks pumped a fist in the air. "Yeah, like, go Roddy~!"
Roderich stood and got into a fighting position that Vash had taught him years ago. Gilbert grunted loudly. "You little…!" he managed to say.
"Come at me," Roderich said in a stern voice. The other man blinked then without another second came charging at his challenger. He kicked at him but the Austrian grabbed it, much like Gil did earlier, and threw a hard punch at his face. He didn't stumble back but stood his ground. They went on exchanging punches and kicks and often blows to the head. Those in the background watched as they fought. Lilly held onto Vash's arm desperately. He and Koi noticed that all of the moves he was doing they had taught him. Roderich, whose face was bleeding but not entirely and had bruises all over, breathed heavily while Gilbert, who as more injured than him, mentally chanted, 'Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop!'.
'I'vehadenough…!' Roderich thought.
He grabbed the other man's clothing and pushed him against the car smashing his back onto the handle of the car. Gilbert cringed.
The Asian family saw the tension that was taking Roderich. It had taken Kiku and Koi once but Yao was able to calm them down. This tension was war. The art of fighting, actually. Koi and Yao ran to the edge of the yard, where he stood and grabbed him, restraining him from going any further.
She pulled his arms back as her brother held onto his torso. This had probably gotten to him earlier as he was almost out of their grip already. "Calm down!" they yelled.
"I have to finish this!" he protested.
"No! You're already finished!", Koi shouted, "Look at him now!"
Roderich stopped resisting and took a look at Gilbert's face. It was bloody and had bruises all over and he was breathing heavily.
They loosened their hold on him. "I…could have killed him…?"
"Yeah, aru…" Yao said. Koi let go of him entirely and walked over to Gilbert as he slid down the car door, now sitting on the ground.
"Hey, man you okay?" she asked with a sad smile.
He smiled softly back, "I've been better…"
The girl reached into her pocket, pulling out a rag, which she always kept in case there was a fire or a bombing, and wiping the blood off his face. "You gotta quit getting into fights. Both me and Ludwig had to bail you out after you get your ass handed to you."
She called Ludwig over to help her carry him inside the house. And so they did immediately, heading to the wherever Yao kept the bandages and other medical items to clean the Prussian up.
Back outside, Yao had already let Roderich go and he went inside with everyone else, leaving Roderich and Elizabeta alone outside. She had been frozen in the spot she was standing in until he heard his smooth voice call her name.
"Elizabeta…" He smiled at her.
She quickly broke out of the trance cast upon her and ran to him with tears in her eyes. With a few feet between them he held his arms out and embraced her warmly. She was sobbing into his purple hoodie, which was part of the light clothing he had under his heavy coat.
"Roderich! Roderich!" she cried frantically as she held on to him tightly.
He wrapped his arms around her back, letting tears come to his eyes as well. "It's alright, Beta…I'm here now…"
Nothing came from her but tears, hot tears and small whimpers. They both stood there in silence until Elizabeta spoke, her voice cracking.
"D-Did I really m-mean that m-much to y-you?" she tried to say. Her sobbing got in the way of her speaking but was understandable to Roderich. He smiled. "Of course. I've already told you that I would protect you from him…I wouldn't let him lay a finger on y—" he stopped talking as Elizabeta lifted her face from his jacket and kissed his bloody face. He wasn't surprised. He didn't freeze in his place. He just kissed back, smiling against her lips. He held her close.
Koi poked her head out the door and saw the two making out. She smiled warmly and went back inside, letting them have there moment.
"I'll give them five minutes…" she whispered to herself.
She turned around and saw Lilly and Vash looking at her. She was about to scream but stopped herself because she hated attention.
"What the hell you guys starin' at me for?" she asked.
"What are they doing?" Vash shouted.
"Five minutes for what?" Lilly asked.
Koi brought a finger up to her lips to signal silence. "I'm giving them 5 minutes to have their moment. One, because we gotta patch Roderich up and two, they're gonna catch a cold."
"You're not answering my question! What. Are. They. Doing?" Vash said, impatient.
"They're making out," she answered simply.
Lilly turned red and her brother blinked then smirked. "Hate to admit it, but the boy's got more guts than I do," he said.
Koi looked back outside and still saw them embracing each other, then she looked at her watch. "Only three minute…" she paused, "That's good enough!"
She ran outside and raised her left hand to the side of the mouth. "Ooiii! You guys are gonna catch a cold! Quit making out and come inside already!" Roderich and Elizabeta immediately pulled away from each other and their face blushed a deep red, and they ran for the door, hand in hand.
"Ow…ow ow ow!" Roderich almost screamed as his lover dabbed alcohol on his cuts of his chest. His face had been cleaned of all blood and Ludwig, Feliks and Feliciano had gone home already as it was approaching noon. Roderich had apologized for forcing Ludwig to carry Gilbert (who had already been cleaned up) home. Yao and the others except his youngest sibling sat in the living room and watched a movie. Only Roderich, Elizabeta, Lilly and Vash remained in the Asia household, save the ones who lived there.
"Calm it down, vetter." Vash said, "She's doing her best to go easy on you."
Elizabeta giggled. "You look so cute right now, Roderich!"
In her eyes, he looked amazing. He had removed his shirt, revealing all the bruises and cuts he had gotten earlier, he had his arms above his head so she could treat him and he had a heavy blush on his face because she was eyeing his bare chest any chance she got.
"Do not…" he muttered.
She put her mouth to his ear. "Do too…" she whispered seductively.
His face turned a deep shade of red at the sexy tone in her voice. He opened his mouth to speak but the words became jumbled up in his throat. Elizabeta laughed once again at his shyness. She reached over and grabbed another band-aid. She peeled off the plastic and carefully placed it on his right ribs and kissed his cheek sincerely. She whispered in a voice only audible to Roderich, "I'm sorry that you had to do that all for me, édesem." He knew this word. She had called him this name many times before. Of course, he had, the summer before, learned Hungarian for her. Sweetheart…
He placed his forehead against hers and spoke in the same tone she was. "Beta…please don't apologize. I did it because I love you…"
Vash, Lilly, and Koi stared blankly at them. "Hey…Hey!," Koi said impatient, "We gotta treat the last wound. Hey!" They didn't hear her. Though she didn't like attention, Koi hated to be ignored.
She spoke in a sarcastic voice. "Oh gee, what in the hell are we going to do about this large hole in your shoulder?" she poked a finger into his wound. He winced and pulled away from whom he loved, who just gasped at the sudden happening.
"Gah! What are you doing?" he asked with pain in his voice.
"You two are going into another world again. And we need to finish treating you." She got up from where she was sitting on the floor, walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cloth, wetting it and squeezed the water out of it. She tossed it Elizabeta who caught it easily.
She told Roderich, "This might hurt so bear with me." He nodded and closed his eyes. She carefully dabbed the dried blood away from the edges of the wound. She knew that if she even an inch out of place she would hurt him. Though she did, he didn't complain. He simply stayed quiet. She saw that stoic look on his face. 'Sodamncute…!' she thought.
She smirked, as she "accidentally" brushed past a certain part above his stomach, causing him to open his eyes and blush furiously. He gave her a look that said 'Please don't do that here!'
She laughed in response then turned to Lilly. "Please hand me the gauze bands," she requested happily.
Lilly turned to the first aid kit, picked up the roll of gauze bands and handed it to Elizabeta. She was now behind Roderich and carefully wrapped the bandages around Roderich.
Once she was finished, she grabbed his shirt off of the floor and handed it to him.