Hello everyone!

As a very huge THANK you to everyone who commented/favved/etc. my fic, here's the second chapter... a little earlier than expected :D

I really appreciate to know what you think about this, and hope you'll keep on doing that.

Please enjoy ^^

-Chapter II-

° Third week of school °

As usual Ivan woke up unwillingly to the sound of the alarm clock. Unlike him, Gilbert was a very morning person, and was trying hard to fix his blue tie, already fully clothed.

The Russian blinked a few times, staring at the other sleepily. The red-eyed boy turned to him, hands still working on the complicated garment.

'Morgen' he said, then trained his eyes again on the tie.

'Dohbroya ohtra' Ivan greeted as well, his normally velvety and young voice a little lower and huskier than usual because of sleep. He remembered the first times Gilbert had heard his voice like that. The Prussian had almost winced and looked at him with a 'what the heck?' expression in his wide eyes. The blonde had stared back at him with a confused look and, when the albino had asked him what he had done to his vocal cords, he had chuckled slightly and explained himself.

Yes, this year the relationship between them was definitely better than in the past.

It was their third school week and for the first year they were roommates. The other years Gilbert had been in the same room as Antonio, but then the Spaniard had decided to quit school and take care of its library. Ivan felt lucky he had been chosen as Gilbert's new roommate. Being both quite shy and reserved (even if the Prussian was definitely more expansive than him), they never got to actually talk for longer than five minutes or to go out and enjoy themselves together. It had revealed to be the perfect chance for them to start a friendship… though they both had difficulties with that.

Ivan was a loner and, unknown to most, Gilbert was as well. But unlike the latter, the Russian didn't have many friends at all. He chatted a little with Antonio, since the time he didn't spend studying, he spent it reading. Moreover, the Spaniard was just too friendly and even if Ivan wouldn't have wanted to, he would have been obliged to talk with him in any case. He exchanged words politely with a Japanese and a Finnish guy, as well as with an American boy too. But he didn't have any real friends. They were just…. Acquaintances. Nothing more. Even if he didn't have any, he knew what friendship was and he surely couldn't say he had built one with anyone.

With Gilbert was the same. They greeted each other, sometimes shared more than just a word, but nothing else. Ivan thought, however, that with time they would be able to be friends. Actual friends. Maybe three weeks in the same room hadn't been enough for them to break the ice… but the violet-eyed boy was determined to show to the other he really wanted to be closer to him. And when Ivan wanted something, there was no way he wouldn't obtain it.

He finally woke up and got out of the bed, stretching, the sand-yellow t-shirt raising up with his arms, leaving his hips and flat stomach uncovered for a moment. Gilbert couldn't help but stare at the other briefly and, when the Russian looked at him questioningly, the albino just shook his head.

"Nothing… I just noticed again… Gott, you're tall"

Ivan smiled a little at that. It wasn't like the other was small. The red-eyed male was quite tall for a boy, but the other was just… bigger. And every time he stretched, the Prussian would look at him like 'Ehy, quit that, you're reaching the ceiling'.

The blonde approached Gilbert and took the tie in his hands, moving the other's fingers away and started fixing it.

"I thought I taught you how to do it, da?" he reprimanded lightly. The albino looked away. Was he blushing?

"…It's just too complicated" he mumbled, still not looking at the other in the eye.

Gilbert's thoughts hanged in the air: 'And it's more convenient to have you doing it, since you do it better'. Not that he would have ever said the truth aloud.

Once he was done with the tie, Ivan backed away and took his clothes in his arms, heading towards the door.

"Thanks"

A little smile graced his lips as he half turned to the Prussian, looking over his shoulder, before he went out.

"Bruder"

"Ja, West?"

The two brothers were enjoying each others company while eating lunch. Ludwig was younger than Gilbert so, since their classes were different, they usually spent meal time together. At the blonde's side there were a Japanese boy and an Italian one, probably talking about arts (the Prussian couldn't help but hear the names of Michelangelo and Hokusai coming from the two).

"How is it to be in the same room as Braginski?"

The albino blinked a few times, his eyebrow raising a little.

"…What do you mean?"

The blue-eyed male threw him a look he couldn't decipher. Was he angry? Worried? Annoyed?

He waited for an answer, while the other scratched his arm while looking for the right words.

"He's… He gives me a bad feeling. He's… creepy, to say the least"

Gilbert looked at the ceiling, fork hanging from his mouth while he pondered.

"Uhm… yeah, he is. Really is" he confirmed, and took the piece of cutlery in his hand again, playing with the food. He looked distant while talking, Ludwig noted. And the hand he used to support his head, elbow on the table, made him look almost sad, almost... nostalgic?

"…But he's not a bad person. I think he's just shy. And… lonely"

The younger brother almost looked ashamed for his thoughts as he looked in his plate without really seeing it.

Gilbert and Ludwig were very different. The blonde was always serious, composed and diligent. He would worry about almost anything around him and, because of that, he was often stressed and knew how hard it was for others to approach his intimidating person and be friendly. He didn't speak his thoughts aloud most of the time, but knew how to be straightforward and sincere. Gilbert wasn't bird of the same feather: the Prussian was loud, cheerful, most of time smiling (or better, grinning); he was passionate and could get angry easily, but was equally fast to forgive and forget. There was a side of him though, a deeper one, totally different from the surface. Ludwig knew about it well. The red-eyed boy was surrounded by friends, but didn't have many that he really considered important ones that knew him for what he really was. His smile sometimes didn't reach his eyes, and when something was wrong, he would probably disappear for a while and avoid everyone. This loner, thoughtful side of him was a part the albino wasn't usually willing to let out, to show. It was Gilbert's most sensitive, most fragile one. He would cover it all with the cocky, strong attitude, avoiding to get hurt.

'He's lonely… just like you, brother…?' Ludwig thought, somehow bitterly, somehow sweetly. 'Is it that, that you are thinking?'

The blonde decided to drop the topic just when another blonde approached their table.

"Ehy" Arthur greeted, putting a hand on the Prussian's shoulder. Gilbert looked startled for a moment, then locked eyes with the British boy at his side.

"Ehy!" he exclaimed with cheer, grinning widely.

"I just finished eating. Mind a walk around? My arse is goin' to get chair-shaped if I sit any longer"

The red-eyed male smirked and sat up.

"Sure" he said, leaving his tray behind and throwing a 'Please West?' look at his brother. Ludwig nodded with a mockingly helpless expression and took both of their trays away.

The two walked towards the courtyard, a weak fresh breeze playing with their hair.

"You look thoughtful, Gilbo. What's up?" Arthur asked him while reaching for a packet of cigarettes in his pocket. He handed one to the other, which was gratefully taken. Gilbert lighted both their cigarettes and put away the lighter.

He liked the blonde's company a lot. They had been best friends for years and, at one point, they had also fallen for each other… only to find out soon after they were better away being friends and nothing else. Maybe it was that, maybe it was the years they spent together… In any case, the British boy knew him well and could tell when his smile was fake or not. And he knew he could tell to him anything he wanted, because the other would just listen to him and keep it for himself, giving advice and judging only when asked. What pleased Gilbert was the fact that Arthur did the same as well… and that he also enjoyed drinking as much as the albino did. There was no way they would get drunk without the other, and had so much fun at Ludwig and Alfred's faces when they would take them home, they'd cry their eyes out from laughing.

"Ivan" the Prussian said, taking a slow puff. Arthur looked at him, waiting for the other to continue. The smoke flew around Gilbert in swirls and lines, making him look mysterious, almost ethereal… almost like he were not a teen but a very ancient being with a long history on his shoulders.

They sat on the grass near a tree, enjoying the freshness and peacefulness of the place.

"I… want to be friends with him. But there's something that keeps me from acting as I'd always do, just taking action. But with him I can't"

The green-eyed male looked at him with slightly amazed eyes. He smiled a little, understanding what the other meant.

"Maybe you perceive him as similar to you... And you get overly careful" Arthur guessed, leaning his head on his hand and the elbow on his legs, bent at the knees. Gilbert turned, locking light green with dark red eyes. There was an expression in the albino's irises that the British boy couldn't quite grasp.

"You know," he continued, taking another drag off his cigarette "I think you should try and ask him to go out with us. The only place he goes to is the library. I'm sure he'd like to spend time with people somewhere else as well"

"…What if he refuses?" the red-eyed male muttered, looking almost bashful.

Arthur waved the possibility away, the smoke of the cigarette tracing abstract lines in the air with the hand's movement.

"No way, darling. He'll say yes, and you'll get to know each other better. Besides, I like the silent, cultural type of person. I'm sure there's more to him than just the creepy smile"

Gilbert laughed loudly at the other's crudeness. He was lucky there was a person just as sincere as he was in giving their opinion.

"Try not to get Francis too jealous, or I'll find myself with a drenched shirt and a sulking man on my shoulder"

The British boy smirked at the joke. "As if he cared that much"

"Aww, com'on, you know he does. You're so stubborn" he grinned and the other did as well, looking at the albino with a knowing face, one eyebrow raised.

"Ha, you're saying I am stubborn now?"

The Prussian stuck out his tongue at the blonde, definitely saying 'screw you' to maturity.