Maura-chan here~
ThistookforeverI'msorryIhadwriter'sblockandIhadtou pdatemyotherstoriesandIhadabunchofideasI'msorryyy
AlsoIkindalosttheideaforthisficsoI'mgoingtobeupdat ingitalotslower T-T
I'm trying, kays!?
Without further procrastination, I give you...
Kingdom Come
'Respect'
Gilbert tapped his foot impatiently. He was waiting in line at the grocer's, and the only reason he had gone was because Alfred had been too lazy and sent him, saying it would be a "good experience". The fact that Arthur was passed out on the parlor floor might have had something to do with it, too. Of course, it wasn't the first time his two caretakers had gotten extremely drunk. They weren't supposed to, and Alfred always begged Gilbert not to tell on them, so Gilbert pretended he was going to, but never did. He couldn't stand to see them be fired. Although they were a good deal older than him- about ten years or so- they were the best of friends.
Soon there was no one left in front of Gilbert except a boy who looked a little younger than him. "Hey, you're next, ja?"
The boy spun around and stared at him. "Were you talking to me?"
Gilbert shook his head. "No, I was talking to the wall," he said sarcastically. "Of course I was talking to you."
"Y-you noticed me."
"You're standing right in front of me. How could I not see you? What, do you think you are invisible? Cause you're not."
He laughed nervously. "It does sometimes seem that way..."
"What do you mean?"
"People tend to ignore me... Or pretend I'm not there." He played with the piece of paper he was holding- a shopping list. "It kind of gets on my nerves, you know?"
"Oh, ja, I understand. I'm ignored by people too, since I'm not as important as my father."
"What's your name?"
He grinned. "I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt. You?"
The boy's eyes widened. "You're Prince Gilbert?"
He nodded. "Someday, I'll be Prussia."
"I'm Matthew Williams." He swallowed, and let a tiny smile appear. "I hope that one day, I can be in charge of a kingdom, too."
"If you do, come talk to me. You seem nice- we could work well together."
Matthew nodded. "Ok." He turned towards the counter, where the worker was finishing with another customer. He glanced back at Gilbert. "Oh, and thanks."
"For what?"
"Noticing me. And being nice back."
Approx. ten years later
Someone knocked on the door, and Gilbert sighed, lifting his head slightly off the table. "What the hell do you want?"
"Dude, what's up? You sound like a zombie or somethin'." Alfred pushed open the door to Gilbert's study and came up to the desk.
Gilbert sat up, groaning. "Mein Gott, what time is it?"
Alfred glanced at his watch. "Uh... Seven."
"A.M. or P.M.?"
Alfred laughed. "You seriously don't know?" Gilbert shook his head. "God, dude. You can't stay holed up in here forever, you know." Alfred came over next to Gilbert and sat on the table. "You've got duties now... Sure, Arthur and I have been doing the paperwork, but most of it needs to be signed. By the king of Prussia. By you."
Gilbert groaned again, and put his head back down on the table. "This- this is so unawesome. It's like torture."
Alfred gave him a sad smile. "I can't even imagine what it's like, sir." Gilbert sat up and kicked Alfred in the shin. "Ow! What was that for?"
"For calling me sir."
"But it's your proper title. What'll people think of me when I'm walking around calling you Gil?"
Gilbert shrugged. "They will think we are close friends, ja?"
"No, they'll think I don't respect you."
"I don't care what they think. I know you respect me, so who cares?" He sat up and stared at the paperwork Alfred placed in front of him. "What the hell is this?"
"More crap they need you to fill out. It sucks that he died in the middle of a war. I mean, it sucks that he died at all, I liked the guy, but war generates more paper than a fucking printer." Alfred shuffled through the forms and pointed at some. They wanna know if you're going to keep supporting this war... Where you want this general... If you're letting go of any staff..."
"We don't have money for all this shit!" Gilbert exclaimed. "How the hell have we been paying for it?"
Alfred shrugged. "All I know is this needs filled out. And fast, cause Arthur's been getting on my case for letting you go."
Gilbert laughed. "Letting me go? Mein Gott..." He stared at the pile of paperwork, then looked at Alfred. "How- How am I supposed to do this without him, Alfred? All this... And they expect me to ignore that I lost the most important person in my life." He blinked back tears. Tears were not strong, they were not capable. They were weak and vulnerable. "Fuck it all, Alfred. He was my father. Or at least someone who accepted me as a son. And he left this entire fucking kingdom for me to take care of. How the hell... How am I, of all people, supposed to rule a kingdom? Couldn't he have given it to someone else?"
Alfred shook his head. "No, you're the only heir. And technically it isn't even supposed to be yours, but you know you can't tell anyone that..."
Gilbert gave Alfred a surprised look. This was news to him. "What do you mean by that?"
"The kingdom was supposed to go to the king's first-born son. And no offense, you're not his son, no matter how much we all wish that was true. We might have, maybe..." Alfred looked down, slightly embarrassed. "He kind of messed with papers so it looked like you're actually his son."
Gilbert stared at him for a while, then finally said, "How?"
"Let's just say that there are no traces of you anywhere else, and for all intents and purposes you are the first-born son of Fredrick the second."
No traces.
All those years ago...
The gunshots, the screaming... West wrapped in his coat, crying because the loud noises frightened him. Coming back to an empty room...
He should have given up after all these years, but for some reason he had still held on to the thought that his beloved baby brother was still alive. But now that there was no way for anyone to find him...
What if he never saw West again?
