Yay, first chapter! :'D Please enjoy, Rate & Review if you have some time~.
Warning: This is still a PrussiaxAustria story, not PrussiaxHungary or AustriaxHungary. I might as well repeat myself. ^^"

Tones of Broken Strings:
Chapter One

"Are you sure you'll be fine, Liz?"
The voice crackled through the phone, the horrible reception twisting the voice into a different pitch, static noises and silences falling now and then. "I'm a responsible woman, Roddy, jeez. I can do some groceries." The brunette grimaced as she spoke the words into her cell phone. "I'm just going to get dinner, cornflakes and some fruit, so stop worrying.."
"Okay, if you say so. I'll see you later then."
"Yeah, later."

Liz hang up with a sigh, her green eyes staring at the now blank screen on her phone. She shook her head, closing her eyes. Her husband... He was a good man, good to her, too. But he just got so... Worried. It was nice to be treated like a woman for once, she wouldn't deny, but she truly missed being 'the neighbourhood terror' at times. Not a single day was boring back then. But oh well, things changed, didn't they? 'One day everyone'll grow up' she thought absently as she slipped her phone into the pocket of her jeans, walking into the supermarket.

Liz licked her lips thoughtfully, staring at the pack of cornflakes. Liz wasn't tall, never had been. Maybe, if she stood on her toes...
She reached out, as far as she could. Her slender fingers stroked past the packet on the shelf, she could feel the smooth carton under her fingers. Why did they have to make these things so freaking high again? She tried to get a grip on the box, but her fingers weren't long enough, she couldn't curl them around it.
The box tipped to the side as if in slow-motion, touching another colourful box right beside it. The other box tipped over on its own turn, but without anything aside it to stop it its fall it flipped over, tumbling down the shelf. The Hungarian desperately tried to grab the falling box, but as it was too far out of her reach she closed her eyes in shock. She could hear the sound of the cardboard hitting something, the crackling noise of cornflakes spilling, a sudden swear from a person and a heavy sound of something hitting the floor, soon followed by something that sounded like a huge water balloon breaking.
"Scheiße! Hey, watch it, will ya?"
"I-I'm sorry!"
Liz bent over, quickly picking up the milk carton the other person had dropped. She inspected the side as she noticed the big, white puddle of milk that had spread on the floor. A big tear ran over the surface of the milk carton, nearly having ripped it in half.
The other person grabbed the carton from Liz her hands, shaking his head at the sight of the tear and muttering something in a language unknown to the Hungarian woman. "Everything here is just a shitty quality." He added as he looked up at Liz, shaking his head. Only now Liz got a good look at the man. He wasn't incredibly tall; but she had to look up to see his face nonetheless. He was pale, had red eyes, pale hair, and most of all, he looked so familiar. But she didn't really think anything of it; he could just as well be a regular here, just like herself.
"I'm sorry, I wanted to reach for something, but it was too high and I couldn't grab it and-"
"Stop it, will ya? 'Tis okay. Wasn't keen on the milk, anyway. Plus, I haven't paid for it yet."

Liz tried to smile, but she just shrugged it off instead. All she wanted now was to get home already. With a small nod as goodbye she turned around, picking up her basket, along with the now-empty box of cereal. She shuffled some of the cornflakes aside, trying to make the floor look a little reasonable until someone came to clean it up.
Another man walked past Liz, stopping by the man she had spoken briefly to earlier.
"Gilbert, how long do you take to get a carton of milk?"
Liz turned around at the familiarity of the name. A colleague? Client? She was unable to recall, and frowned to that fact. The white haired –perhaps albino?- man shrugged at the other man and glanced at his watch.
"About… Half an hour…"
Liz stood up and stroked back a few strands of hair, her eyes widening at a sudden recollection of thoughts and memories, slapping her hand over her mouth to stop herself from gasping, or her jaw from falling open in surprise.

"… Gilbert?"
The man turned around, facing Liz. "Yo, that's me." There was no mistaking it, the face was the same, though sharper, and the voice was as she remembered it, though deeper. It had to be him.
".. Gilbert.. Beilschmidt? Oh God please say it's you."
The man –apparently Gilbert- frowned at the woman knowing his name, tilting his head in confusement until it suddenly hit him.
"Liz? Mein Gott 'stat YOU? Jesus you're so.. Different!"
"I hope for you that you mean that I look great."
Gilbert just nodded quickly, the other man –tall, blond- clearly confused, not particularly recognizing the woman Gilbert was talking to. He just excused himself and left soon after, Gilbert not paying any particular attention to him. He just grinned at Liz, and she just thought for a moment. Maybe.. Just maybe he hadn't been a dick all along.
"Man, I haven't seen you in ages! Hey, are you taller than me now?"
"Actually, I am. Liz, your hair! 'Tis so long! I barely recognised ya, why'd ya let it grow?"
The brunette grabbed a few strands of her hair and twisted it between her fingers. "Why? Don't you think it looks great on me?" Gilbert just shrugged it off, not keen on answering that question.
"Well, at least ya look like a woman no-"
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
"Nothing!"

Liz huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, muttering a 'good' between her teeth. "Say, Gilbert, why are you back here, anyway? And who was that other guy with you?"
"'Twas my little brother, Ludwig. He owns some bars back here, an' I got fired on my previous job. He offered me work as a bartender here."
Liz smiled and nodded slowly, listening to his story. She threw a quick glance at her watch, noticing how late it already was. "Gil, as much as I'd love to catch up, I have to go now. Here, take my phone number. Give me a call sometime, I'll introduce you to my husband!"
Gilbert nodded slowly as he noted the number down in his phone.
"Ya married, Liz? Jesus, time flies!"