Gilbert had hidden himself under his covers, so it almost looked a little kid had faked still being in bed. However, Ludwig knew that his brother was still there. He hadn't actually moved since he had gotten home. At first he left him alone, thinking he would go back to his usual self after a while. But now Ludwig was very concerned. It usually didn't take long for Gilbert to bounce back. He didn't even come down for dinner, and since it was wurst night that made Ludwig very shocked.

"It's time to eat brother." Ludwig received no response from the bed. He sighed and walked over to the bed and nudged Gilbert with his knee. The mass on the bed moved slightly and emitted a groan.

"We have beer. The good stuff this time. Imported straight from Germany." Their was a slight movement, but not much of a reaction past that. At this point Ludwig was seriously concerned. What had upset his brother so much that that beer couldn't get him up? Sighing Ludwig tried something else. "If you don't get up me and Feliciano will eat all the wurst." Again, no response. "What's wrong," whispered Ludwig.

All of a sudden Gilbert pulled the covers off and asked, "If there was something that you loved that someone else had, would it be okay if you stole that thing if you loved it more?"

"Um…I guess if that thing was more important to you than the other person, then taking it from them wouldn't be that bad."

"What if that thing was actually was a person?"

Ludwig rubbed his forehead. "Why are we talking about stealing people?"

"I guess it really isn't stealing but more like making that person realize something that would make them spend less time with someone they are currently with."

"Well since you're only making them realize something and not forcing that person to stop hanging out with someone else it would be okay."

Gilbert smiled and jumped off the bed and ran to his white board. "Cool. Hey can you bring me up some dinner? I have something that is really important and I want to start working on it already."

Ludwig mumbled a sure and started going downstairs to get a plate of food for Gilbert.

"He's going to have one day of happiness with her before I make her realize she loves me more than him," Gilbert said with a smile.

It was the second class of the day and ten minutes into the class. Elizabeta glanced at Gilbert's seat again and saw that it was still empty. Now she was starting to get worried. Gilbert showing up late for class was a common occurrence. But history was his favorite class. He was never this late for it.

While trying not to be obvious about it, she slipped her phone out of her pocket and texted Gilbert.

Where are you?

5 minutes later and Gilbert still hadn't responded. That was really weird considering he always responded quickly. She then remembered he didn't look well yesterday. Thinking that he might be sick she texted Ludwig about where Gilbert was. It didn't take long till she got a response from him.

I couldn't get him out of bed this morning. I think he stayed up all night.

Elizabeta snorted. She should of guessed. He was probably still asleep which explained why he wouldn't have responded to the text yet. She pocketed her phone and attempted to pay attention to class when her phone went off again. 'I guess I won't be paying attention in class today' she thought as she pulled out her phone. She saw that she finally got a response from Vash about meeting up during lunch.

Meet me in the garden during lunch time. Please don't waste my time.

This confirmed the little that she could gain from others about Vash. He avoided unnecessary social contact, but was at least somewhat kind about it. Probably the only reason that he said yes was that she convinced Lily to put a good word in for her.

Elizabeta decided she needed to thank Lily, so she headed off to Lily's locker after class. She had to run since there wasn't that much time before classes started, and she didn't want to miss her. Luckily she was still at her locker getting books for her next class.

"Thanks for helping me out. Vash just texted me back and we're going to meet up during lunch time," said Elizabeta.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Lily. "I was afraid big brother would still not meet up with you. He can be so antisocial at times."

"Well I hope to change that."

"You still didn't explain why you need to talk to my brother."

"I'll explain after school." Class was about to start so they say goodbye to each other and went their separate ways. Elizabeta spent the time until lunch thinking of ways to phrase various arguments to convince Vash to give Roderich a second chance. She mentally cursed Roderich for not telling her what he did that was so bad. It would be a whole lot easier to fix the problem if she even knew what the problem was in the first place. She told him all that embarrassing stuff yesterday, so he could at least return the courtesy and tell her something as well. Hopefully Vash would be able to answer that question for her.

As soon as Roderich got home last night he started brainstorming ways he could help Elizabeta out with Gilbert. Sadly for him his options were limited. Most people associated with Gilbert hated him or would refuse to help him out. But he made a promise and he wasn't going to give up. That's why he was trying to work up his nerve and ask Gilbert's friends who sat a couple of seats away from him in math class.

The teacher hadn't shown up yet, so people were talking in class. Roderich turned to Antonio and Francis who were chatting with each other. It seemed luck was on his side today as Gilbert wasn't in his chair. Roderich took a deep breath before addressing them both.

"Sorry for bothering you, but there is something I would like to ask the both of you."

They both stopped talking to him and Francis raised his eyebrow. "I don't feel like helping you, and I'm pretty sure you knew that," said Francis.

"I know. The only reason I'm asking you two is because I'm trying to help someone out, and you two are the only ones that I could think of that can help. And before you ask, I can't tell you who I'm helping."

"So what do you need to know," asked Antonio. Francis looked at him while Antonio shrugged. "Why not help him? That person he is talking about may be a friend of ours."

Francis sighed and said, "Fine. Ask away."

Roderich squirmed a bit and wished that this question wasn't so embarrassing to ask. "Does Gilbert like any one?"

The question shocked both of them. "Why would you want to know that," asked Francis.

"I told you! Someone I know wants to know, so I'm doing them a favor," said Roderich. The situation that he was in felt so damn awkward. He wished they would just answer his question already. But of course instead of being helpful, they decided to torture him a little longer.

"Gilbert has an admirer," asked Antonio.

"Why would you think that," asked Austria. He started to panic a bit. If they already knew why he was asking questions it wouldn't take long before they figured out who he was helping out. Roderich decided continuing the conversation would be too much of a risk considering Elizabeta didn't want anybody finding out she liked Gilbert. "I'm sorry for taking up your time." He turned around when Francis called out to him.

"Wait," he said. Roderich turned slightly back towards them. "I honestly don't know if he likes anyone. Gilbert isn't the type to talk about his feelings too much. He could have feelings for someone and he wouldn't tell us."

Austria was a bit surprised at first that they were helping him out. He must have been easy to read because Francis said, "I have a weakness for matters of the heart. It wouldn't feel right not to help out."

Roderich thanked them. And at the last second added, "Please don't tell Gilbert I've been asking questions. The person I'm helping out would kill me if he found out." They both promised they wouldn't and Roderich started thinking over these new problems. He had a feeling Gilbert liked Elizabeta, but she would want more than just his feeling. He would need to get a conformation that he actually said that he liked her, or come up with another solution to get them together. There was only one more person that Roderich could think of that might know if Gilbert liked anyone, and that was his brother. Unfortunately he didn't share any classes with him, so he would have to ask during lunch. Luckily for him he was actually on good terms with Ludwig.

As soon as lunch started Elizabeta headed out toward the garden. She tried to rush as she wanted to spend the most amount of time with Vash as possible. She had a lot of questions that she needed answered and only a small amount of time to work with. As soon as she got into the garden she saw him near the one tree reading a book. He looked up and saw her and waved her over. She walked towards him and he said, "Lily said you had something important to talk to me about."

She nodded. "I want to ask you some questions about someone that you used to be close with. Well more like what your relationship was like with them."

At this Vash raised his eyebrow. "Who would you be talking about?"

"Roderich." When she said that name he paled a bit.

"I have nothing to talk to you about him." He moved to get up when she grabbed his arm.

"Yes you do. For starters you can tell me what happened between the two of you. From what I gather you two were pretty close."

Vash paused a bit before answering. "We were and than something happened between us. If you really want to know ask him."

"I tried but he wouldn't tell me."

"I have no right to tell you. If he doesn't want you to know I will respect his wishes." Elizabeta let go of his arm and he hurried back into the school. Elizabeta mused over this interesting conversation that she just had. While she didn't learn what happened between Vash and Roderich, she at least learned one interesting tidbit. Vash still cared for Roderich, at least enough to respect his wishes. It seemed that this wasn't such a hopeless case of love after all.

Roderich searched for a while before he spotted where Ludwig was sitting in the lunch room. He was sitting with Feliciano and Kiku near the end of the lunchroom. He walked over to them and was spotted by Feliciano.

"Ah Roderich! Want to eat lunch with us today," he asked.

"If you don't mind." Both Ludwig and Kiku said it wasn't a big deal. He sat across from Ludwig and was silent for a while before making his purpose clear. "I was wondering if you could help me with something Ludwig?"

"What is it," Ludwig asked.

"The question I'm going to ask may sound a bit weird, but I'm doing this for a friend so please bare with me. Do you know if Gilbert likes someone?"

Ludwig gave him an odd stare before answering. "I would have no idea. He doesn't talk to me about those kinds of things. How about his friends?"

Roderich sighed. "I already tried that approach."

"I can at least keep an eye out and try to find out if he does if you think that would be helpful."

Roderich nodded. "Thanks. Just try to keep this a secret from him."

"So who has a crush on Gilbert," asked Feliciano.

Hearing this made Roderich a tiny bit depressed. "Is it that obvious."

"Kinda," Feliciano replied. "Why else would you be asking about who he likes?"

Roderich was silent for a while. "Do you guys have any good tips on keeping a secret while still talking about?"

Roderich sighed as he walked out of the school doors. All his attempts to help Elizabeta failed. Thinking about it he wondered if he just made things worse. Roderich was starting to feel like there was nothing he could do to help out Elizabeta at all. He wasn't looking where he was going and bumped into someone. He started to apologize when he saw who it was Vash that he bumped into.

Vash was going to yell at whoever bumped into, but once he saw it was Roderich he closed his mouth. For a while neither of them talked. Then Roderich broke the silence. "So how have you been?"

Vash seemed a little taken back by the question. "I'm fine. I'm still with my sister if you're wondering."

"That's good." There was another few seconds of awkward silence. "Um...if you need anything just let me know."

Vash glowered at Roderich. "I don't need your damn help." He then pushed past Roderich and went into the school.

Roderich felt like such an idiot. What did he think that he could accomplish with that half-assed apology. It only made his situation even worse. He should have thrown away his pride and apologized for real. Now he was only in a worse situation than before.

It was Lily who came to Elizabeta at the end of the day. She went up to Elizabeta at her locker and said, "I don't have much time before I have to meet up with my brother to walk back home. I have a feeling that you want to keep what your up to a secret."

Elizabeta closed her locker door and turned to Lily. "That is right. If Vash found out it might ruin my plans." There was too many people around, so she beckoned Lily to follow her. They walked into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them. "First I have a question for you. How much do you know about your brother's relationship with Roderich."

Lily thought for a little bit. "I know Roderich, but I was never aware that he had any sort of relationship with my brother."

Elizabeta seemed a bit disappointed. "I guess you won't know the answer to that question either. Oh well, I can at least tell you what is going on. When Vash and Roderich were younger, they were good friends. Something happened to them so they grew apart. I'm trying to mend their relationship."

"I see. What question where you talking about?"

"Roderich won't tell me what happened to make them split apart. I tried asking your brother, but he refused to tell me as well. I was hoping you might know what happened."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything. It wasn't until now that I knew he used to be friends with Roderich." Lily hesitated a bit before continuing. "I feel like there is something you aren't telling me."

Elizabeta nodded. I wasn't going to tell you, but if you promise to keep it a secret I guess I can." Lily promised that she would. "Roderich has a crush on Vash, and I'm hoping to try and get them together."

Hearing this made Lily extremely happy. "I can't tell you how much this would help my brother. He doesn't have anyone close to him other than me. Having someone else important in his life would be a good thing for him. If you need any help don't hesitate to ask me."

"Thank you. But first thing I need to worry about is making them become friends again."

Elizabeta left soon after that and decided that she would stop by Gilbert's house on the way. The teacher announced that they would have a test soon, and it didn't hurt to scold him a bit for skipping class. When she got to the house she didn't even bother knocking on the door before entering. She found Gilbert where she expected him, in his room. He was staring at a white board with a serious expression. "Is this what you found so important that you decided to skip school," she asked.

Gilbert was startled and looked over to see Elizabeta standing in his doorway. He quickly covered up the board with a blanket while trying to act like he wasn't hiding anything. "Oh this! It's nothing. I just didn't want to go to school today." Elizabeta detected the lie in Gilbert's voice, but decided to let it slide. It wasn't really that important that she find out what was on the board anyway. It was probably just plans for another one of his stupid pranks.

"Anyway I came over to tell you that we'll have a test in history on Friday," she said.

"Is that all you came over to do?"

"No I just wanted to say hello. I missed you at school today." A slight smile appeared on Gilbert's face before he quickly hid it. "Anything interesting happen in school today?"

Elizabeta shook her head. She flopped down on Gilbert's bed and groaned.

"You tired?" Elizabeta nodded her head.

"I stayed up late last night."

Gilbert's stomach dropped. The only thing he could think of was Elizabeta staying up late, because she was with Roderich. "Why was that," he tried to ask coolly.

"I forgot that I had an essay due in english class today. I had to stay up all night to finish it."

Gilbert laughed. "Maybe next time you will help me with my homework now that you know how it feels."

Elizabeta rolled here eyes at that. "Unlike you I don't wait till the last second to my homework. My thoughts were occupied...with something else this week."

There it was again. Gilbert couldn't but feel his stomach squirm. How could he help it when she kept indirectly mentioning Roderich. He was tempted to ask her about Roderich, but he didn't want to hear about Roderich right now. Instead he changed the subject. "Oh, yeah. I think you were right about my brother and Feliciano."

Elizabeta smiled at this. "I told you. I'm always right at about this kind of stuff." She then frowned and said something that sounded like "most of the time" under her breath. She quickly changed her demeanor though. "Anyways , my parents won't be home today so I was wondering if I could stay for dinner tonight."

"Sure, but you have to make me a sandwich." Gilbert yelped out in pain as Elizabeta punched him in the arm.

"The only reason I didn't punch you harder is because I know you are just joking."

Gilbert rubbed his arm. "I don't want to be on the receiving end of your punch if that wasn't serious."

"Don't worry. You would have to do something extremely bad for me to punch you with all my strength."

"Is that a challenge," asked Gilbert with a huge grin on his face.

Elizabeta rolled her eyes. "Go ahead. And if you succeed I'll break one of your bones as a reward."

Gilbert pretended to think. "Let's see if this does the trick!" He lunged towards Elizabeta and started tickling her stomach. She squealed and pushed him away only to start attacking him with tickling as well. "I'm immune to your tickling," he yelled.

"We'll see about that," she said. She tore the socks off his feet and started tickling him there. Apparently Gilbert was actually ticklish on his feet as he started kicking in an attempt to get her to stop. Elizabeta persevered and grabbed his leg and continued to tickle him. It wasn't until Gilbert said she won that she stopped. She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. "Once again I win the battle."

"But not the war," Gilbert cried. Elizabeta laughed. Gilbert was happy to see the reason she was smiling was because of him. He was also pleased to see that she wasn't wearing a dress today. He always thought she looked more beautiful in jeans and a plain t-shirt.

"When is your brother coming home," she asked.

Gilbert looked at the time. "He has football practice so he'll come home around six today."

"I guess we have time before we should start dinner. Want to play some video games for a while?"

"Sure. You can go down and pick out one...I have something I want to do."

"What? Hide your porn stash?" Despite saying that she complied and went downstairs first.

Once Gilbert was sure that she was out of site he took the blanket of the white board and crossed off the line that said "Make her realize I'm the one that makes her laugh" on the board. Gilbert took a step back and looked at his handiwork. "Step one of making her realize I deserve her more than Roderich completed."

Sorry this took so long! I was busy with getting ready for college. Please review and thanks for reading!