A Complete Circle

Chapter 2

"You see what happened was...I had a rough night." Gilbert began. He never expected to himself to be in such a situation. But there began his great fib. Sure he felt a bit bad for lying to the young man who had been nice enough to drive him to his uncertain destination, even if he was a complete stranger to him. Though the way he saw it, it was a necessary evil. "I woke up at a friend's house, you see he threw a dinner party the night before. I ended up waking with a handover and-" He dug into his pocket quickly, remembering that his id card had an address on it. He read the address aloud, mentally kicking himself in the process for his dishonesty. The tiny voice in the back of his head scolded at him ruthlessly. "Do you know where this place is?" He asked, masking his embarrassment almost expertly. Joshua was quiet. "Think so...Hey! Isn't that by the old park? Yeah, I know where it is. And don't worry about it, we all have our bad days." He offered with an understanding smile. 'You have no idea.' Gilbert wanted to say but refrained from doing so. "It's not far away at all! Just a few streets down." Joshua said. The car slowed as they approached the supposed 'town' of Berlin. But upon taking a closer look, Gilbert couldn't recognize it at all.

He knew it would be wiser to keep his mouth shut. He had already made a fool of himself and didn't want to dig himself any more deeper in the pit than he already was. Many buildings were destroyed and rubble stood in their place. What buildings remained were littered with colorful graffiti. When the car stopped in front of what seemed to be some type of motel, the Prussian was completely silent. He didn't move until Joshua had confirmed they were indeed at the correct location and after double checking the address Gilbert made a move for the door. Joshua wished him good luck and even gave him his phone number. "If you ever need anything just call!" And with that the blonde was gone, leaving Gilbert coughing after the old truck drove off. The dark smoke cleared quickly and left that empty feeling in his stomach again. Something cold hit him on his face and slid down his warm cheek. The albino looked up. He only had a few seconds of warning before the sky practically opened up and all the freezing rain the clouds had welled up was released with little to no pity towards his unfortunate situation.

Gilbert tugged at his hoodie's strings, tightening it, and ran towards the motel but still ended up getting soaked in the process. When he entered, a young woman sitting behind the counter saw him and laughed at him from behind the magazine she was reading. She had her feet crossed on top of the desk and was sitting back on her chair. She set the magazine down, a smile still on her face. She had blue eyes and bright red hair which was, without a doubt, dyed. She wore a clearly oversized pale green hoodie with tight jeans. "The rain caught ya, huh Beilschmidt?" She asked with a sneer. Gilbert rolled his eyes but paused when the woman called him by his human name. Maybe she could help him? Or at least she seemed to know him. "What's with that look? You forgot your keys or something?" She questioned and sat up. She reached to the small cubbies behind her and took out a pair of keys that had a number tag attached. She held them out to Gilbert, expecting him to take them. "What are you waiting for? A kiss on the cheek? Get lost!" She said with a playful tone. Gilbert accepted them with uncertainty. "Danke?" He muttered and looked at the number on the tag. Room B16. He glanced up at the odd woman when he heard her laugh again. "You're acting weird again. What's with that? You sick again or something?" She murmured, a bit more seriously now. Gilbert turned around and walked down the hallway. Making sense of who that girl was would be a waste of his time, he decided. He didn't feel like getting picked on at that moment.

His wet boots squeaked against the cold tile floor of the motel's hallway. The lights overhead flickered and were dim, some weren't even on, either not working or missing altogether. He sighed and stopped in front of a door. B16. "Looks like this is it." He said softly to himself. He grabbed the rusted doorknob with one hand and forcibly pushed in the key, finding that it didn't want to open. He turned the key and shook the doorknob. That did little to help. He tried pulling and pushing the doorknob to see if that worked before trying out the good old 'If it doesn't work just hit it!' trick. He leaned against the door and with one strong shove, it burst open. When the door suddenly opened the albino nearly fell, he stumbled forward as he regained his footing. He held on to the wooden door frame until he steadied himself. He blindly reached out to the wall, finally finding a light switch and flipped it to the 'on' position. The lights took a moment to flick on. The room was a decent size for a motel. There was a queen sized bed along with matching furniture. There was even a television, two doors which were most likely were just a bathroom and closet, and a small refrigerator. He reluctantly stepped inside, yanking the key from the doorknob and tossed it on to the neatly made bed. He closed the door behind himself.

Gilbert let out a heavy sigh and allowed himself to fall back onto the bed. He blinked, and stared at the color-stained ceiling. 'I wonder what Ludwig is doing right now.' The thought crept from the back of his mind. He suddenly jumped out of bed. "Nein! What I am I thinking?! No way! He didn't care much about me so why should I?" He growled to himself then slowly noticed he was pacing. The frustration was catching up to him at a quick pace. 'Gotta calm down..' He told himself. His anxious and frayed nerves were not going to help him. He needed to take his mind off things. He shivered and looked down at himself. His wet clothes stuck to his lean body. The room's silence made it easier to listen to the pounding rain outside. He was grateful he made it inside in time, he could have been worse off. The Prussian pulled his soaked hoodie off and put it on the bed. That ended up being not the best of ideas, as he felt even colder then. He walked over to what he presumed to be a closet.

He smirked when he saw that he was right. He remembered the girl behind the counter, she knew him. But he never remembered signing into this place. "Oh well, I'm here now." He decided and dug through the closet. Inside were old looking shoe boxes and a first aid kit, and, of course, clothes. He picked out a pair of dark jeans and a dark green long sleeved shirt along with a pale navy colored hoodie. Might as well change now that he was there. All of this was supposedly his. So it wasn't like he was stealing or anything. He silently changed clothes and left what he had been wearing now neatly folded on the bed. He glanced over to the t.v. and shrugged to himself. Why not? He reasoned. The albino neared the sturdy table the t.v. was on to inspect it. Sure it wasn't a fancy flat screen television but it was something, an older model, it didn't even have a slot for CD's! He pressed the power button and the screen filled with color in an instant. "-And so the early winter rain is expected to last throughout the night and even possibly until tomorrow. A warning has been issued to drivers and travellers that are taking the main highways...-" A loud sneeze suddenly left Gilbert.

Great. Just what he needed. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he got sick. And who knows how long he'd be ill for. Last time he fell sick Ludwig had forced him to stay in bed until he felt better... He shook his head, still bitter about the treatment he had received him his younger sibling. He returned his attention to the television. The weather report had switched and now the lovely hostess and her companion were discussing some sport that was in season and how the rains would affect it. Gilbert turned off the t.v., losing interest quickly. He headed to the window and parted the curtains and the blinds. He couldn't see anything past the foggy glass, the large rain droplets hitting against the window pane. "Tch.." He frowned. He wasn't going to be able to leave any time soon. Unless the rain cleared up that is. But that didn't look like it was going to happen any time soon.

Lighting flashed in the dark heavy clouds above, it's bright arms stretching across the sky then suddenly touched the Earth below. A pair of ruby eyes stared back at him in the aftermath of the flash. He nearly stepped back in alarm, but he knew better. They were his own glowing red of his reflection. He bit his lip. Never had his own eyes looked so damning, almost as if forcing guilt on to him. They seemed almost strange even. He looked away quickly. He had done nothing wrong. He didn't understand the feeling that was being burnt into his chest. The yellowish light given off by the bare light bulb above that flickered every so often did little to calm him. He was unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong off himself. A frustrated groan left him. He wished he could simply go outside and walk, a breath of fresh air would have done him good though of course the resulting cold or flu wouldn't. He noticed the small fridge that was in the corner of the room, almost as if hidden purposely out of sight. He slowly approached it. Hey! If he was going to be stuck in a creepy old looking motel during a freak storm for who knows how long it didn't hurt to be cautious about the fridge's contents. There could be a decapitated head in there for all he knew...! Not like he was scared or anything...

He crouched down and carefully opened the small off-white door. A low rumble practically shook the building, the light overhead flickering and lost it's light for a moment. He nearly fell back when he heard the thunder, practically feeling it under himself. But the albino wasn't one to be frightened that easily! Inside the small fridge were a few untouched beer cans and bottles and what seemed to be a box of take out food. Gilbert burst into laughter, cursing the thunder for spooking him so. He reached inside and grabbed a box of take out. He opened it, a foul bitter smell rose up from box. "Nope, nope, nope!" He quickly stood up and rushed to the restroom. He dropped the box into the trash can and washed his hands with soap soon after. He cupped his hands underneath the faucet and watched them fill with water. He splashed the water onto his face. He dried his face with his jacket. He looked up at his reflection. He was silent. He squinted, taking a long look at himself. Something was off.

His eyes.

Gilbert's eyes...They were amber. His eyes widened, the information settling in. His eyes weren't right. They weren't their normal crimson color. He backed away. His back bumping against the bare bathroom wall behind him. 'How?' Was his first question. Those couldn't possibly be his own eyes looking back at him. There had to be some mistake. There was something wrong here. This place... Wasn't what he thought it was. This isn't the city he loved so much, the country he loved. He felt a stranger in his own clothes. He couldn't take it anymore. He walked back into the bedroom and looked through the closet and found a backpack. He had to get out of there. He didn't know just how much he could stand anymore. He had to leave. 'Where would I go?' He paused, halfway between shoving his clothes into the large pocket and simply throwing the bag against the wall out of anger, when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

He didn't dare move, the blood chilling in his very veins. He looked in the direction of the door and gulped, his dry throat aching with the movement. "Hey Gil. You got a minute?" It was a woman's voice...The girl behind the front desk.


Hehe. See? I uploaded the chapter when I said I would. Oh and concerning the question I had gotten as to the pairings in this story...Many pairings will be hinted(PruAus...SpainxAustria...FrancexAustria...FrancexPrussia...all that good stuff) or at least get their 'moment' but there will be no definite ship in this fic. Unless you count the slight Gertalia which is due very soon...Whoops, better not spoil it!~ But for those who want a certain pairing in one of my stories just pm me about it or leave a review! I'm always open to suggestions! Next chapter coming up soon! Like, 'under a week' soon! Afterhours out!~