Once Gilbert was safely out of the property boundaries, Roderich felt a huge weight disappear off his shoulders. All at once, the drowsiness of the day had caught up with him, and he slumped onto the sofa in his living room in defeat. Taking off his glasses and polishing them with the hem of his button-down shirt, he began to think about what Ludwig had said earlier. He knew of course that he shouldn't let Gilbert's antics bother him, but the way Ludwig had brought it up made him second-guess the idea. Sure, he had known the lunatic since Prussia was first a country, and he had always seemed to want to annoy him back then as well. Well, to put it fair, the bothers were much greater several centuries ago. Roderich shuddered inwardly at the thought of losing Silesia to the red-eyed creep.
But now that Prussia wasn't a country anymore and it's personification was still around, Roderich had half-expected him to calm down a bit and attempt to make use of himself. Instead, Gilbert's laziness and his ability to bore himself easily caused him to wind up on Roderich's property. Of course, the Austrian had done the obvious – locks, passwords to enter the gates, more locks...yet somehow Gilbert still managed to slam the front door open and strut into the foyer as casually as if it were is own home. Roderich wondered how he was still mentally sane after putting up with Gilbert's antics for...sixty, maybe seventy, years now? He groaned. Seven decades with the Prussian by his side were not ones that he'd fondly look back on in the centuries to come.
He grumbled to himself, wondering why Gilbert never pestered his brother or the other members of his little club. It seemed that all of his childish behavior was saved specially for him. Of course, Roderich was more than fed up with it. But Ludwig was one of his closest friends, and they were practically neighbors. And releasing all of his pent-up rage on Gilbert would result in Ludwig going insane on him. And even though Ludwig was younger than Gilbert and himself, Roderich sincerely hoped that he would never see the usually stern German angry. Especially at him.
A soft scritch-scratching noise interrupted Roderich's train of thought. He stared down cautiously at the tiled floor, only to see a small animal skittering about on it's wire-thin legs. He reached down carefully and scooped up the baby chick. It's soft fuzz (it wasn't nearly abundant enough to be feathers yet) was a rich, buttercup yellow, and it's marble eyes blinked curiously at him. Occasionally, it would let out a cheep, and Roderich couldn't bring himself to put the bird down. Of course, he knew that this was the infamous Gilbird, Gilbert's beloved pet and partner in crime. Glancing towards his wrist, Roderich read his watch. It was almost six-thirty. Ludwig would be back in half an hour.
Deciding that he was well-deserving of a nap, Roderich snuggled up on his sofa pillows, letting the baby chick rest gently on his chest. After the Austrian fell asleep almost instantly, Gilbird crawled carefully into Roderich's breast pocket and seemed to fall asleep as well.
A sudden knocking at the door awoke Roderich from his short nap and a very strange dream. He couldn't quite recall it, but he did remember there being infinite amounts of Gilbirds, only with the same red eyes and cackling laugh as their master.
Roderich shook his head as he stood up and smoothed out his button-down shirt. He never wanted to see those yellow fuzzballs in that abundance ever in his lifetime.
Just before his hand touched the doorknob, an impatient pounding on the door began. He heard muffled whispers and a low warning in Ludwig's voice. The brunette sighed. He could only imagine...
Opening the door, he saw both of the brothers – one very tired Ludwig, and a very distraught Gilbert.
"West, relax! I have to find him, you know how he's afraid of the dark!"
At least he didn't have to wake up to Gilbert, Roderich thought, pitying the blond-haired German.
Stepping aside, he ushered in Ludwig, and gave Gilbert a reproachful glare. "Haven't you caused enough havoc for one day?" he asked tiredly.
Gilbert ignored him. "Where's Gilbird?" he asked, panic rising in his voice.
Roderich's mind went blank for a moment before remembering the little golden ball of fluff he had found before he fell asleep. Seeing Gilbert's worried eyes made him feel a twinge of guilt when he didn't have an answer for the Prussian. He had remembered tucking the bird close to him so it wouldn't get lost, but...
Cheep!
All three pairs of eyes suddenly darted towards Roderich's shirt pocket, where a tiny, fuzzy head was peeking it's way out. Gilbert squealed, quite literally, and reached out to collect his small friend.
Roderich was still getting over at the squeal that had come out of the self-proclaimed 'manly man'.
"Gilbird, there you are!"
The silver-haired Prussian then proceeded to discipline the chick while cuddling him to his chest at the same time.
Ludwig sighed and turned to Roderich. "Thank Gott you found him. Brüder's been insane since the moment we got home...and you think that you've seen him at his worst."
Roderich's eyebrow arched. "Did he..."
"He tore up every room, even though he knew that he had brought him to your house."
This left the Austrian speechless. He hadn't known Gilbert to have such a motherly instinct...over a baby chick, nonetheless. When Ludwig gently ushered his brother out the front door, Roderich allowed himself a small smile as he heard Gilbert croon to his pet. He knew that this was probably a rare sight among Francis and Antonio, but it was strangely reassuring to know that this raving madman that tortured him on a daily basis did indeed have a caring side to him.
When Ludwig shut the door, Roderich led him to the dining room.
"Ludwig, what is the deal with that bird, anyway?" he inquired.
The blond's lips quirked in a small half-smile. "He's had it since the days when he used to reign as the top military force in the world," he said. "Myself, I think he's just superstitious, but he really adores it. I hear him talking to it sometimes at night, you know."
Roderich chuckled. It felt good to loosen up after a rough day, that was for sure. Brining out the plates and a fresh bottle of wine, both him and Ludwig were seated.
Their typical discussion took place – the world meeting, and the constant bickering of certain nations. Business matters always came first, and being the representation of Austria, Roderich knew that his job came before himself at times. However, the conversation strayed and became more relaxed. Whether it was the wine's fault or not, Roderich wasn't sure, but he didn't care regardless.
"...and I come home to find Feliciano in my kitchen, with flour everywhere. I never remembered giving him the keys, either."
Roderich grinned. "Feliciano is quite the go-getter when he wants to be...isn't he?"
Ludwig grunted. "Not unless it involves pasta or art."
Roderich shrugged. "That's just him. He's more like his grandfather, or so I've heard."
Ludwig nodded. "His brother's another story, though. I don't know how Antonio puts up with him, even though brüder does tell me the most interesting stories..."
Roderich took a sip of wine from his newly refilled glass. "I agree, even back when I had custody of Feliciano, Lovino would give him such a hard time."
Ludwig nodded. "But brüder's been awfully interested in Feliciano lately. I found a new album of pictures devoted to him on his blog."
Roderich raised an eyebrow. This was typical Gilbert behavior – no respect for privacy and personal bubbles."He put them where?"
"On his blog," Ludwig said casually. "He keeps this online journal, only some of us with Internet and usernames get to see it. Elizaveta is actually quite the frequent visitor."
"Hm," Roderich said, his interest sparked. "Could you send me the link sometime? I'd like to see this."
"Sure," Ludwig said, finishing up his glass and rising from his seat. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind, but just don't go throwing the information out. He probably wouldn't enjoy certain people finding it."
Roderich stared at him in confusion as they walked towards the main hallway. "Then why are you still giving me access? He despises me."
Ludwig gave him a small smile. "I wouldn't be so sure. He talks about you all the time, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind. And besides...there's some things you might learn from that website that you'd never get out of brüder in person."
Roderich was dumbfounded. Ludwig's speaking in riddles didn't help, especially when it was this late at night.
Ludwig gave Roderich a knowing smile before closing the door quietly behind him, leaving the brunette stuttering in his wake.
Roderich sighed in dejection as he headed towards the marble staircase. Today had been eventful enough; he would think over what Ludwig had mentioned tomorrow. Besides, nothing sounded more welcoming and appealing to him right now than a nice, long sleep into the late hours of the morning.
Changing into his purple silk pajamas as quickly as possible, Roderic set his glasses on the nightstand and collapsed into his array of white blankets and comforters. In no time at all, sleep overtook him, and all thoughts of the red-eyed Prussian had evaporated from his thoughts.
