"Gilbert...?"

"Yeah?"

"What's that..?" the blonde boy pointed his finger upwards as Gilbert turned around to see a giant crack running from cloud to cloud. It looked as if the world was literally crumbling. The Prussian pulled his little brother into a close hug as he stared at the damage. Never before had he seen something like that before. It didn't even seem possible.

Another large tremor struck the earth as pieces of the sky began falling in a shower of baby blues and greys. Pulling the boy tighter to his chest, Gilbert braced himself for impact as a large piece of the atmosphere landed a mere two feet away from the brothers. Ludwig let out a loud yelp before he began to cry. Gilbert desperately tried to calm his brother as the broken shrapnel rained from the sky, littering the earth with what appeared to be glass.

"It's fine-" the albino was cut off as the ground beneath him began to split, causing him and Ludwig to break apart. "Ludwig!" Gilbert called, reaching out his hand as the ground moved farther apart, his brother drifting out of his grasp.

"Gilbert!" the blonde called out, stretching out his arm as well. They were so close, yet so far. Ludwig let out a loud scream before a large piece of the sky fell on top of him.

"Ludwig!" Gilbert screeched, tears forming at his eyes as he saw the small, motionless arm stick out from beneath the heap of rubble. "Ludwig..!" he cried, tears running down his cheeks as he was sucked into darkness.

"Gilbert..." he was floating, drifting along a sea of nothingness as he wallowed in grief.

"Gilbert..." there was a voice in the distance. No – that was just Gilbert's twisted imagination playing tricks on him. No one was there. There was no one to save him from the emptiness. He would just continue to drift until his body began to decompose and wither away.

"Gilbert..." the voice was louder – it appeared as if it were coming from all directions. It was almost soothing.. almost. "Gilbert...!" the voice was practically booming in his ears at this point. Suddenly, his body began to violently shake and convulse.

"No, please stop!"Gilbert cried, wishing to escape from the terror he had just experienced. "Stop!" he cried again before there was a bright light shining in his eyes. Is this the end?He wondered as he stretched a shaky hand out. It was so close.. so close.

I jerked awake to see a panicked Ivan leaning over me, his strong hands clamped firmly on my shoulders. I blinked slowly before I looked around. I was in a small hospital-like room. That's right.. I had been taken captive by the mafia and am now in the infirmary to have my wounds treated. I shifted my attention back to the man hovering above me. As I turned my head, I felt as our noses brushed together. Gah! He's really close! My mind screamed as I studied his face. It seemed so gentle and concerned. Was this really the same man who had taken me hostage in order to sell my limbs for a large profit? No, it couldn't be – just by looking at Ivan I felt safer. Despite the obvious smell of vodka on the man's breath burning my nostrils, I didn't really mind the close proximity. Being this close to him.. he's actually quite good looking. I felt my face start to heat up as I realized what I had just been thinking. I actually allowed myself to think that this monster was the least bit attractive! I must have been on some sort of drugs or something because the awesome me would never be attracted to someone such as Ivan. Either that, or I was starting to lose it.

The Russian eyed me carefully before whispering, "Are you alright?" He paused for a moment before letting go of my shoulders and leaning back, coughing into his fist, his eyebrows furrowing in what I assumed to be embarrassment. I shook my head slightly as I slumped farther into the cot. My mind was so disoriented at the moment – nothing made any sense! What I thought to be a happy memory turned into a terrible nightmare and then I wake up to a psychopath wondering if I was alright. Could things get any more confusing? I gave a small sigh before replying.

"I'm fine – although it's not like you actually care or anything."

"That's not true!" Ivan snapped before a look of surprise washed over him. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh really, because I'm pretty sure if you cared, you wouldn't have kidnapped me." I shot back at him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"If I didn't care then-" he cut himself off before looking towards the door. "You know what?" He asked before standing up. "You're correct. I do not care." the coldness in his voice sent a shiver down my spine as I heard the door slam shut. I blinked for a moment as I tried to process what had just happened. I looked towards the door before I saw a camera hanging from the corner of the roof, the lens spiralling as it zoomed in closer. Did he react like that because we're being watched..? I enquired before letting out a frustrated grunt.

"Why doesn't any of this make sense?" I yelled before curling up into a ball and drifting into a dreamless somber.

:::O:::

"Yes, he's free to leave. His wounds are healing quite nicely and he should have regained some energy throughout the past week."

"Great, spasibo."

"But erm.. sir?"

"Da?"

"If your original plan for him was to traffic his body.. why did you send him to the infirmary?" there was a loud slam against the door as a low growl made its way from Ivan's throat.

"What are you trying to imply, Toris?"

"N-nothing, sir! I was simply curious! I apologize for being so rash with my words!" the man squeaked, the shadow painted on the door shades was shaking at a rapid speed. I watched as Ivan's figure moved away from the doctor before he barged through the door, staring at me as he entered.

"Get up." he ordered. What happened to the gentle Ivan from yesterday? I wondered as I stared at the man. "I said get up!" he let out a loud snarl before crossing his arms. Carefully, I did as I was told and slipped off of the cot, stumbling slightly as I tried to get used to standing. Once I was stable, the Russian moved towards me and pinned my arms behind my back, the force behind his grip caused me to hiss in pain. "Walk." he demanded, pushing on my back as I began to make my way towards the door.

Once we made it back to the cell in the basement, Ivan used one of his hands to cast open the iron door before roughly shoving me in. Turning around, I glared at him. He had been so kind before.. What the Hell happened?

"The Hell is wrong with you?" I sneered, crossing my arms over-top of my chest. He walked closer to me before there was a sharp stinging in my left cheek. I looked over to see Ivan's hand raised in the air.

"Watch how you speak you me. I might have shown you mercy before but by no means does that mean you are home-free. You're still a prisoner here and I expect you to treat me with respect. Unless of course you arelooking for a beating." He snapped back, looking around the room before relaxing slightly. Is this about the cameras again? I wondered as I continued to glare. Does this mean he's putting on an act when he knows others are watching? I let out a quite scoff before turning away from him. In an instant, I felt his hand on my shoulder as he turned me back around.

"What?" I searched his face for any form of malice, instead I noticed his eyebrow twitch in irritation.

"Don't use that tone with me!"

"I'll use whatever tone I want to use with you! What happened to that gentle, doll-loving Ivan from yesterday?" I shrugged my shoulder and watched as his hand fell back to his side. He looked at me with sad eyes before whispering.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, I wouldn't?" I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "How stupid do you think I am? You're treating me like shit when you know others are watching! What is there to not understand?" I growled at him.

"Do you know how hard it is?" He snapped, causing me to be taken aback by his sudden out-burst. "I don't want to be this way! I really don't! My father ran this company and once he died it was passed onto me! I wanted to back out but if I did, I would have been killed for 'knowing too much'! If they catch me getting cozy with a prisoner they will skin me alive and frame my pelt to forever remind the members of this organization what happens to traitors!" he was all but yelling at this point, frustration filling him to the brim. His body was shaking as his hands balled into fists. He looked around for something to take his anger out on before settling on punching the door, causing the metal to dent. I winced as I looked at the damage inflicted onto the door before giving Ivan a sympathetic look.

"I didn't know.."

"Of course you didn't! Before you go around acting like you know everything, at least try to understand what the other person is facing." he snarled.

"Well I'm sorry I didn't realize that the man who had tortured me, and tried to skin me alive was a big ol' softy who was just facing some troubles!" Ivan glared at me for a moment before storming over to where I was standing. I flinched slightly as I anticipated the attack but nothing came. Instead Ivan settled on standing in front of me, seething in anger. After a few moments, he seemed to have calmed down and pulled me into a tight hug. I stiffened as I felt myself being encased in a vice-like grip and was pushed against a very broad chest. If he really hugging me? My mind swam in a lake of confusion as I stood in Ivan's tight embrace.

"I'm sorry.." he whispered into my ear. "I'm sorry.." Had he really just apologized or was it my imagination? Surely I was mistaken, for a monster like him would never apologize, right? Right. But.. he did. He just did – twice!

He released me from his grip before turning away and leaving without another word.

:::O:::

"Meal time." a gruff man stated before pushing a plate of slop in my direction. I stared at the 'food' before pushing it away with my finger. Just looking at it made me feel queasy, surely it couldn't be edible. Even if it was, I wouldn't put something like that in my awesome stomach.

Not long after my food was delivered did Ivan arrive. He moved towards my hunched-over figure before crouching down in front of me.

"I brought you some food.." he whispered, smiling slightly.

"Unless it's actually edible, I'm not interested." I scowled, lifting my head to look at the man. He dug his hand into his large, tan trench coat before pulling out a small bag of bread. I eyed him carefully before snatching the bag from his hand and smelling the contents. Seems fresh. I decided it was safe and began eating. Ivan chuckled softly before standing up.

"Is this all you came for?" I enquired, mouth full of half-chewed bread. He looked down at me before nodding. He seemed unsure of his answer and sat down beside me.

"Actually, there was something else.." He said quietly, fidgeting with the sleeve of his coat as he looked around the room.

"And what's that?" I asked before swallowing. When he didn't answer I rolled my eyes, placing the bag on the ground and giving him a small shove with my elbow. He looked over at me before leaning in. I felt my face begin to heat up as he moved closer, his breath tickling my nose. He looked down at my lips as he licked his own. Within an instant, I felt the soft skin press against my own in a very gentle kiss. My eyes widened as I understood his true intentions. He came here to kiss me? He.. came here to kiss me?! I began freaking out as the Russian moved his hand to gently cup my cheek. Whatthehellwhatthehellwhatth ehell! I pushed on his chest in an attempt to get him off but it seemed futile. After a few moments, he finally pulled away and looked deep into my eyes. There was something stirring inside of me – something I couldn't quite understand. Without a second thought, the sound of skin on skin filled the air as I lowered my hand back to my side. Ivan looked at me in disbelief before raising his own hand to touch his now-red cheek.

"What the honest fuck, man?" I yelled, boring holes into his face. "You don't just go around kissing dudes! Especially ones that aren't gay!" Without another word, Ivan stood up and started walking towards the door. Out of anger, I followed him, grabbing his shoulder and turning him around to face me. "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!" He shrugged off my hand before turning back towards the door.

"Really Gilbert.. stop being such a nuisance." He stated quietly before exiting the room.

Translations-

Russian:

Spasibo - Thanks