I have to say, I was a bit surprised when I figured out the "Fun place" Gil was taking me to was a shooting range.
"Why a shooting range?" I asked Gil, who had removed the blindfold he forced me to wear once we were inside. I wasn't happy about Gil telling me on Tuesday that I had to wake up early on Saturday for our "Date" as he called it, causing Lovi to have a mini-meltdown. I had figured if he wanted me to wake up early, we were going somewhere a distance away, but no, we were just going down the street to the shooting range that Gil liked so much.
Gil tossed me some earmuffs and goggles, "Well I felt like I needed to practice, and like you needed to learn." He smiled at me, "Us guys can't always protect you."
I felt a small spark in my chest, "Why don't we make this a competition, too?" I nudged Gil in the side, "If you are a better shot than me, I'll pay for lunch, and vice-versa."
"You're on, kleine." Gil said confidently while he put on his goggles, than his earmuffs. I followed his example and went to the station next to his.
I recognized his German, as it had been what he's been calling me all week and it finally made me curious enough to ask Ludwig what it meant.
"I'm not little." I called to Gil who was loading his gun. I picked up the handgun in front of me and examined it while waiting for Gil to get ready, cause I was going to let him go first.
I heard a click and set my gaze on Gilbert as he aimed the gun at the target and fired, the first bang making me jump a bit, but regained control of myself before he could fire his second round.
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
Gil set down the gun and pressed the button that would bring his target to him.
"Shoulder, stomach, and both legs, I missed once." Gil sounded slightly dejected. I patted his shoulder.
"My turn!" I said brightly, looking up at Gil, (I hated having to look up to see the guy's face, why am I so short!) "Mind showing me how to work this thing?" I asked him playfully.
I waved the gun around for effect; Gil laughed at me and walked me through the process.
"Don't feel bad if you miss, like you just saw, even the awesome me misses every now and then!" Gilbert patted my back and stepped back giving me some room.
I smiled and aimed.
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
I reached up to pressed the button, making Gil laugh again because I had to stretch my arm out all the way.
"How tall are you?" He asked me, ruffling my hair, which he should know by now I hate, as he's seen how much it bothered me to have Carmine do it. Feli and Lovi thankfully offered to babysit Carmine while I was with Gil, Feli said he'd invite Ludwig over to play with him, which is when Lovi ditched the job and went to Antonio's house outside the city.
"Erm, about four-eight?" I said, eagerly awaiting my target, Gil laughed at me for the third time. When I was able to see it, I sighed with relief.
"Forehead, heart, lung, stomach, and penis, assuming this target is male." I said, and giggled at Gil's expression.
"How are you such a good shot?"
"Hey now, you were the one who assumed I didn't know how to shoot a gun, I've got mafia blood, remember? Of course Lovi would teach me how to shoot, sciocco!"
Gil nodded, "Of course. Harte Mädchen, a tough little girl you are."
"Lunch is on you Gil, you can pick where."
"Italian sound awesome?"
"It always does."
After we finished eating at a nerby restraunt (Actually, we got kicked out. Gil thought it'd be funny to construct a slingshot out of a rubber band and some chopsticks-which were convently located on the floor, of the ITALAIAN restraunt- and shot a meatball into this waiter's face. It actually was pretty funny, it made getting kicked out worth it.), Gil said our next stop was another fun place, but we were gonna have to walk a bit to get to it.
I didn't really enjoy walking on the streets of New York, too many people. Whenever I was in a crowd, I couldn't help but feel like something bad was about to happen. When I voiced my fears to Gil, he laughed and tried to take the crowd out of my mind.
Gil turned to me, his face flushed because of the cold air, making it look like he was blushing, "Why don't you sing?"
"I don't really sing in many big places."
"But you want to go pro right?"
I stopped and contemplated this for a second. When I started walking again, I replied, "Yeah, I should probably start practicing singing in front of the general public."
"Why don't you sing a song, and if I know it i'll jump in?" Gil offered, thinking I'd feel better If it wasn't just me randomly singing in the streets.
"Alright then." I thought about what to sing, then tought of a good song. "Gil, I think you know this one, sing with your real voice, no imitations, okay?"
When he nodded, I started singing, not loud like usual, but more on the quite side, more hesitant.
"My heart's a stereo
It beats for you, so listen close
Hear my thoughts in every note."
"Make me your radio
And turn me up when you feel low
This melody was meant for you
To sing along to my stereo"
Gil obviously knew the song, as he jumped right in.
"If I was just another dusty record on the shelf
Would you blow me off and play me like everybody else
If I asked you to scratch my back, could you manage that
Yeah, Travie, I can handle that
Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks
It's just the last girl that played me left a couple cracks
I used to used to used to used to, now I'm over that
Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts"
Gil sang without shame, not caring whether he was on a street full of people, or alone in his room. Describing Gil's voice is hard, I think it'd be soft if he wasn't rapping. Because I don't rap, I decided to only sing the chorus.
"If I could only find a note to make you understand
I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hands
To keep me stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune
And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you"
My voice joined Gil's as we walked down the street, causing people to stop and stare at us.
"My heart's a stereo
It beats for you, so listen close
Hear my thoughts in every note
Make me your radio
And turn me up when you feel low
This melody was meant for you
To sing along to my stereo
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh,
Oh oh oh, to sing along to my stereo"
Gil and I linked arm's as we sung, which was more difficult than it sounds because of the big height difference. We sang all the way down to 5th Avanue, when Gil annonced we had reached our destination.
I looked up and saw we were in front of F.A.O Schwarz, and had a immature fit of giggles.
"We get to go in there and act like a bunch of eight year olds?" i asked, tugging on Gil's arm.
He smiled, "Hell yeah! This is my favorite past time!"
We looked at each other, than the building, than back at each other. Mutally understanding what the other was about to do, we both took off, racing for the doors. I, being faster got there first, with Gil arriving shortly after me.
For those of you who don't know, F.A.O Schwarz is like, a giant toy store with different floors. it's amazing. You should go. Seriously. You know, "Where a kid can be a kid" except that Toys R Us, but you get the concept.
Gil and I ran around the store, playing with the dolls, trying on the princess dresses (Which i could still fit in and look fabuolas in by the way, while Gil looked like a rapist on halloween.), and spent a good thirty minutes in the LEGOs section, looking at all the cool statues.
We got to play on that mega floor piano, too. Gil and I ran across it while singing "Time of my Life", the song didn't really go with the piano or anything, but we just felt like singing it. The people let us stay on until we finished the song, then these two workers were going to take requests for a song to play on the piano, when I said Circus Gallop, they looked like they were about to cry, so they picked a little kid who asked them to play Colors of the Wind, which they thankfully knew how to play.
When the workers asked me and Gil to come up and sing while they played, we were both a little touched, and sang the Disney song, reciving a loud applause from our audience, it was for us, and the amazing playing to two guys on the floor piano did.
After the whole floor piano thing, we walked through the store, admiring pretty much everything. I saw a giant panda stuffed animal, it was about a half as tall as me and much wider. I fell in love with it, and when i told Gil how adorable I thought it was, he swept it up and paid for it before I could do anything to stop him.
"Happy birthday, Desi!" he said to me, and handed me the 80 dollar panda, which i was surprised by how heavy it was.
"It's not my brithday yet!" I said to him, and he just waved it off, "You shouldn't have spent so much."
"80 dollars is pocket money, Ludwig and I are freaking rich! If you want to hang around us, you better get used to all the awesome presents!" Gil laughed and started dragging me towards the candy place, F.A.O Schweetz.
Totally on impulse, I reached up and grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and pulled him down to my level. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Grazie." I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and released his shirt.
He pulled himself back up and blushed a bit, then laughed it off, continuing to the candy place.
Gil and I were sitting in one of the quiter places of the toy store in a corner, where nothing was really by us except for some stuffed animals. We were both leaning back onto a ginormous bear-that was really, really soft- and eating a giant bag of candy.
A question popped into my mind. I noticed that it was really going to bother me if I didn't get an answer.
"Gil, what is this?"
He looked at me funny, "F.A.O Schwarz?" he said, not sure of what I was getting at.
I shook my head, "No, what are we doing? What is this." I waved my hand over us, to emphazise my point.
Gil thought for a second, "This, Fräulein, is a date. It started out as a meeting between friends, but now the awesome me has declared it a date."
A date with Gil huh? I don't hate the idea of this being a date, maybe I have a small crush on Gil? Knowing myself, probably. Gil wouldn't be a bad boyfriend either, sure he may be a bit arrogant and self-centered, but I think he'd be fun to have as a boyfriend.
I don't think Gilbert would ever cheat on me, cheating isn't awesome, right? Unless Gil thinks cheating is awesome. Oh my god, if I get involved with Gil and he cheats on me, what do I do? What if he cheats on me with Lili? I'll tell Vash. Vash will kill him. NO, I don't want Gil to DIE, even if he cheats on me! Maybe? NO.
I mentally smacked myself. If Gil cheated on me with Lili, i'd have to stop being friends with Lili, than move on. Simple as that right? But what if I fall in love? Thats going to really suck. How can I move on if I love Gil? STOP. I'm thinking to far ahead.
I snap out of my internal conflict to find that Gil was waiting patiently for a reply.
After some more thinking, I decide that it's fine if this is a date, one date isn't going to kill someone. "I'm glad." After some consideration, those were the only words I could think of.
Gil smiled and offered me a gummy worm, which I happily accepted. We sat in silence for awhile, it only being broken when I started humming.
"What are you humming now, singvogel?" Gil asked me with interest.
"Blackbird." I answered, his face was blank, showing no recognition whatsoever.
"How does it go?" Gil looked confused at the thought of a song he didn't recognize.
I sang quietly, not feeling like drawing attention to myself at this moment.
"Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Black bird singing in the dead of night Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Into the light of the dark black night.
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise."
I finished and sighed, my throat was starting to hurt a bit; I'm guessing it's from all the singing and laughing going on today.
"Kinda short isn't it?" Gil said smiling, handing me his water bottle that appeared out of nowhere.
I nodded and took the water bottle out of his hands with a smile; he could tell my throat was hurting. I took a sip and handed it back to him, "Grazie."
He ruffled my hair, "Es ist nix." I finger-combed my hair out of habit, making sure none of my curls got tangled.
I answered his earlier question, "Blackbird was sung by the Beatles, most of their songs are pretty short."
He nodded, "I see."
A voice came over the intercom, "F.A.O Schwarz will be closing in ten minutes." The voice repeated this, and all was silent.
I leaned over Gil and grabbed his right hand and pulled it towards me. He looked surprised for a second until I pulled up the sleeve of his jacket to look at his watch.
"No way! It's like, 7:50!" I exclaimed, Gil laughed at me.
"Time flies when you are with the awesome Gilbert." Gil helped me off the ground, and I felt kind of sore for sitting on such a hard surface for so long. I picked up my panda that was on the ground next to me and dusted it off.
"How incredible, I spent the whole day with you, and it hasn't felt like that long. Che strano." I was face-palming when Gil tensed up a bit. "What?" I asked him curiously.
"Well, Lovino wanted you back home about five sharp, I wonder what he will do to me. Not that I'm scared or anything." He added, starting to lead me out of the toy store.
I felt a small wave of panic. Lovi could get very scary if he was mad. I let Gil steer me through the store until we finally reached the exit.
Gil pushed open the door, causing me to raise my voice, "Merdafa freddo!" I automaticly got closer to Gil, trying to steal some of his warmth. I laughed and put his arm around my shoulders as we briskly walked down the sidewalk, knowing we probably would have to wait a while for a taxi.
I was pretty much out of it the whole walk home, the cold having me think of nothing but it. I tried to focus on Gil's bodyheat, but my hatred of the cold kept making my mind wander.
I've always hated the cold, ever since I can remember. I like snow, I just don't like the cold part about it. Same with ice skating. Winter in southern California wasn't so bad, I remember when my family spent Christmas up in the northern part, it was so cold.
That stabbing took residence in my brain again. It hurt, really bad. I pulled a shakey arm away from my body, my panda fell out of my arms, and clutched my head. I had to stand still while the pain washed over me, causing me to forget about the cold. It felt like I was being hit in the head with a sledgehammer, over and over.
I let out a strangled cry, not being able to hold it back. I held my eyes shut and felt Gil's arms wrap around me, and his breath on my face. He called my name, but I couldn't bring myself to answer.
As quickly as the pain had come, it dispersed. I was able to let go of my head and look into Gil's eyes, that were full of worry. I blinked and picked up my panda.
Feeling mostly fine now, I wanted the tension to go away, "Oh hey Gil. Didn't see you there." I ruffled his hair, because I could reach now that he was bending down to my level.
He grabbed my hand as I tried to lower my arm back to my side, "What the Hölle just happened?"
"Oh erm, don't worry about that, it happens sometimes." I said, trying to avoid the subject, but Gil didn't let my hand go, he was non-verbally demanding an answer.
"I was in a car crash last year when I was on vacation, I lost some of my memory, whenever I start thinking about things that are possibly related to the memories I've lost, my brain reacts defensively and it hurts. Bad." I said, grabbing Gil's arm again to keep me warm, I pulled him along the street, ignoring the people who had stopped and watched my little episode.
"Why does it hurt to remember a vacation?" Gil asked, confused.
"I don't know." I said. It shouldn't. Maybe a bit, but not this much.
We walked in silence, and before I knew it I was in front of my apartment. I faced Gil.
"Thanks for today Gil. I really had lots and lots of fun." I clutched my panda tighter.
Gil smiled, "Than want to go see a movie next Friday?"
"Fine by me."
Gil leaned down and suddenly kissed me, taking me by surprise, which I knew I shouldn't have been. After a second, the kiss deepened and I let my arms go around Gil's neck, and wander through his hair (Which was really freaking soft by the way.). Gil's mouth moved against mine confidently, like he was positive he was a great kisser, which he was.
I lost myself in the kiss, I was really, truly happy when the door we were standing in front of slammed open, and from it produced a very, very, very angry Lovi.
We broke apart just in time to see Lovi pull out his gun and point it at Gil screaming, "DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH DESI, POTATO-BASTARD!"
"No Lovi!" I was able to catch him by surprise and managed to disarm him, only to have him pull out a switchblade and start threatening Gil again as soon as I dumped the rounds out of the gun. I had to put myself between Lovi and Gil, seeing as Lovi was not expecting me to try and take the knife away from him, his grip on it was steel-tight.
He told me to get out of the way, which I of course refused to do. I saw Feli's head peek over Lovi's shoulder, telling him to put the knife away.
Shortly after Feli appeared, Ludwig and Antonio also came into the scene. Antonio grabbed Lovi around the waist and lifted him off the ground, and carried the screaming Italian back into the apartment. I gave Lovi's gun to Feli, who pocketed it, promising to hide it later.
I turned back to Gil, "I'm sorry." I pouted for a second, disappointed in Lovi.
Gil patted my shoulder, "Do not worry, Fräulein, the awesome me is totally fine with your insane cousin." He bent down and kissed me again, just a peck, but it still made me smile. Gil walked over to his brother.
"Let's go West, we are more trouble than help right now. Say bye to your little boyfriend." Gil teased Ludwig, who turned a light shade of pink, and bade a also blushing Feli goodbye.
When the elevator doors closed, Feli and I went inside to go question Lovi, who was still trying to make Toni release him so he could kill the "Potato-bastard that molested Desi."
I had never seen him act this way, so I was guessing that all this time, everyone else was right about Lovi being insane and I was wrong.