I own neither And Then There Were None nor Hetalia.
Thank you to Cookie the Platypus and Claire for reviewing! :)
Gilbert, Roderich and Elizaveta hadn't slept at all last night. In fact, they huddled together on the small bed with the chorus of rain creating a suitable ambience, trying to avoid looking at Feliks' corpse. It was difficult. If they turned their backs on him, it felt like Feliks would suddenly rise from the dead and attack them, but facing him wasn't much better either.
All of them sat with their knees pulled up to their chests – in the darkness, because no one had bothered to turn the lights on. Gilbert sat next to Roderich, his back against the wall, and Elizaveta was between Roderich's legs. Their eyes flitted to their phone so often, they were certain the battery would drain before they even reached home.
Finally... 6 a.m.
The sun peeked out over the horizon, drying up the traces of this morning's rain. Gilbert had never been so glad to see the sunrise, though he shouldn't be getting too much sunlight because of his albinism.
"Okay, remember what we said. Feliks killed everyone. Got it?" Roderich reminded them.
"Yeah, and we figured it out using your wonderful deduction skills," Elizaveta added teasingly.
Gilbert still couldn't believe it, but what else could he do? The dead was – that's exactly it – dead. Nothing he did now would change that. If anything, he should be glad it wasn't him.
Why, though? They were so innocent.
And believing otherwise brought up another problem: Who was the true killer, if not Feliks?
"We should... Leave," Roderich stated hesitantly. Gilbert understood his hesitance; Feliks was at the door.
"Come on, we do this quickly once, then we'll be out of here," Gilbert encouraged with false cheer.
Roderich glanced at his phone clock again. 6.04 a.m. "Gather our belongings, Elizaveta. Gilbert, we'll accompany you to your room."
Gilbert's heart swelled a little at that. Roderich had never offered to do something nice for him before, so that small gesture pleased him greatly.
Elizaveta slung her bag across her shoulder and did a quick check of the drawers, then announced, "I'm ready."
Gilbert slunk out of the room through the narrow gap in the door, followed by Elizaveta, then Roderich. Elizaveta was clutching Roderich's hand tightly.
The hallway looked so different from the room. The room had a cool glow to it, with pale light streaming into the window, but the hallway was ablaze with warm orange lights. Gilbert led the others to his room.
They passed the intersection leading towards the main hall, but none of them looked. Then they passed Ludwig's room and heard him distinctly yell, "Wake up!"
Gilbert smiled. That was his brother, all right. He opened his room door and stood aside to let Roderich and Elizaveta pass.
His diary was open to where he last left off. Elizaveta flounced over excitedly.
"No!" Gilbert hissed, slamming the book closed. Something nagged at the back of his mind, but he ignored it because it was being too vague. "Well then, welcome to my awesome room!"
Roderich pushed his spectacles up and sniffed disdainfully, "You made such a mess in three hours? I'm impressed."
"Of course you're impressed," Gilbert shot back.
"Oh, let's just wake the others up already," Elizaveta urged. "Which means you'd better hurry."
"Fine," Gilbert grumbled. He flipped over the bedcovers to make sure there was nothing underneath, then stored his precious diary in his bag tenderly. Just as he was zipping up his pencil case, he remembered something. "My scissors!"
"They don't matter," Elizaveta snapped irritably.
It was the only thing he had now that was sharp enough to shear through flesh – other than his sharp wit and tongue, of course – so Gilbert was rather reluctant to give it up, but he concurred that scissors could be bought easily and it was pointless to go back just for it. He shoved his pencil case into his bag and stood up. "Okay, let's go."
The three of them treaded out of the room carefully. Gilbert felt apprehension prickle at his skin. Now that he had gotten over the initial shock that Feliks could be the murderer, his imagination was running wild.
I've known Roderich and Elizaveta my whole life. I can't believe they took a life so easily.
And I spent the whole night with them, too! I spent the night with killers!
Elizaveta came close to murdering me a few times. What if she just went one step further...
No, stop right there. They'd never kill you. Right? Right.
"What's wrong?" Roderich inquired.
Gilbert seized the banister running along the wall near the staircase, his eyes ravaged.
"Brother, what's the problem now?"
Gilbert wanted to cry in joy. Never before had he felt so relieved that his brother was behind him. His brother would be able to protect him, something he hated admitting even though it was true.
Gilbert and his two friends cowered behind the dumpster as angry shouting filled the street.
"Who did it?" someone roared.
"I saw three of them running away! One of them was wearing a black hoodie!" another person replied.
Damn it. Only Gilbert wore black hoodies around here. It was a something couldn't afford not to do. Genetic mutation was a bitch.
"I think I know the guy," the first person drawled sinisterly.
Gilbert felt his hair stand on end. He was so screwed.
When the yelling had died down, the trio crept out and went their separate ways. Gilbert kept glancing over his shoulder in worry.
He did it so often, he hadn't even realised someone had brazenly walked up to his face from the front.
A fight ensued. Gilbert was a good fighter, but he was outnumbered and soon he was left lying on the ground. His pride disallowed him to make any cries or whimpers of pain. Once the pain ebbed away into a dull throb, Gilbert managed to stand up and stagger his way home.
Ludwig had been greatly displeased to see Gilbert coming home in such a state, but Gilbert wouldn't tell him why. He was the older one, he could handle it himself.
Yet Gilbert vividly remembered how elated he had been when he saw Ludwig from under his assailant's legs the next day.
"H-Hey, brother!" Gilbert responded, straightening up. He could feel Elizaveta's glare boring holes in his skull.
"What have you gotten yourself into this time?" Ludwig sighed, noticing how Gilbert's fingers grasped the banister till his knuckles turned white.
"Nothing, brother." Gilbert grinned to emphasise his point. At that moment, Feliciano burst out of the room.
"Where the hell are your pants?" Ludwig bellowed, at the same time Roderich exclaimed, "How unsightly! Put some pants on!"
"O-Oh!" Feliciano darted back into the room.
Gilbert snickered. "Now, what could he be doing without pants on?"
"Nothing, brother." Ludwig mimicked the way Gilbert had answered his earlier question.
Elizaveta frowned. "We should really get a move on."
"Yeah... I'll go call Arthur and Alfred," Ludwig said, veering to the right.
It was the three of them again. Roderich pushed his glasses up and folded his arms. Elizaveta twirled a strand of hair nervously around her finger. Gilbert stared at a portion of the wall which he suddenly found extremely fascinating.
Ludwig observed them in suspicion. They were acting... Milder, in a way. More subdued. There wasn't the racket that usually proceeded the three of them getting together.
He was going to have to ask them personally. For now, he had to wake Arthur and Alfred up.
Ludwig rapped on the door.
"Coming!" Alfred hollered. His feet thumped against the floor as he ran to answer the door.
When Alfred opened the door, he looked as fine as ever. Arthur, though, was a mess. His hair stuck out like a mop, and gigantic eye bags hung below his eyes.
"What happened to you?" Ludwig remarked.
"Bloody scream woke me up in the middle of the night," Arthur scowled. "Who was the one who screamed, anyway?"
"A scream?" Ludwig repeated. "I didn't hear any scream." Then again, he was quite a heavy sleeper.
"I didn't hear a scream either," Alfred interjected helpfully.
"Um... It might've been one of the others. We need to ask them," Ludwig concluded. Twisting his head to face Roderich, Elizaveta and Gilbert, he yelled, "Could you go wake the other th- uh, two, up?"
The three of them exchanged furtive looks, and once again Ludwig resolved to interrogate them.
Finally, Gilbert proclaimed, "Specs, let's go together."
"Why do I have to go with you?" Roderich argued.
"We'll all go together!" Elizaveta piped up, linking arms with Roderich.
This was another sign that something was up.
"Darn... I need tea," Arthur muttered as he shuffled past Ludwig.
"Hey, pack up your things! We're leaving as soon as we can!" Ludwig called after Arthur. The Briton didn't turn around.
Alfred was shovelling his – and Arthur's – belongings into his bag. Ludwig observed the wastepaper basket in the middle of the room, but decided not to delve too much into it for the safety of his sanity.
Alfred stood up, hefting both his and Arthur's bags. "Let's go!" he chirped.
Ludwig strode away and Alfred fell in step easily. His brother was taking an exceptionally long time waking Feliks and Tolys up. Since the three of them were gone, they probably entered their room already.
Arthur appeared round the corner, a small china cup filled with an ochre liquid in his hand. "The water isn't hot anymore," he complained, but took a sip anyway.
Ludwig listened intently for signs of his brother and the other two, then Arthur suddenly brought up his need to use the bathroom.
"I'm not sure where the bathroom is," Ludwig admitted. "You could walk around to find it."
Arthur broke away from Ludwig and Alfred in search of the toilet. Ludwig was growing increasingly frustrated. No one was carrying out their tasks properly. Even Feliciano had vanished to who-knows-where.
Finally, Roderich emerged from the room at the end, wiping his hands with a paper towel. He seemed a little startled to see Ludwig.
"Well?" Ludwig asked. "Tell them to get up, we have to go."
"Er... You see..." Roderich began.
"Are they awake or not?" Ludwig demanded.
Roderich shifted his feet uncomfortably. "They're... Not inside," he mumbled.
"What do you mean, not inside?!" Ludwig raged, storming forward to check for himself.
Roderich was right. All that was in the room was a heap of clothes and books. The bed was still made, with a few dents in the middle where someone had seated themselves.
Gilbert pushed his way out of the walk-in closet, his eyes widening at the sight of Ludwig in the room. "Oh, hey." He had changed into another long-sleeved shirt.
"Where's Tolys and Feliks?" Ludwig gritted out, his fists clenching by his sides.
"Not here," Gilbert answered instantly, slipping an arm around his brother's shoulders and escorting him out of the room.
Alfred looked up from his phone when they trooped out. "There's no signal," he informed then with a despairing look on his face.
"We need to find Feliks and Tolys," Ludwig declared. "Then we can leave this island."
Alfred's eyebrows shot up. "Where are they?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be telling you to look for them," Ludwig growled, then gestured to the main hall. "Arthur went that way, right?"
"Yeah," Alfred replied.
Ludwig marched over and pounded on his own room door. A flustered Feliciano opened the door. He had made some progress – his pants were on, at least.
"Pack up now!" Ludwig roared. Feliciano started to quiver.
Elizaveta shouldered her way into the room, pushing Ludwig out of the way. "Come, Feli, I'll help you!"
Feliciano very willingly let Elizaveta fold all his clothes, even his underwear. When Elizaveta extracted two more boxes of pasta from Feliciano's bag, Ludwig felt a blood-pressure meter in his head rise.
Elizaveta was efficient. She finished packing Feliciano's bag in mere minutes.
"Here you go, Feli!" Elizaveta cooed, assisting Feliciano's arms through the bag straps.
Feliciano drew her in for a hug, which she returned. "Thanks, Lizzie!"
Ludwig took a deep breath, not trusting himself to speak until he felt his heart beat normally again. "Okay, let's go."
Arthur came back and took his bag from Alfred, then scanned the group. "Someone's missing."
"Well, aren't you observant," Alfred taunted. "It's Feliks and Tolys."
"We're going to search for them now," Ludwig ordered before Arthur could retort. "We'll search in groups like the previous time. Arthur and Alfred in one group, Roderich and Elizaveta in another. Feliciano, brother, you're coming with me."
"A-Ah... Okay," Elizaveta agreed shakily.
Gilbert brushed Elizaveta's shoulders as he made his way over to Ludwig. "So, brother, where shall we check first?"
"We'll take this wing!" Roderich interjected hastily.
Ludwig scrutinised them wordlessly, then said, "No, we'll take this wing."
"That's not necessary, Ludwig," Roderich wheedled.
"I don't know why you're so bent on taking this wing, but suit yourself." Ludwig made a mental note to check the wing later. Turning to his brother, Ludwig inquired, "Where do you want to go?"
"We'll take whatever's left over, I suppose," Gilbert responded.
Ludwig turned to Arthur and Alfred and repeated his question.
"We can take the ground floor," Arthur offered.
"Okay, it's set. Meet back here in fifteen minutes." Ludwig grabbed Gilbert and Feliciano's shoulders and towed them in the other direction, out of earshot.
Gilbert plastered a smirk on his face. "If you want my company so badly, just tell me. I'd be more than willing to put aside some of my precious time for you."
"Cut the crap, Gilbert," Ludwig snarled. "Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing!"
"You've been saying 'nothing' the past ten times, Gilbert. Do you remember what you said the last time you came home battered to a bloody pulp?"
Yes, Gilbert did remember. "Nothing!"
"So I refuse to believe you when you say that," Ludwig continued sternly, though his voice held underlying concern.
"Really, I can take care of myself. I'm the awesome Gilbert, after all!" Gilbert assured him with faked confidence. He didn't want to burden his little (but not-so-little) brother with knowledge that would scar him for eternity, not to mention Feliciano was there as well.
"I noticed Roderich and Elizaveta are being quite... Suspicious," Ludwig commented lightly.
"Pft, I walked in on them doing the dirty," Gilbert lied through his teeth. "That's why they're being awkward."
"... Is that so?" Ludwig's tone of voice implied that he didn't believe Gilbert, but Ludwig dropped the subject anyway. Forcing his obstinate brother to spill the beans was like getting Feliciano to abstain from pasta. It was never going to happen.
"Eh? They were doing what?" Feliciano exclaimed innocently.
"It's something you do with people you like a lot," Gilbert explained. Yeah. Because committing murder with someone you like a lot is completely normal.
"Well, then..." Feliciano turned to Ludwig. "I like you!"
"I— What— No!" Ludwig spluttered, heat rising to his cheeks. "I'm not discussing this with you! Check the rooms for signs of Feliks and Tolys!"
They barged into every room, but the rooms were as immaculate as ever. No signs of anyone even turning the knob were present.
Ludwig contained his mounting terror. Where could they be? From the looks of their room, they hadn't been sleeping in their bed the whole night.
"They aren't in this wing," Gilbert reported.
"We have to check with the others. Speaking of which, did you hear a scream?" Ludwig questioned.
"If you mean your very macho one, then yes," Gilbert teased.
"Huh... Arthur told me he heard a scream in the middle of the night." Ludwig paused. "I didn't scream, did I?"
Gilbert sniggered. "Nope. It was perfectly manly."
"Then..." The gears in Ludwig's mind turned. "It must've been from those who were in the other wing!"
Ludwig took off at a run towards Roderich and Elizaveta's section of the house.
"Eh?" Feliciano took a step forward, but was yanked back by Gilbert.
There was nothing Gilbert could do now to stop the inevitable; Ludwig would find out the truth no matter what. For now, the best he could do was to hold Feliciano back and save him from the trauma.
Feliciano attempted to pull away, but Gilbert was strong. Feliciano could only watch as Ludwig burst into room after room.
Gilbert gasped sharply. He had forgotten that Roderich and Elizaveta were slightly unpredictable. His brother could be in danger! Gilbert released Feliciano and sprinted towards their room.
Roderich had just shut the window when Ludwig burst in, scaring the couple out of their skin.
"Did you... Scream...?" Ludwig panted. "Last night?"
Roderich and Elizaveta glanced at each other. "No...?"
"Shit. If it was none of us, that only leaves the two missing ones." Ludwig massaged the bridge of his nose, then looked up. "What are you doing at the window, anyway?"
"O-Oh..." Elizaveta's eyes strayed to Roderich, then snapped back to Ludwig. "We were just l-looking out of the window t-to see if they were outside."
"Brother!" Gilbert collided right into Ludwig as he blew into the room. Ludwig stumbled and crashed into Roderich, creating a very uncomfortable man-sandwich.
Ludwig shoved Roderich and Gilbert away, gripping the windowsill to steady himself. Roderich seemed intent on reclaiming his spot in front of the window, which made Ludwig all the more curious. He purposefully thrust the window open and stuck his head out.
If Ludwig hadn't been clutching the windowsill, he might've fallen right on top of the pink-clad body.
"Y-You...!"
Words failed Ludwig.
"W-Who... W-What..."
Eyeing all the stunned faces around him, Ludwig knew. They were in cahoots. It was no mere coincidence that Feliks' body was right underneath their window.
"Luddy!" Feliciano cried, scampering to his side. Ludwig turned his head away from the window.
"What's wrong?" Feliciano whimpered, noticing all the grim faces around him.
My brother is so going to get it, Ludwig swore to himself.
"L-Let's go, Feliciano." Ludwig ushered Feliciano out of the room.
Gilbert, Roderich and Elizaveta watched him leave in complete silence. Then Gilbert went after Ludwig.
"We'll talk later, Gilbert," Ludwig snapped. "Round up the other two and let's go."
"We're here!" Alfred called. He and Arthur were standing close to the door, near the morbid poem, a short distance away from Basch's body. "Did you find them?"
"No. We have to go. Now," Ludwig stressed.
Alfred was about to object, but he thought better of it after seeing the look on Ludwig's face. "Okay... Artie, let's go!"
"You couldn't find them?" Arthur queried.
"They want to stay here a little more," Roderich cut in, coming up behind Ludwig. He didn't make eye-contact.
"Yes... Yes, that's it," Ludwig muttered.
Arthur rubbed his thumb against the gleaming surface of the cup handle. He recognised this heavy tension. Something was not right. His skin crawled.
"Could I say bye to them first?" Alfred hollered.
"You idiot! Learn to read the situation!" Arthur scolded, seizing Alfred's forearm and dragging him out of the door.
The two grown men screamed simultaneously.
"Oh my God, what the hell is this, I want my mummy!" Alfred blubbered.
Arthur backed into Alfred. All his training kicked in, telling him to stay calm, it's just a body, it's just a body.
Feliciano screamed. "F-Fe-Feliks!"
"How did this happen?" Arthur asked. His voice was not a testament to his actual internal discord. Arthur's mind had become an acrobat, wheeling and catapulting in ways he could only imagine.
"We had no choice!" Elizaveta shrieked, the beginnings of tears forming. "Feliks would have killed us all if we didn't stop him!"
"WHAT?!" Arthur exploded.
"F-Feliks killed them! And he might've killed us too!" Elizaveta sniffled.
"It c-can't be!" Feliciano bawled. "Feliks would n-never!"
"Tell me, how well do you know him?" Roderich shot back. "I told you, none of us know each other! Even if one of us had psychopathic murderous intentions, we wouldn't know!"
"I... Don't," Alfred whispered weakly. "I don't have psychopathic intentions! I'm not a psycho! I'm not a murderer!"
"EVERYONE CALM DOWN!"
Absolute silence met Ludwig's outburst, followed shortly by Feliciano's soft weeping.
"Here's what we do. We get off this island and forget that this ever happened. Leave nothing that can be traced back to us. Not a strand of hair—"
"That's absurd!" Arthur interrupted Ludwig. "Someone is bound to drop hair."
"... Anyway," Ludwig said again after a pregnant pause, "We get out of here. Insist that the three of them – hold on a minute, where's Tolys' body?"
"His body fell into the water," Elizaveta piped up meekly.
"You saw him getting killed? Did you see the murderer?" Ludwig asked urgently.
"No, we saw his body lying dead on the rocks there." Roderich pointed to where the land made a steep drop to the waters below. There were a few rust-coloured stains on the rocks, most probably blood.
"And the murderer?" Arthur wondered.
"Feliks is the murderer!" Elizaveta insisted loudly. "He came to us after he killed Tolys! That's when we knew he was the murderer! He was the only one with Tolys at that time!"
"Calm down," Ludwig cajoled. "So Tolys is dead too. That's three people dead in the span of eight hours." Ludwig's heart took up a jerky rhythm. He didn't understand it. Feliks and Tolys loved each other, why would he do such a thing? "We insist that the three of them were alone on the island if asked, got it?"
"Yes," everyone mumbled.
"Good." Ludwig forced a smile. "Now let's go home."
Everyone cheered up after that. They could go home, forget that anything of the sort had ever happened, continue living their lives as per normal.
They descended the long staircase and made their way to the beach, except...
There was no beach.
The water was up to half the stairs.
Gilbert snorted. "What the hell?"
Feliciano dug his fingers into Ludwig's sinuous arm. "A-And the boatsman i-isn't here!"
Alfred whipped his phone out and started raising it to the sky.
"It'd better be something good, Alfred," Arthur scowled.
Alfred retracted his arm and tapped on the phone. "I've got a faint signal," he announced proudly.
"Good, now call for some bloody help!"
"Oh! Oh, wait! A news report has just come in."
"Not the time," Arthur drawled.
"'Flooding in the South of England. The coastal regions face the worst of the floods. Places affected include: Plymouth, Devon—'"
"Stop right there!" Arthur snapped. "Devon? Devon?"
"Yeah, Devon, and—"
"WE'RE IN DEVON, YOU GIT!"
"Keep reading," Roderich pressed. "What does this mean for us?"
"It means," Arthur seethed, his voice threatening to crack, "that we're stuck here for the next few days until the floods subside."
"What?! Noooo!" Feliciano cried.
"Could we swim over?" Ludwig inquired hopefully. Elizaveta nodded tersely.
"It's too bloody far to swim." Arthur flopped down on a step, dragging a hand through his unkempt hair.
"We could try," Elizaveta urged mournfully.
"You'll die for sure."
Right after Arthur's pessimistic claim, an angry wave crashed onto the stairs, spraying a mist of seawater over the group. Thunder rolled across the sky again.
"Fantastic," Arthur spat. "Just swell timing."
"Get back into the house," Ludwig ordered. "We have to wait this out. Alfred, can you call for help?"
"On it," Alfred answered.
"The rest of you, just... Try to stay calm, okay?"
-o-
The group went back to the house after praying for Tolys' soul to rest in peace.
Alfred had lost his phone signal, causing an enraged Arthur and Roderich to scream at him, but Ludwig and Gilbert managed to stop it from turning into a brawl. Not that Roderich would ever want to be involved in a brawl, anyway. So it was mostly them pulling Arthur away from Alfred and saving him from potential mauling.
Once the Briton had composed himself, Ludwig assured everyone that there was nothing wrong with staying here another night. When the waters subsided, the rickety boat would come to take them all back to Devon. Ludwig didn't hope so. He knew so.
Yeah... Nothing wrong with housing with three dead people, right?
Ludwig sat all of them on the stairs – Basch's body was by the sofas, after all – and demanded that Roderich, Elizaveta and Gilbert explain everything that happened, right from the start.
Roderich began the story first, from when he had woken up and heard Feliks crying till the part where he had slapped Feliks.
Elizaveta took over from there as Roderich was too distraught to continue. She recounted how they were certain Feliks was the killer, then described how Gilbert walked in on them halfway through the discussion.
Gilbert took this as a cue to begin speaking, so he did, much to Elizveta's displeasure. Gilbert didn't even say anything of importance; he merely raved about his feelings, throwing in a few gloats along the way.
Roderich finished off the story telling them how he pushed Feliks out of the window.
"So..." Arthur began slowly. "He killed them? What for?"
"That is one of the mysteries the world may never solve," Alfred jested. "Just like your eternally thick eyebrows."
"Cheeky sod!" Arthur clipped the side of Alfred's ear with his fingers.
At least there was some semblance of normalcy here.
Feliciano gazed at the lively group of people. They were such funny individuals. His heart ached when he recalled the similar friendships he had had.
Ruined. All because of his cowardice.
Ludwig gave Roderich an once-over. He couldn't believe Roderich killed someone so easily.
Then again, Ludwig did kill six men single-handedly.
"I'm thirsty, anyone want a drink?" Gilbert yelled, getting up to head to the kitchen.
"I am rather thirsty..." Roderich remarked.
"Water will do," Ludwig told Gilbert.
"Water for me too!" Feliciano chimed in.
"I would love a cup of tea," Arthur said.
"Coffee, please!" Alfred called.
"Make that two coffees— no, three," Elizaveta amended when she saw Roderich's face.
Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Do you think I'm some kind of waiter? I won't remember all that!"
"Fine, water, then!" Elizaveta snapped.
"That's better." Gilbert turned away to walk into the kitchen.
He opened the cupboard and took out seven cups, then laid them out in a row. There was a flask filled with water set out already. How thoughtful.
Just as he was pouring the water into the third cup, testing to see how far he could raise his arm and still get a steady stream of water in, a noise coming from near the window distracted him.
Gilbert set the flask down and approached the window. The water had overflowed the third cup, but he wasn't really bothered. Whoever was thirsty enough could have a full cup.
A note was on the table in front of the window. He picked it up, his eyes widening at the bold words freshly imprinted on the pristine parchment.
"Dear Diary,
Bruder is making my head hurt. I wish we had never set foot on this island."
Gilbert felt a lump form in his throat. What was this note? Who had placed it here?
His crimson eyes scanned the note once more. "Bruder."
There was no doubt. The author of the note had to be Ludwig; only he would use the term bruder, with the exception of Gilbert who definitely hadn't written the note himself.
All his worst fears were confirmed. He had had the nagging feeling that Ludwig detested him at the moment. Ludwig had always freely expressed his irritation, but this was somehow different. Gilbert felt an uneasy tug at his heart. Was he a burden to his brother? Would Ludwig be happier without him around?
He looked up, swallowing audibly. He only noticed the assortment of food displayed in front of the window now. Gilbert picked the container of jam up and turned it over in his hands, a devious idea forming in his mind.
Let's see what bruder really thinks of me.
Crash!
Ludwig jumped. "What the hell was that?"
"It came from the kitchen," Roderich observed, but Ludwig was already striding in that direction.
"Brother, wha—"
Ludwig stared. He could do nothing else but stare. The most vulgar of profanities wouldn't even come close to describing his exact thoughts at that point in time.
The stoic facade that he had tried so hard to build up crumbled like a kicked sandcastle.
"Mein Gott, bruder," he croaked, sinking down onto his knees.
No. It's not real.
Roderich and Elizveta followed closely. They all gasped audibly.
Arthur, Alfred and Feliciano followed.
"No, no, no," Alfred muttered.
"Brother!" Ludwig roared, all self-control shattering. "You wake up this instant and clean up this mess!"
No response.
"Or I'm taking away your secret stash of maple syrup!" Ludwig tried again. He was desperate, he didn't want to believe it, and so he was struggling to hold on to the thin thread separating reality from imagination. In his imagination, Gilbert would wake up and mock him for "weeping like a little girl".
"Hah! You were weeping like a little girl! Admit it!" Gilbert crowed, sitting up and wiping his face with his sleeve.
"That's not very funny," Ludwig stated with suppressed umbrage. Arthur glowered.
"Yay! Gilbert isn't dead!" Feliciano cheered.
"You're always so childish," Roderich reprimanded, hastily wiping away a tear that had slid down to his chin.
"Oh my God!" Gilbert clapped in glee. "I never thought I'd see the day Specs cry over my loss!"
"Will you just get up so we can clean this mess?" Roderich hissed, glimpsing the opened jar of raspberry jam near the sink. He had never felt so humiliated in his life, and to think Gilbert caught him in the act.
Gilbert licked his jam-coated lips, then froze. His jaw slackened, transforming his smug expression into one of shock. His teeth clicked together for the slightest of seconds, just enough for him to verbalise,
"Shit."
Hello! I'm back! Sorry to make you all wait. ;A; The next few chapters have been planned out and written already, but the final few chapters aren't.
As you know, I haven't written this story for a few years. I'm afraid my writing style is going to be different, but I'll try my best to keep it similar.
Also, my friend and I wrote a story together! :) It's called "Welcome To The Obsidian" on Wattpad. It's a suspense/horror story and I'd be eternally grateful if you would go check it out :')
Thank you!