Hey! Thank you so much Burning Ice Phoenix, WhenTheMugiwarasCry-ICryAlso, PeanutNanners, and Lucrecia84 for your reviews and costume suggestions. And PeanutNanners, I did end up using your idea but not how you think.
Because the Wolf always eats the rabbit!
Part One: Fall Chapter Seven
Saturday, October 31st
Ivan swiped a tongue over the pointy edge of his new canines. He wasn't exactly sure if this get up was considered a costume. He and Raivis had dug through the trunk of assorted Halloween clothes that his sisters had left behind when they moved. Ivan could still remember, with a shudder, how they would corner him and stuff him into what they thought was a cute outfit. Which usual consisted of an all too frilly dress. It had been one of the only things he was excited about when they told him they were leaving.
Most of the costumes were too small for him now, not that he'd don one of those ridiculous dresses for this party, due to wearing them almost four years ago. The only thing that fit his tall stature was a pair of fluffy dog ears, which were currently perched on top his head, and a tail, that was hooked to the loop of his jeans. He shifted from one leg to the other uncomfortable, the tail hitting his legs as it swung. Raivis had said the costume was cute on him when he'd ask but he's also been shaking when he'd said it. Maybe, the fangs are too much, he thought running his tongue over them again.
It was too late now. He was standing in front of the Beilschmidt's house, hand raised to press the round button that would sound off a bell somewhere inside the house. He doubted anyone would actually be able to hear, due to the steady thrum of music that was shaking the house. He could turn back now and pretend he'd never come but Gilbert would be mad at him for it. Ever since he'd come over two Saturday's ago, Gilbert had been walking home from school with Ivan and Raivis when he didn't have work to play video games or pig-out on Raivis's cooking. He wouldn't like it if Gilbert stopped his annually trips just because he'd made him angry by refusing to come.
Moreover, he was one of Gilbert's most awesome friends.
Beside him Raivis was fidgeting uncontrollably. He'd ended up in the costume, Toris and Eduard had forced him into three years ago, before parading him around town to collect candy for them. The outfit was that of an angel equipped with an over-the-shoulder white dress that hung to the bottoms of his knees three years ago but was now mid-thigh. Underneath he'd worn a pair of white shorts. A gold rope as a belt was tied around his waist and one was tied around his head as a halo. It even had a tiny pair of angel wings.
It was Francis who opened the door to the party. He was dressed as. Blaring music flooded out of the door. "Oh~ Papillon, you look so cute!" were the first words out of his mouth as he stood to the side to let them in. Raivis had flushed a deep red before scampering into the house, Ivan following behind him. They were met with a crush of bodies. Raivis weaved himself through the crowed in attempt to get as far away from Francis as he could. He was jumped by a girl Ivan didn't recognize, dressed as a fairy princess. Her long wavy brown hair was tied to the side by two red bows. She was followed by a short blond dressed as a sailor.
"Dance floor!" Francis shouted at Ivan pointing to the throng of people. "Living room," he pointed to a room a little to the left of the dance floor. "Food!" he pointed to the room on the other side of the dance floor. Ivan was going to ask for Gilbert but the Frenchman was already moving into the crowd of people, no doubt going to seek out Raivis. Unsure of what to do Ivan decided to head to the living room. The sea of dancers parted for him easily. No wanted to upset The Monster.
Ivan entered the room just in time to watch Alfred, who was dressed as an American aviator, push a black haired boy off of a pirate's lap. Looking closer, Ivan realized the pirate was really Arthur. Ivan edge closer to take a seat in the love seat besides some guy dressed as a, well what looked to be a maple leaf. The boy looked familiar but he couldn't place where he'd seen him. "What are you doing?" an angry voice roared pulling Ivan's attention away from the strangely dressed boy. Standing in front of the recently fallen black-haired boy stood a blond. He was dressed as a prince from the medieval era.
He gripped the boy's arms and dragged him up. "Well as you can see I was kissing him!" he slurred, obviously drunk. Ivan didn't know they had booze! He was going to have to find Raivis immediately. The boy beside him laughed.
"Looks like someone else got into the fermented sauerkraut before they throw it away, eh," he laughed.
The black haired boy tilted his head to the side as if really looking at the person before him. "Arthur?" he asked.
"Yes, you idiot!" the other growled.
Black eyebrows squeezed together. "But he's Arthur!" he pointed to the man behind him.
"My Arthur!" Alfred shouted burying his head into the pirate's shoulder.
"Yes and I'm your Arthur! How could you every think I'd have eyebrows like that!" Prince Arthur said jabbing his finger into the other's chest.
"Hey!" Arthur shouted at the insult. The black haired boy gave the Prince a huge innocent smile, kissing his cheek before running out of the room. The prince growled before stalking out after the other boy. Pirate Arthur was currently trying to disengage himself from under Alfred. Watching the poor man struggle for a bit, Ivan decided to help. He plucked the man off of him, setting him down on the ground. Alfred didn't seem to put off by this, instead he giggled from the floor.
"He got into the kraut too," Arthur sighed, nudging the sitting boy with his foot. Ivan sat down next to him. "Every year something ends up with beer in it. Most times the brothers just drink or eat it all but a lot more people got into it this year."
"What?" he asked the Englishman, turning to look at him.
"That's right! It's your first time to one of these. The Beilschmidt brothers don't really celebrate Halloween. Gilbert because he thinks he's to 'awesome' to pretend to be someone else and Ludwig thinks it's childish. Francis throws the party here every year though, because the brothers end up cooking an abundance of German food for Oktoberfest around the same time. With food comes German beer. Francis thinks it's horrid so he always throws it out before the party. So they usually put it in food that they think no one will eat. I guess this time it was the sauerkraut. It's gone now, but it seems a lot of people had a helping"
"Ludwig's drunk?" Ivan asked. It seemed the most unbelievable part of the story. Arthur laughed.
"Yeah, he and Gil ate half of the kraut. Although drunk Ludwig is ten times more serious than usual with Gil's love for cussing."
"And Gilbert? What's he like, da?" he inquired getting more enthralled with the pirate's tale. Ivan for the life of him couldn't imagine Gilbert acting like anything else other then adorably grumpy, confident and cutely flustered. Arthur laughed again. The laugh was louder and harder than it had been for Ludwig's drunken state. He clutched onto his sides, one leather boot stomping into the ground. Was it really that funny? Ivan thought, waiting patiently for his answer.
"Gilbie!" Alfred shirked from his seat, flinging his arms to the side as a smaller body collided with his. He rocked backwards, giving the two boys on the couch a glimpse of white hair. Arthur quelled his laughter enough to answer Ivan.
"Childish..."
"I fwond you Alfwed!" Gilbert squealed sitting up in Alfred's embrace, a large grin brightening his face. The smile slipped as he leaned forward until his nose brushed the American's. "Pwize!" he demanded. There was a hint of a smirk on the aviator's mouth before he ducked his head, lips pressing against the albino's.
"And a snogging fiend!" he concluded. Ivan watched with supreme fascination as kiss quickly became heated. He'd never seen a kiss like this up close. It wasn't like what you see on in the movies or on TV. Alfred looked like he was devouring him! A strange nasty feeling worked its way into his stomach. He had the urge to rip the older boy out of the younger's arms, and out of the kiss. He was grateful when Arthur started to talk again. "I see Francis got a hold of him," he said gesturing towards the silver head.
Clipped to the side of his head was a pair of droopy bunny ears. They were unbelievable the same blondish- silver as his hair. They pointed down to the ground; the pink inside was nestled against silver locks. Leaning to the side, Ivan looked past them to spot a fluffy white tail pinned to his pants. Francis had dressed him up like a rabbit. Even Ivan had to chuckle at this.
Gilbert pushed away from Alfred, looking up past his shoulder. He locked eyes with the pirate. Ivan felt the tremor that ran though Arthur as the bunny crawled off of Alfred towards the green-eyed man. Gilbert nestled between the pirate's legs, looking up at him with child-like innocence in his red eyes. Resting his hands on the other's thighs he pushed himself up to kiss him. Wide green eyes slowly closed as his hands moved to tangle in the other's hair.
Alfred didn't like being left behind. Spinning around, he hooked his hands on Gilbert's waist. Tugging hard, he wrenched Gilbert form Arthurs hold, causing him to fall back. Bunny-Gilbert giggled as he fell into the Aviator's lap. "Gilbert's mine!" he announced, then proceeded to devour him again. A pale hand wormed its way up through golden hair till it found the strap to his goggles. Pulling it back, the hand released it with a snap. Alfred jerked up, breaking the kiss.
"Bad Alfwed!" Gilbert scolded. The three boy's breathing hitched a light blush coming to all three of their faces. Gilbert's kiss swollen lips had been pulled into a very kissable pout. His cheeks held a dusting of color, from lack of breath. His hair was messy in an unbelievably sexy way and those damned ears just weren't helping.
"You're so cute!" Alfred said, hugging the sex rabbit to him, burying his face into the pale neck. Gilbert giggled again. Ivan become conscious of the fact that this was the first time he'd heard Gilbert laugh. It was extremely girly so Ivan pinned that for the reason he'd never bothered to laugh in front of him. It wasn't that he'd never given him a reason to laugh, was it? Was he not…
"Wolf!" his thoughts were broken by the shout. Bunny had somehow managed to get out of the aviator's grasp was now climbing onto said wolf's lap. Ivan heart fluttered the way it did when his sister's told him they were coming home to spend vacation with him. "Such a cute wolf, Ivan," he complimented, stroking Ivan's head like one would pet a dog, clearly not going to kiss him. Why was he disappointed by that? "I'm glad you came. You the awesomest fwend!"
"What about me!" Alfred whined, tugging on the pants of the man whose attention he wanted. Gilbert turned to him and grinned.
"You're the awesomest kisser!" he said, leaning forward to kiss him again. He halted in his rise up from Alfred's lips. Something catching his gaze.
"Kiku!" he smiled. The Japanese boy had walked over to the four boys unnoticed. They all turned towards him but his gaze was locked on Gilbert. Silence washed over the five boys as they waited for Kiku's response. It never came. Blood dripped from his nose onto the white of the strange costume he wore. Three boys got distracted trying to piece together what exactly he was dressed up as.
"You're bleeding!" Gilbert said, falling off of Ivan's lap to go tend to Kiku. He snatched a tissue from the box on the small table beside the couch. He took great care in wiping every trace of blood from the other's nose. Tipping towards the Japanese boy, Gilbert placed a gentle kiss on his nose. "There all better!" he smiled rocking backwards. Kiku took the tissue from Gilbert's hand to place under his nose to stop the new current of blood.
"He's…?" Kiku asked looking over at Arthur, who nodded. A strange emotion flickered over his face before he tangled his hands in Gilbert's hair. The Japanese boy crashed his lips to the German's. To say the other three were surprised by Kiku's actions would be an understatement. They'd never seen the usually stoic boy be so bold! Relinquishing the kiss, Gilbert licked his lips thoughtfully.
"Yummy," he purred before tackling him into another kiss.
"Why?" Ivan gritted out. That nasty feeling in his stomach had turned into an emotion he was more familiar with, anger.
"Why what?" Arthur asked one thick eyebrow rose.
"Why do you let him….," he directed his hands to Kiku and Gilbert. Alfred had crawled over and was trying to pry Gilbert away from the other with shouts of, "He's mine!"
"Kiss us?" Arthur supplied. "Because he really is a great kisser and he won't remember any of it tomorrow morning. He'll remember little things, like who was here but he never remembers what happened." That did not make Ivan feel any better about the situation. In fact it made him feel worse. They were just using Gilbert! Ivan stood up from the couch, unclenching the fist he hadn't realized he'd clenched. He crouched down by the three on the floor. He wasn't going to let them steal Gilbert's lips just because he wasn't able to comprehend what he was doing!
Wrapping his arms around his waist, Ivan picked him up. He didn't pay attention to Alfred's grumbles, for once thankful for his reputation. "Wolfie, where are we going?" Gilbert asked rearranging himself in Ivan's hold. Lean, pale arms wrapped around his neck, a silver head tucking under his chin. A mixture of peppermint, sauerkraut, and an unbelievably sweet smell he associated with marshmallows wafted up to his nose.
"The kitchen," he said, inhaling deeply.
"Oo~ Food!"
In the kitchen, Ivan reluctantly let Gilbert wriggle out of his hold. He rushed right to the table, snatching a plate. He stacked it up with bratwurst, dumplings, what he guessed was non-alcoholic kraut, and schnitzel before trotting back to his side. "Want some?" he asked the younger boy, holding out his plate. He nodded relieving the plate of a bratwurst. "There's mustard over here," he commented walking to the table which held an assortment of condiments. The bunny squirmed his way into a seat, digging in happily.
Sitting across from him was Ludwig. As expected he wasn't in any sort of costume, instead in jeans and a tee. He hadn't noticed his brother's presence due to the ever animated Feliciano occupying his attention. The older brother didn't seem to mind. Feliciano was sporting an outfit similar to that of Raivis's only his was a light pink color. Instead of wings he carried a small bundle of fake arrows with hearts as arrow heads. By the look of it he was trying to persuade Ludwig into trick or treating with him.
Ivan pulled out the chair next to him to take a seat, just as Lovino stormed in. He was dressed in a pin stripped suit like Francis, only his was black. A fedora sat to the side of his head. His glasses were folded into the top of his dress shirt, which was unbuttoned several buttons showing off the small cross that lay against his chest. Ivan didn't like the smirk that crept onto his face when he caught sight of Gilbert. Ivan felt that he should just scoop up the eating boy and evacuate the room.
"Wovi!" Too late. His smirk turned into a full blown evil grin as he made his way towards the table.
"Hey Gil!" he said, pulling a chair around so he could sit between Gilbert and Ivan. Purple eyes narrowed. "How's the party going?" He leaned closer ever so slightly to the unaware rabbit.
"Lovino!" Feliciano scolded, arms wrapping around the older German's waist and yanking him away from his brother. Said older German let out a surprised yelp as he fell from his chair into the younger boy. Ivan was surprised the pasta lover was actually capable of holding him up, not that Gilbert was that heavy. Gilbert took advantage of the situation to grab the back of Cupid's head, dragging him down to kiss.
"East!" Ludwig roared being the first one to recover from shock. He released the younger boy who sat back panting a heavy blush on his face. He flinched at the glare his brother was giving him, falling out of Feliciano's hold. "Ivan," he gritted out, "would you please escort my brother to his room. I think that's enough parting for him." Ivan got up from his seat to help him off the ground. He had every intention of following Ludwig's order. If Gilbert was put to bed it would mean no one would try to trick a kiss out of him. Getting a firm grip on his arm, he dragged the reluctant boy away.
"Where's your room?" he asked once they were out of the kitchen.
"Upstairs," he bit out grudgingly. "I don't want to go to bed!" Ivan sighed but he wasn't going to give into the albino's whining.
"Hey!" he called squirming out of the wolf's hold at the bottom of the stairs. He ran to the couple at the top of the stairs. Ivan recognized the pair as the two from the living room when he first arrived. The blond had the black haired boy pinned to the wall, their mouths currently occupied with the others. The black haired boy opened one dark blue eye to see who was coming. He tried to get past the prince but was held back by an arm around his waist.
"Being sent off to bed?" he opted, sending a glare to the other boy.
"Yeah," he scowled. "What are you two doing?"
"Talking."
"Kissing." There was another stare down between the couple.
"Go to bed Gil," the blond growled before latching his lips to the others.
"Fine!" Gilbert huffed, turning down the hall, Ivan on his heels.
"Friends?" Ivan asked purely out of curiosity.
"Yep," he sang.
Ivan shifted uncomfortably, "Like me?"
"You're my best fwend!"Gilbert sing-songed. He waved his hands up in the air, offsetting his balance. He stumbled into the wall, bouncing off of it, into Ivan. The taller boy scooped him up off of his feet into a hug, making Gilbert squeal like a child. Gilbert's legs latched around the other's waist, his hands knotting into Ivan's shirt. To anyone who passed it looked like the blond was really holding a five year old and not a seventeen year old.
Ivan looked down at Gilbert who was staring up at him, his face much like the one from earlier that night. "Can I have a kiss?" he asked. Gilbert's nose crinkled.
"No! Friends don't snog their friends!"
"What about everyone else?"
"They're not my friends, except Kiku. I only kissed him cause he taste like candy. Friends don't snog!"
"I don't want a snog. Just a peck, da? Don't friends give their friends small kisses?" he said leaning down till his nose was just barley touching the others. The bunny's nose scrunched up as he thought this over. It seemed to take forever for him to come to a decision in Ivan's point of view. Finally, he smiled.
"Alright," he said. He stretched up, his lips meeting Ivan's. The kiss was just like Gilbert's drunken state: childish. It was wet and sloppy. He'd misjudged the angle so his kiss only landed on half of Ivan's mouth. Yet it sent shocks down Ivan's spine. It didn't last more than a few seconds, ending in a 'smack'. Ivan was privy to the blush racing to Gilbert's cheeks before he hid his face in Ivan's neck.
"Go! Go! Bed!" Gilbert demanded, legs lashing out. Ivan sighed, readjusted his grip on him before setting off the Gilbert's room. Gilbert didn't say anything else as they headed down the hall. He opted instead to listen to the steady thrum of Ivan's heartbeat. He was too drunk to notice that Ivan's was beating a little faster than his. When he'd finally found the room he belived belonged to Gilbert, i.e. the many Prussian flags, he was positive the small boy had fallen asleep in his arms. He carefully maneuvered through the piles of dirty closes and video games towards his bed. He tried to set him down.
"Hmm, that sounds nice," Gilbert mumbled, tightening his grip on Ivan's shirt his head burrowing closer to the other's chest. "Mine never sounds like this," he sighed. They stayed in that position for what seemed like ages. Ivan took the advantage to nuzzle his nose into his hair. Suddenly Gilbert moved his head away from the wolf's chest to look up at him. "You won't change like the others will you?" he asked. Ivan, for the life of him had no clue what the older boy was going on about. "No you won't. Everyone always changes when I tell them so I'll never tell you! You'll stay the same forever and ever. You kissed me Ivan! You kissed me so you have to take responsibility and promise me you'll always see me as the awesome Gilbert I really am!"
Ivan felt helplessly confused by the drunken rabbit's rambles, though he couldn't help the warm feeling that was bubbling through his body at the way Gilbert was telling him he liked him the way he was. Of course none of the important things made its way to the front of his mind. Like what Gilbert didn't want to tell him. What could he say to him to change how he saw Gilbert? Not even the fact that Gilbert was calling him out to take responsibility for a tiny kiss when he'd shoved his tongue down so many other's throats earlier, came up. What came out of his mouth was: "I didn't kiss you. You kissed me."
The older boy's mouth flopped open, like a goldfish, before he pushed his bottom lip out in a pout. "Fine then!" His eyebrows dipped down in determination. "Kiss me, Ivan. Kiss me right now, then take responsibility and grant my promise!" Ivan was shocked by the statement. He truly hadn't thought he'd have to kiss him again when he stated the facts. A tingle went through his body as he remembered their last kiss. Gradually, Ivan leaned forward towards the other's lips. He watched as Gilbert's eyelids slid shut, his head tipping slightly to receive the kiss.
This time their lips made contact full on. The kiss lasted a longer than the one given out in the hallway. The tingly feeling Ivan had before multiplied, making him shiver. Gilbert's lips weren't soft like his skin. They were dry, even had a little cut from his previous make out sessions yet they were a lot softer then he'd perceived. And they were warm. God, he liked how warm they were. It seemed to seep from one set of lips into the other's before spreading through the entire body. Gilbert broke the kiss, sinking down onto his bed. "Remember your promise," he whispered prior to dropping off into sleep.
Ivan lay back on his bed. The rest of the party had passed in a blur after he'd left Gilbert's room. He remembered walking to the kitchen to report the bunny's whereabouts to Antonio, who didn't seem to be listening as he pinned a shouting Lovino to the counter. Grabbing a cookie, he knew he'd went into the Living room to talk with a panda bear Yao until he had to save Raivis from the center of Francis's and the blond sailor's argument. He was certain they'd gone home after that.
Ivan brought his hand up to trace a finger along his bottom lip. It still felt unusually warm from the kiss. At the memory of it his other hand shifted over his heart, where it banged into his chest, as if threatening to burst out. He pushed his hand down hoping to hold it back in case it did. He felt strange, however it was a welcoming strange that left him confused as well as blissful. He drifted off with a smile.
As Arthur had predicted, come Monday morning, Gilbert didn't remember a thing about Saturday night, much to Ivan's disappointment.
End Part One
A/N: Don't shoot me for whoring out Gilbert! This was my favorite chapter to write and it was also the most challenging and the longest, so far. Anyway that's one part down three to go! Up next the real romance part starts! I might not update next week because I want to get my ideas straight. I have three short Hetalia Ivan/Gilbert story ideas I want to work on too. Of course this story will be my main priority. So please visit my profile to vote on which idea you like the best! And review!
