Author: MercurialLily
Fandom: Hetalia
Title: Gilbert and Elizabeta's Infinite Playlist
Rating: T
Pairing: Eventual PruHun

A/N: I have finally returned! Words cannot express how sorry I am for leaving you guys hanging. Lots of stuff has happened, but I'll cut it short here. Please enjoy!

This is a slight mention of domestic abuse near the end. Just disclaimer.

"Once again, a sixteen-year-old boy is missing. His name is Gilbert Beilschmidt. He is described as being approximately five feet ten inches tall, one hundred forty pounds, with white hair and red eyes. He was last seen at Meadowbrook General Hospital two days ago. He is reported to be suffering from mental illness. If you see him or have any information regarding his disappearance, please call the hotline you see on your screen or the police."

Elizabeta glanced up at the TV. "They're talking about you again."

"Whatever," Gilbert responded from his spot at the couch beside her. He was flipping through a magazine. "It's not as if I'm a bank robber or something like that. I'm not on the run. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Well, you did break out of the hospital -"

"Did not. I walked out. There was no breaking involved."

"Still.

"This is a small town. Hardly anything ever happens." Gilbert gestured to the TV. "That's why my 'disappearance' is such a big deal."

"Are they running that segment again?" Elizabeta's mother asked as she entered the room.

"Yep," Elizabeta replied. "Slow news day."

Ms. Héderváry shook her head. "I have half a mind to go down to the police station and tell them what's really going on," she said. "They deserve to know."

"Please don't do that," Gilbert said.

"Don't worry. I'd simply tell them that you're much safer here than you are at your place. I'm sure they'd understand."

"Are you really sure you should do that, Mom?" Elizabeta asked. "What if you get in trouble?"

"I won't, because it's not a crime. You know that it's commonplace for a child in a potentially dangerous situation to be taken somewhere safe. A friend of mine works in the public service sector. She told me that."

"Really?" Gilbert sounded hopeful. "They can't make me go back?"

Ms. Héderváry smiled. "It would be against their better judgment," she said. "Now how about you two get out of the house? It's not raining anymore and I don't think it's very good for you to be cooped up in here all day." She waved her hand. "Go on! Get some fresh air."

"All right, sure," Elizabeta said as she stood up. "What are you going to do, Mom?"

"Likely go down to the station and get this whole situation sorted out. It's better to do it now than to wait," Ms. Héderváry replied. "I promise that it'll be a good outcome."

Elizabeta looked at Gilbert, who had tossed the magazine aside. "How about you show me around town?" she asked.

Gilbert shrugged. "Sure. There's not much to see, but sure."

"You two be safe," Ms. Héderváry advised.

"We will, Mom," Elizabeta said. "And good luck at the station."

. . . . .

Although it had stopped raining that morning, the ground was still a bit damp and there was a slight chill in the air. Well, it was November. It wasn't too surprising that it was cold. The sun was just barely peeking out from behind the clouds.

Elizabeta hadn't had much of a chance to explore the town yet. She hadn't been here very long and only knew where the basics were. She wanted to know more.

Gilbert seemed bored as they walked down the street. He was quiet, kicking the occasional stone, his hands in his pockets. When Elizabeta tried to talk to him or ask him questions, he just mumbled in response.

At some point they passed by a cemetary, and Elizabeta noticed a playground nearby. "Isn't that a little creepy?" she wondered. "Having a playground right next to a cemetary?"

Gilbert finally gave her a proper answer. "It's always been like that. Kids tell each other ghost stories and dare each other to go into the graveyard at night and walk around. This past Halloween, some kid claimed he actually saw a ghost."

"Do you think he did?"

But Gilbert gave no reply as he pushed open the iron-wrought gate and entered the cemetary. Elizabeta followed him, curious. She felt slightly uncomfortable walking through the rows of gravestones. She wasn't scared of ghosts - she was still on the fence about whether or not they existed, though - but she just didn't like the eerie feeling she got in this place.

Gilbert finally stopped in front of a gravestone near the far corner of the cemetary and knelt down. Elizabeta wondered why until she got closer and saw the name of the person buried there: Karina Beilschmidt. This was his mother's grave. Elizabeta noted that, according to the dates, she had died a few days before her thirty-first birthday.

"I come here a lot," Gilbert was saying quietly. "Sometimes I don't know where else to go." He reached out a hand and touched the engraving. Then he looked up at Elizabeta. "I didn't even know what her name was until she died. My father never called her by name. I never knew anyone from her side of the family, so I didn't hear it from them. It's strange, isn't it?"

"I think it's a very beautiful name," Elizabeta said gently.

"Yeah? I think so too. It suited her. She was pretty." Gilbert's face turned into a morose smile. "I think about her every day. I wonder if things would be different if she was still around. Probably not, though. But...I think she'd be happy to know that I have you as a friend."

Elizabeta touched Gilbert's shoulder. "I'm sure she'd be proud of you. She's probably smiling up there in heaven right now."

"You think? I don't believe in all that heaven or God stuff," Gilbert said, standing up. "If it was real, things would be better."

"Things are better now," Elizabeta murmured. "Don't you think? I'm not telling you to believe in God or anything like that, you know. I just want you to know that things have changed."

"Mmm." Gilbert nodded slowly. "I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right. Can we go now? I'm a...little uncomfortable here."

"Fine." With a final look at his mother's grave, Gilbert turned to leave. Elizabeta quietly went after him. Once they stepped out of the cemetary, Gilbert closed the gate. He didn't move for some time, gazing into the cemetary. Elizabeta was going to ask him if anything was wrong, and as she glanced around while deciding what to say, she noticed a swing set at the edge of the playground. Leaving Gilbert at the gate, Elizabeta went over to the swings and climbed onto the seat of one, holding the chains for support. She gently swung back and forth, then decided to stand up on the swing. She felt tall and free, the wind blowing through her hair. Aside from her, the playground was empty. Gilbert was watching her from the sidewalk. He came over to her about a minute later. Elizabeta smiled as she kept swinging.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew, and her foot slid from the swing. She pitched forward, letting out a shriek. Her hands slipped from the chains. She was overwhelmed with the sensation that she was falling.

But instead of hitting the ground, she fell into Gilbert, who had moved closer to the swing set. Unfortunately, Elizabeta had fallen too heavily, so they both toppled over. Neither moved for a few minutes. Eventually, Elizabeta got to her feet and moved a bit away. "I am...so sorry about that," she said. "I didn't mean to fall on you."

"I know. It's fine." Gilbert slowly got up. "The ground's soft, so it didn't hurt that much."

Elizabeta looked down, and then said, "Do you want to start heading back? I think we got enough fresh air for the day."

"Yeah, sure." The two of them left the playground and began walking back to the house.

They walked in silence for a short while. Elizabeta didn't like this and decided to speak: "So what was your mom like?"

"Do I have to answer?" Gilbert asked without looking at her.

"No, of course not. Only if you want to."

"Okay." More silence. "I don't really know what to say about her. She was just...sad all the time, I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she was always sad. She cried a lot. Well, at least I think she did. Her eyes were always red and her voice was shaky, but whenever I asked her if she was okay, she always said that she was fine. I guess I just never believed that. If she was fine, why did she seem upset?" Gilbert paused. "She was pretty skittish, too. You know, scared of every little sound. And she always looked tired. Sometimes she'd get a little mean, but she'd apologize right away. She and my dad fought a lot. They'd yell at each other for years. Then she'd come into my room and apologize."

Elizabeta nodded mutely and continued listening.

"I remember one time she got hurt really bad and had to go to the hospital for a couple of days. She fell down the stairs at home and broke some of her ribs. I think she might've sprained her wrist, too. I forget how old I was. Seven, maybe. When she finally came home, she fell again and got a concussion. I was at school when that happened. She got hurt a lot. My dad just said it was because she was clumsy. I hated it when she got hurt. It always made me sad."

"Your poor mother," Elizabeta said.

"Yeah." Gilbert looked up at the cloudy sky. "Sometimes I wonder if she found peace in dying. Was she able to escape whatever pain she was feeling?"

"I'm sure she did. No one does something as...drastic and permanent as that for no reason. Whatever she was feeling must have just been too much to bear." Elizaeta turned to look at Gilbert. "It's good that you're talking about this. You're getting it out of your system."

"Yeah. I just..." Gilbert scratched his head. He made a face and said, "I was just thinking about the last thing she said to me."

"Which was...?"

"It was the first day back to school. See, I've never liked school and didn't want to go. I told her as much. But she didn't scold me or anything. She just gave me a hug and said, 'Be strong. Don't be afraid. Things will get very hard, I know, but keep pushing ahead. Go on. You have nothing to fear.' At the time, I thought she was talking about school, but now...I think she was actually talking about life. Telling me not to be afraid. Telling me to be brave. I think maybe she didn't want me to end up like her."

Elizabeta looked down. "Can I say something?" she asked.

"Yeah, go for it."

"Well...and this might sound dumb, okay?" Elizabeta twisted her tongue around in her mouth as she planned out the words in her mind. "It could just be a huge coincidence that I met you when you were going through a really tough time. But maybe there was some force guiding me to you. You know -"

"What, like a guardian angel?" Gilbert laughed. "I told you, I don't believe in that sort of stuff. If anything, I have a guardian devil." Then his expression grew serious. "Who knows, maybe you're right. We can never really know why things happen."

Elizabeta nodded. "You're right. Now come on, let's go home. It's getting colder." With a smile, she took Gilbert's hand, and they kept on going.

The whole time they were out, neither of them ever noticed the figure crouching in the bushes taking pictures of them.

. . . . .

It was now around two in the morning. Gilbert, unable to sleep, was lying on the floor of Elizabeta's room, gazing up at the ceiling. Elizabeta had fallen asleep a long time ago.

They had gotten home from their walk shortly before Elizabeta's mother returned from downtown. She explained what had happened at the police station: Apparently, the hospital had filed the missing report, not Gilbert's family. Ms. Héderváry had told the desk sergeant that Gilbert was much safer with her than with his own family. She asked that the report be taken down. After some convincing, the desk sergeant spoke with a superior, who agreed to remove the report from circulation.

Of course, both kids were thrilled with this news. No more reports on the television, no more fear of potentially being found out. Everyhing would be all right.

Gilbert sat up. His eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness of the room. Aside from Elizabeta's soft breathing, everything was quiet. It was nice and peaceful.

Gilbert thought about his mother. What he had told Elizabeta had been true, but he hadn't told her everything. He hadn't said that his mother had often come into his room at night and cried. He hadn't said that she'd had a bit of a drinking problem. And he hadn't said that most - if not all - of her injuries were caused by his father. After her death, Gilbert had been the one who constantly ended up in the hospital, each time explaining that there'd been some kind of accident.

There was no way he could tell Elizabeta that. It would be too much for her to hear. He'd already filled her with enough sadness. But maybe one day, he'd tell her. Maybe.

Gilbert lay back down and turned on his side. He was tired, and he yawned and closed his eyes.

But he still couldn't sleep.

A/N: I made sure to make this chapter long since I felt really bad for disappearing for two years (God, has it really been that long?). Please don't hate me.

Who do you think was taking pictures of them? It's a secret! ;)

If you guys remember from Chapter 20 (previous chapter), there was a mention of a party. Wanna suggest characters to make cameos?