Chapter 7

Another Point of View

It was only out of politeness that Alfred took that offered hand and shook it, firmly, as he found himself ever scrutinized.

Wondered what all of these men saw when they looked at Alfred. Toris and Gilbert must have known too much about Alfred already. Maybe they knew where he had come from.

Toris, at the very least, squeezed Alfred's hand just as firmly as he would have anyone else's, and that gave Alfred a little bit of extra nerve.

When the handshake was over, Alfred finally asked, "So, who are you, anyway?"

Another lift of Toris' brow, and yet he easily answered, so calmly, "I'm Gilbert's partner."

"Business partner?"

Toris rolled his eyes, briefly, and then lifted his left hand up, intentionally holding it out in a manner that drew Alfred's eye. Saw nothing interesting there, except for a gold ring on his finger—

Oh.

Right.

An awful twinge of red on his face, god only knew why, and Alfred understood, grumbling, irritably, "Coulda just said husband."

Hmm. Hadn't seen a ring on Gilbert's finger, though, now that he thought about it.

"No," Toris drawled, "That would be inaccurate. We're not married. Not technically. We've been together for twenty-seven years, but we're not married."

"Think the law disagrees," Alfred offered, helpfully.

"Maybe," Toris snorted. "But Gilbert's law is the only one that matters in the household—" yeah, real fuckin' shocker, jerk like that "—and Gilbert, well... He's a strange man. He holds the belief that two men can be together, but that they shouldn't marry. He considers it improper."

A crinkle of Alfred's brow, and he met Toris' pretty eyes, rolled his shoulders, and said, perhaps rudely, "With all due respect, man, that doesn't make any fuckin' sense."

Toris snorted.

"You're telling me. Try living with the man for nearly three decades."

"No thanks."

And boy! Did he mean that.

Givin' a guy a ring but saying, 'oh yeah, we're not really getting married, it's improper.' To be honest, sometimes Alfred wasn't sure who the worst person for Ludwig to be around was; his husband or his brother. Both seemed awful, albeit in different ways.

Gilbert's need to control everything extended here, too. He gave Toris a ring, but wouldn't wear one in turn. Telling the world that Toris was unavailable, while Gilbert still appeared free to do as he pleased.

Or maybe this was still all about those 'reputations'.

A long silence, not so awkward, and Alfred gathered up the courage to pry, a bit later, "But... Isn't Ludwig married?"

"Yes."

The guards shifted, uncomfortably.

Toris looked unbothered, easygoing, and Alfred knew that either Toris was doped up on some kind of damn tranquilizer to be so eerily calm when the man lived with Gilbert, or he was a sociopath.

...or a saint.

Whatever he was, high or holy, Toris was unruffled, unbothered, and finally carried on, when Alfred fidgeted, "Gilbert disapproved of that union from the very start. The only reason Ludwig wasn't disowned and cast out into the street was because Gilbert just loves him so much. But, oh! Was he ever furious. Livid. Pitched a fit for months. He had always hated Ivan from the first day, but Ludwig marrying him was just too much. The ultimate disgrace, for Gilbert."

Alfred, not knowing when to shut up, uttered, "But he was in that wedding photo."

Toris smiled then, a real smile, and it was actually pretty lovely, despite how ridiculously condescending Toris was.

"It was so sudden. Gilbert was in utter shock. Stupefied. And a little helped along by copious amounts of sedatives administered by yours truly. You see, Ludwig was so terrified of Gilbert knowing, that he didn't inform us of the wedding until the night before the ceremony. It caught us off guard. I had to make Gilbert go. It would have broken Ludwig's heart had he not. Drugging him was the only way to get him there peacefully. He would have caused destruction otherwise."

To say the least.

Poor Ludwig. Must have been hard, growing up with someone like Gilbert, feeling trapped on all sides. And then being let down by the one man he had actually trusted all the way.

Letting someone down like that—

The worst feeling.

Alfred asked, nosily, "And how did you feel about that union?"

The guards looked like they wanted to scram and fast, shifting endlessly at what must have been an extremely touchy topic of conversation for them, with their apparent like of Ludwig.

Toris was quiet for a moment, looked Alfred up and down, and then said, in what could have been a tease but that sounded deadly serious, "I trust this is off the record. You don't have any recording devices on, now, do you?"

Erhm—

"No," Alfred squeaked more than said, and Toris lidded his eyes and that condescending look was back in full forces, miles better than Ludwig's.

"Between us, naturally I never approved. Ivan is Russian. I'm from Lithuania, and well! This may not be proper to say, and certainly it's not one of my prouder qualities, but I'll be quite honest with you, Alfred : I fucking hate Russians. I was as hostile about the whole thing as Gilbert, I admit. But seeing Ludwig like that, I just couldn't say 'no'. So I went, and stayed quiet." Toris snorted, and gave Alfred yet another rake of scrutiny. "That's strictly confidential. Sixty-two percent of all our business transactions are with the Russian Federation. Naturally, it would be bad business for them to hear me say such a thing."

Alfred shook his head to himself, and regretted that he had ever met any of these creeps.

They fell into another silence, and Alfred wished that Toris would just turn tail and get the hell out of here, because he annoyed Alfred as much as Gilbert did.

Their fault, this whole thing. Their hostility towards Ludwig's chosen partner had made it impossible for Ludwig to ever tell them the truth, to ever confide in them, to ever run to them, because then Ludwig would be faced with that awful 'I told you so.'

Everyone here was guilty.

When Toris looked over at Alfred a while later, eyes flitting over Alfred's face, he spoke again. A low, soft murmur. Nearly mournful.

"I've raised that child since he was two years old. I know Gilbert is his big brother, but really, he's more like our son. Please. Keep him safe. He still wants to be with Ivan. He refuses to admit anything, even with the evidence stacked in front of him. That's why we had to go this route. Ludwig just won't ask for help, and won't tell anyone when something is wrong. He only chooses to see the good in Ivan. He won't hold Ivan accountable for anything. It's best he isn't alone now. He means so much to us, you don't know."

No, Alfred didn't know, because they didn't show it, and maybe Ludwig didn't know, either.

Alfred stared at the wall, absolutely stoic, and yet he felt a little disheartened then.

This whole damn situation was too sad, and far too close to home. Was happier before he had met Ludwig, in some way.

Dumbly, perhaps, and certainly tactlessly, Alfred asked, finally, "How did this happen? People like you guys, someone like Ludwig—how did this even happen? Something like this."

Ludwig was far too smart to have ever been in that situation, and Alfred knew that intelligence had nothing to do with emotion, he knew it, yeah, but it was hard to fathom all the same.

It was Toris then who looked ahead, face blank and voice steady.

"There's no simple answer to that. Ludwig never talks about his problems to anyone. He suffers alone. He doesn't wish to burden anyone. But, god—" A sudden tremor in stoic Toris' voice. "That was the worst night of our lives, driving to the hospital. Seeing Ludwig and Gilbert like that—wish I had never seen it. I've never seen anyone cry the way Gilbert did that night. Whatever was going on in Ludwig's head, only he knows."

Gilbert crying? Didn't seem possible.

Alfred stayed silent, and spoke no more, because to be quite frank he felt sick.

Didn't wanna think about that, not that, and not here.

Not so easy, because Toris looked over, caught his eye, and Alfred was quite trapped still by how intense Toris' blue-green eyes were. Pinned him down in a second, sharp as they were. Razors.

A low whisper, once more only for him to hear.

"I know about you. I know what happened. I searched high and low for someone, did every background check known to man, and when I found you, I knew that you were the one I wanted."

Alfred swallowed, desiring more than anything to break that gaze and look away, but he couldn't, couldn't move, as Toris' eyes picked him apart.

"That was why I chose you. Because I knew that you would take this more seriously. Money is a great motivator for men, but emotions are better. I knew you would give it everything you had. Whatever you need, we're here. Just call. We'll do anything for him. Gilbert loves Ludwig, he does. He just doesn't know how to say it. Keep him safe."

Alfred had been right; Toris and Gilbert knew far too much about him.

Toris was using Alfred, was what it all came down to, and maybe that shouldn't have surprised him much. People did it all the time, and at least in this case it was for a good cause, in a sense.

Alfred could only stare at Toris, speechless and vulnerable, feelings he absolutely hated, and Toris let him breathe a little by turning away and saying, in more of a tease, "Go get some contacts, won't you? If those glasses fall off in a critical moment, you're in trouble."

Alfred shifted a little, and grumbled, with a hint of embarrassment, "No, I, uh— I don't actually need them. I just like the way they look."

A long silence, as Alfred felt a fool, and then Toris started laughing again.

Laughed for a long damn time, clapped Alfred on the shoulder, and then wandered off.

Alfred stared at that door, trying hard to focus on anything else except that memory.

Time dragged.

When Ludwig came back out, about three hours later, he came straight up to Alfred, eyes lidded and yet again looking disappointed.

Before Ludwig could say anything, assuming he would at all, Alfred beat him to the punch and said, in a mixture of taunting and irritation, "Yeah! I'm still here."

For just a second, Alfred thought that Ludwig looked a little embarrassed.

Ludwig was extremely irritated by Alfred's presence, absolutely, made that no secret, but Alfred could see then, in Ludwig's posture and expression, that he was attempting to gage Alfred's mood, almost cautiously. Ludwig didn't like Alfred, but hesitated then about treading farther.

When Alfred realized why, that awful ache in his chest made him lower his eyes from Ludwig to the door behind him.

Damn. Ludwig hesitated and was leery of Alfred, didn't want to anger him, because Ludwig was used to the men around him flying off the handle. His husband. His brother. Had grown up with angry, volatile men, and that was what he was used to. Ludwig stopped short because Alfred was just another big guy that could have easily beaten him senseless if he felt the desire to do so.

And yet Ludwig only lashed out when those same men were insulted.

Sad.

Alfred stared holes through that door, feeling angry and aggressive, but not at Ludwig. Wished he had the balls to go up to Gilbert and ask, 'Hey, you think your precious little brother wound up in this situation because he chose a man that reminded him of you?'

Violent, volatile Gilbert would have gone on a rampage, but it seemed a valid question to Alfred.

Ludwig had stayed close to home, as most people in those situations did. Alfred had personal experience in that, after all.

Toris' words meant nothing. Alfred was visual by nature, and what he saw here was nothing he liked. Was grasping at straws in the dark, because aside from the basics no one yet had really bothered to show him anything worthwhile.

Would fix that before long.

To end the silence, Alfred met Ludwig's pale eyes, and managed to say, in a gentler voice, "I'm not going anywhere. This is my job. I do mine, like you do yours. Wherever you go, there I'll be. Even if you hate that. So. Let's just get along, alright? I don't wanna fight with you every day. Especially if we're living together for a while. Until this is all settled. I know why you don't want me here, but you gotta know too why I have to be."

Ludwig stared him down, as piercingly as Toris had, and finally sighed through his nose and gave a stiff nod.

Didn't wanna fight with this guy every day, hell no, and maybe Ludwig felt that way, too, from that tired look on his face.

That work day was short, having come to an end with that meeting, and as they left the skyscraper behind, Ludwig went and had a key made for Alfred. Gave Alfred more satisfaction and security than he could express, finally having a key to Ludwig's home and therefore feeling more able to come to Ludwig's aid in a blink should it come to that.

Now, he would work on making Ludwig's house just a little more secure, and then, when Ludwig was more comfortable with Alfred's presence, Alfred would sit down with him and create a plan of action in the (hopefully) unlikely event that Ivan managed to get inside the house.

Would try his damn best to never let that happen.

The sun was still up that time when they reentered Ludwig's house, and since there was little else to do, Alfred figured the time was as good as ever to put Ludwig's feet to the fire.

Instead of pressing Ludwig more about Ivan, though, Alfred instead turned his attention to Gilbert, because Gilbert was just another danger. Less obvious and certainly less violent, but a danger all the same. Toris, though he looked gentler, was aloof and strange.

Alfred didn't trust them.

When Ludwig sat on the couch, looking pale and tired, Alfred sat down on the opposite end, leaving the cushion between them empty. Giving Ludwig plenty of room was quite important; didn't want him to feel anxious and vulnerable, didn't want to overwhelm him.

After a while, Alfred found his courage, and said, "So. Ludwig. Tell me a little about Gilbert. He's...some kind of man. Is there anything I should know about? Anything you wanna tell me? I'll stay with you all day at work, if you want. Do you?"

Insinuating as indirectly as he could that if Gilbert really was just another Ivan, Ludwig needed only to nod his head. Didn't need to say it aloud, didn't need to speak. Just a nod.

Those claw marks on the wallpaper.

Ludwig must have understood, because he was staring at the floor thoughtfully, brow low and yet not looking agitated.

Alfred waited, patiently.

The problem with prying information about Gilbert out of Ludwig was that, naturally, this wasn't pertinent to the job he had been hired to do, so Ludwig was very free to refuse. Alfred didn't really have any right to be nosy in that aspect, but he was always nosy, always, even when it was rude and (to quote Gilbert) improper.

Surprisingly, Ludwig lifted his head and looked over at Alfred, observed him, and then started speaking.

Maybe Ludwig really was trying to get along, after all.

Or maybe stressed and overwhelmed Ludwig just needed someone to talk to. Someone that wasn't Toris, that wasn't Gilbert, that wasn't judgmental or overbearing or related, someone with no expectations, someone that had nothing to gain or lose by Ludwig's words and thoughts.

Someone, in the end, like Alfred.

A nobody, inconsequential and convenient.

"He's...a difficult man, I admit."

Alfred lidded his eyes and lifted his brow, giving Ludwig his best droll look, and Alfred thought that, for just one second, Ludwig's lips had twitched. Just a second, fleeting, gone before it came, but Alfred felt a little hope.

Ludwig turned his eyes to the window, as the curtain fluttered from the heat that kicked on, and added, "He's not as bad as he appears. Sometimes. He just expects so much of me. I think he forgets that he's my brother, and not my father."

"Speaking of," Alfred asked, "Where's he? And your mother?"

"I don't know where he is," Ludwig answered, ever watching the window, shoulders high and tense. "My mother is dead. Gilbert's mother is back in Germany, as is our father, I imagine. He raised Gilbert in the manner Gilbert raised me. He had everything perfectly planned out, according to Gilbert. He was an engineer, and wanted Gilbert to one day own his own company. Gilbert strove for that, and created it, as our father wanted. But then... When Gilbert met Toris, everything changed. My father wanted everything to go the way he wanted it, and Gilbert falling in love with a man was not part of that plan. He divorced Gilbert's mother, and met mine. He started a new family, to try again, because Gilbert wasn't what he wanted anymore. Gilbert's mother cut him off, as well, after. Gilbert chose Toris over her, you see."

Hereditary, then, that sense of control and domination.

That must have been why high-strung Gilbert considered two men marrying so improper—his father and mother had disowned him for being with another man.

Alfred listened, as Ludwig spoke almost mechanically.

"When I was two, my mother died unexpectedly. Again, that was not a part of my father's plan. So he drove me to Gilbert's and left me there on his doorstep. Gilbert and Toris raised me. I don't know what became of my father. I imagine he started over yet again. Perhaps the third time was the charm for him. Maybe he has what he wants now."

Alfred pushed his lips out, thoughtfully, hands clasped and glancing at Ludwig very frequently to assess his mood.

So far, so good.

Awkward and melancholy, yeah, but Ludwig wasn't stalking off and slamming doors, so everything seemed on track.

Alfred looked at Ludwig, though, and just wanted to suddenly ask, 'What do you want?'

It was very likely that no one had ever asked Ludwig that.

Before Alfred could speak, Ludwig murmured, softly, "Gilbert wanted to leave the company to me."

"Wanted to?"

Ludwig's soft voice didn't match his blank face, nor the way he was suddenly studying his fingernails very pointedly.

A short hesitation, before Ludwig carried on, "When he found out about Ivan and I, he was furious. He threatened to cut me out of the will, out of everything. I was...terrified. Without Gilbert, I have nothing. He could ruin me with a snap of his fingers. I think— He was embarrassed. I disgraced him."

Alfred scoffed, bitterly, and griped, "What's the big deal? He's with a man. Not like you chose that."

Ludwig gave a 'hm', ever looking downward.

"He expected more from me, he said. He wanted me to carry on the name. Produce heirs."

Heirs?

Alfred laughed suddenly, without meaning to, because it was absurd.

Ludwig looked over at him, but didn't seem so angry that time, and when Alfred bit the laughter down, Alfred managed to say, "Heirs! You say it like he expects you to rule the world. Like you guys are royalty or something. It's just a company. So what if there's no one to leave it to after you? Give it to the world. Who cares? You'll be dead. Why would you care? Why would he?"

Ludwig's pale eyes flitted endlessly over Alfred's face, his expression once more unreadable, and then Ludwig looked away, and whispered, "I never thought of it like that."

Another long silence, before there was another whisper, this time so deep and low that Alfred almost couldn't hear it at all.

"Ivan used to say that if Gilbert wanted an heir so badly, then we would just adopt one. Ha... As if that would have ever lived up to Gilbert's standards. It's not the same."

"I don't mean offense," Alfred muttered, "But Gilbert's standards seem kinda unfair. He's no different."

Ludwig uttered, predictably, "Gilbert's a good man. He is, really, he's just... He worked so hard to build this company. Everything we have, all of us, is because of him. He deserves to have things go the way he wants them. I let him down. Several times. Gilbert considers our line sacred. We can trace it back one thousand years, to princes and nobles, and he feels as if I'll be the one who will let it all end. He's berated me about it endlessly for the past eight years."

Couldn't imagine the immense amount of pressure on Ludwig's shoulders, put there by narcissistic, egotistical, domineering Gilbert.

Men like that.

Gilbert wanted to do as he wished, wanted to be happy with his man, and therefore assumed that Ludwig would suffer. Half-brothers—the same father. It wasn't Ludwig's fault that genetics had struck twice. It wasn't a tragedy, and it wasn't Ludwig's fault. He didn't seem to understand that, though, because Gilbert didn't.

Alfred just said, lowly, "It's your life. Not his. He had his already."

Ludwig made a noise deep in his throat, and said no more about Gilbert that night.

When Alfred turned the conversation to Toris, however, Ludwig's mood lightened and his face changed, his voice was higher and happier, and he had nothing but praise. Seemed to love Toris very much, was very easygoing when speaking about him, and just in that tone of voice Alfred knew that, of this entire lot, Toris was really the only one that Alfred could trust to be straight with him.

Toris was the safe zone in this little world, and Alfred logged that away.

Well. Perhaps 'safe' was a strong word. Acceptable, more like.

Toris was the man Alfred so far found the least detestable, but Alfred still didn't like him, thought he was a jerk, another powerful man corrupted, complacent with Gilbert's harshness and ignoring it for his own benefit. Toris was certainly as bad as Gilbert, although he presented himself more gently. A lighthouse amongst the turbulent sea, but one that likely was just going to dash Alfred upon the rocks whenever the time was right.

But Ludwig loved Toris, that was easy to see, and he loved Gilbert.

Loved Ivan.

It seemed that every man that Alfred disliked and was cautious of, Ludwig would without fail chime in to say, 'He's a good man.'

Ludwig seemed to prefer to see the good in everyone, or, at the very least, everyone he cared about. Everyone in Ludwig's circle seemed distasteful, but Ludwig exalted them all the same, bless his heart. Brilliant, sure, but a little dim.

Alfred felt he had his work cut out for him this time.

This family, this line, this company—Alfred was in over his head here. Men like these were far out of his element.

And Ludwig seemed out of place, too.

As protectiveness steadily grew without Alfred being fully aware of it, Alfred found himself glancing very frequently at Ludwig, even when Ludwig was perfectly safe.

Someone should have cared about Ludwig.