Chapter 3

It was later that day, near sunset, when Gilbert was out on the town. As a payment for leaving work to pick him up, Ludwig had sent Gilbert out to get the groceries. Looking at the list in his hand, Gilbert tried to concentrate.

"Milk ... got it. Alright, wurst is gotten, and all I have left is pasta." He cocked an eyebrow. "Pasta? Why? Hm. Well, I'm not one to question Lud's shopping lists!" He shrugged and went down the pasta isle. Gilbert wasn't looking where he was going, preferring the scenery the ceiling had to offer to the path ahead of him, and he bumped into someone quite hard.

"What the hell - Gilbert?!" The familiar voice exclaimed.

Luckily, Gilbert's reflexes were quick, and he caught the person before they fell. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!" He said, with his eyes closed.

"Try looking now, idiot."

Gilbert opened his eyes to see his good friend Erzsebet an inch away from the ground, only supported by Gilbert's arm around her waist. "Erzsebet! It's so good to see you!" He said quite loudly, a grin splitting his cheeks.

Erzsebet grinned and said with an eye roll, "Hey, you nerd. It's good to see you too. Now get me up off the ground, please."

Gilbert shook his head. "Oh, yeah. Sorry!" He pulled Erzsebet upright and put his shopping list in his pocket before giving her a tight hug. It had been ages since he had last seen Erzsebet, and it was such a relief meeting her again.

Erzsebet quickly reciprocated Gilbert's hug, possibly squeezing even tighter than him.

Gilbert pulled away from the hug and grabbed her by the shoulders, still grinning like an idiot. "Where have you been?!"

"... Hungary?" said Erzsebet, who lived in Hungary.

"Yeah, but I missed you!"

"I missed you too, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna travel to Berlin to see you!" She laughed and shrugged Gilbert's hands off her shoulders.

"Why not?" Gilbert asked, seeming rather betrayed.

"It's too far!"

'No!"

"Yes!" Erzsebet chuckled and cocked her head. "Why didn't you visit?"

Gilbert opened his mouth to respond, but simply heaved a heavy sigh and looked at the ground. "It was too far..." He mumbled into his chest.

Erzsebet laughed again.

"Sorry." Gilbert muttered.

"It's okay, stupid! I'm here for a week! We should hang out!" Erzsebet smacked Gilbert on the back and walked further down the aisle to grab some marinara.

"What?!" Gilbert said, returning to his cheerful self. "Why?"

"Business. I'm helping a friend out with his music," responded Erzsebet, walking back over to Gilbert.

Gilbert grabbed some pasta and put it in his basket. "Hey, how crazy! I just met a musician today!"

"Really? How did you meet a musician?"

"Let's check out together! Since you're only buying..." Gilbert surveyed his friend's shopping choices with disdain. "Marinara ... a leg of lamb, and ... is that a jumbo sized bag of paprika?!"

Erzsebet looked down at her groceries before looking back up at her tall friend and nodding her head. "Yes, it is."

"I'll buy it for you." Gilbert smiled.

"Aww! Thanks, Gil!" Erzsebet grinned and turned around towards the checkout. "C'mon, let's go! Tell me about whatever crackpot musician you meet on the way!"

"You got it!" Gilbert ran to catch up with her. "Alright, so I got really drunk last night."

"Shocker," Erzsebet replied with a chuckle.

"Oh, shut up," said Gilbert playfully. "Anyway, so my so-called friends stuck me on a bus to Austria-"

"I like your friends."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that made you like them even more."

"Yes indeed."

"So I wake up in some super posh house, but there's underwear on the coffee table. And some guy comes over to me and tells me what I did. I was in his backyard at three in the morning petting his dog! I puked on his feet, he brought me inside, and I passed out on his couch."

"Gilbert!" Erzsebet elbowed Gilbert in the side. "Uncouth barbarian!"

"This coming from the girl who stabbed me in the leg with a whale harpoon fifteen years back."

"I was a kid!"

"So? I'm a kid, too!" Gilbert tried.

"You're in your twenties!"

"Fine, fine. Anyway, now onto this guy! God, he was so gorgeous, I swear! He had these really pretty eyes. They were like, some kind of purple. But he dressed like some kind of medieval noble! I could'a sworn the guy was wearing a corset!"

Erzsebet raised her eyebrows.

"His name was Roderich Edelstein, apparently."

They reached the checkout counter just as Erzsebet's jaw dropped. "Dude!"

"What?"

"That's the guy I'm helping!"

"What?!" repeated Gilbert.

"Yeah! He's my ex-husband. We married for a bit for money reasons, and we became really good friends. He's a sweetheart, and I cannot believe that you met him! What a coincidence!"

"Pleeeaaassse take me with you! I'm good with music!" Gilbert begged.

Erzsebet rolled her eyes. "Oh, my god. No, Gil!"

"Why not?"

"Because..." Erzsebet faltered. "Because... oh, fine. I don't have a good reason. Bring your flute for music. Also, bring an apron. If you're gonna be there, you're gonna help me cook!"