The Moon Festival is great! I love it! *devours another moon cake*
Review! :D
He couldn't not go. He'd considered it, but for only a second. Aside from everything, they were still best friends. He wouldn't insult her by not showing up. He wasn't that kind of man.
At sundown the next day, his burnt hand safely encased in his customary black gloves, he stood, trying to smile and not look as sick as he felt. Elizaveta had invited him to stand behind her, the 'best man', was it? And he couldn't very well refuse her that request. It was her wedding, for crying out loud, and as much as he loved her, he wouldn't ruin her special day.
With Roderich. The one person on all of this earth that he hated. A memory drifted up, unbidden.
Gilbert was sitting on bench, talking to Elizaveta. They were on the cusp of adulthood, the last golden time. They weren't talking about much in particular, and it wasn't the subject that mattered to him anymore. Just sitting there, leaning against each other in the cool shade, and speaking about all the things that weren't important and yet really were. He was happy, then, sitting with their shoulders bumping up against each other and their hands on top of each other, and the world seemed full of light and hope.
Roderich appeared, walking in the garden, and the albino paid him no heed, though he could feel Elizaveta sit up a little straighter and smooth her hair back with one hand. The Austrian stopped walking in front of them, his violet eyes fixed on his friend as if he were a snake, captivating a...Gilbert didn't know. Something beautiful and fierce at the same time. "Well, hello, Elizaveta."
She looked down, coyly pulling a strand of hair in front of her face with the hand that had been resting on the albino's. He tried not to show that he resented that. He'd barely interacted with the other during his childhood, appearing now and then to attempt to humiliate the other.
"Come with me," said the brunette, and Elizaveta inclined her head, casting one last look back at him before leaving his life.
Not to mention that the other was a snide bastard, who took the opportunity to rub his wealth in the albino's face every chance he could. He couldn't understand why Elizaveta was interested in him, much less wanted to marry him.
He glanced over at her, resplendent in her white satin. She looked radiant, standing next to Roderich, her emerald eyes glowing, and that flower in her hair looking freshly plucked and cleaned. He'd given it to her, when the old clip wore out, and she'd laughed and kissed him on the cheek, which stopped his brain for a little.
And now it was used to hold the veil back from her face while the priest married them.
He looked away, and then looked back at her. The orange rays of the fading sunlight made her skin glow in a way that made his breath catch, and it played along the lines in the fabric as if slipping in water. She'd never looked more beautiful than she did now, though he'd cut out his tongue before admitting it to her.
"...You may kiss the bride." And Roderich did, and Gilbert did his best to smile and look happy and applaud, while inside his heart was breaking.
After the ceremony, during the nighttime festivities, he approached Roderich, with the intent of pretending to offer his best wishes. He couldn't do it for real, but he could certainly try. For all his faults, the albino would not skimp on formalities when it came to anything and anyone concerning Elizaveta. Seeing Roderich drinking to a toast with several people, his mind lit up.
Elizaveta had retired to her rooms early, no doubt waiting for her husband to return.
That left the albino with plenty of time to finish him.