Chapter 2: First Signs
Chapter 2 is up~~~
Reviews are love, and I love love C:
Warning for violence, angsty Roderich, and Gilbert and Lovino's mouths
I don't own Hetalia or its characters
Quick Sum: Gilbert's friends and brother stop by for a brief visit and though Gilbert is happy to see them, he can't help but feel something's a bit off when Roderich was the last to come and talk to him. Ludwig makes it apparent that Roderich is going through some problems that the said Austrian won't name, making Gilbert worry. When he talks to his Austrian sweetheart, he asks him but Roderich won't admit to him that he was indeed not doing well, emotionally. Roderich, having all the stress and loneliness weighing down on him along with other things, Roderich is afraid of what his future holds, especially when his love isn't there to comfort him.
Gilbert was thrown against the long lunch table, sending a spur of pain jolting through his torso as his back smacked against the corners.
"Get up, you fucking freak and fight like a man!" a deep but loud voice boomed to Gilbert.
Gilbert's red eyes looked up from the floor he fell on at the large and looming figure over him, screaming for him to fight. Gilbert was happy to oblige. He took his shoulder outward and rammed the man into the wall hard enough to hear and feel the jolt of pain going through his opponent. Gilbert wasted no time standing straight and punching the man in the jaw, sending him to the floor in a heap.
The said man's name was Jerg. When Gilbert had met the man, he was warned to stay clear from him instead of a simple hello. Least to say, Gilbert didn't appreciate the welcoming and regularly got into fights with the man. Gilbert had learned from a few of the friendlier prisoners that he had been put in for assaulting his ex-girlfriend with a metal bat when she threatened to leave him. Gilbert had also been told that she survived, but just barely and lived with head trauma since then.
Gilbert immediately classified the man as a full blown sadist because of how he beat his girlfriend and how the man seemed to live off the pain he gives to the other prisoners.
His strength and self-proclaimed reign was tested however when Gilbert came along and told him to back off. Jerg seemed to realize that Gilbert was a Not-to-fuck-with type of guy which only pissed the man off more about Gilbert and always tried to find a reason to fight the albino, albeit a small reason, or simply no reason at all, just to see how far the albino would go as far as fighting went though he always remained unsatisfied for a while. Now Jerg was just in it for kicks (literal and pun-intended) much to Gilbert's growing anger and impatience.
Gilbert's ears rang with the cheers and jeers from the other surrounding prisoners as he kicked Jerg in the side and took a metal food tray and started smacking the man with it until Jerg grabbed a hold of the tray and pulled Gilbert to the ground, making sure he landed with a smack. Jerg pinned his forearm to Gilbert's neck and started repeatedly punching him in the face. Gilbert, already racked with pain and pinned, started kicking at Jerg's stomach. One attempt was successful and Jerg stopped punching and instead started gasping for air.
An opening.
Gilbert took this chance and punched the man upwards by the jaw, knocking the man backwards. Gilbert shot up, teeth gritted, snarling, and raged. He went down on the man with his elbow out wards, aiming for Jerg's stomach, again paralyzing him.
Gilbert sat up and started repeating what Jerg was doing to him seconds ago.
Gilbert seemed to forget what he was doing to the man until he just barely heard a whistle erupt and silence the room of yelling and screaming. Gilbert stopped mid-punch to look behind him. The warden was there with a whistle in his mouth and fuming.
"What the hell possibly happened now!?" the middle-aged man boomed angrily, snapping Gilbert out of his rage.
"Oh fuck." Gilbert thought, knowing he must have over-done it again.
He looked down at Jerg and saw the man barely breathing, bloody lips and nose, and an already swelling black eye. He slowly stood up and backed away from Jerg, his hand still balled in a fist. He un-balled it wincing as he did because of the soreness already blooming in his hand.
"Again, this excuse for a human fucking being wouldn't stop fucking with me! I couldn't just let it happen!" Gilbert protested in a still angered voice.
Though the warden wasn't one to hit a prisoner unless they really deserved it, he was real close to hitting Gilbert. Gilbert knew this, and he'd rather take Jerg and his buddies than the warden any day. Gilbert had heard rumors about the warden that a large and very strong prisoner went against the warden one time and he was sent to the hospital for a month and went through P.T because his legs were broken, one with the bones shattered because he went against the warden. Gilbert knew they were rumors but he knew better than to see if they were true.
Gilbert straightened and waited for the storm that was sure to come.
"Dammit Beilschmidt, this is the 3rd time this month!" the warden shouted.
"Technically 4th but as usual, he started it." Gilbert said lowly, hearing the fuming warden snarl.
"I don't fucking care, it happened again! Take that piece of shit to the hospital wing before I take him to an early grave!" the warden ordered the other guards who quickly obliged, one speaking in German into a talkie for a gurney.
"Beilschmidt!" the warden yelled in a commanding tone that made Gilbert swear the man was in the army at one point, which any other way made him flinch an make sure he was standing straight.
The warden heard the gurney come in and the guards put Jerg on it before hearing the gurney roll away. He sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Clean yourself up. You have visitors." He said in a calmer tone.
Gilbert gave the warden a curt nod before he rushed to the nearby bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw Jerg's work: a quickly bruising cheek, a swollen and split lip, and a bloody nose. He groaned before taking a few sheets of paper towels and soaking them in luke warm water to wash the blood away.
Gilbert came out to see his guard with cuffs. Gilbert obediently put his wrists out for the cuffs to feel them lock around his wrists and his guard led him out to the visiting hall. The person he saw when he approached his booth surprised him. Lovino was just sitting there, looking as angry as usual with Ludwig and Feliciano behind him. Gilbert's guard attached ones of his cuffs to the steel bar next to him. Gilbert picked up the booth's phone and saw Lovino pick his up as well.
Though Lovino wasn't the greatest person to get along with (how he and Antonio ended up together Gilbert or anyone would ever know), they had a mutual friendship with each other because of their brothers. Though they both were the older brothers, their younger ones were generally somewhat better than them. That's mainly how Lovino and Gilbert met when they were in college. While Ludwig and Feliciano possessed wonderful grades and good relationships with people, Lovino and Gilbert weren't liked by many people if not by Gilbert's loud, obnoxious and prideful nature, it was Lovino's easily irritated and angry nature that caused the two boys at the time to fight a lot. It was when Feliciano and Ludwig met when Lovino and Gilbert met during a school rally. The two didn't start out too well because Lovino hated Gilbert for his loudness and brashness. One night, Gilbert got bored and called the aggravated Italian to drink with him and Lovino agreed because he was bored as well. When the two began talking, they found they had a lot in common what with their social life, their grades, and their brothers and how they both loved their brothers but admitted they were jealous of them in some way and after that if the two were bored at some point in time, they would go out drinking together. They would even make a weekly plan of whether to go to ones of their homes or a bar, the types of entertainment, and even which of the two could get completely wasted if they wanted too (it was generally Gilbert).
"Hey there Prussian bastard." The Southern Italian greeted in his own way, having the liberty of addressing the Eastern German man by the original country which rested east of Germany at one point which Gilbert would say 'I come from awesomeness for a country' and would almost always refer to himself as 'The awesome Prussian.'
"Ciao Gilbert! Nice to see you!" Feliciano greeted with a wave and with Lovino groaning.
"Feli, space, did you fucking forget that already?" Lovino grumbled.
Gilbert laughed.
"Hey Lovino! Did you still miss the awesome me from last week?" he asked with a cheeky grin which made Lovino scowl angrily.
"Not in a fucking million years you bastard, Feli and this potato bastard dragged me along, also cause I didn't have other shit to do." Lovino grumbled quickly in the phone, Gilbert giving him a mischievous grin.
"No I think you just missed my awesome presence." Gilbert said with his unusual laughter.
Lovino again scowled.
"Fuck off, you perverted weirdo, I just came because I was fucking dragged into it!" he argued angrily, making Gilbert laugh and Lovino growl at him.
"Shut up you aggravating fucking bastard before I stomp in there and choke the shit out of your fucking body!" the Italian threatened.
Ludwig stepped in before security was called.
"Feli, can you take your brother for something to eat? I need to talk with Gilbert alone." Ludwig told the bubbly Italian.
Feliciano smiled and nodded, his strange curl bobbing up and down with his head.
"Sure thing Ludwig! Now that I think about it, I'm pretty hungry too. I wonder if there's a pasta place nearby cause I could go for some pasta right about now! Do you want anything Ludwig?" Feliciano said so fast that Ludwig barely caught it.
He shook his head.
"Okay! See you soon Gilbert! Come on Lovi, I'm hungry!" Feliciano chirped.
Lovino groaned and stood up, waving Gilbert goodbye. Gilbert grinned when he heard the nickname Feliciano had given Lovino.
"Bye Lovi~" the German said all too sweetly which made Lovino snap his head towards him with a look that showed he was about to kill someone.
"I swear to fucking God if you start fucking addressing me like that, I'm gonna end up in this shithole for fucking assault charges cause of me kicking your fucking ass!" the Italian threatened loudly, making Gilbert bend over laughing.
Lovino glared at him but resorted to grumbling unheard threats towards the 'Prussian' as he and Feliciano (who remained blissfully unaware of what just occurred), went to the doors leading out of the hall. Once Feliciano opened the doors, he was met with Roderich's violet and tired gaze.
"Hi Roderich! You can go in I think now if you want!" Feliciano told Roderich with a warm smile. Roderich didn't say anything as he entered the hall, letting the Italian brothers leave.
He spotted Gilbert and Ludwig talking to each other in Gilbert's booth. Roderich had a sick feeling that it was about him which he didn't appreciate. At the moment though, he felt less caring about it because he was so tired. If Roderich had to count how many hours combined of his sleep, he'd have to say at least 8 hours all together from the entire week due to nightmares. Though Roderich had attempted to go back to sleep at night or nap in the daytime, it was impossible whether it was because he couldn't or didn't want too, he couldn't say for sure.
"Hey Roderich~" a feminine voice chirped as Roderich heard the doors close. He looked over and saw Elizabeta and her usual cheerful self.
"Hello Elizabeta. What are you doing here?" he asked nonchantaly.
"Here to see my favorite boys of course! What else could I possibly be here for?" she answered and asked innocently, receiving a Well-I-have-a-couple-ideas look from Roderich which made the Hungarian woman giggle.
Roderich couldn't help but notice the digital camera around her neck.
"Anyway, I was around and decided to visit Gilbert and you. Ludwig told me that everyone visits him on Thursdays so I stopped by." She told Roderich.
Roderich nodded and the two embraced.
"So wonderful to you again Elizabeta." Roderich said when they broke apart.
"Well I had to visit anyway for your birthday. I got you something really nice." Elizabeta told him with a warm grin.
Roderich raised a brow and Elizabeta's grin wavered.
"You remember your birthday's in about 3 weeks, right?" she asked, concerned.
Roderich thought for a moment until he realized what Elizabeta was talking about. Now that he thought about it, October was just around the corner and his birthday was on the 26th of October; he had forgotten because he's been so busy to worry about stuff like his birthday.
"Oh. Yes I remember." He lied.
Elizabeta raised a brow of her own, trying to decide if her Austrian friend was lying or not.
She couldn't see through him as well as Gilbert did. She took a closer look at Roderich and saw his face was paler than it usually is and there were tell-tale signs of bags under his eyes from a jumbled sleep schedule.
"Roderich are you okay?" she asked worriedly.
The Austrian looked at her and quickly nodded.
"Ja, couldn't be better." He lied again.
Elizabeta saw the lie this time and raised another incredulous brow.
"You look like you haven't slept in years." She said bluntly, Roderich taken back.
"I assure you Elizabeta, I'm fine and I'm sleeping fine." He told her just as bluntly with irritation in his voice.
Elizabeta didn't budge at the obvious irritation coming to the Austrian whom would never use such tone with her unless it was necessary like when he found out about her secret hobby. She dug through her leather purse until the shaking of a bottle filled with small objects rang lightly in her ears. She stepped closer to Roderich until she was arm and arm with him. He raised a brow and looked at her.
"What are you-"he was stopped when he felt something shoved in his coat pocket.
His eyes widened a bit.
"What did you just put in my pocket?" he asked her quickly and quietly.
"Sleeping pills." She answered simply making Roderich scowl.
"Why might I ask?" he asked, irritated.
"So you can get a whole night's sleep at some point." She again answered simply and casually.
Roderich sighed.
"I told you I'm fine. Now take your pills back." He whispered to her.
She shook her head and grinned.
"This is why I gave them to you in a prison so if you take them out, you become a sudden celebrity to the guards~" she sang too sweetly for Roderich.
He felt himself pale and take his hand out of his pocket, realizing she was right. Sometimes he wondered how strong the woman's sanity was or if she just loved teasing everybody as such.
Gilbert laughed and Ludwig smiled.
"I swear that little Italian of yours was made to be fucking funny." Gilbert told Ludwig.
Ludwig had told Gilbert of his week so far and a specific date he and Feliciano went on when they hiked around in a forest and Feliciano accidently went away from Ludwig to pick a couple of flowers for some reason and when Ludwig saw him, the cowardly Italian was ambushed by a goose and started running away with the said goose chasing him. Ludwig said it took 30 minutes to find the Italian who was high up in a tree and afraid to get down because of the height and the thought that the goose was waiting for him. With an amount of climbing and convincing, Ludwig managed to get Feliciano and himself out of the tree safely but with Feliciano clinging to Ludwig the rest of the date.
"Ja, after that, I think he'll be afraid of geese for the rest of his life" he said with a chuckle.
Gilbert wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up over Ludwig to see Roderich and Elizabeta. He beamed. Ludwig looked over to the two and back at Gilbert with a small smile.
"Well, I better find Feliciano and Lovino while you talk to them." Ludwig said to his older brother.
Gilbert nodded and waved goodbye.
"See 'ya later Luddy!" he exclaimed with a grin as Ludwig went over to the two and said something to them before hugging Elizabeta and leaving. Once he did, Elizabeta ran over to the booth and sat down, putting the phone eagerly to her ear with a wide grin.
"Holy shit I knew I spotted a familiar man in a skirt!" Gilbert laughed heartily, Elizabeta rolling her leaf green eyes playfully.
"Are you sure your talking about me?" she asked with a mischievous grin, feeling the glare and the blush Roderich was possessing.
Gilbert looked up at Roderich when Elizabeta said that with a smirk.
"I don't know~" he sang, seeing Roderich turn away and say nothing, making the albino laugh at him.
Gilbert was waiting for the irritated comment from the Austrian. When it didn't come, Gilbert's grin left and he looked at Roderich who was still turned away. Elizabeta looked at him as well, her eyebrows furrowing in worry.
"Roderich?" she gently called to the Austrian, lightly touching his arm. He looked at her and sighed.
"I-I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I've been a bit off but I will be fine." Roderich lied with a nervous chuckle.
Gilbert only worried more and Elizabeta wanted to help but had no idea how at the moment. Gilbert looked at Elizabeta.
"Hey Lizzy?" he said through the phone to get her attention which she gradually gave him.
"Why don't you step out for a moment? I'll talk to Roddy." He said through the phone.
She nodded, stood up, told Roderich she'd be right back, and left. Roderich looked at Gilbert with a knowing look and sat down.
"I know you want to talk about something Gilbert, so just say it." He said, getting to the point.
Gilbert had to admit; Roderich was never one for getting straight to the point that fast so he was a bit taken back but recovered himself to speak.
"I know as well that something is wrong Roddy, so don't try to hide it." Gilbert said, getting to the point himself.
Roderich looked at him with tired eyes. This gave Gilbert a chance to look at him closely. Gilbert noticed he was a bit paler than usual and Gilbert could see the dark circles appearing under his eyes. Gilbert also noticed his hair was a bit disheveled and not so styled like Roderich preferred it to be.
"Roddy, your hair is a bit out of place." He pointed out.
Roderich looked up at his hair and chuckled nervously before straightening it out.
"Better." He simply said.
Gilbert just looked at him, silent for a moment.
"Gilbert…your face." Roderich said worriedly, noticing the bruises and split lip.
Gilbert took no mind to his face he just focused on the fact that Roderich changed the subject quickly. Gilbert sighed in defeat, knowing he'd get nothing out of Roderich today.
"Yea got in another fight today. Sorry Roddy." He said with a cheeky grin, Roderich sighing and rubbing his face.
"Gilbert, I thought you said you wouldn't get into anymore!" he exclaimed quietly.
Gilbert's grin stayed where it was.
"Sorry Roddy, but the same fucker keeps messin' with me and I can't just let him beat the shit outta me, I'm too awesome!" he boasted, making Roderich scowl.
The two conversed for a while about small things (or Roderich scolding Gilbert for fighting and Gilbert sighing dramatically), and Elizabeta came back a few minutes after she left and conversed with them as if neither of the three had any worries like Gilbert's imprisonment or Roderich's unnamed problems. Gilbert found it peaceful all the same, but still had a sense of dread from Roderich again. He wondered why Roderich refused to say anything to anyone about what his problem was. Gilbert knew he'd have to coax Roderich into telling him what the problem was because he knew the Austrian was as stubborn as a mule and would never tell anyone of his predicaments until somebody (generally Gilbert) would convince him otherwise and most of the time, it worked.
Though Gilbert, seeing his own predicament, he couldn't just bribe or coax Roderich as easily anymore, he had to straight out talk with him about it. Luckily, knowing himself all too well, the albino knew how to do just that. There was however a problem: Gilbert had to find the right moment to talk with Roderich during any other visits, most likely if the Austrian had a decent amount of sleep and found himself in a talkative mood.
The reason this was a problem was because Gilbert wasn't very patient with almost anything (Roderich getting ready for a date, waiting for someone to say something when they pause mid-sentence, etc…) and even with the little bits and pieces of patience he had to learn when living and dating Roderich (who was also as impatient, mind you), Gilbert knew that this would screw his mind up due to all the thinking he was bound to do in the next week until his stubborn Austrian boyfriend fesses up to his problems and that could calm Gilbert's spirits. Right now, he just had to talk as normally as possibly to his secretive boyfriend to establish a type of normality that Roderich brought to Gilbert even when they were separated by glass.
Gilbert had to admit without question, that it was nice to have a sense of normality once in a while, looking at the place he was forced to call home.
That was until it came the time for him to go.
Gilbert could never properly explain it but he always felt a piece of him die away and his heart sink further down the black hole it was hanging over when Roderich would leave. Sure he always felt upset that his friends and brother when they had to leave, but Roderich, like the day he met him, was more special than everyone else, but Gilbert wouldn't admit it.
The warm autumn leaves shifted in the wind as the 14 year old Gilbert was strolling through the park he and his greatest friend in the world Elizabeta would play in as children and hang out as coming teenagers, though today, she had to stay home because she got sick and cramps for some reason after Gilbert had the 'pleasure' of seeing the girl (who originally thought she was a boy a majority of her life) complain about a sore chest and start bleeding in a place Gilbert never mentioned and ultimately panicked to the point where Gilbert took her home with her jacket wrapped around her waist so no one could see what had happened. Once Gilbert had dropped her off at her house, her father told him to leave for a while. If Gilbert had to guess, his poor friend was embarrassed which he understood enough. He knew his friend would get over this and if anyone saw her in that state and made fun of her, Gilbert knew she could take care of herself as well as any boy.
That was only a couple days ago though and no one mentioned Elizabeta's problem so he figured everything was alright. Humming the Prussian anthem as he walked, Gilbert looked ahead and saw the softened sun hover over head on the horizon shedding its soft light on the multi-colored leaves on the ground. Gilbert found it pretty to look at honestly but when he followed the sun's light, its glow rested on a smaller figure sitting on a bench among the leaves. Gilbert stopped walking and took a closer look at the figure sitting on the bench who was yards away. It was a boy. He had never seen him before so he must have been new to this part of Gilbert's home town. He was bewildered enough to step closer to get a closer look at the boy's face. When his crimson eyes lay on the mystery boy's face, he could only describe it as beautiful. The boy had short, styled chocolate brown hair that shined like silk and his face was heart-shaped and a healthy sort of pale. Gilbert saw his clothes were pretty fancy what with his black slacks, black shoes and dark purple coat. Gilbert even saw a white scarf thing around the boy's neck to keep the delicate body part warm from cold breezes that would pass by. Gilbert took another look at his face. He had distant violet colored eyes that rested behind a pair of rectangular glasses that shined like orbs. Gilbert couldn't help but scan the beautiful boy more than once. He noticed the sun's light was shed on the boy which made it look like the boy had a golden glow about him. For a minute, Gilbert thought he was an angel. He just had to meet this boy.
Slowly he stepped up with his hands in his jeans pockets toward the boy, making sure not to startle him and make him go away. Once Gilbert was feet away from the boy, he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat by just looking more and more at this angel. Though Gilbert knew he wouldn't easily know the angel without saying hello. So with a sort of nervous twitch of his mouth, he said it.
"Hallo." He said with a bit of hesitation in his voice.
The beautiful boy snapped back into reality at the accented voice greeting him and turned to Gilbert. Gilbert again felt his heart skip a beat when he had a full look at his face. He noticed the little mole on his left cheek.
"Hallo." The boy greeted back.
"He has a pretty voice." Gilbert thought.
"I've never seen you around here before. You new?" he asked with a grin.
The boy looked at him with confusion at the grin before slowly nodding.
"Ja, I am. I originally came from Austria." He told Gilbert who had taken a seat next to him on the bench.
"Austria? That country is such a prissy one!" Gilbert laughed, making the boy scowl and cross his arms.
"Austria is not a 'prissy country', it is elegant and certainly with more manners." He shot back irritated.
Gilbert mock gasped.
"And Germany is not mannered?" he asked in mock hurt.
The boy looked at him with irritation in his violet eyes which Gilbert found cute for some reason.
"No, just a certain German sitting next to me." He said, perking his nose up.
Again Gilbert gasped in mock hurt and collapsed on the boy's lap, making him yelp and blush. Gilbert looked up at him.
"I can feel myself slipping away…so…slowly…from…lack of manners…" he spoke in a dramatic voice like he was dying.
The boy looked down at him.
"Mannerisms, and maybe you'll learn some in the afterlife." He shot which made Gilbert chuckle.
"Need…Austrian priss…to…kiss it better…" he said, putting his arm up to reach the sky dramatically, noticing the obvious look of shock on the boy's face.
"W-What!? No! I will do no such thing!" the Austrian screeched.
Gilbert started laughing, his head still resting in the Austrian's lap.
"Well I tried." He joked, making the boy scowl at him and huff.
They were silent for a moment before Gilbert spoke up.
"I'm Gilbert by the way. The Awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt who's 14 and from the awesome country Prussia!" he greeted, putting a hand out for a shake.
The Austrian looked at him with irritation but from what Gilbert could tell, he was too polite to push him away so easily. The boy then took Gilbert's hand and shook it.
"Roderich Edelstein. I'm 12 years old and from Austria. It's a pleasure to make you acquaintance Gilbert." He greeted back.
Gilbert thought about the name 'Roderich' and found it suited this Austrian. The more Gilbert looked at Roderich, his heart would beat faster than its usual pace and Gilbert was sure it would explode if it beat any faster. After their first meeting, Gilbert knew Roderich was special from the day he met him because on any other day when the two would cross paths albeit at school or anywhere else, Gilbert's heart would beat faster and his mood would lift.
Gilbert smiled at that certain memory. Anytime Gilbert would feel down like now, he would always think of the wonderful memories he and Roderich shared albeit funny, loving, or anything else because he shared them with this man he knew he loved with all his heart and maybe since the day he met him.
He however had yet to say it to Roderich and truly mean it with all his soul. He hoped he'd get that chance soon.
He remembered that Roderich and Elizabeta were going to leave and his happiness was shot down again.
"I'll need to go back home cause Kiku's gonna visit soon and I need it spick and span~" Elizabeta sang again too sweetly for Roderich or Gilbert's taste, knowing where a simple 'meeting' would lead too.
Gilbert swore that Elizabeta and Kiku turned into two creatures of the night (literally) with one mind that would ultimately stalk their gays friends with their partners and secretly take photos of them during intercourse which Gilbert found ultimately terrifying about the woman and her quiet Japanese male friend to the point where he would feel the need to check his home for secret cameras and keep the curtains shut if he were ever at home with Roderich alone and at night albeit if they were going to have sex or not. Roderich felt the same way, thankfully.
"Roderich, I could take you home if you want." Elizabeta offered.
Roderich shrugged.
"Thank you Elizabeta. I'll be out shortly." He told her.
She smiled, nodded, and skipped out. Roderich looked at Gilbert through the glass with the phone still his hand like he was going to say something, and he was but stopped. Gilbert saw the distant look cross his face.
"Hey Roddy?" he gently called.
Roderich blinked and looked up at him. He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.
"O-Oh my, that's highly impolite of me." He said, trying to make an excuse of his spacing out.
Gilbert sighed.
"Roddy, go home and get some sleep. You need it." He told Roderich over the phone.
Roderich attempted to argue but Gilbert put a hand up to stop him from talking.
"No buts, no arguing, go home and get your ass in bed and go to sleep. You need it Roddy and I won't take 'No, I'm fine.' From you." He said in a gentle but equally demanding tone towards his boyfriend to get him to listen.
Least to say, Roderich was astounded at his tone that spoke seriousness which Roderich thought was a miracle from the albino in question. Roderich knew he couldn't argue with Gilbert so he just sighed and nodded.
"Alright, I'll try. But I still assure you, I'm fine." He told somewhat firmly in the phone.
The only part Gilbert got was that he would try. He gave him a curt nod.
"Good thing, cause you look like shit." He said, making Roderich sigh again.
"I get that Gilbert, you've told me before." He said nonchantaly.
Gilbert spotted Elizabeta at the doors leading out of the hall, waiting for Roderich. He looked at Roderich.
"Well, look's like you gotta go Roddy." Gilbert said, looking back at Elizabeta again with Roderich following his gaze.
"Ja it seems so." Roderich said turning back to Gilbert. Gilbert and Roderich stood up again and like last week and all the other weeks before that, they connected their lips to the glass for another make-shift kiss with the same dreadful feeling following the two as they broke it. Gilbert took one last look at Roderich and his distant look was now one of longing and sadness. Gilbert knew how it felt. Roderich turned around and left the hall. Gilbert sighed sadly and told his guard the visit was over and that he wanted to go back to his cell, the feelings of confusion, worry, sadness, and impatience circulating through his head for one man.
That said man didn't speak to Elizabeta while she drove him back to his somewhat large but otherwise comfy enough looking home. It was a white house with black shingles and a double-door front door that was colored navy blue and windows large or small almost everywhere but all with the shades drawn. The front yard was a little un-kept with the slightly longer grass but it still possessed enough homeliness with the Edelweiss flowers planted left and right of the front door which his mother had planted herself and a grown willow tree in the front yard with the branches a bit tangled in the iron gate that surrounded the house. Roderich had lived in this house since he moved here from Austria when he was 12. He shared many happy memories with his family and everyone else he loved here. He just looked at it now as a place to seclude himself instead of a home.
"Well, I'm off. You know my number so if you need anything, I'm just a phone call away." Elizabeta told Roderich with a warm smile.
Roderich looked at her and returned a small smile.
"Ja, will do." He said.
He felt her hand grasp his and give it a light squeeze before they embraced and Roderich got out of the car and opened the Iron Gate, going down the stone path to the front door. Once he stepped in his darkened home, he made no attempt to open the shades to shed light in the dark home. He just shut his door, locking it in the process and going upstairs without a word. He went into his study where he heard a chirping sound from the little yellow and fluffy bird that rested in a big enough cage for him when the little bird had heard Roderich come home. Roderich went over to the stand next to the cage and pulled out a bit of bird food.
"Hallo to you too Gilbird." He said as he filled the little bird's empty bowl full of food where the fluffy thing glided down to it and began to eat. Roderich had brought the little bird that he and Gilbert owned to his study so when he'd have to do his work, he wouldn't be so lonesome or so Gilbird's chirps could extinguish the silence that would deafen Roderich. He remembered when he and Gilbert found the little bird a about four years ago when they were simply having an innocent little stroll through the neighborhood.
"That demon of a woman hit me in the head with a frying pan Roddy; I do NOT see that as simple frightening!" Gilbert exclaimed making Roderich sigh.
Gilbert and Roderich were walking around Roderich's neighborhood when Gilbert started telling Roderich of the night before when Gilbert saw Elizabeta in an appliance store which he was there for as well to get more forks for his brother Ludwig because all the other forks were disappearing for some apparent reason. He was walking past an aisle with cooking pans and pots and spotted the Hungarian woman.
"Hey Lizzy-"he yelled happily before a large frying pan found its way to his face, making him fall backwards.
"She was giggling as well after she apologized and still bought the damned thing!" Gilbert again exclaimed.
"Well any other way, you scared her and she must have been acting on instinct, if nothing else, you know how she is." Roderich told Gilbert in a huff while the albino was massaging his still sore jaw.
"Whatever, I just know she owns the damn thing and who knows what type of evil she'll do with it!" Gilbert yelled to the air, Roderich getting irritated.
There was suddenly the sound of light chirping when the two were walking further down the sidewalk. They both stopped and listened before the chirping came again.
"Hey Roddy, where's that coming from?" Gilbert asked.
The two listened again before the chirping came back from their right. The two turned that way and walked forward to see a large tree in front of them while the chirping still went on. Gilbert circled the tree until he spotted a yellow and fluffy thing on the ground. It looked like it could barely fit in the palm of Gilbert's hand. He picked it up and saw it was a small bird with a barely visible beak, beady black eyes and its obvious fluffy body. It began chirping more out of fear than anything else but Gilbert just petted its head with his finger.
"Hey Roddy, this little guy must've fallen from its nest!" Gilbert yelled to Roderich who was yards away. The Austrian came walking over and saw the yellow ball of fluff in Gilbert's hand. Roderich raised a brow and Gilbert stood up.
"I think he broke his wing or something. That's not awesome." Gilbert guessed and the bird chirped as if in agreement which Gilbert must have understood.
"You must have little guy! Well we'll have to take care of that! Come one Gilbird!" Gilbert exclaimed with the new name he gave the bird making Roderich sigh.
"You already gave it a name Gilbert, and one that equals to your own?" Roderich said in a disbelieving tone making Gilbert smirk.
"Well ja! The awesome little bird needs a name that goes with awesomeness!" he said proudly before starting to walk away while conversing with the little bird and the bird replying.
Honestly, Roderich couldn't be more confused at the sight as he trailed behind Gilbert.
Even after the bird did indeed heal from a broken wing, it still stayed around Gilbert if not on his shoulder, then flying around his head and had become an official pet for Gilbert and Roderich had to admit, the little bird was good company though he knew he'd never establish the relationship the bird possessed with Gilbert even when he and the bird became closer due to Gilbert's absence.
"I saw Gilbert again today and he told me to get some sleep." The Austrian said to the bird.
Gilbird gave him a sort of look of agreement to Gilbert's statement to Roderich which Roderich caught and sighed.
"Even his bird agrees." He mumbled before looking back at his fluttering little companion.
"Fine, I'll try." He told the bird who resumed his flying around in the cage.
Roderich spotted the large amount of printed paper work on his desk for work. It was a lot he had to admit but he saw no motivation what so ever to do most of it. He just left the room without a word and too his and Gilbert's originally shared bedroom. Like all the other rooms in the house, the shades were drawn and the only light was the sunlight from outside shining through the curtain's fabric. Roderich went in the bathroom adjoining his room and turned the light on. He looked in the mirror and saw his distant and dead looking eyes. He just ignored them as best he could and began undressing himself to sleep. His coat came off first along with the waistcoat underneath it. Roderich then took his black slacks off along with his shoes and socks until he was only in his blue boxer shorts and one of his white dress shirts. He exited the room for a brief second to get a more comfortable shirt to sleep in.
One of Gilbert's shirts.
He didn't realize he grabbed one of Gilbert's shirts until he was unbuttoning his dress shirt. He looked away from it to keep unbuttoning his dress shirt. He had it unbuttoned enough so that the collar and shoulders sagged past his own shoulders, showing his collar bone. He looked at himself briefly and saw the iron cross necklace with the iron cross itself resting on the dip between his showing collar bones. It was also Gilbert's. He remembered Ludwig coming to his home one night with a small box of items that a security guard gave to him when Gilbert was sentenced because Gilbert couldn't have them during his sentence. The items were his I-Phone, a simple silver key-chain, and his iron cross necklace Gilbert received as a birthday gift a long time ago. Roderich wore it often after that. He didn't know why exactly, he just wore it all the time. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again to unbutton the rest of his shirt but stopped when he took a closer look at his own body. His torso was paler and he was thinner. He turned around to look at his back and shoulder and saw his shoulder blades becoming more obvious to the world. He also looked at his spine and it to was the same as his shoulder blades, making it more noticeable with the bone's parts poking out. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember the last meal he had. He just pushed it off and unbuttoned his shirt completely, exposing the rest of his thinning torso. Roderich looked down and saw his ribs poking out just a bit as well. He again pushed it away and put Gilbert's black T-shirt on. Roderich looked at himself in the mirror again and saw Gilbert's shirt was a few sizes too big for him so the collar of his shirt went down past his neck and the short sleeves were very roomy and almost went to his elbows. He stepped back to look at himself more clearly. Even his long, hairless, effeminate legs showed obvious weight loss.
Roderich felt he could care less though so he just went to his bed and laid down, pulling the covers to his chest and facing away from the window. His hand grasped the iron cross around his neck before the tears that he held back started pouring from his eyes, his glasses still resting on his face. Roderich took a moment to take them off and place them gently on the night stand next to his queen sized bed where he proceeded to lat there, silently sobbing like he would do most of the time recently. He buried his pale face in a pillow to let the tears soak in the fabric, half-expecting the bed to dip to signify someone sitting on it along with a hand rubbing his back or arms to wrap him in a hug. He erased those thoughts from his head, knowing they wouldn't happen.
He was alone and he was going to sleep alone.
He was thinking about Gilbert's words to him to go home and sleep and how he wanted to argue against that statement because of the reason he had such little sleep.
Roderich didn't allow himself to sleep because of the nightmares that were sure to come and wake him up in a cold sweat or breathing heavily. The silence didn't help. He then remembered he had a CD player on his night stand that he would only allow to play classical music. He reached over and played the player to hear Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca start to play.
"One problem solved I guess." The Austrian thought before feeling his eye lids start to drift close. Once they did, Roderich felt himself utter a few small words.
"Good night, Gilbert." He mumbled to himself.
He then silently fell asleep.
My God the love I received from the last chapter just wanted to make me cry!
Anyway, I decided to try and make the chapters longer because the story seemed so liked :3
I'll see when I can write the next one cause of two things:
I still have to post another chapter for another fanfiction of mine
I won't have the access or a lot of the time this week.
Review, favorite, follow and all that junk and read it like a boss!
~Sunny
