It was gorgeous in Norway. It was like actual springtime, with flowers and trees with leaves. The rivers were rushing and the sunlight was streaming, children ran through the streets and Gilbert would have loved to chase after them.
But no, they were sitting in a car.
Judging by the way Antonio was fidgeting, he wouldn't have minded chasing after the kids, either. He might have liked to give them a good shove to get ahead—good naturedly, of course—but he and Gilbert could have raced one another.
Gilbert glanced over at the house, but looked away just as quickly. If he didn't look, maybe no one would show up.
"Ay, this is taking forever," Antonio moaned, resting his head against the steering wheel. "Does he even live here anymore?"
Gilbert stretched his legs, shoes hitting the windshield. He was happy to talk, to take his mind off of everything. "Arthur said he did." Gilbert shrugged. "He's just taking his sweet time, I guess."
Antonio muttered something grumpily in Spanish. Gilbert knew enough to translate lazy ass. They sat for another few minutes, Antonio playing with the radio. Gilbert's phone buzzed, and he knew enough not to look at the picture message.
"A hundred years," Antonio continued to grump, "and I'm waiting for someone to show up before I can just relax. I just want to make something yummy and take a nap and just…" He gave Gilbert a funny look. "You okay?"
Gilbert laughed, but he swallowed at the same time and ended up coughing. "Yes! Yeah, fuck, I'm fine. It's just…" Gilbert refused to turn his head to look at the house, so he kept his gaze straight, down the busy road. "A hundred years is a long time."
"Yeah," Antonio said, like he wasn't sure what Gilbert was getting at.
"I…" Gilbert shrugged. "Well, it's just, you know…" A kid flew by on a bike. "Humans aren't so bad."
"Gilbert—"
"I'm not saying I want to, like, live side-by-side with them or anything!" Gilbert barked out a laugh, shooting Antonio a quick look. "God, no, but I just don't think that mass-killings or enslaving them is necessary. Like, we could…" Gilbert lost steam.
Gilbert flinched when Antonio laughed. Gilbert could have melted into a puddle with relief.
"I don't think we should kill them," Antonio giggled, shaking his head. "No, I really don't care about humans! They seem okay. Lovino likes them, and Feliciano liked them from the beginning. I just don't like the Council."
"Yeah, I—" Gilbert glanced over and nearly kicked his foot through the windshield. "Oh, fuck, it's him!"
Antonio climbed over Gilbert, elbowed his stomach in an attempt to catch sight of the man. They both watched, Gilbert holding his breath so Antonio's elbow wouldn't sink any further.
He was blond. He was hopping off his bike, fiddling with the lock, waving to a nearby neighbor, laughing and throwing his head back. He had stopped to get groceries. His name was Tino.
They watched as he unlocked the door to his house, greeted the puppy, and shut the door.
Antonio rubbed his hands together before Gilbert opened the door and stepped out of the car. Gilbert didn't want to do this, and the same dread came creeping back. It was too nice out for this kind of work. Gilbert waited for Antonio to start toward the door before following.
When Tino answered the door, he gave them both a hesitant smile. The dog yipped at his heel, and Tino picked it up. "Hello, um, who are you?"
Antonio grinned. "We're here to kill you."
Something shifted in Tino's face. It was nothing Gilbert actually saw, but Tino looked a lot harder, and the dog growled at the two of them. Antonio's grin only grew, and he looked over at Gilbert.
Gilbert fumbled with his phone for a moment before he opened the message Arthur had sent him. Tino's eyes were slow to shift from Antonio's face to the phone, but when they did, the dog yelped. Tino took a step back, opening his mouth, but Antonio rushed forward and gave him a sharp shove backwards.
Gilbert looked around the street, but no one noticed the commotion on such a gorgeous day. He followed Antonio into the house, shutting the door behind him. Tino was across the room, the dog gone from his arms. Antonio was in the middle of the tasteful living room, rolling his shoulders.
"What are you doing?" Tino asked, and he almost sounded upset. He looked past Antonio to Gilbert, eyes wide in fear but mouth set in a tight line. "They're going to kill you. Lukas, Abel—the Council. They're going to destroy you."
Antonio snarled.
Gilbert didn't watch. He wished he didn't have to hear, either.
Gilbert didn't have much in this life. Everything rested with Arthur, and as Tino screamed, Gilbert hoped dearly Arthur knew what he was doing. Because everything was getting harder to agree to, and Gilbert just wasn't sure.
Would Arthur command him to kill?
Gilbert wondered as he and Antonio dug a grave.