A/N: Thanks for the reviews and faves and alerts and stuff! I'm so jazzed that I'm not the only one who loves this fic and this pairing *radiates rainbows and sunshine*
FILLER. CHAPTER. v.v That's what this is, pretty much. I've started ch 5, which is actually pretty important in the plot, and I'm loving it. I think it'll be longer than usual, since I'm on spring break and have more time to write!
Also, I'm hoping to update every week, Friday or Saturday -ish. I have no idea how long this will take, but I have the ending planned out, and my accomplice Melon and I were plotting some super-amazingly-fluffy stuffs!
'Kay, I'll shut up now. ^^;
Disclaimer: This disclaimer is standard.
Elizaveta tried to avoid talking to Austria for a few days, which wasn't too hard if she actually did all her chores for once, plus Feliciano's. She hoped that if she didn't talk to him she'd prove to herself that she didn't peek into the piano room every time she walked by, just to look at him. He was writing a song again, she could tell. And every time she stopped at the door, she would force herself to take a deep breath and walk on.
She had stopped in front of that room again, leaning against the doorframe.
"What are you doing, Elizaveta?" He was staring at her. Oh, God.
"Listening to you."
"So you're not angry?"
This caught her off guard. "Why the hell would I be mad?"
"Because you left so suddenly the other night."
"Oh. Sorry 'bout that."
He looked as if he wanted an explanation, but Elizaveta was not about to give one. "You were a more interesting companion than Gilbert and Ludwig."
"Of course," she laughed. "Gilbert won't shut up about his awesome."
"He annoys you as much as I, then?"
"Hell yeah. I've been kicking his ass since we were kids."
"Language, Elizaveta."
"If you keep doing that, you'll make me laugh every time."
"Good. You deserve to laugh. I mean, it's the least I can do…" He looked at his piano, cheeks tinted red, from what Elizaveta could see.
"Thanks." Her smile was gentler than a usual smirk. "Did you write any more of my song?"
"It's not your song. It was about you."
"But did you write more of it?"
"Yes. I think it's going to be one long piece…you know what I'm talking about?" The way he looked at her seemed like he thought her an idiot.
"Duh," she rolled her eyes.
"And don't ask me what it's called. I don't know."
"I hate you!" she laughed.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you did."
Elizaveta's brain, hardwired for comebacks and biting sarcasm, had provided her with the next sentence, but her logic filter screamed "NO!" Just say it, and walk away. That would be the easiest thing to do, of course.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't."
She didn't run - she walked away, as if she didn't care, as if uttering those words wasn't difficult in some stupid girly way.
"Elizaveta!" The voice was too high to be Roderich.
"Feliciano?"
The child looked different after being self-confined in a room for a few days straight. Feliciano was taller, it seemed, shoulders straighter, eyes less childish in their incessant light. The dress did not fit quite as well, and suddenly, Feliciano looked boyish.
"Feliciano…" Elizaveta said, barely able to get the words out due to shock. "Are you…a boy?"
"Yes. What else would I be?"
And her shame turned to amusement with the boy's confused expression. "Sorry about the dress. Guess I thought you were…a girl."
"Holy Roman Empire said I was pretty in my dress."
Holy Roman Empire probably thought you were a girl, too.
But he'd said his lover's name with a straight face, without the least hint of regret or longing. Could the kid be over his love by now? Probably. It's not like they were really in love. They were just two kids, and, besides, it wasn't like love was the only thing in the world. Feliciano was doing fine. Love wasn't that traumatic.
"Of course you were. I made the damn thing," she said finally, half-expecting someone to correct her language.
The kid just giggled. Elizaveta reached her hand down to ruffle his hair, but suddenly realized that he came up to her shoulder now. Frightening.
"Hey, Feliciano…"
"What?"
"You wanna skip work and hang out?"
He blinked. "Skip…work?"
"Yeah. Totally."
"But…isn't that bad?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. And I honestly don't give a damn."
"Can we have a picnic?" Feliciano was ignoring her. Since when was that odd?
"Sure. I don't really care."
"YAY!!" The boy grinned and started skipping down the hall toward the kitchen, singing some song in Italian.
"Shut up!" Somehow Elizaveta knew that that wasn't going to work.
Ten minutes later, though, the two were slipping out the back door, picnic basket being swung back and forth as Feliciano skipped. In truth, Elizaveta was the only one doing any slipping out of back doors. Her companion's overly happy demeanor didn't qualify as sneaky.
He led her past the land that belonged to Austria and up a nearby hill. Elizaveta let him lead. She was more than happy to relax for once and get away from that stupid man who made her say stupid things. Damn him…
"Elizaveta~!" Feliciano giggled. "We'll eat here!" He had busied himself spreading out a blanket and setting out the pasta while she had been thinking.
"Okay." She smiled a little and sat down across from him. He handed her a plate of pasta and a fork. Neither said much as they ate – Elizaveta had never talked much to the boy and therefore she didn't know what to say.
Strange…she had also never talked to Roderich until recently, except for their usual morning banter.
She looked back over at Feliciano, who had flopped over on his back and was looking up at the afternoon sky. He was a boy, but he sure as hell didn't act like one. "Hey, Feliciano…"
"Mmmhmm?"
"You know, people thought I was a boy when I was little."
He smiled. "You would make a good boy."
"Hah. Thanks." She tried her hardest – she really did – to sound serious. "Gilbert never thought so."
Feliciano giggled. "Does Lizzy like Gilbert~?"
"Hell no!"
Still no correction on her language.
"If you say so!" The boy was still all too oblivious of her irritation. The bubbly smile was getting obnoxious. Lucky for the kid, he was pretty cute.
"No, I promise you, I'm not in love. With anyone."
"Why not? Love is a wonderful thing!"
"I wouldn't know," she muttered as he started rambling about how wonderful love really was, waving a spoon in the air to emphasize his point. He was just a child…how much could he really know about love?
Eventually, there was silence. "Are you done?" she asked.
"Yes. Weren't you listening?"
"Um…yeah. Of course."
Thankfully, since Feliciano was a child, he didn't notice her lie. "What should we do now, Lizzy?"
"I dunno. Whatever you wanna do, I guess."
"Yay!" He got up and started skipping around, still waving his spoon. Elizaveta rolled her eyes and merely watched him, not feeling overly motivated to frolic about.
She had closed her eyes and lay down on the grass, about to fall asleep, when out of nowhere came the voice she had come out here to avoid. "Elizaveta?"
"Holy shit!" she said as a reflex, sitting up quickly and glaring at Roderich.
"Language, Elizaveta."
She wanted to either laugh in relief or slap him. She wasn't precisely sure which one, though. And, in the time it took her to decide, he had begun speaking.
"Would you mind if I joined you?"
"No?"
"You didn't have to let me, you know."
"So you wouldn't have made my life a living hell if I refused?"
He feigned shock. "Elizaveta! How dare you think so lowly of me?"
"Well, you are my tyrannical master. It fits the cliché, doesn't it?"
"That it does, I suppose." A pause. "So there is more to you than foul language and violence?"
"There's more to everyone, don't you think?"
"Yes, I do believe there is. At times I think there's even more to myself that I do not fully comprehend."
"That sucks. I mean, how can people understand you if you don't understand yourself?"
"I do agree, Elizaveta. It's quite problematic. I always thought I knew everything about myself, and then whenever something changes in my personality and such, I always feel that I must catch up in my knowledge of myself."
"So things change a lot for you?"
"Not usually."
"Me neither. But there's been some stuff getting screwed up in my head lately. It's such a pain in the ass."
"Language," he smiled. "But, other than that, I feel quite the same."
"So you're trying to catch up in knowledge of yourself, huh?"
"Yes. It's much more difficult this time."
"That's peculiar, 'cause, yeah, I don't really get what's wrong with me either."
He was silent for a moment, staring out into the sky beyond the grassy hilltop and Feliciano's frolicking form. "Do you think, Elizaveta, that we could be experiencing a similar change, or at least one caused by the same thing?"
"Oh, Mr. Austria~!" Feliciano had finally noticed his master's presence and had skipped back over to the two.
"Hello, Feliciano."
"Oh, yeah, Roderich…Feliciano's a dude."
The dude in question was giggling and Roderich was looking at Elizaveta in a mixture of confusion and amusement. She shrugged and let herself smile that smile that always accompanies a laugh.
"Lizzy, let's play a game!" Feliciano kept laughing and ran off. "Catch me!" Elizaveta just shook her head and snorted, running after the child.
And Roderich sat there and watched his maid chase his servant boy before a backdrop of sunset, everything disgustingly picturesque.
It was almost funny how attractive Elizaveta managed to look when she wasn't trying to murder anyone.
The boy was worn out by the time the sky grew dark, and Elizaveta walked over to the picnic with Feliciano in arms, asleep. "You're still here?" she whispered.
Roderich nodded. "I had nothing to do, so I stayed to watch you two."
"You should've played with us. It was surprisingly fun."
"Perhaps next time."
She laughed. "Perhaps."
Elizaveta reached for the basket, but he grabbed it first. "Allow me."
"Sure. Have fun with that."
"I plan on it."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, the only real sound being Feliciano's soft breathing. "Elizaveta…" Roderich said eventually.
"Yeah?"
"I did not expect you to be so…caring. With Feliciano, I mean."
"I'm not completely heartless, you know. I can find it in me to care at times."
"Only for the boy?"
"What, you jealous, Roddykins?"
"Don't call me that."
"Answer the question, Roddykins." She grinned mischievously.
"No. I don't give a damn, actually."
Elizaveta was speechless. "Language, Roddykins."
"Stop calling me that."
"I prefer not to."
"You have to obey me. I'm your master, you know."
"Has that ever stopped me?"
"Sadly, it has not."
"Hey, just be glad I don't hate you."
"So that's what you were trying to tell me earlier."
"You…heard that?"
"Yes. How could I not?"
She was blushing, the heat stinging her cheeks. "I…don't know."
"I…would just like you to know that I do not hate you either."
She forced herself to smile amidst her nerves. "That's a start."
"To what?"
"To…anything."
They smiled awkwardly at each other before Elizaveta decided to look away and subsequently retreat to the servant's rooms with Feliciano.
"Lizzy?" the half-asleep child murmured.
"Yeah?"
"Do you love Mr. Austria?"
That child never seemed to learn.