Gilbert had woken up from the first mere minutes of sleep he'd gotten in days due to a rather loud crash of thunder, just in time before the library would close for the night. He assumed it to be late evening, but the sky was so dim with clouds the evening sunset was almost invisible, spare the tints of muted orange, blue and purple that stained the grey clouds with remnants of the setting sun.

Quickly the albino gathered his things, slinging his bag over his shoulder. With one last wave to the librarian, he trudged home in the now sprinkling rain.

Home.

The word had no definition to him.

By the time Gilbert had reached the front door, the rain had dissolved into nothing more than a mist, but the thunder and lightning still played their song from the sunset-stained clouds.

The german was careful upon entering the house, leaving his soaked shoes by the door and trudging up the stairs to sequester himself in his room. It was his normal routine nowadays, he figured he caused enough trouble to get himself in and out of places. Besides, he was starting to run out of energy to purposely bring him attention. It was something he barely wanted, yet he craved more than anything at the same time. His own actions that he never bothered to think through brought him all the trouble he needed.

Who wanted to spend time with him anyway? Sure enough Gilbert's foster father didn't want to, but the feeling was mutual. He just wanted the attention because he knew nobody wanted him anyway, but just because the albino appeared hostile didn't mean he didn't want someone to comfort him. Gilbert had just built walls— a thick shell to protect himself from the love he knew if he received, would only cause him pain.

Or so it seemed, to him.

Eagerly the German peeled off his soaked clothes, tossing them to the floor and changing into something dry and more comfortable. He fell onto his bed, fingers finding his old baby blanket as he cradled it close to his small figure, burying his face into the one familiar scent he cherished.

He clutched the old, dark blue fabric as if it were a lifeline, shutting his eyes tightly and letting out a shuttering breath.

It was the one thing he'd managed to keep after all these years, the one thing he wasn't willing to lose or give away. It was the last memory he had of his parents, the last sliver of remembrance he could pull from the deepest parts of his mind. He vowed to never let it go, even as young as he was. He bit his lip.

Ludwig was even younger, he probably didn't even remember their parents. It saddened Gilbert a bit, but at least his brother was as happy as he could get where he was now. At least, that was what he hoped. He would ask next chance he got.

Gilbert laid there for what seemed like hours, and at that point he knew that tonight was going to be sleepless.

Nothing out of the ordinary tonight, he thought, sighing in defeat. Well, if he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well do something.

Gilbert looked toward his bag, the corner of his writing book sticking out.

Well, it was better than waiting for the sun to rise. Reaching over from his bed he grabbed the book, digging a pencil from his bag and grabbing the flashlight that sat on his bedside table.

Turning the flashlight on he aimed the dim beam of light over his now open notebook, staring down at the jumbled mess of words before him.

Biting his lip, he threw the page aside to reveal another blank space. Gilbert took a deep inhale, thinking as he stared down at the white-and-blue lined surface. He sat there for what seemed like hours, before hesitantly pressing the graphite to the blank page. The german once again lost himself as he began to write, finishing off just minutes later.

He stared down at his new work, reading over the perfect english written in sloppy script. But instead of a whole page sat one lone stanza, centred between the blue lines.

He tasted life's bitter cup;

Refused to drink the portion up.

But turned his crimson gaze aside,

Disgusted with the taste and died.

Biting his lip once more he shut the book, tossing it to the side once more.

Gilbert couldn't even trust himself.

And that was even worse than being alone.

XxxX

The sun had just started to ease over the morning horizon, the sky painted tints of pink and tangerine, fading out into the leftover darkness and stained by the wispy remains of storm clouds. It overlooked the small, yet busy apartment complex that Gilbert for now resided in. It would have been a beautiful sight to wake up to, but the German had spent all night waiting for it. He'd seen many sunrises such as this from everywhere he'd been, but everywhere he went they were all different. Something new to ponder over, but Gilbert's energy was running even lower and though he couldn't seem to find sleep, he couldn't seem to force himself to start moving either.

His head rested on his arms that laid on the cold wood of his windowsill, continuing to watch as the sun inched its way over as far as he could see, shoving the darkness away for another long day. It seemed to take forever but Gilbert finally found the strength to get up from his desk chair which he'd set in front of the small window, stretching and letting out a long, drawn-out yawn.

Reluctantly his gaze lingered on the window for a moment, catching the last glimpse of the sunrise-stained sky. Shaking his head he turned around, slipping on his jacket and changing into a clean pair of jeans. Grabbing his pencil and stuffing his notebook back into his bag, Gilbert was careful upon leaving as not to encounter his foster father. He hadn't been very fond of the man in the beginning, and wasn't going to waste his time trying to get attention from him. The German didn't want it anyway, he figured if he wasn't planning on staying long he didn't need to get close to anyone.

The ground was still damp from the previous night's downpour, and Gilbert was more than glad he'd left early. It gave him time to linger, examining the aftermath of last night's storm. The air was still humid and a bit chilly, and drops of dew shined on blades of grass that sprouted from the cracks between the sidewalk. Barely concave slabs of concrete, covered with pools of rippling mirrors that reflected the sun's morning light.

He ran through a puddle, successfully soaking his still-damp shoes once more. Gilbert hated the feeling of wet shoes, but what did it matter? That had been a bit of fun anyway, and he'd take it over complaining about soaked sneakers any day.

XxxX

Most of the day had passed by uneventful, but it seemed that Gilbert couldn't go a day by without stirring up some trouble, even if he got away with it. Which was rare as in reality he wasn't very sneaky, but every once in a while no one paid attention long enough for him to succeed.

Except this time, he wasn't so sure.

It had all happened in the time after gym, more specifically, the boys locker room. It had to be one of the worst places in the world, but admittedly it made the perfect place for a game of grab-and-run.

And this time Gilbert had his eyes on a pair of earbuds, good quality looking ones at that, and was just waiting for the right moment to snatch them. The cord hung loosely from someone's gym bag, of which he guessed belonged to Alfred (probably the biggest jerk in school.), seeing as it was decorated with american flag and bald eagle stickers the were either starting to peel off or covered in filth.

But those earbuds looked so nice, and he'd always wanted a pair of his own. Gilbert didn't exactly know what he'd use them for, but he knew the computers in the library had headphone jacks, so if he did end up getting away with this he could use them for something.

Making sure the room was empty, Crimson orbs scanned the room to find that no one else was there.

Taking his chance Gilbert stood from where he currently hid, taking a bobby pin he'd found on the floor out of his pocket. Quietly he began to pick the lock of Alfred's gym locker, awaiting his stolen prize inside.

Little did he know, he wasn't alone.

Curious Violet eyes watched the other carefully, struggling to pick the lock. What he was trying to get to? Ivan didn't know, but one thing he did know, Gilbert was only going to get himself in trouble. In truth the Russian wasn't very fond of Alfred, though the American claimed them as friends even if they were more of enemies than that. Reality was Ivan could care less if Alfred's stuff got stolen, but even still, Gilbert looked so desperate for what ever he was trying to get inside.

Finally standing up, Ivan decided to take his chance.

"What are you doing?"

Gilbert froze, breath hitching in his throat as the room went deadly silent. The bobby pin fell from his fingers, making a soft clang as it hit the floor. The small noise seemed to echo through the room in the quiet, shattering it as almost-fearful crimson orbs met the curious Violet gaze that towered above him. Gilbert cursed under his breath, finally breaking the eye contact that was almost painful to hold.

"Why do you care?" Gilbert's words were just as harsh and cold as their small conversation from yesterday, as if the same events were repeating themselves. Ivan paused for a moment, studying the albino.

He looked nervous, almost.

"Because Alfred is my… friend…" Ivan paused for a moment, before nodding.

"And I don't think he would appreciate it if you took his stuff." He finished, a bit uncertain of how Gilbert would react. Not that he was afraid of the German, just a bit concerned. He always seemed to be doing something he wasn't supposed to, and Ivan couldn't help but be curious about him.

"So what? The swine deserves it, and I don't think he would mind if he lost a pair of earbuds." The albino retorted, crossing his arms.

So that's what he wants, Ivan thought. "You don't have any?" He asked, violet gaze shifting back to Alfred's locker. It was quite the obvious question, and in a way he already knew the answer.

But Gilbert only laughed. It was a small, sad laugh, almost like the crack of the voice in someone who was about to cry. The albino only turned his back to Ivan, starting toward the door of the locker room.

"I have nothing." Gilbert's voice was almost a whisper, and before Ivan knew it he was alone again, the echo of the door shutting bouncing off the walls of the room.

Nothing…? Ivan began to wonder again, what did he mean by nothing? He wanted to find out, but there was no way that he could catch up to Gilbert now, and sure as hell the other wouldn't want to talk to him anyway, judging by their previous conversations.

Maybe he would find out one day.

XxxX

Something good always comes from everything. This seldom ever happened in Gilbert's case, but occasionally he would get the better of a situation.

Who knew if this would end good or not, but the albino was in for a surprise when school let out. Standing outside waiting for him was Elizabeta, also known as his social worker and the only person he could really call a friend, even though she was older than him. She was fairly new to his case, just out of law school the first time they met. But the two of them seemed to click even if it took a bit of coaxing for Gilbert to realize that she wasn't just another social worker that was specifically there to handle his case.

No, Elizabeta (or Eliza, Gilbert referred to her just to tease her.) was a lot more than she appeared to be. She actually had quite the fun personality and got along with even the most difficult people, one of them being Gilbert especially. She was good at getting her way, and could be stern if she wanted to.

Eliza also had a boyfriend, Roderich, and though Gilbert rarely ever saw him the two did not get along at all.

"Hey, kiddo!" She called as Gilbert approached, ruffling his hair. The albino only laughed, swatting her hand away.

"What are you even doing here? It's not fall break yet!" Gilbert exclaimed, but Eliza only laughed.

"I have good news for you! And I brought you a surprise. Consider it an early Christmas present, since I won't see you for most of December. Hopefully I won't see you for most of December, you and trouble have quite the relationship." She raised an eyebrow, to which Gilbert mimicked her expression, following Eliza to her car, or really, her company car. He'd been in the thing more than once, and though it wasn't technically Elizabeta's she sure had made it that way. Sure, from the outside it looked professional, but the interior came close to the cluttered-ness of a sixteen year old girl's first car, even though Eliza had graduated from college more than two years ago.

"What do you mean relationship? Trouble is my only friend." Gilbert's tone was playful, but in a way it was the truth.

"Hey! I thought I was your friend!" Eliza retorted with mock anger. Gilbert rolled his eyes, opening the door to the car and sliding into the front seat.

"Sure, but you're also a social worker." He paused for a moment, waiting for her to get in beside him. "And your boyfriend's a fucking Beethoven fanboy." He snickered, and accusingly she pointed a finger at him.

"Ay, watch your language. I'll give you a reason to be good for this semester, if you want to see your brother." Eliza put the key in ignition, and a smile lit up Gilbert's face.

"Luddy! But what did DHS say about that anyway? Can I really see him?" He asked, eyes hopeful for the answer he'd been looking for.

Elizabeta smiled at his excited-ness, and replied simply, "January."

"Yes!" Gilbert cried, setting his head up against the dashboard.

"Please tell me you're not kidding. This isn't something you can joke about, I swear if you're—" Eliza only laughed and nodded.

"No, Gil. I'm not kidding. If you can keep your act together until Christmas than you get to see him." She explained. "And please at least try to behave, okay? You just finished your probation period and if it weren't for that I would have barely scraped getting you out of a group home. And I know for a fact that you hated that more than you probably hate being in the foster system, am I right?" She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he had an answer.

Silence settled over them.

"I swear Gilbert if I have to come to court for something like that—"

"Okay! Okay, I get it!" Gilbert interrupted harshly, the positive mood instantly disappearing.

"That wasn't even my fault! You knew that, everyone knew that! But did anyone care about my side of the story? No, because I'm…" he couldn't finish.

"So maybe I did some shit, Eliza, but I got someone else's sentence." Gilbert finished, leaning back in the seat and crossing his arms. It was silent for a moment, before Elizabeta sighed and tossed him a small wrapped box.

"Look, I'm sorry. Just open it." She said softly, reaching out to pat his shoulder, but pulling away.

Turning his gaze to her for a moment he looked back to the box, tearing off the paper to reveal the thick, pristine white cardboard of a new cell phone box.

Unfortunately Gilbert had ruined the moment with his outburst and couldn't find it in himself to act excited, but a small smile crossed his features as he held the box up to Elizabeta.

"Where did you even get this? I bet it's a fake, and you put something really stupid inside this box." He claimed, gently shaking the box near his ear.

Eliza only smiled. "No, I'm serious. It's a company phone, see for yourself. I went through the trouble to get DHS to let you have one, because I know you really don't have that much stuff." She shrugged, urging him to open the box.

Gilbert slowly lifted the lid, and sure enough, the reflective glass touchscreen of the smartphone rested in the box, along with a few plastic-wrapped cables and a USB cube. His smile only grew at the gift, as if he was dreaming. Was this real? Was this really his?

"Oh my god." The albino whispered, shaking his head. "Is this really for me? Thank you, Eliza. Danke, thank you, whatever. You're literally the best person ever." He thanked, eyes shining with happiness.

Elizabeta only laughed, ruffling his hair once more.

"No problem, kiddo."

XxxX

Oh my god it's been a few weeks since I updated D:

I'm so sorry to keep you waiting for this chapter! But I'm just finishing this at like 1:30 a.m, and I really wanted to get this chapter out tonight.

So here I am.

Love me ;3;

But as always, reviews are greatly appreciated and I hope you enjoyed~

–Jaysen