Author's Note: For some of you who don't really feel that Gilbert would take what his father is doing to him, well let me tell you this: When you're young and are betrayed by someone who is supposed to love you so brutally, you're unsure of what to do. Gilbert is scared of what is father is capable of. He knows that his father could do anything to him, he's scared that if he tells, then he'll only be hurt more, afraid that a worse punishment awaits him. He's tried to struggle against him, tried to get away, you saw, but it's useless. His window has even been sealed shut. He's afraid that if he tells some one then his father would not only go after him for telling but after the person her told. Now you're like "but he told Toni and Francis" that's because he could not longer hold it in, yes he's afraid his father will go after them, but he trusts his friends. After so many years of verbal abuse, Gilbert's heart couldn't take the physical, and he gave into fear. At least that's what I think, I don't know I've never been beaten before. I hope I'm right.
Also, I'm doing a time skip. Just so you don't get confused.
Valentin didn't like sitting next to Gilbert in homeroom anymore. The other boy would ignore him completely, as if he were just the empty seat before the blonde entered his life a few weeks ago. Gilbert would constantly think about the blonde boy next to him, see him look so down as he lay his head on his desk and close his eyes, hear the taunts thrown at him that the blonde just learned to ignore. Gilbert distanced himself from the Romanian for one reason only: to protect him. Gilbert's father was getting more and more ruthless with the beatings, even threatening to take away Gilbird. The boy knew that if he could take away his most precious thing, his bird, he knew that the monster wouldn't hesitate to take away his love. Even though he hadn't talked to Valentin for a while, it didn't stop him from falling deeper and deeper in love with him. He's even had a few dreams about his classmate, ones he wouldn't admit he liked.
Valentin rest his head in his hand as he stared at nothing towards the front of the room. Ever since the day those officers came to his house, he still couldn't find his diary, only pages left for him in his hall or gym locker, the hallway, taped under his desks, in his textbooks. They were all pages that really held no noticeable importance. What really worried him were the pages that did, the ones that held his secrets. The pages of the detailed retelling of his parents' death, of his feelings for a certain German boy. He really wished he hadn't been so specific about those subjects in his supposed-to-be-secret book. Somehow, most everyone at school had gotten wind of the false dungeon accusation, even pictures of the door and lock floated around. This got to him. Someone from this school had broken into his house, taken pictures of his library door and stolen his diary, he knew it. But there were so many people in the academy, it would be impossible to know, so many people that wanted some way to humiliate him.
He was thinking it could have been Elizaveta, but there was no way for him to know. He had tried asking her but she just laughed in his face and said, "Really? Do you know how many people here would do anything to humiliate you? To prove that you really are some sort of psycho who thinks he's a vampire? Do you know how many people here want you gone? A lot. A lot of people, so don't you come up to me and say I have anything to do with this, because I don't, but I don't mind helping whoever does." Valentin let his head fall onto his desk with a loud thump and a sigh. Why were they doing this to him? What did he do to deserve this? He just wanted to go home, back to Romania. This wasn't home, it could never be home. At home, people don't hurt you. Valentin snuck a peek at Gilbert through one eye, seeing him struggle with some sort of homework. The blonde smirked, feeling a little pitiful. He couldn't stay mad at Gilbert for long, though he tried, he really did. Sitting up, he moved in his seat so that he was facing his classmate, leaning over the other's desk.
"What are you struggling on? Would you like me to help you?" Valentin asked politely. Gilbert looked up, blushing at the close proximity. Oh, how he had missed this, being so close to his Vali. His? He could only wish. "W-was? (what)" he stuttered. "Would you like some help?" Valentin repeated, giggling slightly. "If this is your way of trying to get me to talk to you, then you might as well quit." Gilbert said coldly, though he didn't mean it to sound that way, his heart dropping when he seen Valentin's face fall. "I was only trying to help you, Gil. You put the two above the three." said Vali, turning back to his original position in his own seat and putting his head on his arms on his desk. Gilbert instantly felt bad, but he knew it was for the best.
"Good Morning Hetalia Academy!" The announcement blared. The students in Mr. Väinämöinen's Homeroom groaned, how they hated announcements (so do I). "Today we have a special announcement to make, courtesy of Elizaveta Héderváry." The sound of shuffling could be heard before Eliza's voice sounded, "Before I start, I would like to let you all know that it was Valentin Nicolae who wrote what I'm about to read." she cleared her throat before continuing, Valentin's heart racing, breaking out into a light sweat, "It is September 24th, 2012. I can't keep this hidden away anymore. I know that Aleks wouldn't be too bothered if he knew, but what I'm worried about is what he will think. When I say he, I mean Gilbert. He's the boy that sits next to me in Homeroom. Sure, he's a little weird, but I don't mind that. He's so very kind to me, he treats me like a real person. Unlike everyone else at that terrible school. It was a few days ago, the day that-" Elizaveta's voice faltered when she reached her and her accomplices' names, so she cleared her throat to cover her falter, "that someone," she substituted, "had rigged my locker to burst glitter at me when I opened it. That's when I think my feelings for him began. He followed me to the alley where I tried to hide. He was kind to me then, comforting me, smiling at me."
Everyone, including Mr. Väinämöinen, turned to stare at the two boys the announcement spoke of. Valentin was completely red, embarrassment heating his body, coloring his cheeks the deepest red, Gilbert who blushed slightly.
"He is so considerate, so kind, so generous, so beautiful. I can't stop thinking about his wonderful, sparkling red eyes, his sweet, sweet smile, his accent~. I love everything about him. Then, the next day, he literally saved my life. It was them again who put garlic in my lunch, and, as you know, I am deathly allergic to it. Everyone else just stood there and stared, but he, he came to my side, he saved my life. I'm tutoring him now. Oh, he's so cute when he asks for help and when he gets flustered. And then to tie everything up, he comforted me when I told him about my parents. I cried, and he held me. Thinking about it, I cant help but to smile. I felt so safe, so happy in his arms. I feel that I can say that I love him. Yes, I truly do love him. He is what makes me want to stay here, want to come back to school, because I know that he will be there to smile at me and to treat me the way I so desperately wish to be. I'm not sure I can tell him, but I know that I can confess this within the secret confines of this book. I love him. La revedere (good bye) for now."
The intercom shut off and everyone stared at Valentin, including Gilbert. There was silence as everyone watched the blonde Romanian, wanting to see what he would do. Valentin wanted to die. Right then and there. He wanted to turn to dust, wanted to just disappear completely. Gilbert was shocked to hear of the boy's feelings towards him, absolutely elated to know they both felt the same way. Valentin on the other hand wasn't very happy. Where did all the air go? Valentin soon found it hard to breath, his hands shook. Slowly his stood up from his chair, heart racing, he calmly walked down the isle and out of the room. The class stayed silent the entire time. Once the class room door closed, Valentin calmly walked down the hall to his locker, opening it as if it were just another tedious task, stepped inside and closed it. The moment The locker door closed, Valentin broke out into silent sobs.
Back in the classroom, the students burst out laughing, Mr. Väinämöinen rushing out into the hall to try and find his student. "Valentin?" he called out. He stopped in the nearest bathrooms, checking the stalls. Nothing. He wandered through the halls, checking maintenance closets. Still nothing. Scratching his head, the teacher stopped in the hallway, when he heard sniffling. Turing his head to the left, Mr. Väinämöinen walked towards the sound, which sounded like it was coming from one of the lockers. He walked down the row of lockers until he finally reached the sound, putting an ear to it, listening closely. "Valentin?" the teacher whispered. "Go away." Valentin replied through tears. "Valentin, please come out." Mr. Väinämöinen pleaded, ear still against the cold metal door, palms on either side of his head.
"No, please Mr. Väinämöinen, leave me alone." Valentin begged through sobs. The teacher sighed, knowing that his student needed to be alone. "Okay." he said before going back to his classroom and leaving his student in his locker. Mr. V. was thoroughly pissed. He liked Valentin, he was a good kid, and was reliable when he needed him to watch his son when he went out with his husband. When the teacher reached his class room, he was ready to yell at his class for the rest of the period for their behavior, especially Eliza.
Valentin stayed in his locker the rest of the day, only getting out to go back to his homeroom to get his things he knew his teacher had kept for him. He walked home alone and depressed. Arthur had found out that Alfred was with Eliza when they had gotten Valentin's diary, which was read aloud on the intercom, and was very upset with him. "Artie, please, come one, don't be mad!" The American pleaded, following his longtime crush home. "My name is Arthur, and how can I not be mad at you? You completely humiliated my friend! You know I don't have many of those. Were you apart of anything else that humiliated him?" Arthur yelled, turning around to look at the other blonde and crossing his arms. Alfred stayed silent and looked down. "Well?" Arthur demanded. "Y-yeah. I was. The glitter thing, a-and the garlic thing." Alfred whispered, not meeting the Brit's eyes. "I cant believe you! Alfred! How could you do something like that?" Arthur shouted. "B-but he deserved it! He's a vampire an-"Alfred tried to defend himself when he was cut off. "Oh, enough of that! He is not a vampire, you bloody git! Ugh! I knew you were stupid, and I could have gotten over it, but this is just ridiculous!"
Arthur turned around and stomped away, Alfred hot on his heels. "Arthur, please! I was just trying to save you!" Arthur scoffed, "You're an idiot is what you are! And to think, I had feelings for you. Are you going to make fun of me for that too, or is it just him?" Arthur continued to argue, turning around to face Alfred again, making the other stop abruptly. "Y-you have feelings for me?" he stuttered quietly. Arthur blushed and turned away, "I did, until I knew that you were such a shallow and cruel person. Don't follow me home Alfred." Alfred could only stand there, shocked. "He, he had feelings for me? Had?" he whispered to himself. "That stupid Romanian bastard is going to pay, this is all his fault." Alfred clenched his hands and marched home, a plan to exact revenge forming in his mind.
The rest of the week passed, Valentin absent the entire time. He had locked himself in his library, refusing to come out. Aleks tried to get his brother to come out before he left for work everyday, pleading with him, but his little brother refused, Arthur and Lukas, even Mr. Väinämöinen tried. "Come on Valentin, you have to come out. Valentin? Vali? Sunbeam? Please, you have to come out." Aleks begged. "Why, so that those bastards can laugh at me? So Gilbert has another reason to hate me? No! I'm not coming out! I want to go home." came the response, muffled by the door. Aleks sighed, "Vali, you are home."
"No, home. I want to go back to Crin Alb." Aleks' face fell into a worried expression, gaping at the door. "White Lily? You want to go back there? Valentin you cant, you'll go insane! The villagers who killed mom and dad are going to come after you!" The older brother tried to convince. "Good." Valentin replied. Again, Aleks gaped at the door, arguing with it, "What do you mean good?"
"I'd rather go back there and have them kill me like mama and tati (mom and dad), than go back to that school." Aleks was surprised to hear his little brother say that, to say the least. "Valentin, y-you don't mean that." he hoped. "I do." Valentin said with certainty. "Valentin…"
"I mean it, Aleksander. At least then I wont be tortured." The older brother's eyes began to tear up, he couldn't believe it. His little brother just said he'd rather die than live here any longer. Suddenly, Aleks began to pound on the door, "Valentin, open the door, please!" He was afraid that his brother might try to kill himself, and he'd never be able to get in to save him. "No! Aleks, you're going to be late for work. Don't worry, I'm not going to try anything, I promise." Vali assured his brother. Aleksander breathed a sigh of relief, "You promise?" he asked. "Yes, sunshine, I promise. I'll be here when you get back." Aleks was hesitant to accept this, but it was all he was going to get from his brother, "O-okay. I'm going to call you every hour, alright? Please don't try anything." he pleaded. "I wont." Aleks put a hand on the door before saying good bye, "I love you little brother." Valentin sighed, from his spot on one of the tables he was laying on, "I love you too big brother." he said with sincerity. He knew how heart broken his brother would be if he tried to kill himself. Valentin was all he had left.
Valentin sat up and put the book in his hands down. He had brought his pets down with him to keep him company and watched them as they played together. He thought back to the day his life might as well have ended. The look on Gilbert's face was…it looked like rejection to him. It hurt the blonde's heart to think about, but that sweet German boy was the only thing that ran through his mind. He just wanted to go home.
When Gilbert noticed Valentin never returned to school, he got worried. His mind would only come up with the worst possible scenarios of what could have happened to the blonde boy. Ones that ended in him killing himself or leaving back to Romania forever. Those thoughts put a pang of pain in his heart, he didn't want Valentin to leave him. The day of the intercom-diary incident, Gilbert had yelled at Elizaveta so loudly and for the longest time in the courtyard after school. It was the first time he had ever been provoked to hit a woman, but he didn't. He wouldn't. Instead he screamed at her until his voice was out and left her standing there like an idiot. When he got home, he was in no mood to deal with his father, so he just went to his bedroom and waited, ready to fight back.
Come time for Gilbert's nearly daily beating, he had put Gilbird away and waited. His father lumbered in, closing the bedroom door. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with, you bastard." Gilbert growled in a hoarse voice, clenching his fists. "Oh, someone's eager." the monster mocked. "Just shut the fuck up and swing." Gil demanded. The monster obliged and swung, Gilbert dodging and punching the monster straight in the gut. The monster crumpled to the floor with the wind knocked out of him. Gilbert stomped on his back, forcing him down. "I think it's time you get a taste of your own medicine, you fucking son of a bitch!" the boy sneered, again stomping on the monster's back, kicking him to roll over. Once the man was on his back, trying to catch his breath, Gilbert got on top of him throwing a few blows to the face. "I am not taking anymore of your shit." he whispered dangerously. With a few more strong blows, the man was out cold. Gilbert got up with a huff and went to the closet to get Gilbird, taking him from his cage, then up to the kitchen for a snack.
"Hey, bruder," Ludwig said when he entered the kitchen. Gilbert turned around, still breathing heavily, "Was?" he asked taking a swig of bottled water. "Was happened to your hands?" Ludwig asked with concern as he noticed his brother's bloodied knuckles. "Nothing." Gilbert said with a smile and a chuckle. "Right…have you seen Vati?" Ludwig asked. "Nope." Gil replied, shaking his head and twisting on the cap to his water bottle. "I got to go see someone, so if you see him, tell him I said hi." The older boy said leaving the house with his bird on his head.
Valentin was in his kitchen looking for something to eat, he had gotten hungry enough to leave his confinement, but planned on going back once he found some food, when he heard a knock at his door. With a groan he went to go see who it was, stepping on his tip-toes to look through the peep-hole. His red eyes widened when he saw who it was. Hesitantly, Valentin opened the door with a very irritated look on his face. "What." he spat. The boy on his porch blinked in slight confusion. "Oh, don't look at me like that Gilbert. What do you want? Did you come here to mock me? To tell me what a little freak I am? Why do you hate me Gilbert?" Valentin asked, crossing his arms, eyes down cast. "I don't hate you Valentin." Gil stated in a matter-of-fact way.
Valentin scoffed at this, "Is it because those stupid vampire rumors got to you? I don't have a dungeon, I don't drink blood. I just happen to be allergic to garlic, it doesn't repel me, a lot of people have that allergy, I don't sparkle, silver doesn't hurt me, my earrings are silver," the blonde ranted, indicating to his ears and showing little silver buds pierced into his earlobes, "my watch is silver," he held out his wrist, "this," he pointed to a particularly sharp tooth, "isn't a fang, it's a chipped tooth I got when I was little-" Gilbert cut him off, "I know you're not a vampire, Valentin!"
"Then why do you hate me? Why do you avoid me?" the blonde demanded, stomping a foot on the wooden floorboards of the old porch. "I avoided you because I was trying to protect you." Gilbert argued.
"Protect me?" Valentin scoffed, crossing his arms. "Yes. Listen Valentin, my father is willing to do anything to hurt me, verbally, physically." Gilbert sighed, "I didn't want him to find out about you, he would have hurt you if he did." The Romanian thought for a moment. "Your father, he….is that where all the bruises came from?" Gilbert nodded. "Oh, Gil. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I just told you why. Valentin, I don't hate you. I…Valentin, I love you."
Author's Note: Fuck Yes! Done before 10:00pm! WOO! Incase you're wondering why I get so excited about this, it's because it usually takes me HOURS to write a chapter. I hope you guys liked this chapter.
Saya Kurobara, is this better, Gil's no longer taking the beatings ;P The idea for the intercom thing was SpicyItalianRomano's idea.