It was roughly six or seven months later and Gilbert had pushed escape to the back of his mind, almost never even remembering that he had been planning to escape. He wasn't sure what had happened in between that time that made him forget why, but he didn't care. The beatings had slowly stopped until two months ago when they stopped all together. The Prussian was elated; he was actually able to start healing properly. Only problem was in return for not getting beaten Gilbert had to act like a perfect little slave for Ivan.
In some cases this wasn't so bad, but in others… well not so much. The Prussian contemplated this as he quietly left his assigned bedroom, closing the wooden door silently. His vision was still only half of what it should have been since anytime he would upset the Russian he would be hit in such a way that one of his eyes would be left blackened or there would be some new gash over it making it hard to see. Like now for instance, the black eye patch he had worn months ago at the Allied dinner was placed back over his eye, the black cord sticking out dramatically from his white hair.
He turned his back to the door and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. A cold chill filled the hallway and made him shiver; it had to be well past midnight. Knowing this Gilbert looked up and down the darkened hallway a few times before stepping away from his door. The iron cross around his neck gently thumped against his chest as he walked the chain making small metallic clicks every now and then when he turned too quickly to look behind him.
The Prussian's heart pounded in his chest and he silently made his way to the stairs, one hand gliding across the wall as he did so. The house seemed even darker, regardless of the lights being off, and the albino looked over his shoulder again before making a quick descent down the stairs; his bare feet making a quiet thud against the marble. He stopped halfway down and crouched, hoping that he was pale enough to blend in, in the near darkness. His black boxers might make him stick out some, but he was banking on the fact that whoever was walking through the main entry way wasn't going to go up the stairs.
The shadow practically glided across the marble flooring. Even though Gilbert was higher than it he could tell that however it was was tall and with that in mind it kind of gave away who was wandering around the house. "What are you doing?" Gilbert asked before he could stop himself. The shadow looked up at him when his voice carried and echoed around them. Light violet eyes could be seen in the darkness and the Prussian felt his heart race six times faster than it had been when he was trying to sneak around.
"What are you doing?" The question was repeated, but instead of tired curiosity the voice sound actually angry. It was almost as if whoever it was didn't want to be caught walking around his house in the middle of the night.
Gilbert blinked at the hostility of the question, but shrugged it off as something normal in the Russian house. "Goin' outside to smoke." He answered honestly, knowing better than to lie when being questioned by the older Russian. "Couldn't sleep." He added when the shadow didn't move, but the eyes looking at him narrowed.
For being as tall as he was, Ivan almost made no sound as he turned and walked up the stairs. "I told you not to leave your room." He said his voice vague of all emotion as he sat down next to the albino. Gilbert shrugged, unsure if what Ivan had said was a threat or not, and messed with the cigarette in his hands; turning it end over end. He wanted to light it and inhale it so badly; his nerves were practically fried from the constant arguing he had gone through with Ivan and Natalia. "Come, I was going outside as well." The Russian said after a long silence and stood, leaving Gilbert on the stairs by himself.
Reluctantly Gilbert stood and followed, sticking the cigarette back behind his ear. When he walked closer to the Russian he noticed that he only wore a pair of white sweat pants, his chest bare. This was also when the Prussian noticed all the scars that were scattered across Ivan's chest, arms, and back. There was one in particular that made Gilbert wince when he remembered where it came from, since he was the one who had put it there. The scar was whiter than the others and seemed to be deeper cut when it had been fresh; it started at the Russian's waist and stopped at his belly button.
Russia fell back when another blast blew up the earth beneath him. The Nation hit the ground with a thud and he groaned, trying to get his eyes to focuses when another boom went off and shrapnel flew up at him from his left. Stumbling some he managed to stand and took to running the other way, trying to find a way around the Teutonic Knight mine field; when the heck had they learned how to build booms.
Prussia crouched low as he watched the larger Nation struggle to get around the trap. Staying low the albino ran after him and when another boom went off, he lunged forward and tackled Russia to the ground. They both flew to the ground as dirt flew over their heads. Russia landed on his back and hit his head against a rock. He screamed in pain when he felt a sword cut across his waist. Blood flowed fast out of the cut and violet eyes met manic scarlet ones. "Oh come on, Russia." Prussia practically purred, rolling the 'r' more than necessary. "You know you have lost." He tilted his head to the side some and the Russian pushed up, using all of his strength to throw the thinner Prussian off of him.
The younger Nation flew through the air some and landed on his back, laughing manically as his sword landed a few yards away from him. "What's wrong! You don't like games!" He yelled, sitting up some to look over at the bleeding Nation. Prussia was literally insane when it came to war, there was no telling what the younger would do or think during times of battle. Sometimes it was to the point that he would hurt himself and not realize it until a few days after the battle had ended and the adrenaline would wear off. Now was not one of those times.
"I am not part of your war with Poland or Lithuania!" Russia yelled, wincing when he tried to move and the bleeding only got worse.
Prussia was up in seconds, standing over the injured Russian; an insane smile plastered across his face. Blood speckled his face and his hair wasn't as white as it should have bee. He stared down, scarlet eyes glinting with insanity. "Then get off of my land." He said and laughed, turning on his heel and leaving. His sword back in his hand as he merrily walked away.
Gilbert shook his head and walked a little closer, his arm barely grazing Ivan's. He knew that they were both covered in scars, it was something that came with being a Nation, but it was still hard to see. Neither of them said anything as the Russian lead Gilbert through a part of the house he had never been in. The ceilings in this part of the house were lower and instead of somewhat modern electricity the light in the hallway was torch light. "Ivan, where are we going?" The Prussian asked and stopped in his tracks when the older turned his head slightly and looked him over, something hidden in his eyes.
Ivan still said nothing and reached back to take Gilbert's hand. The Prussian's first instinct had been to pull his hand away and walk away completely, but that would result in something bad for the albino so he allowed the Russian to take his hand and pull him through a side door to the outside. Cold air hit Gilbert's exposed skin and he cursed his decision to not put on actual pants or a shirt. The older Nation noticed the hissed disagreement to the cold and wrapped his arms around the younger Nation's waist, pulling him flush against his chest.
Scarlet eyes widened some before Gilbert managed to get control over his heart rate. He wasn't facing Ivan that was a good thing. With his arms still free he took the cigarette out from behind his ear and stuck it between his lips, while his other hand pulled out the lighter resting in the waist band of his boxers.
The flame flickered as the wind picked back up and involuntarily Gilbert tried to make himself smaller, or get closer to Ivan. The lighter stayed lite when the Prussian put his hand up to cover the flame and inhaled sharply when the cigarette finally lite. Ivan moved one hand, took the lighter from Gilbert's hands and slipped it into the pocket of his sweat pants. They stayed like this for several minutes as Gilbert smoked the cigarette, smoke billowing in front of them from their combined breaths and smoke. "Is this… Your current situation that is, that frustrating for you?" Ivan asked when the Prussian had pulled the butt end away from his lips and flicked it away into the snow.
Gilbert sighed as his heart started to beat faster again, his mind fully registering how close he was to the Russian; with nothing bad happening. "N-nein." He stuttered shivering again as the biting cold wind picked up again. "C-can we go b-back inside?" Gilbert asked bring his hands up to his arms, trying to retain some kind of heat.
"Once you answer my question honestly." Ivan said tightening his hold around the Prussian's waist. "If you do not like something then you should say it." He said resting his head on top of Gilbert's snowy white hair. "Although I cannot promise nothing bad will happen as a result." And there was the catch. Gilbert knew there was always a catch when Ivan said something or offered something. Always a catch. Only with the thoughts running through the Prussian's head were not to change something about his way of life, more of something to change his relationship with Ivan. Gilbert couldn't lie to himself and say he didn't 'love' Matthew, but he knew that things had changed in the past six, seven, months. The Prussian had become attached to the man holding him currently and he wasn't about to let that go, even if they didn't always get along and even though whenever they did fight he was on the losing end with Ivan walking away twirling his faucet pipe.
Gilbert's silence was starting to grade on Ivan's nerves and he impatiently tapped his fingers against the albino's freezing skin. Violet eyes widened slightly in surprise when he felt toned muscle against his fingers, he hadn't been expecting that after all of the countless beatings the younger had suffered through he still managed to stay well built. "Gilbert." The Prussian jolted at his name and Ivan could feel the racing heart beat that pulsed just beneath his arms.
"I…I…" Gilbert's mind froze, he knew what he wanted to say but he didn't know how to phrase it. Months of physical beatings and mentally scaring abuse in a sense shocked his ego and ability to be as cocky. He turned around in the Russian's arms, his mind racing, heart beating rapidly, and body literally frozen. Ivan looked down at him, eyes shaded in the darkness of the night, and tilted his head to the side some; confused by Gilbert's lack of speech. Scarlet eyes flickered away and back a few times and the albino bit his lip, conflicted about what he was about to do. Before he could convince himself it was a bad idea he pushed up on his tiptoes, ignoring the burning cold as best he could, and hesitantly pressed his lips against Ivan's.
The Russian's eyes widened and his hold on the younger Nation's waist loosened. Gilbert pulled back after a few seconds, his face a bright red and his eyes cast down. "I…I've wanted to do that since the beatings stopped…" He admitted although his answer was mumbled. 'He felt the same.' Was all Ivan could think as he looked down at the now slightly embarrassed Prussian before him. A smile tugged at the Russian's lips and he brought one hand up, his fingers barely grazing the heated skin of the Prussian's cheeks. As if knowing the silent command Gilbert looked up, eyes slightly watered. His heart was still beating too quickly in his chest and his mind had all but stopped logical thought process as he looked up into violet eyes.
Time seemed to run six times slower than it should have and Gilbert had to force himself to stay put, even though his body was practically screaming at him to run. Run now and run fast. Back to his room where he could lock the door, although that would prove futile, and scream into his pillow in frustration about what he had just done. But instead of doing any of that he stood still, froze by something other than Ivan holding him there. Ivan said nothing and gently cupped the side of Gilbert's face, feeling the quickened pulse under his finger tips. Gilbert shifted some as his mind slowly started to realize that it was cold and they were still outside in clothing not suitable for being outdoors. Carefully the Russian leaned down some to reach the younger's level and kissed him, only it wasn't hesitantly and shy it was thoughtful and determined.
It was the Prussian's turn for his eyes to widen in surprise, only instead of being let go of he wrapped his arms around Ivan's neck, pulling him closer as the Russian made the kiss deeper. Scarlet eyes fluttered closed and Gilbert felt himself pulled closer, the arm around his waist tightening. Pale hands ran through light blonde hair and they both pulled back, breathless. Another bout of cold wind blew up between them and Gilbert hid his face in Ivan's neck, shivering. "C-Can we go back in-inside now?" He asked again muttering something else under his breath when the Russian picked him up; bridle style.
"Of course, снежинка." Ivan said a real smile across his face as he walked back into the house through the door he had left open. He had finally broken, completely altered, the Prussian. The beatings were to keep his physical strength down so he wouldn't run away, the mental scaring/abuse was to keep him from thinking that anyone else actually cared that he was 'gone', and the unintentional kindness Ivan showed simply made the younger fall in love; which just happened to be a plus since Ivan had basically been in love with the albino since he was the Teutonic Knights.
As soon as the door behind them shut Ivan put Gilbert back on the ground, but kept him close as they followed their path back to the main part of the house. Gilbert was literally buzzing with renewed energy, something he hadn't felt since he had been brought here seven months ago. He wasn't sure why or where it came from, but he was glad to feel somewhat normal again. Finally his mind caught up with him and the entire conversation and stuck to the Russian word said to him. "What does that mean?" he asked, fear edging into his mind. He didn't know that word, had never even heard it before. Typically it was words like 'slave, pet, possession', the list went on. It was never something nice.
Ivan stopped, blinking in slight confusion. "You are my snowflake, da?" He asked, translating the word into English before using Russian again. A small smile flashed over the Prussian's lips, a nickname.