A/N: Here's the next chapter! Sorry for updating really late.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Hetalia.
The house was quiet and peaceful without Gillian. Roderich was unsure whether to be happy with that fact or not.
He could take a break from her constant complaining and screaming. On the other hand, he missed her presence. She brought warmth and life in the home, in his heart.
Setting his thoughts of her aside, he tried to focus on other things, like playing his piano and composing pieces that his wife might like. He was still sore over the reason why Gillian fled the house after he played her one such piano piece. He truly had no idea it would make her cry!
Nowadays he was careful with her feelings, so very easily crushed by words or actions. Before her pregnancy she could take any and every insult thrown at her, and come up with a better one in retaliation.
She was pregnant now, he had to keep that in mind; the doctor did advise him to choose his words wisely and to be considerate. Sure he had broken the first rule, but he had kept the second faithfully.
He was considerate enough to give her space. He allowed her to run back to her brother's house! Speaking of her brother, Roderich needed to call Ludwig again to check if Gillian was doing well under his care.
While the bespectacled pianist wondered over the welfare of his wife away from home, he absolutely had no idea how splendidly life was faring for the Beilschmidt siblings.
"Gillian, you're being childish!" "No I'm not, and I don't wanna get older! I wanna stay young and awesome, now let go!" "Gillian, I swear you'll break something again!" "It's gonna be your fault for not letting go!"
Both siblings were locked in a heated glaring contest, neither relinquishing hold of a huge stuffed panda bear.
"Let go or I'm calling Roderich and telling him you're being such a spoiled brat."
"Coward."
Ludwig heaved a sigh. His sister could be quite a force to be reckoned with, and to think that this was only the beginning…
When the first rays of the sun were still peeking over the horizon, Ludwig had awoken to a horrible crash in his sister's room and had jumped out of bed to investigate. He was shocked to find his sister wide awake and cackling wildly as she whirled around the room with the stuffed panda bear she must have dug out of the closet.
At first he was surprised at how early she had awoken; she always slept in until nine in the morning and even then she would be in a hellish mood if disturbed, but right now she was awake even before the sun had fully risen in the sky.
As for her weird behavior with a stuffed toy, it was nothing but a common occurrence, but Ludwig had to make sure things were under control.
She could lose her balance and trip, and that would be bad for the baby. Or, she could lose her balance, trip and break something, and that would be bad for him. Remembering his broken window, he decided that while his sister was around, all things breakable in his house were at risk. Somehow her accident prone tendencies had increased during her pregnancy.
His sister could find something less risky to do while staying over.
Which led to an hour of deadly tug-of-war between both of them, neither relinquishing hold of the poor stuffed toy being pulled here and there. Gillian snarled at him from her precarious perch atop her bed, the sheets pooled around her feet as she gave a fierce tug. Ludwig kept his deadpan expression although he worried internally if his sister might slip and fall.
Why was everything so risky when it came to her? Why did he have to entertain her in the most ridiculous manner possible? Why did she still have to be so immature? What had he done to deserve this?
He tightened his grip on the toy and tried to pry Gillian's fingers off. He didn't expect her to retaliate by biting his hand instead. He withdrew with a startled yelp, finally releasing the stuffed panda. Their little war ended in Gillian's victory as she held the toy above her head like a trophy, grinning at him as he nursed his hand, the bite marks visibly red and tender. He hissed a curse and lunged for the toy once again. He knew she was stubborn and hell-bent to have things her way, but then again maybe his sister must have forgotten that he was just as stubborn.
Only when the phone rang did both stop their struggle and simultaneously drop the abused panda on Gillian's bed. They shared a look; Gillian's gaze was accusing, Ludwig's stare was clueless.
"Must be my darling husband calling to see if we haven't murdered each other yet," she muttered, tangling her fingers in her long silvery hair as she hopped off the bed carefully, a lazy smile ghosting on her lips. "I'm gonna shower first, obviously that phone call's for you."
"Fine, don't take too long. If it's Roderich on the phone he might ask for you," Ludwig murmured in reply, rolling his eyes as Gillian mouthed good luck, her own eyes gleaming in amusement.
Roderich bit his lower lip as he waited. 'Pick up, please.' His mind whirling with all the possibilities of mishaps and accidents. He had no idea why he was suddenly nervous. Maybe because Ludwig might greet him with a long list of damaged furniture he would have to pay off due to Gillian's recklessness? His heart skipped a beat as someone finally picked up the phone, and his voice did not just squeak as he heard Ludwig's deep baritone over the receiver!
Recomposing himself, Roderich evened out his tone and went straight to the point before the other could make a comment. "Did Gillian cause you trouble?" "She broke one of my windows." Okay. So something really did happen. Roderich tried to recall the contents of his wallet at the moment, until Ludwig's voice broke him out of his mental calculations, just as if he could read minds, "You don't have to pay for it, Roderich. Gilllian took care of it."
Huh? Gillian? Take responsibility for her actions? If he recalled correctly, his wife didn't even bring spare change with her when she left. How did she pay for it then?
"Roderich, are you still there? Was that all you wanted to ask?"
"Huh? Oh no, I-I mean, I'm sorry my wife is being a burden to you, Ludwig. if there's anything I can do to make up for it-"
"Everything's under control. She's my schwester, I'm used to it."
" But still…! So where is she?"
"In the shower."
"Oh. Please don't hesitate to call me if she does something troublesome, okay?"
'She already has, and the day hasn't officially begun yet.' Ludwig thought to himself as he tuned out the rest of Roderich's ramblings; Gillian finally done with her shower, her hair glistening wet as she came into view with a towel wrapped around her body. She tiptoed closer until she was practically dripping on him and he tried to shoo her away. Go and change, he mouthed as she grinned at him.
"…Ludwig,"
"Yes? Anything else, Roderich?"
"No, I was wondering and, uhh…I'll wait until she's finished with her shower. I'd like to speak with her, if that's okay."
'Good timing. She's done.' Without another word, the younger Beilschmidt instantly thrust the phone into the elder's hands before heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
"This is the awesome me speaking," "Gillian!" "Good morning to you too, Roddy. You called early! It's not even eight in the morning yet." she crooned over the phone, a teasing smile on her lips, a bit disappointed that her husband could not see it.
"Gillian, please do not cause trouble for your brother," came the plea. "Oh don't worry, West loves me so much he's practically immune to whatever trouble I cause. He needs a bit of action and suspense in his life too, you know, ever since you whisked me away to your evil lair and played the hypnotic piano of doom, life in this house must have been lonely for my little brother! You're to blame, Roddy!" she accused, the teasing lilt in her tone making Roderich sigh.
"As long as you don't give me a reason to drag you back here, please behave."
"I'm not your kid, I'm your wife."
"Yes, and you're supposed to be here, not there."
"You're not supposed to be as whiney as I am. You know why I left. I need a breath of fresh air…and some wurst, I can smell breakfast!"
Sensing that his wife was already distracted by the prospect of a meal, Roderich murmured "Okay, Gil. Take care," in which he earned a chuckle from his wife. "Don't miss me too much, priss." Gillian sighed before she hung up, leaving Roderich to mull over their conversation, a small smile spreading over his lips as he heaved a sigh of relief.
Yes, maybe he shouldn't miss her so much as long as she was doing fine. She seemed to be in a better mood so maybe being at Ludwig's house did some wonders to her mood, or maybe her brother just knew how to deal with her.
"Aren't you being a little cold to him? He is your husband, both of you should settle your problems together, not run away and avoid seeing each other. Please think things over, schwester. That's not the way a married couple should treat each other."
"And are you fucking married, West? Read one more of those fucking romance novels your pretty airhead of a girlfriend leaves behind and one of these days I sure as hell am gonna raid your closet and cause a scandal. You know what I mean, and I'm serious about it. You may be an adult now, but that doesn't make you a fucking expert on married life. Don't try to tell me what to do." The tone in Gillian's voice clearly betrayed her increasing irritation at the topic of conversation. However, Ludwig was determined to drive his point home.
"I'm just saying-"
"You're saying I'm wrong in doing this," she cut off with a sneer as she dumped her empty plate in the sink before turning back to face her brother with a challenging glare.
"No, I-well, yes but I think it's time you end this little war you're having with your husband over this pregnancy issue, don't you think it would happen sooner or later?" There was a pause, Gillian clenching her fists as she leaned against the kitchen sink. Ludwig sighed as he waited for a reply.
Why did his sister have to be so stubborn at a time like this? Gillian was trying to rebel, chafing against a sudden responsibility pushed into her life. She was dealing with her problem the wrong way and making it worse in the process. She was threatening the love and security of her married life with Roderich.
"I made it perfectly clear. If we wanted to have a kid, it would be later, but this thing," she said, patting her stomach. To her right now, it looked so big and rounded when it was still just a small lump. Her belly wasn't even protruding so much yet. Maybe she was hallucinating already?
"This isn't what I wanted at the moment. You'll think I'm being unreasonable and idealistic, but what would you do if someone suddenly banned you from the things you deemed most precious in the world?" By the odd lilt in her voice, Ludwig knew the root of the entire mess started with the beer abstinence.
His sister was too proud and too egotistic for her own good, and she almost always never owned up to her mistakes. But this was too much; not having beer for several months doesn't mean she could hate both her husband and her unborn child!
"You mean to say that the only reason being pregnant is a life-threatening problem to you is because you can't have beer, you can't go anywhere without supervision and your diet has been strictly limited; you're being too selfish, and you know Roderich's only doing what he deems best for you." There was a tense silence between them, and Ludwig felt a tinge of guilt creep up his spine as he saw the way Gillian's shoulders tensed, her eyes now glaring hard at the floor.
Finally she looked up, a flash of hurt in those eyes as her lips quivered, "I thought you could comfort me and make me forget what I have become. Things have changed, things which I did not wish for. Everything happens so quickly it's unawesome; I thought you would have understood me. I was wrong." her last words were spoken in a whisper as she brushed past a stunned Ludwig.
What could he do now when he only aggravated the situation further? Ludwig resisted the urge to slam his head against the nearest wall. What could he do now? If his sister was deliberately making life miserable as a form of rebellion, he knew he stood little chance of changing her mind, especially right now when a part of her fear was unwittingly exposed, right when she felt her pride threatened. Maybe trying to help Gillian and Roderich wasn't a smart move. And for that Ludwig knew his sister was right, what the hell did he know about married life with its turbulent ups and downs?
The rest of the day drifted by quickly although a dark and heavy cloud hung over the Beilschmidt residence. Ludwig knew something must be done to appease his sister. The last time they had gotten into some form of a cold war was when Gillian wanted to keep an entire roost of fluffy yellow chicks in the house, and Ludwig vehemently protested. The elder sulked for half a month and refused to acknowledge the younger even when he broke her bedroom door down just to elicit a reaction from her. In the end, he let her keep one chick in her room, and even by presenting the peace offering it took two days for her to finally get over it and accept him as her younger brother once more. But this current situation was something worse than that, and this time her enemy was her own husband.
When she didn't leave her room for dinner Ludwig began to worry. Maybe he went overboard in trying to talk some sense into her. As he stood hesitantly in front of her bedroom door he prepared himself for whatever reaction she would greet him with.
Perhaps she would be violent and throw furniture at him, or maybe she would yell and curse until the whole neighborhood would hear. Or maybe, just maybe and he hoped it wouldn't be the case, that she would be silent and sulky.
"Gillian," he murmured loud enough for her to hear him.
No response.
He tried again. "I brought you dinner," He held his breath. One, two, five seconds before he heard a muffled growl and a thump of a body hitting the floor. He stiffened as the door swung open revealing Gillian with puffy red eyes and disheveled hair greet him with a snarl. He kept his mouth clamped shut as she warily eyed the meal he brought her.
When she made no move to take it, he hesitantly offered it to her as a small wave of guilt washed over his features and his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled as Gillian merely raised an eyebrow at his gesture.
"Please, just take it-"
"Come inside. I don't want to see you stand before me like an abused puppy." An amused smile ghosted over her lips for second before she gestured for him to follow her inside her dark and messy room. Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief; his peace offering worked!
"If ever you decide to propose to that sweet lover of yours, and the moment she says yes, and both of you plan the wedding make sure of one very important thing,"
"What would it be?"
"Make sure you're prepared to be tied down to that one girl for the entirety of your life physically, mentally and emotionally. If you aren't prepared for life in matrimony then don't bother proposing at all, you understand?"
Gillian watched as Ludwig struggled to come up with a response. "Er, your point is?" he finally managed to utter. Gillian wanted to slap herself right then and there.
Seriously, West was a bit slow nowadays, and maybe it had something to do with spending so much time with his Italian sweetheart. That chick was rubbing off on him both positively and negatively.
"Don't make the same mistake I did, West. It's one of the most unawesome mistakes I've committed in my awesome life."
"Oh? Which was the most unawesome mistake?"
"Falling in love with the priss I vowed to hate."
Gillian snuggled into the covers, her head nestled on her brother's lap as he sat at the edge of the bed.
"I thought I could hate him forever. Turns out I was slowly being drawn into his net of fanciful prissiness. Next thing I knew, I'm wearing the gold band around my finger and I'm now fucking Mrs. Edelstein! I just about lost a third of my awesomeness in that manner. And now," she sighed heavily, "And now I'm having a baby I'm not prepared to love and care for. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do with my life, if you can still call it that."
"Why are you feeling so insecure? What happened to the Gillian who could take on every problem that came her way? What happened to the Gillian who feared nothing?" Ludwig asked mockingly, hoping to boost some of his sister's already huge ego in an attempt to drive away her depression. It usually worked and his sister would perk up to meet his challenge. Then it would be back to normal. He truly did not expect her to answer him in a manner different from what he imagined.
"That was the awesome Gillian Maria Beilschmidt. I'm no longer that anymore, Ludwig, and I'm afraid that as every month passes by, I lose my original awesome self. I'm losing who and what I am."
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think. Honestly I feel Gillian's being rather OOC here, and too emotional as well. The next chapter will resolve her problems, I think. And hopefully, she'll be able to move on and be her normal self.