"What did you do to him?" Roderich blinked stupidly for a moment at the sudden shout, aware only a few moments later that Gilbert was no longer by his side- - -he was in the hands of a small Asian male who was fretting over Gilbert's sewn-up arm. "Gilbert-san, what happened?"

"Just...it's nothing, Kiku." Gilbert laughed, rubbing his head with his uninjured hand.

"Can you fix him?" Roderich asked curiously, stepping over to Gilbert's side again. The smaller male's head shot up at Roderich's question, dark eyes searching Roderich's critically. After a few unnerving moments of silence, where the only sound was the sound of orders being shouted in the background, the male nodded.

"Honda Kiku." He said as an introduction. "I am the head designer for all the mechas we create, as well as the head of the creation of said mechas." He peered curiously at Roderich once more. "As Elizabeta-san probably mentioned, I also check the orders that go into creating our mechas, and it appears I have made an erroneous assumption in the creation of Gilbert-san."

Relief filled Roderich, though he managed to keep it off his face when he thought of their true reason for returning- - -Gilbert's fit.

"Ah, well- - -"

"Unfortunately, even after Elizabeta-san explained everything to me, I feel it unnecessary to...ah, recall Gilbert-san, if you excuse the term I use." Roderich felt the relief flush out of his system, as surely as he felt the color draining from his face at the small mechanic's words. Before he could question what Kiku meant, the man's eyes dropped back to Gilbert's arm. "There's not much damage done- - -I shall have Gilbert-san back in your apartment by nightfall at least, if not early tomorrow morning."

"I- - -that is fine..." Roderich stammered. Kiku smiled at him, his dark eyes warming slightly as he turned.

"Come along, Gilbert-san." Kiku said easily, turning and walking briskly towards another part of the company.

Gilbert paused before turning to Roderich and kissing him fully, holding Roderich's collar tightly as he pressed his tongue through Roderich's lips and coaxed his own tongue to join the mecha's. Roderich groaned slightly, trying to push Gilbert away irritably, but he wouldn't so much as budge. With an internal roll of his eyes, Roderich allowed himself to give in slightly- - -he gave in enough to press back and move his tongue in time with Gilbert's- - -before pushing him off.

"Go on- - -it's not as though you'll be gone all day." Roderich muttered irritably. "Though one can hope." He added softly. Gilbert's ear twitched, but other than that he gave no notice he heard Roderich.

"See ya at home." Gilbert grinned. "Do your best today."

"Yes..." Roderich flushed when he realized that Kiku was watching them, a slightly amused expression on his face. "All right, I shall see you at home."

Gilbert turned and ran up to Kiku, who gently but firmly grabbed his uninjured arm and pulled him towards the back of the building; the silver-haired mecha turned once and waved at Roderich as he watched them disappear around a corner.

"Kiku will take good care of him, Roderich." A voice said suddenly, and he jumped about ten feet in the air.

"Ah, well, I...wha- - -beg pardon?" Roderich stammered as he whirled around, coming face to face...well, face to chest with a worker.

"Kiku." The worker gestured awkwardly to where Kiku and Gilbert disappeared. "He will take good care of him. Kiku feels this...parental vibe for all the mechas he creates. Gilbert was actually the very first one to be fully completed and operational, which usually gets him special treatment with Kiku and Elizabeta."

"And you are...?" Roderich asked warily, eyeing the taller male before him. He had blonde hair and clear blue eyes, which were trained awkwardly on the floor as he flushed lightly- - -this worker was clearly not used to talking much.

"Ludwig Beilschmidt." He said firmly, holding his hand out. "Elizabeta used my name in creating Gilbert- - -so, in a way, he's like my bruder..." Roderich raised an eyebrow and Ludwig flushed darker. "That's how Elizabeta puts it, ok? She wants all the mechas to feel wanted and loved, so she's assigned little 'families' to them, with herself and Kiku as the 'parents'."

"That is just like Elizabeta." Roderich chuckled and Ludwig smiled in response, slightly less awkward then he had been a few minutes prior.

"I- - -"

"~~~~~~~~!" Came a happy cry, and the blonde male was suddenly pushed slightly forward. A head popped up from over his shoulder, light brown hair with dark brown ears and eyes closed tightly. Ludwig sighed inaudibly and reached over with his left hand, patting the mecha softly as his face flushed dark red.

"This is my mecha, Feliciano Vargas." He muttered. "Feliciano, this is the man who bought bruder, Roderich Edelstein." The mecha- - -Feliciano, Roderich internally corrected- - -opened amber eyes and stared at him curiously.

"Ooooh..." He murmured slowly. Then he beamed brightly. "Gilbert can be a handful sometimes. I'm so glad you liked him!" Roderich flushed lightly and decided to...ah, not correct the innocent mecha's decidedly incorrect assumption. He felt as though denying the mecha his ideals would not be the best.

"Roderich? Don't you have a class to be teaching?" Elizabeta's voice called out, and Roderich turned to see her standing with another worker. She excused herself and hurried over to him. "Why are you still here?"

"Technically, they have a holiday today." Roderich shrugged, realizing belatedly he hadn't told Gilbert. "Besides, I was having a pleasant conversation with Ludwig and Feliciano." Elizabeta smiled warmly at the two, reaching out and touching one of Feliciano's ears.

"He's one of our favorites." She cooed. "Such a cute, happy mecha..." Feliciano grinned and made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like a purr. Ludwig flushed even more and carefully took the mecha off his back.

"I should get back to work." He coughed into his hand awkwardly and smiled slightly. "It was nice meeting you, Roderich. Take good care of bruder, please." With that, the blonde male departed swiftly. After a few minutes, Feliciano darted after him, waving goodbye over his shoulder as he shouted for Ludwig to wait for him.

"How many mechas have you created?" Roderich asked curiously, feeling shy around the object of his affections. As surprised as he was to bump into Elizabeta again, he wasn't willing to pass up an opportunity to get to know the girl again, as well as perhaps getting to date her.

"I'm not sure." Elizabeta looked to the roof, emerald eyes calculating. "Let's see, there's Yao, Gilbert, Feliciano and Lovino, Arthur, Heracles, Matthew..." As the woman trailed on, going on about the different personalities the mechas had, Roderich gazed at her with affection in his eyes- - -clearly, whatever had caused her sudden move to Hungary had not had any lasting effect on her. She remained as lively and passionate as he remembered.

He wasn't aware of moving until her hand was in his and she tilted her head questioningly.

"Elizabeta." He said slowly. "Would you care to catch up over a cup of coffee? There is much we could talk about." Elizabeta blinked slowly before a grin spread across her face. Laughing, she looped her arm through his and smiled at him.

"You sound so formal, Roderich." She sighed happily, placing her cheek on his shoulder and closing her eyes. "Just like I remembered. All right, a cup of coffee sounds good just about now. Let's go."


"I can't believe it, Gilbert-san." Kiku murmured as he took Gilbert's arm and began pulling the skin covering off. Gilbert shrugged and sat still, watching Kiku work as he gently tore off strips of 'skin'. "You seem so different already- - -so unlike yourself."

"I've only been gone two, maybe three days, tops." Gilbert laughed, careful to not move his arm too much. "And Roddy and I, we were here the other day."

"I know." Kiku sighed, cutting the 'skin' at Gilbert's shoulder and placing it on the table next to him. A mass of technology sat before him, mimicking the human arm with metal and tubes. Taking the mechanical hand, Kiku twisted it slowly until he located a thin tube that had been sliced neatly in half. "Flex your fingers, Gilbert-san."

Gilbert obeyed, and the mass of metal moved the way a human hand would, fingers flexing with ease.

"Perhaps I feel that way because Gilbert-san is the first to officially leave the factory." Kiku said, taking notes as he effortlessly continued their earlier conversation. Picking up the technology before him, Kiku took a piece of tubing and attached it to the sliced tube. Despite how bad it probably looked to Roderich, the tube was only cut in one place. "This may hurt slightly- - -the nerve endings this deep have yet to shut off."

"Got it, Kiku." Gilbert winced slightly when Kiku got a hot mixture to attach the tubing together. "Really? I would have figured someone was bought."

"Oh, some are in use." Kiku said, swiftly gluing the tubes and smiling at his work. "Feliciano-san, for example. Flex again, and then lift your arm."

"Little Feli?" Gilbert questioned, obeying a second time and doing as ordered. "Who has him?"

"Ludwig-san." Kiku took more notes. "He brings Feliciano with him to work every day; or rather, Feliciano doesn't want to stay home alone, so he stays here, unless Ludwig brings him to his home. It's almost as if he'd never been purchased. Touch the ground, then bend your elbow." As Gilbert obeyed, he grinned.

"So does Ludwig seem happier with Feli?" Kiku made a noncommittal noise and Gilbert laughed. "That's great- - -I'd imagined Feli to be a good mecha for him. He needs to loosen up a bit anyway."

"If you want, you may see them now." Kiku said, smiling gently at the mecha before him as Gilbert's ears twitched. "The tubing needs to dry properly, then we need to run some tests to make sure it works properly before we add the 'skin' to it again."

"Got it Kiku." Gilbert jumped off the table he had been sitting at and, with a slight bow to the Asian male, he took off running down the hall. He hadn't seen anyone the last time he had been there, so he was excited to see everyone again- - -

He skid to a stop as he realized that Roderich was still there, talking to Elizabeta. Gilbert frowned, confused- - -wasn't Roderich supposed to be in class? He was late...

Elizabeta laughed suddenly, and as Gilbert watched, took Roderich's arm in her own before leaning her head on his shoulders. Gilbert's stomach dropped at the adoring look in Roderich's violet eyes- - -I've never seen him look so content and...happy...- - -as the two walked out. Feeling a sudden weight on his shoulders, Gilbert took a few steps back and leaned against a wall, taking deep breaths. He covered his eyes with his hands, briefly considering going back to Kiku, when there was a small noise from in front of him, sounding suspiciously like a throat clearing.

Moving his hand and plastering his trade-marked grin on his face, Gilbert looked down at the mecha before him. Slightly long wavy blonde hair and violet eyes peered up at him from behind a white bear. The mecha before him wore a baggy red and white sweater decorated with a maple leaf, blue jeans underneath that and had no shoes or socks on. His bare feet rocked him back and forth as he shook lightly, though he managed a small smile for Gilbert.

"Hello, Gilbert." He murmured unsurely, hugging the bear tighter, his golden ears and tail twitching side to side nervously. Gilbert tilted his head to the side curiously as he assessed the mecha before him.

"Ah..." He trailed off slightly, and the boy's face fell slightly as he hugged the bear tighter. The bear squeaked, letting out a mechanical sounding 'who?', as Gilbert laughed. "Mattie!" Gilbert threw his arms around him, pulling the smaller boy's face into his chest. "You know I was just joking, Mattie. How's it going?"

"The same." Came from his chest, muffled under Gilbert's black tank top that Kiku gave the mechas when he worked on fixing them. "It's quieter without you, though."

"Aww, does that mean you miss me?" Gilbert teased, pulling away and ruffling the blonde hair. Matthew grinned slightly and ducked his face back into the bear, muffling his response even more.

"I thought I heard your voice." Gilbert's head snapped to the left, hand still buried in Matthew's hair, as one of the older mechas came forward. He was Asian, and had long black hair that was pulled into a braid at the nape of his neck. Smiling gently at the two, he came to a stop before them.

"Yao." Gilbert grinned, releasing Matthew's hair and bowing slightly at the mecha.

"Welcome back, Gilbert, aru." Yao tucked his hands through his sleeves and bowed back, the braid falling over his shoulder as he did. "How are things with Roderich?"

"Fine." Gilbert answered- - -too quickly. Both Matthew and Yao looked at him with a raised eyebrow, though Matthew's look disappeared a few seconds later as he gently grasped Gilbert's hand.

"Come on," he said softly, beaming up at him. "Everyone will be excited to see you again."

Matthew lead him down the hall and through a door where there were mechas lounging around. One was curled on the floor like the cat it resembled, head using it's arms as a pillow as it's ears twitched unconsciously. Another was sitting in a corner of the room, staring at the ceiling above it and talking warmly to itself. In the opposite corner, two more sat, both peering down at a handheld game one was playing furiously, a red flush on his cheeks as he cussed the game out in fluent Italian.

When they heard the door open, they all looked up (with the exception of the one sleeping).

"Gilbert!"

"Feliciano!" Feliciano ran up to Gilbert, throwing himself at the taller mecha with everything he had, his arms wrapping around Gilbert's neck as his legs wrapped around the silver haired mecha's waist.

"How's everyone?" Gilbert asked, Feliciano securely on him. The over eager mecha purred something unintelligible as he rubbed his cheek on Gilbert's face, his excitement making small tears of happiness form in the corner of his eyes. From the corner of the room, Lovino glowered at him, game forgotten.

"Don't think that just because you were bought and whatever I forgive you." The mecha growled, tail twitching irritably. "I haven't forgotten what you did to fratello and that German bastard you call your brother." He was almost identical to his brother, but his eyes were green, and his hair darker than Feliciano's. For some strange reason, Kiku had designed them to look as identical as possible while Elizabeta gave them completely different personalities- - -Feliciano was fun and loving, caring too much about anything and everything. Lovino, on the other hand, acted like a spoiled rotten child with a sailor's mouth.

It amused Gilbert to no end to just piss off the 'older' twin.

"Shut up, git." Came an irritable voice. "You're scaring everyone." Gilbert turned to see emerald eyes fixed firmly on the sky, and the pale mecha couldn't help the snort that came out- - -Arthur Kirkland.

"Still seeing unicorns and faeries, mate?" Gilbert asked, mocking Arthur's British accent. The blonde mecha glared at him out of the corner of his eye, but didn't move.

"Shove it." He muttered angrily, flipping him off. Gilbert chuckled that time- - -Arthur's 'ability' to see faeries came a long while after he was made. He and Gilbert had been racing around in the grass outside the original headquarters of Mecha Love Corp in Hungary when Gilbert had spotted Matthew, half-finished, struggling to come out into the yard. The younger blonde mecha had somehow managed to get off the operating table and drag himself to the door, his legs not working properly and only half covered in 'skin'. Gilbert skid to a stop, and Arthur didn't have time to do much but throw his arms out to the side as he crashed headfirst into the grass, damaging several pieces in his mind.

Kiku had tried to fix him to the best of his abilities, but a side effect of Arthur's damage had him seeing faeries and unicorns and other imaginary animals.

"...hey, Gilbert..." came a sleepy murmur from below him. Gilbert crouched down to look Heracles in the eyes, one pair opening and closing sleepily. "...haven't seen you around lately..."

"Been bought, buddy." Gilbert smirked. "Where've you been?" Heracles blinked a few more times.

"...sleeping..." He murmured finally. Gilbert shook his head, standing up again so the brown-haired mecha could go back to sleep.

"What a sloth." Gilbert sighed. "I'll never understand why Kiku created you."

"...'m Kiku's now..." Heracles called up to him. "...started yesterday..." Gilbert threw his head back and laughed, Feliciano laughing with him.

"Anyway!" He called out. "I'm only here for a limited time, so we'll all have to get everything outta our system before I leave again!"

"Shut up!" Lovino snarled. "No one cares!"

"Veeeee, fratello, be nice! What if we never see Gilbert again?" Feliciano scolded, releasing Gilbert. "Wouldn't that be sad?"

"Fuck no!" Lovino spat back. "The sooner he's gone, the better!"

"Hey!" Everyone turned to look at Yao, who had his hands on Matthew's shoulders. "Matthew has a question, aru." Everyone turned to look at the blonde, whose tail moved slowly from side to side as he hugged his mecha-bear tighter. "Go on, aru."

"What...what's it like?" Matthew asked quietly. "Outside, in the real world? What's it like, Gilbert?" The soft-spoken question got everyone's attention; Lovino moved out of his corner to crouch by Feliciano, who was sitting by Gilbert's feet. Heracles sat up slowly, brown ears twitching as he rubbed his eyes and looked at the group sleepily. Yao smiled down at Matthew, moving them both so they were closer as well. Even Arthur stopped staring at the ceiling and turned to them, his emerald eyes looking over curiously.

Gilbert tilted his head back as he thought, placing his hands behind his silver hair as he sighed.

"Well." He started, sitting down and placing his hand on Matthew's head. "I guess if I have to explain it..."


"Ah, Roderich, I've really missed you." Elizabeta sighed happily as she rubbed her eyes. "It's hard to believe it's been so long since we've last spoken." Roderich smiled warmly at her over his coffee- - -they had been sitting together for close to three hours, talking about whatever came to mind with the same effortlessness that had been there when they were younger. She smiled back warmly, her eyes sparkling.

"It's been great seeing you, Elizabeta." Roderich responded. "It always has been." It was especially nice knowing that Kiku was just a friend and co-worker of the Hungarian. Roderich felt himself smile as he watched Elizabeta with unhidden affection. He leaned over the table slightly, wondering if it would be too forward of him to kiss her, when Elizabeta shook her head, stopping him in his movements.

The woman's eyes turned gentle when he gave her a confused look and she reached across the table, holding Roderich's hand in her own.

"I know what you're doing, Roderich." She said softly. "It's not going to work."

"I- - -" Elizabeta shook her head and held onto his hand tighter.

"Gilbert loves you." She told him. "I can tell- - -he acts different around you. Not completely different, but different enough." Roderich was reminded suddenly of Kiku's peering eyes, gazing at him critically. Elizabeta shook her head again. "I couldn't do that to Gilbert, or to any of my mechas." Elizabeta shrugged slightly. "I'm sorry."

"They aren't real people, Elizabeta." Roderich said gently, after thinking about what to say. "Whatever you're convinced Gilbert feels, or even Feliciano, they don't feel it. They aren't people like you and me, Elizabeta. They're computers, in the form of people. They don't have the same emotions and abilities we do. Eventually, Gilbert and Feliciano and all the other mechas you've created will break down and be destro- - -" SLAP!

Everyone in the coffee house turned to look at the couple in the corner who, until a few moments ago, been talking civilly. Elizabeta looked furious, her hand still in the air as if she was considering backhanding Roderich as well. Roderich, for his part, had his hand on his cheek in shock, staring at the emerald-eyed woman in surprise.

"That's not important." She hissed angrily, grabbing Roderich's face and tilting it up to look at her over the table. "They feel every emotion we do- - -and they're more sensitive than we are. You know this; I could tell by the way you acted with Feliciano. It's the same thing with Gilbert. You acted differently around Feliciano than you did with Gilbert. I could see it. With him, you're harsher and more like a spoiled aristocrat. But with Feli, you brought your attitude down a notch and you interacted with him the same way you interacted with Ludwig."

"That's completely different!" Roderich snapped angrily, standing as well to be on eye level with Elizabeta.

"How so?" She challenged angrily, and Roderich thought she looked rather like a wildcat- - -absolutely beautiful, but full of power...and willing to do anything to protect her 'young'. "It's not fair to Gilbert that you do that to him." She shook her head and placed money on the table, grabbing Roderich's arm and taking him with her. "Let's go- - -you've got to go home and I need to get back to work."


So, I had this chapter ending on a more parental!Kiku x child!Gilbert moment, but then the last half of the chapter got deleted. I hope I continued to keep them in character, and thanks for all the awesome reviews! (my favorite was from the one who said they read the manga but liked my version better- - -that made me feel all warm and happy...)