Roderich lay in his bed, blinking slowly.

The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone- - -there was a slightly warm, breathing being next to him. Hesitantly, Roderich turned his head to look at his bedmate; upon seeing Gilbert's silver hair and ears, Roderich relaxed slightly, laying his head back on the pillow and sighing lightly.

At least he had some control, Roderich thought. He hadn't allowed Gilbert to go any further than the first time they met (which felt so long ago...), and though the silverette whined and made promises in that husky voice of his, Roderich had managed to stay firm until Gilbert gave up.

Roderich turned to Gilbert again; the paler male was sleeping on his stomach, arms crossed under the pillow. His breaths were deep and even, and every now and then his eyelids would twitch- - -like a real person's eyes would in deep sleep- - -making Roderich wonder what was going through his head. Gilbert's 'skin' was pale and unmarred; Roderich couldn't help but reach out, his fingertips hovering over the white shoulder.

"Roddy..." Gilbert mumbled in his sleep, shifting his shoulders. His movement caused Roderich's fingertips to touch him, and once he did it was almost as if Roderich couldn't stop. He traced the same pattern into Gilbert's 'skin', his fingers going in circles on Gilbert's arm and shoulder. The small touches caused Gilbert's eyelids to flutter slightly before opening halfway, his crimson eyes staring sleepily at Roderich.

For a moment, both just stared at each other, neither saying a word.

Then Gilbert shifted again, turning onto his side so that he could face Roderich properly, the blanket that had been pulled up to his shoulder blades slipping down to pool around his hips, his head held up by his hand.

"Morning." He murmured lazily, blinking slowly as he realized Roderich had yet to remove his hand from Gilbert's shoulder.

"Good morning." Roderich replied, moving his free arm to cushion his head as he sighed in contentment. Though he had initially been surprised to find Gilbert with him, Roderich was all but amazed at how easily he had accepted the other's presence in his room- - -even in his bed. Sighing again, Roderich closed his eyes as he relaxed against the warmth coming from the blankets and from Gilbert.

The silence that filled the room was comfortable and lazy, almost like a typical Sunday morning. Neither male moved from the bed save the occasional shifting to remain comfortable on the mattress.

After a few moments, Gilbert couldn't help himself and hesitantly reached out, touching Roderich's face with a feather like touch; Roderich opened one eye lazily and watched Gilbert for a moment before shutting his eyes again. Feeling slightly more confident, Gilbert began tracing Roderich's face, not missing the way Roderich tilted his head slightly into Gilbert's hand.

The phone rang suddenly, shattering through the peaceful atmosphere and causing both males to groan in unison. Roderich moved to get up, but Gilbert's arm slung itself around the violet-eyed male's waist and pulled him backwards, into Gilbert's chest.

"Just ignore it." He pleaded slightly, not willing to release the man who had finally began accepting his advances and letting him work as he was supposed to. Roderich seemed to think about it; as he thought, the phone abruptly stopped ringing. Gilbert grinned tiredly and placed his head back on his propped up arm. "See? It was that- - -"

The phone went off again and Gilbert allowed his head to fall face-first into the pillow, muttering muffled obscenities. Roderich smiled down at him, patting his head slightly before getting out of the bed, locating a shirt before pulling it on (it was much too large for his small frame, and he knew almost instantly it belonged to Gilbert), and wandering down the hall into the living room, where the phone was ringing again.

As he did, Roderich found his thoughts wandering towards Gilbert, laying half-buried in the mass of blankets and pillows.

Maybe, he mused as he answered the phone, they could find a way to make this work out.

"Hello?"

"Roderich? Is everything all right? How's Gilbert? Why did you hang up on me last night? You weren't too hard on him, were you?" Roderich blinked slightly at the torrent if questions that attacked his ears as soon as he spoke.

"Elizabeta?" He asked slowly, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "Slow down, please- - -one at a time!"

"I'm sorry." The Hungarian woman said breathlessly, making Roderich smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gilbert stumble into the room, not stopping until he was behind Roderich. The violet-eyed male rolled his eyes and leaned backwards, his head making contact with Gilbert's bare shoulder.

"It's fine, Elizabeta," Roderich murmured, and he felt Gilbert tense slightly behind him. "What is it you needed?"

"I just wanted to make sure everything's alright," Elizabeta replied as Gilbert's arms wrapped possessively around Roderich's waist. "You sounded a bit upset last night, when you hung up."

"I had things to sort out, and I needed the comfort that came from playing the piano is all." Roderich muttered, eyes closing- - -Gilbert was so warm, something that didn't surprise Roderich in the least- - -as he relaxed as much as he could.

The sudden need for contact with Gilbert startled Roderich- - -but he figured it was easily explained. After all, he had gone a long time with no one to do any of the things he had been doing with Gilbert lately; and besides that,Gilbert had been created for him, to be specifically his companion, and the mecha had- - -

Roderich's eyes flew open when two things registered suddenly: one, he hadn't referred to Gilbert as a mecha in a while, couldn't even remember the last time he used the word 'mecha', and two...

Well, Gilbert had hung up the phone with a sense of finality.

"Hey, Roderich?" Gilbert called out, even though the man he was addressing was in his arms. "Let's go out on a date."

"A date?" Roderich repeated, staring at the phone. "Where would we go?"

"I dunno," Gilbert shrugged, and Roderich felt the movement against his head. "Out."

"Isn't Elizabeta going to be mad you hung up on her?" Roderich asked, trying to think of a response. "She had concerns about us, you know."

"She'll live." Roderich rolled his eyes, but sighed nonetheless. "Well?"

"Fine, fine." Roderich pushed Gilbert away and stretched slightly. "When?"

"Now." Roderich stared at Gilbert with wide eyes, but before he could protest, Gilbert grabbed his arm and dragged him into the room.


"Why are we at the park?" Roderich asked, looking around. The park was by his house, but it was different from any park he'd ever been to before. There was a trail, leading into trees, and passing picnic benches. Gilbert grinned owlishly at him, reaching down and grabbing Roderich's wrist.

"Just follow me, all right?" Gilbert teased. "Don't get lost." Roderich flushed, but Gilbert tugged his arm and kept walking. Soon, the picnic benches were far behind them, and Roderich could hear the sound of running water. Blinking, Roderich looked around the trail, eyes widening slightly at the sight of all the trees around him.

"This is amazing." He breathed softly, slowing down as he walked the trail. Gilbert's hand slipped and ended up in Roderich's, which made Gilbert turn curiously.

"We're almost there." Gilbert promised, tightening his grip on Roderich's hand. Roderich nodded once, vaguely intertwining their fingers before moving onwards.

They reached a part of the path that diverged into two paths, and Gilbert lead Roderich down the path that went to their left; as they approached, a mass of trees went off the path.

"That's our spot." Gilbert said, pulling Roderich under a tree branch. "Watch your step- - -the ground's uneven, and there are branches everywhere." Roderich complied, keeping an eye on the floor and stepping carefully around the trees as he did so.

"Why- - -" Roderich stopped as he took in his surroundings. The trees didn't block out all the sunlight, so streams of sun were at various places in the clearing. The clearing, however, was completely surrounded by trees, cut off from the trail. It wasn't a grassy clearing, with flowers and whatnot, but it was a nice-looking and clean space among the trees.

"So, while you were teaching, I managed to get out and found the park." Gilbert explained, tugging slightly on the beanie he wore whenever he went outside nervously. "I ended up wandering around, and found this spot."

"It's great..." Roderich murmured. Gilbert grinned proudly before glancing around furtively.

When it appeared no one was any where near them, Gilbert took his chances and pulled Roderich against his chest; tilting the brunette's head up, Gilbert leaned down and pressed his lips firmly against Roderich's. In one part of him, he noted the different reactions Roderich had to how he kissed his master, saving it for later references in an almost detached manner. It was a small part, though, and the majority of him was noting on how good it felt having Roderich press back, his tongue entwining with Gilbert's own as Gilbert searched inside Roderich's mouth.

Roderich, for his part, kept his hands tightly gripping Gilbert's forearms as he was kissed senseless. Each time Gilbert kissed him left him wanting more and more, especially after last night. It was with disappointment on both sides that Gilbert finally pulled away, a smile on his face even as his forehead touched Roderich's.

"I brought food." Gilbert panted quietly. "Let's eat." Roderich allowed a small smile to cross his face before pulling away and helping Gilbert set up the food.


"Should we call Roderich again and tell him?" Elizabeta worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she leaned against the edge of her desk, Kiku sitting in the chair beside her with a cup of tea in front of him. "Or keep quiet?"

"I think this is not something that should be rushed, Elizabeta-san." Kiku said calmly, reaching for the tea and blowing at the steam to cool it. "After all, it has to be willing on both sides, and not something that should be done to prevent certain consequences."

"Gilbert will be crushed, though." Elizabeta groaned, uncrossing her arms and rubbing her face in frustration. "Why did you bring this up, Kiku?" Kiku sipped his tea as he thought of an appropriate way to word his thoughts and concerns.

"I am not worried about the company," he started slowly, "though I admit it had been taken into consideration. No, my concerns lie with Gilbert-san. He has devoted himself fully and utterly to one man who may or may not be able to reciprocate anything. And while Roderich-san may be making an effort now, it took far too long to get to this point. I fear the next point may take even longer, if it occurs at all." Kiku met Elizabeta's emerald eyes with worried dark ones; a worry that came from a father to his child, and Elizabeta sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I don't want Gilbert-san to be waiting forever for one thing that may never happen."

"One more week." Elizabeta said finally, her eyes closed. "We'll give them one more week, and then we gather Gilbert and bring him back. Ok?" Kiku nodded once, his eyes returning to the desk as he continued sipping his tea.

'Please,' he thought, almost praying with the hope that filled his thoughts and body, 'prove me wrong, Gilbert-san. Please.'


Filler-ish chapter. XD I feel as though things are moving slightly too fast, but, eh, whatever. XD I don't really care.