Roderich lay in his bed, blinking awake slowly.

He felt...calm, for the most part, or at the very least, not as stressed as he'd been for the past week or so. There was a warmth radiating at his side, moving evenly and creating a slight noise to the right of him, and Roderich kept his eyes closed for a moment as he took in the sensation. The first time Gilbert had slept next to him, it had been so unexpected that Roderich hadn't been entirely sure how to react. Knowing that he was there now, aware that he'd invited him in the first place, made Roderich want...something, though he wasn't quite sure what. He wasn't entirely willing to get up and start the day, however, he knew that much for certain. Uncertain as to what, exactly, he'd be seeing, Roderich turned his head to the right.

Gilbert was lying on his stomach, arms under the pillow. His breathing was barely there, but it was present and even in his sleep. He had his eyes opened still, focused primarily on Roderich, though the color was extremely dulled from his usual bright red; they looked more rust colored than blood colored, and the irises spun counter-clockwise in a slow, steady circle. It was still more than a little unsettling that they did that, and Roderich reached out with a finger to press against the eye gently. It slid shut as his finger approached it, and Roderich found himself tracing a small, barely there pattern on Gilbert's face with his fingertip. His ear twitched on top of his head, and his face scrunched up a little as Roderich continued; with a quiet groan, Gilbert nuzzled into the pillow with a mumbled noise that sounded a bit like Roderich's name.

Sleepily amused, Roderich let him be. It was far earlier than he'd expected, his bedroom barely lit up from the rising sun, and Gilbert was far warmer in the bed than he'd been outside of it. Roderich's eyes felt heavy already, despite the fact that he'd just woken up, and his eyes slid shut slowly. With a quiet sigh, Roderich shifted onto his side and reached over Gilbert to settle his arm on his hip. Gilbert mumbled some more into the pillow and shifted as well, sliding closer to Roderich before falling still on the bed. Feeling...oddly contented with the new change, Roderich closed his eyes to go back to sleep- - -

Only to startle awake again as the phone rang in the living room. Roderich swore under his breath, clambering over Gilbert a bit ungracefully to answer the phone.

"Hello?" He said, a bit testily. A quick glance at the clock on the microwave told Roderich it was almost six in the morning, and on a Saturday to boot; there was no reason that anyone should be calling so damn early, and Roderich had half a mind to tell whoever was on the other end of line off for it. The sun was brighter out here, more warm yellow than the cool blue it was in his room, and Roderich tilted his head against the wall in defeat; he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now, however much he wanted to, and Roderich mourned that fact for a moment before realizing that the person on the other end had, actually, been talking to him without him noticing.

"- - -and I was thinking that maybe we could do like a lunch or an early dinner or something." It sounded like Alfred, Roderich thought somewhat blearily, which should have been impossible because he wasn't particularly close with Alfred to begin with, so the man shouldn't have his number; that was more Francis and Antonio, most likely, because Francis had that same puppy energy Alfred did, and Antonio tended to follow where Francis led. Or Francis tended to follow Antonio, Roderich could never really remember.

"Alfred?"

"Yes?"

"How did you get this number?" There was a brief silence that Roderich didn't truly get to appreciate before boisterous laughter echoed through the phone.

"That's so funny, Roddy!" Alfred said, and Roderich grit his teeth together; that meant Francis had given it to him for whatever reason. It was far too early on his day off to be dealing with the over energetic, easily excitable Alfred F Jones, but Alfred was already going off again. "Anyway, as I was saying, Antonio mentioned yesterday that he had some news to share with us, and Francis had pointed out that we haven't gotten together since your birthday, which was like a forever ago- - -"

"It was two weeks ago." Roderich muttered, but Alfred continued on as if he hadn't heard him. It was honestly a fifty-fifty shot on whether he had or not. He had selective hearing at the best of times, Roderich had noticed, and only seemed to hear whatever suited him best regardless of what it was.

The phone was yanked from his hand suddenly, and Roderich whirled around to see Gilbert leaning against the wall next to him. His eyes were lidded like he was still half asleep, eyes glowing brighter slowly as he brought the phone to his ear.

"The fuck is this?" He said thickly, sounding far more irritated than Roderich had. "What is wrong with you, why are you calling so damn early? Don't you know it's rude to call before, like, ten?" He didn't wait for an answer, either, just hung up the phone right when he finished speaking. He closed his eyes right after he did so, groaning softly. Roderich laughed softly, feeling grateful for a brief second before reality came crashing down on him.

"Ah, damn." He hissed, and Gilbert hummed in response. When Roderich didn't say anything, too busy wallowing in the realization of his next encounters with Francis and Antonio, Gilbert poked his shoulder. Roderich groaned quietly, pressing his hands into his eyes, but he answered before Gilbert could try poking him again. "I hadn't mentioned you to anyone just yet." Gilbert let out a quiet noise, sounding a little curious, and Roderich pressed his palms in even harder. "Francis is going to be unbearable, I just know it. Alfred, too. I'm just lucky I won't have to see Antonio anytime soon- - -but god, between the three of them, they'll never let me live this down."

"Mm." Gilbert said in response, but nothing other than that. He grabbed Roderich's arm, though, pulling him back towards the room almost insistently. Though Roderich was aware of the fact that he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep at the moment, he followed along easily. It was still far too early, and he was tired enough that maybe he would be able to trick himself into getting some more sleep somehow.

Gilbert fell face-first into the pillows once again, not even bothering to get under the blankets in his quest to get more sleep. He pulled Roderich down with him, curling slightly so that he was pressed against Roderich's side again before apparently falling asleep right away. Roderich sighed once he did so, feeling a mixture of fond and exasperated and just plain tired, and closed his eyes. If he was really lucky, he might just be able to- - -

The phone rang again from the kitchen, and Roderich groaned in annoyance. It could be Alfred again, calling back to demand explanations as to why he was hung up on and who had taken the phone from Roderich to begin with; it could be Francis, who would be more willing to be awake at this hour if it meant he could give Roderich a hard time for any reason he could think of. It could even be Antonio, it really depended on who Alfred had called first and who had picked up the phone this early in the morning. Gilbert groaned as well, turning over just enough to be able to force Roderich's head back down on the pillow without lifting his own.

"Just ignore it." He said grumpily, his voice muffled from the pillow. He didn't lift his head, though, and Roderich had to focus on what he was saying to understand him. "It'll go off on its own. You got an answering machine, right?" The ringing stopped, leaving the apartment silent once again, and Roderich watched as Gilbert seemed to relax. "There. Like I said- - -" The phone immediately went off again, and Roderich lifted Gilbert's hand off of his head in order to sit up again. The sooner Roderich went to answer and got this whole debacle over with, he figured, the sooner the whole situation would be ended. Plus, it lessened the possibility of one or all three of them appearing at his doorstep; that theoretically none of them should have his address on hand didn't mean that they wouldn't find a way, unfortunately.

"I figured going back to bed was a long shot anyway." Roderich said, climbing over Gilbert once again. Gilbert groaned somewhat theatrically, twisting underneath him and wrapping his arms around his waist instead. Roderich stared down at him, bemused at being trapped, and Gilbert grinned impishly at him as the ringing stopped a second time. "What if that's important?"

"You said yourself- - -fucking shit." Roderich snickered as he pushed himself off of him gently. Rubbing at his eye while he made his way back to the kitchen, Roderich forced himself to take a deep breath in front of the phone before he answered it; it may have been too early for polite conversation, but Roderich still had to work with these men, mostly, and he couldn't afford to be too rude.

"Yes, hello?" He said, keeping his tone as even as he could.

"Roderich, finally!" Elizabeta's voice greeted him instead of either of the ones he was actually expecting, and the surprise made him straighten up. She sounded slightly irritated, which was a little rich considering it was barely past six in the morning, but mostly relieved, and Roderich was very confused about what was currently happening. "I've been calling and calling!"

"You called three times." Roderich said patiently, and Elizabeta seemed to pause at that. He rubbed his forehead tiredly, lamenting the people he kept contact with. "And it's barely six-fifteen, Elizabeta, what on earth could be so important at this hour?" There was a silence on Elizabeta's end, and Roderich felt his impatience growing. "Elizabeta. Was there something you needed specifically from me, or- - -?"

"Sort of?" She said, and Roderich closed his eyes tiredly. "Look, you hung up quite quickly last night. And when I tried to call back, I was definitely ignored. My concerns from last night still stand, Roderich, and you haven't exactly done a lot to assuage any fears I've had, you know." Roderich sighed, turning to glance down the hallway. It didn't seem like Gilbert was getting up to follow him, and he leaned against the wall again as he thought about how to reply.

"I'm sorry." He said, because usually apologies were the best things to start with. Elizabeta hummed, and he kept talking. He tried to keep his voice quiet, even though Gilbert wasn't around yet, and just sort of hope Elizabeta could hear him. "I started playing the piano and lost track of time." The memory of kissing Gilbert popped into his mind, unbidden, and Roderich felt his face flush. Turning so that he was facing the wall again, he leaned forward as if it would hide his face from the empty room. "And then I went to bed, so I completely forgot about your call."

"Was there anything else?" Elizabeta asked, and Roderich turned redder.

"Like what?" He asked, trying to keep his voice even. Something pressed against his back, arms wrapping around his waist only briefly before one of them went upwards. Elizabeta's answer was lost to Roderich as Gilbert gently pried the phone out of his hand and hung it up. "That wasn't helpful, you know. She's only going to call back."

"She's fine." Gilbert said, not moving. Roderich was debating on pushing him off, if at least to get breakfast started, when he said, "hey. Let's go on a date."

"A date?" Roderich asked, looking at the time and then back at Gilbert. It was a bit awkward, what with Gilbert plastered to his back and not letting him leave the circle of his arms, but he did his best regardless. "It's barely- - -" he glanced at the clock again, then at Gilbert, "it barely hit six-twenty-four, what on earth can we do this early in the morning?"

"Lotsa things, for starters." Gilbert said, and Roderich felt the leer on his face being pressed into his neck. He shoved his elbow back into Gilbert's stomach, making him gasp out at the sudden force, and rolled his eyes skyward. Resolutely ignoring the way the flush on his face got darker, Roderich prayed for the phone to ring again. "But in this case, it would be to get ready for the day so that we can go out."

"Go out where?"

"It's a surprise." Gilbert said, pressing his lips to Roderich's neck and then his cheek. He made a noise with each kiss, annoying and loud, and then released Roderich with a small shove towards the room. Roderich stumbled a little, half turning to look at him again, and he grinned brightly. "Go get ready. Something comfy or something. I'll let you know when we can leave."

"The...the park? Why are we at the park?" Roderich asked, looking around. He hadn't been entirely sure what to expect from Gilbert and his sort of ominous statement of a surprise, but he for sure was not expecting to be brought to a park. And not just any park, it seemed; it was a park right by his apartment, practically next door to it, but it was different from any park he'd ever been to before. There didn't seem to be anywhere for children to play, really, but there was a trail, leading into trees and passing picnic benches. The early afternoon sun shed a fair amount of light that was blocked by leaves, giving the park a tranquil feeling Roderich hadn't ever really experienced before. He didn't even know this kind of place was so close by to his apartment- - -which definitely meant he'd never been here before at all. Gilbert grinned owlishly at him, reaching down and grabbing Roderich's wrist.

"Don't you trust me?" He asked, and Roderich looked at him. His beanie was pulled firmly down on his head, hiding his silver ears and the majority of his hair, and he still had on the dark clothes he seemed to favor over anything else- - -though he had a navy blue flannel on right now, rolled up at the elbows and dark jeans on. He looked...happy, somewhat at least, hitching the backpack he insisted on bringing along on his shoulder a little better. Roderich felt something in his stomach twist, but in a good way, and he glanced away again to hide the way his face was becoming a little red.

"How did you even find this sort of place?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it." Gilbert said easily. He shifted the backpack on his shoulders again. Roderich held his hand out in a silent offering to take the bag, but Gilbert ignored it completely. He took his hand instead, intertwining their fingers. "Just follow me, all right?" Gilbert said teasingly, swinging their arms slightly. "Don't get lost." Roderich flushed, but Gilbert tugged his arm and started walking on the dirt trail. Soon, the picnic benches were far behind them, and Roderich could hear the sound of running water nearby. Blinking, Roderich looked around the trail, eyes widening slightly at the sight of all the trees around him. It was a nice day, pleasantly sunny and yet not too hot as they walked together. People passed by coming from the opposite direction, but only occasionally and usually in groups of two or three on their own as well.

Overall, it was a peaceful little walk, and Roderich found himself feeling more at peace than he'd been in quite some time.

"This is amazing." He breathed softly, slowing down just a little as he walked the trail; he almost didn't want to get to wherever they were going if it meant leaving the trail behind, honestly. He wouldn't mind walking it a little bit longer if he could. Gilbert's hand slipped a bit as Roderich slowed down, seeing as Gilbert had kept walking at a normal pace, which made Gilbert turn curiously; he was just holding Roderich's fingers now, locking them with his own. Roderich barely paid any attention to his look, still looking around at the trees around them.

"We're almost there." Gilbert said lightly, swinging their connected hands again. He sounded a little amused as he added, "we aren't leaving the trail, not really. C'mon, little master." Roderich blushed a little at the nickname, thought he wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. It sounded...somewhat endearing, to say the least, though he'd never been called something so...was affectionate the right word?

They reached a part of the path that diverged into two paths, and Gilbert lead Roderich down the path that went to their left; he didn't even hesitate, and he held onto Roderich tighter when he did. Starting to feel a bit uncertain as they made their way further down the path, Roderich watched as the trees seemed to grown thicker and closer together than they'd been before. The branches started growing a little wilder, forcing them to duck under some to avoid hitting them with their faces. The sun was still bright, just a little muted now through the thickening tree leaves. Roderich was just about to start wondering if Gilbert was secretly planning on killing him when he looked over his shoulder and grinned.

"That's our spot, coming up right now." Gilbert said, pulling Roderich under one last tree branch. He was more than a little grateful for that- - -he didn't go on walks very often, and the ground was more uneven than he'd been anticipating while they were walking. Gilbert's last minute warning of "watch your step- - -the ground's uneven, and there are branches everywhere" didn't help, because Roderich immediately stepped into a hole in the ground, nearly falling over and almost spraining his ankle as he did so. The only reason he didn't fall completely was due to Gilbert, who'd turned to catch Roderich the moment he felt him falter a little.

"God damn it." He muttered under his breath, shaking his ankle out gently and gingerly placing his weight back on it. Nothing happened, thankfully, and Roderich was able to turn his attention from his ankle to their surroundings.

"What- - -" Roderich felt something...different, something new, as he took in the area. The tops of the trees had parted in a circle, allowing more direct sunlight into the little grove Gilbert had managed to find. Trees grew in a wide circle around a grassy clearing, mostly cut off from the trail that led to the area unless one was really looking for it. There were small bunches of flowers and dandelions that littered the clearing, and Roderich sort of felt like they'd escaped from reality into a fantasy setting; he almost couldn't believe a place like this was so close to his own home, especially given how he'd never noticed it before and was likely to never have seen it if not for Gilbert.

Odd.

"So, while you were teaching," Gilbert said, pulling him further into the clearing. Roderich followed, still looking around in wonder. "I found the park while doing errands." Roderich blinked, looking at Gilbert again. What errands would Gilbert have been running over the week to end up here? It wasn't exactly easy to get to, at least twenty minutes of walking the path- - -he checked his watch just now to be sure- - -and Gilbert was always home when Roderich was. Granted, Roderich always ended up getting home late, what with grading papers or student tutoring, but still. The fact that Gilbert had been able to find such a place on his own... "I ended up wandering around, and found this spot."

"It's great..." Roderich murmured. Gilbert grinned proudly before glancing around furtively. Curious, Roderich automatically looked around as well; there was nobody around, it sounded like, and they were completely alone together. He was surprised when Gilbert suddenly grabbed his arm, yanking him forward a bit roughly. Roderich stumbled again but didn't fall, Gilbert using his other hand to grab at his shoulder.

He kissed him a bit roughly, pulling Roderich in close and wrapping his arms around his waist. Roderich tried to pull away instinctively at first, recalling the very public place they were in currently despite being alone, and Gilbert tightened his hold on him the second he did; his hand slid up Roderich's back, sending shivers down his spine, and he gripped the back of his head to hold him in place. Roderich rolled his eyes a little but gave in, allowing his hands to rest on Gilbert's shoulders for a moment.

It was easy to get caught up kissing, easier than Roderich had anticipated. Gilbert was warm and soft under his hands, and his own hands were gentle as he pulled Roderich closer and positioned him where he wanted. Roderich almost didn't want to stop, though the sunlight that warmed them kept up a gentle reminder that they were currently outdoors; he bumped the backpack Gilbert had on him and remembered that there had been a point to coming to this place, and the point had not necessarily been to make out in a public place like a pair of teenagers.

He finally managed to pull away, moving his hands to Gilbert's cheeks to stop him from coming after him. Roderich felt flushed again, his chest heaving just slightly. Gilbert stared at him for a moment, then darted forward and pressed his lips against Roderich's for a quick peck.

"I brought food." He said roughly, pulling away from Roderich on his own. Roderich didn't move, watching as Gilbert yanked the backpack off and unzipped it, pulling items out of it like some sort of magician- - -a folded piece of cloth, unfolded into a blanket, some Tupperware, some utensils- - -and Roderich felt himself start to smile. A small smile, granted, but still; feeling unreasonably pleased, Roderich went over to help set up.

"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. She stared at her desk phone, tapping the fingers of her right hand on her elbow; she was torn between willing it to ring because Roderich was calling her, and debating on just calling him herself. "Or keep quiet?"

"I think this is not something that should be rushed, Elizabeta." Kiku said calmly, reaching for the tea and blowing at the steam to cool it. He looked significantly calmer than she did, though the fidgeting with his cup betrayed his own nerves. It spun carefully around in his hands, Kiku staring into it as if it held all the answers he was looking for. "After all, it has to be willing on both sides, and not something that should be done to prevent certain...consequences."

"But the consequences of not telling Roderich anything." Elizabeta said. "If Gilbert suddenly starts having difficulties or malfunctions, how will that affect Roderich? Especially if he finds out later he was the cause of everything?"

"And how will it affect both Roderich and Gilbert," Kiku started, "if Roderich is coerced into a decision he might not have been ready for just yet?" Elizabeta opened her mouth and then shut it again. Kiku raised an eyebrow at her, and they stared at each other in silence for a brief moment before Elizabeta groaned; she rubbed at her temples, trying to force back the headache out of sheer force of will.

"Gilbert will be crushed, though." She said, groaning slightly. "Especially if drastic measures need to be taken. I really hope that they won't, but if needs must..." She looked to the side, staring out the window for a moment, then looked back at Kiku. There was a sort of resigned smile on her face, and she took a sip of the rapidly cooling coffee she'd been ignoring on her desk; it had been sitting just out of reach for the past twenty minutes, ever since Kiku had come into her office this morning to find her, unsurprisingly, asleep at her desk. "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 will admit that it had been taken into consideration with regards to everything. No, my concerns lie with Gilbert, and how he may react. We have already told him that he is running risk of malfunction, not just for himself but for the whole original line of mechas here in headquarters. None of the newer models, of course, but the others. Lovino, Arthur, Yao. Matthew. It may even reach Feliciano and Heracles, but we don't know for certain. He knows the consequences, but as far as we know, has yet to find a way to avoid those obstacles. Furthermore, Roderich is also a concern."

"Because of how long it's taking him to respond to Gilbert's advances."

"Precisely." Kiku took another sip of tea. "I am concerned that maybe Gilbert hadn't thought this through entirely. Like you said, something drastic might be required in this sort of situation, but it's...delicate. A lot of moving parts that require a lot of care and careful handling." They sat in silence again, the both of them mulling over the situation at hand.

"One more week." Elizabeta said finally, her eyes closed. She looked unhappy, and Kiku didn't look all that excited about the prospect either, but she was firm in her decision it seemed. Her gaze was focused and determined, even as she stared down into her coffee. "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.

This took like, forever to come out despite being mostly filler still? It was definitely the most filler-ish chapter I've ever worked on. And I still think that things are moving too fast. Maybe I did this whole rewrite without actually, like, rewriting anything, just adding more to the chapters, hahaha. But also, I feel like I changed the whole general tone of the chapter from the original. At least nothing super important happened? *shrugs* I'm still not entirely sure on how to feel about this one, to be completely and totally honest, but hey! At least another chapter got put out!!

OG Author's Note:

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