• Cast:
    Gilbert Beilschmidt (Prussia) & Roderich Edelstein (Austria) (c) Hidekaz Himaruya

    Gilbert sat at the kitchen table, chipping at the wood with his fingernail, bored completely out of his wits. It was the 13th of February and he hadn't the slightest idea what to do. He listened to the soft melody coming from the other room and sighed. On most days he liked to listen to the Austrian play the piano, but today wasn't most days.

    He was, at the very least, grateful his brother had decided to give them a break due to the upcoming holiday. He adored his kids, but the twins always seemed to whine and cry about every little thing. They needed attention constantly and that was something Roderich gave them more of. Attention. He was jealous, not very much anyway, it just peeved him when they'd be in the middle of something and the twins would start to cry.

    And they always would. Both of them. If one cried, the other cried. And sometimes they seemed too much for him. So much so that the very thought of their whining right now gave the albino a headache.

    He closed his eyes and placed his head on the table, running a hand through his almost silver hair. He didn't notice the music stop, he didn't hear Roderich walk in, or even when his name was called. It wasn't until he was hit, rather sharply, on the back of the head with a wooden spoon that he woke up.

    "Ow! Mein Gott, what was that for!?" He hissed and shot his head up, red eyes glaring at the others.

    "Don't put your head on the table, Gilbert," Roderich sighed and went over to the fridge. He pulled out a few eggs and milk. Gilbert assumed he'd be baking.

    "Fine," the Prussian grumbled, "I'll go lay down on the couch or something."

    "Why don't you stay and help me bake?"

    "Baking isn't my style, you know that. I'm far too awesome to wear that frilly pink apron."

    Roderich rolled his eyes and scoffed at the other's rude comment. "Fine then, go take a nap. You're clearly in a bad mood."

    Without another word Gilbert was making his way toward the living room and planting himself, face first, into the couch. It was very elegant looking, that couch, but what it made up for in looks it lacked in comfort. Still, he started dozing, thinking of what he might do. He needed to think of something for Valentine's Day, but the Austrian was so hard to shop for. He was incredibly picky and had expensive taste, though he never asked for anything. When the Prussian tried to cook or clean or buy him gifts, however, he expected something overly-extravagant.



    When Roderich had finished his baking he made his way into the living room, to join the other in his nap. He would wake him up and convince Gilbert to take a proper nap, in their room. But when he got there, the other was gone. Roderich thought that perhaps he'd already moved into their bedroom, but finding that room empty as well worried him.

    He sat on the bed and undid his shirt, thinking about how the Prussian was probably out drinking with his friends. It made him mad, all that drinking. The other had some nerve to just leave like that, and it wasn't the first time.

    He decided to put it behind him for the moment; he'd get on Gilbert's case later, and take a nap. As he went to lie down, he heard something. Soft music was coming from downstairs. He strained his ears for a moment, it was his piano. Getting up quickly, he didn't bother to button his shirt back up, and he ran downstairs.

    When he entered his piano room he got quite the scare. Gilbert was sitting hunched over the piano, lightly tapping the keys. He pressed down on the keys very slowly while he stared at a music sheet. When Roderich walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

    "W-was!?"

    "Why are you in here? And why are you touching my piano?" Though he used as aggressive a tone as possible, he was more curious than anything. Maybe even a little concerned, as the Prussian did look a little upset.

    "What does it look like?" He scoffed. "I'm playing the piano."

    "I wouldn't call that playing."

    Gilbert opened his mouth to say something, then stopped and sighed. "I'm not used to the keys. You know I'm more of a flute person." Roderich nodded at this and motioned for him to move over. Gilbert obeyed and made room.

    The Austrian sat down and pointed to keys, beginning to explain which was which. The other tapped them, trying to memorize. For the rest of the afternoon they sat at that piano, one teaching, and the other learning.

    Long after the sun set, they were still playing. Gilbert was slower and sloppier, but they were playing together and it was obvious they enjoyed it. When the Prussian missed a note or hit the wrong key, the other wouldn't yell at him as he'd expect him to. He didn't even seem to notice. They were both in somewhat of a stupor until Gilbert missed a key and placed his hand on Roderich's, causing them both to slip up.

    "Sorry." He sounded completely earnest.

    Roderich blinked and smiled. "It's quite alright. I suppose it's time we stopped anyway, it's getting late." Gilbert nodded and they both headed upstairs and laid down for bed.


    The next morning, when Roderich woke up, Gilbert was gone. Nowhere to be found yet again. It wasn't like him to get up before noon, so again the Austrian's anxiety rose. He looked in the kitchen, thinking Gilbert would be getting breakfast, but all he found was a bouquet of flowers. They were roses. White roses. He picked them up and studied them. It seemed like every one of them were perfect. There was no note, but he knew who they were from. Again, like the night before, he heard soft music. He quickly walked to the piano room, still holding the flowers close.

    Upon entering he saw Gilbert sitting on that piano bench like the night before, only this morning he didn't hunch forward. He wasn't dressed up, but he managed to clean himself enough to look a little more than casual. He stopped and smiled at the Austrian when he noticed him. "Good morning."

    "Good…morning, Gilbert. Thank you for the flowers?" It was utterly baffling to him, the other acting this way.

    "Sit down; I want to play you something." When the Austrian obeyed and sat, he smirked smugly. "I hope you don't mind a few mistakes." With that he cracked his knuckles for dramatic effect and started, very slowly, playing a calming melody. The whole thing didn't take very long, and when he finished he looked back up and smiled. "Well? What do you think?"

    Roderich didn't really know what to say. "It was…beautiful, Gilbert." He looked at the roses and back at the Prussian before getting up and wrapping his arms around him.

    Gilbert made a mock groan and hugged the other back. "Happy Valentine's Day," he whispered to him softly before kissing the side of his face.

    And for them, it was.