Characters owned by Hidekaz Himaruya-sensei

CH5- Restart

The next morning, Arthur yawned himself awake, Alfred's arms still wrapped around him. The American snored softly, and he gently pulled him out of his arms. Glancing around, he spotted a pad of paper and a pen on the bedroom desk and hastily scribbled, "I need to check something at home. Don't worry. You don't have to come." Dashing out as quietly as he could, the blonde quietly shut the door behind him. He had to find Gilbert and discover the truth; it nagged at his mind and ate away at his sanity. Turning towards his home, passing the alleyway, he glimpsed a lump in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, Arthur let out a quiet gasp at the sight of Gilbert's broken body.

He stumbled over to where Gilbert lay, tears gathering in his eyes as he bent over Prussia. Sliding his arms underneath the platinum blonde, he hooked their arms together and attempted to stand, but the other was too heavy for his weak arms. In the sudden motion, a tear slipped out of Arthur's eye, landing and sliding down Gilbert's face.

"Urrrghh…" Gilbert groaned, his eyes opened in a squint. A hazy image formed before his eyes, comprised of the color of skin, yellow, and two spots of green. Blinking away the fuzz, he let out as a gasp as he recognized the face hanging over him. A look of pain crossing his face, he dropped out of Arthur's grasp and sprinted away, nearly tripping over a cobblestone.

As Gilbert escaped from his gasp, Arthur stumbled and stared, dumbfounded, at his retreating form. Shaking the shock out of his head, he ran after him, not knowing what he would do when he caught up to the pained man.

~.~.~.

Gilbert ran, clouds puffing out of his mouth as he pushed through the chill early morning air. As he ran, the scene from the night before repeated ran through his head, sending knives through his heart. After suffering from loneliness for so long, the regard he had received from Arthur changed him, giving him newfound feelings, only to have those feelings shattered by an apparently secret relationship Arthur had. Exhaling a deep sigh, he reached his—rather, West's—home, hastily unlocked the door and rushed inside, flying past a questioning Ludwig laden with paperwork. A few pieces of paper floated down to the floor in a flurry as Gilbert slammed his door shut, locking it, and ignoring Ludwig's concerned inquiries.

About five minutes after Gilbert's arrival, Arthur reached Germany's home, doubled over and panting in front of the door. Weakly raising an arm to knock on the door feebly, he croaked, "Hello? This is Britain. Germany, or Gilbert, please let me in!"

Sighing, Ludwig replaced his papers on his desk, resolving to work on them once he had figured out just what was happening. Leaving the stray papers on the floor, he strode briskly to answer the door. "Well, hello there, Britain." He greeted him, one blonde eyebrow raised. "What's going on? Do you have anything to do with why mein Bruder just rushed in, and locked himself in his room, without saying anything to me?" the brawny German inquired, standing tall over the skimpy British, noticing his winded state.

"We had a complicated misunderstanding, Mr. Ludwig," the blonde stated shortly, still slightly panting between his words.

"I see. Well, come in, then, and see if you can resolve your situation." Ludwig stood back, holding out his arm to welcome Arthur into his home. Pointing at a door down the hall, he said, "His room's right there. With the sign that says, 'The Awesome Me's Territory.'" Ludwig pointed at a sign bearing scrawled script hanging lopsidedly on a door at the end of the hall.

Leaving Ludwig at the door, Arthur stepped slowly towards the hall, feeling as if it lasted forever. When he finally reached the door, he raised his hand to knock, gulping with apprehension, and forced himself to rap the door quickly. "Gilbert? It's me, Arthur. I-I need to talk to you."

"Leave me alone." The cold, curt reply resounded from within, the voice devoid of emotion.

"Please, let me explain!" Arthur pleaded, his eyes involuntarily tearing up. A long pause followed, and his tears hung in the corners of his eyes.

After a few moments, the Brit heard a resentful, resigned, "Fine" and the door was opened, revealing an angry looking Gilbert, hurt deep in his bloodred eyes. The platinum blonde stepped back, allowing Arthur to nervously step aside, his flitting eyes taking in the messy room. Shutting the door behind him, Gilbert growled, "What do you want?"

Arthur flinched at the hostility in the other's voice, his eyes automatically averting to the ground. Forcing himself to fearfully look the other in the eye, he stammered, "A-Alfred s-s-said you h-hated me…"

"What?" Gilbert yelled, startling the smaller man once again. He grabbed the other by the collar, yanking his trembling green eyes to his glaring crimson ones. "That bastard…that's a lie!" he hissed, outraged. His face softened at the other's soft green eyes, and he whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear, "I don't hate you, even if you said what you did…"

His heart thudding loudly, Arthur squinted his eyes shut, as a warm feeling spread through him, stemming from his heart. He felt so…relieved. "I-I'm glad…" he whispered back.

Gilbert's heart skipped a beat, and he leaned forward slightly, pausing in hesitation before pressing his lips gently to the blonde's.

However, unlike the first time Gilbert had done this, Arthur closed his eyes, sighing softly against the Prussian's soft lips.

(Hehe, it's not over yet! ;D Can't leave Alfred hanging just sleeping, can we? His involvement still has not been resolved, so expect more! C: And I really apologize for the long break… I was taken by laziness while working on this chapter and didn't remember to work on it till 4 months later! Heheh…I hope you enjoyed this chapter, anyhow! :3 )