You and Ludwig were staying in your old home. It was a mess thanks to the Allies, but he rebuilt it was best he could. However, you noticed Gilbert's letters stopped immediately after the invasion of Germany. You wanted to ask Ludwig about it, but you weren't sure how.

It was dinner time now, and it was mostly quiet when you ate together. You sucked in a deep breath. "H-hey, Ludwig?" Ludwig looked up from his manual. It was the most important book he owned-it must have been, since he never seemed to part from it and he was always reading it. Sometimes you wondered what it was about. "W-where did Gilbert go?" Ludwig twitched. "I mean, you said he went on a trip but you never told me where he was headed to..."

Ludwig sighed and closed the book, leaving it on the table. "Gilbert... did not tell me vhere he vas going. I zought he vould have told you."

You swallowed a lump in your throat. "I've asked... but he missed the question completely. And now he hasn't sent me any letters back."

Ludwig noticed the tears forming in your eyes. "I'm sure he's just busy," he spoke with a quiet tone. "Perhaps he hasn't had time to get to zee typewriter. You know how he is about vork."

It was true that Gilbert was always working. You would find him slaving away at his desk in the middle of the night. But when he would see you in the doorway, he would put his things aside and call you over. "Vaht is the princess doing up so late? Vould you like me to shing you a lullaby?" he would say. And no matter how late it was or how much work he had to do, he would stay up with you until you fell asleep. In the mornings you would hear his boss yelling at him, but he would always shoo it away, saying he had 'much more important matters' to attend to.

You looked up at Ludwig, determination in your face. It seemed to surprise him; he'd never seen you look at him that way. "Gilbert would never stop writing to me. He'd have to be dead before-" The sudden realization hit you. "He's... He can't be..."

Ludwig thought fast. "I'm sure he's shtill alive. He vouldn't die before saying goodbye." Somehow that made you feel no better. "Perhaps his typewriter broke! Ja, and he hasn't had money to buy a new von..." This made you smile. Though Gilbert did his best to be with you, you also knew he was short on money. Then again, so were you. "He'll be back to writing to you in no time. Don't fret over zihs."

You nodded. "Thank you, Ludwig. You've always been there for me... I know Gilbert didn't mean to, but he hurt me when he left. But you never left. You even helped me keep in touch with him!" Ludwig twitched again, but you didn't notice. You looked down at your lap. "I've been... really selfish lately. I want to keep thinking that Gilbert might come back really soon. But it's been years, and he hasn't given me a clue of how much longer he would take." You placed a little fist on your bosom and folded your other hand neatly over it. "I've been hurting and aching for someone. At first I thought it was Gilbert, because I missed him and I had the caprice of seeing him again to the point of running away and looking for him." Your eyes shot up and you looked Ludwig dead in the eye. "But then I realized that wasn't the case. Gilbert's gone now, and he may never come back. And I'm not going to wait for him any longer. This pain that I've been feeling wasn't for Gilbert. It was for you. The thought of losing you makes me faint with worry. I'm sorry I didn't realize this sooner."

You got up and walked over to his side of the table and kissed his cheek, your heart thumping loudly as you did so. You turned to leave, but immediately felt a hand wrap around your tiny wrist. You looked back; Ludwig was looking up at you, a pleading look on his face. A blush slowly crept up his cheeks, and he sighed. "I... I'm not really gut at saying zings like zihs..." he stammered. "I have alvays like you, _. Ever since Gilbert firsht brought you home. But you grew up, and so did my feelings for you. Vhen I saw you talking to zhat America, I vas very angry. I vanted to shtrangle him for looking at you zhat vay, and I didn't care if he never helped me again." You were right; he was jealous. "I-I've been holding zihs back for some time, but I zihnk now is the perfect to chance to ask you..." He stood and cleared his throat, pulling a little box out of his pocket. You froze as he dropped to one knee. "_, I vant you to marry me. I don't vant to be vizout you anozehr minute."

The tears that had swelled in your eyes now fell hard like the rain. You could feel yourself smiling like an idiot again, but you didn't care; you were happy. The man you had fallen in love with wanted to marry you!

*~*

Ludwig was nervous. He fumbled with his bow tie. He wanted to make sure everything was perfect. When he was pleased with his work, he gave himself a small nod before moving to his desk. You had given him another letter to send to Gilbert, but he hadn't responded yet. There was just one problem; it was gone. Ludwig looked frantically around for the letter, opening and closing drawers like it was his job. The blood drained from his face. Not only was the letter gone; so was his manual. The one he always carried around. The one he ripped apart and placed copies of your letters to Gilbert in, along with a copy of his response. The manual he liked reading over and over again because it made him feel closer to you. It was gone.

He slumped down in his chair. Someone stole the letter and the manual. He buried his face in his palms. Then, something caught his eye. It was a torn piece of paper laying under his desk near his feet. He picked it up. On it was a single word, 'Danke,' written in a hand he thought he'd never see again.

A tear fell from his eye. "Bitte, Bruder."

Epilogue
Somewhere outside the city...

Gilbert looked back to the city he once had control over. So many memories had been made in that city and the area around it. Now, the city lay in ruins, but it was slowly picking itself back up. He looked down at the manual in his hands. He kept them, he thought. Then he smiled. "Good job, Lutz. Now go live happily ever after."

He turned his back to his home and headed back towards the black car that awaited him. A tall man in a brown coat and a soft pink scarf held the door open for him. Now that Gilbert was sure you were safe, nothing was going to stop him from coming back home again. Permanently.