Cleaning the spare bedroom was apparently Gilbert's first priority when he came home. The papers were filled out and he wanted to make sure the social services said Robyn could stay. The rest of the house was spotless save for the bedrooms.
"Gotta hurry, gotta hurry." Gilbert muttered as he was throwing stuff randomly out in the hall from the cleaning closet.
Ludwig heard the racket he was making and stood up to go investigate. Gilbert usually wasn't too enthusiastic about cleaning unless he broke something or if Ludwig was in a really bad mood.
"Bruder..." He walked up the spiral staircase to the second floor. "What are you-"
"I did not adopt a kid! I mean... Hi West." He smiled nervously while hiding a vacuum behind him.
"You did what?" Ludwig said calmly, cocking an eyebrow.
"Uh... I did nozhing unawesome as to hide somet-"
"Gilbert." Ludwig narrowed his eyes. "What. Did. You. Do."
"Ok..." Gilbert took a deep breath. "The kid I was visiting, her mother just passed away, ja? She's got nobody else and... I said I'll take care of her."
"You did WHAT?! Without even talking to me?!" Ludwig started ranting on how he should use his head and have common sense, big things like this needed his input as well, this was his house, Ludwig made the rules, blah blah blah. Gilbert was half listening, occasionally nodding his head but he picked up that kids are different from dogs or 'ze awesome Gilbird' and pointed out that Gilbert has not shown he could be capable of raising a child.
"Oh, and you expect me to just throw her on zhe street and hope she becomes one of Kiku's cartoon characters?"
Ludwig pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Sorry, zhat was a little harsh. But honestly, since you moved in with me, you haven't been able to or refuse to get back on your feet. And I don't know if you can handle this."
"West. The awesome me can handle anyzhing! Kesesese~ But seriously, give me a chance. Besides, you always said 'You never know until you try.'"
Ludwig nodded, knowing he had a point. "Very well then. But I have some conditions. Listen before you say anyzhing. First, you have to budget. I will still give you an allowance for both you and her to get basic needs. If you want more, you have to get a job.""Ok, fair enough." Gilbert nodded.
"You are completely responsible for her health, education, discipline, and any other major needs. I will help where I am needed." Gilbert nodded again, his red eyes completely focused on him.
"And..." Ludwig grimaced which made Gilbert assume whatever this condition was, was not going to be pleasant. "Beer is limited to one case a month. For both of us."
"VHAT?! Oh come on, West! That is not awesome!"
"That's where most of our extra money goes! And if you want more, you have to get a job! And besides, it is not a good habit to teach a child to get drunk." Ludwig folded his arms. "And I'll be giving it up too to help stick to the limit."

"Ok..." Gilbert slouched. 'This is going to be worth it, ja?' As if Gilbird read his thoughts, like the awesome little bird he is, he chirped in reassurance. This was going to be fun!
Over the next several days, Gilbert filled out more paperwork, and some inspectors came over. Their home passed with flying colours and was the ideal environment for Robyn to live with and she wasn't affected by animals according to her tests. Gilbert was a little more excited everyday and was eager to prove that he could be a responsible person and a good guardian.
On the day Robyn was supposed to arrive, something neither of the German brother expected happened.
Ludwig woke up at six AM sharp and immediately saw a lump beside him and assumed that Feliciano crawled in with him in the middle of the night yet again. He could see the top of Feliciano's curl and pulled the covers down a bit and saw a child that looked exactly like Feliciano that made up maybe a quarter of his height.
"Vhat ze hell?!" Ludwig fell out of the bed with a thud that woke up little Feliciano.
"Ludwig? What's the matter?" He rubbed his eye as he was waking up.
"Feli-! Y-you!"
"What about me? Is it my hair? Do I stink? Am I horribly ugly? Please tell me I'm not ugly!"
"N-no..."
"How did you get so big, Ludwig?"
Ludwig pulled out a mirror and showed Feliciano who gasped with his itty bitty curl going straight up in the air.
"I've turned into a mia bambino!" He cried. "Arthur, I swear, whatever I did to you, I'm sorryyyyy!" He started crying.
"H-Hey, Feliciano... Just calm down. I'm sure this was a major misunderstanding. At any rate, Arthur can fix it." Ludwig knelt to him and tried to calm him down. Feliciano cried on his arm and he put a reassuring hand on his tiny shoulder.
"West, what's all the noise about?" Gilbert leaned on the doorway, rubbing the back of the neck. "Oh, by the way, Feli got in last night."
"I'm aware." The German huffed. "There's been... An incident with Arthur's magic, I think."
"Seriously?" Gilbert peeked over his shoulder and saw Feliciano who tilted his head up. "Kesesese! Why are you crying, Feli? You look so cute~" He grinned.
"But I prefer to be an adult." He sighed. "And I don't have any clothes."
"What about Elizaveta? She should have some." Ludwig got up to phone her. After a quick conversation, the phone rang again and it was a hysterical Lovino who apparently was also turned into a child.
"A fucking gypsy CURSED me! It's all her fault!" He screeched over the phone. Ludwig pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Could today possibly get any worse? He really was not in the mood for this and prayed a certain Spanish acquaintance would help Lovino.
After making coffee and breakfast for everyone, he noticed Gilbert pacing back and forth nervously in the front hall. The dogs were watching him with their heads moving in synchronization.
"Bruder, if you have this much energy to burn, then why don't you do some training?" Ludwig asked as he was putting away dishes.
"But Robyn could be coming any time!" Gilbert bit his thumb.
Oh right. After all this commotion, Ludwig forgot she was coming. He really hoped that she wasn't too loud. If she made a mess, Gilbert would have to help her clean up.
Ludwig suddenly got an idea since his mind was on the topic of kids. He had some of his old clothes in the attic that Gilbert insisted that he keep hat would suit Feliciano. He went upstairs to get them and got a white shirt and black overalls.
"Feli, try these on for size." He gave them to Feliciano after smoothing them out, otherwise in perfect condition.
"Grazie!" Feliciano beamed at him as he trotted off with his oversized shirt trailing behind him.
The sound of the doorbell made everyone jump, Gilbert being the first to open the door with a huge grin. A short bald man looked up at him with squinty eyes and an older woman two heads taller than her partner adjusted her glasses. "Mr Beilschmidt?"
"Ja, zhat would be the awesome me. Gilbert Beilschmidt." He shook both of their hands. The woman turned behind her to the lower step.
"Come along now." She said to Robyn who was curled up in a ball with her red hood up. She sat up and turned to them with half opened eyes and a tired look.
"Kesese~ Hallo frau, you sleepy?" Gilbert bent over resting his hand on his knees. Robyn's eyes snapped open and she had a smile on as she walked up to him and hugged his leg.
"Gilbert!" Her hood slid down in the hug and the short man brought her bags inside.
"C'mon in, we don't want you sick again." Gilbert pat her back and led her inside after she let go. The dogs greeted her with a few barks which made her hide behind Gilbert's legs as if she would disappear. They were silenced by a sharp command by Ludwig who stepped forward to greet the two people with a firm handshake each.
"Ludwig Beilschmidt, Gilbert's younger brother. Thank you for coming." He really didn't have much else to say. The man reached up and handed him a card. "Vhat is zhis?"
"If you have any issues or questions, give us a call." He said as he left with the woman.
"You can throw zhat out West. We won't be needing that." Gilbert said he turned his head down to a pair of big brown eyes that were staring back at him, unsure of what do. "It's ok, frau, you can say hi. This is my little brother Ludwig."
Robyn tilted her head up to Ludwig and started shaking because she thought he was scary. She let out an 'eep' and took a step toward the wall, hanging onto Gilbert's pant leg, staring at him as Ludwig knelt down to her and held out a large hand.
"How do you do?" He waited a moment then she took his hand and murmured the same thing. She started to mumble something and took a deep breath.
"Guten tag." She said a little louder, with her eyes focused on him, still scared.
"Ah, do you speak German?" He asked in German to which his reply was a small head shake with an air pinch meaning a little bit.
"She's shy but very lively once she likes you." Gilbert pet her head. "And it's ok, he may seem like a big scary guy but he's a big softie."
"Gilbert!" Ludwig turned a bit red. He didn't particularly like being called soft despite that he was.
"What? It's true." Gilbert shrugged. "And these are Aster, Blackie and Berlitz. They're all really friendly although a bit wild."
Robyn poked her head around Gilbert's legs and looked at the dogs who were all lying down, staring at her. They looked at her with curious glances, one of them let out a playful growl but was silenced by Ludwig.
"Ludwig, they fit!" Feliciano chimed as he bounded down the stairs with a smile as he turned around. The clothes fit him perfectly although the shirt was a little baggy. "Although I feel like I need a hat to co-ordinate." He said.
Gilbert noticed that Feliciano immediately caught Robyn's attention and he could see her head perking up like a curious animal. This could be good, considering Feliciano was a kid as well.
"No, it doesn't need a hat. They're German clothes, not Swiss." Ludwig sighed. "I need to go to work. I can trust you all not to destroy zhe house, ja?"
"Don't worry, West, I got this!" Ludwig gave him an uncertain nod before leaving. He turned to the kids with a huge grin. "Alright, you two get to spend the day with the awesome me! We can do whatever we want!" He fist pump in the air.
"Huh? Two?"
"um... Ah... H-Hi." Robyn stepped forward letting go of Gilbert to greet Feliciano. She had her hands close to her body and a small smile on her face.
"Ciao bella! You must be Robyn!" Feliciano went up to her and kissed both of her cheeks which made her go red and put her hands on where he kissed her. "My name is Feliciano but you can call me Feli."
"Okay." She slipped off her coat and Gilbert took it from her.
"How about you two go play outside and I'll go put your stuff in your room, okay?" Gilbert picked up the duffle bag and the backpack.
"Si! C'mon bella!" Feliciano took her hand and ran outside with her with the dogs following them.
Gilbert smiled and shook his head slightly. Feliciano was so adorable and thought he was just what Robyn needed to be more at ease. Although despite that, Gilbert thought there had to be a way to get around her shyness. It might've been natural for kids to do that but if that was the case, he had to lend her some of his awesomeness to deal with people. No adopted kid of his would be scared about facing the world.
He went upstairs to put away Robyn's things away, with her clothes in the drawers, Jojo on her pillow, and her The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on the bookshelf in the corner from her tiny navy blue backpack. From what Gilbert saw in that apartment, he knew she did not have very much and she was happy with that. Once he double checked the duffle bag to make sure that no clothes or medicine were forgotten, he found a palm sized three page booklet and opened it out of curiosity.
There were only two pictures that occupied out of the six slots. Once was of a young woman in her early twenties with long dark blonde hair and brown eyes in a blue sundress, sitting on a swing and smiling at the camera. The other was Robyn, who was a few years younger, in the woman's arms with an older man with black hair and green eyes. He looked like he was playfully teasing them with made Robyn giggle and the woman gave an annoyed smile.
It made Gilbert think. He knew that he would never be able to replace them but what would he be to Robyn? Right now he didn't really think much of her besides a clingy friend that can't take care of herself and is depending on him. Likewise, she probably sees him as a giant scary friend. She was his almost-but-not-quite-equivalent of Feliciano. Furthermore, he wasn't even close ready to be called a Father. He doesn't even know what that meant. They have fun together and that was about it for their relationship and also he had to teach her a few things.
After doing some cleaning, he checked on the newly acquainted pair outside. They were making piles of leaves and running through them before setting them up again. Before long, the dogs joined in as well in their game.
"Feli! Robyn! Come inside and eat!" He called out. Feliciano and Robyn gave a synchronized "Aww" before brushing the leaves off. It started raining as they were eating so they had to play inside. Feliciano decided to play hide and seek which Robyn and Gilbert happily agreed to.
Ludwig came home in the evening when it was Gilbert's turn to find them. He saw Ludwig and gave a smirk. "West, I lost the kids. I-"
"You lost zhem already?!" Ludwig went pale and looked absolutely mortified. Gilbert raised his hand defensively and tried to calm him down.
"No, no, it's only hide and seek, just play along West." He laughed and mused out loud. "I wonder where they could be."
"Er... Ja. I think we may have to phone zhe police." Ludwig said stoically, which made Feliciano giggle. Gilbert crept to his hiding spot which was under the coffee table and scooped him up.
"Gotcha!" Gilbert grinned as Feliciano laughed. "Found a fun Feli~ Now we're just missing a Vögelchen." Gilbert looked under the table, in a blanket basket, in the closet and under the computer desk.
Ludwig grabbed a novel from a bookshelf and sat down on the couch. When he leaned back on the cushion pile and began to wiggle which startled him. He leaned forward and sure enough, Robyn popped up, gasping for air and her hair standing up from static electricity. "Found her." Ludwig pointed down.
"Ludwig, you're not supposed to tell!" Feliciano said which gave him a confused look from Ludwig. He continued to observe them and read his book until all three of them were tired. Feliciano passed out which made Ludwig pick him up and put him in his bedroom. However, chances were that Feliciano would yet again pop in his bed in the middle of the night.
"Alright you, bedtime." Gilbert told Robyn. "Can you get ready for bed by yourself?"
Robyn hesitated and looked down, playing with the hem of her pink dress. "Uhm. Yes, I can."
"Good girl. Alrighty, Zhis way." He led Robyn up the spiral staircase to the second room on the left. She stepped in and looked around quietly, with her curious content expression unchanging. The double sized bed in the corner adjacent to the door already had Jojo and had orange and gold blankets with black pillows. The window above the side of the bed had its blinds down already. There was some free space between the foot of the bed and the dresser on the adjacent wall. To the left in the third corner was a bookshelf and a closet with white doors. "You like it, right? Argh, I knew it, you don't like it. I should have painted it pink or something." Gilbert gripped his hair.
Robyn went up to him and tugged on his pant leg to snap him out of it. "I like it. It's big, thank you." She smiled and hugged his leg which made Gilbert sigh in relief.
"Alright, there are your pyjamas."
"Jammies. They are jammies." She said as-a-matter-of-factly way.
"Right, jammies... So you get dressed and I'll get you settled in." He gave Robyn a two piece purple pyjamas with a t-shirt and pants and stepped out so she could change. When he came back, she already climbed on the bed.
"It's so big! And so soft!" Her eyes widened with delight and began rolling on it. Gilbert let out a small smile. She was easily amused by the simplest of things and relatively low maintenance as far as he could tell.
"Alright, medicine time." Gilbert grabbed an orange inhaler and stuck it in a tube like chamber with a mask piece on the end. "Remember, in the mouth, out the nose." Robyn nodded and put the other end on her face and did as Gilbert instructed as he gave her medicine.
Once that was done, he lifted the covers so she could crawl in and put the inhaler on the dresser. She hugged Jojo close as Gilbert wrapped her in the blankets.
"Snug as a bug~" He smiled. "Anything else you need?" He kind of enjoyed doing this things as a big brother, he thought it was fun if he did it once in a while. However, he was worried she would want something like counting sheep or a snuggle until she fell asleep every night. He secretly didn't mind the thought but it was awkward with her at least.
Robyn stared at the bookshelf wall for a bit before turning back to Gilbert with her calm stare. Gilbert's instincts told him that she did want something and he was just waiting to hear what it is.
"Ahm... No thank you." She snuggled with her tiger. "Night."
"Gute Nacht." He smiled and pet her head. "I'm just in the next room if you need anyzhing." He turned off the light and left the door halfway open before going to his room.
Much to Gilbert's surprise, she didn't make any noise or bother him in the night. Or the following nights. Instead, she was fairly clingy to him during the day time. She followed him everywhere and helped him with the chores Ludwig gave him. He had to admit, it was cute and he pictured her like a baby chick but he wanted his personal space.
When Gilbert was out getting groceries one day, he was caught up in traffic and talking to a friend of his. He got a call from Ludwig a couple of hours later.
"Hallo, you remembered somezhing I need to get? Or better yet, I'm allowed to get beer?" Gilbert asked hopefully.
"Nein, everyzhing is on the list. I'm just wondering where you are. Someone already misses you." He could hear Ludwig sigh a bit.
"I'm stuck in traffic. Tell that someone I'll be there in half an hour." Gilbert smiled and sighed a bit in annoyance. "Has she been pestering you?"
"Nein, she's quiet as usual. She's just sitting on the bench in the front hall staring at the door and Feliciano couldn't distract her so he took a siesta."
"Ah. I'll be back soon." He said as he hung up, taking a detour to avoid the traffic. Once he got home, he took all the grocery bags in one trip. Before he could turn around to go back to the hall, Robyn was already in the kitchen doorway, staring at him.
"Ah, you startled me, frau. Is something wrong?"
Robyn fidgeted with her hands and looked down before looking up at him again with that same look of wanting something but not having the courage to say it.
"Ahm. Can I help?" She asked.
Gilbert smiled sadly and shook his head as he knelt down and stretched out his arms. "You probably want one, right?"
Robyn nodded and slowly went up to him and hugged him around his waist. She felt his strong arms wrap around her and have a hand on the back of her head.
"What's the matter Robyn? Is something bothering you?" Robyn pressed her mouth against his shoulder and started talking quieter than usual but Gilbert could hear her.
"I have bad dreams. You don't come back and I'm alone. Ju-just like..." She started quivering and sniffled. "Mama." No, no,no. Not the waterworks. Gilbert did what was natural to him. He didn't want her to cry again.
He took half a step back and tilted her head to look at him. "Listen to me, Robyn. I won't leave you. Not while you still need someone to take care of you. Besides, the awesome me would never do something unawesome like that, understand?" Robyn nodded. Gilbert raised his hand and stuck out his pinky. "Pinky promise." She smiled and wrapped her pinky around his with a smile.
Gilbert grinned back at her and stood up. "Wanna know what my friend I was talking to taught me today?"
"What?" She tilted her head. Gilbert started making funny faces by stretching his face and positioning his hands on his cheeks. All of them made Robyn giggle and laugh with her hands cupping her face to hide them.
Feliciano and Ludwig were watching them from the living room, Feliciano very impressed and even Ludwig had a trace of a smile at his brother's silliness. He had forgotten how much Gilbert did to make him smile when he was younger. "I think he's a natural."

Sorry guys, I know it is messy but will fix this chapter format and get comments in tomorrow!