_but holy shit.

had noticed a decrease in his workload and found it odd considering the circumstances. He's actually out in the yard for once grooming the dogs. That hasn't happened in a while.

holed up in his room with paperwork, but he can see them through the window. He's happy that West is taking some time for himself...finally.

finishes up on them and decides to check up on Gilbert...because he's not stupid. Something is clearly amiss. He makes it to his brother's door and knocks on it.

....shoves West's half under his bed, going back to one of his own...he didn't even know what this was. "Come in~"

opens the door slowly and peeks in before entering completely. "Gilbert...." He wasn't sure how to word it exactly. "You know you didn't have too..."

going to play dumb as a rock. "I know. But it's basically my duty to finish the milk, and put the empty carton back."

hadn't noticed that but now that he knows...he's not very pleased with it. "Don't play dumb. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

sighs, and turns to actually look at him. "West. Right at this moment, and maybe five minutes ago. Were you relaxed in comparison to the last...few months? Years? Decades?"

pauses taken aback by the deliverance of his brother's question. "...ah...ja..."

made his point. "Then yes. I really had to. I don't particularly like paperwork, but it won't be the death of me. I can handle this, West. It's fine."

tensed up again. It wasn't Gilbert's responsibility, that was the problem. It was nice but he'd rather not stress out his brother too. "I was handling it fine, Gilbert...there was just one night...I..."

waves him off. "No, West. It's fine. I'm telling you it is. I won't get stressed out, so it's not extra trouble for me. I have to do my own anyways, I don't mind doing a little extra. Take a day, go...go_

_see Eliza. Go on a date." His eyes flicker back to the paperwork. It's weird knowing that West and Eliza are...well, official or whatever. But he's happy for them.

pauses at that. He should have just stayed away from Elizaveta...and now he feels guilty. He remains quiet before making his way back to the door. "I'll be outside with the dogs." Is all he says before making

his way up the stairs and outside.

doesn't want him to feel guilty. He wants his brother to be happy. He bangs his head against the desk a few times, unsure what to do to...fix this. He felt like he was emotionally...fucked. He didn't know how_

_to do this. This was why Eliza was better off with West. He scrawls his signature on another piece of paper, and getting up to shove his head through the window. "West..." fuck.

had been playing fetch with the dogs when he hears Gilbert. He stops glancing over his shoulder to spot the other man. "...ja?"

hesitates. He doesn't want to fuck this up. "I...I'm happy for you guys. Seriously. I just want you two to be happy."

subconsciously tenses again. "...Gilbert, are you actually happy? Or are you just saying that?"

doesn't know. He's miserable, but also happy? But he's not going to tell West that. "I'm happy. You two are good for each other, and you make each other happy, and that's all I need or want." As long as they _

_were happy...he would make do.

grows quiet. He hated seeing his brother like this. He's almost tempted to go break it off. "What do you want for dinner?" He asks instead changing the topic.

would kill him if he went and did that. "Uh...I dunno. Something good? What haven't we had in a long time?"

would take that over this. "Bratwurst?"

told West to go get Eliza back, didn't he? Or at least that he would step back. He's fine. He'll get over it. "Yes! Oh, that sounds fucking awesome." Mmm Bratwurst... "I miss Oktoberfest..."

smiles lightly at that. "It's around the corner." He says as he formulates a quick plan to the grocery store and the butchers.

knoooows. "But not fast enough."

couldn't agree more. "Did you want to come to the grocery store with me?"

grins. "Jaaa! Of course!" They could get ice cream, and chocolate, and whipped cream...

[skype isn't sending you my messages ll ]

* ;; ]

smiles lightly. "Meet me in the car in five minutes then." He says as he gets up an heads back inside.

(( I'm not on Skype. ;-; ))

[oooh that's why xD ]

sighs a few more forms, before collecting all his shit and running down to the car.

was waiting in the car with a Rammstein CD in at a high volume.

fucking loves his brother. He hops into the car, cheering. "Go, go, go~~"

reverses and speeds off towards the grocery store.

grins. "Good pick, West!"

likes it too. The track for 'Pussy' comes on. "Glad you approve."

totally rocking out right now. "Sooo much. Oh! Oh! We...we need to go to a concert!:

could not agree more. He had heard tha t they would be touring Europe again. "I hear they'll be in Munich in October

and Berlin in September. Take your pick."

how the hell West knows these things before he does. "Both!"

Thinks that's a great plan. "I'll see what I can do." Which translated too this was really going to happen.

cheers! "Aw, West. You're the best! The greatest, I swear to fucking god."

flushes at the compliment clearing his throat a bit as he pulls into the parking lot of the grocery store.

slips out of the car, cheering to himself, and humming guitar solos.

gets out too and locks the door. He grabs a basket and heads in. He knew whst he needed.

hops alongside him, glancing around. "Hey, hey look! Cookies on sale!:

forgets how much of a kid Gilbert can be in a grocery store. “We‘re not here for cookied.“ He says simply.

isn't a kid! If all the delicious shit is on sale, he can't be blamed. "Weeell, we need dessert. What about ice cream?"

isn't too against ice cream. "What kind of ice cream were you thinking?"

grins at that "Fuerst Pueckler Eis~!"

's lip curves up. "Ja, alright. Go get it."

cheers, and races off down one of the aisles. He almost knocks over a kid, but apologizes hastily as he makes a left turn towards the frozen section.

has gone off to pick up the rest of the ingredients minus the meat.

comes back with two large buckets, poking around to find West. Instead he's almost knocked down three displays, and startled a woman giving out free samples.

can hear the chaos behind him and almost had half a mind to hide so they don't think Gilbert is with him.

would be hurt!...and then cling to him, and speak loud enough that everyone knew. "West!" He finally spots him, and heads over to dump his Eis in the cart.

flushes lightly at all the stares. "Gilbert, be careful and keep it down."

scoffs. "Keep it down? West, we're in a public space, not a...a church."

gives him a stern look. "I didn't say whisper just be respectful of the others around you."

no idea why West is so upset. "What? What's with that look?"

is not upset. "I'm just saying. It may be public but we still need to be aware."

rolls his eyes. "Ja, ja, okay West." Aware of what? He was in a grocery store.

heads to the cash register. The line was decently short.

...ruffles West's hair, messing it up a fair bit before starting to cash out the groceries.

makes a noise of displeasure trying to fix it while pulling out his wallet to pay. He manages to get the transaction through but his hair was less than salvageable.

quite pleased with himself. "You should have your hair messy more often."

flushes. "It makes me look like a kid." He's loading the groceries into the car.

grins. "Firstly, you are a kid. Secondly, look at your body."

gives him a strange look. "That was very contradicting." He gets into the car.

rolls his eyes. "Okay, well you're a kid to me. Secondly, to people that don't know you, no child is that built."

Gilbert will always view him as a kid in that case. “Gilbert you do realise I haven‘t been a kid for more than one hundred years. I‘ll give the last one to you though.“ He starts the car and drives in

the direction of the butcher.

. "Jaa, but remember when you had like...the chubbiest cheeks, and baby fat," He pinches West's cheek. "And you used to follow me around everywhere, and you were the cutest fucking kid ever. Mein Gott, you _

_were cute."

'a face turns a beat red and he awkwardly tries to slap Gilbert's hand away from his cheek. "Gilbert..."

(( I feel Ludwig needs to turn into a kid soon. ))

[xD HE DOES]

grins, messing up his hair a little more. "You were...and always so...determined. Aw man, you adored me back then. Remember I used to carry you around on my shoulders?"

smiles at that. "Ja, I remember." He still adored Gilbert. He was just embarrassed to say it out loud.

(( How free are you? We could start something soon? ))

[I have to go do crap in like...10 minutes v.v]

[but we can start and I'll get back to it when I can?]

(( I meant this week, haha? Not now. xD I have to go to bed in a few minutes. ))

would be surprised -and probably overjoyed- to know that. "Now you could probably piggyback me. Didn't I tell you that you weren't allowed to grow up? You should listen to your bruder, you know." He teases.

parks the car in the only open spot near the butchers. "You know I don't listen very well." His voice grows quiet. "I wanted to be as strong as you then." His cheeks flush at the admittance.

smiles at that. "You did grow up strong, West. We might not fight the same wars we used to..." In Europe, anyways. "But you're just as strong as I was, and look at you now hm? Taking care of your older brother_

_." Because he knew that he would be...gone, without West. "You do know how proud I am, right?"

doesn't want to ask to hear it but sometimes he needs the reassurance. "Well, I can't take all the credit. It was a lot of you...you know that too, ja? If you hadn't been there for a lot of what happened during

my life....I wouldn't be here today. Don't forget that either Gilbert. Because I notice that you forget that you were and always will be important to me."

falls silent for a moment. It's not that he forgets, it's just...it feels like West just doesn't need him anymore. But hearing that he's important to West is something he does need, even if he doesn't like_

_to admit it. "Come on, West. Your my little bruder...I'll always be here for you. I'd never let you...you know? Without backup, or someone to fall back on..."

stares at the steering wheel for a while. "I know...I just sometimes can't help remember those few times that I thought I had lost you..." He had been such a mess during the divide of East and West.

shuts his eyes for a moment. Gott, that time with Ivan had been absolute hell, and there had been a million and one times where he'd thought...for sure. For sure he'd vanish like Vati. He still felt that way, _

_like he was living on borrowed time, or that one day he wouldn't wake up, or get to finish a sentence, and he'd just be...gone. "But you didn't, and I'm here."

nods at that and tries to smile but it doesn't quite meet his gaze. "I...am sorry....you know, for everything."

frowns a little at that. "Hey. None of that. You have nothing to be sorry for. Shit happens, and you have to roll with it to survive. If I happen to get the short end every so often, so be it. I'd take that_

_willingly and happily, if it meant you ended up okay."

nods again and slips out of his seat. "I'll go get the bratwursts...I'll be right back." He doesn't say anything more and closes the door heading into the butcher. He hated that his brother would sacrifice

everything for him. It just wasn't fair.

just nods. He leans back into the seat, propping his feet up on the dash and sighs. He was really bad at this, wasn't he?

|It doesn't take him long and he's back in the car with a bag full of different types of meat. He sits quietly for a second before starting the car. "Was there anything else we needed?" He asks softly, unsure

if maybe Gilbert had thought of something else while he was gone fetching the meat.

thinking of stuff, it just didn't have much to do with meat. "Mmm, nah. We still have tons of beer, right?"

nods as he shifts the car into reverse and soon they are heading home. He decides to play the radio instead.

hums along to the radio, gazing outside.

pulls up in their driveway and turns off the vehicle when he's parked it. He gets out and goes to grab the groceries.

takes the groceries from West's hands, heading up to the door. "Where are my doggy kisses?" He addresses the dogs, grinning as they come to greet him.

grabs the last bag seeing as Gilbert has taken nearly all of them and follows after also being greeted by three wagging tails.

sets the bags on the counter, greeting them all with scratches behind the ears.

, unfortunately, can't give them too much attention and leaves them to Gilbert as he starts working on dinner. He had washed the potatoes and sat down peeling them.

give them enough attention for the both of them.

knows this and so isn't too preoccupied. He's already slicing the potatoes and sprinkling seasoning on them.

excited. He's so excited about West's cooking, oooh gott, it's been so long.

has slipped them into the oven and is now working on cooking the bratwursts. He was in the zone.

can tell. It smells fucking delicious. For now, he's rolling around with the dogs.

Glances over and can't help the laugh that escapes. He's setting the table. The food was nearly ready.

playing with them! He pounces Blackie, cackling as the other two jump him as well.

can only see a large dog pile in his periphery. He sets all the food down an especially the Mustard for the bratwursts and takes a Seat waiting amused.

peeks up when he sees West already seated. "Dinner guys! Go play~" He extracts himself, dusting off as much fur as he can, before plopping down in his seat. "Smells awesome."

frowns lightly. "Go wash your hands Gilbert. They've been out in the yard nearly all day."

figures he's using cutlery, so it shouldn't matter. But he trudges over to the sink anyways, scrubbing his hands.

pleased that he listened. He waits for him to come back before starting on the meal.

plops back down in his seat, ready to stuff his face.

places the first bratwurst on his plate before dishing out the potatoes and the rest of the food. "I made extra just in case."

groans at the sight of the food. "Gott, you know I love you, right?"

chuckles lightly. "Ja, I know." That he knew very well.

starts to promptly shove as much food in his mouth as was possible.

had mastered the technique of ignoring Gilbert's horrible table manners. He knows he's no saint at the table but he was sure nothing compared to his brother...

hungry! Geez, he can't be faulted for liking West's amazing cooking.

would have flushed if he had known that was the reason.

should probably tell him more often, but he figured it was obvious!

knew that Gilbert liked it but didn't know what extent.

pretty sure West's food is his favourite food. It didn't even matter what he made.

that Gilbert thinks to highly of his cooking skills. He's sure his brother likes Italy's food better, or at least that's what it seemed.

does like little Italy's food, but not better!

appreciates that...it makes him feel special.

figured West knew he was the person most special to him.

tried to remember as much as possible.

glad. There's no one more important to him than West. He finishes his food, happy as anything. "I'm having seconds~!"

smiles at that. "I did make extra." He's a lot more pleases than he lets off.

groans happily, and starts to fill his plate. "You should like....have a restaurant side business or something. I mean, if work wasn't so time consuming as it was."

quirks a brow at that. "You'd be my only costumer."

scoffs. "No way! I mean. Look at it this way, you've been cooking longer than human chef, right? So your food is obviously amazing to not just me."

can't help but still be amused. "That's a good point but unless no one ever needs me work wise I'd never have time."

hums. "Well I mean...I could handle it for you."

laughs. "No, I'd never make you do that. And besides, I do like my work regardless of the fact That it can stress me."

makes a face at that. "Work sucks, West. Stress sucks even more."

reaches over and pats his shoulder sympathetically. "Remember when I would spend time in your study pretending to work while you were actually working."

grins a little at that. "Ja, you were so damn cute. Dunno why you wanted to even pretend to work. Guess you didn't realise how horrible it was back then." Aw, the days of West following him around like a puppy.

had followed him around extensively when he wasn't in Roderich's care. "I wanted to be like you, obviously." His work had consisted of drawings of dogs.