Chapter Text
Roderich stood in the hallway as Gilbert struggled with the zipper of his jacket before getting it, pulling it halfway up before looking up, he tilted his head noticing the brunette, silently prompting him to speak as he looked like he had something he wanted to say.
“Can I go with you?” Austria asked.
“I’m not doing anything interesting, just getting groceries, but yeah, if you want. Do you need to go somewhere else?” Roderich shook his head, Gilbert hummed turning around to go outside.
As Gilbert clicked his seatbelt into place, Austria paused shutting the car door. “You have your license, right?” He questioned.
“Mhm.” He replied, rolling his eyes as he flipped opened his wallet, showing him. “You told West that I didn’t last time, so he made me get a new one.” He complained as Roderich took the leather wallet, inspecting it before handing it back.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He scoffed, shaking his head disbelievingly as the car started.
“Why did you want to come?” Gilbert asked after they’d been driving for a few minutes.
He shrugged. “I felt like going out, and I wanted to pick the ingredients for something I’m making later.”
Gilbert nodded, turning on the radio to fill the silence.
“You look nice, is there a costume party?” A stranger asked as they walked across the parking lot, Prussia stifled a laugh behind his hand.
“Thank you, no.” Austria responded politely.
“Why don’t you have any normal clothes?” Gilbert questioned through laughter as they entered the grocery store, opening his wallet to get a coin for the shopping cart. Austria didn’t respond, crossing his arms instead as he walked beside him into the first isle.
Austria selected the items as Prussia pushed the cart, reading off his list, lingering before them to select the most affordable option per habit. They spent a decent amount of time in the section with baking ingredients, far more than three (or four counting Italy who used the house as a defacto residence) people’s worth of ingredients for desserts filling the cart.
When they checked out, Roderich wondered if the cashier thought the two of them jointly owned a bakery, though he figured bakeries likely didn’t source their ingredients from supermarkets. Gilbert marveled at the total price, being nearly twenty percent cheaper than usual even with the extra baking ingredients.
“How the hell do you even do that?” He asked as they got back into the car, still staring at the receipt.
“It’s not that hard.” He stated defensively, evidently embarrassed by his frugalness, turning to look out the window to hide the creeping blush on his face.
“Do you want to go anywhere else since we’re already out?” Gilbert asked.
“It’s around lunchtime, maybe a café? I’m not particularly hungry, but a coffee and something light would be nice.” Roderich suggested.
“Kay, I know a place around here.” He announced proudly.
A bell rang as the door opened, the orange toned wood interior gave a rustic homey feel to the place. Roderich ordered a sandwich and a double espresso, Gilbert getting a maple latte and a plate of wurst. They sat at a table with a window view, there was a view of a creek below from where they were. The ambience of light chatter from a group of friends drinking together added to the comfortable feel of the place. Roderich glanced to the piano with a similar orange wood to the floors and counters.
“Are you going to play something?”
He shook his head. “Not today.”
A waiter set their plates down, Prussia thanked them and took a sip of his coffee. Austria followed, looping his fingers around his own mug, wincing barely noticeably at the ache that ran down his wrist.
Taking notice of his shaking hand and the painful expression as Roderich set his cup down, Gilbert reached for his hands, taking them in his own.
“What are you doing?” He questioned before a soft gasp was drawn from his lips as Gilbert pressed the pads of his thumbs into the palms of his Roderich’s hands, causing his fingers to twitch in response to the tender pain soon comforted with the soothing feeling. Gilbert’s hands were abnormally warm as they massaged his hands.
They traveled from his palms to applying a gentle pressure to the insides of his wrists, squeezing them gently in a rhythm akin to a heartbeat. With a steady pressure, fingers stroked his forearms along the median nerve, up and down, slowly. He repeated the pattern, switching between the three exercises before setting them back onto the desk.
Roderich grasped his right arm in his left hand, squeezing the held arm into a fist, not feeling the familiar pain traveling down the length of his forearm. “How?”
“Because I’m awesome.” He answered in a whisper, winking as he took another sip of his coffee from across the table.
“Actually.” He pressed, switching grip on his hands, and testing the other before taking his cup and drinking.
“I’m a writer.” He answered. “It’s a trick I found that helps, it won’t last though.” He informed regretfully, Roderich nodded, a temporary relief was a wonder.
Roderich reached for Prussia’s hand, attempting to copy the action. “Like this?” He asked.
“Further down.” He corrected, using his free hand. “There.”
A blush coated Roderich’s cheeks as he realized they must have been perceived as on a date, especially with the pseudo hand holding, and perhaps it was in a sense, he thought to himself, finding that he didn’t mind the perception.
“I don’t want to go home.” Roderich said as he kneaded the palm in his. Gilbert tilted his head confused.
“We can stay here then?”
“I meant mine, I was supposed to stay with you and Ludwig until I got better, I am now, but I like it here, I want to stay.” Prussia smiled.
“I like your being here too, you make me seem more awesome, so stay.”