Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The young little Italian boy was asleep, and the weight lifted off of Roderich’s chest. He was sitting languidly in the chair, voice fading into silence as his eyes continued reading the story that he had been instructed to read out loud not too long ago. His legs were crossed and his glasses readjusted as he read the rest of the tale.

It was regarding the relationship between two brothers, with the older brother always being overbearing toward the younger when they traveled together in the woods. The younger brother, annoyed with this constant hovering, decides to become independent. He yells at the other before running away into the woods. In the end, the younger child gets eaten by a bear.

Roderich sighed. He didn’t often like to read fairy tales with such dark endings to tell their morals. He especially didn’t like telling them to Feliciano. When he told the stories, he typically modified the endings so that it wouldn’t sound so sinister, lest Feliciano start crying, keeping him up longer. The idea of brotherhood was something he preferred to talk about with him, as he wasn’t entirely close with his brother.

The clock was already reaching one in the morning. Roderich hadn’t had a chance to go grocery shopping like he had originally planned. Though slightly annoyed, he couldn’t really muster himself to stay that way when he looked at the young boy peacefully snoring.

The gentle silence was calming in the evening time, and the city cars weren’t honking at their usual frequency anymore. Their engines passed by quietly, while the distant sound of an ambulance siren was weakly heard over the next few streets.

Roderich closed the book, setting it down on the night desk next to the sleeping Feliciano. After standing up and stretching, he went to leave the room to grab his bag.

Today would mark the last time he would be available for babysitting. Last time here in this location, at least. The Austrian was planning to move out of the city and into the countryside once more, where it would be a more favorable distance to the university. He sat down on the weathered couch and began to pull out a book, waiting for Romulus Vargas to get back home.

It didn’t take as long as he thought, however. Fifteen minutes later, the elder man entered the apartment with Lovino close behind him. He was older than Feliciano by about three years and was currently going to be enrolled in high school soon.

Roderich put his book away and greeted him.

“How was your trip?”

“Well enough, I suppose. We got out later than we wanted, as there was traffic on the way back from the airport before the highway cleared up again. Sorry about the overtime.”

Lovino just quietly shuffled passed them and made a quick getaway for the bed. Romulus chuckled as he set his coat on the hanger.

“Not a problem. I just put Feliciano to sleep. Telling him that I was leaving was a bit too much for him. Cried for about three hours before I got him to bed,” Roderich knew he probably had to wash his jacket off because of all the extra mucus.

Romulus smiled. “Oh right. It is your last time here. You will move out soon?”

“Hopefully,” he admitted. “I still need to find a place to stay. The apartments there are too expensive.”

Roderich wasn’t entirely energized for a conversation at the moment. He was honestly ready to collapse on his bed. College conversations were tiresome sometimes. Romulus, still taking his sweet time to retrieve the payment, sat down on the couch. The impression he gave out always seemed a little intimidating. He didn’t dare ask for him to hurry up.

“I used to have a family friend,” he sighed. “Living in the area you’re suggesting to move to. He passed away some time ago, but his sons now occupy the house. I’m sure they can provide a living space for you if I give you a good word.”

Roderich blinked.

“Are you sure, Mr. Vargas? I’m grateful for the offer, but…”

“No, no. I insist.” The smile on his face that was typically there to relieve him was not present. “I actually wanted to make this offer…more of a favor.”

Roderich furrowed his eyebrows together.

“A favor? What do you mean?”

“I’ll pay you another twenty extra,” he insisted. “Those boys need someone to watch and stay with them. I have not heard back from their place for about a year now, but I’m worried. The older one should be the caretaker of the house…but I’m unsure where he’s been.”

Romulus began to pull out his wallet and fish out the cash that was owed, plus the twenty. He handed it to Roderich. Before he could argue, he ushered him to the door.

“Gilbert is his name. Last I heard, he was working as a janitor at the local elementary school.”

The Austrian frowned. “I suppose I’ll look into it, sir. How old are the two brothers?”

“Gilbert is twenty-two,” said Romulus. “The younger one is nine.”

Romulus stood to lead Roderich to the door.
“…please consider the offer. I’m sorry I had to ask you of all people. But I trust you with my grandchildren, so I’ll have no worries knowing that my friend’s children will be also safe with you.”

“I’ll try my best, sir. If it comes to that.”

“Thank you.”

Romulus watched him get outside before waving and closing the front door. Roderich reached inside of his pocket to grab the keys to his car and unlocked it. As he settled into the seat, he felt his heart sink at the forced obligation he had to do. He looked at the city apartment one last time before driving away home.

He only hoped that the circumstances weren’t too out of hand for his help.

The doorbell wasn’t the chime he expected but was instead a loud and annoying buzzing noise that echoed the longer he pressed. Roderich stood at the door, currently assessing the quality of the house itself through his own eyes while plopping his suitcases on the floor of the porch gently. It wasn’t particularly old, but the exterior clearly looked weathered down by rain and snow. The windows didn’t look like they had been washed well from the outside. He was not one to judge by first glances, but he already felt like there was something quirky about this place.

The creak of the door was opened, but instead of meeting the gaze of a taller individual, he was forced to look down and meet the eyes of a younger, well-dressed little boy.

Roderich furrowed his eyebrows while Ludwig met his gaze.

“…you’re Mr. Edelstein, correct?”
“Yes. You are Ludwig Beilschmidt?”

The little boy nodded, opening the door wider for him to enter. Roderich thanked him quietly as he stepped inside, grabbing and setting the suitcases out of the way. The young child Ludwig closed the door behind them before meeting his gaze again. “Mr. Vargas sent you?”

“Yes. Thank you again for letting me stay here for the while.”

Ludwig nodded, picking up the suitcases for Roderich.

“You don’t have to…”

“This way.” It was a rather definitive answer. Roderich decided he had no choice, following him up the stairs and into a bedroom that looked rather dull and empty except for the lone drawer, bed, and carpet on the floor. Ludwig set the suitcases down before looking back up to him.

“Danke schoēn,” he replied to him. “Thank you.”

He wasn’t sure if the other could speak German very well. Ludwig just seemed to take the response without much mind before heading back to the door.

“Are you hungry?”

“Well…perhaps not now. Sometime later.”

Again, Ludwig nodded.

“Just let me know. I’ll start cooking some stew later.”

Before the younger child had a chance to leave the room…

“Wait.”

Ludwig stopped, turning back around to face him.

“Romulus Vargas also mentioned that you had another brother here with you,” stated Roderich. “Gilbert, right?”

Ludwig blinked, looking as if he were thinking a way to explain himself.

“Yes. He is currently sick right now.”

“Sick?”

“Mm. He actually doesn’t like visitors to come in. He’s not here right now, so I thought it would be alright to let you in since Mr. Vargas asked.”

Roderich widened his eyes. “You are alone?”
“No. He’s downstairs in the basement.”

The Austrian seemed to frown at this then. What a weird place to choose for a bedroom. “Why there?”

“He’s alb...albeen…”

He seemed to have trouble pronouncing it.

“Albino?”

“Ja. He said too much sun hurts his skin.”

“Oh.”

Roderich suddenly felt he knew the reason for Gilbert’s supposed absence. Perhaps it was physical stress. He didn’t want to sound too intrusive, so he just nodded and let Ludwig off to do whatever he planned to do.

Roderich placed his suitcases on the bed, clicking them open while he sorted the clothes. During his unpacking, he ran into some old sheet music that he recalled writing earlier in the semester. He smiled fondly, thinking perhaps that it wouldn’t be so bad to try and make some pieces again. Maybe he could play it when Ludwig was at school? He’d have to ask permission from Gilbert, though. The Gilbert that lives in the basement.

That didn’t sound creepy at all.

Evening was soon drawing near. Roderich had almost finished his unpacking, but he knew he had at least a few more boxes coming by truck the following day. He sighed, supposing that Ludwig was almost done with dinner. Roderich hadn’t left the room for the last three hours and it was already approaching near seven in the evening. He opened the door leading out his room. The sounds of clinking and bubbling, as well as the aroma of food indicated that Ludwig had already started.

The house was eerily quiet and dark in the evening setting. The only light that remained obvious was the kitchen area, while the rest of the living room that was downstairs was uncomfortably dim. As he walked toward the kitchen, he glanced around, planning to at least explore the house a little later on his own time. It was too large for only two people.

Roderich paused for a while. It was only then that he remembered that he was there to take the place of a dead relative. He felt his chest grow heavy at the thought.

He entered the kitchen, expecting to see two people at the dinner table, but with no sign of the older brother in the same room. Strange. He thought the evening time would be more favorable for leaving that basement.

“You’re here,” said Ludwig in surprising, having not noticed his entry until now. Upon further inspection, he realized that Ludwig was standing on a stool in order to cook the food. It seemed like simple potato soup. Roderich’s facial expression softened. He must have worked hard on that.

“Yes. I’ve been in my room all day unpacking.” He paused a moment, wondering if he should ask.

“Is…your brother not going to join us?”

“No,” sighed Ludwig. “But I already gave him dinner. I’m almost done cooking so you can sit down.”

Roderich followed what he said. He sat down, pulling out his phone from his pocket. He was finally getting back to the people he still needed to message about his move in.

Elizaveta, of course, had several messages sent at one time. He did a quick glance through before replying that the move was successful. He didn’t mention anything about the brothers, though. Following that, was Feliciano. This was no surprise, seeing as he had recently received a new phone by his grandfather. But the message was a bit more heartfelt than he originally thought.  

From: Feliciano V

To: Roderich E

Sent: 20:23

Hi roderich! Its feli!! I was wondering if u made it to ludwigs ok? Hes very shy to talk to but he speaks german like u!! Make sure to tell him and gilbert that me and lovi said hi!

Roderich pursed his lips. He felt a bit singled out for being the only one who hasn’t quite officially met Gilbert.

Ludwig stepped off the stool, attempting to lift the pot off the stove with mittens in his hands. Roderich closed his phone, standing to help him carry the pot to the table while Ludwig got bowls and spoons instead.

“…How long has Gilbert been sick?” inquired Roderich. He poured Ludwig his own share of the soup before collecting some himself.

“For a year now,” replied Ludwig, drinking the soup without much thought. “I’ve been taking care of him.”

“Alone? Still?”

“Yes. No one is here to do it.”

 “Oh.”

Roderich realized he hadn’t even touched the soup, so he began to eat it slowly, thinking about what to say.
“Is he still in the basement?”
“Yes.”

“Can I introduce myself to him there?”

“He’s sleeping right now.”

Roderich clinked the spoon in his bowl. It didn’t seem Ludwig felt too rushed to introduce him to his brother. The Austrian concluded that he’d probably have to try and find him on his own time. Instead, he began to change subjects. Ludwig didn’t seem like the talkative type, but if he had to live with him for the next academic school years, he’d have to be familiar with him.

“So…what’s your favorite subject in school?”

Ludwig blinked as if no one had ever asked him. Perhaps this is what Feliciano meant by shy.

“…well I like math.” He said before pausing. “Mr. Vargas said you liked music.”

“Ah…yes. I like to compose my own pieces.” Roderich seemed to smile a little with that. “I hope you don’t mind me playing some songs while here.”

“No…I don’t mind. Music helps me study.”

Roderich’s smile brightened. “…do you play music?”

“I’m good at…v-violin.” stuttered Ludwig. “I-I’m not an expert at it though…”

“No worries. Neither am I.”

“What? How can you say that? You just said you make your own music!” he exclaimed.

“Well…a good player doesn’t need to be the best at what he does,” said Roderich as he seemed to then get more soup. “Just love what he is doing.”

Ludwig remained quiet then. Roderich hoped he had at least shown the boy that he meant well.

“Also…your friend Feliciano says hello.”

Dinner was soon concluded and Roderich insisted that he wash the dishes to compensate for dinner. Ludwig reluctantly agreed, preoccupied at the thought that his friend still remembered him. Roderich found that very endearing.

The days went by quickly as the university’s schedule began to pull him back in the swing of busy feet. Roderich quickly realized that he arrived at home the same time as Ludwig, thankfully making it easier to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, throughout this time with the young German, he also realized that Ludwig was deliberately trying to keep him away from Gilbert. This was subtle at first. He noticed that Gilbert was coincidentally “not feeling too well” whenever he asked. Roderich eventually gave up this pursuit, starting to develop a conclusion that he might not be in the basement at all, and that he was trying to cover up the fact that Gilbert might have left him all by himself. The thought made him angry. How could anyone think about leaving a kid as good as Ludwig behind?

Roderich compromised himself to become a little more open to Ludwig. Living alone at the age of nine must be tiring for him. Roderich at least wanted to give him a break from adulthood and to let him be a kid again.

The days went on like this, and Ludwig eventually did begin to talk without sounding too robotic. He didn’t bring up the topic of Gilbert too much, though he was still no closer to figuring out more on his sudden disappearance. Roderich also still felt that there were important things down in that basement that would answer a lot of questions.

During this time frame of careful planning, Roderich explored the rest of the house by himself. He noted that there were a lot of frames depicting the old owner Aldrich Beilschmidt with what looked like his wife and son. Only one picture included Ludwig’s family, with Ludwig sporting a frown in the picture while the taller albino child next to him was stooped down to his level and grinning right at the camera. Gilbert, most likely. He studied the picture, trying to form an image in his own head on how Gilbert must look like at twenty-two years of age.

After a late night of studying music history, Roderich decided that perhaps 1:30 was a good time to assume that Ludwig was asleep. Equipped with only his phone as a source of light, he hunted around the downstairs floor for a one-way ticket to the basement. The door underneath the stairs he at first assumed was a closet became a close bet. His hand twisted the knob, but it didn’t budge at all. Locked.

Disappointment wasn’t an option either. If Ludwig was able to get down there every day to ‘feed’ his brother, then there had to be a key somewhere around the place.

He went back upstairs dejected but not quite done yet.

The mornings were usually quiet too. They alternated making breakfasts and dinners, often resulting in mild chatter about school, activities, and friends.

Although Roderich liked the idea of bringing some of his colleagues over, he still felt that the house rightfully belonged to Ludwig and Gilbert. He didn’t want to impose on their property, despite already living there for good three months now. In the mornings, Ludwig would be the first one up, and it didn’t matter how early Roderich force himself out of the bed since Ludwig seemed to never stay asleep for long anyway. One morning, he caught Ludwig coming inside from the back door with a bowl of what looked like flowers and weeds from the outside gardens. Roderich hid right on the stairs, waiting for him to pass. He realized that he was taking the bowl to the basement under the stairs. The jingling of the keys was heard to unlock it and Ludwig’s light footsteps were heard descending. He came back up within a few minutes and proceeded to go wash his hands and make breakfast like he usually did.

Roderich came then into the kitchen, pretending that whatever he saw had not been witnessed as they ate. When they were finished and Ludwig returned upstairs, the Austrian’s eyes trained themselves at the door that was locked again.

It confused him…and quite frankly it frightened him to think that the secret that Ludwig was keeping down there could potentially be a lot more than a fabricated story.

“I’ll be home late tomorrow,” said Ludwig the evening before. Roderich was currently in his room, once again preparing for another exam that was nearing. Roderich removed his glasses to look at Ludwig.

“Late? Why’s that?”

“I’m…I’m interested in joining the track team.” He revealed. A blush was visible in the lamplight the room provided. Roderich seemed to smile back at him then.

“Well…I’m glad to hear that you’re going to participate in some afterschool activities. How late will you be?”

“…about two hours later than usual. I hope that doesn’t worry you too much.”

Roderich seemed to laugh at that. Genuinely happy for him. “Worrying? You’re the younger one! Don’t worry yourself with me. Just make sure you drink a lot of water and come back safely. I’m glad you’re getting a chance to do more things than sit around and do homework all day.”

Ludwig seemed to then feel a lot more satisfied with that answer, and a leap of hope after months of patient waiting began to form in Roderich’s chest. That following afternoon was something so highly anticipated; he nearly forgot about his exam that day.

Once he got back home, the rest of the day was free of study hours and music making. The basement was his priority, and the lock still persisted to be the reason for his inability to enter.

Roderich did a quick glance across Ludwig’s bedroom, careful not to ruin anything that might alert him of his presence here when Ludwig got home. The drawers did not contain anything but his clothes, but eventually he encountered a small box under the bed that thankfully had a clinking sound to it when he shook it.

The Austrian took it, feeling dread now beginning to cloud. Weeds every morning and evening in a bowl downstairs to the basement.

The image wasn’t pleasant to recall but was something that needed to be answered.

Roderich had convinced himself that the Gilbert that he never met could even be dead somewhere in that basement when Roderich first arrived to the house. And Ludwig must be trying to pay a form of respect by giving him flowers.

It was a dark thought (and a ridiculous stretch) but it was an extreme speculation. It was either something like that or perhaps something more likely, such as Gilbert not being downstairs at all and he’d find a huge underground flowerbed.

Nonetheless, it didn’t stop him from missing his opportunity to explore the part of the house that may reveal something about Gilbert.

As he went to the door to finally unlock it, the hinges decided to make a mildly loud creak when he opened it. His hand went to flip on the light switch he spotted at the entrance but was disappointed to find that it was not working. The only flashlight that the musician had was the light switch on his phone. It was almost dead, but he didn’t expect a long trip downstairs anyway.

Roderich swallowed heavily, trying to compose himself to walk down the blinding staircase. He flashed his light in front of him, discovering really nothing unusual, save for some out of place furniture that didn’t seem to fit in any of the boxes. The air was dry and dusty as expected, and he felt the instinct to cover his nose and mouth as he tried to look around. Any clues. Perhaps even proof of Gilbert still being downstairs like he was supposed to be.

“…uh…Gilbert Beilschmidt?” he called out after a while. No response was given, but he felt his foot kick something. The light reflected down to reveal that the bowl Ludwig left that morning was still there and untouched. The flowers were a little frizzled up.

Roderich felt now concerned. His two original theories on what could have happened were now tossed out the window. But he ignored it for now and continued to search around the deeper back area of the basement.

Boxes filled the shelves, all labeled with generic things. Christmas decorations, fall and winter clothes, toys…nothing entirely unique. The floor itself was dusted with dried mud, and he was still unsure. He might even find a dog down here. He hurried over when he found enough leg room, trying to account for his phone’s limited battery. Although he expected to see any proof of a dog (or perhaps any rodent), he found out that there wasn’t anything available for further guesses since it was an empty corner.

He sighed. Damn.

As Roderich began to leave, something was heard shuffling ahead. It didn’t sound entirely loud, so he suspected the rodent. The house was old anyway, and it wouldn’t be surprising to encounter one. He wasn’t squeamish, but he also didn’t like filth. He’d have to think a good time to try and bring this up in conversation when Ludwig came back…

The basement door shut, and the remaining light inside of the basement was now completely black. His heart jumped, not at all enjoying this dry atmosphere. His phone was reading 3%, and the sudden need to leave was building.
Roderich found the foot of the stairs after frantic shining. He immediately headed for them, but not before noticing the bowl right at the base of the staircase.

Empty.

A heavy growl sounded behind him, and he didn’t dare take the time to try and stick around to see what it was. He scrambled up the stairs two at a time before trying to twist the knob open. It was jammed, and something heavy was heard stepping on the steps. Slowly. Much bigger than a rodent.

He didn’t want to make any sudden movements, and he held his flashlight steady. It was at 2%.

His hand went to slowly reach his pocket to grab the keys. He just needed to take them and unlock the door and he’d be out free without a problem.

But as he did this, he couldn’t help but evaluate…if he blinded whatever thing was behind him by shining the light in its eyes, he could make a run for it and also take a glance to see what it was.

The sound of the door unlocking was alarmingly loud. But he still didn’t want to risk moving too fast.

He counted to three quietly in his head, gripping his phone. 1%.

One…two…

He flashed the light rapidly behind him while trying to literally shove the door open. What he saw behind him had red eyeballs, roaring a noise similar to a human scream and a gurgling snarl. The potential energy from shoving the door caused him to fall right onto the floor with a heavy thud. His phone skittered away as this happened. The monstrous creature grabbed his leg, immediately tugging him back down into the place he escaped from.

Roderich screamed, trying to grab something that could help hold him upstairs. He grabbed the doorframe, fingernails digging into the wall as he felt the thing tug him.

Another growl. He turned his gaze to his feet, where he saw something pale still attempting to yank him. Roderich grunted, trying to rapidly kick with his free leg; to be as frustrating as possible to hold still.

His heart sank when the second hand managed to grab the ankle of his other foot. And he felt the stronger jerk make his fingers slip. Roderich’s head smacked the floor painfully, cracking his glasses. He felt too dizzy to focus on anything, and he didn’t even know if he felt any shards in his eye. Roderich passed out before he could get the sense to call for help.

Chapter Text

Christine and Frederick were the best parents Gilbert could have ever asked for. They weren’t the romantic type, and often talked to each other like they were the best of friends. He found that it was the weirdest kind of relationship he had ever seen in his life, considering that he had seen other parents kiss their faces off in the hallways of the elementary school countless times. His parents thought blind love and action was an impractical way to spend their time, instead opting to drink together during the late evenings and watch cheesy soap operas that made them both cry like idiots. And Gilbert would wake up during those evenings and sit between them watching the TV and laughing. They would hand him apple juice in a wine glass so that they could all toast together and the strong smell of beer filled his nose so often that he had learned to associate with home. Mayhem like this would continue every night until he decided it was time to get back to bed.

By the time Gilbert had hit the ripe age of thirteen, acne prone and on the verge of voice cracking, he had noticed that the lifestyle that he originally knew had significantly changed in the form of a gradient. Gone were the sleepless nights of soap operas. Christine now had to work longer hours at the pharmacy while Old Fritz had to stay at home to watch over him. His father’s given nickname was created after he had successfully started growing white hairs at the age of forty. During the times that the two of them were together, Gilbert always thought his homework felt less boring when he listened to the songs his father made when he performed with his flute. A girly instrument Gilbert had called it once, but Fritz had proven his point by attempting to beat box while playing. It wasn’t very good, though Gilbert found the attempt to impress something admirable.

One following afternoon when Gilbert came home from school, his father approached him. He asked if he had the time to talk with him today, and the albino was understandably confused on why he needed to. He saw him every day, of every week, of every month and year.

“…I’m sick,” said Fritz, looking serious. The wrinkles on his face were not many, but it did highlight his age. “Very sick. And it is not something that I can ever get better from.”

There was a deadly silence that followed. Fritz hugged his son tightly. “I won’t have much longer before I have to leave you alone with your mother.”

Gilbert hadn’t quite grasped everything from this sudden explanation; too young to have understood what he meant. “Leave? What do you mean?”

“…I have colon cancer,” the older man explained instead, trying to be as truthful as he could so that he would not have to sugarcoat the concept of death to his son. “And its terminal. I only have a few more months until I get myself into a grave one day, old boy.”

It took about five full minutes in his father’s hug before he realized about the severity of the situation. He felt himself wanting to say a lot of things. His heart was upset and angry. If he could, he would have been ready to scream his heart out into the sky. But all he could manage was a simple…

“…oh.”

That evening, Gilbert had cried endlessly until the next morning. He insisted on staying home from classes, wanting to spend every second with his father. Christine had to temporarily readjust her work schedule too, so that they could spend the last days of his life back into the old habits of late night soap opera sessions. Though the feeling was nostalgic for all of them, the effort still felt lost onto the air when Frederick died within the next three months.

The death was unplanned, and the vacation money that was going to be spent on a trip back to Germany ended up being put under the funeral costs.

Gilbert didn’t speak much after those days, continuing his life as if it weren’t anything different. No one was at home to play the flute anymore, and it prompted him to try and learn how to do it himself to recreate the song that Fritz had done so many times before. He even tried beatboxing…attempting to replicate what his memory recalled in fear of forgetting it forever.

The loneliness persisted in the early breakfasts when Christine was home. She had taken up drinking beer nonstop for the last couple of days. Gilbert felt as alone as she was. His mother often had to skip work a few times to be with Gilbert, but the relationship the two of them had was not even close to the same. He hadn’t ever felt a parent become so platonic in his life until this point.

In the blurred months to follow, Christine didn’t take long to settle in with another man in her life. Gilbert, of course, was far from happy. The courting soon escalated into marriage. The man, Daniel, was a lot colder than Gilbert anticipated. He didn’t like the way he tended to brush Gilbert’s stories at school off like dust; something Fritz wouldn’t have ever done to him. The loneliness was gone for Christine, but now Gilbert felt even more alone than ever without her. She was supposed to help him out of his depression…but Gilbert should have already suspected that she, again, was not the motherly type she was supposed to be representing. The teen spent long nights at home alone while they dated together, and he eventually resorted to picking up his old Nintendo 64 and playing some games by himself. A stress reliever, his friend Francis had once called it. Something to pull the mind away from reality without becoming intoxicated before the legal drinking age.

But this artificial drug did not, however, last as long as he wanted it to be. The repeated Mario Cart races became redundant, and all he kept doing was beating his high score every single run. Christine often tried to wean him away from it, but Gilbert never seemed to budge much when she asked. She didn’t deserve Gilbert’s attention.

But one day, the next statement that followed made him finally put the controller down in shock.

“I’m pregnant.”

From then on, Gilbert consciously decided to stop playing video games in favor of wanting to help Christine. He still had mixed feelings about her abandonment, but it would be below him to abandon his mother when she needed the support of her only son and husband. During this particular event, Gilbert and Daniel decided to have a mutual truce to care for her until the time came for her to have birth. The winter holiday came up quickly, and the weather was beginning to reveal itself to be a healthy blizzard for December. Gilbert and Daniel had worked hard so that they could give Christine the best time of her life since Fritz’s death. They celebrated Christmas with exciting lights and music; trees and presents galore. In the end, Gilbert felt his heart sink at the thought that he was creating a fantasy of a wonderland just for the purposes of temporarily relieving mental stress.

Christine was eventually admitted to the hospital within the months following the New Year. Her condition had significantly worsened overtime from the physical stress, causing many heart problems that were affecting her body’s way of functioning. Despite Daniel’s insistent reassurances, which were frankly quite annoying from Gilbert’s perspective, she eventually succumbed to the exhaustion and died just a few minutes after the baby had been born. Gilbert recalled waiting outside the operating room, heart escalated to dangerous levels when he watched several amounts of surgeons entering the emergency room. His mind was swimming with many possibilities and outcomes, and desperately hoped she would be alright. He already lost his father; his best and only true friend. He didn’t think he was ready to lose his mother either. But when the lead surgeon came in with the devastating news, he swore that God was using him as a testing dummy for life’s worst outcomes.

Another funeral had been arranged within a matter of days, and Gilbert was already devoid of life. His heart that was once fractured continued to shatter into more pieces to pick up. Thankfully, Daniel at least gave him the chance to hold the newborn child in his arms. Throughout the whole service, he focused his attention on the baby the entire time. Gilbert didn’t want to have to deal with another episode of depression so soon, choosing instead to try and get the little baby to open his eyes.
The boy had the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. The child hadn’t ever cried since his mother’s death. Although, in her last dying moments, Christine had enough time to give him a name.

‘Ludwig’ sounded very fitting to his ears.

Their new “father” wasn’t the kind of person who expected to be a father figure so soon. Gilbert often joked about this mentally, knowing that the man had expected a loving wife to live with, but received a huge liability instead: children. Ludwig was growing quite fast too, already reaching the ripe age of five years old. Gilbert loved Ludwig with a passion, enjoying the way the little boy did simple tasks like putting square blocks in a triangle hole or attempting to ride a bicycle without training wheels. He found it the most endearing sight he had ever seen in his life. Ludwig also look strikingly similar to their grandfather, which gave him hope that their genes came from the same parents.

Daniel, however, probably couldn’t have cared less about the two brothers. Although he did provide for them, he always seemed to act like they were a burden to him, always complaining about how they drained away his funds and so forth. Gilbert always tried to shield this kind of animosity away from his brother as best he could so he wouldn’t end up the same way: heartless and inconsiderate.

Through this time living together, Ludwig had always been…square. He was always doing what he was told and never disobeyed Daniel nor Gilbert. It was a little bit worrying, though it wasn’t entirely a bad quality to have.

They lived together like this for his five years, and Ludwig was receiving only half of the amount of love he should be getting.

One particularly rough school day when Gilbert arrived home first, Daniel came up to him without much emotion to his face.

“You’re an adult now, you know. Eighteen years.”
“Yeah? And?”

Daniel paused, seeming to divert his own attention by crossing his arms and looking out the window. “Shouldn’t you be thinking about moving out of here?”

“…why are you asking me that?”

“Because you don’t like me. And haven’t liked me. And I’m trying to wonder why you’re still choosing to stay here.”

“It is my house,” Gilbert was beginning to get annoyed with Daniel once again. “Do you want to kick me out of my own house?”

“Yeah, but who’s paying for it?” challenged Daniel, frowning as he turned his attention back to him. “Sure this house is yours, but legally and financially, it’s mine. I’ve been taking care of you both since Christine died. And since you’re old enough, I wanted to talk to you about this privately anyway.”

It was then that Gilbert was escorted a second time to the living room to have a serious talk. Daniel was not happy with the situation at hand, as he suspected. Having to take care of kids was the last thing on his agenda when he agreed to marry Christine.

“I can’t take it anymore,” he groaned. “So I’m asking you if it makes sense to let you and your brother live on your own. Away from me.”

“What? You’re just going to abandon us like this?” Gilbert was fuming. “I didn’t even get the chance to at least find a job to pay for this place! What the fuck kind of half-assed excuse is that to just leave two kids alone?”

Daniel sighed, acting again as if he were also even tired of having to scold Gilbert like this.

“Not entirely alone just yet. Christine wouldn’t want that.”

“Then what would she want then?”

That’s when Daniel snapped. “Can’t you just hear me out for a goddamn second? I’m trying to explain myself here!”

Gilbert sighed, quiet from then on, though he didn’t really look intimidated nor scared by the other’s outburst. He just crossed his legs and arms as he waited for his continued response.
“Alright.”

“What I was going to say was that I contacted your grandfather.”

That in itself cause the albino’s face to slightly waver from its sudden irritation.

“…what?”

“You know…Aldrich Beilschmidt? Your father’s father?”
“Ja, I know about him. Why’d you have to call him for?”

“I need him to take you two away from here,” Daniel seemed to then exhale loudly as he leaned back in his chair. “I know this house holds a lot of memories for you. But staying here will just end up with you becoming more depressed than you already–”

“What gave you the goddamn right…” began Gilbert, already standing up and pointing his finger at him. “To fucking kick us out?! Sure you’re paying for this place but that doesn’t mean you can just take us away from here! This is our place! Our house!”

“And that exactly why I’m wanting you to go with your grandfather,” countered Daniel, crossing his arms. “I can’t afford to live in this large house! Your mother and father split their funds together to pay for it and I’ve only been able to barely scrape off the extra interest!”

Gilbert shut his mouth then, trying to force himself to understand the man’s point of view but also forcing down his desire to shout at him. He couldn’t afford to live in their own home.

Daniel thankfully didn’t say anything else as he diverted his attention back to the window of the kitchen, also at a loss for words to discuss. Ludwig wasn’t home to hear this argument, and they knew they had to wrap this up quickly before he did walk in on them.

“He’s suffering right now. Don’t you know?” sighed Daniel. “Ever since your father died, your grandfather has been a mess since the funeral. He asked me if you and your brother could live with him for the while. But while that happens, this place needs to go. I tried hard for you because that’s what Christine would have wanted. But I’m hitting my limit here. This is the best I can offer to you now.”

The move in that followed took officially three days to complete. The transition between houses was difficult, as Gilbert was primarily the one who had to choose which items to auction while picking which to keep. He settled on getting rid of the picture frames and keeping the pictures inside of a box. Among the other items he brought with him were some of Ludwig’s toys, his flute, several pages of sheet music and a stuffed bird he had so cleverly named “Gilbird”. The sales went on for about a week before they finally ran out of things to sell. After that event, the brothers said some rather less-than-emotional goodbyes to their stepfather before taking the next bus out of town.

Aldrich was waiting for them in the house they stopped at. It was an old building that looked like it needed a lot of garden maintenance work from the looks of the weeds. But otherwise appeared very welcoming to the two of them.

“I hope you two didn’t find the trip too tiring,” said Aldrich, walking out to greet them. He was holding a cane, causing him to move a lot slower than usual. Ludwig kept close to Gilbert’s side, clearly intimidated by the older man’s face.
Gilbert had never met him in real life, and the only other thing he ever heard about him was a joke that Fritz had mentioned in the past: Aldrich never smiled. From the introduction alone, he already felt that it was more fact than fiction.

“We’re fine, grossvater,” said Gilbert, though he did feel a slight unusualness when it came to addressing him like that. “Just a little tired.”

They continued inside into the small kitchen, and Gilbert felt himself out of his own normal time when they entered. The furniture was archaic, the wallpaper was faded and the smell of old books was strong when they passed by the shelves. Aldrich led them into the kitchen, where it seemed that he had prepared a healthy diet for the two of them to eat. Basic potato soup.

As they sat down, Gilbert again had to be the one to break the ice. If high school ever taught him anything, it was to never stay too quiet for too long or else the tension would get too uncomfortable to bear with later.

“So I’m Gilbert,” introduced the older, trying to smile a little to appear less rude. “And this one is Ludwig.”

“Mm,” mumbled Aldrich, drinking the soup without much need to look up. “I can already see it. You’re a lot like Frederick in personality. And Ludwig…” Aldrich met the younger’s gaze, causing him to freeze up from the intense glare. “…you’ve got his eyes.”

“…”

The two brothers seemed to look at each other before continuing to eat their food.

This transition was going to end up being more awkward than they thought.

The living circumstances with Aldrich wasn’t entirely boring. Often times, the elder man would try his best to spend his time with the two boys via conversation and some activities. But since Aldrich was rather limited when it came to walking, they often couldn’t leave the house for very long.

Gilbert couldn’t afford the time nor the resources to attend the university nor community college. He did not want to let Aldrich pay for him, despite his insistence. Aldrich reminded him so much of Frederick; the guilt was not worth it. Instead, he chose to put some of the stamina he used to put into being on the school’s football team to becoming a janitor in a local elementary school. The same one Ludwig went to. It didn’t bother him so much, but he knew that at least he could let Ludwig eat the school lunches for free if they took it out of his paycheck automatically.

As the tiring days went on, Gilbert began to spiral back his thoughts to Daniel. He must have cheated him. To make him live here and take care of a dying grandfather was the last thing he wanted to deal with. But through the time living here and away from him was also beneficial for Ludwig too. The young boy was expressing more emotion instead of blindly following orders. School was good for him too. He often brought over one of their neighbor’s kids, Feliciano. The Italian family who lived near them were common visitors to dinner. Romulus came, along with his two grandsons Feliciano and Lovino. They appeared to be much more well off than his family was, seen through their rather fashionable clothing choices for a simple three-hour dinner. Gilbert was the one who often spoke the most to the kids, trying to make it easier for Ludwig to start being more social with Feliciano as well as the ever frustrating Lovino and his sharp tongue. But the feel of a family was nice again. Good chats, meaningful (although sometimes teasing) conversations and the warm emotion in his heart was resurfacing again. Simple graces were enough.

Though, through the process of time, Aldrich eventually fell ill as well. He was having trouble remembering things, and often snapped at him for being a pest in the house. Gilbert had already felt that he knew this was coming, though refused to address it until the symptoms began to show. His heart was hurting at the thought of another person leaving his life again. Gilbert often had to smoke in the evenings in order to cope with this sense of dread. He was cursed. Surely that had to be the case. And if that were it, then it would be best to let Ludwig live at least with someone else who could give him a better chance to move in this really, really confusing world.

But Gilbert decided against it. Ludwig deserved this. He needed a family relative, no matter how small or unlucky he may be.

Aldrich was suffering from Alzheimer’s. Mr. Vargas had come over the following evening regarding another dinner before realizing this particular development. Though Gilbert insisted to pay for it, Romulus paid for Aldrich’s medical expenses and medication. It was a frustrating battle in itself, financially and physically. Often, Gilbert had to make Aldrich do his daily activities with a lot of effort. But even as this happened, Romulus again tended to offer his services again to take care of the older man until Gilbert and Ludwig both officially came home to take care of him.

The effort was strong through two more years of adjusted living. But eventually, the oldest German was no longer able to hold his strength with them. The third funeral in Gilbert’s life took place around a few days later, marking Ludwig’s first. Romulus still paid for him once again. Gilbert had long already suspected that the two of them were either the bestest of friends or were previous lovers. He didn’t know exactly but he didn’t think he wanted to start making the Italian man upset because of his poking curiosity.

Gilbert was too exhausted at this point. The number of people who showed up to the funeral had been Aldrich’s previous work associates. None of them knew the two brothers, so Gilbert didn’t try to force himself for introductions. He went out for a drag, looking up into the sky.

His body was too tired to cry again. God wanted him to suffer through hell on earth before he had a chance to get back up to the heavens with the rest of everyone else.

Arrangements afterward were rather hard to get through too. Gilbert was given a few days of paid leave so he could deal with his home issues, and all of them being Ludwig.

Ludwig had been crying. A lot. It was the first time he had ever seen a strong sense of emotion come out from him. Gilbert found it difficult to try and speak to him. He realized that perhaps he wasn’t as close to him as he originally thought. Ludwig just seemed to keep to himself for the following days afterward.

From then on, Gilbert tried his best to be the acclaimed important figure in Ludwig’s life. The house itself didn’t have to worry about any mortgage on it, as it appeared that Aldrich had actually paid for the whole property way back when. This provided a lot of thankful funds for Gilbert to do what he needed for the house. Gilbert taught Ludwig how to cook and clean by himself so he could do it if Gilbert didn’t make it home on time. Ludwig often didn’t want to talk anymore. Feliciano wasn’t there for him, as Romulus had made a decision to move away a week ago. In grief, Gilbert had assumed. But as a result of that, dinner parties were missing from Ludwig’s normal everyday routine.

“I do not understand,” Ludwig had said one early dinner evening. Gilbert was already suited up for work in an hour and a half, eating alongside him at the small dinner table. The size of the table from fitting from three to two eventually felt more comfortable.

“Understand…what?”

“Why can’t I sleep over at Vash’s?” he grumbled. Gilbert knew this feeling well. Ludwig wanted to escape this form of loneliness. Something Gilbert was used to living with but Ludwig not so much. “It seems that every time that I ask that, you always keep on trying to avoid the question.”
“I already told you,” replied Gilbert, slightly annoyed with the repeated question. “You’re too young to sleep in someone else’s house. I can’t watch you from over there.”
“You don’t have to. It’s easy! You can just pick me up the next morning!”

“Nein. I’m not taking that answer. No sleepovers. Don’t ask me again.”

Arguments like these kept on popping out of nowhere. Gilbert was getting just as exasperated as Ludwig with these arguments. He knew restrictions were something kids often didn’t’ like. Ludwig just didn’t seem to see the bright side of listening, and preferred the arguments. He wanted that escape. Gilbert knew he wasn’t characteristically like this, and his heart went again to try and blame Daniel for his neglect.

In the end, Ludwig just kept silent about it. And it was absolute torture. Gilbert couldn’t make himself any more or less comfortable at night knowing that Ludwig was unhappy. This wasn’t the mandate he told himself he would be doing. But Ludwig was only eight. He didn’t think he had to hit the rebellious stage at this point but it would only get worse from there, he imagined.

“West,” reminded Gilbert, spotting Ludwig sitting down on the couch and watching TV. “No TV. You have to go to school tomorrow.”

“That isn’t my problem,” quipped Ludwig. “You’re working late, so that means you’re not here to tell me what I can and can’t do.”

That bit was enough to set him off. Gilbert marched over to him, snatching the remote.

“That’s enough. No late TV. I’m taking this with me.”

“I hate you,” Ludwig snapped back, standing up defensively. “You always take too many things away from me! I’m always here alone with you.”

Gilbert felt his own muscles weaken at the statement. He gave a sharp exhale, heading back for the front door with the remote in hand.

Ludwig was heard racing away to his room with a loud slam following.

The walk to work hadn’t ever felt this long in years.

Ludwig hadn’t watched TV that whole night, thinking about what he had said to his brother. He wasn’t sure how to feel with him, especially with those closing comments. The long silence the house provided was enough to make his heartbeat increase in volume by several decibels. His mind was ready to apologize when he got back home.

When the door opened, Ludwig flung out from under the bed covers, wanting to say what he could to ask for forgiveness. He hadn’t even made it to the door before he saw Gilbert.

He was limping, as if he had been hit by a car or something just as traumatic. He was struggling to stand while holding onto the wall.

In an instant, Ludwig raced over to help him.

“Bruder! What happened?” He questioned him. Ludwig was not a very tall individual, but had the strength to hold up the older one before setting him on the couch. Gilbert lifted his foot up, trying to rest it.

“What happened?” demanded Ludwig.

“It’s nothing,” Gilbert didn’t sound like he was in a lot of pain, but the lying was not even convincing.

“It is not ‘nothing’. Did a dog bite you? How did you get…” Ludwig pulled up Gilbert’s pant leg without any warning.

The image of huge bite mark was obvious on his skin. It didn’t look like any Ludwig had ever seen before. The skin around the area that was infected was a dark grey, nerves visible just under the skin. It smelled like decaying flesh and it stung his nose.

Ludwig suddenly felt the bile in his throat as he vomited right on the floor. Gilbert tiredly looked at him, deciding to hide the rest of his leg from him for now. He pulled the pant leg back to hide his thigh.

“…it’s okay, West.” He reassured, looking more concerned for him than he should be for himself. Ludwig hated that.

“No,” Ludwig wheezed as he began to cough out the rest of what was still stuck in his airway. Gilbert sighed as he began to stand up again. Ludwig was too tired to stop him from leaving the room, but Gilbert soon limped back with a towel in his hand. Ludwig’s chest felt like there was a pile of bricks weighing down his whole body. Guilt.

“...I’ll tell you later,” promised Gilbert. “It’s not that bad. It’ll heal by tomorrow.”

“…” Ludwig didn’t have a choice except to comply with what he said. He was still coughing on the way to the bathroom, but his mind was going everywhere. What did he mean it was going to be gone by tomorrow? His skin was rotting and he was hardly even doing anything about it.

After Ludwig had washed himself, brushed his teeth and cleaned the mess from the living room, he went to Gilbert’s bedroom. In the lamp light, Gilbert sat upright against frame, writing in his diary. His legs were not quite under the bedsheets just yet. The older brother was still not taking this as seriously as he thought, and Ludwig could not form the words on what to say to him. Should he even bring up the leg itself? Or just apologize for his stupid actions earlier that evening?

Gilbert looked up from his writing, meeting his gaze before smiling softly.

“Hey. Feeling better?”

“Yes.” He didn’t really want to come near him. Ludwig was unsure if that smell might trigger him to throw up a second time.

“Come over here a minute.”

“What happened to you?” said Ludwig instead, standing right at his spot near the door. “Your leg…it smells.”

Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows. He lifted the pant leg and Ludwig instinctively took a step back. It was still grey.

“It’s just a little pink. The bone isn’t broken, so I can still work tomorrow just fine.”

Still pink?

“…what do you mean it is pink?” he said. “It is grey.”

“Huh?” Gilbert was the one who looked confused now. He looked at his leg before looking back at Ludwig.

“It’s pink. It doesn’t even hurt all that much.” He pulled the clothing over it again. “…it’s fine, West. Don’t worry about it. I’m more worried about you.”

“Why?” insisted Ludwig. “I’m the one who said all those bad things earlier! And you’re the one who’s injured! I’m the one who should be worried.”

Gilbert’s face softened. “I accept your apology.”

“Not until you go to the hospital.” Ludwig crossed his arms. “Because I don’t want you to go to work until your leg is healed up.”

“Alright, alright…” yawned Gilbert. “Get back to sleep. I’ll visit the doctor’s tomorrow.”

When Ludwig came home from school the following day, Gilbert told him that the doctor had not been able to find anything wrong with him other than a simple stretched muscle. The more Ludwig asked about what happened that night, the less convinced he was when Gilbert gave the same story.

“I just tripped on the curb!” Gilbert would declare. “Seriously! That’s all that happened! I promise there’s nothing else!”

The days went on as they normally did. Ludwig never fell into another argument with his brother since then, also choosing to stay in the house more often so that he could spend a lot of time with him. Gilbert was lonely. Ludwig knew this because of the way Gilbert tended to act, which was a bit possessive on his end. This didn’t mean, however, that Ludwig actually liked Gilbert’s definitive decisions any better than before. Love justified a lot more actions when Ludwig thought about it.

Throughout the time, Gilbert had to eventually stop going to work for a while because of a reported ‘injury’. Ludwig was still noticing that Gilbert’s leg was still the same color as it was all those months ago, grey. Except that it had eventually spread all the way past his knee. It was unsettling to see, but Gilbert still didn’t seem to see what was going on. When Ludwig asked about where his injury was, he claimed it was still coming from his leg. Gilbert was long past limping around, but continued to go about occupying himself cleaning the house, calling Mr. Vargas in his spare time and sometimes even trying to practice the flute again. Ludwig liked it when he did that. It helped him study better for his school exams.

Days turned to weeks, and eventually a whole month had passed. Gilbert still hadn’t returned to work and the amount of movement he had around the house lessened significantly. His leg seemed to be the cause of it, as he often was found sitting down on the couch and watching TV. Ludwig cooked a lot of meals for him, but Gilbert was still Gilbert. He still joked and laughed with his silly stories. He gave life lessons and commentated his decisions at school when Ludwig talked to him about school activities. In all, Ludwig was almost happy that he stayed at home more often.

About another month had passed. He still wasn’t working, though Gilbert claimed he was using the inheritance money from his dead relatives when Ludwig asked about how he still had money. The season from fall to winter was soon fast approaching, and Ludwig had less school days to deal with because of scheduled holidays. Time with Gilbert was still fun, and they still did a lot of activities together, like indoor football and pie making. Sometimes, Ludwig was allowed to invite a lot of friends from school to his house and everything always ended up in success as kids continued to keep asking their parents if it was alright to spend the day at Ludwig’s. Ludwig loved his brother for it.

But not everything remained that way.

One afternoon, Ludwig came home to his brother staring at the wall. Not that it was completely abnormal; Ludwig stared into space sometimes too. But even when Ludwig spoke to him, he still didn’t seem to turn his head to look. It wasn’t noticeable before, but Ludwig then saw the grey color of his skin stretching down his arm and right up to his wrists. The rotting stench was weak from the distance Ludwig stood away from him, and Ludwig used his winter scarf to cover up his face before he approached.

“Bruder.”

“Hmm? What?”

It seemed then that Gilbert looked right at Ludwig.
“Oh. I didn’t see you come in.”

“Are you okay?” asked Ludwig with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why are you asking?”

“You didn’t…”

“Oh! By the way, I got bored today and I made black forest cake for you! It’s October so you know what that means~”

Ludwig blinked, suddenly forgetting everything that had just happened in favor of the cake that was presented before him. It had nine candles on it, and it didn’t take long until Gilbert went to try and get the matches.

“Alles gute! I know this year’s been pretty rough on you, so I wanted to have our own private celebration!”

“…” Ludwig hugged his brother. He pressed the scarf closer to his face, ignoring the scent that lingered around him for now in favor of a good time. It was easier to forget about it for now.

The winter semester break was when Ludwig realized something was definitely wrong with his brother. Gone were the days of Gilbert staring into space when Ludwig got home. This silence stretched on when Gilbert stared at the TV and when they ate dinner together. Ludwig kept a bit of a distance away, already seeing that the developed rotting had spread up to his lower neck while the rest of his body continued to reek of death. Ludwig had taken the liberty of buying a lot of air freshener from the store so that the house didn’t smell especially bad during these times. Ludwig was then trying to encourage his brother to start playing cards, football, anything. But Gilbert still continued to remain mute, walking around the house without a goal in mind. Long periods would Gilbert stay at the front door, unmoving before going back to the kitchen, basement and back. He didn’t go up the stairs anymore, and Ludwig began to miss his outrageous bedtime stories no matter how ridiculous they sounded. Once, he had gone downstairs to get a glass of water and found Gilbert hovering around the kitchen aimlessly. He had bags under his eyes, and the skin on his face looked paler than what it usually appeared.

It was out of fear that Ludwig had developed a reason to stop talking to him. Sometimes when Ludwig got home, Gilbert would be right in the hallway, staring at Ludwig while he continued to go to other areas of the house. He didn’t take much interest in following Ludwig to dinner anymore, and just tended to take his time in the basement.

Winter continued on like this, and by the time Christmas came around, Gilbert actually had enough sense to sit down in one place while Ludwig opened all the presents he had received from his friends at school.

A new remote controlled car, a soldier action figure, several board games and of course a brand new Christmas ornament from Feliciano.

“…I wonder…next Christmas, we should invite them to celebrate with us.” Ludwig found himself chatting with Gilbert. Gilbert didn’t seem to be looking anywhere in his direction. He still reeked, but the smell of the pine that came from the tree covered up the majority of the smell. “Mr. Vargas, Feliciano and Lovino. It’s been a while since they moved away.”

Something plopped right onto Ludwig’s lap, and when he looked down, he noticed the big flute that Gilbert typically played. He looked back up to Gilbert. His hand was outstretched, meaning that he had been the one who dropped it on his lap. His gaze wasn’t fixed on him, though.

Ludwig, for all that he had seen throughout the time with him, felt his heart tug happily at the thought his brother might still be better after all this.
“Danke schoēn.”

…

The following morning, Ludwig noticed that the plants that decorated the walkway around the home were missing; pulled out from the ground and uprooted until there was nothing left but a dirt hole that showed where it previously was. And in that same day, he discovered muddy footprints tracking themselves within the house itself and Gilbert’s lips dusted a light brown, smelling like chlorophyll. It became a difficult problem to deal with, especially with sweeping. It took an incredible effort to get the crusty mud out from the corners. In the end, Ludwig had to let Gilbert take a place down in the basement where he would at least be able to track around everywhere without the need to sweep any longer. Ludwig took the liberties of then trying to make him comfortable by picking those plants and serving them to him by going out the mornings and evenings. The strangeness of Gilbert’s actions was embraced, and Ludwig didn’t really think anything else with what was happening. Gilbert was still Gilbert to him, and even if he wouldn’t return to his old ways, he promised himself that he would do his best to be a better brother than he had ever thought he was.

Chapter Text

The creaking of the ancient door was heard opening and clicking shut as Ludwig plopped his backpack just nearby the coatrack. He kicked off his sneakers and set them aside and away from the walkway, making a mental note to wash them later tonight.

The after-school practice had been a nice experience, and though Ludwig honestly felt less alone with all the other students working together, he still yearned for a chance to get away from all the talking so he could go home and just go back to Roderich’s private violin music performances in his bedroom. He was an introverted individual and he believed that being assertive and outwardly expressive wasn’t something he could get rid of in his personality after just one day.

The old house itself was silent, stretching all the way from the back to the entrance. Ludwig let out a sneeze. Spring approached soon, and perhaps he’d have to start getting ready to begin a spring cleaning session. It would be good to get some help from someone else for a change.

Speaking of Roderich, Ludwig went into the kitchen to search for the Austrian. He didn’t exactly plan to directly talk to him, but wanted to instead to catch him practicing his instruments. He had seen Roderich playing the flute yesterday, and the immediate thought of a lesson was a topic that could start a good conversation going.

Ludwig stepped into the kitchen but was only able to take about three or four steps in before feeling his own heart stop. Right in the center of the kitchen where the old dining table was placed, he spotted the lock that should be on the door underneath the stairs. The object glistened when the window casted the sunlight directly onto it. The silver key wasn’t far from it.

The boy blinked again, hoping desperately that his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. He looked back at the door, half expecting it to be wide open with Gilbert standing there. Instead, it was harmlessly closed. This prompted Ludwig to go up and test the hinge itself. He found that the door could easily be swung open without much effort.

He felt the inside of his chest beginning to sink. There were noises accompanying the darkness. Having no real way to light his path, he quickly went to retrieve a door stopper before descending lower. The upstairs lights were enough to give him some sense of bearing. The noises grew louder as he continued to march downward.

“Roderich?”

The exhausted Austrian finally realized that it was his own name that was being called. His head was swimming and drowning back and forth in pain and confusion. Roderich swore his eyes were wide open, but he felt like they were still closed.

That was, until the great light from above began to shine painfully into his eyes and drill hard into his brain. He cried out, guessing that there was someone there that could finally help him, but his throat gave a sharper, pained scream. A million teeth were sinking right into his right shoulder and into the skin itself. The hot breath escaping a pair of nostrils was felt right on him, and a fountain of burning hot liquid was oozing down his arm. His own blood, if he could guess.

An effort was made to shove away the animal biting into him, but the drained energy evident in his movements made it a fruitless endeavor.

 “…L-Ludwig…” croaked Roderich. It had to be Ludwig. He looked up into the blinding light of the entrance to the basement and watched as the short silhouette finally made its way to where he was. He was farsighted, so by the time that Ludwig had finally reached him, it was too difficult to even get a clear image of what his expression was.

“Shoo,”

The weight that was pressed against his body was suddenly lifted. The teeth unclenched and he felt his shoulder cold. The dizziness of the situation almost made him pass out where he was until he felt the small arms of Ludwig attempting to support him sitting up.

“…Ludwig…”

“It’s okay, Roderich. I’m here.”

Roderich shut his eyes. He knew this wasn’t ‘okay’. The musician felt that the clothes that he was wearing were completely destroyed; as if he himself were the squeaky toy of whatever monstrosity lived down here in this basement. The more he tried to move, the more he was conscious of all the other bites that were littered around his body.

“…can y-you move?”

Ludwig’s voice was shaking, and rightfully so. Roderich attempted to open his eyes again; successful in getting them half lidded attempting to take a look at his own arm.

There were indeed strips of blood that had flowed down from the wound on his shoulder. Roderich felt his chest tighten, wanting almost to scream because his arm was bleeding and that he could clearly be dying right now. But as his worries continued to fester, he also saw that the blood itself had vanished completely from sight after he had blinked. 

“H-Huh?”

He stared at his arm. The pain of all the other bites on his body that he literally felt just seconds ago were no longer felt on him. Roderich couldn’t comprehend it. Was he really zoning?

“Roderich?”

More growling sounded near them, causing Roderich to turn his attention away to watch the thing across the room. It was staring, perhaps in a position that could be close to something that could be pouncing. Its crimson eyes stared down the Austrian, making him almost immobile in fear of triggering its response.

Ludwig himself suddenly jumped in his field of view, standing between him and the monster in the shadows. The creature screeched, silencing with a single grunt before moving right into the light.

What Roderich encountered was the least of what he was expecting. He bore witness to what appeared to be the remains of a man that was thinned down to the bone; hairless and frightening. Razor sharp and bloodied teeth were bared right at Roderich, arching himself on all fours as if he were a cat trying to make itself look bigger in order to scare someone. The size was something he didn’t anticipate. If the man stood on two legs, he might even be a towering seven feet tall.

“Sorry,” replied Ludwig to Roderich, sounding honestly guilty. Ludwig was not at all afraid of what was in front of them; choosing to instead focus on Roderich’s shoulder that no longer had any injury on it. Not even the blood was present anymore.

As Ludwig went to inspect it, Roderich suddenly saw him plug his nose.

“You have a lot of…bite marks,” said Ludwig with extreme worry. “…and the smell…it’s almost exactly the same as when…”

“…” Roderich attempted to pat the area where the injury should be. But no matter how much he tried to pat himself down, there wasn’t any marking that equaled that of an injury.

“…I-I don’t know what’s going on. I know I’m supposed to be bleeding,” insisted Roderich. “I don’t…”

“It’s like when Bruder couldn’t see his own injury on the leg too.”

“What?!”

Roderich stared Ludwig down, as if demanding an answer from the boy himself. But Ludwig didn’t seem to really be interested in explaining himself. He stood up and went to the thing in the darkness. He had a sneaking suspicion.

“Nein,” he said, staring right at the two. Roderich felt his stomach grow sick.

“Roderich…this is my Bruder.”

A roar came out from the man, followed by a series of sharp clicks from its – his – throat. When it heard the word ‘Bruder’, it seemed to appear much less aggressive and would sit down.

“…you’re meaning to tell me that that’s Gilbert?”

Ludwig didn’t respond. Roderich just watched in horror as he saw Gilbert crawl on all fours and set his head right at Ludwig’s feet like a dog. Ludwig didn’t do much else to react to his brother. He was staring right at Roderich with an expression difficult to read because of his eyesight. Gilbert whimpered, abruptly getting up before approaching Roderich once again. Roderich held his breath. He didn’t dare move for his own safety.

Gilbert came close once more, suddenly lapping Roderich’s shoulder like it were a candied icicle. But before Roderich could even ask Ludwig for additional help, he spotted the silhouette standing up and going back up the stairs to leave.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” screamed Roderich, trying to stand. Gilbert took the opportunity to then hop right on him, causing him to fall flat on his stomach on the cold floor.

“Ludwig! Help me, please. I don’t want to be down here! Help me get out of here!”

The shouts continued to grow, but Ludwig didn’t seem to even turn around to acknowledge his sobs for help.

When he got to the top of the stairs, Roderich was already crying, confused and angry about the circumstances he had landed himself in.

Ludwig sighed. He had seen the grayness. The smell. It was too similar to what he had gone through the last following months with Gilbert. He didn’t want to see it again; didn’t want to experience the mental retardation of a caretaker a second time.

The Austrian’s sobs were starting to get weaker. Ludwig only just picked up the empty bowl of weeds and locked the door.

Some mornings after, the early sun of spring was scorching through the windows, where even the curtains that decorated the inside of the house were also burning with extreme heat. It was thankfully cool inside; kept at a constant temperature of a comfortable sixty degrees inside of the building.

Ludwig went to answer the front door after a few persistent rings. He was expecting company, after all. The new found confidence of friends was starting to continue on in a healthy way, and he had volunteered his house to be the meeting place of a science fair project planning session. The front door was opened to reveal the forms of two younger children about the same age as him. One of them was a shy Japanese kid by the name of Kiku and another girl in his class that he truly didn’t remember the name of at the moment, but was fluent in German enough for them to be able to make some jokes together in class.

 “Hello.” greeted Ludwig politely.

“Good morning, Ludwig,” said Kiku with a slight bow. “I thought your caretaker would answer the door. Isn’t he home yet?”

Ludwig used to mention him a lot during school lunches, but he hadn’t really ever talked about him since after spring came.
“Yeah.” The girl inquired “Where is he? I wanted to meet him.”

“Roderich is busy at his school right now. He and Bruder won’t be back for a while. Sorry.”

“Oh that’s okay,” the girl replied as she began to put her backpack down. “At least your Bruder won’t be alone anymore, right?”

Kiku blinked. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Yeah,” sighed Ludwig. “My brother’s been pretty lonely for a while when he’s away. Since Roderich came to help out, everything’s been a lot easier to manage.”

“Oh. That’s good to hear.”

They made their way into the kitchen, starting off with a small chat regarding possible ideas that they could do together in this project. Ludwig offered to make some lunch for all of them, stating that it was alright since they were guests in his own home. Kiku took more interest using his phone to kill the time, scrolling through what seemed like the feed on a social media app. The little girl, named Valanthria, instead took the passing time to explore the first level of the house. She had always wondered what Ludwig’s house was like, and this might be the only time she had to see it before they wouldn’t be classmates anymore in middle school. Her interest flitted around, looking to see what kinds of odd and ancient antiques that the boy had stacked around the house. But after a while of just glancing, her eyes fell upon a bright red padlock holding a door closed right under the staircase. She tilted her head in curiosity; briefly smelling what seemed like freshly cut grass. Two bowls were present right outside of the door, and she smiled at the thought that Ludwig was keeping dogs downstairs.

“Do you have animals downstairs, Ludwig?” the girl asked with true and genuine interest. Ludwig turned to look at her, slightly widening his eyes in surprise. That was, before he seemed to turn his attention suddenly back to the soup.

“…yeah. But they’re really jumpy, so I usually keep them down there so they don’t bother guests.”

Kiku lifted his head after hearing the snippet of the conversation.

“Do you have dogs?” the Asian boy was smiling at the thought.

Ludwig didn’t look at him. “…yeah.”

“Oh how cute! Do they have names? What are their names?”

Valanthria laughed. “Kiku, maybe you should back down a little? I think you’re making Ludwig too nervous right now.”
“Maji de? I am so sorry!” Kiku bowed in embarrassment. “I often get excited to see animals so…”

“Nein, it is alright,” said Ludwig without much thought. The flow of the conversation had changed quite a bit from then on, moving past the strange observation from under the stairs until they all soon forgot of the entire conversation completely. Instead, they chose to dwell on the thoughts of different desserts to try when they were finished with their homework.

And as they did, two voices were heard humming downstairs as they shifted quietly in the blackness of the basement.