Syrup & Beer

Chapter 6 - Let's Be Happy, Okay?

A/N: This chapter is going to deal with some heavy historical events, such as genocides and war crimes. Also prepare for angsty memories.

Gilbert's POV

I loved this.
I absolutely loved this feeling of relief.
I absolutely loved this moment, I absolutely loved this kiss.
I loved feeling his hands on my waist.
Gosh he was such a good kisser, just Francis' son I guess. I broke the kiss and looked up into his red face, but mine was probably just as red. I gently ran my hand over his cheek and gently stroked one of is blond, fluffy strands behind his ear.

"Gil?" he whispered

"Hm Birdie?"

"I'm really tired, I had kind of a bad night"

I just had to chuckle, thinking about my night with absolutely zero sleep.
"Well~ Does my awesome Birdie want to take a nap with me? I'm really tired as well" I answered as I rest my head against his collarbone, my eyelids suddenly getting so heavy.
Mattie catched me, I didn't even noticed I fell, but it seemed like I did. He tried to pick me up but failed, so he just guided the half conscious, half asleep me to the bed by my waist and sat me down, where I immediately fell backwards into the blankets. He gently grabbed my ankle joints, put them on the bed and lay down right next to me. I turned to him, I could feel his slow breaths into my white hair, which he caressed, it was very calming.

"You're heavy Pooh, I couldn't carry you" he nuzzled into my hair and pouted.

"That's-" I made a break to yawn "-my awesome muscles" I told him and chuckled half-heartedly.
I knew he answered but I already had already fallen asleep.

I was in a large house, maybe a castle? I was getting dressed, it was a suit and a nice neck tie, I looked very chic, and got out of something that was probably a dressing room or a giant closet. I walked down the pretty hallway, the walls were made of stone and didn't have decorations at all, but there were pictures.
There were pictures of crusades, I knew them, because it was the Teutonic order that had done this. This had been my childhood.
I went on, there were a lot pictures, but what I noticed more was that the wall in this endless-seeming hallway changed. While it had been a plain stone wall at the beginning, it was now a wall with wallpaper, I'd now say it's in Rococo style, but I wasn't sure, I wasn't very invested in architecture.

I again looked at the pictures while walking on. It's now Vater Fritz, possibly the best boss I had ever had. There were pictures of him playing the flute, just staring into nowhere or staring at me through the painting. I noticed a small drawing beneath all these famous pictures. It showed me and Old Man Fritz. One of the few pictures we're both on. I moved on there was another drawing, this time of me and a very young Ludwig. He had been very cute back then.

Some time later I noticed a few pictures mentioning the genocide the German empire committed in the 1910s, after that pictures of the first World War, soldiers, young soldiers, only boys and teenagers dying all around me.
The style of the hallway was now German Bauhaus.

I got to a few pictures where I first noticed the light that was brightening the way: because here it was flickering.
It was a black-and-white photograph of me and Luddy in Nazi uniforms. I had been sent to the Russian front shortly after this, while Ludwig had to go with Rommel to the front in north Africa.
Innocent men have been sent to the East front, soldiers who refused to kill Jews, political enemies and gays, to name only a few.

Another dark event in my past: 1961, year of the building of the wall.
When my actual suffering began.

I wiped away the tears that came to my eyes. Years of communism, years of hard labour, years of contact only a few times a year with Ludwig.
Years of starvation. But also those small memories like me secretly listening to western 'enemy's' music and getting bananas and (western) sweets from Ludwig every christmas from my Westpaket.