@ofchargers 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 : fashionably late , gilbert gently shoves a small present into rod's hands . it even has a card with it . huh ... " happy birthday , old man . actually got you something this year ! " the card says ' happy birthday ; in dog years you're dead ' . but inside is a handwritten note that says " never change you princess . " and the present , meticulously wrapped , is ... a pour le mérite , military class . it looks like gilbert's not willing to offer an explanation just yet ...
﹡ . ° belated birthday // always accepting
SLENDER FINGERS CLOSE THE CARD ; it is very gilbert , roderich could not have expected anything else . the wrapped present , however , is an entirely different story . roderich hesitates before lifting it out of the box , the blue of the medal catching the light .
roderich has many medals . there are all laid neatly & quietly in a drawer , underneath a red velvet throw to keep them from gathering dust . he never wears them . HE DOESN ’ T DESERVE TO WEAR THEM . roderich never participated in war , not when he was awarded the military order of maria theresia , not the golden cross . he did , only so many years ago , sit next to dying soldiers during the first world war . he eased their pains , wrote their letters to their loved ones , & most importantly , he played . played the broken little piano in the hospital & sung songs he would have never considered singing in his world of palaces & marble & colour .
gently , he places the medal back into the box , his hands a little shaky . ❛ would you like to come in ? i have strudel . ❜












