Of Physicists and Pianists.

"I'm just saying," Vash comments as he drags another huge box through their hallway to the sitting room, "the man is an asshole. I don't understand why you care so much; he obviously couldn't give a shit."

"You don't know that." Francis mumbles, more to himself than to Vash as he takes the box from him and searches for a label. "This is yours, by the way. Or I'm guessing it is, I didn't tape my boxes closed that haphazardly."

"Stop judging my work and help me move the rest of them. I fail to see why I should have to carry three crates of your clothes around while you sit and criticize me."

Francis huffs and climbs to his feet to take two of the boxes from the hallway into the sitting room.

"Is this everything? It doesn't seem like much."

"Roderich said he was bringing the rest of my stuff on his way to get Elizabeta." Vash replies with a frown set on his face.

"Are you alright? With the whole 'her moving in' business." Francis asks, settling on the floor to rip the duct tape away from the opening of the cardboard. "I think this is yours. I don't recall ever owning a green trench coat."

"I'm fine. I suppose I have to be, though. It's not like I have a say in how he conducts his relationships. Especially given I've never been in one."

"Hm." Francis replies, pushing the opened box to one side of the room and setting about another. "I do know how you feel, in a strange way. I still can't believe Arthur would do that."

"Like I said, the man is a pretty good example of an ass. If he can't keep his libido in check after five years of being with you, then he doesn't care. I'm sorry. I know I'm hardly an authority on functioning in a relationship, but that's not the point. He shouldn't have done it."

"I'm not even sure who the guy was. I have an idea, but I don't know for certain." Francis sighs, opening the box in front of him and finding only crockery and miscellaneous kitchenware.

"Do you need to?" Vash asks, frowning at him as he stands up. "Surely it's beside the point. He cheated on you and left you for the other man. He's not worth your time."

Francis bites back a snappy comment, leaning down to scoop up the box from the floor, when a knock on the front door startles him.

"That's probably Roderich." Vash announces quietly, getting to his feet and straightening his jeans. "I'll get it."

Francis frowns at him and disappears in to the kitchen. Vash exhales for a long moment, closes his eyes and runs his fingers through his choppy blonde bangs.

"Hello, Roderich." He says as he opens the door. His best friend looks back at him, dark eyes curious behind his glasses.

"Hey. I brought your stuff." Roderich gestures at the boxes that line the hall beside him. "You have a lot of crap, by the way. It's really heavy."

"Sorry." Vash laughs nervously, carding a hand through his hair and leaning to pick up a box.

"Let me help." Roderich interrupts, handing him a box and picking one up himself. "Besides, I want to see what your new place looks like."

"Well, it's kind of small. The bedrooms are both upstairs and there's a tiny office that we'll have to share, but it'll be okay. Francis wants to redecorate the whole place already, though. Apparently the beige and black offends him deeply."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from him." Roderich laughs as he sets the box down in front of the stairs.

Francis leans in from the kitchen and frowns at the both of them.

"Are you two talking about me?" He narrows his eyes and steps into the room, tying his wild blonde waves back into a loose ponytail with a ribbon he'd pulled from a box nearby.

"Maybe." Roderich says with a small smirk. "All good, though. Don't worry."

Francis rolls his eyes and disappears back into the sitting room to rip open more of the boxes.

"Shouldn't you be helping Elizabeta?" Vash asks as they set the last two boxes down beside the stairs.

"I told her I'd be a little late. I think she still had some packing to do, anyway. It's not like I need to rush." Roderich replies, pushing his dark hair away from his eyes.

"Well, you should probably go and get her. She's pretty impatient, if I remember." Vash comments, folding his arms over his chest and frowning at him.

"I suppose. She can be pretty grouchy." Roderich agrees, cocking his head slightly and smoothing his jacket down as he buttons it closed. "And she probably has more things than you do."

"So go." Vash says with a tiny, lopsided smile. "I don't mind; I'm perfectly capable of unpacking some boxes and building a few pieces of Swedish flat-pack furniture. I'll manage."

"If you're sure." Roderich replies as he lets Vash herd him towards the front door. "But don't be a stranger, okay? Just because we don't live together anymore doesn't mean we're not still best friends."

"I know, I know." Vash responds with a roll of his eyes. "You live three blocks away at best, it's not like it'll be a challenge to keep in touch, Christ."

"Good." Roderich smiles at him, a little bigger than usual, and pats him on the shoulder. "I'll see you around, then?"

"Yeah. See you." Vash nods, smiles loosely for a fraction of a second before he shuts the door in his face. Roderich frowns at the varnished wood for a second, pulls his jacket tighter around him and heads back to the street.

His cell phone vibrates at least three times in his pocket on the very short drive to Elizabeta's old apartment, and when he arrives, she's sitting outside on a pile of sealed, labelled boxes, tapping her foot and looking particularly displeased.

"You took your time." She comments with a raised eyebrow as he opens the car door and makes his way over to you. "Where have you been?"

"I went to give Vash the things he left. We got to talking." Roderich explains, picking up a full stack of boxes from beside his girlfriend.

"Oh. Is he alright? What with him moving out, and everything..." She trails off absently, playing with a strand of her mousy brown hair as she talks.

"He seemed okay. I think he was more worried about Francis than himself, if I'm being honest."

"What happened with him, again?"

"Well, he used to live downstairs. You'll know who he is; blonde, pretty tall, has a weird stubbly beard and he speaks in a really strong French accent. He's actually French, though. His boyfriend, Arthur –he's the angry English one with the thick eyebrows you really want to 'fix', whatever the hell that means- apparently slept with someone else. Heracles told me about it last time I saw him; he did tell me who it was but I don't remember; it was a while ago."

"Right. So Arthur still lives downstairs?"

"I think so." Roderich replies as he carefully squeezes the last box into the trunk of his car. "I don't see why he'd move out, too."

Elizabeta shrugs, walking around his car to climb into the passenger seat.

"Liz, promise me that for once in your life you won't meddle in their relationship? I know what you're like. You've done this before. Remember Ivan and Yao?"

"That was one time! It only went wrong because Yao was actually scared of Ivan and never thought to tell me before I set them up! It was his fault, he forgot to tell me."

"Yes, being sent on a blind date with a person you're terrified of is entirely your fault." Roderich rolls his eyes affectionately and laughs at her softly. She pouts at him and bats him playfully on the arm.

"Shut up and drive." She grumbles, tucking a few flyaway hairs behind her ear. "For that, you're putting all of my clothes on coat hangers when we get home."

"Remind me why I love you again?" Roderich complains loudly as he follows Elizabeta up the three flights of stairs to their apartment door; he can barely even see the steps past the enormous folding crates in his hands.

"Because I'm hilarious." She deadpans, fumbling with the key and pushing the door open. "And you told me I was cute and asked me out by leaving a note in a book. That takes dedication."

"I suppose you're right." Roderich smirks almost wryly, dumping the crates unceremoniously on the hallway rug and kissing her lightly. She smiles and kisses him back, before pushing at his shoulders softly to move him away.

"Now, you go get the rest of them while I start unpacking. The whole place looks like it needs a good dust, too..." She frowns at the thick coating of grey on the top of the dresser. "I can't believe between you and Vash, neither of you managed to learn how to vacuum."

Roderich raises an eyebrow at her and laughs quietly.

"I hate you so much." He comments as he disappears through the front door and down the steps to the main corridor.

"No, you don't!" She yells after him, and he sniggers to himself as he walks down the small flight of stairs to the second floor.

"Oh." Arthur stops in his tracks as he closes the front door to his own apartment. "Hello, Roderich."

"Hey, Arthur. How are things?" He asks as they fall in to step with each other as they walk down the stairs.

"They're okay. I just have to go sort out some disaster at the museum. Apparently Heracles can't work out how to arrange the Ancient Egyptian exhibit that's coming in, and all Sadik is doing is shout at him."

"Sounds like fun." Roderich laughs dryly, looking sideways at the other man for a moment. "Liz is moving in today, so sorry about any annoying noises from upstairs."

"It's fine." Arthur smiles half-heartedly at him –Roderich can tell, but chooses not to press him for anything- and turns towards his car. "As long as you don't argue in the night, then I don't mind."

"I'll keep that in mind." Roderich smiles and turns towards his own car. "I'll see you around."

"Yeah, you too." Arthur replies as he unlocks his car. "Look after yourself."

Roderich nods at him and watches absently as the Englishman climbs into his car and pulls away from the sidewalk. He exhales heavily and pulls open the trunk of his car, frowning at the still-huge pile of boxes in front of him. He stacks up a few of the lighter ones and grabs a bag of what can only be shoes before attempting to climb the stairs again.

He's halfway up the damn stairs again when his cell phone vibrates fiercely in his pocket. He sighs, climbs up to the second floor landing and sets everything down to check who wants him and what's so important that he needs to know now.

He's just opened his cell phone when a grumbling Alois, the neighbour from upstairs, comes barrelling past him complaining loudly about 'those idiots can't do anything themselves, who knew that it was so difficult to bottle beer, good God'. Roderich holds back a laugh and instead focuses on his cell phone. He has a text from Vash.

I forgot to mention it earlier, but I feel obligated to tell –or warn- you that Antonio and Gilbert are coming to visit tomorrow. They're bringing their boyfriends and a few other people, and I have a feeling they're going to want to meet –and I'm quoting Gilbert on this, by the way- 'Roddy's little girlfriend'. I suggest you hide Elizabeta somewhere far, far away.

Roderich almost smiles –almost, because then he remembers what Gilbert and Antonio are like alone, never mind together, and that's discounting their weird friendship with Francis. His eyes widen and he suddenly realizes that he cannot let Elizabeta near these two idiots. Ever.

His cell phone vibrates in his hand as he thinks.

Wait, you did tell her that you've dated guys before, right? I know we were young-ish teenagers when you were with Antonio, and your thing with Gilbert didn't last that long, but you should have told her by now, I'd have guessed. God help you if you haven't.

Roderich swallows, because maybe he neglected to mention his past relationships to Elizabeta before now. Sure, she knows that he's been in relationships before her, but that's kind of where he stopped with those stories.

He shakes his head and pockets his cell phone, picking up the boxes and carrying on back to their apartment.

"You took your time." Elizabeta comments from the sitting room floor, where she's ensconced by innumerable pieces of veneered wood. "I've started building the coffee table."

"I can see that."

His cell phone vibrates as he talks, and he winces. She raises her eyebrows at him and tries to hide her smirk.

Oh my god. You haven't told her, have you? Wow, I would really hate to be you right now.

"Come help." She says, taking hold of his wrist and pulling him down next to her. He lands with a loud thud and frowns at her as he settles himself properly.

"I should warn you that some old... Friends are visiting tomorrow." He announces as he leans away from her to reach for the instruction sheet that she'd abandoned on the other side of the room.

"Really? What are they like?" She asks, leaning past him to grab the screwdriver he'd taken. "Should I be worried?"

"Not really. I actually dated them when I was younger." He leans away from her cautiously and winces at her pointed silence.

"So I should be worried, then?" She smiles almost nervously and nudges him with her elbow gently.

"Not exactly. I think they're both in committed relationships now, by the sounds of things." He grabs one of the table legs from Elizabeta's other side and fumbles for the double-ended screw in the bag next to him.

"So, who are these mysterious women, then?" She smirks at him. He frowns, rolls his eyes and passes her the table leg.

"Well, they're..." Roderich hesitates, and Elizabeta turns to look at him. "They're kind of not women?"

"So men, then." Elizabeta shrugs and turns back to her instructions. "What are they like?"

Roderich frowns at her, and she turns back to him and raises an eyebrow at him.

"What?" She asks, dragging her hair over her shoulder as she looks back at him. "You didn't seriously think I'd mind, did you?"

"Well, no, not exactly, but I was kind of worried about what you might say; that's why I didn't say anything sooner."

"It's hardly an issue." Elizabeta laughs at him, knocks her shoulder against his playfully and smiles at him. "So what, you like boys. Oh no, how will I cope?"

Roderich frowns at her, and she meets his stare for a moment before she laughs.

"So, come on. Tell me about these boys, then."