April 10th 1998

A resonance of the final cord struck resounded in the room, earning an approving nod from the Austrian who stood by the black, lacquered grand piano. The young musician with matching violet eyes beamed up at his instructor's praise. Roderich was not one to give compliments very often, but for his son, he could be nothing but proud of what a prodigy he turned out to be.

"Very good, Tamaki. The only place needing improvement would be here." Roderich pointed to a section on the music sheet. "Watch the placement of my fingers while I play. It might be easier for you." Roderich suggested as the played the small section. Long artisan fingers flowed over the keys effortlessly while careful eyes followed the Austrian's every movement. He mentally mapped out the course of which the other played, and when it was his turn to copy he did so diligently with his brows furrowed slightly in concentration.

As Tamaki continued to play, the two failed to notice the small rustling of the bushes across the street. A curious Prussian and a Spaniard, who was dragged by the prior, were crawling on their hands and knees as to not be seen.

"Ah! Gilbert that hurt." The Spaniard rubbed his brow which was only struck seconds ago by a tiny branch. He gave an uncharacteristic pout towards his albino friend for dragging him out here. Why were they spying on their amigo anyway? What was there to accuse Francis of? Or the better question would be, did Lovino remember to feed his turtle?

"Shut up." Gilbert admonished the other, throwing a warning glance to his friend over his shoulder. "And I told you already why we're here."

"But Francis wouldn't hide anything from us, and if he did, I'm sure it was for a good reason." The optimistic Spaniard tried to be the voice of reason, but Gilbert refused to listen.

"I know the wine jerk is hiding something from us, and the awesome me is never wrong. Binoculars, if you would."

Antonio sighed in defeat, and handed over the binoculars as he shifted to sit cross legged on the ground. Gilbert took the offered binoculars and peered through the green leaves and directly into Francis's window.

Roderich kept the tempo with the snapping of his fingers, nodding in approval as Tamaki was able to stay within the tempo by placing his fingers the way he had suggested before. Seeing the Austrian pace back and forth only caused pale brows of a certain albino to rise in bewilderment.

'What is Austria doing there?'

"See anything interesting?" The Spaniard asked more out of politeness than curiosity as he drew ripe, round tomatoes in the dirt with a stick he found on the ground.

Gilbert decided to ignore the other's evident lack of interest due to his drawl as he answered the question, "Austria's in the house."

"Austria? I didn't know him and Francis were friends." The Spaniard looked up at the window Gilbert was peering through.

"That would make the two of us. I thought Austria hated the guy."

"Doesn't Francis tell us about those stories of sneaking into Austria's garden only to get kicked out or smacked by Hungary?"

"Ja, now do you see what I'm talking about? Something is going on between the two, and that kid."

"What kid? They had a kid?"

"No, they didn't have a kid. You and I both know that's not possible, but there has to be a connection, a link to bind the three." Gilbert returned to peering through his binoculars as Antonio went to stare pensively down at the dirt ground. Had there friend really been lying to them?

"Well, why don't we just ask Francis about it?" Antonio suggested while Gilbert scoffed.

"And how do we go about that? Just walk right up to him and ask what's up with you, Austria, and that kid?"

"Um, Si…?"

Gilbert sighed as he rolled his eyes, "Tony, you don't know a thing about investigation, do you?"

"No, I don't because unlike you, I trust my friends."

"That's sweet." Gilbert awed only to receive another small frown from his Spaniard friend.

"I'm being serious, Gil. The best way is to just simply ask Francis, and if he wants to tell us he will. If he doesn't, then he has his reasons."

"Hm, that might be so, but the awesome way is finding it out ourselves. Oh c'mon Tony, have you never watched any spy shows? This could be fun!" Antonio was still not convinced, causing Gilbert to swiftly change the motive, "Tony, think of it this way. What if Austria, France, and the kid don't know there's something that's binding them. What if it's really important? Don't you want to help out our friend? This could be life changing!"

Emerald eyes grew larger with each question before he nodded in agreement to the Prussian's words. "Poor Francis! Gil, we have to help him."

Gilbert was internally praising his awesome skills of persuasion while he sent a sly grin over at his friend, "Ja, we do. Just you and me, Tony. Francis is depending on us whether he knows it or not."

"Oh there he is!"

Crimson eyes whipped around to see the Frenchman approaching his home with what appeared to be a paper bag of groceries from the market. "Get down!" Gilbert hissed. Luckily for them, Francis had not noticed, preoccupied with the thought of dinner at hand. He whistled a whimsical tune, giving a soft smile when he heard the piano music trickling down from his open window. He went up the steps and unlocked the door to his home while a pair of crimson and emerald eyes watched the back of their friend before he couldn't be seen any more.

Gilbert's attention went back to the window where he saw the boy suddenly stop playing to run out of view while Roderich himself turned to what he assumed was Francis.

"Francis, you're back!" Tamaki ran to greet the Frenchman, arms coming to wrap around the Frenchman's waist.

"Oui, how are your lessons so far? Roderich hasn't been too hard on you, oui?" Francis asked with a small chuckle when he caught Roderich's small eye roll from the corner of eye.

"No, he's been wonderful." Tamaki replied, not knowing how much the words had meant to the Austrian in the room.

"I know he is." Francis shared an all knowing smile with Roderich, knowing how elated the other must be feeling. Tamaki grinned at Francis's words, before letting him go so Francis could lean over to place a gentle kiss upon the Austrian's lips only to be met with the cheek. The corners of his lips curled, knowing how Roderich felt about public displays of affection, but Tamaki didn't mind it in the least. He quite enjoyed seeing the two together. It was the only true example of love between two lovers that Tamaki had.

"Come, mon petite, I must walk you home." Francis announced to the other. Tamaki gave a small nod while Roderich went to grab the other his light spring coat and held it out for Tamaki to slip both arms through.

"Remember, watch finger placement, and you will be perfect." Roderich reminded Tamaki who in turn gave Roderich a departing hug.

"I will; I promise."

"I know you will." Roderich returned the hug while Francis watched over the scene fondly before going to walk Tamaki home. Seeing the other leave, Gilbert and Antonio waited for them to walk a few blocks. When they were a safe distance away, but still visible they followed after them.

Francis walked with Tamaki close by his side while those violet eyes held a contemplative look in them.

"Francis?" he finally broke the silence between them as Francis looked up when addressed.

"Oui?"

"When do you know you're in love?"

Francis couldn't help but chuckle at the other's question. Not that he had found it comical, but more so out of flattery that Tamaki had asked him a question he found very important.

"What do you mean by when, mon petit?"

"I mean…like when? What time?"

"Mon petit, love is not dictated by time. There is no one time for everyone. All fall in love when the right person crosses their path."

"And when does that person come?"

"The person comes when the fates decide."

Tamaki's blond brows furrowed slightly in confusion to the other's words.

"Come, mon petit, let me show you something." Francis insisted as he took the other's hand in his to lead him in another direction. They only had to walk a little bit before they came across a bridge. In the center remained a single lock. Tamaki looked at the heart shaped lock as engraved upon it was a single name, "Devon". He had nearly forgotten the first time he had seen the name as it was the name from the ribbon wrapped around his bear.

"What's this?" Tamaki bent down to view the brass lock up close.

"It is called a love lock." Francis replied, coming to bend down beside Tamaki, "Love locks can be traced back before World War II, as lovers, even those that could not be together, would come to promise to always love one another by sealing it with a lock. If the lock was ever to be opened, the love would be lost."

"So if one doesn't like the other anymore, they unlock it?"

"They could, but those who truly love each other throw the key away so their love could never die, and if it were a secret, their secret would never be broken."

A small smile tugged the corners of Tamaki's lips at the thought. "Is this your promise to Roderich?"

"Oui, it is my promise to him."

"Why does it say Devon on it then?"

Francis paused at the questioned before standing once more and offering his hand down to Tamaki with a small wink, "It's a secret, mon petit."

"What're they doing?" Antonio asked while Gilbert shushed them. The Prussian watched the two walk away before he approached the lock at the center of the bridge. Pale brows rose questioningly at the object before leaning down to further inspect the padlock.

"It's a lock." Antonio stated the obvious while emerald eyes blinked a bit in confusion. Gilbert refrained from scoffing at his friend's bluntness as he was more concerned about the lock at hand than his friend's obliviousness.

"Ja, it's a lock, but why would Francis care about this?" Gilbert took a hold of the lock, continuing to study it. "It says Devon on it, that's it. No initials or anything."

"Have you checked the back?" Antonio asked, catching Gilbert off guard by his friend's moment of genius. He turned the lock over, reading the date of April 8, 1989.

"!989…? What happened in April, 1989?"

"Well…" Antonio had thought of one thing, but considering it to be a touchy topic, he kept the idea to himself. Besides, he didn't know if the Berlin Wall fell in April, he just knew the year was 1989. Luckily Gilbert had ignored him, too lost in his own thoughts to listen to Antonio.

After a few moments he let the lock go to stand once more beside his friend, hands stuffed in his pockets while his crimson eyes regarded the lock pensively. He would have to look up the idea behind locks and bridges, and what it all meant. The heart shape gave him some ideas, but other than that, he was out of luck.

"Gil…do you think this lock belongs to Francis?" Antonio inquired, looking over at his friend wondering for once if Francis actually was keeping something from them.

"I don't see why not, other than the weird name." Gilbert replied, "We just have to figure out why and what it all means."

Antonio nodded to the other's words before he averted his eyes down to his shoes, heart dropping a bit as he wondered what Francis was hiding from them for the first time. Did he not trust them? Were they not friends?

"Do…do you really think Francis is hiding something from us?" Antonio asked at last.

"I do." Gilbert answered, his crimson eyes narrowing on the engraved name, "And whoever this Devon is, is the key."

"And 1989." Antonio added, followed be a dejected sigh, "though I'm afraid I don't want to know. What if we're not supposed to know?"

"Nothing is good about secrets, Tony. And in the end, all secrets are revealed sooner or later."

"And if we don't like it?"

Gilbert paused at the question before shaking his head lightly, "I don't know…but the sooner we find Devon, the better." Gilbert turned to walk down the way they had come from, figuring it was not worth trying to follow Francis any longer. He knew where to look. He had to go back; he had to find out what happened April 18, 1989. Only then would he be able to find out who Devon was.

TBC…

Author's note: Let me start out by going down on my knees and beg for forgiveness for how long I have not updated this story. I am so sorry. I truly am, but you must understand that I have not been home for summer like at all, and school has been stressful. So I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, and how it might seemed rushed. I'm just trying to get back into writing this story and moving it along once more. Hopefully I'll be able to update sooner than I did this time. Once again, I'm sorry, and I hope you were able to enjoy this chapter despite its tardiness and size.

P.S. Thank you for those that have stuck with this story. Also thank you for the reviews, and the overall love. You guys really made me continue writing this, so I'm sorry if I my lateness let you down.

History Note: Love Locks didn't become popular in Europe until the early 2000s which is why Gilbert and Antonio didn't know what it was. Also, the Berlin Wall fell in November of 1989, and was completely taken down in 1990.