#hetafic

He has been lying on the couch for exactly four minutes when Leon walks over and flops down almost on top of him. It takes another minute for Michelle, wandering out of the kitchen and licking her fingers clean of chocolate, to find them, threaten to tickle both his and Leon’s vulnerable stomachs, and then to curl up on the very end of the couch, and stretch comfortably. The silence of the afternoon yawns on, but it is cozy, like a warm blanket of quiet that covers the three of them in mellow tranquility.

Leon cracks a joke, a rather vulgar one that uses genitalia as the punchline, and Emil laughs unwillingly, the laughter wrenched from him as he tries to stifle his smile. He never was any good at resisting Leon’s jokes, no matter how much he wanted to appear refined and aloof. He catches sight of Michelle, who is smiling even as she tries to grimace, and feels better.

“That was really rude, Leon. Think about what your brother would say.”

“Oh, come on. You laughed, didn’t you? Hypocrites have no rights.”

And Michelle retorts something witty, and Leon pushes back with another meme reference, and Emil sighs as he carefully hides a fond smile behind his hand. Their bickering is playful, lighthearted, and somehow entirely comforting, and he wouldn’t give it up for the world.

He doesn’t know how much time has passed before he again becomes conscious of his surroundings. Perhaps he dozed off, or just stuck his head in the clouds for a time and only came down now. But it is no matter, he thinks, because he is here now.

Neither Michelle nor Leon seem to have noticed his absence; they are still talking quietly, and he can feel the warmth of their bodies, the three of them lying haphazardly on the couch that is nowhere near wide enough to fit them all, in a tangle of arms and legs and beating hearts. Leon’s jokes are somehow mellower, lending the room a comfortable sense of easiness, and Michelle’s laughter sounds like flute notes and birds calls, bubbling up in bursts of song. Emil can feel his own cheeks glowing, and he knows they look pink and rosy—a far cry from their usual wintry paleness. Too, he feels warm, but not from the stubborn heat of the afternoon. Perhaps it is from the presence of the two people he loves most curled up next to him. It makes him feel cozy.

Michelle and Leon have stopped talking, and quiet pervades the room again, peaceful and soft and walking around silently on little cat feet. Emil chances a glance at the two of them, catching the quirk of Michelle’s lips and Leon’s carefully ruffled hair, and smiles softly. The quiet was his first friend, and Michelle and Leon? They are his lifelong friends.

Leon pulls him out of his reverie.

“What’d you think about the party, Emil? Did you enjoy it?” Leon is looking at him, uncharacteristically serious, and Emil is suddenly struck by how beautiful his eyes look in the golden light of the afternoon. His voice sticks a little, and he hastily clears his throat.

“It was really great. I—thanks, you guys, for doing this.” He doesn’t smile, but he hopes they can feel his sincerity, see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice, and realize how grateful he is for them.

And perhaps they know it, because Leon leans forward to kiss him gently on the cheek, and Michelle smiles softly, seriously, like she can hear all the things he can’t find words enough to say.

“Anything for you, Em.”

He couldn’t be more grateful.

———

So finding this gate blocking his path was quite the distraction.

However, worse than the gate that should not be there... was the things that were being held captive in the kitchen by the gate.

Lovino could count three puppies from where he stood in the doorway. There was one laying under the table, chewing on a ball, and two others rolling around the linoleum, seemingly intent on besting each other in whatever they were doing.

He was not a pet person. He didn’t have a cat, or any birds, and he didn’t even let Antonio bring that dumb turtle over anymore. The only person who ever really got away with any animals, was... well, Feliciano had stashed a kitten here once, but it had been short lived, and Lovino had made it clear it wouldn’t happen again.

And now there were puppies rolling around his kitchen.

“You’re home!”

Lovino turned to see his boyfriend coming out of the bathroom, with yet another puppy stashed in his arms. There was a goofy grin on Gilbert’s face, his glasses a bit lopsided, and his shirt spattered with soapy water.

“I didn’t think you’d be home so early, Liebe.” Gilbert stopped by Lovino, leaning to kiss his cheek, before he bent at the waist, leaning down to gently drop the damp puppy into the kitchen with the others. It shook, sending a few droplets of water off, before it hurried to the two that were still rolling around. The one under the table seemed intent to join the game now too, leaving the ball to rush head first into the other three.

If Lovino were not so baffled, and so very angry, he might had admitted that this was cute. Instead, he just locked a glare on Gilbert, and held it until the Prussian’s grin slid away from his face, and he actually looked a little apologetic.

“Why are there dogs in my house?” Lovino finally asked, voice not yet rising, but his anger was obvious.

“Well...”

Lovino’s eyes narrowed, and his voice rose a little as he repeated the question.

“I found them.” Gilbert finally said. He didn’t sound particularly apologetic about it now, but he did at least look a little sheepish, “They were in a box by the grocery store. ‘Free puppies’. I couldn’t just leave them there.”

“Yes, you could.” Lovino responded, knowing it wasn’t true. Gilbert had such a weak spot for cute things, and really who left dogs in boxes on corners anymore? He wondered idly if the other had even remembered to get the groceries he was supposed to get.

“I couldn’t!” Gilbert snapped back, annoyed now, himself. “Who knows what would have happened to them. They could have been left there to starve.”

Lovino retorted quickly, “Why didn’t you take them to the shelter on Cherry Street? They would have taken them in!”

“Matt has enough animals in there right now. Besides, I can find them homes.”

It was left unsaid that Gilbert would want to keep one. Lovino didn’t need to hear it, to know that the other was intent on it. They had discussed pets before, Gilbert was always talking about getting one, and Lovino had entertained the idea of a bird, since he knew Gilbert had loved the one he’d had when they were kids living next door to each other. But a dog.. four puppies, it was too much and Lovino refused to have anything to do with it.

“Take them to the shelter.” He snapped, turning to walk away from the kitchen, “I am not taking care of puppies!”

Moving up behind him, Gilbert slid his arms around the irate Italian, pulling him back, and kissing the back of his neck, “You don’t have to. I’ll take care of them, and I’ll look for homes. And if I can’t find any in a week, I’ll take them to the shelter.”

This was a lie. They both knew Gilbert wouldn’t take the puppies to the shelter. He’d already said that it was full, and Lovino was sure that Matt and Angie both were overwhelmed with it. But that didn’t mean he liked it. Even so, he leaned back, couldn’t help enjoying the contact.

“I’m not cleaning up after them.” Lovino stated seriously.

"You don't have to." Gilbert promised, kissing just behind the other's ear, "I'll clean up after them, and feed them, and walk them. All you have to do, is not kill them."

Ludwig looked up from his scroll, to glance across the room where Erika had settled by the window. She had been sewing when he’d last look, but the shirt she had been mending now lay forgotten in her lap, hands resting over the soft material.

Outside, fat drops of water fell to the ground, making the leaves and branches of the tree their home sat in shake. It hadn’t looked like rain earlier, and Ludwig had been so distracted with his work that he’d not even noticed when it started. If his sister had not mentioned it, he likely would not have noticed. As it was, he didn’t know what to say in response. His eyes turned back to his scroll after a moment, looking over enchantments he had to have memorized before his lessons tomorrow with the grand elder.

“Gilbert isn’t back yet.” Erika spoke again, a hint of worry in her voice.

Ludwig sighed, and left the scroll on the table, knowing he wouldn’t be getting anything done if she was worried. Instead, he made his way over to where she was seated, “He’s probably over at the Vargas’ tree.”

Her tiny head turned, one long blonde braid falling from her shoulder as she locked her seagreen eyes on him, “Do you think he’s okay? He always gets in trouble when he goes out with Lovino...”

“I’m sure they’re fine.” He reasured her, reaching out to pat her head. He wasn’t sure he believed that, though. It was true that Gilbert got in trouble, Lovino’s presence didn’t really effect it. But he didn’t want to worry her more, the small fae was always so prone to worrying about all of them. “If you’re done sewing, why don’t you go check on Vash, he’s been quiet for a while. Take him something to eat?”

There was silence for a moment, as Erika thought this over, and then she got up, giving a small nod, before leaving the room. Vash would keep her busy for a while, Ludwig knew, hopefully until Gilbert made it home. Looking out the window, he frowned out at the rain as it fell, a curtain of gray so thick he couldn’t see far beyond the leaves. He would be more worried himself, if his older brother didn’t always come back in mostly one piece.

Huffing, Ludwig went back to the table. He stared down at his scroll for a while, trying hard to focus on the symbols and small text explaining each spell. It was much harder to focus now, however, with his mind on his brother who had yet to return. His eyes were drawn to the window, watching the rain outside, as he listened to the sound of Erika and Vash talking somewhere deeper in their tree. Somewhere further in, there was the sound of music drifting from Roderich’s room. It would have been soothing if Ludwig could force his attention away from the worry that maybe Gilbert had gotten himself into bigger trouble than he could get out of- again.

Nearly half way across the forest, the source of his worry  stood on a tree branch with a scowl on his face. Gilbert’s plan to sneak into the human’s house had been a bit of a flop. They’d knocked over something and caused a crash that had sent the humans within rushing to see what it was, and he and his partner had almost gotten caught. It wasn’t a big deal, really, they hadn’t been caught, and neither were hurt- and they’d gotten at least part of what they’d gone for. But Lovino hadn’t stopped bitching about it since they’d settled in a tree to avoid the rain.

“We could have died, you fucking idiot!” Lovino snarled from his spot, sitting with his legs dangling over the branch. His wings kept fluttering behind him, trying to dry off.

Rolling his eyes, Gilbert huffed, “We didn’t die, and we didn’t even get seen.”

“But we might have! That was the dumbest fucking plan ever.” The auburn haired fairy snapped, not looking up at the pale one standing nearby, “Just in and out, you said. Bull fucking shit.”

There were other complaints to be made, and Lovino continued on, muttering under his breath. “If you could have kept that damn bird under control we wouldn’t have gotten in trouble. But no, you let it do whatever and we nearly got caught while in the fucking ice box. And all for what? A jug of fucking milk and some sug-”

The foul mouthed fairy’s mouth clenched shut as pale fingers slid into his hair. Lovino hated having his hair touched, but it was always the first thing that Gilbert touched. And as much as he hated to admit it, the other’s touch, his fingers sliding through damp auburn locks, actually did soothe some of Lovino’s anger and anxiety.

“Milk that we’ll both enjoy and sugar that Erika and Roderich will use to make a cake, that both of us, will also enjoy.” Gilbert stated knowingly, before sitting down beside the other.

Lovino hunched forward, letting his wings fold at his back, and looked away. He wouldn’t admit that both sounded really good, especially after all the trouble they’d gone through to get them.

The pale fairy leaned, brushing their sides together, and Lovino didn’t say anything. So Gilbert grinned and kissed his cheek, “Besides, we got you some of those tomatos you like so much.”

“If we hadn’t, none of it would have been worth it at all, Bastard.” Lovino responded stiffly, “I would have left your ass there. I only stuck around for the tomatoes.”

Gilbert laughed, so Lovino knew he hadn’t been taken seriously. Which was good, because even as he said it, he didn’t really mean it. Sure the small red tomatos were really good, and he looked forward to them, but he wouldn’t have just left Gilbert there. Especially knowing the other wouldn’t have been able to get back to the window and his stupid bird on his own. It was too far for a wingless fairy to make it before humans came rushing in.

An arm slung over the darker fairy’s shoulders, and Lovino leaned back into the contact, still not looking over at the other. “It’s still your fault we got caught in the rain, jackass.”

Gilbert just kissed his shoulder again, and gave him that shit eatting grin, “We can fly back on Gilbird.”

The bird tilted it’s head to look at them, black eyes locking on them for only a moment before it went back to primming a little. The saddle on it’s back standing out in stark contract to it’s pale yellow feathers, and the bags already strapped to it mostly ignored.

“No way am I getting on that fucking thing. It’d probably drop us both.”

Gilbert sank his hand back into the other’s hair, and just grinned as Lovino leanned into the touch. He kissed the side of the other’s head, and ruffled his hair a bit. “Well, we’ll just have to wait for the rain to stop and your wings to dry.”

It would take a while, though fairy wings were small, they were notorious for taking a long time to dry. They both had homes to get to, and family’s who would worry about their long departure, but it wouldn’t be the first time. Gilbert could have easily used this time to point out that it was Lovino’s own fault for not wanting to ride on Gilbird’s back, they could get home so quickly then, even in the rain, but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled Lovino so the other was leaning on him, and settled in to sit and watch the rain.

Huffing, the darker haired fairy let himself be positioned, and if he snuggled closer, neither said anything about it. Neither of them would. Just like neither would mention the few kisses they’d shared through the afternoon, or how comfortable they were just sitting there together in mostly silence.

Asking was harder though, Zoe had tried to do it twice at meetings, but it never seemed to work just right. She always got scared. Erik would have suggested an e-mail, but Zoe wasn't really sure she could see Natalya Arlovskaya checking a personal e-mail from someone like her. So, after a meeting, when everyone was leaving the building to head back to their hotels, Zoe slipped away from her friends and ran ahead, "Miss Arlovskaya!"

There was a bit of a silence that fell over the nations that had been walking in the same direction, a few turning their heads to look at Zoe. Natalya had stopped and turned, her brother slipping away while he had the chance, and Miss Kateryna standing just beside Natalya.

Zoe came to a slow stop in front of her, breath a not heavy, but a smile on her face, "I- I wanted to ask you something. Something important."

"What?" Natalya was eyeing her a bit, as if trying to gauge what this child could want from her.

"Well... um.." Zoe felt a bit shy suddenly, knowing that there were so many others watching them. Worse then that, she could hear Jack not too far away, talking too loudly with Alfred, like always. "Um..."

"I don't have all day." Natalya stated, her voice a bit cold, but not particularly mean.

"I was wondering if you could teach me... how to... um... fight." The words were a bit of a mess, and she lost confidence as she spoke, and Natalya's eyes stared at her, cold and pale blue and never wavering.

"Sister.." Miss Kateryna said, voice soft, looking between the two.

Zoe was half ready to be declined, but she was really not ready for the little white card that was held up for her. She took it gingerly, flipping it over to look at it, seeing the nation of Belarus' human name, e-mail and a phone number she could be contacted in, all written neatly underneath their Cyrillic forms.

It wasn't really a yes, but it was better than a no, and Zoe beamed, "Thank you!"

She didn't get an answer, just a quick nod, as Natalya turned on her heel, and began to walk again. Miss Kateryna paused, then smiled at Zoe, "Just e-mail her, she'll talk to you through that- she's much sweeter that way!"

The other kids at school pitied her for it. They told her how weird it was she didn’t have a mommy, and always asked why she didn’t have one, why didn’t she get a new one. One of the boys in class said that when his mommy left, his daddy got a new girlfriend and she was just as good as his mommy had been, so shouldn’t Angelique have a new one by now?

But she didn’t want a mommy. She didn’t feel like she needed one. Viane helped her with all the girly stuff Papa didn’t know quite how to do, and her Papa really didn’t seem to need much help, anyway. She didn’t feel like she was missing out. Not when she was so happy with her family as it was. With or without a mommy involved.

They had things just right, adding someone new would just ruin it. What if Papa liked the new woman more than he liked her or Viane or Mattie? What if that new mommy was like the new mommies in all the movies and stories, mean and cruel as soon as Papa looked away, and only sweet and nice when he was right there? What if they were horrible and pulled her hair too much when they brushed it like Viane did sometimes, or didn’t know how to cook or tell stories? What if they yelled a lot?

No, Angelique thought her family was just fine. They didn’t need a mommy.

She liked Papa’s cooking, and Viane doing her hair. She liked when Mattie told her stories from his story books, and she liked when they all did things together, like going to the park or watching movies or even just staying home and doing nothing.

It was good like it was, and at the age of six, she didn’t want it to change. So, after spring break, when all the kids went back to school for that short stretch before summer break, when a little girl with long red hair told Angelique she needed a mommy or her family wasn’t complete, Angelique pulled her hair so hard she cried, and the teacher had to put her in time out, but no one in class mentioned it again, and that red haired girl was moved to a seat on the other side of the room, and Angelique felt rather proud of herself until Papa scolded her for hurting someone else.

Miss Natalya had mentioned earlier that she was quite good at poker. And ideally, Viane supposed, she was. Certainly, she had the 'poker face' down just right. However, she had other, small ticks that an untrained eye might not have caught. Viane could tell whether she had good cards or not, not by the expression on Miss Natalya's face, for it never seemed to change... but by the slightest twitch in her fingers when she got a card she wanted, the way she tapped her cards on the table when she got one she really didn't.

Viane had the game in the bag, her hand was excellent, and everyone else had pulled out by this point. She had carefully avoided going directly against Miss Natalya, not sure what the other nation might do if she lost. She had taken it well when Miss Erika had managed to get a good hand- but who could really react poorly to Liechtenstein? Viane feared she might not get away so easily. She watched uneasily as Angelique pulled back, and Miss Anh Diu did the same.

Her eyes flickered over to Miss Natalya, nervously, trying to catch something else. Anything else that might tip her off to the other nation's state of mine, but other than having picked up that she'd gotten a bad hand, Viane couldn't decipher. She was being watched by the others, they were waiting for her to lay her hand down, and it was only a great deal of talent and years of practice that kept the shake from her hands and the fear from her face.

Finally, Miss Natalya gave an annoyed huff (Viane had to work not to flinch), and laid down her cards. It wasn't as awful a hand as Viane had feared, but now she had no choice. Laying out her own for the others to see, Viane watched Miss Natalya nervously, fearing she'd lurch across the table- Francis had told her she'd done that once at a meeting, and Viane was not very good at confrontations, certainly not physical ones. It didn't happen though, Miss Natalya collected her cards, and added them to Angelique's to be collected with all the rest, and pushed the small pile of chips in Viane's direction.

That seemed to be it.