As you walked up the long, snowy driveway to Russia's house, you noticed two cars were missing. 'Please let it be Russia who's gone…!' you thought, gripping the handle of your red and white spotted umbrella. Although you loved to spend time with the Baltics, Russia just gave you the creeps.

Luck seemed to be on your side seeing as before you even knocked your closest friend, Latvia, came to the door. You felt a light blush cross your cheeks as he smiled. "Hello, (y/n), it's good to see you!" he said, his usual tremor barely noticeable. "You came on a good day, Russia left for a meeting just about an hour ago."

A sense of relief washed over you as you closed you umbrella. "Who else left? There were two cars gone, right?" you asked as Latvia stepped aside to let you in.

"Oh, Estonia left to pick a few things up from the store but Lithuania is in the kitchen right now."

Your face lit up at the mention of this and you happily stepped inside. "Would he mind if we helped out?" you asked, remembering the good times the four of you always had in the kitchen.

"We can always ask, I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Latvia said as he politely took your trademark umbrella and set it against the wall. Although he never understood your odd quirk of carrying an umbrella while it was snowing, he had always found it cute. A bright blush crossed is cheeks as you enthusiastically took his hand and started running for the kitchen.

When you walked through the open doorway into the kitchen, you saw that it was empty. "I wonder where he could have gone…" Latvia mumbled to himself.

"Lithuania?" you called out as you walked further into the kitchen. You stopped when you saw a mess spilled on the floor. "Where did all that parmesan cheese come from?" you mumbled. It was then that you noticed a half-made dish on the counter. 'Lithuania never leaves a mess like this…' you thought worriedly.

"Hey, how did that hole get there…?" Latvia said, a tremor returning to his voice. When you looked up there was a large, neatly cut hole in the middle of the ceiling. The burnt edges told you exactly who cut the hole.

"Tony…" you muttered.

"H-huh?" Latvia said, obviously nervous.

"That hole was cut by Tony's ship. Remember the alien friend America has? He really likes Lithuania; he must have 'abducted' him again."

Latvia paled at the word 'alien' but kept a calm air about him. Remembering the last time Tony took Lithuania, you sighted. "We should probably go to America's to bring him back…"

"Y-yeah, ok, you're right…" Latvia mumbled, nerves on end. Although he would much rather stay there and let things work themselves out, Latvia wanted to go with you to make sure you would be safe.

When the two of you arrived at America's, a small sense of nagging dread crept into your mind. Latvia seemed to notice as he took your hand, blushing. "I-I'm sure it will be ok, we just need to pick up Lithuania then we can go home again," he said with a faint smile.

You nodded, returning the smile as Latvia lightly knocked with the brass door handle. When the door slowly creaked open on its own, you could feel Latvia begin to tremble, squeezing your hand tight. "A-America…?" he squeaked. Silence was his answer.

"Come on, we should see if he's even home…" you said quietly, stepping inside. The second Latvia stepped in beside you the door slammed shut behind, making you jump. Latvia let out a little yelp, his trembling worsening.

"America, this isn't funny…" you mumbled, nerves standing on end. Suddenly the lights started flickering until they went out completely. Practically clinging to Latvia, your heart started pounding in your chest; you were terrified of the dark.

Relief washed over you when the room filled with light once more. The strange, blazing fire now brightly illuminating the room from the fireplace made the bright blush on Latvia's cheeks glow. "H-how'd that f-fire get th-there…?!" Latvia stuttered, trembling so much that you were shaking as well.

Still clinging to Latvia, you managed to squeak "I-I don't know… B-but at l-least it's not d-dark anymore…" Latvia then remembered your fear of the dark and squeezed your hand comfortingly. Realizing you were still clinging to him, you quickly let go, keeping your hand in is as a blush spread across your cheeks.

"A-America's probably just messing with us…r-right…?" Latvia asked, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

You nodded and said "He likes playing pranks; this was probably meant for Britain… But America is a scaredy-cat, he wouldn't do anything really scary or bad…"

Your prediction was proven wrong as the two of you slowly started walking down the hallway. A brick wall came crashing down from the ceiling, separating you and Latvia. "_-_(y/n)_?!" he shouted, tremor worsening by the second. He got silence. On your side it was pitch black… Worry rising, Latvia continued calling out for you but your throat and chest were getting so tight it was becoming hard to breathe.

You suddenly let out a scream when something grabbed you from behind, pulling you away from the wall. "(y/n)?!" Latvia yelled urgently. "What's going on?!" He soon found out when a similar thing grabbed him and started pulling him away from the wall as well. "Stop! Let go!" he shouted giving you the drive to keep struggling in the arms of your captor. The attempt to escape was proven futile as the two of you were knocked out cold…

As you came-to in the dimly lit room, you could feel the cold form the stone floor seep through your jacket. "(y/n), are you awake…?!" Latvia said worriedly by your side.

You opened your nervous (e/c) eyes to see his concerned, violet [1] ones. "Wh-what happened…?" you asked as Latvia gently helped you p.

"I-I don't know… But I think we're in the basement now…" he answered. Although he was trembling, he seemed surprisingly calm in the situation. "Come on, let's look for a way out…" he said quietly, holding your hand tight. Hand-in-hand, Latvia blindly started leading you through the eerie silence.

Along with the echoing sound of your footsteps came another sound, growing louder and faster by the second.[2]

Drip…drip…drip..drip.. .dripdripdripdripdripWHOOSH~

The two of you spun around to see water quickly flooding in through a large crack in the ceiling. All the color seemed to drain from your face in a split second as you began to panic. As if encouraged by your reaction, the walls on either side of you began closing in, making the water level rise.

Beside you, Latvia stood trembling, seeming frozen to the spot. The rapidly rising water was now at your knees, the walls advancing so fast you figured you only had a minute to live. That's when it hit you: 'We're going to die in here…'

You turned to the now still country beside you, water now up to your waist. Taking a deep breath you could feel a warm blush dust your cheeks. "Latvia, I need to tell you something…" you said with a shaky voice.

He looked at you, eyes serious, voice stern. "Yes, you do. I need to know, (y/n), do you trust me?"

You were taken aback by this sudden change in him and could only stand there dumbfounded as the water rose to your chest. "(Y/n), do you trust me?" he asked again urgently.

"Y-yes, I trust you," you answered quickly, feeling the heat in your cheeks grow.

"Good, because I can only think of one way out of here and it's risky…" he said quietly.

With the water at your chin, walls close to eight feet on either side of you, any plan was appealing to you. "Ok, I'll do it. What do we have to do?" you asked, trying to keep the panic out of your voice.

"We have to wait…" he said seeming unsure.

"W-wait?" you asked exasperated.

Putting one arm around you, he replied "If we wait for the water to rise high enough, we can get up into the rafters…" Seeing that you were now treading water, the walls pushing the cold, murky water higher by the second, you nodded.

"Ok…" you whispered, blushing at his protective grip around you. 'At least I'll get to die in his arms if we don't make it out…' you thought, blush burning brighter on your cheeks.

Higher…closer…higher…closer… The events occurring seemed scattered and spaced out in your mind as you simply tried focusing on the strangely brave look on Latvia's face. You had never seen him look so serious and had never though he would care so much. But now seeing the pure determination of getting you both out alive made your heart flutter in your chest. As new emotions began swirling inside of you, you seemed to lose track of your surroundings.

Suddenly you felt a strong tug around your waist that snapped you back to reality. Looking up you realized Latvia was trying to pull you up into the rafters with him. Walls less than a foot away from either side of you, Latvia lifted you up out of the water with strength neither of you knew he had. Shocked and panicking, you turned stuff as a board and pale as a ghost as the walls slammed together where you were only seconds ago.

"A-are you ok?!" Latvia asked, obviously worried as he looked for any sign of injury.

"I-I'm ok… Th-thank you…" you stuttered through your shock at the events that just occurred.

Latvia suddenly threw his arms around you and hugged you tight. "I was so afraid I would lose you…" he whispered shakily.

You heart skipped a beat as you hugged him back, surprised at this sudden show of affection. "You saved my life… Thank you…" you whispered back. For minutes that seemed like hours, the two of you stayed together in a warm embrace, not realizing the walls slowly receding or water draining down.

When Latvia unwillingly pulled back, he gave you a small smile. "We should try to find a way out now," he said, tremor nowhere to be found.

As you nodded, you realized the basement had returned to the way it was when you first saw it. "Do you think we could jump down…?" you asked unsure.

Looking around, Latvia found an old rope wrapped around one of the wooden rafters. "Here, we can use this," he said, carefully scrawling over to get the rope. As he methodically unwound it from around the beam and brought it back over, you found yourself staring at the thoughtful look on his face. When he tied the rope around the rafter you were perched on, you couldn't help but smile as he partially stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth in concentration.

"There, done," he said, letting the rest of the rope fall to the floor. This snapped you from your thoughts as you blushed, now realizing you were staring. "I'll slide down first so I can catch you if you fall, ok?"

You didn't want to be left up there alone, but nodded anyway. Sensing this, Latvia smiled. "Trust me," he said as he slid down, landing clumsily on the floor below. When you tried getting down the same way, you lost your footing, causing you to fall with a small scream. The next thing you knew you were safely caught in Latvia's arms.

He set you down, blushing, and the two of you walked hand-in-hand towards the door and up the stairs. The second you reached the room at the top, the floor started shaking.

"Wh-what's going on?!" Latvia shouted, holding you protectively, making you blush once again.

Soon the ceiling started cracking along the edges and was ripped away from the house, letting the evening sky show through. In the middle of the sky, a grey ship was floating.

"Tony!" you shouted, wondering if he was to blame for the "haunted house."

"Fucking, fucking bitch!" he muttered as a small circle opened in the bottom of his ship. Suddenly Lithuania dropped out of the opening and fell to the floor with a thud.

"Oof!" he mumbled upon landing. You and Latvia ran over to help him up, worried he was hurt.

"Lithuania, are you ok?!" you asked in unison, reaching out your hands to help him up.

"Y-yes, I'm fine…" he replied, politely taking your hands and standing. "Thank you…"

"Tony, I told you not to drop him again!" a distinct voice shouted form the ship. A second later America was beamed down next to Lithuania, chomping on a crunchy-shelled taco. "Sorry, dude, he just doesn't listen to me sometimes," he mumbled through a full mouth. Popping the rest of the taco into his mouth, America noticed the soggy appearance of you and Latvia. "Ohh, dudes, sorry about that! You guys ended up in the basement didn't you? I rigged that thing because Britain kept doing creepy magic shit in my basement."

"O-oh…" you mumbled, wondering about the rest of the strange events.

Lithuania nervously piped up "You guys should probably go home and change soon, it's not good to stay in wet clothes…"

"Oh, right… Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. America," Latvia said as he squeezed your hand.

America suddenly burst out laughing. "Mr.?!" he shouted. "Dude, I'm not that old! Hahahahaha! But no problem! See ya, dudes!"

You gave a small wave as you and Latvia began walking. Behind you America could be heard scolding Tony and kicking a few stray pieces of debris.

Still holding hands, you two reached the front room. From the back you could hear America shout "HULK SMASH!" and the house began shaking, rocking back and forth as he threw the ceiling back in place.

"L-look out for that flying floor lamp!" Lithuania suddenly shouted as said object came hurtling towards you from the hallway. Latvia grabbed you and the two of you fumbled, falling to the floor, landing in a kiss. You could feel the heat grow in you cheeks as the lamp hit the wall with a bang.

Pulling back, Latvia was shaking over top of you.

"Oh,I'msosorry,(y/n),Ididn'tmeanto,Ididn'tknow,I'msorry!" he rambled, cheeks flushed.

"I-it's ok, Latvia…" you mumbled, beet red. "A-actually…I-I really like you…" you said quietly, bracing yourself for rejection.

Latvia suddenly stopped shaking. "…Y-you do…?" he asked, surprised. "C-Cause I do too! I mean you not me, I like you too!" he added quickly.

Your world seemed to light up upon hearing this. 'He likes me back!' you thought smiling. "S-so…c-could we um…go out on a date soon then…?" you asked blushing.

"Y-you really want to…?" he asked, still surprised. You nodded in response, a gentle smile on your lips.

Beaming, Latvia stood and helped you up. "Th-Then I would like that," he said, blushing as well. "S-So you really do like me?"

Smiling, you answered "Trust me," before planting a soft kiss on his lips.

~The End~