It was a quiet day in the Romanian household. Vlad was looking over his notes for the last meeting, Dmitri was outside tending to the garden, and Alexandru was happily tapping away at the console in his hands. Every now and then the little Moldovan would laugh, groan or cheer at whatever it was he was playing, causing Vlad to look over with a raised eyebrow and smile at his little brother's antics.

Things continued as such for a few more minutes, until suddenly…

"Hic!"

The silence was broken by a strange sound. Vlad looked up from his notes, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Mol?"

At the sound of his name, Alexandru broke away from his game, matching his brother's curious gaze.

"Huh? Me? No, I didn't say anything, I just - hic!" Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the same sound, his breath catching in an odd hitch. He stopped, mouth open in surprise. His head tilted to one side as he frowned in confusion.

"Hey, big brother, did you hear that? My mouth made a funny noise. It went -hic! Hey, it just did it again!"

Vlad fought to keep his face straight as he replied. "Yes, Mol, I heard you. It's hiccups. Go and have a glass of water, that will stop them."

Alexandru pouted. "I -hic!- know it's hiccups, big brother. But it sounds -hic!- funny. And it feels weird. Like my tummy's jumping."

"Mol, you're 600 years old. You've have hiccups before, you know what they are. Go and get some water if you're going to complain that much."

"Hmph. You're no fun. I was just – hic!- … O.K, I'm going!" Seeing his brother's rolled eyes, Alexandru gave in and headed towards the kitchen. Vlad pretended not to notice the stuck-out tongue pointed at him as he passed, resuming his perusal of the papers spread out on the desk in front of him.

"Spoilsport," Alexandru muttered as he reached up to get a glass, filling it and obediently taking a few sips. Once the water reached his lips, he realised he was actually quite thirsty and began gulping the liquid hastily. Predictably, this resulted in some going down the wrong way, and he began coughing and spluttering.

Vlad heard the commotion and came rushing in.

"Mol? What's wrong? Are you OK?"

"Oh, for goodness' sake, I didn't mean you had to drink it all at once!" Realising what had happened, he patted the boy's back until the coughing fit had passed. He refilled the glass and handed it back to his brother, after making sure he could breathe properly again.

"Better? Good. Now, here. Small sips this time, O.K?"

Alexandru nodded, taking the glass gratefully. Vlad smiled in relief, ruffling his brother's hair affectionately.

"Well, at least you didn't try to drink it upside down, or who knows what would have happened," he mused. Alexandru stopped drinking to give him an incredulous look.

"Why would I try to drink water upside down? Wouldn't it just go all over the floor?" he asked.

Vlad shrugged. "I don't know, it's a thing. Some people think drinking water upside down helps to cure hiccups. Don't ask me how that works, I've no idea."

Alexandru tipped his head to the side, apparently giving the idea serious consideration. "I don't think that would work," He eventually stated. "I think you'd just end up spilling water all over yourself. Oh, but I bet you could do it, brother! You could magic the water to stay in the glass, so it doesn't fall out."

Vlad raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I probably could, yes, but why would I want to? Honestly, Mol, you have the strangest ideas sometimes."

"I know."

Vlad couldn't help laughing at his brother's straightforward admittance. "And that's what I love about you. You just keep being yourself, Mol, strange ideas and all. Now, how would you and your crazy head like something to eat?"

Alexandru nodded eagerly. "Yes, please!"

"Go and get Dmitri, then, and I'll make some snacks." Alexandru nodded again and ran off, heading towards the garden. He reappeared a few moments later, the Bulgarian in tow. Vlad finished making the snacks and the three of them went back into the lounge.

Dmitri accepted the coffee Vlad held out to him, blowing on it a bit to cool it down.

"Thanks. By the way, what was all the fuss about earlier? Sounded like one of you was choking or something."

Vlad shook his head. "It's nothing. Alexandru drank some water too fast, that's all."

"I had hiccups," the boy in question supplied helpfully. "Big brother said to have some water because it would help, but I got thirsty and it went down the wrong way. They're gone now though – hic!" Barely had he finished the sentence before his words were proven wrong, and a look of annoyance crossed Alexandru's face.

"Are you sure about that?" Dmitri asked. Alexandru stuck his tongue out peevishly in return.

"Well, they were." He replied crossly. "They stopped for a whi – hic! – ile, so I thought they'd gone."

Dmitri nodded, trying not to laugh. "I see. Try holding your breath, that can help." Alexandru did as he was told, sucking in a breath and holding it for a few seconds before letting it out in a puff. He repeated the process several times, going slightly red in the face before giving up.

"I don't think that will work. I can't hold my breath that long," He complained, lying back on the couch in defeat.

"I'd stop doing it then," Vlad advised. "You'll make yourself dizzy if you keep doing it. Just wait, they'll go away on their own."

"But I don't wa- hic! -ant to," Alexandru complained. "It's anno – hic! -ying. Stop laughing! It's not fu – hic! -unny!"

Vlad and Dmitri fought to keep their faces straight as they apologised. "Sorry, Mol, but there really isn't much you can do about hiccups. You'll just have to put up with them until they go away." Vlad's sympathetic tone seemed to mollify his brother, as he slouched back on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. Suddenly, his face brightened with another idea.

"I know! You can use your magic. You can use magic to heal things, right? Please, big brother?" Large brown eyes stared pleadingly at the Romanian as Alexandru turned his head hopefully towards his brother.

Vlad blinked in surprise, raising his eyebrows as he considered how to reply.

"I suppose I could, yes, but it's probably not a good idea." He said carefully. "Magic is tricky enough as it is; using it for something so simple could be quite risky. Besides, I'm not even sure how I'd go about trying to 'cure' hiccups - it's not like there's an actual problem with your body, as such. Sorry, Mol, but there's really nothing I can do."

Alexandru sighed. "O.K. I think they're mostly gone now anyway." He reached over and took a cookie off the tray, nibbling on it as Dmitri reached out to ruffle his hair consolingly. He picked up the console that was lying on the table from where he'd left it earlier and began tapping at the screen in an attempt to distract himself.

Dmitri leaned over to peer at the notes Vlad left on the table, and the conversation turned to the latest meeting. Alexandru tuned out, finding the talk of politics and the economy rather boring. It wasn't that he had no interest, per se; he was an independent country, after all. He just didn't really see the need to go over all the boring details outside of the meeting room.

He continued playing the game, ignoring the occasional flutter in his chest. Thankfully, the hiccups did seem to be stopping, at last. Overhead, the adults' talk continued, until another unexpected sound shattered the relative calm.

BOOM

A blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky outside, a deafening roll of thunder breaking a split-second later. Alexandru shrieked, reacting instinctively as he tossed his console aside without a second thought and dove towards Dmitri's chest.

The Bulgarian automatically wrapped his arms around the trembling child, soothing him as the boy shook in fear. In an instant, Vlad was on his feet as well, dashing round to join his boyfriend on the couch. He wrapped his arms around his brother as well; the two enfolding the Moldovan in a protective hug.

"shhh, 'Lexi, it's alright. It was only thunder, nothing to be scared of." Vlad's murmured words of comfort, along with the arms protecting him, worked their magic on the frightened child. Alexandru tentatively poked his head up, ready to duck back down at a moment's notice.

Vlad regarded his worried expression with a comforting smile.

"It's alright, 'Lexi, it's stopped. Looks like it was just one flash."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." This time it was Dmitri who spoke, his calm tone reassuringly steady.

Alexandru nodded into his cousin's chest, sitting up as him and Vlad loosened their embrace.

"I-I'm not scared, really. It was just so loud, and I wasn't ready."

Dmitri nodded. "It's alright, Alex, we understand. To be honest, it startled me a little too."

Alexandru looked up at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Well, it was pretty loud. Right, Vlad?" He turned to his boyfriend, expecting confirmation.

"…I suppose." The reply was just a second too late to be natural, and Alexandru narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"You did it." He said accusingly, frowning at his brother. "You made it thunder."

Vlad at least had the decency to look appropriately embarrassed, inclining his head in admittance.

"I did," he confessed. "But it worked, didn't it? You don't have hiccups anymore." Alexandru opened his mouth to refute his brother's statement, then closed it with a huff.

"Well, no, but…" he trailed off, unable to come up with a sufficient argument.

Dmitri stepped to provide one. "I know that's one way to stop them, Rom, but did you have to make it quite that loud? You really scared Alex." His chiding tone was accompanied by a stern look of disapproval, and Vlad shrugged apologetically.

"I didn't actually mean to make it that loud." He admitted. "Controlling the weather is a lot harder than it seems." He held his arms out to Alexandru again. "I'm sorry, 'Lexi. Forgive me?"

Alexandru scowled for a moment, considering, then nodded, accepting the hug.

"I suppose," he said, mimicking his brother's earlier words. Dmitri snorted at that, and Vlad gave him a mock glare.

"Hey, you earned that one," he said, lips raised in a smirk as Alexandru grinned at him.

Vlad raised his eyes upward. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked the ceiling, his tone dramatically imploring.

"Love us." Alexandru replied promptly. "You said so earlier." Vlad looked down at him again, unable to keep the smile out of his voice as he replied.

"That I do, 'Lexi. No matter what."

A/N: So, uh….yeah. I honestly have no explanation for this. I had a sudden mini-attack of the hiccups earlier today, and I happened to be scrolling through the Hetalia folder on my phone, and somehow, this happened. Almost 2000 words on Moldova getting the hiccups, and it practically wrote itself. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, I guess? (laughs) Anyway, as usual, any and all reviews/faves/follows etc are very much appreciated, and huge thanks to those who've done so already, you guys are the greatest :) See you next time!