Ciao, Lynn Silver/Random Hetaku here :P

So this is the first chapter of my first fanfic :D I'm a relatively new fan as of now(I only started on Hetalia in November). Additionally, my command of the English language )leaves much to be desired ;~; So yes, feel free to point out grammatical errors and logical flaws in the reviews :) Suggestions are welcomed. In the meantime, enjoy this fanfic XD (or at least I hope you understand it.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia

Chapter 1

SOS

The Hetalia Travel Agency had organised an exotic around the world trip off the beaten track. Nearing Christmas, they reached a rural area in Austria and stayed in an inn known as Hotel Hetalia. The nearest police station is 50km away and consists of a lone officer.

Arthur Kirkland, of room 156, was distracted by the rattle that disrupted the otherwise quiet place. "Who's there?"he called out. Silence. The sound suggested that window had been vibrating. He checked and realised it was open. Frowning in disgust at the bit of dirt that blew through, he closed it and went back to what he was doing. If he had looked out the window, he might have noticed some of the tree branches had been broken such that there was a path to the window. And maybe, just perhaps, he would have noticed the muddy footprints on the small ledge below it..

"Dude! Open up!" yelled Alfred, pounding on the hotel door. Silence. The only thing that punctuated the lack of noise was his chattering teeth. He was shivering like crazy and he could barely feel his legs. Stupid hotel owner wouldn't turn up the heater. He bet the outdoors were only a few degrees colder. "Iggy! Open up already! It's f-friggin' c-cold!" he whined. Still no response. Trust him to mistakenly leave one of his backpacks with Arthur. And since it contained his warmer clothes , he was currently wearing a loose shirt and a pair of porous sport shorts. Oh and feeling like he would pass out any moment, courtesy of the stingy Austrian who owned the place. Defeated, he sighed at the lack of a response and slumped down against the door. He spotted a red button mounted onto the wall for emergencies. Such things were found everywhere around the hotel, as ropes and levers but mostly as buttons. A few years ago, the head of security, a man known as Vash, had insisted on such measures. Of course, the penny pinching owner almost fell out with him because such security was costly. Still, Vash was the best there was and he relented. Perhaps weeks ago, Alfred would've passed off such measures as paranoid but now, he was thankful for them. Shortly after he moved in, he had this...bad feeling. Of being stalked, perhaps. Sometimes as he walked, he would see, or think he saw, a black figure at the corner of his eye. And when he turned around, no one was there. Just a few days ago, his suspicions were confirmed. Thankfully, with just a push of a button, security was alerted and Vash (with a gun) and another security personnel (with a frying pan?) arrived almost immediately. First aid was given and the attacker was apprehended, but by the skin of their teeth. Watching the girl bash his head with a frying pan, he thought she was rather admirable. Not only was she part of security, but she was also the receptionist, helped out with room service and even filled in for the cleaning maid before. A bit of a errand boy, more accurately an errand girl. But Alfred had not left that incident without a tinge of insecurity. Watching some of the light leave Arthur's eyes and looking at the blood that flowed from his stab wound and seep into cracks of the marble tiles, he vowed never to let such a thing to happen again. To never feel the cold, clammy skin against his or hear the barely audible words that left his trembling lips. Ever since then, Alfred had secretly used his phone to connect to he security system and Arthur's room. That way, if any of the SOS buttons in Arthur's room were pressed, he would be alerted immediately. He actually had a feeling the head of IT, Eduardo, knew but didn't really care. After all, there's nothing like another pair of hands to help in such things.

Gilbert, or the Almighty Awesome Me as he liked to call himself, was currently faced with a rather unawesome problem- he didn't have wifi. It wasn't like the place didn't have wifi (the awesome him wouldn't stay in such a place) or that he couldn't pay for it. In fact, he was sure he could charm the IT guy with all his awesome into giving it to him, maybe even free of charge. It was just that the username and password was printed on a slip of paper he would have to ask for from receptionist. Who of course, he didn't get along well with. Hell, "didn't get along well with" was an epic understatement. He was sure the bitchy cow would have beat him up and chased him out ten times over if not for the fact that he was a paying guest. And so, he sat on the bed and sulked, telling himself that paying for wifi was unawesome anyway. Unless of course, he creeped out everyone to take him to the IT guy and intimidate the hell out of him for freebies. Which was demonstrated by a Russian guest Gilbert did not particularly like. Nevertheless, to confront him would be a waste of his awesome time. However, despite his awesome reasoning, the crux of the problem remained: Without wifi, he could access the Internet to surf certain..questionable sites. Which he was sure his bruder was already happily surfing, he thought with a smirk and a tinge of dismay. But like all awesome people (who still weren't as awesome as he was), he quickly hatched a devious plan...

With each passing minute, Tino grew more worried. But he could feel that bit of guilt and shame masked by his anxiety. How could he suspect Berwald of anything? Yes, the guy was intimidating but he wasn't really that...ok fine, he did look a bit scary. In fact, he had all but pounded down the door and begged on his knees to change rooms the first time he met the man. Being too poor to afford a single bed hotel room, he came up with a plan. Since a double bed hotel room was 20% cheaper than twice the cost of a single bed one, he would save money by pooling his money with another party and sharing the room. Therefore, he made a deal with this person in question using the many connections of his loud and obnoxious friend from Denmark. Everything was going smoothly until he met the man in the flesh. He was pretty sure the guy was the special halloween attraction for the hotel. But in the time he spent with his roomie, he learnt many things about him, most if not all of it good. Behind his intimidating exterior was a man Tino grew fond of. And maybe their relationship had become more than that. If there was any single event to be blamed for such a change (or at least on Tino's side), it was the time Berwald introduced Tino as his "wife" to a hapless person he had been conversing with. The man's reaction was nothing short of puzzled, slightly scared by Berwald's serious expression and "just what am I supposed to say now". Later in the hotel, Tino reprimanded Berwald for scaring and confusing the unfortunate stranger with his unpleasant "joke". Berwald just gave him his "Bitch, I'm serious. When did I start joking?" glare, causing the Fin to stutter and stammer mid-sentence. He did n't even have the chance to finish what he said. Thanks to the fact that Berwald suddenly leaned forward and kissed him, causing Tino's face to turn an interesting shade of burgundy red. He was at an utter loss for words. Berwald let go and comment in how pretty he thought Tino was, stating down his many facial features, some of which he wasn't quite so aware of himself. All this time he was creeped out that Berwald kept staring at him while he slept, but he never thought it was because of this. Considering the fact that Berwald was the most stoic person Tino knew, such a confession left him at a bigger loss for words (if that was even possible). He was pretty sure at that point of time that Berwald had invented the word "awkward". But maybe deep inside him, he returned Berwald's feelings. And the more Tino got to know him, the more he was sure of it. He became more comfortable with this change with each passing day. As Tino drowned in his thoughts, the voice of the harassing guard rang down the corridor. "Open up Mr Braginsky! Let's get married! You know you want to! Let me innn," hissed the crazy substitute security guard menacingly. The voice of Natalia jerked him out of his reverie and his mind returned to the matter at hand, which was his irrational fear and anxiety. Her voice reminded him of the statement made by the security personnel: "we have managed to arrest the man responsible for aggravated assault on Arthur Kirkland. However, this person seems to have certain connections and we suspect that he might be part of a gang. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that the incident will not be an isolated one. We urge all guests to be vigilant and report any sightings of suspicious people or activity within the hotel. In case of emergencies, press the nearest SOS button. We are proceeding with investigations." Ever since the attack, fellow guests had been casting suspicious glances at Berwald. Even the staff seemed particularly wary of him. And Tino had a feeling they were only that good to Berwald (which still wasn't very friendly) because Tino was by his side. Everyone thought Tino was pretty nice and his presence reassured them, if only slightly. He signed. Just what was Berwald up to? He had been gone for two hours. Even with the heater turned out to the max, Tino felt a sheen of cold sweat on his skin. Still, judging from the way Berwald was built, it wasn't his safety anyone should fear for. The incident might not be an insolated one...Sitting there in trepidation though, Tino realised something- He did not believe, or refused to believe, Berwald would do anything wrong at any point of time. But if he did and got arrested, Tino would do something and go in with him. For now though, he trusted Berwald with all his heart. Because that was the way love is supposed to work- with trust and honesty.

Ten minutes had passed with not a squeak. Alfred allowed himself to wallow in a bit of self-pity as he sat outside freezing his butt off. "Ringgg...ringgg" "D-Dammit!" He cursed as he fumbled his pockets for his phone amidst candy bars, various plastic bits and half-melted chocolate. It was so cold he could barely feel his fingers and so he couldn't get a good grip on his phone, causing it to fall out with the rest of his junk. "Stupid cold...stupid phone...s-stupid Iggy..." He muttered as he wiped junk food wrappers and bits of chocolate off his incessantly ringing phone. He glanced at it casually, wondering what was so urgent, only for his eyes to widen in realisation.

Shit.

Alfred felt his knees grow weak and sweat slick the floor as he landed on it with a dull thump. For a moment, there was nothing but the racing of his heart, the blood that rushed in his ears. For a moment, there was no hotel, no cold, no noise, just the ring of the phone that seemed laced with doom, delivering a message akin to a banshee's wail. Struggling for breath, he shakily reached for the device, its screen splashed with the colour of blood. His universe had centered down to that single, slightly irritated face it showed. The face of his friend, of someone who had almost died, of someone who might be dead now and of the stupid guy who wouldn't open up and perhaps never will ever again. And just above, in bold white letters on a blinking bright red background:

SOS

Arthur Kirkland

Of course, that meant security was on their way but Alfred knew they were going to be later than usual. Vash had taken the day off to visit his sister in the hospital and Elizaveta was probably just returning from her lunch break. One of the substitutes was probably too busy flirting with/ harassing/ scaring the crap out of a particular guest. And the other stand-in has a large chest that hurt her back if she ran too fast. Nevertheless, they would get here in a few moments. But to Alfred, each passing second was a difference between life and death. With each tick of the clock hand, its sharp end felt like it was tearing up a bit of him. And he'd be damned if he was just going to stand here and wait. "C'mon, Alfie, you can do this..." he thought, steeling himself. After all, he was the hero and the heroes could handle pretty much anything, including breaking down doors and facing whatever monster/ black figure/human/alien that was behind it. "3...2...1!" He ran forward, bracing for impact as he threw his weight against the door via his shoulder. He felt the door give way and caught sight of a flash of blonde hair as he crashed into the man.

"Dammit, I will kill whoever is separating me from nii-san!" hissed Natalia as the security personnel made their way towards the scene. Elizaveta had just gotten back and this was kind of shit that happened in the half an hour she wasn't around. Basically consisting of another attack on Arthur Kirkland, Natalia ignoring the alarm and continuing with her harassment while Yekaterina (or Katyusha) cried and panicked. She thought it was kinda ironic how there were so many SOS triggers around but a lack of people who could deal well enough with such a situation. Natalia had been employed because she was very...tenacious. In a good way, because she could easily chase down and slice up whoever got in her way, but in a bad way, because she had a few screws loose and kept getting distracted by a new guest as of late. Katyusha, being her sister, was employed to calm her down but she herself was not very useful. Still, it was her who had managed to convince Natalya to actually do her job this time. As the three girls hurried, a menacing voice called out, "Shut up or I'll kill you!" "I..can't..breathe...," replied a voice Elizaveta couldn't recognise as the person was probably half-strangled. It added a fresh dose of urgency to her already hasty steps. This was not going to go well and she knew it.

The first thing Alfred noticed were the deep pools of green that stared into him in complete surprise. How the light bounced off those emerald orbs, illuminating the golden specks that sparkled beneath the surface. How the beads of water clung to the sun-kissed skin of his large, broad chest, soaking up Alfred's shirt. He felt its gentle rise and fall beneath him as his heart pounded like a dozen drums, like thunder claps in a violent storm, the sound of the palpitations filling his ears. The smell of aftershave filled his nostrils and warmth crept, slowly and pleasurably, into his being, freezing just minutes ago with the slaps of cold air that assaulted him. He felt warm, strong arms against his sides and the smooth skin stretched taut over Arthur's leg muscles. He was in a awkward position, sprawled on top of Arthur, his shorts partially pulled down by a small hook on the wall. Fluffy material, slightly rough with the embroidery of a unicorn, rubbed against his skimpy briefs. The only thing separating them was a small towel covering Arthur's crotch and Alfred's scarce clothing. Arthur's lips, slack with surprise, allowed him to taste a hint of Earl Grey inside. Perhaps he had taken all of this in in a few moments, perhaps it was forever, but at some point of time he stopped reeling from shock and snapped out of it. Jumping off Arthur like he was made of hot coal, Alfred hit the wall behind him and almost passed out, the tip of his ears ablaze with embarrassment. "W-What the hell!" spluttered Arthur as he regained his composure and got up, his face flushed hot. Alfred noticed he was holding his phone in his right hand, his index finger resting on the false alarm button. He immediately "deflated" with relief and hugged Arthur, temporarily forgetting the embarrassing moment seconds earlier. "Oh my gosh, so you're okay? Dude, what the hell happened?" he asked. "Get off me, you bloody git!" Arthur hissed, pushing Alfred away. With punctuations of "you twat", "you git" and a random swear from the large variety stored in his mind, he explained that he had been in the bath for the last half an hour. Just moments ago, he slipped and accidentally pulled on a rope, triggering the alarm. "Anyway, what are you even here for?" he snapped. A sound came from the window and the rustling of leaves could be heard. Alfred went to check and realised the window was open. "Hey dude, why are you letting the cold in?" he called out. "Funny, I thought I closed it before I went into the shower," he said, puzzled. "It was however, rattling like it just did." In the end, Alfred dismissed the weird occurrence and closed the window, scurrying off to get his pants.

His face pale with utter shock but the tips of his ears flushed, Matthew half-climbed, half-tumbled out of the trees, completely scandalised by what he had just seen. As he rushed back to his room, he thought back on the events of the last thirty minutes:

From the time he was born, Matthew was a person so average he was hard to notice and he could easily blend in. Which was why he was perfect for such stealth missions and hence, the first Gilbert turned to. Come to think of it, he was probably the only person Gilbert could turn to anyway. The objective was simple: Fetch Arthur's laptop, which was probably to the hotel wifi, which was not only allow Gilbert to surf the web but not drain his own battery power. And so, with a combination of persuading, mostly bullying and the promise of maple syrup, Matthew found himself climbing the tree outside Arthur's room. Frowning at the mud he left behind on the ledge, he decide there was no time to worry anyway. As he opened the window, he almost lost his footing and grabbed at it, causing it to rattle. His eyes widening as he saw Arthur approach, he quickly slipped in and hid in the folds of the thick curtains. Hearing him lock the bathroom door, Matthew's tension dispersed and he quickly retrieved the laptop before slipping out. Alas, it turned out that Athur hadn't even bothered to connect his laptop to the wifi. And so, he was sent on his next mission: To retrieve the slip of paper with the username and password typed on it. And this was unpaid because last trip was fruitless. Still, it was for the maple syrup and anything was worth that.

Of course, all of that led up to the moment Matthew saw Alfred and Arthur in an interesting situation, causing him to burst into the room he shared with Gilbert, blushing and panting, clutching the paper to his chest like a talisman. "Yo, teddy bear, how did it go?" called out Gilbert. "I-It was fine. I have the p-paper," he stammered, still rather traumatised. As Gilbert read the paper and used its contents, Matthew fiddled with the bracelet he had been given, which was actually more of a thick, metal band. He appreciated the fact that Gilbert had given it to him, but it didn't suit him nor was it comfy. Seemingly able to read his thoughts, Gilbert said, "Hey, if you don't like it, you can always give it back. You're quite awesome, no offence, but maybe it's just that you're unable to handle the awesomeness of it, that is all. I won't mind, really." "Really? Oh...okay then. I'm sorry, I guess it's the cold metal that bites into my skin that does it," he admitted as he handed over the bracelet. What he didn't notice, however, was the tiny camera embedded into the bracelet. As Gilbert transferred the information from the device to his computer, his grin grew wider as he browsed through the shots. Mein gott, this was gold. He knew Arthur was showering and he was hoping for a few lucky shots but this was truly amazing. Man, he was really was the awesomest person alive.

Alfred tossed and turned, trying to get over the irrationality of why he was so restless. It was just an innocent accident, right? In fact, he was pretty sure Arthur was used to his tomfoolery. Then why was he still blushing so hotly? And why did his heart beat so fast? It didn't make sense. It told himself he was just embarrassed, but this was different from those other times, like when his pranks went wrong or he wear mismatched socks . There was something off about that explanation, like there was something more to that. It had been happening recently. How he always lit up whenever Arthur was around or his heart skipped a beat sometimes. He was never one for reflection, but now that he thought about it, it was a bit weird. And even as his eyes grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep, he found it hard to accept that, deep inside him, he actually felt good during the accident...

For some of the tourists like Alfred and Arthur, they had already met before signing up for the package. Hence, it came as no surprise that Feliciano roomed with Ludwig and Lovino with Antonio. But Feliciano was faced with a predicament of almost-apocalyptic proportions- he had run out of pasta. And instead of braving the cold in search of pasta outside, he begged for some from Lovino, which came as no surprise to him. Antonio was off attending some festival, so they were alone. "Hey, I got the pasta," he said, exiting the kitchen. It broke his heart to give away pasta, but Feli was his brother after all. At the lack of a response, he looked around and realised Feliciano had dozed off on the couch. Not wanting to wake him up, Lovino decided to wait. He yawned. The days had been busy and demanding, so he was quite sleepy as well. He lay down beside Feliciano as he waited. Bad idea. Feliciano started making weird noises accompanied by the muttering of Ludwig's name. This set Lovino's blood on fire and he flew into a rage. "Dammit, stop saying that potato bastard's name, you fucking bastard!" he yelled. "Ve, what did you say?" Feliciano asked, woken up. "Shut up, or I'll kill you!" Lovi roared, throttling Feliciano's neck. "I...can't...breathe..." Feli said, half-strangled. In his struggle, he hit the button behind him and moments later, the door burst open. "Stand back!" shouted Elizaveta. Startled, Lovino lost his grip. Still seething with rage that she had separated from Ivan only for Arthur's SOS to be a false alarm, Natalia saw that this was another case of "Ooh, pretty buttons. Don't worry, it's nothing life-threatening" . She launched herself into the room, knives in hand. Feliciano bawled as hard as ever and Lovino swore like there was no tomorrow. "Stop that! Katyusha, restrain her!" Eliza ordered as both girls held the madwoman back. Natalia was going to get fired for this, because ironically, she was posting a danger to the guests indtrad of protecting them. Just after she was dragged away, Feliciano ran off, saying he didn't need the pasta anymore. Lovino slumped down on the sofa, suddenly feeling rather tired. Man, this place was fucking chaotic.

The tension in the bus was high, or at least to Alfred. In reality, the atmosphere was jovial, as everyone united to spread rumours and poke fun at Alfred and Arthur. His emotional confusion from the previous night forgotten, he huffed and looked out of the window, trying to ignore the other tourists who were battling to construct the wittiest tease. But if there was anything Alfred learnt in life, it was that there was nothing a good serving of junk food couldn't fix. Digging into his bag, he fished around for his stash to no avail. Sighing in frustration, he dumped the contents of his bag into his lap and realised his stash was nowhere to be found. Seeing the guy's face pale like it was end of the world, Matthew called out, "Hey, are you okay?" But it was a question that did not require an answer. Alfred soon found a note:

Hey Alfie,

The Awesomest me has taken your junk food stash, kesese. Don't worry you'll get it back, plus an Xbox 360 and a game of your choice. Yes, the awesome me is actually making a deal here so listen up. Take Arthur to the bar for a date just across the street from the hotel at 7.30pm. If it goes well, you can get your goodies.

Yours awesomely,

Gilbert

Alfred was roiling with rage. How dare that narcissistic jerk do such a thing! But he really wanted his junk food back and if he strangled the guy to death, he would get that back but not any Xbox 360 or Call of the Cops which he had trying to get for the last two months, he signed with resignation. He silently accepted the deal (not like he had a choice), but subconsciously it was for a wholly different reason. And perhaps he would be able to face the fact that if the person in question was anyone was Arthur, Gilbert would be lying on the ground, motionless by now.

Muahaha :D I can't guarantee when the next chapter will come out D: But I'm already working on it and I hope I can get it out before the New Year.

Question for you bunnies out there (yes,you) *PM preferred*: Would you like to continue with fluffy cuteness or something that would require a higher rating :P? Additionally, more characters will come into place soon, so what pairings do you prefer?

Review for a picture of Iggy in a wedding dress :DDD

Hasta La Pasta!