I don't own anything


It was morning when the phone rang. The kettle had just boiled and Eduard was on his second piece of toast, holding a book with his free had as he mumbled 'Would you get that Raivis?' through bits of bread. Turning the stove off, the blonde gave a nod before walking out to the corridor, right by the door frame where the black telephone sat, perched on a wooden stand.

"Hullo?"

"Raivis? It's Peter."

Oh.

"Peter… its, um, good to hear from you?" The boy asked, not really knowing what to say. The last time the two spoke to each other was about Lily, which hadn't ended well.

"Yeah, anyway, I wanted to see if you were free today. I need to talk to you."

Oh god, that didn't sound good at all. Holding back a sigh and swallowing thickly, the Latvian gave a weak nod:

"Yeah, sure. Uh, the thing is, Ivan's actually here, so I might not be able to make it–"

"Oh don't worry about that popsicle." Peter interrupted, Raivis could practically see the Brit waving his hand in dismissal. "If he keeps you locked up today, then I'll just come over, like old times." He said nonchalantly.

Funny, Raivis couldn't really seem to remember the old times.

"A-Alright, I'll call you back."

"Okay, bye."

Peter's voice had been hollow all throughout their conversation. Sighing as he put the receiver down, the Latvian wondered if this was about Lily… again. He shook his head, trying not to dwell on the matter. What he should be dwelling on, however, was going upstairs and asking Ivan permission to go out to see the Sealander. Not the easiest task.

Walking toward and up the stairs, he went over to where the Russian was, his steps growing cautious as he approached his door. This was the same as when he approached Gilbert, but with the Albino it was different; the butterflies in his stomach weren't fretting with fear, it was… something else. With Ivan he just couldn't tell what was going to happen. He could either be petted on the head for 'being such a good boy', or have bruises litter his body for 'forgetting to clear out the pipes for the sink and tub'. Pushing those thoughts aside, he gave a gentle knock on the door, waiting for a signal of some sort. Leaning in and pressing his ear against the door, he could faintly hear an: "Mm~?", which meant that it was probably safe to call out to him.

"I–Ivan, sir, may I come i–in?"

A shuffling of the covers, footsteps, and then in a second the door swung open, revealing a sleepy eyed Russian.

"Raivis, what is it?" The taller blonde asked through a yawn. Trying his best to control his shaking, the littler one grabbed the side of his pants.

"P-Peter, called just now, and he wants to talk to me in private about something… I–I really don't n–know what. May I go see h–him?" He managed, Ivan gave a limp shrug.

"As long as you didn't forget to clear out the bins. Also, ask Eduard if he finished the paperwork for our taxes this year, I would like to have them by the end of the week if he hasn't."

And before the boy could answer, the Russian gently closed the door before waltzing back into his bed.

Well, that went better than expected.


"So you'll have them done by tonight?"

The Estonian gave an annoyed grunt, toast finished and now completely absorbed in his book.

"Also,' Raivis began, earning another annoyed sound. "Don't use the sink upstairs or the tub for another hour, I used the pipe cleaners again, so it'll probably take another hour or so for them to take effect."

"Alright, just go before it gets dark."

The blonde blinked. "But… it's only a bit before noon."

"My point exactly."

Shrugging it off, the Latvian pulled his coat on before heading out of the door. Eduard was always insulting him one way or another, but it was always cryptic or in riddles. After a while, Raivis gave up on trying to figure out what Eduard was trying to say to him; it usually wasn't anything nice, so might as well not think about it too much.

Where Peter lived, the Latvian had no idea, but he did know that his adoptive parents were both fairly rich, just enough to own a few homes here and there, and one of those houses just so happened to be in the busy city of St. Petersburg. A train from Novgorod (veliky) to St. Petersburg was only a three hour trip, which wasn't too bad. If he hurried, he could catch the second train.


He never really like this city. Mostly because he didn't know it as well as Novgorod, but also because he had a bad sense of direction, which made things worse whenever he got lost. Stepping out of the train, he walked along the platform, looking for the exit. Peter said he would be waiting there when he phoned he boy at the station back home.

'I'll be wearing a blue scarf.'

Always generous with the details, that Peter Kirkland.

Just as he stepped out of the boarding area, he heard his name being called.

"Over here!"

Turning to his left, he could see the bushy browed boy waving his hand. Not as enthusiastically, but enough to catch his attention.

"Hey," The Brit said, shoving his hand in his pocket as soon as the other had come over. Raivis gave a nod.

"So… how are you?" He said, his sentence stretched out awkwardly, not sure if the argument was over. Peter gave a shrug.

"Okay I guess. Ivan treating you okay?"

"Somewhat,"

God, what an awful conversation.

Not liking a single minute of this Raivis cleared his throat. "I think it's best if we just get to the point." He said, being as clear as he could. "I mean, you know, because last time… er–"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Anyway, it kinda goes back to that." Peter said sheepishly. Raivis gave an audible groan.

"No, I didn't come all the way over here to argue with you again. And besides, it doesn't concern me anymore–"

"Wait!"

Peter had grabbed the Latvian's arm before he could leave, an odd look in his eye. "The reason why I wanted to talk was… well, I'm… it's not that I want to argue with you again." He said, dropping the blonde's arm. "I just… I wanted to tell you, that I'm seeing Lily."

The last part was mentioned in a much lower volume, almost as if Peter were ashamed. Raivis could only blink.

"Oh… uhh."

"I hope that's okay with you."

"Yeah, I mean–"

"Because, that fight, since it was about her, and—"

"Peter–"

"So I thought I should tell you before you found out on your own. I wanted to make sure that you knew it from me first, and–"

Raivis pinned his hand over the other blonde's mouth, muffling the end of his sentence. "Peter," he started, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "It's… fine. Really, I still feel a bit weird seeing you today because of that fight, but I don't mind you seeing Lily. At all."

He pulled his hand back, watching Peter as his face went from worry to surprise to relief in a matter of seconds. There was another thick silence, but it was soon broken by nervous chuckles, which morphed into relieved laughter.

"Bloody Christ, Rai, I was really worried that this would be the end of us." Peter said, scratching the back of his head, Raivis could feel himself loosening up.

"After what we've been through? I think it would take a little more than a dispute over a girl." Raivis said, ears going red at the thought of liking Lily.

He felt a bit silly for making a big deal about Peter liking Lily after Raivis told the Sealander about his feelings toward the girl, especially with the things that recently had happened to him with Gilbert.

Maybe those books were right, things like love and attraction were fickle.


"Oy, where is he?"

The blonde Estonian didn't answer, instead, he continued typing in numbers– making sure that everything was in its right place. He couldn't afford to muck up these papers, especially if they had to do with the household taxes and income. The Prussian by the doorway gave a grunt, a scowl pulling at his mouth.

"Four–eyes, I'm talkin' to you." He said, tone nasty. The typing stopped for a moment. Eduard was tempted to swivel his chair in Gilbert's direction and spit back a smart comeback, but decided against it,

It wasn't very polite.

But all thoughts of politeness and manners left his mind when he heard the Albino mutter 'Porn addict' under his breath as he left.

"At least I'm not a sex offender." He said, loud enough for Gilbert to hear. He could hear the Prussian's footsteps stop before they backtracked.

"What did you say?"

This time, Eduard swiveled his chair, facing the other with a light smile.

"I don't recall stuttering."

Gilbert resumed his post, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, not saying a word.

"You should know better than to go around sleeping with little boys."

"It's none of your business."

The Estonian shrugged, leaning back and crossing his legs. "But that's why you got kicked out of Germany, right? Your brother had to hide you away while the police were after you."

Gilbert's eye twitched at this. "I took the fall for a friend of mine. The kid looked of age, and my friend was drunk, it wasn't fair."

"And what you're doing now?"

The Albino went red at the ears. Eduard gave a chuckle.

"I won't tell anyone about your filthy needs, I'm just a bystander doing my work. But, if things get out of hand, and if Raivis gets hurt in any way, I'll tell Ivan enough of what I know and have you put away."

Gilbert gave a snort. "Fine," He said curtly. "But don't get in the way."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

And with that, Gilbert walked away, ears still burning red. Eduard smiled.

"Oh, and by the way, Raivis is at Peter's house today."


I'm so sorry, I know there's way too much jumping back and forth and around in this (short) chapter. But I promise, I'll try to make it better.