I am so so sorry for the longest ever update time! I had evil writers block on this front :( Hopefully I can churn out a chapter before I leave for Devon on Saturday... I'm trying to focus more of Kiku and Heracles in this chapter. And by the way, Welsh ice cream does actually make people act hyper and crazy. It's happened to me. On with the show!


Chapter Seven: Climbing Down The Mountain

"We were first~ we were first~!" sang Feliciano, skipping down the mountainside. He'd been like that for the past three hours, ever since they'd started their descent of Snowdon. It was probably the Aero bar, though Kiku. How the Italian could get high on a chocolate bar that was half air, the Japanese boy didn't quite understand.
Lili jogged after him, laughing, while Freyr and Raivis walked quickly behind her, trying to pretend they weren't worried for her safety. This left Kiku and Heracles alone, strolling behind, enjoying the sunshine and the whispering breeze.
"…They have a crush on her," stated Heracles, gesturing to Raivis and Freyr.
"They do," replied Kiku, nodding. 'And I have a crush on you'. Dammit, he couldn't force the words out! "Heracles, I – I –"
"Yes?" The Greek turned his head and looked at Kiku with his beautiful green eyes. Kiku blushed scarlet. It was now or never, now or never, now or never…
"I just wanted to tell you that –"
"Aaaaaaaarrrghhh!" A bloodcurdling scream split the air, cutting Kiku off as both boys whipped around, searching for the source of the cry.
"Ve! Kiku, come quickly!" came the well-known sob of Feliciano. "It's Lili!"


Five o'clock: The coach, at the base of the mountain
"Is everyone here?" called Evan, standing at the front of the coach, trying in vain to get the attention of the chattering nations. Sighing, he mumbled, "I'm just going to assume everyone's here."
"Wait, Evan," said Arthur, who was sitting alone in the very front seat (avoiding James, again). "I haven't seen Lili, Heracles or Kiku."
"Where's my sister?" shouted Vash angrily. The whole coach went silent.

"We're sorry for our lateness," came a quiet voice. Kiku, Heracles and Lili had appeared in the door of the coach, the two boys supporting the blonde girl, who had a bandage around her ankle and red-rimmed eyes.
"Lili!" Vash exclaimed. "What happened?" He rounded on Heracles and Kiku. "What did you do to her?" he growled.
"They didn't do anything, brother!" Lili assured him, hopping forwards, unable to put her left foot on the ground. The Japanese and Greek boys steadied her. "I just slipped and fell on the mountain. I'm fine," she bit her lip, "but I can't walk very well."
"You need to sit down," Evan said, gesturing to the spare seat next to Arthur.
"Like hell she'll sit there! My sister will sit next to me!"
"Why put her through unnecessary pain?" countered the Welsh boy. "This seat is closest."
"Fine," muttered the Swiss boy. "But only because it's for her wellbeing."
Shooting Arthur an angry glare as if it was his fault Lili was injured, he sat back in his seat and pulled out a Nintendo DS, resigning himself to taking out his anger on some baddies in a violent game.

As soon as Lili sat down, she blushed deeply. The blonde girl had always had a secret crush on Arthur, but now that she was sitting next to him, just them two, for the next hour, she was completely tongue-tied.
"What happened?" asked Arthur, looking concerned. Lili blushed harder.
"N-nothing," she mumbled. "I just tripped and fell."
They sat in a slightly awkward silence for a few minutes. Eventually Arthur pulled out his iPod. I must be boring him, thought Lili sadly. What she didn't count on was Arthur handing her one of the earphones.

"Do you want to share my iPod?" he smiled. Lili smiled back and nodded vigorously, putting the earphone in. A familiar introduction was playing, and then the words started:

'You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep…"

"I love this song," whispered Lili.
"So do I," Arthur murmured back. They shared a smile as Lili felt her eyes slowly drifting shut. The last thing on her mind was how comfortable Arthur's shoulder was as the coach rocked her to sleep along the winding Welsh road.


Matthias Køhler wrote on Christian Johansen's Wall ARE YOU MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE? :P

Matthias Køhler wrote on Freyr Johansen's Wall ARE YOU MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE? :P

Matthias Køhler wrote on Berwald Oxenstiernia's Wall ARE YOU MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE? :P

Matthias Køhler wrote on Antonio Fernandez Carriedo's Wall ARE YOU MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE? :P

Matthias Køhler wrote on Lovino Vargas's Wall ARE YOU MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE? :P

Lovino Vargas What the fuck is wrong with you, retard?
Freyr Johansen likes this

Matthias Køhler ARE YOU MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE?

Christian Johansen He's spamming people's walls with this irritating phrase that he got off the television

Lovino Vargas I know that, dumbass! I just want him to stop!

Christian Johansen We all do. Unfortunately, I don't think he will.

Matthias Køhler THIS IS THE RIGHT CHOICE!


"Do you, like, have any sandwiches left, Liet?"
"No…" groaned Toris, shutting his eyes. He was feeling horribly travel-sick, and Feliks talking about food was definitely not helping.
"What about, like, some chocolate?"
"No." Toris licked his lips slowly.
"An orange? I know you totally packed an orange this morning."
"No." A bead of sweat rolled down the back of the Lithuanian's neck. He couldn't swallow. He didn't want to be sick, he didn't want to be sick, he didn't want to be sick, he didn't want to be sick –
"What do you want for dinner this evening?" asked Feliks, oblivious to his boyfriend's discomfort. "Because those potatoes last night were rank, way too bland, but tonight apparently there'll be sausages, so hopefully that'll be, like, better. You like sausages, right? And bread, right?"
"Feliks please stop talking!" Toris choked out, clamping a hand over his mouth as he fought the urge to be sick.
"Like, oh my God, Liet, what's wrong?" Feliks gasped, finally noticing Toris' predicament. "Your face is totally grey! Are you feeling sick?"
Toris nodded, squinching his eyes shut. Feliks rubbed his back soothingly and said loudly, "Hey, how long is it until we get back to the hostel?"
"Forty minutes," Evan called. Feliks tutted.
"Well, can't you like, get the driver dude to hurry up or something? Liet's feeling totally sick here!"
Toris smiled slightly behind his hand. Feliks was being completely unreasonable, but the Pole was being unreasonable for him, Toris. And that made him very happy indeed.


Christian Johansen wrote on Freyr Johansen's Wall Are you okay?

Freyr Johansen Why wouldn't I be okay?

Christian Johansen You just seem down.

Freyr Johansen I'm not.

Christian Johansen You can tell me.

Freyr Johansen Why would I tell you?

Christian Johansen Because I'm your big brother!

Freyr Johansen …Don't even go there.

Christian Johansen Well, just know that I'm here for you.

Freyr Johansen Thanks, I suppose.

Matthias Køhler THAT WAS THE RIGHT CHOICE, NORGE!


"Lakshmi, please pass me a tissue," said Elizabeta thickly, pinching her nose, trying to stop the nosebleed she was having from watching Berwald and Tino make out in their seats a few rows in front of them. The Indian girl sighed and threw her a whole packet of tissues – God knows she'd need them!
"So, how's Operation Get-Vash-A-Girl coming?" asked the Hungarian.
"Badly," said Lakshmi, downcast. "Roderich told me that Bella has a crush on somebody, one of the Kirklands."
"Damn. That limits us to two girls: Yekaterina and Aoife. What's the plan for this evening?"
"Games night." Lakshmi racked her brains for an idea. "I think Aoife likes games. Maybe we should try her tonight?"
"Good idea." Elizabeta wiped her nose again, but the blood was still coming. Damn those adorable boys and their steamy kiss-fest! "Now, here's the big question: Do we tell her, or do we set them up secretly?"
Both girls were silent for about two seconds, before saying in unison, "Secretly."

Kiku jolted awake as the coach rode over a particularly large bump in the road.
He was leaning backwards, legs curled up to his chest in the seat, sitting sideways in the seat with his feet facing towards the aisle. His back was against Heracles' chest, and the Greek boy's arms were around his shoulders.
Wait. What?
"Uwah!" he exclaimed loudly, lurching forwards. He would have fallen out of the seat if not for the trusty seatbelt. He had been sleeping like that, pressed up against Heracles, in public…! The Japanese boy went bright red.
"You do go a funny colour when you're embarrassed," remarked a voice from behind him.
"Wha – ?" Kiku twisted to see the freckled face and chin-length red hair of Cian Kirkland, who smiled at him.
"You get embarrassed a lot, don't you?" he asked knowingly.
"I suppose so," mumbled Kiku. He didn't really want a stranger knowing his private business. But… Cian was related to Arthur, maybe he would be as kind and understanding as Arthur?
"If you love the guy that much, why don't you just tell him?"
"I-It's not that simple!" stuttered Kiku.
"Why not?" Cian raised an eyebrow. "He don't look like the type of guy to say no, mate." Then he leaned close. "There's an ice cream parlour just down the road from the hostel. Now, there's something in Evan's ice cream… None of us know what it is, but it's magical."
When Kiku raised his eyebrows critically, he continued, "I'm serious! Take your boy there this evening. Buy an ice cream. See where it'll lead you." Cian leaned back.
Kiku thanked him and quickly stole a glance at Heracles, who was sleeping peacefully. Heracles liked ice cream – surely one wouldn't hurt – and what was the worst that could happen?


6:30 p.m., Games Night

The German brothers, Aoife, and James were sitting on the couch, watching Arthur and Alfred play tennis on the Wii.
"I won again," grinned Arthur.
"This isn't fair!" exclaimed Alfred. "You invented this dumbass game, you're obviously going to be better at it! If it was baseball or something I'd win!"
"Would you like to bet on that?" growled the English boy. "I think you'll find that your baseball derived from cricket and rounders, both of which are English games!"
"Why don't we play a wee bit of golf?" suggested James.
"No," moaned Alfred. "'Cause then you'll win!"
"Why don't we just do bowling?" sighed Ludwig, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "Nobody can agree where it originated, therefore nobody will have the upper hand."
"West is right!" shouted Gilbert. "Even though such an awesome game will obviously have come from the awesome me!"

After a brief discussion (translation: argument, mainly consisting of 'the hero wants to be on Artie's team!', 'tough luck git, I don't want to be on your team' and 'his Awesomness should have his own team and will totally own you all') the group split up into the Blonds – Arthur, Alfred and Ludwig – and the Awesomes – Gilbert, James and Aoife. Both groups were named by Gilbert, who managed to commandeer the controller, much to the dismay of everyone else.

"Heracles?" Kiku gently shook his Greek friend awake. "Do you want to come with me to get some ice cream?"
After a moment of thought, Heracles nodded. The taller boy stood up and both made their way over to Evan, who was playing Jenga with the Baltics, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
"Excuse me, Evan-san, please may Heracles and I go to the ice cream parlour?"
"Hm?" Evan looked up just as he pulled out a brick. The tower wobbled dangerously, threatening to fall.
"Damn it, Wales, watch what you're doing!" shouted Vash, jumping up. The edge of his coat smacked into the already unsteady tower. With a crash it fell.
"Oh dear," said Evan in an embarrassed way, as if he had been the one who'd knocked the tower down while shouting at someone else for almost knocking it down. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to skip the next game. Good luck! Let's go," he nodded to Kiku and Heracles. "I have to come with you and supervise."
"Supervise?"
"You guys are my responsibility," Evan shrugged. "I have to supervise. I'll just see you down there, don't worry." He winked saying the last few words, causing Kiku to blush (again…).

"And now it is the awesome me's turn!" Gilbert snatched the controller off Alfred and stood prepared to swing and bowl. The rest of his team stood behind him.
"U-u-u-u-und… BOWL!" The Prussian screeched, throwing him arm out wildly.
Not only did he get a gutter ball, he whacked Aoife in the face with the controller.
"Cac!" she hissed, clutching her nose, which was now bleeding. "You idiot!"
"Oops," sniggered Gilbert.
"Oops indeed, mate," chuckled Arthur. "You're really in for it now."
"What?" The Prussian turned to face Aoife, only to be greeted with a fist in the face.

Evan escorted the pair to the ice cream parlour, waved them goodbye, and then headed in the opposite direction, into the town. Kiku watched him go. Why did he not head back to the hostel? Why go into town at nearly seven in the evening when most shops would be shut?
"Let's get the ice cream." Heracles nudged Kiku on the arm and motioned for them to enter the parlour. Inside was quite small but nice nonetheless, with a kindly looking woman standing behind the counter.

"Beth hoffech chi?" she asked. When she was greeted with blank (Heracles) and embarrassed (Kiku) looks, she switched to English.
"What would you like?" she asked in a singsong Welsh accent.
"A chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, please," replied Heracles.
"Please may I have one vanilla ice cream with sprinkles?" asked Kiku. The lady chuckled.
"So polite! You don't get many polite young men nowadays. Not counting that lovely Evan who comes here nearly every day!" The woman nattered away to the boys as she got their ice cream. Once they had paid and taken their cones, the boys left the parlour and strolled slowly up the street.

"How am I going to eat all this?" fretted Kiku, staring at the large ice cream in his hand.
"Why don't we go to the beach to eat it?" suggested Heracles. He'd already taken a few licks of his chocolate scoop, and had eaten half the marshmallows.
They turned to make their way to the small stony beach that was situated at the end of the road. Both boys were steadily making their way through the ice cream – never mind the 'magic', as Cian put it, it too delicious to wait until they had reached the beach. By the time they had gotten there, the sun was setting and the ice cream was half gone.

"Kiku…"
"Yes, Heracles-kun?"
"Who have you had sex with?" Japan choked on his mouthful, and Greece patted him on the back.
"What did you just ask me?" coughed the darker-haired boy, convinced he had misheard.
"Who have you had sex with?" Heracles asked again, clearly. Kiku blushed to the roots of his hair.
"N-nobody!" Heracles eyed him.
"I find that hard to believe."
"What?"
"Well, look at you." Heracles gestured to his friend in a swooping hand movement. "You're so adorable, how could you not have lost your virginity by now?" Heracles had called him adorable! But a horribly wrong situation!
"I-I can assure you that I, um, I still have my vir –"
"Was it China?"
" – ity – NO!" Kiku was starting to feel a bit light-headed. "M-most definitely not!"
"America?"
"No!" Kiku shook his head furiously. "I don't like Alfred-kun in that way!"
"Then it has to be England." Heracles folded him arms.
"No, no, no! None of them!" Oddly, Kiku didn't feel embarrassed that he was making such a spectacle of himself, shouting like this, but then again, it was only him and Heracles.

The Greek boy's face darkened. "…Russia?"
"Of course not!" Japan snapped, irritably taking another lick of his ice cream. "I'd be dead. But I'm trying to tell you that –"
Heracles' expression only got worse.
"Was it… Turkey?" he growled.
"No!" Kiku was starting to get angry. Time and time again, he was saying that he hadn't had sex with anyone, but Heracles wasn't acknowledging his protests! "Why won't you listen to me?" he shouted. "I'm trying to tell you that I haven't slept with anybody, but you aren't listening! You never listen to me! You're always sleeping!" He finished his little rant and stared at Heracles hard. The boy was regarding him with a thoughtful look on his face.
"…I do listen." "No you don't! You probably weren't even listening to what I was saying even a second ago! You were probably just having another nap!"
"I wasn't. And I won't. Not ever again."
"W-What?" Kiku realised now how hot his face was, and how hard he was breathing. I just shouted at Heracles.

"I won't ever sleep while I'm with you again, Kiku. I promise." The Greek boy punctuated his last two words with a tiny smile. "I'll always listen to you, whatever you have to say."
"Really?"
"Of course." Heracles slung his arm around Kiku's thin shoulders. "Should we head back?"
"Yes," Kiku mumbled, embarrassed at his outburst.

As they walked back up to the hostel, Heracles said, "You really should open up more often."
"No! It would be rude!"
"It's not rude if I want you to, Kiku." They walked along in silence for a moment.
"It was the ice cream," admitted the Japanese boy. "Cian Kirkland said that it was magical… I think it must make people act out of the ordinary."
"But not in a bad way." Heracles moved so that his mouth was right up against Kiku's ear. "To tell you the truth, I liked it," he whispered. Kiku suppressed a shiver. "You should act like that more often, okay?"
"If that is what you want," he whispered back, looping his arm around Heracles' waist. Perhaps now it would be easier to reveal his feelings?

When they arrived back at the hostel, they found Prussia with a split lip and broken nose, surrounded by Ludwig, Feliciano, Antonio and Francis, while Aoife was being heartily congratulated by Elizabeta, Lakshmi and other such Gilbert-haters.
"Oh, Kiku!" called Arthur from where across the room. "Where did Evan run off to? We need him to get the First Aid kit!"
"Don't worry, I'm here." Evan appeared in the doorway. Kiku jumped. Had Evan been behind them all that time? He could have sworn they were alone!
"Ah, so you are." Arthur looked a bit perturbed as well. "Aoife broke Gilbert's nose, and we need the First Aid kit."
"Of course." Evan hurried away.

On the other side of the room, Raivis was nervously removing a brick from the Jenga tower. Slowly, slowly, he was edging it out…
"Hurry up, Latvia!" shouted Vash, slamming his fist down on the floor. Raivis started, inadvertently knocking the tower over.
"I'm sorry!" he wailed, tears welling in his eyes.
"Don't be upset," soothed Lili, placing her hand on his arm. Raivis tried to smile while the other two Baltics shared a knowing glance and Switzerland buried his head in his arms.
"I despair," he moaned. "Lakshmi is the only sane one out of all of you, I swear."
Lithuania glanced over to said Indian girl, where she was doing a victory dance with Hungary to celebrate Gilbert being beaten up. Sane? Toris wondered. I don't think so…


Elizabeta Hedervary wrote on Lakshmi Patel's Wall Dammit! We forgot all about Operation G.V.A.G!

Lakshmi Patel He was too busy playing Jenga to notice our target!

Elizabeta Hedervary LAKSH! HE COULD FIGURE OUT WHO HE IS NOW!

Lakshmi Patel There were four boys playing Jenga, five if you count Evan before he left, I don't think he'll figure it out.

Elizabeta Hedervary But only one had a name beginning with V!

Lakshmi Patel YOU just gave it away now!

Vash Zwingli Are you talking about me?

Vash Zwingli Answer already!

Vash Zwingli Lakshmi, I thought you were my best friend! And now you're plotting against me?

Lakshmi Patel I'm not plotting! I'll explain everything tomorrow, I promise!

Vash Zwingli …Fine. But you'd better stick with me all day! I don't want me and Lili getting lost in the Greenwood centre!

Elizabeta Hedervary Don't worry, I think she'll be more than happy to ;)

Lakshmi Patel LIZ!

Vash Zwingli What?

Elizabeta Hedervary So dense X3


Phew... that was a tough one to write. The Greenwood centre is an activity place with rides and stuff, almost like a tiny theme park but with eco-friendly attractions, e.g. a rollecoaster run on solar power (I think it's solar power?). It's quite a cute place. I'm trying to dedicate the chapter almost entirely to Giripan, with the small exception of Switzy and Operation Get-Vash-A-Girl. Reviews are much appreciated~!