/ Hey guys.! I have a four-day weekend ahead, so you can expect a fast update after this chapter. But it might take a while again after that... Ah, sad life for me. Too much schoolwork. T_T /

CHAPTER SEVEN

It's All Greek to Me

"You're pronouncing it wrong again!" Lukas looked exasperatingly at Alfred. The American's accent kept getting in the way of his chanting and ruining the spells. Once, a simple lock-opening spell turned Lukas's tie into a snake and Lukas wasn't very happy about it.

"I can't help it!" Alfred said. "I mean, all these chants... They all look Greek to me."

"They aren't written in Greek; they're written in Latin," Lukas retorted. He knew what Alfred was trying to tell him, but he was already tired and irritated with Alfred's progress. Or lack thereof.

Alfred sighed. "I'm sorry," he muttered, his head hung low. "I don't want to give up on this. There's no other way, but..." he trailed off, but the Norwegian knew what he wanted to say.

"You'll have to learn how to read Latin properly if you want to be able to do this successfully," Lukas said. "Of course, I could just teach you Celtic magic instead, but I don't think you'll find it easier, especially since you'll have to learn the Celtic symbols first. Since we're considering time here too, Latin spells are the way to go."

"Can't you teach me how to read them properly? I mean, you seem to know when I'm mispronouncing things, so..."

"I only know when you slip up because I've heard Arthur say them before. You do realize that I didn't know that your lock-opening spell would go awry," Lukas said, getting irritated at the American once again.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Alfred said sheepishly. "Do you know anyone who could?"

"Since you're going to learn Latin, I'd suggest going to where it was first spoken," Lukas said.

"Where is that?" Alfred asked. He wasn't keen on the idea of taking another flight as his body clock's already too confused, but if it was really necessary, then he'd oblige. Fortunately for him, the country they were going to was in the same timezone.

"Where else?" Lukas asked, rolling his eyes. "Rome, of course."

~.;*;.~

"Where are we going, Ivan?" Arthur asked. Both he and the Russian had been trudging the snow for a good ten minutes and the "nice place" that Ivan had talked about was still nowhere in sight. The house that they came from looked like a speck from where they were.

Arthur grew worried. Ivan couldn't be getting rid of him, could he? He knew he hadn't been a gracious guest, but that's not enough to send someone to die in the cold after saving them, right? Arthur shivered. Surely not?

Suddenly, Ivan stopped and looked alarmed. "We should hurry," he said, sprinting forward. "Or else we won't make it."

Arthur got a sense of dread, but ran after Ivan nonetheless. He wasn't used to running in the snow, however, and he kept on tripping. Ivan looked back and laughed. Arthur felt his cheeks glowing red in embarrassment, and he buried his face in the snow.

Arthur felt himself being lifted and he yelped as Ivan shifted him so that the Russian had an arm around his shoulders and under his knees. He felt his face grow hot and Ivan chuckled.

"You are too slow so I will carry you, da?" Ivan asked, running towards their destination. Arthur didn't respond. He was too busy hiding his face from the Russian.

After a few moments, Ivan finally set the smaller man down. "Here it is," he announced and Arthur opened his eyes slowly. It was a view of the sunset with a tree blocking the sun. But even so, it looked magical to the two men watching.

The tree's branches made the upper part of the tree circular and matched the size of the setting sun completely. On the branches were patches of snow and they glistened under the light, making them look like they're glowing. And the best part was the wind blowing off the snow. The silver specks looked like fairies dancing around the tree.

Arthur let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. The spectacle was gone in a matter of seconds, but he knew that it had served its purpose. He smiled. He knew why Ivan brought him there. And he was really grateful for it.

"It was pretty, da?" Ivan asked, looking at the man beside him. "You cannot see sunsets often here in Russia, but when you do and you look at it through here, it is breathtaking."

"Breathtaking indeed," Arthur murmured. He smiled at Ivan warmly and the other man returned the gesture. "Thank you."

"I wanted to cheer you up," Ivan admitted. "I wanted to see your smile again, the happy one from when we were talking and laughing. It hurts when I look at you and you're sad. You shouldn't be sad when you're with me."

Arthur stared at Ivan in surprise, not knowing what to say. He knew he was blushing again, and it still felt strange, but there was something new in what he was feeling. His stomach felt like it was full of butterflies and his heart seemed to want to get out of his chest. He felt light too, like he was flying. But he knew he wasn't sick. So why was he getting all these feelings?

"Why?" Arthur managed to choke out. He clutched his chest to make sure his heart was still inside. "Why do you care about me so much? We've only known each other for a couple of days, and yet... Why?"

Ivan's cheeks turned a little pink. "I... I can't explain," he said, tugging at his scarf. "I feel my stomach flipping and my heart beats too fast that it hurts. It's strongest when you're smiling. It's a foreign feeling, but I... I like it. I don't feel sick at all, and I'm sure I'm not."

Arthur's blush deepened. Ivan was feeling the same things he does. Sure, he described them differently, but they were the same. He stayed silent and Ivan though he needed to add more to his previous statements.

"And I get the urge to kiss you everytime. I want to hug you and kiss you and kiss you again. You might want to get back to where you came from, but I want to keep you. I want you to stay with me forever." A pause. "I think... No, I'm sure... I love you, Arthur."

/ T_T Fail description of the view. It was so pretty in my head, but then I write about it and mess up. Sorry, guys. Also, what do you think of Ivan's confession? Review and let me know. :) /