The school year had ended and summer vacation had started. For some this would be their last summer vacation, and they wanted to get the most out of it. So far everybody spent most of their time with their partners and not as a whole group. That changed when Maja and Roland decided to take everyone on vacation to a ski resort in the Swiss Alps. They had business to do in the area and were given access to a cabin in a nearby ski resort. Since they would be too busy to use the ski resort they decided to let everyone else use it so the opportunity wouldn't be wasted.

To say the group was excited would be an understatement. They were ecstatic. No one else ever had the opportunity to go skiing, except for Roderich, and a way to get away from the summer heat was another bonus. The time before their flight to leave passed in a blur as they prepared and tried to keep their excitement contained. When they finally arrived at Switzerland, Maja and Roland had part ways with the group. Their business was in the opposite direction of the ski resort so they had to part ways.

"Don't worry. These fine gentleman will escort you to the cabin," said Maja while indicating two men standing in front of cars. Arriving at the cabin they saw that it had a rustic look but on entering saw it had state of the art facilities while keeping a cozy feeling. One of the drivers showed them were everything was and then left them to their devices. The first issue they decided to tackle is where everyone was going to sleep. Since there were three rooms in the cabin all the couples got a room to themselves.

"Alright! Let's go skiing," said Gilbert.

"Do you even know how to ski," asked Elizabeta.

"Nope. But it can't be that hard."

Gilbert soon found out the hard way that skiing wasn't as intuitive as he had previously thought. In fact the only one with skiing experience at all was Roderich and even then his clumsiness meant he only had mediocre skill. So everyone's skiing experience that day was a lot of falling down expect Vash who eventually by the end of the day got the hang of it.

It wasn't long before everyone decided that they would return to the cabin as everyone was started to get tired and the sun was going to come down soon anyways. Roderich seemed relieved about this and his mood didn't escape his boyfriend.

"You okay," Vash asked.

"I'm fine," Roderich mumbled. "It's just that I'm not that good at physical activities so they aren't usually that fun for me."

"You could have just stayed back in the cabin."

"Yeah but then I would have been alone while everyone else was out having fun."

"I would have stayed with you."

"Yeah but then you wouldn't been having fun."

"But just being with you is fun."

Both Roderich and Vash blushed at this. Roderich because of how Vash gave him butterflies in his stomach, and Vash because he just realized how cheesy he sounded. They then started holding hands and started walking back with everyone else.

Once everyone got back at the cabin they quickly changed into normal clothes.

"So when are your parents getting here," Elizabeta asked Roderich.

"They said in the next few days after they finished up their business."

"That means we can do whatever we want," yelled Gilbert. "We should get out the alcohol!"

"There's none in the house, plus my parents told me to not let any alcohol drinking go on at all," said Roderich.

"Plus how would you get the alcohol anyways," asked Elizabeta. "Were you going to walk your sorry ass to the nearest store when it's getting dark."

Gilbert huffed. "Well sorry for trying to have a fun time."

"Maybe we should worry about food first," said Natalia. "I'm starving."

"I hope they stocked the kitchen," said Lily.

"Don't worry the people who rent out these houses always make sure they stock pantry," said Roderich.

And sure enough when they checked the pantry they saw that it was fully stocked. "Does anyone have complaints about frozen pizza," asked Elizabeta.

Getting no complaints they tossed the pizza in the oven and not much longer they had their dinner. Someone put in a movie and they watched it while they ate. After the movie ended everyone was so tired that they decided to go to bed right away. Elizabeta and Gilbert went into a room together and Lily and Natalia took their own room as well. It finally sunk in for Roderich and Vash they would be sharing a room together. They never slept in the same bed before so they were incredibly shy about this. They haven't been together for long so they were still trying to figure out how to interact as a couple.

They stood in the hallway for a bit before going in their room. They put their bags in the room and awkwardly sat down on the bed. Vash suddenly jumped up and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Vash went into the bathroom leaving Roderich alone with his thoughts. Soon the shower started up and Roderich decided that he would change into pajamas. As he changed he thought about the situation that would be coming up. Not only was it embarrassing he didn't even know what to do when you slept in the same bed with someone else.

Roderich changed into pajamas and laid down on the bed. He suddenly felt exhausted and decided he would rest his eyes while Vash took a shower. When he came to he realized that he had fallen asleep. For a second he wondered what woke him up when he felt fingers running through his hair. Roderich realized that Vash must have finished his shower. He liked the feeling of Vash running his hands through his hair so he decided to not stop him.

"You're so cute when you're asleep," Vash whispered.

Roderich opened his eyes and had a devilish grin on his face. "So you think I'm cute?"

Vash's face turned beet red. "I didn't say anything like that you must be imagining things."

Roderich sat up and gave Vash a kiss on the cheek. "I think you're cute as well." He then nuzzled Vash's cheek.

'He must be really tired,' thought Vash. 'It's unusual for him to show this much affection.' "We should go to bed," Vash said while trying to maneuver the half-asleep Roderich and get under the covers. However when trying to separate himself from Roderich to get more mobility he just clung to Vash even tighter.

"Don't go," said Roderich.

"I can't get under the covers if you don't let me go," said Vash. Eventually he was able to maneuver both of them under the sheets despite Roderich being super clingy. Though Roderich still refused to let go so Vash had resigned himself with sleeping on his back and Roderich clinging to his neck. Soon Roderich had nodded off to sleep again while Vash just stared at the ceiling a little uncomfortable. He wasn't used to be so physically close to anybody. He got physically close with Lily but not nearly for such a long period of time. Slowly his body started to relax with being in such close contact with Roderich. He started running his fingers through Roderich's hair as he did before. He didn't know why but he like the feeling of running his fingers through Roderich's hair. Eventually he fell asleep as well.

As Vash was an early riser he was up before Roderich was. He laid there for a bit before he got a bit restless and had to get up. He untangled himself from Roderich who in the process woke up. Roderich just opened his eyes, grumbled, and went back to sleep. Knowing that Roderich wasn't a morning person, Vash let him be. He had long ago learned the Roderich could be very stubborn when it came to getting up earlier then he planned on doing it.

When Vash went into the kitchen to get breakfast he wasn't surprised to see that nobody else was up. He started making coffee for Roderich and ate his breakfast. Eventually everyone else got up and started congregating in the kitchen. Roderich was the last one to stumble in and he said nothing as he drank his coffee and tried to wake up.

"What should we do today," asked Elizabeta.

"Maybe something else than skiing," said Lily. "I'm still sore from yesterday."

"Weaklings," said Gilbert while laughing out loud. Elizabeta poked a part of his back and his laughter stopped as he cried out in pain.

"I think we all need to recuperate from yesterday," said Natalia.

"I'm sure there is a lot of things that we can do locally," said Elizabeta.

"There is a villa nearby that we can walk to," said Roderich.

"Then when everyone's ready that's where we'll go," said Vash.

A short walk later and everyone was at the village. It was decided that they would meet up for lunch and then the couples split off their separate ways.

Lily and Natalia were walking around window shopping and holding hands.

"Let's check out this shop," said Lily pointing to a jewelry store nearby. Natalia nodded in an agreement, as she didn't care either way, as she just wanted to spend time with Lily.

They entered the shop, which had various pieces of jewelry laying in cases around the shop. A wizened lady approached them as they walked into the store. "Looking for anything special dears," she asked.

Lily shook her head. "We're just looking."

The lady overlooked them with her sharp eye and nodded. "I believe I have something that would suit the both of you." She turned around and disappeared into a back room. She then returned shortly with a box in her hands. "I've had these pieces for quite some time. They even have an interesting story with them if you care to hear it." She then opened the box revealing two jeweled rings. One had a garnet setting while the other one had a spinel gem.

"They're beautiful," Lily said while gazing at them.

"You said there was a story behind them," said Natalia.

"Some time ago a young lady came into my shop with these rings wanting to sell them. She said these rings belonged to her grandmother and she wanted to sell them. She sold these rings as a pair along with the case, which was in good condition so I bought it as well. Later when inspecting the case I discovered it had a hidden compartment." The lady then revealed the compartment, which had some old letters in it. "After reading the letters I learned the history behind these rings. The girl's grandmother shared these rings with her lover. You see they loved each other but couldn't be together as they were both female and it wasn't accepted at the time. But they let their private feelings be shown in these letters and as a symbol of their love wore these rings. Sadly they could never be together and when the one passed away the grandmother kept the rings and letters in this box as a memento of their love."

"That's so sad," said Lily.

The old lady nodded. "It is indeed a sad story and I loathed to part with these rings. That is until I saw you two walk in."

"What is so special about us," Natalia asked.

The old lady pulled a photo out of the box and showed it to them. In the photo stood two young girls that had a striking resemblance to Lily and Natalia. "I think they would appreciate it if you two would have these rings now." She closed the box and handed it to them.

"I don't think we'll be able to afford these rings," said Lily.

"I don't want any money for them," said the lady. "I have been waiting for the time to pass these rings onto someone else. I'm just glad to have found the right people to do so with."

Lily and Natalia accepted the box and thanked the old lady and walked out of the shop with the box in hand.

"Damn she isn't here either," thought Gilbert as he looked into a shop. 'Where could she have gone?' He ran out of the shop and started running down the street frantically looking everywhere. He pulled out his phone and called her again but the voicemail picked it up. "It's me! Please pick up the phone and tell me where you are. Just let me explain myself."

*1 hour earlier*

While everyone was wondering what they should do Gilbert was preoccupied with his phone. He smiled and said to Elizabeta "Hey I got something I want to do, but I'll be back soon."

"But I thought we could hang out together."

"We can hang out later. This is important. I'll text you when I'm done." He then ran off leaving a sad Elizabeta behind.

"Is it more important than me," she whispered.

Later Gilbert walked out of a store with a brown package in hand and a grin on his face. He pulled out his phone and texted Elizabeta that he was done and would wait near at the fountain near the entrance of the village. He walked over and waited with excitement as he couldn't wait to show Elizabeta the present that he got for her. After 20 minutes of waiting and no sign of Elizabeta, Gilbert started to get worried. This time he called her but the voicemail picked up. "Hey this is Gilbert just wondering where you are."

Thinking that she couldn't hear her phone Gilbert decided to call Roderich as she was probably with him. Roderich answered his phone and told him that Elizabeta wasn't with him, but he might be with Lily and Natalia. This time he called Lily but he was told that Elizabeta wasn't with them either.

"I think she is by herself. After you left the group she looked sad and just wandered off by herself," said Lily.

Now Gilbert was a little concerned. She wasn't with anyone else and wasn't answering her phone. He called her again just to be sure but he got her voicemail again. Elizabeta usually heard her phone, so this made Gilberts mind start thinking of darker reasons why she could not be answering her phone. That's when he got a text from Elizabeta. 'I don't want to talk or see you right now'

Gilbert could feel the anger coming from the text. He must have done something to make her mad but what? She seemed fine when they all left the ski resort. That's when he thought about Lily saying that Elizabeta seemed upset when he left the group. She must have thought that he was blowing her off when he went to get her present.

He realized that he needed to go find her right away. He grabbed his package and started running to a place where he thought he might find her. After 20 minutes of searching he still hadn't found her so he called her again. He left a voicemail saying that this was all a misunderstanding and to let him know where she was. He realized the village was too big or him just to randomly run around and hope that he would find her. He needed to be smart and think about this.

Gilbert started taking in his surrounding and thinking of places where she might have run off. She probably would have wanted to be alone, so somewhere not a lot of people would go to, and somewhere he wouldn't be able to see her. Looking around he noticed the castle in the middle of the town. There was a roof access, but no one would be up there because of how cold it was. Gilbert then started running towards it hoping that Elizabeta would be there and this whole thing could be over.

As he got to the castle staircase he took two steps at a time and quickly got to the top. He stopped to catch his breath and saw Elizabeta sitting on a bench with her head in her knees. "Elizabeta," he yelled.

She lifted up her head and she could see the tear stains on her face still. He ran towards her and hugged her before she could even move.

"Let go of me," she exclaimed as she squirmed in his arms. "I told you I didn't even want to see your face." He let go of her, which shocked her as she expected him to not listen. He then pushed the package he had been holding this whole tine in front of her.

"The reason I left was to get this for you. I wanted it to be a surprise so I left without telling you where I was going. I'm sorry."

"Then you should have said something different. You made it seem like you were ditching me," she said while shuddering out another sob.

Gilbert grabbed her head and kissed away the tears. "I'm sorry I should have thought out what my words made you think." He hugged her so that her face was in his shoulder and she slowly calmed down as he yelled at himself for the way he handled the whole situation.

Elizabeta calmed down and wiped her away her tears. "So what did you get me," she asked with a smile.

He handed her the package and she opened it. Inside she saw an antique book and when she looked at the title it looked familiar to her. Then it clicked. They used to have a copy of this book when they were children and it had been a treasured possession of hers. It was an old fairy tale book that absolutely captivated her when she was younger. She lent it out to Gilbert and he accidently ruined it and she was devastated. She forgave him for and apparently forgot about the book until now.

"I've always been looking for a replacement for the one that I destroyed and couldn't find one till now," said Gilbert.

"Thanks. For the book and for remembering." Elizabeta kissed him and then hugged him.

"Why don't we read it now," asked Gilbert. Elizabeta nodded and opened up the book and started to read the first page. Gilbert rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. He was content with listening to her read the book so the bitter cold didn't matter.

Roderich and Vash were just walking around looking at the shops with no clear goal in mind. At first they walked close together enough for their shoulders to bump occasionally. However once they got to places of town with more people they unconsciously drifted slightly apart. Later while Roderich was staring at some merchandise in a shop window a strand of hair fell in front of his face. Vash went to brush it out of the way, but then stopped himself.

It was then that he noticed that any acts of affection that they would normally do have stopped since they started walking around town. He noticed Natalia and Lily a little bit away from them. They acted like a couple should act with each other. The way he and Roderich should act. 'Why aren't we acting like that' he wondered. "Is something wrong with them that they couldn't display their affections publicly?" After all they were hugging and being affectionate earlier today. But thinking about it now the two of them didn't show much affection anyways.

Vash kept going with this train of thought until he could no longer keep his thoughts in. They were sitting down on a bench when he finally asked, "Do you think that there is something wrong with us."

"What do you mean," asked Roderich.

"When you compare us to other couples we don't act like they do. At least in public."

"Is something wrong with that?"

"Maybe. Since we don't act like normal couples."

"Well we're not a normal couple. We didn't talk for years and during that time you hated me. It's probably to be expected that we wouldn't act like normal couples." Roderich paused and continued, "Plus with our personalities I don't think any of us are passionate people when it comes to relationships."

"I get that...it's just that I want to do stuff that couples do, but I keep on stopping myself."

"So you want to do act like other couples in public then."

Vash nodded. "But I'm really nervous about this kind of stuff."

"Then why don't we start small?"

Roderich put his hand over Vash's and interlaced their fingers slightly. It wasn't a huge display of public affection but it was still there. "I'm not used to this stuff either so it might take me a while before we get to the level of other couples."

"That's okay," said Vash as interlaced their fingers further. "It's important to me that you care."

Soon after the entire group was together again, and they went back to the ski resort. When they got back at their cabin, they found that Maja and Roland have returned from their work.

"Did everyone have fun," Raja asked.

"Yep we did," said Roderich.

"Well dinner is almost ready."

As they sat around the dinner table eating, the general mood was that of bliss. Everyone sitting at the table realized that they wouldn't be able to be together anymore. However they enjoyed the moment as it lasted and not all hope was lost. They had the kind of bonds that would last throughout the years. They knew what ever happened to them they would be happy.

AN: Sorry this took so long! Got busy with school and ended up rewriting this chapter. This is the last chapter so I hope you enjoyed reading my story! Thanks for reading my story!