Update time!

Warnings: Angst and cuteness. Easy chapter this time guys!


Leon followed after Gilbert hesitantly as the albino retreated to the far edge of the house, mind whirring with all he had overheard from their nasty exchange. As the demon eyed Gilbert paced furiously he gathered the words he was looking for and stepped in front of the infuriated man calmly.

"Calm down Gilbert. Calm down... Easy. Don't get more worked up by pacing..." He started, voice firm and calm. Maybe he was out of line for meddling in adult affairs, but something inside told him to try to bring comfort to the man.

"Look... From the sounds of it... I doubt Mr. Tonio meant what he said. Now that doesn't make it right in the slightest. It doesn't. I would be just as angry, believe me, but you got to remember, you're better than that, ja? He just doesn't understand how close you were to your brother. He doesn't get it... Think of how bad you'd feel after you beat him up or... killed him?" The young German paused, nt truly believing Gilbert would have followed through with his threat.

Gilbert continued to seethe for a bit, but after a while, he forced himself to calm down and listen to the boy. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he sat on the ground with a small despondent sob. Antonio had brought up emotions he had struggled to repress so desperately. The feeling of grief at failing his brother stabbed into his heart as he stifled his sob with a shudder.

"I...I know. I wouldn't...I wasn't going to kill him." He whispered furiously, wiping at his eyes to rid them of the building tears. "Though... I probably should have hit him a couple more times." He muttered bitterly, leaning against the fence post with a shuddering sigh. "I...I didn't..." But he trailed off and just shook his head, running pigment lacking fingers through his silvery hair.

"Don't wipe them away..." Leon protested, looking at him sympathetically. "Sometimes it's better to just cry... Just let it out. Otherwise stuff like this happens and you do things you don't really mean to... No one is here but me anyway, and who do I have to tell you aren't as invincible as you seem? The kids look up to you... Even more so than they do me... And while that stings a bit, it just goes to show they think you can keep them safe. I'm not going to shake that absolute faith they all have by pointing out you are human too." He promised quietly, looking away out of respect as the older man tried to calm back down and collect himself.

Gilbert chuckled and nodded softly looking up at the boy and wiping the tears from his eyes despite the suggestion. "Danke Leon...you're pretty wise for a boy your age." He whispered with a laugh, wiping at his eyes again and sighing heavily. "I...suppose I should apologize to him after he cools off. Be the better man you know." He muttered, sitting on the ground and patting the space beside him with a small smile.

"It's what happens when you have a brother to watch for." Leon said with a modest shrug, sitting beside Gilbert with a soft sigh. The praise made him squirm a bit, uncomfortable with being looked at as something special.

"It might be smart to apologize to him, even though it wasn't you who did anything wrong necessarily. Sure hitting him was probably not something you needed to do, but hey. He was asking for it. Apologizing would be smart." He agreed, a small smile forming on his face.

"Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the adult here." Gilbert chuckled softly, leaning against the boy and ruffling his hair teasingly. Leon held a wisdom beyond his years that some never achieved, and the quiet presence of the boy was comforting in its own way. "You're smart kid. I need to listen to you more often." He pointed out, peering up at the sky with a small groan of resignation. "I'll apologize shortly...give the man a chance to calm down."

"We had this conversation earlier I thought. I don't want to be and adult Gilbert... But someone needed to talk reason into one of you before you killed each other." Leon protested with a small smile. "I just want to be Leon. Nothing else."

Gilbert smiled over at Leon, and was going to answer when he heard the back door to the house bang shut. Had Antonio gone mad? Heart jumping sporadically in his chest, he got to his feet, eyes narrowed in concern. "Leon go stand with the kids ok?" He commanded, thankful the boy listened without question as he raced inside to find the house deserted. "Gott...Antonio what did you do?"

Elizabeta came to sit beside Arthur, waving Eve away with a stern look that stopped the young girl from protesting. "Alright dear... What's wrong?" She asked, pulling Arthur to her in a rather motherly way as she ran gently fingers through his tangled blond hair.

Arthur winced as Elizabeta touched his bad shoulder and flinched away unintentionally. Not missing the flash of confusion that reached her hazel eyes, he reached up shakily, and tugged down his shirt to reveal the bandages wound around his swollen shoulder.

"I didn't tell him...I didn't want anyone to know! I was just going to...I was just going to deal with it myself." He choked out in answer, shaking his head. "It's broken...I didn't say anything because...I didn't want to upset you or worry Antonio or...God...he said...he told me he would leave me if I...I didn't mean to upset him... God He must hate me." He whimpered softly, pressing into the brunette haired woman with a shudder.

Elizabeta's eyes widened as she looked at his bandaged shoulder in shock. She had thought she had hit him rather hard! "Oh my! I knew I had done more damage than you had let on! I'm so sorry dear!" She gasped with bright, apologetic eyes. How stupid of her to hit before really seeing, zombie apocalypse or not! His next words brought her up short from her fretting though, and her hazel eyes brimmed with sympathy.

"He said he'd leave? Hmmm... Well, I'm not a boy, but that sounds like pain talking to me... I doubt he hates you... I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone look at another person with more love in their eyes than the way you two look at each other... Just give him a bit to calm down and go talk to him... If he loves you as much as it looks like he does and as much he says he does, he'll listen. Don't fret dear. Don't you fret for a second. He was probably just worried about you. Goodness knows Gilbert's over reacted a time or two..." She assured, a gentle smile on her face as she looked down on him.

"I...I lied to him. He looked at me like...like I had killed him." Arthur whispered leaning against Elizabeta with a soft choked sob. Her reassurance did little to stop the self-loathing he was feeling. "I couldn't...I mean...I should have trusted him, but I was so afraid that he would worry about me and end up getting himself killed!" He wailed, resting his face in his hands with a terrible shudder.

"I love him so much...but he...his eyes were so angry and hurt. I felt like...he wanted me to just leave right then. To just go before I hurt him again." His voice was hardly a whisper then, fear that what he had thought was true robbing his voice.

Elizabeta frowned and clucked her tongue sympathetically, eyes soft. "I see... that hurts... finding out the people you trust the most lied to you, even if it was for good reason. You should trust him... Even if you think it'll worry him, because then you find yourself in a situation like this and you realize you hurt him instead of saved him from worry... I don't think he wanted you to leave... I still am sticking firmly to the belief that he loves you, and that you love him." Everything about what she said was firm, if not gently chastising, but she spoke in way that made it clear she was trying to be understanding from both sides.

Arthur looked positively ashamed knowing that he had hurt Antonio in a way he wasn't sure he could fix. Biting his lip, he lowered his gaze and shuddered, a few stray tears rolling down his cheeks. "I have to apologize...this is all my fault. I need to apologize." He whispered with a new found determination, staggering to his feet despite any objections from Elizabeta.

Rushing into the house, he threw open the door. "Antonio?" He called. Receiving no answer, he felt a pang of guilt fill his chest. "Antonio please… I just want to apologize." He begged, moving into the bedrooms and feeling a small prick of panic when he didn't spot him there either. "Antonio? Antonio! Are you in here, love?" He called, rushing around the house. Dread seeped slowly into his veins. Where was his Spaniard?

Bursting out the back door, he looked around in confused panic. "Antonio?!" He cried, feeling the dread strengthen as it well up inside of him. He actually did it. He left. He was so mad that...that he left. He abandoned him. Shuddering, Arthur staggered towards the tree line with a small wail of distress. "Antonio please! I'm sorry! Come back! Please!"

Elizabeta got up and rushed after him as the distraught Englishman began to wail and cry out loudly for the missing Spaniard, feeling sick to her stomach at what she'd find. "Arthur? Arthur dear you have to stop yelling! If any of them hear you, they'll be all over this place." She whispered to him in a rush, eyes frantic.

As Arthur fell silent he leaned heavily into her and started to shiver violently, all the while muttering "Antonio… Love come back…"

Antonio wandered far enough away from the house that the others wouldn't be able to hear his ragged sobs of pain and anger as he lashed out at a tree, the bark cutting gashes into the soft skin of his knuckles, leaving blood to dribble freely down his tanned, shuddering fingertips. His heart and very being already felt empty without Arthur there beside him. How had he survived alone all those years? Arthur hadn't been his for very long at all and already the damage was done.

"Arthur I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." He whispered to the air with heart wrenching dejection. Maybe he could just go back... Just make sure Arthur hated him for being so overbearing with his injury and hurt by his lies.

Through his devastated musing, the Spaniard couldn't hear Arthur's shouts for him. Why had he done the things he had and said the things he said! That was all he could think of as he felt wave after wave of self-hating and longing roll through him painfully.

"Arthur... Arthur I'm sorry..." He whispered as he sunk to his knees and then to his side, curling around himself in the damp leafy compost that covered the ground. He just felt numb, trying hard to remember everyone probably hated him and not to go back. If he could just die now... Just right there... No one would have to worry about him being a jerk any more. Why couldn't he fade away, just fade into nothing into the very earth?

His eyes were closed as he lay there, breathing in the scent of decomposing, moist earth. The scent was calming as it reminded him of his tomato plants back in Spain at his Mamá's house. He repeatedly, almost obsessively, ran his fingers through the cool earth, trying hard to not think of Arthur and about his tomatoes instead, but finding the harder he tried to distract himself, the more he couldn't get Arthur from his head. Why did love hurt so badly?

"I have to find him! Let me go!" Arthur sobbed, trashing against the surprisingly strong Hungarian's hold with his good arm. "He'll die on his own! I can't let him die, Elizabeta please!" He begged desperately, only to let out a furious cry as Gilbert scooped him up from behind and clamped a hand over his mouth. The demon eyed man had nuck up on the both of them, his crimson eyes flashing with his command before it was even voiced.

"Gott verdammt, you two have managed to give me the biggest headache today! Arthur stop squirming before you hurt yourself." He barked, digging deep for patience as he turned toward his wife.

"Elizabeta what happened?" He demanded, glancing towards the trees that Arthur was straining to reach so desperately. Of course, he already suspected.

Elizabeta shook her head, feeling powerless to help the thrashing, desperate man. "I don't know... I... I think Antonio might have left. We were talking, Arthur got up to talk to Antonio once he calmed down, and the next thing I know his shouting and freaking out." She explained, her hazel eyes sympathetic and concerned.

"I knew the damn bastard was mad, but abandoning Arthur? Gott..." Gilbert lowered his gaze onto the thrashing Englishman, surprised when the small blond stopped moving.

"I'm sorry Arthur...maybe he just needed to cool down. We'll go look for him la...Ow!" Gilbert yelped as Arthur bit down onto his hand furiously, forcing him to drop the Englishman. Before he could grab the smaller man again, Arthur dove into the forest intent on finding Antonio himself at that moment if it killed him.

"Damn it! Arthur!" He roared, moving to chase after him, but hesitating. He couldn't just leave the kids and Elizabeta unprotected. "Shit..." He grumbled, drawing his hand close to him. At least the bite hadn't pierced his skin.

Elizabeta wasn't quite giving up yet. "Arthur! Arthur come back!" She pleaded, rushing after him only to stop at the tree line, having lost sight of the man. She whipped around and met Gilbert's eyes with concerned green ones. "What do we do? We can't just leave the kids to go get him... But he'll die on his own. They both will!" She said in a soft, frantic voice.

Gilbert sighed and swore, wrapping Elizabeta in a hug and shaking his head. He knew exactly how she felt. "I...I don't know liebe. I'm sorry, but I really don't know." He murmured, his eyes locked onto the woods sadly.

"Gilbert... Gilbert what if they get hurt?" Elizabeta fretted, eyes frantic. She had grown to like the two men and imagining them hurt upset her tremendously. Shaking her head with a sigh, she rested her head against Gilbert's shoulder. "They'll come back, right?" She whispered softly, not wanting to lose anyone else.

"They will come back." Gilbert insisted, pulling her away from the fence and walking back towards the house. "Come on...sitting here...worrying...it isn't going to accomplish anything." He sighed, taking her hand gently and smiling when he spotted the children.

Leon eyes were carefully controlled as he watched the kids. Eve and Dexton both looked up at him with distraught eyes, not fooled by his collected appearance. "It's ok you two... Mr. Iggy will be fine." He assured ruffling Eve's hair with a forced smile.

"But he's so sad! Why did Mr. Antonio make him sad like that?" Eve demanded with wide, panicked eyes, not buying the older boy's words no matter how reassuring he looked and sounded.

"I don't know Eve... I just don't know." Leon said with a sigh, eyes trained on the house, looking distant and worried. "They'll fix things though, liebling. I'm sure of it." Though he really wasn't sure at all, he couldn't tell Eve that.

"Are you sure bruder?" *Dexton asked softly. Of course he was the one to make Leon's job difficult. "Will they fix it? They seemed pretty upset".

The older German boy bit his lip, beginning to flounder for comforting things to say without lying. "I'm... I think so... They have to fix it..." Leon decided, sounding uncertain as he turned back to watch the house, praying to see Antonio and Arthur come out the door, hand in hand with smiles of love on their faces. The longer he waited, the more restless he grew.

"Antonio!" Arthur cried as he stumbled through the trees. Antonio's shoes had left footprints in some areas, but Arthur was no tracker and he quickly lost sight of the prints he had been following so desperately. He was so turned around... How was he supposed to find Antonio now?

"Antonio please! Come back...I'm so...so sorry." He sobbed, feeling distraught and desperate as he clung to the gun in his hands, afraid of what he might find in the trees. "Please...love don't...don't go." He choked out, his tears blurring his eyes as he stumbled forward.

He paused a moment, thinking he heard a soft sob. "A-Antonio?" His voice was hesitant as he called out.

Antonio's head shot up, hearing his name. It was Arthur. It had to be! He almost called back but... What if Arthur was upset with him? He didn't want to face his Englishman when he had been so terrible to him! "Arthur... Arthur I can't... I'm sorry." He mumbled, burying his face in his hands.

Arthur shivered as the trees were silent around him, but he knew he had heard something, and he wasn't giving up. What if it was his Spaniard? "Antonio? Love please... I need you... You'll get hurt on your own! I-I'm sorry..."

Nothing.

"Antonio..." Arthur's voice broke as he tried to see through the trees, shivers rolling through him. Antonio couldn't really be gone...

Listening to how heartbroken the Englishman sounded, Antonio very slowly got up from where he was on the ground and moved in the direction Arthur's voice had come from, finding him easily, facing the wrong direction. With a weak, wobbly smile, he hugged Arthur to him as tight as he dared, not even bothering to try to conceal his tears. "I don't know why you're apologizing... I'm the one who should be sorry... I never should have gotten angry with you..." He trailed off, eyes filling with terror and panic as he looked down at Arthur when the blond jumped at his sudden presence.

"I understand if you're upset with me and hate me... I'll go away! Really I will... If that's what you want at least..." His heart pounded furiously in his chest as he suggested the words even though every part of him screamed to take them back and say he'd never leave, even if Arthur did hate him. "I love you enough that... that if that's what you want, I'll go..."

"No...please...don't leave me." Arthur whispered his protest, afraid his voice would break if he spoke with any sort of volume. Turning, he rested his shoulder on Antonio's shoulder, drinking in his familiar, spicey scent greedily. "Please! I can't bear the thought of losing you..." He choked out, shuddering violently as he pulled the man closer to him desperately, afraid that if he let go Antonio would leave him again

"I love you so much Antonio... I wasn't mad that you were angry at me, or that you were upset... I was terrified that you were going to leave me. Just like that..." His voice pleaded with Antonio to believe him.

"I never should have told you I'd leave… That was wrong of me, and I didn't mean it… Even now I only left because I was afraid you hated me..." Antonio explained, closing his eyes as he pulled Arthur impossibly closer.

"I won't leave you unless you tell me to go... Because I love you. I was just afraid that you... and all the others too... would hate me." He repeated, shuddering in Arthur's arms

Arthur shook his head insistently and backed away from Antonio with wide emerald eyes, his hands holding onto the dejected, shuddering Spaniard's arms tightly. "Never...I could never hate you. Do you hear me, Anthony? I will never hate you." He insisted, his gaze absolutely sincere. "I would never want you to leave… and I will never hate you."

Antonio felt his shattered heart mend itself as he met Arthur's gaze, everything feeling right in his world once more. Arthur's words brought tears to his eyes. "Prometo, amor? You promise?" He whispered, his fear slowly fading from his eyes as he found no trace of a lie in the blonde's eyes.

"I promise Antonio. I promise that I will never hate you." Arthur insisted calmly, his eyes still leaking with tears. "Just promise that you will never leave me." He whispered, reaching up and wiping a tear off of Antonio's face.

Antonio kissed away the tears streaming down Arthur's cheeks, relief written in every inch of his body. "I promise I will never leave you, Arturo. Never."

Arthur smiled softly and let another relieved sob break through his lips as he threw his good arm around Antonio's neck and kissed him fiercely. "Don't you ever do that again. I don't care how mad you are, or how upset you think I am with you. If you ever run off again like that, I am going to handcuff you to me so you can't run off." He muttered into the kiss, his eyes a mixture of relief, happiness, and repressed irritation.

Antonio laughed softly, the sound a bit weak and uncertain after having just been so completely crushed, and kissed him back, reassuring Arthur where words failed to do so. "I will never leave you. You are literally my world now, amor... I think I'd die rather quickly without you."

"Good...because I would die without you as well." Arthur murmured, kissing his cheek gently and closing his eyes with a small shudder. It was all his fault really. He shouldn't have hid his injury.

"I'm wont hide anything from you anymore...I promise." He whispered, tightening his grip around Antonio noticeably.

"I'd rather you didn't, sí... I know the whole point was to not worry me... but I'd rather know... I already worry about you, and there's nothing that's going to change that." He said softly, tightening his own grip in response with a kiss to the man's temple, just relieved they were together again.

Arthur smiled shakily and nodded, kissing his neck gently. "I'll start now I suppose..." He muttered with a sigh. "My shoulder is killing me to the point I feel nauseous... and I'm exhausted. Can we please go back to the group before they leave without us?" He grumbled, burrowing his nose into Antonio's shoulder and clenching his eyes shut dizzily.

Antonio's eyes, as promised, darkened with worry and concern, but he just simply nodded and kissed the top of Arthur's head affectionately, and led him through the trees with a soft hum.

"Come play with us Leon!" Eve chirped, tossing a ball at Leon with a beaming smile. The younger ones had all grown restless in waiting for Antonio and Arthur, and had found a way to entertain themselves.

Leon sighed and looked at the ball before getting up with a wince, sore and a little battered from the fight with the zombies from earlier. He threw the ball back to Eve with a small smile. Maybe he'd join in a bit...

Eve cheered happily and rushed away with the ball, giggling as Dexton let out a shout of protest and took off after her. "Hey! That's not fair!" He called, charging after the little girl determinedly.

Anna giggled and sprinted after her siblings, faster than them by a long shot. She kicked the ball away from Eve triumphantly and started dancing away with it, teasingly sticking out her tongue. "Fangen sie mich nicht!" The words sounded teasing as she sang them to both Eve and Dexton, unaware of her older sister sneaking up to her from the side. She moved at just the last second, eyes wide at Jessie's sudden appearance, only to have the little blond boy move up on her other side victoriously.

Dexton dove around Anna and stole the ball away with a kick, only to whine as Jessie stole the free ball with a laugh. "Hey!" He protested, chasing after her furiously.

Dexton shot a look at Leon that screamed 'Help the girls are kicking my butt!' and whined as Anna drew circles around him teasingly, growing frustrated he couldn't quite keep the all from the girls as they ganged up on him. "Bruder! Help!"

Leon looked hesitant. He wanted to play but... What if it wasn't the smartest thing? What if they needed to get out of there fast and he couldn't get to the smaller ones fast enough? He sighed, not planning on playing, but then he caught sight of Elizabeta and Gilbert watching them and he bit his lip, rethinking things. Gilbert wouldn't let anything happen to them. He wouldn't... Leon believed that. It brought him up short to realize he trusted the albino man so completely, but deep down it felt right. That didn't mean he trusted the others, but... Gilbert would keep them safe if, for some reason he couldn't. Why not risk the possibility of needing the older man's help and play?

He sprinted athletically over to Dexton and the others, and kicked the ball away from them with a determined expression. Football was his sport. He had been on the team with his school, and missed the game fiercely with the apocalypse. It felt great to have the chance to play again.

"Dexton, keep up, bruder. We'll keep it from them." He promised with a competitive grin as he ran at a considerably slower pace to give his little brother a chance.

Dexton looked stunned at first, but laughed and cheered as he realized his brother was helping him. Chasing after the boy, he stuck his tongue out at Anna and perused his brother, working hard to keep pace with him. "Ja! We're totally going to win this bruder!" He beamed proudly.

"You think you can keep it from them?" Leon asked, passing the ball to his brother and dropping behind him to fend off the girls chasing after them with a laugh.

"Ja!" Dexton beamed, racing around the field with a broad grin barely managing to avoid an attack from Anna when she dove at him from the side. Proud of himself, he cheered happily.

Leon laughed as Anna seemed rather put out that she missed. "Don't give up so easy liebling! How else are you going to learn?" He called to her encouragingly before speeding up to run alongside Dexton, keeping Jessie from trying to get the ball with a grin that left her laughing. "Where's the goal?" He asked, breathing heavily as they continued to run around the yard.

There is no goals! It's keep away!" Eve giggled manically, throwing herself at the ball on her little legs, cauging Dexton to trip. The little four year old giggled again as she ran away with the ball, leaving Dexton to hurry to his feet and rush after her.

Leon laughed as his brother proceeded to chase after Eve with a scowl and sprinted with everything he had to the fence at the other end of the yard, just because he could. Once he reached the worn wooden posts, he sat down with a huff before laying back in the tall grass, breathing heavily, and heart pleasantly fast. Anything to do with football, and he'd play. His pale blue eyes closed and he listened to his heart beat as blood roared through his ears, a content smile on his face.

Not once did he worry about not having his eyes on the kids.

"Gil... You know they're another issue we're going to run into in the future..." Elizabeta said with a strange, thoughtful look on her face as they watched the children play, her worry over Arthur and Antonio slowly fading with the bright giggles of the children filling the air.

Gilbert leaned up against the fence and glanced over at his wife with a confused frown. Caring for the children wasn't going to be an issue at all! Not then, nor in the future. "How so liebe? They're pretty self-sufficient, and as long as we have an eye on them they should be fine." He disagreed slowly, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Feeding them shouldn't be an issue for now... Leon and Jessie are old enough to help us look for food, and as far as we've been able to tell, most houses are pretty well stocked in this area." He continued as his wife laughed quietly, a little bewildered at what was so funny.

Elizabeta smiled and shook her head, rolling her eyes. "I was referring to the fact that they're parentless. And if this thing ends… Where are they going to go?" She clarified, looking over at the kids with her heart in her eyes.

"Ja...I suppose you're right." Gilbert murmurred glancing down at Elizabeta with smile when he saw her look at them wth such fondness. "You know...we could always take them in." He pointed out, leaning in and kissing her forehead gently. "I think we'd make pretty good parents, don't you?" His ruby eyes were sparkling as he grinned at her when she turned to face him happily.

"Can we? I think we'd make rather decent parents, and I'd hate for them to go through this together and end up being separated!" Elizabeta said with an excited smile on her face as she hugged her husband tightly.

"Ja...I want to adopt them... But I also want little ones of our own." Gilbert grinned, kissing her cheek with a small laugh at her absolute excitement.

For a moment, Elizabeta's eyes looked startled, but they quickly soften, excited and frightened by the prospect of having their own children. "One day." She agreed. "When we don't have to worry about zombies of course."

"One day...I wouldn't risk a baby in this world. Too many things that could hurt it." He sighed, resting his chin against the top of her head as the returned to watching the kids play.

"If we did have a baby...I would hope it looked more like you." He decided with a grin, his eyes sparkling as Elizabeta giggled quietly.

"That may or may not have been both the sweetest and sappiest thing you've ever said to me, dear." Elizabeta teased, eyes soft as she leaned back into the albino man's chest contently.

"I'm sure I could come up with something that was a hell of a lot sappier." Gilbert grinned, his eyes shining with amusement. "And is it wrong that I want our baby to look like you? You are the most beautiful woman I know." He chuckled, his tone light as he glanced over at the forest, wondering if Arthur and Antonio would be back soon.

"That was sappy too..." The Hungarian teased, turning to kiss his cheek. "But no. I suppose not, though I'd rather have a little Gilbert baby... He'd be so adorable, looking like his father." Eizabeta said with a smile, automatically throwing in her hopes for a little son.

"Mmm...I guess we'd better let her decide. Otherwise we might have some problems making up our mind." Gilbert chuckled, his eyes bright as he imagined a little baby girl running about with the other children, looking just like his wife.

His attention was drawn to the tree line then as he spotted two forms stumble out of the trees. His hand flickered to his gun but quickly he let out a sigh of relief as he recognized the froms as that of Arthur and Antonio, hand in hand and talking to each other softly. "Ah...there they are." He sighed softly, pointing so that Elizabeta could see. "They seem to have made up as well."

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do to try and help?" Antonio asked as they cleared the trees, turning his head for a moment as he heard the sound ofchildren squealing happily.

Arthur grimaced as he followed after Antonio slowly, his head swimming a minute now that his adrenaline had faded. "I don't know what you could do... I need a cast, but we can't afford me being restricted like that, never mind the fact we would hardly be able to find a doctor. Other than that... the pain is the worst problem, and I can't take anything stronger than the pain pills we have because, well... You don't want me to be any less alert than I am, love." He sighed, squeezing Antonio's hand gently when they stepped over the fence a little ways from where Gilbert and Elizabeta stood.

Elizabeta glanced over at them and a broad smile of relief spread across her face as she waved at them. "There you two are! We were starting to think you two wouldn't come back! Everything ok, dears?" She asked as they drew closer, tone friendly and relieved.

Antonio glanced warily at Gilbert, not entirely sure where they stood at this point, and when he turned back to Arthur a slight frown was on his face. "Maybe try putting something cold on it? I don't know much about injuries... Suffered plenty of my own out of my clumsiness, but I don't know how to treat them..." He said with a sigh, still holding onto Arthur's hand.

"Yes...we can go put something cold on it when we rest for a bit." Arthur relented, not so sure it would help but figuring it wouldn't hurt.

"We're fine...thank you Elizabeta." Arthur sighed as he addressed the woman, smiling shakily at her and leaning against Antonio with a small shudder. "I suppose I need to apologize for biting you Gilbert." He grinned sheepishly, earning a small chuckle from the albino and a surprised look from his Spaniard.

"Trust me... I've had far worse things try to bite me this week. It's alright, all is forgiven." Gilbert smiled, glancing at Antonio and smiling softly. "Are we gut?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest and quirking an eyebrow. "I think a low blow in exchange for a punch in the face makes us even...how about you?"

"I think so, sí. We're good." Antonio decided slowly, a hesitantly friendly smile on his face as he looked over at Gilbert. In all honesty, he was just glad their albino friend wasn't angry with him for what he had said.

Arthur blinked in surprise. "You punched him?" He demanded, looking concerned as he glanced towards Antonio, whose cheek was slightly discolored now that he could examine him in a better light.

Antonio smiled a bit as Arthur gently feathered his fingers over his bruised jaw. "Sí. I deserved it though... What do you think Gilbert? Amigos?" He asked with a smile.

Elizabeta looked just as startled and concerned as Arthur. Had they both missed something? "What on earth are you talking about Gil?" She demanded, looking fiercely from one man to the next.

"Freunde." Gilbert chuckled, reaching out and grabbing Antonio's hand, shaking it firmly.

"Good." Antonio said, shaking Gilbert's hand with a smile.

Glancing over at Elizabeta, Gilbert shrugged and smiled sheepishly, hesitantly meeting her eyes. "Boys will be boys?" He attempted, not particularly wanting to explain their fight if he didn't have too.

He was saved by a high pitched squeal; Eve had spotted Arthur and Antonio.

"Mr. Iggy!" She cheered, rushing forward and throwing her arms around his waist happily "You scared me! Where did you go?" She demanded her eyes wide and happy despite her accusing words.

"I swear I left you alone for two seconds, and you get punched in the bloody face." Arthur grumbled, rolling his eyes and patting Eve's hair gently. "We're fine lass... There's no need to worry." He insisted when she began pulling at his shirt, begging for attention. "Don't you want to go play?" He asked when she continued staring up at him pointedly.

"Nein...If I do you might wander off again! I gotta make sure you stay where I can see you." Eve announced, her face looking serious even though she earned a small chuckle from the exhausted Englishman.

"I most definitely deserved it, amor. Nothing to worry too much about." He assured, even as Elizabeta raised both her eyebrows, debating on if it was worth the effort to figure out what had happened.

"Boys who are boys will find themselves in time out next time I hear of them hitting each other!" She threatened, sounding motherly and stern as she glared from one delinquent adult to the next and back again.

"I don't think it will happen again, liebe. I promise." Gilbert sighed, leaning forward and kissing his wife's cheek with soft lips which briefly stayed beside her ear. "I'll explain later." He assured her in a whisper, knowing she would ask later anyway.

Antonio laughed, smiling brightly at Elizabeta, then turned to Eve and Arthur. "Eve, mija, don't tug so hard. Mr. Iggy s hurt. You don't want to hurt him, sí?" He asked with a smile at the determination and demanding look on the young girl's face.

"Dare I ask what you did to deserve a punch in the face?" Arthur sighed, struggling to get back to the topic at hand and rubbing his aching temples, glancing down at Eve with a smile. "Oh it's alright Antonio. She isn't hurting me."

Eve suddenly looked very worried at the idea that Arthur was hurt, and immediately reached inside her pocket, pulling out a small bandaid. "Here Iggy! This will make you feel better!" She announced, straining to place the bandaid onto one of the cuts that she could see on his neck.

Chuckling, Arthur knelt down and allowed her to place the floral thing onto his neck, smiling in amusement. Thank you, Eve. I feel much better already." He assured, scooping her up with his good arm. "However, I think it is time to go inside and rest."

Gilbert nodded in agreement just as the rest of the kids ran up to greet Arthur and Antonio, even Leon. "Inside everyone. We'll see what we can find for dinner!" He decided, grinning as he was met with a round of excited cheers.

One disaster solved, but with an injured man and a slew of kids, it looked like they were all going to have a hard time staying safe.


How'd you guys like it? Reviews are welcome! :D