Author Notes:
- This is where I switch scenes in order to prolong the suspense.
- Oh! Current events ~ I mean, economy-wise. Dude, I looked stuff up, seriously, freakin' Hetalia fanfiction making me research more than I've ever researched before. Ah hah. And I still don't feel adequate enough to talk about it, but well, here's to trying! Also, I'm American, so my knowledge of Europe economies is pretty much zilch because we don't really learn about it – at least not in my school. Ah well, I'll start my Economics and Business classes this year, so maybe I'll understand more soon.
- Yay GerIta!
- By the way, Italy point-of-view is descriptive. He does notice random details, I guess.
-There's a "Dresden Files" reference in here this time. (Kairi: Dresden is mine, everyone else back off!)
~!~
One Month
Chapter 12
~!~
It was a work-from-home day, which meant Germany was in his study in his house instead of at the office with his boss. He was still dressed for work, of course. Ludwig had the belief that one's attitude and performance reflected the way one dressed. His brain focused easier on paperwork when he was in a suit, just as military action felt more precise when his uniform was nice and neat. Even if he was working from home, dredging through economic paperwork, he had gotten dressed in a suit, complete with tie and shined shoes.
He groaned at the latest economy report. The EU was doing terrible these days. Everyone around him was falling apart, it seemed. Everyone starting to ask for help to shoulder the economic burden.
Which wasn't really fair, considering Germany still had to pay back reparations for WWII. Even if no one had spoken of it, there was still that little bug in the air, hanging around his head, reminding him of the fact that he had better help them with their failing economies or they just might play dirty and bring it up. Besides, the catch22 of joining the Euro meant they would rise together – and fall together.
He groaned. Again. Things were such a mess right now. How was he supposed to come up with a solution when everywhere he turned there was more bad news?
"Ve~ Germany~ What are you doing?"
Italy's entrance was to be expected, really. Ludwig barely looked up when the Italian walked into the orderly but cramped study. He watched from his peripheral as Feliciano pulled a chair from the computer desk and rolled over to sit next to him, finding it harder to concentrate with his Italian sitting so close. Feli always did this to him.
Keeping his eyes on the paperwork, Germany answered with yet another groan. "I'm trying to figure out a solution to this economic catastrophe." He and his boss had been trying to think of a solution for months – or was it years now? - but they had started to argue so Germany had taken more "work-from-days" than he had in a while; overall everything was causing a gigantic headache.
"I'm sure it will work itself out eventually." He sighed at Italy's overly optimistic attitude. Feliciano was almost as uninterested in economics as Prussia was these days.
At the thought of his brother, Ludwig glanced over to the phone sitting on his desk, the one that still had Prussia's profile pulled up from when he had called to check up on Gilbert, naturally worried about the situation between his extroverted brother and the nearly-invisible Canadian nation. Especially after the last call.
Italy must have been following his gaze because he reached out for the phone and picked it up to blink and then tilt his head, the hair curl bouncing in Germany's vision, almost taunting him. "Did Prussia call earlier?"
He sighed and glanced to him with a frown. "Well...I called to check in on him and..." He cut off and shook his head with a grunt. "It's his problem," he muttered, turning his eyes back to the economic reports, trying to focus on work.
Italy moved his head, curl bouncing in the air again just at the edge of Germany's peripheral. "Hm? What's his problem?"
Germany tried to ignore the question, tried to focus, tried to say-without-speaking that he wanted to drop it and get back to work. Of course, Italy would have none of that. His Italian put a hand on his lap and leaned over, rolling the chair closer. Ludwig soon found his vision filled with only Feliciano being curious, worried, and ever-always-insistent.
Giving in, Germany sat back in his chair and explained as concisely as he could manage. "He was talking about feelings of betrayal, which he never does...And then proceeded to hang up on me." Yes, that was what he was worried about. As much as he could understand why Prussia wouldn't feel the need to say goodbye, it had still been abrupt and without warning. Of course, that could mean that his focus had turned to Canada – which could be either good or bad, to be honest. With a sigh, Germany put a hand to his head, rubbing at his temple. "I don't know if sending him out on his own was such a good idea."
Italy frowned, "But he's not alone, right? He has America's brother with him."
"Exactly," Ludwig said. "And I think he has discovered that Canada was actually part of the allies." He closed his eyes, thinking of all the possibilities, imagining his brother shouting and blaming the little Canadian for everything that had happened after the war, even if Canada had little to nothing to do with the decisions made. "I should probably call him."
"Wait," Italy said as he sat up, pulling back, setting the phone on the desk. "What exactly are we talking about?"
Opening his eyes, Germany faced his Italian and opened his mouth. He took a breath, ready to explain, and then let it out and shook his head. "It's impossible to talk about it. Let's just say I'm worried...because he's been...different...since he's been back from Russia."
Italy frowned and looked away, staring at some unimportant speck on the wall. "I'm sorry that all of that had to happen to you both."
"Hey," Germany said as he leaned forward and put a hand on his Italian's cheek, putting their foreheads together. "You are not allowed to apologize for any of that. It's in the past and it will stay in the past." Pulling back, he sighed, turning his eyes back to the phone still set on Prussia's profile. "Mein bruder however..."
"Ti amo," Italy whispered. "He'll be fine. I'm sure of it." There was a pause and then, "You're both really strong."
Letting out a tense breath, Germany let himself nod. "Yeah, he'll be fine." He glanced back down to the paperwork and found himself groaning yet again. "I really should be focusing on work and not his problems."
"You work too much," Italy said with a pout. "It's not good for you."
Feeling himself chuckle, Germany turned to his Italian. "And you don't work enough, Italein," he said while poking the brunette's forehead as if he could poke the message into his brain.
He could swear the pout grew. "Well, I don't work too much because Romano does it all for me."
Before anything else could be said, Germany's phone began to ring. At the sound of Prussia's ring tone, Ludwig shot his hand out with lightning speed to grab the phone and touch the screen in order to answer. "Bruder, is everything okay?"
The voice that came through sounded anything but okay. As his brother shouted into the phone, not in anger at least, Ludwig could feel his own heart rate start to speed up because of the obvious panic in that usually calm voice. "West! I lost Birdie! I turned away for like, a minute, and he disappeared!"
Granted, he had no idea who this "Birdie" was... "Slow down. Who's missing? What happened?"
"Birdie! Err – Canada! He's gone! And right after I promised I would protect him!"
Even though he could feel the panic, he did not understand and so he blinked and tried to stay calm and rational as he focused on getting information out of his upset brother. "Wait, what do you mean he's gone? Where are you?"
"That's just it! I don't know! I mean, I'm at some park that's a little ways from his house but that's pretty much it!"
"Oh, so he's just lost in park?" Really, bruder, why are you freaking out? Just because you two got separated... "Why don't you stand still at an entrance and see if he shows up."
"I don't think so, West. Why would he get lost? He's obviously been here a lot!"
Germany sighed. I didn't mean that he was lost; I meant that you were probably lost. But I didn't want to hurt your pride in saying that...
Beside him, Italy shifted. "What's wrong, Germany?"
Shifting the phone from his mouth, Ludwig turned to Italy to respond to him. "Canada's gone missing."
"West, what do I do?" Prussia yelled into the phone.
At the same time as Italy tensed. "Wait...What kind of missing?"
He narrowed his eyes at Italy's statement. "What do you mean 'what kind of missing'?"
"West?" Prussia's voice came again, but Germany ignored it.
There was something he had to know, something that Italy knew that he was forgetting. "Well, I mean, remember that ordeal with Australia?"
Wait, what? "...that ordeal with Australia?" Germany repeated, ignoring the whining of his brother coming from the phone.
"Si. You know. When those activists kidnapped him..." Suddenly realization dawned on him, but Italy wasn't done. "It took a few years to get him back from them."
"Years?" He repeated, feeling his mouth go dry, now understanding Prussia's plight and panic. "Bruder!" He snapped into the phone. "How long has Canada been missing?"
"A few minutes...why?"
"I'll explain when I get there," Germany said, standing up, resting the phone on his shoulder as he started to walk around the room, needing to walk to get the worry out of his pent-up legs. He'd already made the decision to fly over and help his brother find the missing Canadian. If things were really as bad as they could be...then they had to move fast. "For now, just stay in the vicinity and keep your eyes peeled for suspicious people."
"Right," Prussia said into the phone, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I'll be right here – next to the lake."
Like I know where that is...whatever...if it helps him calm down...
"Good. I'll call you when I get across the ocean. Do what you can, but don't do anything crazy, understand?"
He could hear his brother huff over the phone, obviously insulted that Germany would come to such a conclusion but he didn't comment on it. "Fine. You better hurry your ass over here."
Ludwig nodded even if Gilbert couldn't see him. "I'll be there as soon as I can," he reassured before hanging up and turning to his Italian, who was standing up and staring at him, hopping from foot to foot as he waited for Germany to explain. "I got Prussia waiting; I doubt he'll stay still long. Canada's missing and we need to look for him. Who else needs to know?"
Concise. To the point. Italy smiled and then dropped it to a frown as he nodded. "S-si...America needs to know. And I'm coming with you!" The smaller nation said as he rushed over and grabbed Germany's hand in his own.
With a smile, Ludwig squeezed back. "I knew you would." With his free hand, he opened the phone, scrolled down to America's number, and then hesitated.
"Germany? Is something wrong?"
"I was just thinking...What if America blames Prussia? I might want to wait until I'm closer so he doesn't do something to make things worse." He could already imagine the brash youthful brother of Canada colliding with his brother. The product was not a happy one.
Italy nodded. "Si, that makes sense." Before anything else could be said, his Italian started tugging on his hand, leading him to the bedroom. "Come on. We need to pack and get going."
Yes, we need to hurry. Bruder, please don't do anything too crazy...
~!~
It was dark when they finally arrived. The air was cold and it smelled like an open forest – pine or oak or something tree. Italy didn't really know how to distinguish the different scents of certain trees. It just reminded him of a forest instead of a small town, like it was a place that couldn't decide if it wanted to be out in the country or part of a city. There was even the sound of owls and other night creatures, and he was sure he'd seen a bat flying around as they were driving out here – even if Germany had sighed and shaken his head as if he was being silly again.
Now, they had arrived at the driveway to the Canadian house, which seemed small yet homey. Plain yet beautiful in its simple design. A few modest steps beckoned from the gravel walkway, leading to a porch or veranda or whatever-it-was-called that stretched around the front of the house, covered with a simple screen, probably to catch the insects. There was a porch swing off to the side and something else hunched by the front door.
Italy frowned as he stood by the street, waiting for Germany to pay the taxi driver. It was dark in the house. No lights reflected from any of the windows. And it was quiet. Which made everything feel very...off...
Wasn't Prussia supposed to be here? Why would all the lights be off? Wouldn't Prussia have been waiting for them? He could not imagine what Germany would have been like had he gone missing, but -
Then again, it wasn't like Prussia and Canada's relationship was anything like his and Germany's. He was probably hoping for too much when he tried to force them together. Yet Prussia had called for help when Canada went missing. There must be something between them then, right?
Germany groaned behind him. "I really hope he's not roaming around the town."
So, his German lover had come to the same conclusion. Where was Prussia if not in the house? Chewing his bottom lip, Feliciano reached out and grabbed Ludwig's hand, gripping hard for a second before relaxing. He was worried.
"I don't really blame him," he said, shuddering at the thought of him being the one missing, wrapping around Germany's arm at the very thought.
Ludwig pulled his arm free of the grip, making Italy's heart beat fast, and then the arm was wrapped around his waist and he relaxed. Germany would protect him. Of course Germany would protect him. Why was he worried?
Oh, poor Canada. I hope he's okay...wherever he is...
They walked together up the driveway, turning at the little gravel walkway, adding to the night sounds with their boots crunch-crunch-crunching against the rocks. By the time they'd reached the cover of the porch, Italy had calmed down and had changed his worry for himself over to worry for Canada, wondering how strong the nearly-invisible western nation was when it came to such things, wondering how strong anyone could be when it came to nation-napping. How had the experience changed Australia? What would it do to Canada?
"...Bruder?"
At Germany's disbelieving question, Italy forced his thoughts and eyesight to the here-and-now. He found himself staring at a pair of red eyes gleaming in the darkness. As he blinked, he began to realize that the huddled form he had seen beside the door...
"Hey, West. Glad to see you made it."
"Prussia!" Italy exclaimed, feeling his eyes widen to see the albino ex-nation sitting hunched over against the door, eyes seemingly distant. "Are you all right? Why are you just sitting out here?"
A bottle was raised into the air and then pressed to the albino's lips. Italy blinked when he realized what it was. Beer. Prussia was drinking – had been drinking if the slur in his next response was anything to go by.
"Already searched the whole damn town. No one's seen nothing or heard nothing or even suspicious looking. Nice perfect little town." The Prussian let out a bark of laughter, making Feliciano wince because it sounded hoarse and forced and so fake. And Prussia hadn't even said something funny. Red eyes glanced up, eyelids dropping slightly. "'sides, I did wait by the lake like you told me to...Got too fucking cold so I had to walk. Decided to do some investigatin'..."
He tensed, both at Prussia's words and tone of voice and at the fact that Germany had dropped his arm. He reached over and gripped Ludwig's hand, squeezing to keep himself from trembling. Seeing Prussia in such a state...a sad, depressed drunk instead of happy and insane... It was... "A-and? What did you find?"
It was...
...wrong.
"He's fucked. I'm fucked." Italy winced at the words but continued to stare as the Prussian spread his arms out. "We're all fucked!"
Gilbert pulled himself to his feet, wobbling a little bit before leaning over, putting an arm on Italy's shoulder and another arm on Germany's, his red eyes glancing between the two of them. When he spoke next, Italy could practically smell the alcohol and he did not like the way that familiar grin twitched.
"Kesese...nation-nappers...that means everyone but me." Italy breathed as Prussia turned his attention to Germany, getting right up in his brother's face. "You better watch out. They're serious."
It took a moment for Ludwig to respond and when he did it was full of disbelief. "You're drunk."
Prussia barked another laugh as he pulled back. "Me? Drunk? Kesese ~ That's hilarious. I'll have to remember that one."
Wincing, Italy stared at the ground, not liking the state of Ludwig's inebriated brother. "Prussia...maybe you should go inside."
"Go inside? Why? Canada's not in there." Feliciano looked up at Gilbert's words just in time to watch him take another chug from the beer bottle.
Thankfully, Germany seemed to have snapped into the reality of the situation. "Feli has the right idea, bruder. You're not going to accomplish anything out here, especially not while you're drunk."
Nodding, Italy stepped forward and reached for the beer bottle as if he could swipe it from the drunk Prussian. "You really shouldn't be drinking anymore. What would Canada say?"
To his distress, Prussia managed to keep the bottle away from his trying-to-be-helpful hand. Gilbert stepped away, too, until his back was up against the front door and his eyes were glaring at the both of them. "Hah! You can't tell a Prussian to stop drinking! I am the Great Prussia! I do what I want!"
As he frowned, Ludwig stepped forward to force control on the situation. The larger German brother managed to grab the bottle and started fighting the albino for it. Though Gilbert was still trying to wrap his mouth around the damn thing. "I'm afraid Feli has a point," Germany said as he fought to pull the pale fingers from the glass. When he was finally successful, he turned and tossed the bottle to Italy. "Put this some place where he can't get it."
While Prussia complained and whined and growled some obscenities at his brother – clearly not happy at being torn from his alcohol – Italy caught the beer bottle and immediately found a trashcan to toss it in. No one could get to it if it was thrown away. He turned back to the German brothers in time to see Gilbert slung over Ludwig's shoulder, throwing a childish tantrum even as the stronger of the two kept him pinned.
Rushing over, Italy opened the front door so Ludwig could find somewhere to dump the drunk and struggling Prussian. "Is he going to be all right, Germany?"
Indignantly, Prussia growled. "Of course I'm all right – I'm fucking Prussia!"
"And you've had way too much to drink," Germany responded quickly with a sigh, dropping his brother on the couch.
"Not...possible..." Prussia slurred, tipping over as if he were trying to stand up and only succeeded in lying down on the sofa. Another curse rose from the man's lips but it was hushed and the red eyes closed and soon the albino stopped moving altogether, having passed out from too much alcohol consumption.
Ludwig turned to face Italy, worry on his face clearly marked by the frown and furrowed brows. "I want to say he's been through worse, but I've never ever seen him drunk like this."
Italy frowned and grabbed his German lover's hand. "He's probably going through a lot. I mean, what would you do if it happened to me?"
The response was almost instant. "Don't even speak of such a thing, Italein. I cannot imagine. You know I'd tear into every possibility in order to uncover the mystery."
"I know, but still – it could happen. You know it's not too difficult for people to capture me."
"Yeah..." Germany drifted off and Italy let himself cling to him, hugging him tight.
After a moment, he whispered, "We need to find Canada soon. He's probably really scared." If Canada is anything like me...he's probably terrified...
"Right," Ludwig breathed, "But where do we start? If he has already searched the whole town -"
"I-I don't know," Italy muttered, hiding his face in Germany's shirt. "Maybe they left town." He breathed in the scent of his German lover, catching the musky smell of sweat, probably caused from his worry. After a moment, he looked up. "We still need to tell America and England."
Germany hummed his response but pulled back a little and reached for his phone.
~!~
England was washing dishes. After all, if he was not allowed to cook the least he could do was clean up. America was in the other room. From the sound of it, he was playing some video game, shouting at "noobs" in one breath and laughing and carrying on the next. He wasn't sure what game Alfred was playing now, but it never interested England one bit. He would never understand Al's obsession with the war-based games. Did he not get enough of that in the real wars? Or was it always a game to him?
He sighed and shook his head, pushing the thought to the side as he set another dish on the counter to be dried. Not having a working dishwasher annoyed America, but Arthur was quite used to technology failing to work around him. Magic tended to mess with things in the oddest ways, after all.
Humming to himself, he didn't notice the cell phone ring going off right away. It wasn't until silence filled the room and he heard America's shout from the other room that he realized what had happened. "Hey, Iggy! Isn't that your phone?"
Trying not to blush, he huffed and shouted back. "Yes it is...Don't call me that!"
"Whatever, dude!" America laughed before turning his game volume back on and returning to his little pretend world.
England rolled his eyes but reached for his phone, "Hello? This is Arthur."
"Hello, Arthur. This is Ludwig. Feli and I are at Matthew's place and we have some...bad news."
At the knowledge and list of names, England immediately felt his body tense up in warning. Something bad had happened. Something dealing with Matthew and Gilbert. Bloody hell, but he was thankful Germany had called him instead of America first.
As his brow furrowed, he set the dishes to the side and sat down in the closest wooden kitchen chair. "I'm listening."
He could hear the German gulp through the phone. Something really bad... Tensing up, Arthur bit his lip to keep from exclaiming too loudly when he heard whatever was coming. "A few hours ago, I got a call from Gilbert informing us that Matthew had gone missing. And to make matters worse, it seems to have been a purposeful nation grab."
Feeling a shudder rush down his spine, England sat up straighter and forced his serious business mood into his voice. "I'll tell America and we'll be right over. Don't try anything until I get there."
Ludwig let out a relieved breath. "Good. Okay, I'll work at keeping Gil sober."
"What?" Arthur exclaimed before he could stop himself, slapping a hand over his mouth before continuing. "He got himself drunk?" He whispered in a tight voice before groaning. "Alfred is not going to be happy one bit."
"Iggy?" He cursed, looking up to see Alfred hanging in the doorway. "What happened?"
Before he could respond, Germany continued the conversation, having no idea that America had just shown up in the room. "Yeah. Just try to keep him calm. I have a feeling their meeting is not going to go well."
He snorted. That was an understatement. "Of course it's not. These are the two most egotistical beings we are talking about."
As America tilted his head and stepped closer, Germany sighed through the phone. "And I thought they could get along because of their similarities. Anyway, just do what you can. Should we expect you in the morning sometime?"
"Yeah. Sometime in the morning," Arthur confirmed before hanging the phone up and meeting the curious, worried blue gaze of his boyfriend. "Alfred, you have to promise to stay calm."
The eyes widened and hands slammed into the table as he leaned over and exclaimed. "It's Matthew, isn't it?"
Arthur groaned. America never listened to him. Putting a hand to his head in preparation for the headache, he sighed, "Yes. It appears he's been -"
~!~
Sitting down in the armchair next to the couch with Italy in his lap, Germany set the phone on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around his lover. "This was not at all how this was supposed to happen," he muttered.
Italy trembled and sighed sadly. "I never meant to put him in danger. This is all my fault, Germany. If I didn't get jealous then -"
Feeling alarmed that his Italian could even be blaming himself, Ludwig reacted quickly and pressed a single finger to the lovely lips, successfully making him quiet. "Don't blame yourself. This is definitely not your fault." When Feliciano looked away from him as if not believing him, Ludwig grabbed his arms and leaned down to put his eyes on level with his Italian's face. "Feli, look at me." When Italy did as requested, Germany met the gaze and held him. "This. Is not. Your fault."
He nearly cursed when Feliciano started to tear up. "But...I practically forced him out of the house. And if Prussia didn't come over here, then...I don't know..." The brunette's head came down and buried itself in Germany's shirt, as if trying to hide.
With a sigh, Germany let him cry and opted to just hold him close. "Seriously, Italy, it was time for him to get out of the house anyway, and you had a great idea. Sometimes things just turn out badly and it's no one's fault."
"But," Italy sniffed. "How can it be no one's fault? That doesn't make any sense, Germany!"
"Well, uh, it doesn't solve anything to blame yourself or anyone else for that matter."
Which was true. It didn't solve anything to place blame.
Thankfully, Italy understood and took the comforting words this time, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. "I guess not." His Italian's eyes met with his again. "But what are we going to do? Canada's only the beginning!"
"Hm?" Germany tilted his head. "How is Canada only the beginning?"
"Why would they stop with him? If they have already successfully captured one nation, what's going to stop them from capturing another?" Italy seemed about ready to panic, even though he was sitting in Germany's lap and completely safe right now.
"Are you saying it's more than an isolated incident?" For a moment, Ludwig pondered the thought, wishing he had paid more attention to this one-world-government movement, wishing he knew more about Australia's incident. "Oh, Gott, what if it is?" He whispered and pulled Italy close to him, clinging tightly, possessively. "I will not let you out of my sight."
"Grazie, Germany, for always being there to protect me."
Ludwig smiled and then yawned. "You're welcome," he whispered, closing his eyes as he began to rub the back of his little Italian as soothingly as possible.
Sleep was not long in coming. It had been a busy day, after all. Filled with emotional roller-coasters. Dreams were not pleasant that night, for any of them.
~!~
A/N: Hey, another 5,000-word chapter. And so many point-of-view characters! Hope you managed to keep up with all of them.
Kairi: Italy is in Germany's lap, yay~! Glad you fixed my little obsession with that xD (For these other peeps, let's just say in the RP I put Ita in Germany's lap every single chance I got. … which I admit is a little overkill. Nyon~)
Reviewer Replies:((I think I'm going to start replying via the website, at least for those that have accounts; it's easier and quicker.))
Wolfie338: A lot of stuff is about to happen. Stuff, yes. I'm glad you like where it's going. Yay~
BlueRavenQuill: Nice catching the foreshadowing and uh...as far as Gil getting there in time...well...we saw how that turned out...Thanks for the review :) Hope you continue to enjoy!
brattyteenagewerewolf: I already sent you a reply to figure out what you said, lol. I like seeing other languages, honestly, I just need a translation haha ~
Kairi: you...
person: yes. Yes it does. Sowwy. Got to the suspense and drama now for sure. And action soon to follow...
Brakenpelt: The sad thing is I would probably just as easily get led away...I've been so lucky in my life, it's not even funny. Thanks for the review! Glad you like it :D
usukfan555: Thanks! I love the fluff and I'm glad it's loved by others too! Makes me happy to hear that~
Sami199: I know. Someone should tell that to such innocent-minded people. I'm sorry that cliffhangers make you sad. I hate them as a reader, as well, but as an author it's so much fun! Thanks for your review :)
IAmACat: lol "how to kidnap the naïve 101" Canada should totally know better but he's too nice to decline help...Aw Prussia playing tag was a last minute decision. Glad it came over as cute :D
Hatora Tomoen: Gosh, so demanding ;P And yeah, Mattie should have totally just given directions and not followed him but ah ~ what can you do with the naïve, really? Thanks for your review! ^_^
TheWeirdLittleSister: Thanks for the review. I'm glad it's coming off as adorable. I try so hard ~ And I hope this update is soon enough, lol.
~~Thanks for all reviews/alerts/favorites; I appreciate them all – 100 alerts wow!~~
~Reda
