A quick author's note!

Okay, I swear I've been working on my other Hetalia fanfic, the one about the rise and fall of Hitler? My less-popular fanfic, Troubled Souls in WWII. Sorry I haven't gotten a new chapter out, I've been researching it a lot. I swear it isn't discontinued!

Thanks!


Ah, sun-flower! Weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the Sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime,
Where the traveller's journey is done;

Where the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my sun-flower wishes to go.

Ah! Sun-Flower, ~William Blake

Canciones (Songs):
Listen To the Rain, Evanescence
Somebody to Love, Anne Hathaway
Silent Sanctuary, Maala Mo Sana


Russia blinked, surprised. America had called him 'Vanya'. Perhaps he was not sure what it meant? No, America knew. Russia was sure of it. He looked down at the man asleep next to him, leaning against his shoulder again. Smiling, Russia remembered that America could act so very child-like at times. Russia checked his watch, and saw that they still had two hours to go.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but Russia was woken by the plane touching down, rising once in the air again before landing a final time. His back hurt; he had been sitting in the same position for hours, his neck at an odd angle. America, of course, was still sleeping, unfazed by the plane's abrupt landing. He didn't seem to care that as the plane slowed, they were being pressed forward into their seat belts. Russia let him sleep a few minutes more as the plane pulled up to a gate and waited for the pilots to turn off the seat-belt-sign. There was a ding when the little light, featuring two hands holding an outline of a seat belt together, went out. Everyone simultaneously stood up, talking and turning on cell phones.

Yeah, we landed, and, we haven't gotten off the plane yet, mom, could be heard throughout the aircraft, along with conversations taking place in Russian. When the flight attendants opened the doors, Russia decided to wake America. He shook him gently by the shoulder, noting how America didn't seem to want to wake.

"Alfred, get up," he whispered,

"Mmmngh…" was all America groaned, burying his face in Russia's arm, eyes shutting tighter. Russia laughed softly.

"Alfred," he said. "We're here." America sat up instantly, looking out the window in eagerness. Russia smiled at America's sudden change of heart; he would have to remember that for other times when the American was being difficult. Wait…other times? When was he expecting to be visiting America in the morning, before he was awake? Russia shook his head, trying to clear it of strange thoughts that he would have for later, and went back to watching America.

It was snowy, America noticed. Scratch that, make it very snowy. America could barely see the airport itself under its blanket of snow. The sky was grey with clouds, and the wind was whipping the snow around, making it swirl and dance in the air.

"Wow," America said. "It's so pretty."

"It truly is, da?" Russia said, smiling. It was the first time that he had seen the snow as something other than misery incarnate. With America, the snow was transformed into something beautiful and wondrous. Turning to America, he could see that he wasn't lying about liking it. America's turquoise eyes were wide, like an owl's, and his lips were shaped in a wide smile as he looked out at the snowy palace, which was really only an airport terminal.

"Vanya, the plane?" America reminded him, smirking as Russia's face turned slightly red; why was America referring to him so affectionately? And how did he know what the appellation for 'Ivan' was, in the first place? But, when Russia checked, America was right, for almost all the passengers had departed from the plane. Russia followed America out into the aisle, grabbing their bags from the overhead bins and setting off. America walked quickly, eager to get off the plane.

"I don't think I've ever sat still for six hours before," America commented. "Unless I was sleeping, but still." Russia smiled.

"It was a rather long flight," he replied. "Which way to the baggage claim?" he asked once they had stepped into the airport. There were long, wide windows forming the walls, giving an incredible view unto the snow, swirling down from the sky like fluff off a dandelion in the summer, much like those in that field that America had led them to just a few days before.

"You mean you don't know?" America asked, alarmed. "You know my Russian is horrible!"

"Yes, I know. This is why I am making you practice. Practice makes perfect, da? If I were not here, how would you find baggage claim?" Russia said.

"I would find someone who speaks English," America answered promptly. Russia sighed, remembering that the nation was also stubborn.

"Suppose no one speaks English. Please at least tell me that you can sound out the words?" Russia said, pointing upwards to a sign suspended from the ceiling. There were little pictures, indicating the places that were printed on beside them in Russian.

"Uh," America stalled, looking up at the first line. "V-vannye…komnaty?" he sounded out. He looked at Russia for confirmation.

"Unless you are looking for the bathrooms, not yet," Russia said, smiling. America groaned and looked back up at the sign.

"My neck's starting to hurt," he grumbled. "Okay, so the next one says, eh…b-bagazha?"

Russia clapped once. "Very good," he praised. America beamed, delighted with himself. "But now what are you going to do?"

America's smile froze, then dropped. "Ask you where it is?" he said, knowing it was the wrong answer. He knew Russia was only trying to help him, but it was slightly frustrating when all he really wanted to do was go explore.

"Remember, I'm not here. So what are you going to do?" Russia said again.

"Why am I here, in Russia, all alone, anyway?" America asked curiously. Russia hesitated, wondering the same thing himself. He could only really think of how America looked slightly attractive with his head cocked to the side, azure eyes drifting to glance out the windows every so often. Russia mentally kicked himself in the head. Such strange thoughts…

"Er, never mind," Russia decided. "You're supposed to follow the arrows, see?" He pointed to the large green arrow signs above. America followed where it was pointing with his eyes, then with his body.

"Come on, Vanya!" he said, beckoning. "I think it's this way!" Russia nodded in agreement, following America down the halls. When they reached baggage claim, Lithuania was waiting for them, having already gotten their bags.

"Lithuania!" America said, clapping the nation on the back. "Great to see you again!"

"It's good to see you too, America," Lithuania replied, smiling. Russia remembered that Lithuania had been living with America for a while before the Great Depression. He felt a sudden surge of jealousy; why did America have to be so damned pleased to see Lithuania? Russia tried to clear his head, for he had no reason for feeling that way, no right to feel that envious of the pair's friendship. He and America already had one—a strong one, too—so he tried to banish those ideas from his mind as he approached America and Lithuania.

"Good morning, Russia," Lithuania said, smiling confidently. Russia was with America. He was completely fine now, and would be as long as America stayed. Lithuania tried not to laugh at the looks that America was throwing Russia; the Russian may have been ignorant of his own feelings, but America most certainly wasn't.

"Good morning, Lithuania," Russia greeted with a grin. "Thank you for retrieving our bags."

Lithuania nodded. "No problem. Let's go; Estonia's got the car waiting out front." He smiled widely as he said to America, "We're your own personal chauffeurs for the day, taking you anywhere you want to go."

"Oh, cool!" America said happily. "I want to go see everywhere!"

"Well, we will have to set our bags back home first," Russia said reasonably. America rolled his eyes. "Then we can go anywhere you like," Russia promised.

"Fine, we'll make a quick stop at your house," America said, grinning. "But drive slowly; I want to see stuff!"

Russia just laughed and followed Lithuania to the pick-up area of the airport. The moment they stepped outside, America was hit in the face with snow. He spluttered and wiped off Texas on his sleeve, only to be blinded with more snow after a second.

"Sorry," Russia said, his head already down. "I forgot to warn you. You should duck your head against the snow, so it doesn't get in your face. Da, Lithuania?"

"Yeah, Russia's right," Lithuania. He had previously put his head down, only looking where he was going from under his hood, which was nearly covering his eyes. "It's also useful because you can look at your feet, so you don't slip on the ice."

"Okay!" America said agreeably. He began to stare at his shoes, and found that it was indeed a better way of getting around in the snow. He could feel it seeping through his own hood and dampening his hair, melting, and drops of freezing water running down the sides of his face. But looking down at the ground at the smushed snow with footprints indented in it quickly became boring. America glanced up in the hopes of seeing something. What he saw was more snow in his eyes. He went back to looking at the ground as he walked again and only looked up to get into the car, the black paint of which was dripping with snow, icicles having formed on the bottom. Russia climbed in next to him as America shook his head, flipping snow bits off his hair.

"Hi Estonia!" America said to the driver. Estonia gave him a quick smile in the rear-view mirror.

"Hello America," he said. "Where to, Russia?" he asked to the man beside America.

"Home for a moment, so we can unload our bags," Russia said. Estonia started the car, thankfully turning on the heat. America smiled when he could finally look at stuff outside without unwillingly eating snow.

"Wow, what's that, Vanya?" America asked, pointing out the window. Estonia and Lithuania glanced at each other, smiling. They made sure not to let Russia see their smirks as he glanced over to what America was pointing at.

"That is a church," Russia confirmed as they passed it. The ornate, colorful building was America's object of fascination for all of two more seconds before he lost sight of it in the snow. If he looked hard enough, the circular domes on top with their bright-colored patterns could still be seen through the haze.

"It's so big," America said, causing Lithuania to bite his lip to keep from laughing, various "that's what she said" jokes circulating through his mind. He needed to stop thinking like that, but it was better than his usual depressing thoughts, so he just let it continue.

"Yes, churches in Russia are widely known for their size and colors," Russia said, watching America with amusement. America's eyes were wide again, like a cat's in the dark as he tried to see everything outside at once. "We will be coming back, you know," Russia told him. "There's no need to see everything now."

"I know, but it's fun!" America said, and kept staring out the windows. Russia grinned and let him, glancing up to Lithuania and Estonia just as the two hid their entertained expressions.

At one point, America caught sight of something interesting out of the opposite window, and practically climbed into Russia's lap to see it better. Russia arched an eyebrow, but didn't try to get America off him. Instead, he jokingly flicked America lightly on the head, reminding him that later, he could see things for as long as wanted. By that time, Lithuania had to turn to his window to keep the two in the backseat from seeing his silent laughter. Even stoic Estonia was trying not to smile as he pulled up to their house. Latvia came out, beaming and offering to carry their luggage in.

"Nice to see you again, Latvia," America said as they trudged up the walkway. "Or, well, it would be, if I actually could see you." He had forgotten to lower his head when he exited the car, and had gotten a face full of snow as a rebuke.

"It's nice to see you, too, America," Latvia said, holding the door open for the other three. "How are you?"
"I'm great! I can't wait to go see stuff," he said, nudging Russia in a very non-subtle way. Russia sighed, half exasperated and half amused by America's impatience.

"As soon as we put our bags down, then we can go wherever you want," he said for what must have been the eightieth time that day. But he just couldn't be angry with the American; his child-like manner was just barely more endearing than obnoxious.

"So, now?" America said. "Or is there something else we need to do?"

"We just need to get the bags to our rooms," Russia said. "It will take all of maybe thirty seconds."

"Oh, I can do that," Latvia said cheerfully. "You guys can go; I'll get the bags."

"Thank you Raivis," Russia said, smiling at the younger nation. "We will be back in a few hours." Latvia nodded and began hauling their bags upstairs as the other four left. It was easy to tell whose was whose; America's bag was emblazoned with a large American flag, and his luggage tag was labeled 'hero'. Latvia still wondered why Lithuania and Estonia thought there was something going on between Russia and America; he couldn't see it. So what if America was visiting Russia and staying in his house? France and England did that all the time. Well, mostly just France while England was sleeping. Oh, Latvia thought. Maybe that was why. It certainly would explain why England looked perpetually angry. Shrugging, he went back to dragging the baggage up the staircase.


A/N: Yay! Sorry this took longer than usual, but this bit took longer to write. I had a brief bout with my OCD problem. Nothing serious, but it makes it hard for me to concentrate on anything that isn't cleaning or rearranging my books, so it might take a little while for the next chapter to be written.

Reviews? Suggestions? Oh, and there's a poll on my profile, which I'd like people to answer for me. It won't change my mind on what I've got in mind, but it'll be nice for me to see what people want. So far, two people have voted, and it's a tie. Which isn't exactly helpful. :)