Chapter 5
Magnus groaned and pressed his forehead against the rough stone of his apartment building, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Verdammt... Of all the days to forget his keys...
He sighed and pushed away from the apartment, his eyes sweeping the streets in front of him for any sign of Marc or Saichi. It was already well past the time that they usually got off work... Had they worked late again? Verdammt...
An image of Katerina's pleading expression sprang up in his mind, making him flinch. He hastily pushed the image away, only to have it replaced with Francisco's hurt expression, with the kind smiles of an auburn-haired man and a blond man with bright blue eyes...
Verdammt... Why won't they leave me alone?
Magnus glanced back in the direction of the fight club and bit his lip. Had he been wrong to leave...? Maybe... Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad to meet his parents... Besides, what had he been thinking, leaving Francisco and Katerina alone with those... nations. Francisco was notorious for making dumb decisions without really thinking, and Katerina was too naïve to look out for herself..
I shouldn't have left... not like that... But then, how do I get back?
Would it be too much to hope that they were still there, at the club? Maybe- Maybe he could at least try and track them down... Apologize for his behavior... Maybe...
Magnus gave a sigh of defeat and turned away from the apartment building. He paused for a moment, guilt rising within him as he thought about Saichi and Marc. Should he wait for them? Explain what was going on? Ask them if they wanted to come too? But... If he waited for them to come back, would he miss the others?
"I'll leave them a note," he decided aloud. "Then..."
Well, he didn't know what would happen after that.
XXX
Saichi Cassandra Honda-Karpusi slowly made her way home from the bar that she had spent most of the day working at, her eyelids lowered sleepily over her moss-green eyes. She stumbled over a broken part of the sidewalk, a small smile flickering across her lips when she felt Marc's slim hand catch her arm and gently pull her to his side. Saichi sighed and stiffened instinctively as Marc ran a hand through her messy black hair, her lips tightening in an effort to hide her smile.
"Personal space, Marc-kun," she reminded him quietly.
Marc shrugged and flashed her a mischievous grin, his violet eyes unusually soft, despite the weariness that was etched into his features.
"Non (No)," he chuckled. "I like this position."
Saichi rolled her eyes. "What if Katerina-kun and Achilles-kun see us?" she asked casually.
Marc shrugged and winced sheepishly. "I'm sure that they already know... Nothing is a secret for very long in our home..."
Saichi chuckled, her smile fading when she saw something white pinned to the door of their apartment building. "...Is that Magnus-kun's handwriting?"
Marc frowned and strode forward, his hands leaving their positions around Saichi's shoulders and head. Saichi bit her lip at the loss of his presence and followed close behind him, her brow furrowing when she saw the horrified expression on Marc's face.
"Marc?" she called warily. "それは何ですか？(What is it?)"
Marc shook his head slowly, horror giving way to anger and worry.
"Magnus... he said that they have found someone who knows where are parents are," he said slowly, his purple aura rising around him with a vengeance. "They are going with that person to find our parents tomorrow, at the... United Nations? Pourquoi diable vont-ils là? (Why the hell are they going there?)"
Saichi frowned. "What shall we do, go after them?"
Marc nodded and stuffed the note unceremoniously into his pocket. He glanced up at the sky, his expression darkening when he saw the first hints of pink spreading across the horizon.
"We'll need to take the train," he mused, already planning ahead. "A taxi would be too expensive..."
"How will we get in?" Saichi asked. She hesitated for a moment before guiding Marc into the apartment building. "We'll need to change clothes first... We can pick up food on the way, I suppose..."
Marc simply nodded, allowing himself to be lead into their small apartment. Saichi glanced at him over her shoulder, her expression nervous.
"What?" she asked quietly.
Marc shrugged and glanced down at his feet, his violet eyes dark with guilt. "I... I guess I failed them, didn't I?"
Saichi paused and stared at the Canadian, her hand tightening around his arm.
"Wha- No! How can you say-?"
Marc shrugged, his eyes closing wearily. "I made us wait to go looking for our parents... and now they've gone without us, with some stranger. If I had listened to you, we could have- they would be with us, and we wouldn't have to worry..."
Saichi sighed and reached out to stroke the edge of Marc's jaw in an uncharacteristic gesture of affection. Marc blinked in surprise and looked up at the Japanese girl, his cheeks reddening slightly when he saw her comforting smile.
"It will be alright, Marc-kun," she whispered. "I don't blame you for waiting, and neither will they. Now come on, we need to hurry if we want to catch the train..."
Marc nodded and allowed Saichi to continue dragging him to their apartment, his hand tightening around hers.
XXX
Achilles Taiyou Honda-Karpusi frowned when he was awakened by a rough shove to his shoulder, only to have the expression disappear the moment he opened his eyes to see Cielo standing over him, a half-hearted glare on the fourteen-year-old's olive-toned face.
"Despierta (Wake up), bastard," Cielo muttered, red blooming in his thin cheeks when Achilles sleepily tugged at a lock of his dark-brown hair. "W-what the hell? We don't have time for you to act like a fucking weirdo!"
Achilles chuckled and pulled himself to his feet before Cielo could kick him. He glanced around the bathroom that he and the others had spent the night in, his brown eyes taking in the scene playing out around him.
Francisco was attempting to wake up a reluctant Alyson, a small smile appearing on the Italian's features when she began to whine about fairies. Achilles caught himself wondering when Alyson would break down and tell Francisco that she was in love with him... It would be interesting to see...
Katerina was also up, her violet eyes narrowed in concentration behind her glasses as she ran her fingers through her golden-blonde hair, trying to push the silky locks back into place before she slipped her red-and-white headband onto her head. The albino nation, Prussia, was watching her with raised eyebrows, obviously amused at her efforts.
"Your hair looks fine, kid," the Prussian chuckled. "Unlike America's kid... Damn, she definitely inherited England's hair..."
Alyson shot Gilbert an icy glare and hastily ran a hand through her long, tangled hair. She winced as her fingers ran into numerous knots and hastily pulled the hair back into its usual ponytail. Francisco laughed quietly and turned to Prussia, his blue eyes tightening.
"Ve... Are we ready to head out, then?" Francisco asked quietly.
Prussia frowned and glanced around the room, his scarlet eyes hesitant. "...Ich denke (I guess). Is anyone else-?"
"Lo dudo, (I doubt it)" Cielo broke in from behind Achilles. "Marc and Saichi won't be coming for us unless Magnus told them... We'd be better off just going now."
Katerina frowned at that but nodded reluctantly. Achilles and Alyson agreed quietly.
Prussia sighed and opened the door to the bathroom, his eyes widening when he saw a figure slumped against the wall outside of the door. "What the hell... neffe (nephew)?"
Magnus started and blinked up at Prussia with bleary eyes, his gaze flickering over Gilbert's shoulder as Francisco and Katerina appeared in the doorway, their faces brightening in relief.
"Ja..." he muttered. "I... decided to come back... I'm sorry for my behavior earlier... It was inexcusable."
Prussia laughed and clapped Magnus on the shoulder as the German boy got to his feet, causing Magnus to flinch. "Kesesese~ Es ist in Ordnung, neffe (It's okay, nephew). Now c'mon, we need to get going if we're going to get to the UN before the meeting starts... Trust me, you do not want to break in there in the middle of one of West's speeches... Or Russia... Mein Gott (My God), that bastard is scary... No offense, Katerina."
Magnus stared blankly at the Prussian, his eyebrows disappearing into his auburn hair as the albino hurried past him and out the door of the bar. He grunted as Francisco pulled him immediately into a tight hug, a reluctant smile making its way to his lips.
"Hey, bruder," he chuckled.
"Ve~ I knew you would come back, fratello! Now we get to meet them together! Ve~! This will be so fun! Ve~!"
"Will you please shut the hell up?" Cielo groaned. The younger boy brushed past twins with Achilles and Alyson at his side, his thin lips quirking upwards into an unconscious grin. "Mio Dio (My God), how the hell am I supposed to survive in a car with you bastards?"
Francisco merely giggled and began to pull Magnus after the trio. Magnus sighed and gently detached himself from his brother's grip, his blue eyes flickering towards the violet-eyed girl that was still standing in the doorway.
Katerina smiled shyly at him and started to follow the others, her feet pausing just in front of Magnus.
"R-ready to g-go?" she asked quietly.
Magnus nodded and moved to her side. "I- I'm sorry for what I said, Kat."
Katerina shrugged, her eyes darkening at the mention of their last conversation. "Это нормально (It's okay). I u-understand why... I-I w-was mad at them, t-too, a-at first. W-when things were s-so awful at t-the orphanage... I w-wondered why they had left me alone... w-why they hadn't f-found me yet... i-if they didn't w-want me..."
Magnus glanced at her in surprise, his ice-blue eyes widening. "You never told us that... I thought that you always believed in your parents..."
Katerina shrugged, her cheeks reddening slightly as she flashed him a sheepish grin. "Y-you all had so much to w-worry about. I d-didn't th-think my own problems were t-that important..."
"How did you get over it?" Magnus asked quietly as they left the bar. He wondered vaguely how they were going to get to the United Nations, then decided that he didn't really care at the moment. "You know... the anger, the betrayal."
Katerina shrugged again. "I-I don't know... I g-guess I realized that I would rather have parents who m-made a few mistakes, then c-continue with no parents at all."
Magnus was silent as they followed the rest of the group into the nearly-empty parking lot. He frowned when Prussia stopped next to a nondescript black mini-van, his lips twitching with the effort of not smiling as the albino pouted and kicked at one of the tires.
"Verdammt," Prussia groaned. "I hate this car... Figures Francis would send this... Ah well. Alright, kids, pick your seats. Oh, and please don't fight over who gets the honor of sitting next to the awesome me, alright? I'm not worth it- Okay, maybe I am worth it, kesese~."
Magnus rolled his eyes and helped Katerina into the back of the van behind Alyson, his brow furrowing when Achilles, Cielo, and Francisco pushed past him into the cramped back of the car.
"Where the hell am I supposed to sit?" he demanded irritably.
Francisco grinned innocently at his friend from his place between Alyson and Katerina, his blue eyes glittering with mischief. "Ve~ Mi dispiace (I'm sorry), fratello. Looks like you'll be spending some quality time with Uncle Gilbert!"
"Since when did that bastard become Uncle Gilbert?" Magnus grumbled darkly. The German teen heaved a resigned sigh and slammed the back door shut before clambering into the passenger seat. Prussia grinned at him from the driver's seat, his white fingers drumming anxiously against the black surface of the wheel.
"Kesesese~ so, neffe has decided to sit with the awesome me?" the Prussian crowed. "Maybe now I can give you some advice on the fighting style of yours..."
Magnus groaned and slammed his head against the headrest of his seat, trying to ignore the endless chatter of the annoying ex-nation.
This was going to be a long drive...
Hehe, yay! I updated this sort-of-on-time! Sort of... Well, anyways, sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but I had to end it here so I can focus the next one on bringing the nations in~! Hahaha!
Well, I don't really have much else to say here. Thank you to everyone who has been praying/thinking for my speech coach's wife. Please continue to pray for her or think about her. My coach said that she's still really sick, and he's going to leave in March to take care of her. So, please keep praying. Thank you.
I do not own Hetalia... Or Prussia's black minivan... Yeah, I basically own nothing...