Again, those of you who reviewed, thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Now, here's the fourth chapter. And yes, America really is in this one. XD
November, 1948
Upon finally reaching Tempelhof Airport, Berlin paused for a few moments to catch her breath. Once she could breathe normally once again, she found somewhere safe to stand and watched as the planes bringing more supplies landed. She'd made it just in time. She helped unload cargo, just like she had the day before, and then waited for a sign that the self proclaimed hero was actually there.
She hadn't seen him at all and had started to doubt that he was there. Well, she doubted until a pair of hands covered her eyes form behind and a familiar voice spoke to her,
"Guess who!"
She put a hand to her chin and pretended to guess,
"Hmm….could it be Canada?"
"You're not serious, right?"
She removed his hands from her face and turned around so she could see him,
"Of course I'm not."
"Did you get my letter?"
"Yes, I did. It made me smile."
A grin spread across the blonde man's face when she said this,
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
They started walking away from the air field. They didn't know how long they had to talk before America had to go with his boss and attempt to negotiate a removal of the blockade. They sat on a bench just outside the airport to talk.
"It's good to talk someone who doesn't look like they're about to turn tail and run at a moments notice."
"Well as the hero can't be bothered to be scared."
She laughed. He was the same as ever which made her very happy. It was nice to speak to someone whose voice wasn't laced with fear, whose eyes weren't darting around looking for signs of danger. Some of Berlin's hair had fallen over her face while she was running and she hadn't bothered to fix it since it concealed the eye patch she was wearing. However, this means America became worried upon brushing the hair out of her face,
"What happened here?"
"Nothing that hasn't been done before. I've been hurt worse in the past, Alfred, this is nothing."
He sighed, the hand that had revealed the eye patch fell to her shoulder,
"Berlin, if he's hurting you I ca-"
"No."
She looked at him with a gaze that was filled with a cross between worry and determination. At the moment, the Cold War was nothing more than a massive land grab as well as a contest to see who could build the most deadly weapons faster. Berlin wouldn't have it escalate into trans-oceanic fighting over a few bruises. The conversation drifted elsewhere,
"You said you'd seen my brother in your last letter. How is he doing on his own?"
"He seemed fine physically. He's very worried about you and…um…what's your other brother's name again?"
"Gilbert?"
"Yeah, him. He asked me to make sure you two were all right."
Berlin nodded,
"Gilbert is hiding somewhere in the city's underground although I'm not sure where. He sent me a note a few days ago saying that he may go to stay with Austria if he could manage to find transportation. As for me…well, I've been better but I've also been much worse."
"What about the others? How are they holding up?"
She sighed, her face becoming more of a grimace than anything else,
"Elisaveta worries a lot. Eduard is quiet, as always and tries to avoid leaving his room if at all possible. Raivis is scared out of his mind of being somewhere alone, Feliks' sass is going to get him killed, and Toris…damn it, Toris is in the same boat as me although it seems like whatever Ivan doesn't do to me, he does to him instead."
She scoffed and raised one of her hands to cover the side of her face the eye patch was on,
"I'm waiting for something to happen that sends one of us to the hospital if you want the truth. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet."
"Anya, this is ridiculous. Why can't you all just get together all at once and rush him? He wouldn't be able to take on all of you at once."
She sighed and looked up at him,
"I wish it were that simple but most of them are too afraid of him to even think of doing something like that. If I were to put that idea into a metaphor…let's see…"
She thought for a moment, and then found the words she was looking for.
"Imagine a lame horse, a blind sheep, a kicked puppy, a pampered rabbit, an injured wolf, and a deaf fox trying to sneak up and beat up a Siberian Tiger. It just wouldn't end well."
America blinked and she sighed,
"Too many animals?"
"Yeah."
Another pause,
"Okay, how about six crows trying to beat up a Siberian Tiger?"
"…Oh."
"Yeah, exactly. We might do some damage but one sharp strike to the head with one of those paws and we'd all be screwed. That and the paw would at some point turn into a pipe and I don't even want to go down that road."
She shuddered at the memory of metal against someone's skull. It wasn't something she wished to hear again, once had been more than enough. America put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. Berlin hid her face from the cold in the crook of his neck and sighed. They stayed like that for a while until someone came looking for America, saying that it was time for him and his boss to start heading towards the building where the negotiations would take place. They stood and hugged each other once more,
"Thank you for coming Alfred. You have no idea how good it was to see you."
"I could say the same to you, Anya. Try not to mad, alright? I don't like seeing you hurt."
She gave a weak smile,
"I'll try."
With that they went their separate ways, Alfred heading North and Anya heading East. Once back at the house she removed her shoes and went up to her room. She felt tired and her bruises were adding to her fatigue in the form of a constant ache up and down her arms and legs. She didn't know how long she'd been asleep before Latvia came and woke her up like he had the evening before, telling her that Lithuania needed her help in the kitchen.
As she had the night before, she helped make dinner as well as to set the table. Russia wasn't home since he was attending the negotiations with Stalin so everyone relaxed while they could. Hungary played tag with Latvia, Estonia read a book in plain sight and Lithuania and Poland sat and talked. Berlin didn't feel comfortable relaxing though so she preoccupied with doing the dishes.
"Anya why don't you, like, relax for once? You totally won't get a chance once Ivan, like, gets home."
"I know Feliks but I can't help it. I'm not used to relaxing anymore."
The blonde shrugged and exited the kitchen, wandering off to find Lithuania again. Once Berlin was finished with the dishes she tried to think of something she liked to do that she hadn't done recently. Then it came to her. She liked to dance but hadn't since just before the Cold War had started. She hadn't had the chance. Despite the bruises on her legs, she started to dance rather than walk. Those brief years of peace with France had aid off in the ballet department.
Through the hallways, through all the empty rooms, she leapt and twirled, smiling all the while. She felt freer when she danced, like she wasn't living somewhere with someone that could kill her at any moment should the mood strike him. The bruises on her knees eventually began to protest and she stopped and tried to think of something else to do. She heard soft clapping and turned to see Hungary,
"I haven't seen you dance since the eighteenth century, you're skills haven't diminished a bit."
"That's good, it's been a whiles since I've had the chance to dance. The last time was right before this whole mess started."
"Oh that's right, you had a broken ankle after World War Two, didn't you?"
"Yeah. I'd managed to not get buried under rubble from British bombs until the very last attack. Just my luck."
At that moment Latvia ran in and tagged Hungary,
"Tag, you're it!"
"Oh, you get back here, little sneak!"
They ran off to another part of the house and Berlin went back to thinking about what to do with the rest of her time. Unfortunately that process was cut short upon hearing the door slam shut. Out of instinct she looked around wildly for a place to hide. She went up the first staircase she saw and then up a side board, hiding in the rafters. She made it just in time.
Russia passed under her humming a jaunty tune that she did not recognize. He was too happy; the negotiations mustn't have gone in her favor. She nearly sighed but then remembered she was hiding and held her breath. Once she was sure he was out of earshot she let out the held in sigh and looked around, planning her way down before actually moving. Once back on solid ground she went to the kitchen, heated up the food she'd set aside, and made up a tray to take up to Russia. She ascended the stairs, traversed the halls, and stopped outside his door to knock three times,
"Ivan, I have your dinner."
"Come in."
Closing the door behind her, she saw that Russia was once again look at the map of the USSR on the wall behind his desk. She placed the tray on the desk and looked over at him,
"How did the negotiations go?"
"The blockade stays for now."
She'd been right, he was too happy. Her heart sank,
"I see…you must be pleased."
"You'd think so."
She furrowed her eyebrows and risked stepping a bit closer to him,
"What do you mean?"
Then the most unexpected question she'd ever heard pass through Russia's lips,
"Do you want to leave, Anya?"
She blinked,
"I…um…excuse me?"
Surely this was a trick. If she answered yes there would surely be more injuries in store and if she answered no…well, who even knows what the positive response would be to that answer. She thought for a moment of how to answer the question before speaking carefully,
"I'd like to be able to see Ludwig but this is technically my home. I'm sorry but I can't give you a definitive yes or no to your question."
He nodded. Not once had he taken his eyes off the map in front of him. She sighed,
"Is there anything else?"
"Nyet."
She then turned and left the room. Upon reaching her own room once she'd navigated her way through the hallways, she made a plan in her head for the next day so she would be able to see America off since he'd be leaving tomorrow. Once that was done she changed into her pajamas and nestled herself deep into the blankets on her bed.
Unfortunately, sleep was stolen from her by a loud clap of thunder. She shot out from under the covers and hid under the bed's framework, covering her ears. She hated thunder; it reminded her of canons and tanks firing deadly shots at her city. Another clap of thunder and she whimpered, closing her eyes too this time. One more and she was out the door and running down the hall to the first person that came to mind.
Despite her fear she still knocked. She heard stumbling over the sound of the wind outside the house before the door opened and a sleepy eyed Russia greeted her,
"Anya? What is it?"
"Well, you se-"
She never finished her sentence. Another clap of thunder and her fears got the better of her and she hugged Russia, hiding her face in his shoulder. This confused him to no end until another clap of thunder caused her to tighten her grip. Then he understood,
"Anya, does thunder frighten you?"
She only nodded. He sighed and wrapped his arms around, closing the door. That night, every time thunder would shake the house, Berlin would tense and cling to him and he would tell it was alright and that there was nothing to be scared of, that he would protect her. The entire time she was cursing herself for lying to him earlier.
God help me, I don't want to leave…
I know, I know. A thunderstorm in Berlin in November is HIGHLY unlikely but I needed something to happen between her and Russia and it was all I could think of at the moment. He's bipolar anyway, depending on the situation he may have reacted exactly like that. *shot down* Oh fine, be like that. -___- Anyway, I hope you liked this one. More America in the next one. A time skip is possible as well halfway through, I haven't decided yet. Reviews are my food and water! :D