Chapter 5

"L-Ludwig!" The Swiss man exclaimed in surprise as he was hoisted in the air by the tall German. His face grew a light shade of pink as he tried to grab balance in the air," Hey! P-put me down, bastard!"

"It looked like you needed a lift." The German defended himself innocently, not putting Vash down; the thought didn't even cross his mind for a moment.

"I'm not that short! I could see perfectly fine." Vash defended his height as his arms fell around the German's neck and he looked down at his lover. They had been going out for a few months now, so he should have been use to this display of affection, but admittedly, this was the first public display of affection the two had ever really shown for each other. Vash looked down at Ludwig and smiled tentatively, he couldn't hold back a small smile when he looked at the German. His blue eyes shone in the light of the full moon, sending butterflies through Vash's stomach as he gazed down at them.

The sound of the fairgrounds around them seemed distant for a split second until another set of fireworks exploded into the sky, causing an uproar in the crowd and the eye contact between the two was broken. Vash looked up at the new round of fireworks exploding in the sky, holding onto the German for support. He cursed at the sound for ruining the moment, but there seemed no other reason to be uptight that night; they were at a fair in Switzerland, hosted over one of the more infamous lakes in the Canton of Basel.

The atmosphere around the lake seemed unreal as they watched the fireworks exploding. It seemed surreal to the Swiss man, like something that belonged in one of Arthur's folklore books, with the happy endings (which were edited in by Alfred). Lost in his own train of thought, Vash wasn't fully prepared as he felt a sharp tug on the back of his light green shirt.

"Oh shit!" He wobbled in Ludwig's arms, attempting to keep balance; instead he caught himself, gracefully landing on his feet in front of the German, keeping his hands around his neck.

"Vash, are you okay!" The German spoke, alarmed as the Swiss man jumped quickly out of the German's arms. Vash shook his head, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Some damn asshole tugged on the back of my shirt and I lost balance, that's all." Vash spoke crossly. He didn't want to be mad, but whoever had tugged on him had made him lose his train of thought.

"Oh, that's all?" Ludwig mused at the easily tempered blonde in front of him," You aren't hurt."

"Well, duh." Vash sighed, trying to calm down; he didn't want to let a little incident ruin his night.

"Good," Ludwig spoke and lifted Vash's chin up, leaning forward and kissing him on the lips. Bright red flushed on his cheeks as the German kissed him, he tightened his grip around Ludwig's neck as he pulled Vash's waist closer to his own. Ludwig pulled back for a moment, resting his forehead against Vash's forehead; he could feel his temper evaporate in the crowd's excitement as the German spoke in his own language, "Ich Liebe Dich…"

Feliciano's stomach felt queasy, it was just his luck that he happened to spot the surreal couple kissing in the center of a large crowd. A pang of loneliness and slight anger struck at his heart strings as he watched with resentful eyes. He slowly dragged his gaze from the couple as the distant calling of his name was heard over the roaring applaud of the crowd.

"Feli, what are you doing over here by yourself?" Lovino stopped in front of Feliciano, breaking the contact between the Italian and the couple. A pang of sympathy struck Lovino as he gazed down at his little brother's tired eyes. He looked around, spotting a pasta and pizza stand, his eyes lit up," Come on, let's get some pasta! I'll buy if you like."

Lovino offered graciously, his hand found a place on his little brother's shoulder and he patted him; instead of the usual response of a cheerful," Ve! Really! Thank you big brother!" Lovino received a gentle shove from his brother, and a depressed voice utter words from the young man's lips," Not tonight, Lovino. I'm not in the mood."

Lovino bit back a dark retort at the depressed Italian beginning to walk away; a bad feeling formed in the pit of his stomach as his brother walked away. Something was…

Wrong.