Hey guys I'm alive! Sorry for the long delay again, I couldn't decide where I wanted to take this fic next so it took a while for me to settle on something I liked. It's kind of important, but nothing super exciting - I mean no house's burning or anything. This will all come to play later in the fic so I promise it makes sense, at least it does in my head! That always seems to be how it works out in the end. Anyway, there's two parts to this chapter, one might seem useless but I promise it's not a filler. Trust me on this guys, I hate fillers and I wouldn't want to make you endure them.

I wanted to get this about before the holidays and I actually managed to! Yay me! So I hope you enjoy this early Christmas present~


"You've got a warm heart

You've got a beautiful brain

But it's disintegrating

From all the medicine."

- Medicine by Daughter.


Chapter 9

Vash tended to get along with almost everyone he met. He was very peaceful and neutral towards others, never trying to make them too happy or too upset. There were few people who ever tipped his balance of neutrality.

Roderich was one of those people.

Elizabeta was never able to figure out exactly why. The men had only met a few times, always briefly. But something about Roderich rubbed Vash the wrong way. There was always a weird tension between the two that often resulted in awkward silence until Elizabeta butted in.

Considering that the girl who was practically a sister to him wanted to run off with this one man he couldn't tolerate, things weren't likely to unfold well.

"No!" Vash called, "Absolutely not!"

Elizabeta ignored him as she rummaged through her drawers, looking for the bag she'd kept her savings in. She had no idea how long they'd be on the road, so they'd need all the money they could get.

Lilli, who'd been sleeping peacefully, sat up and yawned, looking around to figure out what all the commotion was about. She expected to see Elizabeta in her bed on the opposite side of the room, but instead saw her scrounging in the nightstand.

"I tried to convince her to stay," Roderich sighed, "But she's' adamant."

"Well you didn't try very hard!" Vash retorted.

The two men were out on the porch, Vash's shotgun in his hand after hearing word that lunatics were setting Roderich's house ablaze. No one was going to do that to his house, not on his watch.

Roderich was trying to calmly explain everything that had happened, but Vash didn't want to hear any of it. He'd already brought the barrel of the gun close to Roderich more than once, and the latter certainly didn't want to risk having his brains blown out.

"Eliza?" Lilli asked nervously, "What's going on?"

At the sound of the girl's voice, Elizabeta stopped her search and went over to comfort her. She ran her fingers through the girl's golden locks, shushing her softly.

"Nothing, sweetheart," she murmured, "Go back to sleep. I need to go away for a little while is all."

"Go away?"

Lilli's bright green eyes grew even bigger, making Elizabeta's heart ache.

"Just for a little while," she said quickly, "I'll come back and visit. You be good for your big brother."

The little one nodded as Elizabeta got back up and finally found her bag with her earnings in it. The girls exchanged a quick farewell and Elizabeta quickly darted to the front of the house.

She was met with Vash's back blocking the front door, gripping his shotgun tightly and making no suggestions that he was going to move anytime soon.

"Vash, please move," she groaned, "I don't have time for this."

"Elizabeta, you're not leaving this house," he answered firmly.

Roderich attempted to peak over Vash in order to catch sight of Elizabeta, trying to see if she was actually there.

"Vash, I'm not a kid!" she cried, "Now get out of the way!"

At that, Vash whipped around to face her, his face showing more emotion than Elizabeta had ever seen.

"I promised your parents I'd take care of you!" he snapped, "I'm not letting you run off with some man you don't even know!"

She went quiet, not really knowing what to say. It was true; before her parents died they had asked Vash if his family could take her in, as the two families had been close for years. He'd accepted without hesitation and promised to personally watch over Elizabeta.

And now, she wanted to leave.

Roderich had gone quiet as well. Clearly the two had some kind of past that he didn't know of and it would be wrong for him to intrude. He'd just have to wait and see what they were going to do.

Elizabeta bit her lip and looked up at Vash.

"I love him," she finally said, "And he and I can take care of each other now. You don't have to anymore… Lilli is your priority; I know how much you love her. I promise I'll be okay."

He stared at her for a long time. The memories of them growing up together, him taking care of her, being a brother to her, all of them flashed before him. She really wasn't the little girl he took care of anymore; she'd become a beautiful woman. Yes, she wanted to run away with a douche, but she knew how to take care of herself. She could handle anything. He helped raise her that way.

There was a long moment of silence before Vash stepped aside and tilted his gun out the door.

"Get out of here," he muttered, "This little village was never your thing anyway."

Elizabeta's face lit up and she leapt out and threw her arms around Vash, squeezing him tightly. The man flinched I surprise, but eventually returned the embrace.

"I promise I'll write," she said, "And visit as much as I can."

"Okay, now go on, I don't do emotional stuff," he muttered.

She laughed and kissed him on the cheek, running down the porch to the horses where Feliciano still waited. She'd grabbed a few blankets and quickly wrapped him up in one, earning many thanks and Italian phrases she couldn't understand.

Vash turned to look at Roderich, who had remained silent the whole time until now, as he cleared his throat.

"I promise I'll take care of her," he said earnestly, "I love her dearly and would never let anything happen to her."

He offered his hand, Vash wrinkling his nose. This stuffy aristocrat always bothered him, but he seemed to make Elizabeta happy.

Reluctantly, Vash reached out and returned the handshake.

"You better," he threatened.

Roderich laughed weakly in hopes of lightening the mood, only to realize that Vash was completely serious. He quickly stopped and gave the man a quick bow before following Elizabeta and returning to the horses.

Vash watched for a few moments, thinking about what was going to happen to them. After a while he went back inside, closing the door and shaking his head.


"Idiots…"

"Oh man, Artie, you're gonna love it in America!"

Arthur just nodded and continued to read the newspaper, not really paying attention to whatever the bloody American was going on about.

Recently, Alfred had decided he would take Arthur to visit his home in America after the Brit had mentioned he'd never been overseas.

Of course, that sent Alfred off on a wild rant about how great America was, and the wonder of the red, white and blue (even though were also the colors of the UK, that git) and several other completely idiotic things.

Suddenly, Alfred stopped speaking midsentence and thought for a moment. He then continued to speak, but on a completely new topic.

"Hey, Artie," he said, "You never told me if you got a gal back home."

Arthur choked on what appeared to be air at the question, finally looking up from his newspaper. Alfred merely looked at him curiously, those blue eyes sparkling.

"You never asked, you moron," he spat.

"Well I am now," Alfred pointed out, "You got a little lady back home?"

Arthur contemplated on how to respond. He'd known the lad for a while now, so it wasn't like it was unusual to have the question asked. Still, Arthur didn't like talking about his personal life in detail, or at all for that matter.

"No I don't," he answered curtly.

"Oh," Alfred said.

There was a moment of silence where Alfred looked down and Arthur grew increasingly annoyed.

"Why'd you ask, you fool?" he snapped.

Alfred looked up surprised, then turned red and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, ah, just wondering is all," he answered, "Figured a guy like you would've… you know."

Arthur cocked a brow. What was the lad trying to get at?

"No, I don't know I'm afraid. Could you clarify?"

"Just figured you'd have a gal is all."

Alfred now seemed completely embarrassed, much to the Brit's delight. Normally the yank wouldn't shut up or stop annoying him, so it was nice to see the tables turned.

"Why, do you?" Arthur asked teasingly.

"No!" Alfred cried with a red face.

Arthur wanted to laugh so badly, but he had to keep it in. The boy was still pretty young and probably hadn't had much experience in the field yet. Perhaps he had wanted advice. Sadly, the field of women wasn't something Arthur was particularly experienced or interested in for that matter.

"Chin up, lad," Arthur said, "I'm sure there's some girl back there who has her eyes on you."

Alfred hid his face in his hands and mumbled something Arthur couldn't quite make out. It was quite a scene.

At this point, the Brit couldn't help but laugh.


Let the feels commence. Muahahahaha xD Well that last part might have seemed kind of unnecessary, but it will come into play later (some of you might already be able to see how) I adore the two of them and when Alfred gets all embarrassed I just can't help myself. That's just me.

So, my apologies if Swissy seems kind of OOC here. I wanted there to be a legitimate reason for him not wanting Hungary to leave, not just because he hates Austria. I always saw that whole area (Germany, Swiss, Austria, Hungary) as like a big family so I can see Switzerland and Hungary being pretty close. Again, that's just me.

The mysterious man who we heard about in chapter seven should be making an appearance fairly soon to those of you who want to know who that is. I've had a few guesses but I don't think any were right yet.

ALSO, I don't know if I've mentioned it or made it clear, but this story is not set in the present day (hence the horses and no cars and the general use of the word "courting") Actually, this is set around 1912 or so, at least somewhere in the beginning of the twentieth century. That's also a foreshadow as to what may happen in the future hint hint wink wink nudge nudge.

So I think I'm done for now. If I don't see you guys for a while, enjoy your holidays and I will most likely see you in the new year! Remember to leave a review as feedback always helps, or just follow or favorite. Thanks!