Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 29

Vlad walked behind Arthur and Lukas, his eyes fixed on Arthur's back. For some strange reason, Arthur's emotions seemed really jumbled and confusing. Vlad couldn't really identify any particular emotion, but every now and then, he would sense a sort of spike where he could almost pinpoint what it was.

Vlad didn't think that he had to be concerned. He couldn't sense anger or fear, so that was probably alright, but he still couldn't understand what was going on. Could Arthur still be embarrassed from the previous day? Why?

"Vlad, are you okay?" Lukas asked, turning to him.

"Y-yeah," Vlad said, shaking himself. "Sorry. I guess I'm a bit distracted this morning."

There was another spike of emotion from Arthur, and Vlad's eyes subconsciously went to Arthur. Lukas frowned as Arthur turned towards them, but Vlad noticed that he didn't look either of them in the eyes.

"If something's bothering you, then you should tell us," Arthur said. "You shouldn't keep it to yourself."

"I'm fine," Vlad said. "But I think you should take your own advice."

Arthur jumped, his eyes widening. He must have realised what Vlad was saying. Lukas's attention snapped to Arthur.

"Is something bothering you?" Lukas asked.

"N-no!" Arthur said. "I just… I need to sort some things out. Th-things that I can't really discuss with you."

"Why not?"

Arthur shook his head, and there was an emotion that Vlad could definitely identify.

"You're… embarrassed about something?" Vlad asked. "Is it still about yesterday?"

"No!" Arthur said. "Yes. I-I don't know. Please, don't… don't ask me about something like that. I-I can't figure out what is going on inside my head. I-I just… I need some time."

Lukas and Vlad looked towards each other. Arthur continued to avoid their gazes. Finally, Lukas sighed and nodded.

"Alright," he said. "We'll give you your space to think about things, whatever they may be. But if you think that it could be a problem, let us know."

Arthur nodded.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Vlad noticed the blush, but he decided not to pursue it. Whatever was going on with Arthur, it was clear that Arthur wasn't going to reach out to them. And that troubled Vlad.

Lukas took the lead, with Arthur settling in the middle between Lukas and Vlad. Vlad still kept his eyes on Arthur, but every now and again he would look towards Lukas, who was also feeling worried. That was not much of a mystery.

Vlad's attention went upwards when he heard a rumble, and Lukas and Arthur paused as well. Arthur clicked his tongue.

"Wonderful…" he muttered. "It's about to rain."

"I'm surprised we haven't had any yet," Lukas said.

"Rain doesn't come that often, but when it does, it tends to pour, and it could last for days."

"And… what does that mean?" Vlad asked. "If it rains for days?"

"It depends on how hard it rains. If it's a gentle shower, then we can continue to walk. But if it's raining too heavily, then we'll need to wait it out for a while, especially if there's lightning involved."

"Do you think this is going to delay us?" Lukas asked.

"Without a doubt."

Lukas winced, and Vlad jumped when he felt something cold on his nose. He looked up and realised that it was raining.

"You know, I've never really experienced the rain," Vlad said. "Maybe when I was little, but it doesn't really rain that hard in the desert."

"Trust me, it's going to get really unpleasant, really fast," Lukas said. "Come on. Let's try to get as far as we can."

They walked for about ten minutes before Arthur said that they needed to find a shelter. They managed to find a small hollow, though it was very cramped. Vlad felt himself heat up as he was pressed against Arthur and Lukas.

"We're going to have to wait for a while," Arthur said. "And it looks like we're going to have a bigger storm coming."

"Should we use magic to make a shelter?" Vlad asked.

"Later. We should wait a while to see if the rain lightens up a bit, then we should try to cover as much ground as possible before the storm really hits."

"I've sailed through storms before," Lukas said. "It's best to prepare as soon as possible."

"The forest is a bit different from the sea. If it's a light drizzle, then we can go. And whatever you do, stay away from the trees once the lightning starts to hit."

"Why?" Vlad asked.

"You don't want to be under a tree struck by lightning. Especially if it's strong enough to break the boughs."

Vlad looked around and nodded in understanding. Lukas closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I can't believe we're being delayed because of the weather," he said. "But at least it's not another of Nemthys's followers."

"We hope," Vlad said. "I mean… Do you think any of them know how to manipulate the weather?"

"That's complicated magic, and is very draining. I've only ever used it when I know there would be a huge storm coming and we needed to set out. And then I'm tired for a week after that. Most of the time, I just use a spell to predict the weather for a day or two. I'm mad at myself for not doing that this time."

"You say you know a spell to make the weather subside," Arthur said. "What would that require?"

"A lot of energy, for one. And a number of gemstones that I left at home. Hopefully, Mathias…" Lukas cut himself off and shook his head. "I keep forgetting…"

"Our situation makes it difficult to mourn," Arthur said. "I understand. I have the same problem. When this is all over… One of the first things I think I want to do is to visit Dylan's grave. I hope Patrick and Alistair managed to set that up. And I hope that it's only one grave I'd need to visit."

"…Yeah. I hope Emil and Berwald managed. And I'd like to visit Mathias's grave too."

"…I think I want to go back to my old home," Vlad said. "See if there's… anything left of my old house. And if they gave the victims a proper burial. I want to know… If my parents have a grave. And if… if my baby brother also died, and if he has a grave too."

"…I'm sorry," Arthur said. "I know it's… it's cruel to say this, but… If they buried them, then they would be in a mass grave."

Vlad flinched and lowered his head.

"You're probably right," he said. "It was stupid of me to…"

"No," Lukas said, though he gave a slight glare in Arthur's direction. "It wasn't stupid. Don't lose your optimism. If it turns out that there isn't a grave for them, then we can create our own memorial for them. Do you remember their names?"

Vlad nodded. It was one thing that he always clung to.

"That's right," Arthur said. "There's still someone that remembers them. We'll make sure that there is something left that could show other people that your family existed. That they were people, and not casualties."

Vlad smiled, despite the situation. He could sense what Arthur and Lukas were trying to do, and he was grateful to them. No matter what, he was glad that he had met them. The two slowly smiled when they saw the smile on his own face, and each of them took a hold of one of his hands. He felt their warmth seep into him, despite the rain that was making things colder. He looked out at the rain, before he jumped at the loud sound. Arthur chuckled.

"The thunder can't hurt you," Arthur said. "The lightning, on the other hand…"

"I was once almost hit by lightning," Lukas said. "We were caught in a storm out at sea. The sail got caught, and I had to climb up to free it. The lightning hit the mast just as I climbed down."

"That sounds like a very close encounter. I'm glad it managed to miss you."

Lukas chuckled.

"You should have seen Mathias's face," he said. "He was panicking, and even Emil and Berwald looked worried. And Berwald especially doesn't express himself well. I wonder which one of us influenced the other. And Tino…" Here, Lukas's face darkened. "Tino was probably faking it. For all I know, he could have sent the lightning to the ship."

"Didn't he say something about hoping that he could recruit you?" Vlad asked. "If that's the case, then I think it would have been a stupid move to do something like that."

"I agree," Arthur said. "It would be counterproductive. But please, tell me he looked startled."

Lukas frowned, before he nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "He looked pretty shocked, pardon the pun. He kept staring at the mast with wide eyes. Maybe he really was startled by it. Do you think it would have killed him?"

"From what we've heard of them, probably not," Arthur sighed. "But it might have hurt him. He could also have been shocked because he almost lost a potential recruit."

Lukas's jaw clenched, and Vlad squeezed Lukas's hand. Lukas's face didn't change expression, but he squeezed Vlad's hand back.

"I'm so stupid," Lukas spat. "A part of me is hoping that not everything about our 'friendship' was a lie. A part of me is hoping that Tino actually cared."

"And we'll never know," Arthur said. "We're going to avoid running into him as much as possible. But even if we can't avoid that, I highly doubt that he would be honest about it."

They remained like that in silence for a few minutes, each one stewing in his own thoughts. Vlad noticed that neither Arthur nor Lukas released his hands, and he was happy. He wondered if they also longed for something stable while their thoughts wandered down a dark path.

When Arthur decided to release his hand, Vlad's head snapped in his direction. Arthur stood, and soon Lukas followed, though he didn't release Vlad's hand, and pulled him to his feet after Arthur stumbled out of their shelter.

"The rain seems calmer now," Arthur explained. "We can try to carry on, at least until we find more suitable shelter. Just be careful of the grass and mud. It can be quite slippery."

Which Vlad discovered a few times over the next few minutes. In the end, Arthur and Lukas grabbed his hands again while the two of them anchored themselves against the trees. Whenever Vlad would slip, they would hold onto the trees to prevent all three of them crashing down.

When they eventually discovered an abandoned cottage, Vlad had already decided that he didn't really like the rain. He didn't know when the last time was that he'd felt so cold. Even as a slave, he didn't think that he'd ever felt like that before.

"We should be safe here," Arthur said, before he shuddered. "And the air is dusty, so no one is going to return here."

"We need to get out of these clothes and dry off," Lukas said. "Before we catch cold."

Lukas and Arthur exchanged a look, and if not for the fact that he was wet and cold, Vlad would have laughed. Instead, he immediately started to pull off his clothes, noting that it was very difficult to do.

"Do you need help?" Arthur asked.

"Yes," Vlad said feebly. "Why is it so hard?"

"The water makes the clothes heavier and makes it cling to the skin," Lukas explained. "Speaking of which, we may need to get new clothes soon. We've been keeping them clean with magic – otherwise, we would really stink – but I don't know about you, but my clothes are showing signs of wear and tear."

Arthur winced and nodded.

"You're right," he said. "The next time we get to a city, we should each get new clothes. Do we have enough money?"

"I hope so," Lukas said. "Yao gave us some, but I'm not sure how much."

"We're going to have to count it," Arthur sighed.

Finally, Vlad's shirt was off, and Arthur looked around, finally finding a cloth in the room. He picked it up and muttered the cleansing spell before he went towards Vlad, who realised that it was a blanket.

"You don't want to catch a cold," Arthur said. "We don't need any of us to be sick."

Vlad nodded, before he accepted the blanket. He wrapped it around himself and sank into the warmth.

"Unfortunately, there's only one blanket," Arthur said. "We'll need to share."

"…This is going to be awkward," Lukas said.

Meanwhile, Vlad had removed his trousers and shoes, and wandered towards what appeared to be a fireplace. He looked around for kindling, but there was nothing.

"I don't know a spell for a fire," Vlad said.

"Allow me," Arthur said, moving closer.

Vlad stepped aside as he watched Arthur kneel in front of the fireplace, before he shivered. Vlad looked over towards Lukas and saw him removing his shirt, shivering as he went. Vlad walked towards the centre of the room and plopped down, making sure that the blanket flared out around him.

"You can join me under here," Vlad said. "It's nice and toasty and soft."

Lukas eyed the blanket before he looked over towards the fireplace.

"So, how's that fire getting along?" he asked.

"Harder, since there's nothing to burn," Arthur said.

"Is it really that bad that we need to share?" Vlad asked. "Or maybe it's just that it's something that we slaves had to do. We weren't allowed to have a lot of blankets, and there were many of us in one room, so we shared our body heat. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time that the three of us shared a blanket. There's just not a bed this time."

Vlad felt a peculiar blend of emotions from both Lukas and Arthur. One of them he could easily identify as embarrassment, while the other one… Was it anger? No, it didn't feel quite right. He looked over towards Lukas, who seemed to be pointedly looking away. Lukas shivered again, and Vlad frowned.

"I don't care if the two of you are embarrassed," Vlad said, "you are getting under this blanket, before you freeze to death. And I don't want to hear any arguments."

He jumped when the fire suddenly came to life, and Arthur sighed as he sat back on his haunches.

"Well, that is one problem averted," he said.

"Arthur, Lukas, get under here," Vlad snapped. "It's going to take a while before the fire is warm enough, and you two are obviously freezing. Come on, it's going to be fine."

Arthur looked back at Vlad, before his gaze flitted to Lukas. Vlad narrowed his eyes, hoping to convey the seriousness of the situation. Arthur sighed and nodded.

"Alright," he said. "You win."

Vlad beamed as he pulled the blanket aside. Arthur and Lukas exchanged a look before they both stripped to just their underwear. Lukas went to join Vlad under the blanket while Arthur gathered their clothes and positioned them close to the fire. He then hesitated before joining Vlad and Lukas.

"This is nice," Vlad remarked. "Very comfortable."

"I'm starting to question your concept of 'comfortable'," Arthur said.

"But seriously, when we started our journey, you guys weren't so embarrassed about sharing a bed. What changed?"

Arthur cleared his throat.

"We were never practically naked against each other," Arthur said. "That changes things."

"Let's just stop talking about this," Lukas sighed. "We need to get some sleep. Let's hope the weather is better tomorrow."

"So… you don't want to stay up and tell embarrassing stories?" Vlad teased.

"No!"

Vlad snickered. This was nice. He could feel that Arthur and Lukas were still cold, but they were slowly and steadily regaining heat. He was glad for that.

It could have been the fact that he was feeling warmer, but his eyes were starting to grow very heavy. He yawned, before he rested his head against Arthur's shoulder. Arthur tensed, but did not push Vlad off. It took only a little bit longer for Vlad to completely drift off.

"…He's asleep," Arthur announced. "Honestly, I can't understand him sometimes."

Lukas nodded. They both gently placed their arms behind Vlad's back, before they started lowering themselves to the floor. Vlad mumbled something, but did not stir otherwise. When they were on the floor, they both sighed in relief and locked eyes.

"…It's been a long day," Arthur said. "I think we should follow Vlad's lead."

"…Yeah," Lukas agreed. "Do you think the clothes will be safe?"

"They're far enough away that I don't think they'll be set on fire," Arthur said. "But if either of us wakes up in the middle of the night, then we could just move them."

"Right. Then I guess… Goodnight."

Arthur repeated the word, but he didn't close his eyes to sleep quite yet. He turned his attention to the ceiling. Vlad was right. They had no problem sharing a bed at the beginning of the journey, now the thought of them sharing a blanket had Arthur completely flustered. What changed? They knew each other better than they had before. Shouldn't it make it easier for them to share something like this?

…No, actually. Arthur had to acknowledge that it didn't work like that. He felt more comfortable with Lukas and Vlad, and they were no longer strangers. Arthur was fond of them. Perhaps a bit too fond. It scared him a little, if he had to be honest.

And then there was the burst of jealousy he'd felt earlier. He didn't know why he felt jealous when he heard about Vlad and his fellow slaves sharing blankets. It shouldn't have bothered him, but it did.

It couldn't be… that he was in love with Vlad, could it? And what about Lukas?

No. Arthur had to abandon these thoughts, before they got him into trouble.