Welcome one and all to the next exciting chapter! Glad to say I am making some progress and hope to keep the updates coming.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of the characters.

Something in the Air

"What do you guys know about that creepy old house that your brothers are always hanging out around?" Alfred was spending the day at the Carriedo household with his friends Lovino, Matthew, and Ludwig. Arthur had to work a double shift and couldn't leave his precious little brother alone in their house all day. As much as the older hated the trio that the other boys were related to, for the most part they were all good little kids... Even if Lovino tended to teach Alfred inappropriate words that Arthur constantly had to discourage the boy from repeating.

"Stupid Toni-jerk is fricken' nuts about that dumb place!" Lovino huffed. He was so sick of the place and he rarely ever went with his older brother on his stupid adventures. His brother was always going about some new clue they found, or some stupid idea that he would obsess over for weeks. His rambling drove the poor kid crazy. Why couldn't the guy be obsessed with girls, or cars like the guys on tv?

"Lovi, please mind your language." Matthew pleaded, knowing it was to no avail. He knew it was pointless to try to fix his friend's foul tongue. Too many nights Antonio had fallen asleep and let Lovino sit up late and watch movies way too mature for his age group.

"I'm with Vino on this one. Gil is very preoccupied with finding out all he can about that place." Ludwig chipped into the conversation. If his big brother paid half as much attention to his school work as he did to that house, his grades wouldn't be so poor.

"Don't tell me your starting to get interested in that dump, too!" Lovino was not about to deal with another person babbling about the place. Alfred was usually the daydreamer of their group, right after his twin Feliciano, but even he wasn't crazy enough to get involved in the teens' games, right?

"No Way!" Alfred protested. "That place gives me the creeps..." His voice trailed off and his eyes appeared distanced. Something serious was on the child's mind, and it worried his friends to see the most happy of their group to sullen.

"W-well good!" Lovino flushed, embarrassed that his words had caused the other distress. "The last thing we need is another crazy around here! Feli is already spending too much time with grandpapa!" In fact, he was over at the old man's house right now taking painting lessons.

"Not much of an apology..." Ludwig scolded. Growing up with a brother like Gilbert, the boy was very mature for his age. He felt like he was the one in charge of watching over his big brother when their parents were away. Lord knows the albino has next to no common sense beyond his own ego. All the stress over the years had lead Ludwig to develop a permanent scowl.

"Alfie?" Matthew put a hand on said boy's shoulder. "Hey, is everything all right?" His quiet voice was a comfort.

"Yeah... Yeah! I'm OK!" Alfred was momentarily startled, not having realized Matthew was so close to him. He put on his best smile, but the others noticed how it didn't reach his usually radiant blue eyes. Something was really troubling him.

"You can talk to us, you know?" The German boy stepped closer to Alfred and Matthew.

Subconsciously, even Lovino came closer to form a ring of protection around their friend. Somehow they could always tell when the other was bothered by something. When Arthur had to work his long nights, they reassured Alfred how hard his brother works because he loves him so much. When Gilbert goes off on his self-involved schemes that usually leads him into trouble, the others encourage Ludwig to be there for his brother and help him come down from his high. Ludwig is Gil's sense of reason and what keeps him from doing something extremely stupid. Matthew usually gets overlooked by a lot of people, even his parents on occasion. He admits that he get jealous of Francis and how much he stands out in a crowd, so here come his friends to let him know that they will never leave him behind.

Lovino also has his moments when he just wants to cry because his idiot of a brother ran off without him again. The child would never admit it, but he wants to spend more time with Antonio. For a while, he hated Alfred for his closeness to Arthur. Eventually, the boy's opened up to one another, mostly through the pestering of Feliciano to give the other a chance. Alfred even became like a big brother to Lovino, granted he was a year younger than the Italian. He would always ask him how his day was going and invite him along to the park, or wherever Arthur promised to take him. In a way, Alfred and Lovino became the closest in the group. Ludwig, being the oldest, took on the responsibility of watching over the younger boys, and Matthew became like everyone's little brother. Alfred and Lovino were friends in the purist meaning of the word.

"Come on, idiot! Tell us what's going on with you." Lovino, ever blunt and to the point. Alfred held the hem of his shirt, thinking if he should tell them... The group of boys was standing around him, determined to get him to talk. They had always confided in each other and this was no exception. If Alfred was in trouble, they were all going to work together to fix whatever trouble he might have gotten himself into. Alfred knew his friends were not going to let this go. He was just as guilty as pressing one of them until they spilled their guts.

"You know you can tell us anything." Matthew offered a warm smile. He may be shy, but he was a kind and understanding person. Alfred like talking to his near-twin looking friend. He felt like he was talking to a mirror. Since Matthew was more prone to listening than speaking up, Alfred never felt pressure or judgement.

"Is it something one of our brother's said?" Ludwig was rattling his mind over what connection the younger boy might have the local haunted house. The only people he knew that were constantly mentioning it were their older brothers. If their ideas had started getting into Alfred's head, then Ludwig was going to have a little chat with Gilbert.

"Well... not exactly... but I guess it was something to do with them..." Alfred struggled to piece together how to tell them what was on his mind.

"Bastards! All of them!" Lovino shouted. "I'll be sure to kick the stupid Spanish guy for whatever he said to you!" He made a swift kicking motion to demonstrate his point.

"No! I mean... thanks for that, but I don't think it's exactly something that they said... specifically..." He defended the older boys. He knew his troubles weren't entirely their fault, even if it was because of them that the place had been on his mind. Since yesterday, all Alfred could think about was all the legends surrounding the creepy old manor. It's charred, wood frame and tattered curtains that could be seen through the windows stayed with him the whole way home. He tried distracting himself by telling Arthur all about his day at school and what he hoped they could do together on his day off. The older didn't seem to notice how tightly the smaller was holding onto him.

Last night, Alfred even dreamed of standing outside the place. The wind was blowing hard against his cold skin, pushing him beyond the fence that kept him safe from whatever horrors lay inside. Slowly, his body turned against him and he took a step forward... That's when he woke up, terrified.

"It's just... Arthur and I ran into your brothers yesterday and they said they were on another investigation... I guess they found something new about the place to investigate." He started. He was trying to remember the exact moment the image of the house burned itself in his head.

"Well, they are always doing stuff like that. Nothing new for them." Matthew chimed.

"Yeah, Antonio is a total freak about that junk!" Lovino agreed, a sad note in his voice as he thought back to all the times his brother had chosen the others over him so they could play their ghost hunting games. The other notice his tone and gave him sympathetic looks. He pretended not to notice, feeling foolish for letting his own emotions distract him from the problem at hand, Alfred.

"It's just... on the way home from the ice cream shop we had to go by the haunted house..." Alfred looked away, embarrassed by his own fears. "It... felt different..." He admitted.

"Different, how?" Matthew asked.

"I don't know... It just felt... darker." He really don't know how else to explain it. "It felt like it was towering over me." He rubbed his arm as a chill ran down him.

"Maybe because Halloween is coming up." Ludwig tried being logical. He knew Alfred loved the holiday, but was less than a fan of ghosts and horror stories. The town legends were no exception. Alfred always got more jumpy around this time. This was also the time of year that kids were dared to go into the house and spend the night like one of those scenes from horror movies. Alfred dreaded the day it would be his turn to take the dare.

"That place always seems creepier around this time."

"Maybe... All the ghost stories in my head, haha." His laugh sounded more nervous than he meant for it to be. However, the others figured it was because Alfred really did have a deep phobia of ghosts.

"Well, I say instead of standing around talking, we do something to get your mind off of it." Lovino grabbed Alfred's hand and pulled him along. "Let's see it mom will take us to the park or something. I don't know about you guys, but I don't feel like being stuck inside right now." Everyone agreed that sounded like a good idea and they pushed the thought of the old house out of their heads.

Alfred figured Ludwig was right. He was just extra jumpy because it was Halloween. The other day, Arthur had read him a pretty scary story about witches and mad kings. That had to be what did it! He'll just ask his brother to go easy on the stories. Shakespeare or not, he really should pick more kid-friendly books to read before bed.

Arthur was dusting the shelves for what seemed like the fifth time that day. It was a Saturday in the middle of Autumn, who was going to come into a little old bookstore? He hated these long hours away from Alfred, but he had to earn a living somehow. He managed to get ahead enough in his classes to be able to spend the latter half of the school day at his job, so he was always off by the time Alfred got out from elementary school. Alfred does spend some Saturdays at the store with him, coloring or finding comics to read. Today, Arthur decided to spare the poor boy hours of boredom and let him stay over with his friends.

"I do hope those other three aren't there to torment the little ones." Arthur mused. Honestly, they were nearly grown men and still chasing after urban legends and stories! He could laugh at their antics. He felt bad for the poor children that had to grow-up with them. How will those three boys ever have a normal life related to people like that? Even Flying Mint Bunny finds them foolish.

"Just a few more hours and I'll be back at home with Alfred..." He sighed. The chime on the door that signaled a customer rang out, and Arthur straightened himself to look professional. He brushed off his pants and walked to the front of the store. He put on his best smile and welcomed his new customers.

"Good afternoon! How can I assist..." Disappointingly, Arthur stared at the trio that stood around the counter.

"What on earth do you three want? Surely, it's not a sudden interest in literature." Arthur strolled passed them to stand at the register. How he wished his coworker wasn't on his lunch break right now.

"Aw, your words hurt my very soul, dear Arthur!" Francis cooed in his flirtatious accent. Arthur didn't bother playing into a reply.

"What. Do. You want?" His patience only went so far, and the long work day was already playing on his nerves.

"We were wondering if you had a book on the town history?" Antonio, ever the peace keeper, got straight to business. The library only had records going back only a hundred years, which is nowhere near the time frame they were looking for.

"Is this another silly 'research' project for your little ghost hunt?" Arthur teased.

"For your information, we just got a huge break in the case!" Gil leaned over the counter to emphasis his point. "All we need is a little more to connect the dots." Said with such confidence.

"We were hoping you may have something of use to us." Francis winked.

"Don't hold your breath, Frenchy. Anyway, why would you think I would do anything to enable your little fantasies?" Arthur just wished they would leave without causing him too much of a mess. While he was on duty, the store was his responsibility.

"Think of it as, contributing to finally solving the greatest mystery our little town has ever known. Going down in history as the ones that cracked the case!" Gilbert tried to glamorize their cause.

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. "What exactly are you hoping to find this time?" If not another dead end?

"Well, you see, we found this old book and-" Antonio was about to explain everything until being cut-off by Gilbert.

"We need to find some info from a long time ago and need to know if you've got a book that can tell us what we need to know."

"Now, now, we don't need to be rude." Francis pushed Gilbert aside and leaned over more... suggestively. "All we are looking for is some town records from... say, three hundred years ago?" Arthur stared at him, unphased.

"We tried the library... but..." Antonio laughed. "Their records don't go back that far." He scratched the back of his head.

"Did you try the courthouse?" Arthur replied, nonchalant.

"Huh?" All three stared.

"The courthouse. It's been around since the town was founded and has documents going back just as long?" Could they really not have thought of this themselves without having to trouble him? At least if they were here, they were away from Alfred and the children.

"Oh..." Antonio thought about the other's suggestion.

"All right, then! You heard him, boys!" Gilbert stared for the door. "Let's get to it!" Antonio skipped along, bidding Arthur farewell. Francis held back for a moment.

"If that's all, I'd like to get back to work." Arthur came from around the counter and grabbed his duster.

"You know, if you would smile more, you would make a very cute housewife." Francis teased. However, the joke didn't reach his eyes, that reflected sympathy for the other. He knew Arthur wasn't as hard as he made himself out to be. If he were, then he wouldn't be such a wonderful big brother. Francis sees how he looks at Alfred. That little boy is his entire world and Arthur would do anything for him. Francis just wished, for once, Arthur would do something for himself.

"Don't you have a wild goose chase to get back to?" Arthur turned to hide his blush. The Frenchman giggled at this cute display and decided not to push too hard.

"All right, all right." He took one more look at the smaller man. He really was adorable when he was lost for words. "I do hope to see you again soon." With that, he left.

Arthur heard the door to the store bang closed and the bell gave a rough jingle. He was stuck in place for a few minutes, trying to get a hold of his breathing. He hated the way Francis' words always seemed to get him all riled up. His face felt hot and flushed, his heart was ready to pounce out of his chest... But what Arthur hated most was how much he didn't mind. The man may be a pervert and an idiot, but he was a pretty nice guy underneath all that flirtation.

"See you..." He whispered, and went back to mindlessly dusting the already clean shelves. A small smile crept onto his face. He tried to convince himself that he was just happy that it was almost time to go pick up Alfred... However, deep inside he knew it was because of his visitor.

And so the story continues and more of the mystery revealed.

Tune in next time to see what the Trio finds!