Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 14

Lukas glanced over towards Vlad. The Norwegian tried to casually sip his coffee while the Romanian hadn't even touched his tea. Lukas had ordered the pizza a few minutes ago and it was due to arrive soon.

Vlad was still shaken, and Lukas couldn't blame him. This wasn't simply because of something invisible coming after Vlad in his room. This was the result of a very stressful week.

Vlad found out that someone he considered a friend was actually spying on him, and that a race of dangerous creatures was interested in him. He also suffered from these visions that had the power to make him feel sick, and that wasn't even considering the contents of the visions. He also found out that he was descended from a powerful vampire, or at least they thought that he had been a powerful vampire. That wasn't even taking into account the fact that Vlad had moved to a new country, started studying at university and started working.

A lot had happened recently, some of which were mundane, but others were not. Lukas could understand if Vlad needed a moment for him to react to all of this, and if Vlad wanted to do something to take his mind off of everything, then Lukas wouldn't fault him for that.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Lukas asked.

Vlad jumped, and he looked over towards Lukas. It didn't look as though he understood what the Norwegian had said.

"W-what?" Vlad asked.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Lukas repeated. "Get your mind off everything? I'm pretty sure there's something worth watching."

Vlad still looked confused for a while, until he seemed to understand Lukas's question, or perhaps intention. Slowly, he nodded.

"We need to wait for Feliciano anyway," Vlad said. "Might as well do something in the meantime."

Lukas wasn't sure that having Feliciano there would be a good idea, but it was clear that he needed to find out what the odds were that his heritage would have an effect on him after about twenty generations. Lukas was just worried that Feliciano couldn't be trusted. Even though Feliciano didn't trigger that amulet, there were still other ways that Feliciano could end up hurting Vlad. Even if it wasn't intentional.

The two of them jumped when the doorbell rang. Lukas frowned, going towards the door. If it was the pizza delivery, then he had to commend them for their service.

It wasn't the pizza. It was Feliciano. The vampire looked uncomfortable when he saw that it was Lukas who answered the door, but he still tried to smile.

"Ciao," Feliciano greeted. "Um, where's Vlad? H-he wanted me to come?"

Vlad sidled up behind Lukas, and Feliciano beamed. Lukas frowned. For some strange reason, there was something unusual in Feliciano's face when he saw Vlad.

"Hey Feli," Vlad greeted. "Come in."

Lukas stepped aside to allow the vampire to enter. Feliciano walked over towards Vlad, but at the last moment he seemed reluctant to get too close.

"I'm sorry," Feliciano said. "I couldn't learn more."

"I-it's fine," Vlad said. "We actually learned something."

Lukas shut the door and indicated for the other two to follow him to the living room. They had set up wards to keep their conversations unheard, but he didn't want to take any chances. And he didn't want to alarm the pizza guy when he finally came.

"I don't know how to say this…" Vlad said.

"How long do the offspring of vampires and humans retain their vampire heritage?" Lukas interrupted. "How long does it affect the bloodstream?"

Feliciano looked surprised by the question, and cocked his head to the side.

"Ve, that's strange," he said. "It usually stays for about five generations, as long as there isn't another dhampir birth or if two dhampirs get married. I've actually heard about something like that happening before."

"So, twenty generations shouldn't be a problem?" Vlad asked.

"Twenty? No, that shouldn't be a problem. Why?"

"Because we found out that I'm descended from Prince Vlad the Third. The same one I saw in my visions. He was definitely a vampire."

Feliciano's eyes widened, before he frowned.

"Even if you are," Feliciano said, "that's not really saying much. I mean… There was this girl I used to like when I was still human. Even after becoming a vampire, I kept my eye on her children, and then her grandchildren, and then… Right now, there are at least thirty families descended from her. I think I'm far younger than the Prince, so he might have more descendants than that girl."

"The thing is, there aren't that many descendants," Vlad said. "I looked at the family registry. Most of them had about one or two kids, and many of them didn't have kids at all."

"Really? H-how far back does it go?"

"About five hundred years."

Feliciano frowned.

"Do you know if it's possible to check for a family curse?" Feliciano asked. "Because trust me, there should have been more kids in those days. Unless the ones that didn't get to live weren't listed?"

"It's also a possibility," Lukas said. "But I think we could ask Arthur's family to check for any curses."

"I hope it's nothing bad." Feliciano was silent for a moment as he looked at Vlad. "Something happened. I can smell it. You're scared."

"And that isn't creepy at all," Lukas muttered.

"There was something in my room," Vlad said. "Something… invisible." He raised his bruised wrist, and Feliciano seemed to barely be keeping himself from moving forward. "It grabbed me."

"Is it a ghost?" Feliciano asked, looking between Vlad and Lukas.

"Ghosts don't act like that. And I didn't sense a ghost. I sensed something… else entirely."

Lukas scrutinised Vlad. He realised that he had little idea of what kinds of things Vlad had encountered. He wasn't like Lukas, who had an education from a young age. His family magic had been dormant for a long time. And yet, Vlad wasn't oblivious to what went on in the magical community. He was a bit too open, but he wasn't oblivious.

"I don't know much about anything invisible," Feliciano said. "But I… I don't know how to help… And I really want to…"

Lukas frowned when he saw the conflict in Feliciano's eyes. There was something holding him back. Something that he didn't want to tell them about. Or couldn't. Even though Lukas didn't entirely trust the vampire, he had a feeling that he was sincere in wanting to help Vlad.

"You could try sniffing around outside," Lukas suggested. "Vampires have keen noses, right?"

"They're not dogs," Vlad said, scowling at Lukas.

"But he should be able to tell if there was someone here that could have sent that thing in after Vlad, or someone that was spying."

"Unless you give me something to work with, it's going to be hard," Feliciano said. "Humans pass by every day, and their scents combine. If it's something that's not human, then I can maybe find a scent. I can't guarantee that I'd be able to identify it."

"Could you at least check if there was someone in the backyard? Asides from the three of us, no one should be there. If there's another scent, then we can be sure that someone was spying on us."

"Okay, I can do that. I can do that now, if you want."

"Great."

Lukas accompanied Feliciano to the backdoor, and he watched as the vampire wandered around, pausing every now and again. Lukas turned around when he heard shuffling. Vlad was staring at Feliciano too.

"You don't trust him, do you?" Vlad whispered.

"He has to earn my trust," Lukas whispered, aware of the vampire's keen hearing. "But I get this strange feeling when he's around you."

"In what way?"

"I don't know. But… I don't think it's dangerous. For you, at least. Just keep your eyes open, alright?"

Vlad nodded, and that was when Feliciano decided to come back to them. Lukas wondered how much of their conversation Feliciano had heard. No matter. If he didn't figure out that Lukas didn't trust him yet, then that was Feliciano's problem.

"I don't smell anything particular in the backyard," Feliciano said. "Though, there is a dead bird. I think a cat got him. Nothing strange."

"And you don't think that a dead bird could be a warning or something?" Lukas asked.

"Not if it's in the bushes. No, if it was a warning, then it would have been left on your porch. Or, better yet, it would have been nailed to the door."

"Okay, fair enough."

Lukas and Vlad both jumped when someone rang the doorbell, and Lukas remembered that they were supposed to be waiting for pizza. He grabbed his wallet and went to answer the door, leaving Vlad and Feliciano alone with each other.

Feliciano honestly hadn't expected Lukas to leave him alone with Vlad. He knew that the other was suspicious of him, and he honestly didn't blame him or mind it. He was only suspicious because he wanted to protect Vlad.

He had hoped that Gupta was wrong about Feliciano mating with Vlad, but the way he felt drawn towards Vlad made him think that perhaps Gupta was right. Earlier, he had to stop himself from hugging Vlad, and he kept feeling the urge to touch Vlad. And Vlad's scent was different than before.

His eyes trailed to Vlad's bruised wrist. He felt angry with himself for not being around when Vlad needed his help, although he needed to remind himself that Vlad wasn't his mate yet. He shouldn't feel like this.

"Is something wrong?" Vlad asked, making Feliciano jump.

"N-no," Feliciano stammered. "Why do you ask that?"

"Because you seem… different, somehow. Like you're hiding something." Vlad narrowed his eyes. "Did something happen? Did your grandfather or someone else bully you into doing something?"

Well, technically speaking, there was someone that had bullied Feliciano into helping him, but that wasn't what was concerning him. But perhaps, Feliciano could use this to his advantage.

"There's a former mage as part of our coven," Feliciano said. "He saw you, but he said that there's something strange about you. That… there are a lot of spells around you. He… He blackmailed me into helping him figure out some of those spells."

Vlad frowned, but Feliciano could tell that he wasn't angry with him.

"Did he happen to mention what kind of spells there are?" he asked.

Feliciano shook his head.

"So… I'm guessing that you don't know what the spells are either?" Feliciano asked.

Vlad slowly shook his head, before his eyes widened, and Feliciano detected a spike of panic.

"Unless it's a family curse," he said.

Feliciano grabbed Vlad's shoulders, sensing his panic growing. Feliciano's mind flashed towards their earlier conversation, and he realised that Vlad was genuinely worried about a family curse. He might also be worried about the other members of his family.

"Calm down," Feliciano said. "We don't know what it is yet. So don't start panicking. For all you know, it might be a protection spell or something."

Vlad took a deep breath, which he slowly released. He nodded his head, and Feliciano released his shoulders.

"You're right," Vlad said. "I shouldn't jump to conclusions. But we need to go to Arthur's family to check for any potential curses or something."

Feliciano smiled sadly. Perhaps he shouldn't have brought it up, because Vlad really was worried about something like this. And with everything happening, he supposed that it was normal. Feliciano tried to think about how he would feel if he was still human and these types of things kept happening to him. Even if he was a mage, this was still a lot for someone so young.

"Pizza's here!" Lukas called. "Arthur, are you done?"

Feliciano took a step away from Vlad. He didn't want to make Vlad any more nervous than he already was. And he didn't want Vlad to freak out when he learned that Feliciano was mating with him.

Feliciano tried to remember what the process was to complete the mating ritual, so that he could avoid doing that. He didn't want Vlad to be trapped with him.

"I'm not really hungry," Vlad said.

"You need the food," Feliciano said. "Your heartbeat's irregular, and you're a bit pale. You don't want to make yourself sick."

"He's right," Lukas said, walking into the kitchen. "You need to eat. If something's happening, then you need your strength."

Vlad still looked hesitant, but eventually sighed and nodded. Lukas placed the pizza box on the table before he went towards one of the cupboards and grabbed three plates.

"I'm assuming that you're not going to eat this," Lukas said, looking towards Feliciano.

"No," Feliciano said. "I-I should probably get going, actually. Is there anything else that you'd like to ask me about?"

"Nothing that I can think of. Vlad?"

Vlad opened his mouth, before closing it, before opening it again. Feliciano frowned when he saw Vlad hugging himself. There was something worrying him, and he didn't know how to voice his concern, which made Feliciano worried in turn.

"I… M-maybe… Could you…" Vlad took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "Could you, perhaps… just ch-check my room too? I-in case… you can sense something?"

"Arthur was busy with a cleansing," Lukas said. "I doubt that he'd be able to find something."

"I-I might still go and check, just in case," Feliciano offered. "There might be a trace of something. Could you… Could you lead the way?"

Vlad nodded, and Feliciano followed him. On the way up the stairs, they encountered Arthur, who was coming down.

"Oh, Vlad," Arthur said, holding up a necklace. "I found your amulet."

Vlad accepted the necklace and put it around his neck.

"Thank you," Vlad said. "There's pizza in the kitchen."

Arthur thanked Vlad.

"I suggest that you keep that amulet on," Arthur said, his eyes flitting towards Feliciano. "We don't want to take any chances."

"Thanks for the advice," Vlad said.

Feliciano detected a hint of tension in Vlad's voice, and he wondered if it was in response to Arthur glancing towards Feliciano. Vlad's speed increased, and Feliciano followed after him. Vlad hesitated near one room, and Feliciano took a sniff.

"I don't smell anything," Feliciano said, stepping into the room.

The moment he stepped into the room, however, he had to take back those words. There was a horrible stench that assaulted him as soon as he crossed the threshold, and he gagged at the scent. It smelled a lot like old blood and rotting meat. He took a few steps back, and once he was in the hallway again, the scent disappeared.

"There's something there," Feliciano gasped, before he wrapped his arms around Vlad and buried his nose in his neck.

"W-what are you doing?" Vlad stammered, tensing.

"Something stinks in your room, and you smell nice. I need to get that scent out of my system."

Feliciano continued to breathe in Vlad's scent. He was still surprised that Vlad's scent had changed, and that he no longer smelled like prey to him. But the rhythmic beating of Vlad's heart still drew his attention towards Vlad's neck. The sound was calling to him, and he could feel his fangs elongating. He only hesitated because Vlad's heartbeat was too wild. He was uncomfortable with the situation.

Feliciano made sure to retract his fangs before pulling away from Vlad. The Romanian was staring at him, and Feliciano felt guilty when he noticed that Vlad was trying to control his emotions, particularly his fear.

"Sorry," Feliciano said. "I shouldn't have done that. It's just…" He looked over towards the room. "There's something there. It smelled… Like old blood and rotting flesh. But I could only smell it when I was in the room."

"So, Arthur's cleansing was a failure," Vlad said. He hugged himself, and Feliciano wanted to hug him instead. "What the hell is happening?"

"Maybe… You should reach out to the Kirklands. They might be able to figure out what it is, and how to get rid of it."

Vlad nodded his head. Feliciano reached out to take his hands, hoping to comfort the young male.

"Things will be okay," Feliciano said. "I know this is a lot happening to you, but you can make it through it."

Vlad's mouth twitched in a small smile, before he hugged Feliciano. Feliciano's eyes widened, and he could clearly feel the other's heartbeat against him. And that was when he remembered that one of the steps in the mating process was for the two vampires to exchange blood, the same way they would have done when it came to the siring process. There was also an act of intimacy involved, though Feliciano wasn't sure how intimate that was supposed to be. He didn't know if their current position counted as being intimate enough.

Someone cleared his throat, and the two of them moved apart. Feliciano's head swivelled in the direction of the stairs, where Arthur was watching them.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Arthur said, "but the pizza's getting cold."

"A-and I need to get going," Feliciano stammered. "Um, Arthur… I don't know if the cleansing or whatever it is actually worked. There's this… stench in his room. But only when I step inside."

Arthur frowned.

"That sounds like there might be magic involved," Arthur said. "I'm sorry, Vlad. There's still an extra room, if you'd prefer to stay there until this is sorted out."

"Thanks," Vlad said. He turned towards Feliciano. "So, I-I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the café?"

Feliciano felt uncomfortable, since it meant that Vlad would be close to Gupta again. He just hoped that he wouldn't to be in a situation where he would have to choose between them. Because he knew that whichever side he chose, there would be consequences, and Vlad would be in danger either way.