Thanks to ScandinavianTrash, Meheheh and Awww'edsohard for reviewing.
Here's a long one for you.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
PortIre: Wolfblood
"Hey, did you hear the howling last night?" Miguel asked.
Patrick looked up at his friend with a frown.
"Sorry," Patrick said. "You know I'm a deep sleeper."
"No kidding," Miguel said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, last night was the full moon."
Patrick nodded. There was no way he would be able to forget such an important detail.
"Do you think the wolf has killed again?" Miguel asked.
"Let us hope not," Patrick said. "Could we talk about something else?"
Miguel shrugged.
"So, what are you going to do for the harvest festival?" Miguel asked.
"I'll stay at home," Patrick said.
"Huh? But why?"
"I don't like crowds. You know that."
"Aw… I was hoping that you'd come with me. It would be less lonely with you there."
Patrick blushed slightly, but he turned his face so that Miguel wouldn't know.
The two were on the hill overlooking their village, though none of them were looking in that direction. They were looking at the woods, with the mountains further in the distance. Both of them shared the common dream of escaping the village life and exploring the world, starting with the mountains. But they both knew that it was an impossible dream.
Miguel had to take care of his brother, Antonio, who had fallen ill right after their parents had died. Miguel didn't want to simply leave his brother to die, but there seemed as though there was no hope for Antonio's recovery.
And as for Patrick…
The fact that he wouldn't even tell Miguel was concerning enough. The only answer that he would give was that he didn't want to leave without him.
Miguel sighed, before standing up. Patrick looked at him with an inquisitive look.
"I should probably go back to Antonio now," Miguel said. "I'll come see you again if they found out if the wolf has killed anything."
Patrick nodded, before he watched Miguel return to the village. He sighed. Miguel knew that Patrick always wanted to hear if the wolf had killed something, but was too afraid to enquire himself.
Patrick threw one more longing look at the mountains before he trudged back to his own home.
He lived with his brothers on the outskirts of town, ever since their parents had died. Their parents were victims of the wolf.
Alistair was a hunter, and provided most of the siblings' food. William was a physician, and Arthur was a teacher at the village's school. It was only Patrick that didn't have an occupation, other than research.
When he returned home he found Alistair there, sharpening his knives. Alistair glanced up briefly before returning to the knife he was sharpening.
"The wolf didn't get any livestock," Alistair said. "Nor did he get one of the villagers."
"Oh," Patrick said. "That's good."
"They did find the corpse of a bear," Alistair said. "Mauled to bits."
Patrick froze, before turning back to Alistair, who was watching him intently.
"How far are you?" Alistair asked.
"No progress," Patrick said. "But believe me, I'm looking."
"And how many full moons will pass before you find the answer?"
"I don't know!" Patrick snapped. "I don't know…"
Alistair shook his head.
"Why don't you just leave?" Alistair asked.
"I'm not going anywhere without Miguel," Patrick said. "He was there for me when you weren't."
"And how much does he know about you?"
Patrick flinched.
"Why don't you take him with you?" Alistair asked.
"I can't!" Patrick shouted. "What would happen at the next full moon? When it's just the two of us? What if he comes looking for me?"
Alistair sighed.
"And that's how I know that you're still human," Alistair said. "You make it hard, don't you?"
Patrick swallowed nervously, before he took one of the tomes he hadn't gotten to yet. He took it to his room and closed the door behind him.
He would be there for quite a while.
…
Miguel knocked on the door to Patrick's house. He hadn't seen his friend for quite a while, and he was growing worried.
The door opened to reveal William, who frowned in worry.
"Miguel," William said. "Did something happen to Antonio?"
"N-no," Miguel said, and the physician sighed in relief. "I was looking for Patrick. I haven't seen him for a few days."
William gave a small smile.
"Patrick's been working on research," William explained. "He hardly ever goes out of his room. He wouldn't even eat if I didn't bring his food to him."
Miguel frowned.
"What exactly is he researching?" Miguel asked.
"Trust me, you don't want to know," William said. "I could take you to him, if you want. Maybe you can convince him to take a break."
Miguel smiled.
"I don't know," he said playfully. "Stubbornness seems to run in your family."
William rolled his eyes.
"I'm not going to argue with you…" he said. "I'm not that stubborn, am I?"
Miguel arched an eyebrow.
"Have you ever seen yourself when you're telling a patient what they should and shouldn't do to recover?" Miguel asked.
William chuckled, before he allowed Miguel entrance.
Miguel was friendly with everyone in Patrick's family. However, it was Patrick that had a special place in his heart. He was not only Miguel's childhood friend, but a crutch when he needed it. At a time when Miguel could only see darkness in his life, Patrick provided him with light.
He wondered briefly at what point in time he had started to fall in love with the ginger-headed male.
Of course, he could not admit that love to anyone, least of all Patrick. It was a taboo. And besides, he wouldn't be able to handle it if Patrick found him a repulsive creature.
He waved at Alistair and Arthur, who were both in the main room. They waved in greeting, before resuming with their individual tasks.
Miguel knew the way well, and before he knew it he was standing outside Patrick's room.
He smiled when he saw Patrick asleep atop a pile of tomes. It was not the first time he had seen Patrick like this. And he wondered what Patrick had deemed so important as to fall asleep over it.
Curious, Miguel picked up an opened tome. His brows knit together when he saw what was on the page. It was something about a half-man, half-wolf hybrid. A lycanthrope, or a werewolf.
The tome described it as a disease, which could spread through a single bite. And there was no cure listed.
Miguel knew that the wolf had killed Patrick's parents. Perhaps he was researching a way to kill it, to get revenge on his parents' killer.
There was more. The creature revealed its true appearance during the night of the full moon. For the rest of the month, it resembled an ordinary human.
Miguel's eyes widened. The thought that it was an animal was bad enough, but… to think that it was a human too?
Miguel quickly put the book back where and the way he found it, before turning to Patrick. He lightly started shaking the other's shoulders.
"Hey, Patty," Miguel said softly. "Wakey-wakey."
Patrick groaned, before he opened his eyes. Miguel thought that he had seen a brief flash of gold in the green depths, but it was probably just his imagination.
"Haven't you heard of letting sleeping dogs lie?" Patrick asked.
"When the dog is lying on top of books instead of a bed, then you don't let it lie," Miguel said.
Patrick looked around him and sighed.
"I guess I got a little carried away," Patrick said.
Miguel shook his head while laughing, helping his friend to stand. Patrick swayed slightly before he grabbed onto Miguel's shoulder.
"I think you need to eat something and then properly go to bed," Miguel said.
Patrick sighed again.
"I think you might be right," Patrick said.
Miguel smiled as he went with his friend to the kitchen. He made sure that Patrick ate everything before going back to his room and into bed.
Miguel smiled as he watched Patrick sleep, before he left. He would probably need to go check on his brother as well.
…
"Bloody hell!"
William, Arthur and Alistair sighed, before William and Alistair turned to Arthur.
"Your turn," Alistair said.
Arthur nodded before he stood, making his way to Patrick's room.
He could hear quite a few profanities coming from his room and sighed. It was only a week away, and the tension around Patrick was very clear.
Arthur stepped into the room and immediately saw Patrick pulling his hair, a book open in front of him.
"That's enough," Arthur said sternly. "Honestly. I'm sure some of the children wouldn't throw as large a tantrum as you're now doing."
Patrick looked towards Arthur and dropped himself on his bed. Arthur sighed, approaching the bed.
"I know time's running out," Arthur said. "But you need to keep calm. You'll find it eventually."
Patrick looked at Arthur.
"That's not it," Patrick said. "I think I did find something."
Arthur's eyebrows shot up.
"Then shouldn't it be cause for celebration?" Arthur asked, perplexed.
Patrick sighed, before he stood again. He walked over to one of the books and pointed at a passage.
"Read what it says," Patrick said.
Arthur frowned, before he read the passage.
"'On the night of the full moon, when the human has surrendered to the wolf, the wolf can be tamed by a person that truly trusts and loves the human calling them by name. The wolf shall surrender to the human'," Arthur read. "What exactly does it mean?"
"It means that someone that loves and trusts me would need to call me by my name while I'm transformed," Patrick said. "Now, we have quite a few problems with that."
"Such as?"
"Well, I don't have someone that loves and trusts me."
Arthur's expression softened.
"Don't be ridiculous," Arthur said. "Will, Al and I love you."
"But you don't trust me," Patrick said.
"As a human…"
"Therein lies the problem."
Arthur sighed.
"What about Miguel?" Arthur asked. "It can be platonic, right?"
"Miguel doesn't know, remember?" Patrick said. "And besides, if he finds out, he would run away from me and want nothing more to do with me. And he might tell the rest of the villagers. I don't particularly fancy being hunted down."
Arthur groaned, massaging his temples.
"I'm starting to see your point," Arthur said. "But think about it. It's the closest you've ever gotten to a proper cure. I'm sure that if you persevere…"
"It's been thirteen years, Arthur," Patrick said. "I'm not going to find something else. I… I should have left a long time ago. Or I should have let Alistair…"
"Stop thinking like that!" Arthur snapped. "You know that Alistair wouldn't do that. And none of us want to lose you."
Patrick looked towards his brother with teary eyes.
"The full moon is in one week, Arthur," Patrick said. "Do you have any idea how much it hurts to have to transform like that? And how horrible it is that I have no idea what I'm doing. I… I don't want to kill anyone. Never again."
Arthur sighed, before he sat down next to Patrick, pulling his brother into a hug.
"We'll find a way," Arthur said. "I promise."
…
It was the day of the harvest festival. Miguel was smiling as he observed the festivities. It was around sunset, and the hunters were moving around.
The harvest festival was on the same day as the full moon. The night of the wolf. The hunters were around to make sure that the wolf didn't interfere with the festivities. No one wanted a death to occur.
Miguel saw Alistair and smiled, before he approached the redhead. Alistair looked happy to see him.
"Hey there," Alistair said. "You having fun?"
"Of course," Miguel said. "But… where's Patrick? I know that he said he didn't like crowds, but… I haven't seen him at all today."
Alistair's face fell.
"He's been feeling off today," Alistair said. "He's in bed."
Miguel immediately grew worried.
"Is he alright?" Miguel asked.
"Yeah," Alistair said. "Nothing to worry about. He probably just overdid it with all the late night studying."
"Still… I-I better go check on him."
"He'll be fine," Alistair said, and Miguel could detect a hint of a threat. "It's best you just leave him be."
Miguel nodded his head, suddenly feeling scared of the redhead. Alistair sighed.
"I better go back on patrol," Alistair said. "We don't want the wolf coming here, do we?"
"N-no," Miguel said. "We don't want that."
Miguel watched as Alistair left, biting his lip. He was worried about Patrick. And Alistair's behaviour made all sorts of warning bells ring.
Miguel would find out what's going on with his friend, regardless of what said friend's brother had to say.
…
Miguel was just about to knock when the door opened. His eyes widened when he saw Patrick, looking pale with dark circles around his eyes. Patrick also looked just as surprised as Miguel must have.
"Miguel?" Patrick said. "What are you doing here?"
"Alistair told me that you weren't feeling well," Miguel said. "I came to see if you're okay."
Patrick frowned, before he shook his head.
"You shouldn't have come here," Patrick said.
Miguel's eyes widened.
"W-why not?" he asked.
Patrick sighed, before he pushed past him. Miguel's eyes widened, before he followed after his friend.
"Where are you going?" Miguel asked.
"Go back," Patrick said. "I don't want you following me."
Miguel felt hurt at the statement, but he gritted his teeth and continued after his friend.
Miguel grew worried when he saw that they were in the woods. It had already turned dark. Then suddenly Patrick turned around, a furious and wild look on his face that Miguel had never seen before.
"I'm warning you, Miguel," Patrick said. "Go. Home."
Miguel's eyes hardened as he glared at his friend.
"No!" Miguel snapped. "Tell me what's going on and what we're doing here."
"I can't!" Patrick shouted. "Don't you understand? You need to get away, right now, before the wolf comes!"
Miguel felt his heart stop. He had completely forgotten about the wolf.
"Then come back with me," Miguel said. "Patrick, please. Tell me what's going on."
Patrick shook his head, and Miguel could see that tears had started to stream down his face.
"I can't," Patrick said. "Please. You need to go back now, before…"
Patrick suddenly stopped, making a choking sound. He looked up at the sky and swallowed nervously.
"The moon…" he whispered, before he turned to Miguel. "Run! Now!"
"Why?" Miguel asked. "What's…?"
Patrick suddenly let out a cry of pain, before he curled in on himself. Miguel could hear several cracking sounds, but that was nothing compared to the sight of fur covering Patrick's body, or the fact that his body was getting larger.
"Pat…?" Miguel whispered.
Patrick suddenly turned to Miguel, and the latter widened his eyes when he saw the lupine features.
He remembered what he had read in one of Patrick's books. That the wolf was also a human.
Patrick was the wolf.
Patrick growled, and Miguel took a tentative step back. He knew that he couldn't run. He could see that he was weaker than the wolf. And he could see that the wolf was hungry.
He backed up into a tree, and his eyes widened when the wolf was upon him. He could smell the rancid breath. It smelled like blood. He flinched when he heard the creature sniffing him, and Miguel whimpered.
"Please…" he whispered.
He could see a flash of green in the wolf's golden eyes, and to his great surprise the wolf turned away. Miguel watched it running away, going deeper into the woods.
Miguel remained like that for a moment before he started running in the opposite direction. His legs felt shaky and he found it difficult to move.
He stumbled when he heard the wolf howl, and he only ran faster.
He stopped when he saw the light of lanterns, and sighed in relief when he realised that he had returned to the village. He hoped that Patrick didn't follow him. Miguel shook his head, before running the rest of the way.
He saw a familiar mop of blond hair and paused, before running over to Arthur.
"Miguel?" Arthur asked, perplexed. "What's wrong? You look like you were running a long way."
"A-Arthur," Miguel said, panting in exertion. "I need to speak with you. It's about Patrick."
Arthur frowned, before leading the way back to their house. Once they were inside Arthur locked the door and turned to Miguel.
"What is it?" Arthur asked.
"P-Patrick," Miguel said. "H-he's the wolf."
Arthur's eyes widened.
"H-how do you know that?" he asked.
"Because I saw it!" Miguel snapped. "Why… why didn't he tell me?"
Arthur was silent for a moment.
"Have you told anyone else?" Arthur asked.
Miguel shook his head, and Arthur sighed in relief.
"I need to ask you to keep quiet about this," Arthur said.
"But why didn't he tell me?" Miguel whispered. "H-how did this happen?"
Arthur sighed.
"Lycanthropy is passed on by a bite," Arthur said. "There was another wolf around these parts, but my father killed it. But not before it bit Patrick. At the time, we didn't know what it meant. Until the next full moon. Patrick transformed for the first time, and…"
Miguel's eyes widened.
"He killed your parents," Miguel whispered.
Arthur nodded.
"Will, Al and I were hiding in my room," Arthur continued. "Alistair wanted to kill the wolf, but Will and I knew that it was our brother. We couldn't do that. And then… When morning came, we heard a horrified scream. Patrick had turned back to normal, and he had no memory of what happened. Imagine a ten-year-old waking up in the middle of a bloody carnage, with both his parents killed."
Miguel swallowed.
"I can imagine," Miguel said. "What happened after that?"
"We tried to find as much information as possible," Arthur said. "We managed to figure out that he transformed during the full moon, and that silver hurts him. After that we managed to get a few tomes. Since the last researcher happened to be the previous wolf, we got some of his books. Except for the night of the full moon, Patrick is still our brother. We didn't want him to be killed by the villagers."
Miguel averted his eyes.
"He was looking for a cure," Arthur said. "It would horrify him, every time he killed. He goes out into the woods during the full moon, but sometimes travellers would cross his path."
"I-I see," Miguel said. "And… he doesn't remember anything at all?"
"Not during those nights," Arthur said.
"Then… When he changes back… The last thing he would remember would be telling me to head back."
Arthur's eyes widened.
"Miguel… How close were you to him?" Arthur asked.
"Close enough to smell his breath," Miguel said.
"He… he didn't bite you, did he?"
"No. He just sniffed me, and then he ran away."
Arthur sighed.
"Did he ever find a solution?" Miguel asked.
"There is one," Arthur said. "But… it's impossible."
"Tell me."
"Someone that truly loves and trusts him should call him by his name."
Miguel's eyes widened.
"Then… why haven't you tried it?" Miguel asked. "I mean, you love your brother, don't you?"
"We love him, yes," Arthur said. "We just don't trust him."
Miguel bit his lip before he stood. Arthur stared after him.
"Where are you going?" Arthur asked.
"I'll find him," Miguel said. "He had every chance to attack me, but he didn't. I trust him. And… I love him."
Miguel had seen Arthur lock the door and knew where they kept the key, so he easily unlocked the door and left.
"Wait!" Arthur called out, running after him. "Miguel, you don't know what you're doing!"
Miguel didn't look back. He started running into the woods. He needed to find Patrick. He needed to save his friend.
…
Alistair was speaking with William. It was the latter that saw Arthur running closer.
"Hey there," William said. "What's wrong?"
"Miguel knows about Patrick," Arthur said. "He's gone after him."
"What?" Alistair exclaimed. "That idiot. Is he trying to get himself killed?"
"We need to go after them."
The other two nodded their heads, and they started to run into the woods.
…
Miguel had stopped running a while back and was now walking. He didn't know where to find Patrick, and he hoped that the wolf would howl to betray his location.
He only hoped it worked.
To his relief, the wolf did howl, but the relief was short-lived. The wolf was too close. Almost…
Miguel jumped in shock when he heard a crash from right next to him, and in the next instant he was pinned to the ground. His eyes widened when he saw the face of the wolf, his teeth bared.
"Patrick," Miguel said.
The wolf blinked, before it growled. But it had faltered, and that small action had strengthened Miguel's resolve.
"Patrick," Miguel said again. "I know you won't hurt me. Please, Patrick."
The wolf shook his head, and it stepped back. Miguel sat up as he saw the wolf shrinking, and the fur slowly disappeared. Miguel watched as the wolf transformed into his friend.
Patrick collapsed onto the ground, and Miguel ran towards him.
"Patrick?" he asked, moving the other so that he was resting on his lap. "Are you alright?"
Patrick groaned, before he opened his eyes.
"Miguel?" Patrick asked. "What are you doing here? How…?"
Miguel chuckled in relief, before he hugged his friend close.
"I'm so relieved," Miguel whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Patrick gasped.
"D-did you…?" he asked.
"I know everything," Miguel said. "How you're the wolf. How you came out here to make sure that you didn't kill anyone. You were trying to get me away from you, didn't you?"
Patrick nodded.
"I don't understand," Patrick said. "It's still night. Why aren't I…?"
"Arthur told me how to turn you back," Miguel explained. "I just needed to call your name."
"But… you have to trust and… love me."
"You had every chance to kill me earlier, so I trusted that you wouldn't kill me this time. And… I do love you. As… as more than a friend. I'm sorry if you find it repulsive and…"
Patrick placed his hand on Miguel's cheek, and Miguel turned to face him. Patrick had a smile on his face.
"You know," Patrick said, "I had thought of leaving for years. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I didn't want to leave without you."
Patrick placed his hand on the back of Miguel's head, and pulled the latter closer for a kiss.
…
"Come on," Alistair said. "Let's hope we're not too late."
Alistair brushed a bush away and paused, his eyes wide.
"Oh…kay," he said. "I… didn't expect that."
The other two frowned in confusion, before they stepped closer. Their eyes widened as well.
Miguel and Patrick were embracing each other, their lips locked together.
"Should we stop them?" William asked.
"I think we should turn back and pretend this never happened," Alistair said.
"Agreed," Arthur said. "Do you think they're aware of the fact that Patrick is naked?"
The prompt was: 'There's an old English myth that if someone who truly loved and trusted a werewolf called it by name, that werewolf would turn back into a human.'