Staying in Switzerland (Hetalia One-Shots)

Why Are We Hiding?

    Aksel adjusted his glasses as he walked down one of the many halls in the Switzerland headquarters. Denmark had let him sleep in again, and now Aksel couldn’t find him anywhere. Of course, he hadn’t exactly looked everywhere yet, just the places he thought his crazy older brother might be. But he hadn’t been able to find him or any of the other Nordics, and he was too shy to ask anyone for help. He would rather wander the halls alone forever than talk to a stranger.
    It was true, as much as he hated Denmark for rubbing it in: Aksel didn’t get out much. Pretty much never, unless Denmark insisted. The Viking Age had sucked all the joy of traveling out of him, and now that he was finally settled down comfortably in his land, he wanted to stay that way.
    Aksel clapped both of his hands together as he walked, smiling briefly as he wiggled the fingers of his new prosthetic. It was so lifelike, he was startled whenever he looked at it. He realized how odd it was that he had already become so accustomed to having his arm back, considering he'd lost it over one-thousand years ago. It was amazing, and Aksel would forever be grateful to Vale, Alice, and his family for helping him.
    Now if only I could find them…
    He paused next to two double doors that were flung open. Inside was a comfortable sitting room with multiple couches and tables. Nobody was lounging inside, however, and Aksel couldn’t imagine Denmark ever resting in such a sophisticated looking area. So he turned around. A few other countries were walking through the hallway, and Aksel searched for any familiar faces.
    He found one.
    Aksel stopped in his tracks, his eyes growing momentarily wide. Coming in through a door at the end of the hall was Russia.
    No. No, I don’t have to be afraid of him. I don’t…
    Russia looked in his direction. Aksel turned on his heel and ran into the sitting room, shutting one of the doors behind him. His heart pounded hard against his chest as he walked further into the room. But then he stopped and frowned, wanting to slap himself.
    What am I doing? This is stupid. That was a long time ago and there’s no reason I should be so—
    Aksel heard Ivan’s voice out in the hall and panic surged through him. He raced further into a room. There was a long, dark green couch directly in front of him, and he ran around and ducked behind it, sliding onto his knees.
    There was a short yelp and Aksel startled. Someone was already there!
    Aksel put a finger to his lips and shook his head rapidly. The man slammed both of his hands over his mouth and looked toward the couch with wide eyes. Aksel heard footsteps. They paused outside of the sitting room.
    Aksel bit his lip and held his breath.
    But then the footsteps continued, and the person moved on.
    Aksel and the man sighed at the same time. They looked at each other, and Aksel glanced him over. The man had long, dark brown hair, wide blue eyes, and a nervous air about him that was easy to catch onto. He didn’t keep Aksel’s gaze for very long.
    “What are you doing here?” Aksel blurted.
    “I, I, uh, I just… well, I was, uh, ah…” the man mumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest and glancing nervously at Aksel.
    “Who are you?” Aksel switched questions, cocking his head to the side. He felt like he had seen this man before, but he couldn’t remember where.
    “Who— oh, my name is Tolys. But I-I am the country of Lithuania,” the man said with a timid smile. “Hi.”
    “Hi,” Aksel chuckled and held his hand out to him. Tolys took it and they shook.
    “I’m Aksel, the municipality of Bornholm.”
    “Nice to meet you,” Tolys said, relief obvious in his voice.
    “Now, what are you doing back here?” Aksel asked again.
    “Well, uh— what are you doing back here?” he countered. Aksel chuckled.
    “I was looking for Denmark, but then… well, I’m not exactly sure why I’m back here…” Aksel sighed and shook his head. “It’s so stupid…”
    “Are you hiding from Russia?”
    Aksel looked at Lithuania with surprise.
    “Well, yes,” he admitted. Tolys nodded.
    “Me too.”
    Aksel gave him a brief half-smile.
    “Were you apart of the Union?”
    Lithuania visibly shivered.
    “Y-yeah. Were you?”
    “Thankfully no, but…” Aksel let the sentence trail to silence.
    “Wait, you were the country that received the magical prosthetic arm, weren’t you?” Lithuania exclaimed. “The one like Oregon’s?”
    Aksel looked at him. He was glancing at his arms.
    “Yeah, that's me,” Aksel said.
    “Well, it is most definitely magical, because I cannot tell which is fake and which is real,” Lithuania smiled. “Congratulations.”
    Aksel smiled again and looked down at his arm, wiggling his fingers.
    “Is it, ah, weird?”
    “What’d’ya mean?”
    “I mean, um… having an arm again.”
    “It’s more awesome than weird, in my opinion,” Aksel said, clenching his new hand into a fist before comparing his two hands side by side.
    “Were you born without it, or did you lose it somehow?”
    Aksel looked up at Lithuania, his eyebrows raising. Very few people had ever dared to ask about Aksel’s missing arm, so he was greatly surprised that this man, of all people, had the courage to. Not only that, but he was asking with a respectful curiosity, which further impressed Bornholm.
    I like this guy. He’s chill.
    “I lost it in an incident a long, long time ago,” Aksel said. Lithuania nodded.
    “Well, I’m happy for you,” Lithuania said, sincerely. “A-about the prosthetic, I mean! It, uh, looks amazing.”
    “Thanks, man,” Aksel said with a grin. But then his leg began to cramp so he frowned and sat up on his knees.
    “But this is silly,” he said with a short chuckle, “Why are we still hiding? It’s not like Russia would do anything if he saw us.”
    “Well…” Tolys mumbled.
    “He— he wouldn’t. Not here, not now,” Aksel insisted with a firm nod.
    “Of course not, my friends! I agree with the Aksel, you are both so silly!”
    Bornholm and Lithuania looked up. Lithuania screamed. Bornholm’s flight instincts kicked in. He grabbed Lithuania’s arm and pulled him to his feet, running around the couch. Russia burst into laughter as they ran from the room.
    As they rounded the corner, Aksel slowed down and released Lithuania’s arm. He looked back at him. Tolys’s eyes were wide and he had his other hand slapped over his mouth.
    Aksel’s heart was pounding erratically. He chuckled, nervously, glancing over Lithuania’s shoulder. But there was no sign of Russia.
    “That… that was…” he took a deep breath and shook his head.
    “You— you were looking for Denmark, yes?” Lithuania said, glancing nervously over his shoulder, “I— I think I know where he is. We should go find him. And quick.”