Misunderstanding

Pairings: Estvia (Estonia/Latvia)

Summary: Gakuen Hetalia; Valentine's Day theme; Part of a series of unconnected one-shots; Seychelles causes a misunderstanding between Estonia and Latvia, but it's all for the greater good.

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"B-but why m-me?" The teenage boy looked over his shoulder nervously and turned back to face the dark-haired, bright-eyed girl in front of him.

She pouted her beige lips, a few shades lighter than her own tan skin, and answered. "You're the only one who can. You know him really well, don't you? Aren't you my friend, Raivis?"

The boy trembled a little and looked down at his hands, over his shoulder again and back down at his hands. "B-but.." His protests were cut off as the girl shoved a small package into his hands. Why me? He thought.

The girl—his friend Angelique Michelle, or just Chelle as she liked to be called—hurried off to class, leaving Raivis in the hallway with the package. Daintily wrapped in white gift tissue, the small parcel contained homemade chocolates (chocolates that he helped her make). And he was supposed to give these to him for her. He hadn't even known that Chelle had a crush on Eduard until she had approached him about the Valentine's Day sweets. And now she expects me to give them to him. Does she know that I… like him too? …No. She wouldn't have asked me for this favor, if she had known.

Around the corner, the tan, island girl watched him sigh in defeat, walking away, with the parcel gingerly held in his femininely slender hands. She really hated to manipulate him like this, but she wanted to see her shy, ever-nervous friend finally admit his feelings. As he disappeared around another corner and out of her sight, she scampered off to the photo classroom, which, naturally, doubled as the Photo Club's meeting room. In said room, several occupants were idling about or developing their pictures.

"Veta," she called, as she entered the room. A tall, brunette third-year student looked up from her work, organizing her photo collection. She smiled when she saw the dark-haired first-year approach her.

"Chelle," she sang out, her voice carrying a light, musical tone. "I assume you gave him the chocolate." She quirked an eyebrow. The younger girl nodded in affirmation.

"Not much resistance met," she giggled.

"Poor Raivis," Elizaveta tutted. "Poor adorable Raivis. Doesn't know what he's unwittingly gotten into." The musical tone altered, the devious smirk on her face was audible in her voice.

Raivis Galante sighed, at a loss. How was he supposed to approach his second-year friend, idol, crush, and embarrassingly enough, tutor. The thought remained in his mind—it'll be like I'm giving him the chocolate. Which I am… but I'm not, because it'll be for Chelle. He glared—which was more of a pout than anything—at the incriminating parcel, trying to will the thing away. He would have no reason to turn her down, the little blond thought. She's pretty, smart, fun, outgoing, charming, funny… He sighed again, allowing his head to hit the table with a thunk!

And most importantly, she's a girl, he thought miserably.

He heard a chuckle behind him and jumped in his seat, startled, and quickly grabbed the white package and hid it in his lap. Eduard von Bock half-smiled at the younger student and sat down next to him. "Something wrong, Raivis?"

"N-n-no, Eduard," he stuttered out--which was, thankfully, in this instance at least, not an uncommon occurrence for the Latvian. The other blond shrugged and opened up his books to start tutoring his friend. Raivis couldn't help but fidget during the entire session, even more acutely aware of the ace-student's presence, allied with the troublesome object in his lap. He was so focused on it that he didn't retain any of the information from the lesson, he realized afterwards. His forehead met the table once again. Why me?

In the days preceding St. Valentine's Day, among those days being the instance where Chelles entrusted her blond friend with the task of delivering "her" Valentine's chocolate to "her" crush Eduard, the whole student body—and by that, what is meant is actually the female populous of the school—was in an uproar, encouraged greatly by the student council, particularly its notorious vice president, Elizaveta Hédérváry.

The charismatic and friendly third-year had much influence on the council's decisions (read: she's stubborn and manipulative) and thusly proposed many activities, pre-approved by school administrators, for the holiday. As such, on the actual day, not much schoolwork was to be had. Each of the classes was allowed to choose its own festivities and so there was much mingling between class levels in the school that day.

Chelle watched as Raivis sat sullenly in his seat with the little white bundle on his desktop, his big violet eyes trained intently on it. She nibbled on her bottom lip, gazing at the back of his head imploringly. As though sensing her eyes, he turned to face her and sent her a refuting look.

"Aren't you gonna go?" Her brown eyes pleaded.

"Do I have to?" His incandescent lilac ones begged.

"Raivis…" She pouted visibly.

"Oh fine…" the boy muttered. Chelle cheered mentally and smiled sweetly at him.

The shy boy stood and exited the classroom with the gift in hand, habitually checking the hall corridor for a certain burly third-year that made a hobby of singling him out in the crowd of first-years. He made his way to second-year class B: Eduard's classroom.

The door was open, various students from all grades bustling in and out. Raivis was just one among many. He balked at the door, not wanting to complete the task, but was spotted by a gentle-eyed blonde who beckoned him inside. The girl was Lillian Zwingli, a friend of Chelle's—and by association, a friend of his—who had a dangerously hot-headed older brother by the name of Vash, though the girl herself was known for her heart of gold.

"Hello, Raivis," she greeted him kindly. "What are you doing in 2-B?"

He opened his mouth, hoping that some sort of plausible explanation would fabricate itself out of thin air, having nothing to do with the Valentine's gift in his hand of course. After a few moments of patience, Lili frowned a bit. Her eyes widened as she saw a light dusting of pink on his cheeks and her frown turned into a small, knowing smile. Just as Elizaveta told me, she thought, and giggled.

The bell-like sound brought the boy back to the present, blushing a little dark (though he himself was completely unaware of his blush at all), and he hid—or attempted it—the package behind his back. Guessing that she had already seen it, he tried to explain properly the reason for his being there with the object in hand, though he didn't manage to get out much.

"N-no, i-it's not that--! Chelle! She w-wanted me t-to---!"

The stuttering caught the attention of at least one other in the room. The fellow, seeing his younger friend about to have a heart attack from anxiety, made his way over to the blondes. He cocked his head and listened in until Raivis managed to stutter out something intelligible.

"—t-t-today and Eduard, I'm s-supposed t-to—"

"What about Eduard?" The taller second-year asked, causing Raivis to very nearly jump right out of his own skin.

O-oh no… what am I supposed to— The golden-blond boy teen turned to see his Estonian friend smiling behind him. Quickly, he turned away again, flushing, to see that Lili had left the two alone and was happily chatting away with two other girls.

He gulped and faced Eduard. The other's dark blue eyes were alight with good humor behind wire-rimmed glasses, and he was smiling a little.

"Happy Valentines Day, Raivis. Is something the matter? You look more worried than usual," the ace-student quipped. His brows furrowed when he saw Raivis tremble more and open his mouth to stutter something that refused to come out. Hs lips were parted slightly and his round, lilac eyes were pricking with tears. Eduard pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, a distraction from the blood he felt coloring his face.

"H-happy Valentine's D-day, Eduard," Raivis managed, and dipped his head down, avoiding eye contact. His whole body was warm from embarrassment and anxiety. He tentatively brought his hands with the chocolate in them forward and continued. "I w-wan—needed t-to give this t-to you. Chelle a-as-asked me b-because she says that…" He trailed off, not being able to finish even his own thought, hoping that somehow the Estonian would understand him, go on a date with his best friend, and maybe have the floor swallow him up too, while the happy new couple goes on their merry way.

On the other side of the classroom, Lili glanced briefly at her friend, while listening to Veta explain Photo Club's plans for next month. When she saw Raivis give the chocolate to the other teen, her eyes widened and she nudged Veta mid-rant, motioning in the boys' direction. The older girl complied and nearly gasped herself, happily snapping a few quick, silent photos of them on her phone and her camera.

Eduard became fully aware of his own flush as the younger blond stood there holding out a little parcel of sweets to him, trying to mutter out some sort of explanation and eventually trailing off his sentence. He was dazed by the turn of events, habitually pushing his glasses up his nose again. The Latvian student looked as though he wanted to run out of the room like a hare flees from a fox.

"Would you… like to go see a movie?" Eduard finally ventured to ask.

Raivis was distracted. He wanted desperately to run back to his classroom and hide under his desk forever. His ears perked when he heard Eduard speak at last. "—like to go see a movie?"

"I'm sorry. What?" Lilac eyes widened with a plethora of emotion.

The second-year smiled. "Would you like to go see a movie after school, Raivis?"

Raivis could feel his cheeks burn. "M-me? B-but what about Ch-chelle?"

"Ms. de Séchelles? What do you mean?"

Violet eyes stared at the package in his hands. D-did he think I was…? Oh…He blinked up at the bespectacled Estonian, who proceeded to pluck the bundle out of his hands.

"I'm not actually too fond of sweets," he mentioned. Still no response.

"Did you make these?" He asked. A nod. He untied the thin red ribbon and ate one of the chocolates. "Not bad," he hummed.

The bell rang. "I have to go back to class…" Raivis stammered.

"Will I see you after school?" Eduard asked, still sporting an amused half-smile. The Latvian hesitated, and then nodded hastily. The mousy blond found himself pulled into a hug and he could hear—barely, over the sound of his pounding heartbeat—the sound of a girlish squeal of glee somewhere else in the classroom. The flash of a camera left spots in the edges of his vision.

When Raivis returned to his own classroom, he would've liked to drop down into his desk in a daze, if he had been able to get to his seat before Chelle launched herself at him in a tight hug.

"I'm so happy for you Raivis!" she exclaimed.

"W-w-what?"

"Eliza just told me that you have a date with Eduard later!"

"I-I'm sorry Chelle. I-I tried… And y-you…" He trailed off, confused at her incessant giggling.

"Hehehehe~ I never had a crush on him, silly. You do," she explained, ruffling his golden-blond curls.

"B-but then… why did you…?"

"Oh, Raivis, I really hated to lie to you, but it was so obvious that you liked him, and to us—that's me and Elizaveta and Lili—well, we knew he liked you back, through undisclosed sources. But you'd've never had the courage to tell him. I never thought that our plan would work so well." She giggled again.

Raivis gaped at her and flushed. He couldn't be mad at her, especially since he knew that she was trying to help him… But she tricked me! … It's true though. I would've never admitted my feelings to him. I even hoped that it would just pass… But how did they know that he likes me…? His eyes widened as he realized the full implication of what had just transpired. Eduard asked me out… on a date?!

He would've fainted if the island girl hadn't intervened and quickly lead him to his desk, where he slumped into his seat.

Raivis tried not to think as he pressed his hot face onto the cool wood of the desk. Oh, good, the teacher's finally here. Maybe class will distract me, he thought. But, both his thoughts of schoolwork and his thoughts of the Estonian second-year were muddled as his mind wandered, though he desperately tried to concentrate on school.

Class ended without much of a flourish and the tan freshman girl hurried out to the Photo Club to meet up with her fellow club-members. All the girls congregated in the room. Lili was seated daintily with a gentle smile, at her Hungarian's friend's antics. The tomboyish brunette was enthused as never before and was bustling around between the meeting room and the dark room, raving at sixty words per minute. She pounced on the first-year as she entered the room.

"Ohmygosh Chelle! It was so cute! You were amazing!" She praised, stills speaking at unthinkable speeds.

Chelle giggled and thanked her. Elizaveta ran off again to join the oddest member of their club in the dark room. When they had finished, Veta categorized the snapshot and hung it up on the designated club wall space. She sighed happily and said, "He's going to trail them and get some more shots." The third-year smirked triumphantly and adjourned their meeting.

When the last class bell rang, Raivis saw his friend shoot out of the classroom and a dreadful sinking feeling filled his stomach. He exhaled slowly, trying to calm his nerves, but his calm was quickly defeated with the appearance of highly glossed dress shoes in his line of vision. He looked up, violet meeting bespectacled cerulean, and he fumbled in putting his things away.

"Ready to go?"

"E-Eduard! U-um, just putting my things away," the freshman said flustered. He did so and followed alongside the Estonian. They walked past the nearest movie theatre and Raivis voiced his confusion, to which his Eduard cocked an eyebrow and replied, "Do you really want to go to the movies?"

The Latvian shook his head a little and, becoming more comfortable as time went on and they walked through a park, endeavored to ask, "Then why did you ask that specifically?"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to ask to go on a date with someone?" He laughed and sat down on a bench. Raivis smiled a little and sat down next to him, much more comfortable in their current setting than he would have been at any movie theatre. The park was pleasant. A few mothers were present, their children chasing the ducks around the lake in front of them. They were seated in the shade of a large tree, and there was a sweet-smelling breeze about the air. It all had a peaceful, calming effect on the usually nervous Latvian boy. He leaned back, letting out a breath that seemed to contain as his anxiousness and worries. He jumped when his back touched something that was not a part of the wooden bench.

His eyes glanced quickly at the upperclassman, whose arms were subtly and conveniently draped over the back of the bench. The Latvian boy cautiously leaned back and scooted a little closer to the other, who chuckled under his breath and crooked the arm around the younger teen in loose but protective manner.

The smaller teen looked warily around the park. "I feel like we're being watched…" Not an uncommon feeling for the boy (in fact, one might say that with the Latvian, it was an intimately familiar feeling). Eduard shrugged nonchalantly, moving the protective arm unnoticeably closer to the boy, and replied. "Don't you always have that feeling?"

Raivis flushed. "Edua-ard…" he whined softly, but (after checking over his shoulder one last time) settled into his seat and leaned his head against the other's shoulder. I've always felt calmer around him, Raivis mused. At least not when I was thinking about how much I like him… But then, now I don't have to just think about it, do I?

The arm wrapped completely around Raivis and pulled him close to the body next to him. Eduard flushed as he heard the boy's content sigh and kept a straight face, looking out at the lake. A shadow flashed in the corner of his vision. The ace-student glanced briefly down at the golden-blond curls resting on his shoulder, and acknowledged the sudden leap in his stomach and the heady befuddlement in his mind. This is… nice. Eduard smiled genuinely and stood up, offering his hand to the cute Latvian teen, who took it hesitantly with a little smile of his own. He took both of their schoolbags in his other hand, despite Raivis's protests. They walked along the edge of the lake. Sunlight glinted off the water, giving the surface a glassy appearance, and Eduard smiled as Raivis admired the sight of it. Lilac eyes blinked up at him inquiringly.

"Um…" he started. "I j-just wanted to say thank you. F-for taking me out. B-because I really, really like you, Eduard… And I never that y-you'd like me back like that…" He looked down at their clasped hands.

Raivis didn't know how he got the courage to tell Eduard that, but he was pleasantly surprised to be pulled into another hug. He looked up and saw, to his astonishment that the cool-headed upperclassman's cheeks were stained a very obvious red.

"You're very…" Eduard shuffled desperately through his mental thesaurus for some word other than the one he was about to say "…cute, Raivis. He finished sheepishly, adjusting his glasses and scratching the back of his neck. The Latvian teen blushed adorably and muttered out a soft "thank you". He took his hand again and they left the park unaware of the presence that followed them.

What do I do now?

They stood on Raivis's doorstep and the younger blond opened his mouth but couldn't manage to get out any words. He'd seen enough romance films with Chelle to know that when you're standing on your doorstep, having come home from a date with the handsome protagonist, you were supposed to share the most mind-numbingly glorious first kiss ever. He blushed at the thought, knowing it actually would be his first kiss.

Eduard watched Raivis flush and attempt to speak. He had an inkling of what the boy was thinking, and his suspicions were confirmed as he leaned up and whispered something in Eduard's ear. The Latvian's naivety made him smile as he answered, "We don't have to, if you're uncomfortable with it."

Raivis visibly relaxed and grinned brightly and thankfully up at his date. With one last warm hug, Eduard said goodbye and started his own way home. He stopped at the gate and turned. "Oh and Raivis, would you like to go on a more formal date next week? Perhaps dinner… say a week from today?"

To this, Raivis agreed with surprisingly no hesitation. He waved and watched the other's retreating form until it disappeared before going inside the house.

The island girl launched herself at her friend and hugged him with astounding strength for her petite form. "I'm so proud of you, Raivis!" she squealed in delight. "So, how did your date with Eduard go?" She asked causing him to stammer.

"I-it was very… nice," he answered, flushing. He was saved from any further embarrassment, as the girl chattered on endlessly until he finally went home.

He sat—slumped, rather—at his desk and sighed blissfully. Wow… He felt drained and energetic at the same time. What a day… Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he blinked up at his computer's screen.

"Wa-a-a-gh!"

Thump!

"Oww…"

Raivis rubbed his arm where he had landed on it after falling out of his chair from utter shock. He looked up at the screen again and blushed furiously. Pictures of himself and Eduard, from various points of the day. From when he first approached the Estonian in his classroom to their embrace at his own doorstep. Who took all of these pictures without us noticing?! Righting the chair and sitting down, he scrolled through the blog. It was the photo club's website and their Valentine's Day tribute had he and Eduard all over their front page. All the pictures featuring he and Eduard were posted by a user named Nihon.

Sighing heavily, he felt a headache starting to blossom… bing! He blinked and looked at his phone. Did you see the website? : ) The text message read. The number was Eduard's.

"Yes : ( " He replied.

Moments later, another bing! "Don't worry about it."

"O-okay :/ "

"Happy Valentine's Day indeed," the Latvian muttered to himself.

The next time they met was at school.

Raivis walked slowly up the steps as usual, eyes cast to his feet in thought. He blinked up as he reached for the handle of the door and his hand met air. Amused deep blue eyes gaze down at him from behind wire-rimmed glasses. The Latvian gave a small smile as his hand was grasped by the other's larger one. Raivis walked with the Estonian to classroom 1A.

He could feel the stares of the students in the hallway, but if Eduard didn't care, then maybe neither did he. After all, he thought. If I get to be with him like this, then what does it matter? The thought was a brief moment of confidence for the normally self-conscious boy, and his bravado diminished quickly as a cold, bright, disconcerting stare and hulking figure passed them by.

They stopped outside his classroom door and Raivis balked, feeling like he should say or do something, but was saved the trouble.

"Will I see you at lunch?" Eduard asked. The first-year nodded timidly, and loosely wrapped his arms around the other's waist. The older teen smiled and returned the hug, placing a feather-light kiss on the crown of the Latvian's gold-blond curls. Raivis blushed until his ears turned crimson.

With one last shared smile, the two Baltic-born students parted ways. Raivis sat in his seat with a pensive sigh. It was scary at first, he thought happily to himself. But I think I could get used to this.