Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Axis Powers Hetalia. They belong to Hidekaze Himaruya.

Words

{:: Greece x Japan ::}

The sun had just risen upon another day in the rural area of Japan which Kiku called 'home'. He had started his day with cooking a small one-person breakfast and had eaten on his own, enjoying the peace and quiet. Usually, things were rather hectic in these times of war, but Kiku was glad to finally have a day off to relax.

'I think I'll take a bath after this.' Kiku decided, smiling as he cleaned the bowl he had eaten his breakfast from.

And bathe he did.

He was just returning from his trip the hot springs that were conveniently nearby his house, carrying his towels in a bag made from a weave of straw; when he spotted a familiar face standing outside his home.

He looked like he was deciding whether or not it was customary to knock on the door of a Japanese home, like it was in western culture.

Kiku tilted his head curiously, wondering why the young Heracles Karpusi was at his home, let alone in Japan in general. Though, it hadn't taken him completely by surprise, as the Greek man seemed to have some sort of keen fascination for his country's culture and language.

'I suppose I shouldn't leave him waiting out here too long. It looks like it'll rain, soon.' Kiku thought to himself, and walked over to the taller man.

"Ano... Heracles-san?" he asked him, and the brunet looked over to him in surprise. Kiku smiled, "Would you like to come in for some tea?" he asked the man.

"Ah... 'arigatou'." Heracles carefully pronounced and the two stepped inside the house. Kiku turned to Heracles as he slipped his sandals off.

"Eto... In Japanese culture it is customary to remove your shoes before entering. Would you mind...?" he gestured to him.

The brunet nodded, "Mm," he grunted and slipped his shoes off, before following Kiku into the kitchen and taking a seat, all while keeping an eye on the Japanese man.

"I'm just going to put my things way... I'll be right back." Kiku told him, and then left the room.

Kiku made his way to his bedroom, going straight to his closet where he stored his futon mattress, blankets, pillows and towels. He pulled the door open and took out his clean towels (which he had dried off at the bath-house after bathing), beginning to push them inside the top level of the cupboard which was almost too high up for him.

The sound of raindrops patting down lightly on the rooftops came to his ears, getting heavier and faster, gradually. He turned to his window as he tried to push the towels in on the top.

It was just as he predicted... It had been such a nice day too.

A sudden crack of thunder and lightning caused Kiku to jump with surprise and slip backwards, bringing the futon and towels down with him. He quickly found himself buried under the scattered fabrics.

'Thunder too...' he sighed, and tried to wriggle his way out from under everything. But he couldn't move. He paused, frowning slightly, 'I'm stuck... what now?' he wondered to himself. It was silent for a few moments, before he heard someone call him.

"Kiku-san!?"

"Ah... Heracles-san?" Kiku blinked, and tried to move around under the mess of sheets. "I-I'm under here." He said.

There was the muffled sound of footsteps, and the blankets were quickly tossed aside. Heracles pulled Kiku up into a sitting position.

"'daijoubu ka'?" he asked Kiku, staring intensely at him.

Kiku, feeling embarrassed, blushed a little and looked away, "Ah, I-I'm alright. The thunder gave me a shock, that's all." He answered.

"'Kaminari ga... kowaii'?" Heracles asked curiously, tilting his head to the side.

As another flash filled the skies outside, Kiku smiled and shook his head, "No. However, I believe you may have made some mistakes with that question..." he responded.

"Ah..." Heracles sounded. He looked down, as if thinking of something.

As he did this, Kiku lifted himself up slowly, and dusted himself off. "I have to re-stack these supplies in the closet. Would you like to help?" he asked, then paused, "I-If that's okay?" he added, not wanting to force the task onto his guest.

"Okay." Heracles nodded, and the two began to tidy things away. As they did, he continued to think to himself, and after a while he turned to Kiku with a somewhat hesitant expression, "Can you tell me if I say this correctly?" he asked, and paused to hear Kiku's response.

Kiku glanced at him curiously as he tucked the futon away in the closet.

"That's fine. Go ahead." He nodded, taking a pillow and putting it away as well.

Heracles also nodded, and they were quiet a moment. Kiku turned away from the closet to observe him curiously.

"Heracles-san?" he asked, waiting for him to speak.

"A-Ayii-" he began, unsure how to pronounce it. Kiku gestured for him to go on, listening carefully. Heracles took a breath, before trying again. "'ai.. shiteru'?" he slowly pronounced, looking to the Japanese man unsurely.

Kiku raised his eyebrows considerably.

'ai.. shiteru'?

What was Heracles trying to say?

Blushing and laughing nervously, Kiku opted to correct him. The word he used was a bit too strong for a man to refer to another man, in his mind. It couldn't possibly be what the Greek man really wanted to say.

"I-I think what you mean to say is 'suki'. What you said was too strong of a word..." Kiku told Heracles.

"'Suki'?" Heracles arced his brows, "But from what I read, that means 'to like', and 'aishiteru' is 'to love'." He said. He furrowed his brows, "I think that... 'suki' is too weak of a word." He explained.

Kiku stared at Heracles, disbelieving. Then he blushed. The western countries were indeed more open about emotions than Japan, who were generally rather unaccustomed to the West's more open expressions. But as he gazed into his eyes, he could see the brunet's words were of the utmost sincerity. Nothing could be mistranslated.

And so, Kiku smiled.

"Boku mou." Kiku answered gently, and Heracles smiled too.

Me too.

I love you, too.

Kin: This was made as a Birthday present for my good friend XxKaiserxX from Greece! She likes the pairing GreecexJapan so this is my present to her. I hope you like it, Kai-san!! Have a great birthday~!! =D

Ah, and also, this is my first attempt at writing something Hetalia-related, so I hope I did good and didn't get too out of character. -sweat drops-

Reviews, please? I'd appreciate the feedback. =3