Ludwig was in the bathroom. He had already used up half the tube of gel sorting his hair, and it still didn't look right. What was wrong with him? Lately he had perfected his hair route, he had even timed himself. He knew he could get flawless hair in under a minute. So why was this taking him so long?

Well his brother seemed to think he had the answer to that question. "Cos you're finally going to do something awesome. You're finally going to tell him." But what did Gilbert know?! Sure Feliciano was coming over. But he came over all the time.

Ludwig was still in the bathroom when the doorbell went. Damn it! His hair will just have to do. He had to get to the door before Gilbert. Ever since they were small, whenever the doorbell went there had been a race to the door. Back then their grandfather used to join them, but now it was just a two horse race, and Ludwig had gravity on his side.

Ludwig raced out of the bathroom and down the stairs, but before he reached the top step he heard his brother making his way up from the basement. There was only one thing for it, he had to jump the last half of the stairs. This was a risky strategy, but if he could nail the landing he would make it to the door first.

How many times had he told Feliciano to text rather than knock.

Unless it wasn't Feliciano.

He didn't want to be all out of breath when he answered the door. That would be impolite.

Ludwig reached the halfway point and launched himself towards the door, just as Gilbert appeared at the top of the basement stairs.

If Gilbert was to get there first then he would be able to lay his filthy little hands on Feliciano. That was one thing Ludwig could not allow.

As he landed Ludwig's foot gave way and he went head first into the front door. Not what he had planned to do, but it did mean he had got there before Gilbert. Before he opened the door, he turned and looked his brother right in the eyes.

"Go back to your basement and stay there. If I hear so much as a squeak out of you I will make your life a living hell."

Gilbert got the message. He really didn't need to stick around to see if his brother would fulfil his threat. He had made that mistake one too many times before, and despite being the older brother he really did fear for his life.

After he had watched Gilbert scurry back to his room Ludwig turned his attention to the door. He fumbled for the door handle. Despite growing up in the same house all his life he could not seem to find it. He looked down but everything had gone a bit blurry. Turning what he hoped was the handle he stepped back and everything went dark.

"Lud? Lud are you ok"

"He did hit his head pretty badly on the door"

Ludwig slowly opens his eyes to see two people bent over him. "Feli? Is that you?"

"Bro, Feli's not here yet. It was just Birdie at the door! Isn't it awesome?! He wanted to surprise me with pancakes! He is just the most awesomest person other than me I have met!"

So if Feliciano hadn't been the one at the door then where was he? It was usual for him to run a little late sometimes, especially if he got hungry. "Where's Feliciano? FELI?!"

Ludwig then heard the distinctive sound of his brother trying to leave the room unnoticed. Followed by a slight shuffling noise which he had recently learnt to attribute to his brother's boyfriend. Now that he was alone in the front room the right pocket of his jeans felt very empty. In all that rush to get downstairs he must have left his phone in his room. He sighed and tried to sit up, but failed. He tried again, this time giving out a loud groan. He smiled with victory as his feet touched the floor. All he had to do now was the scale the stairs.

As Ludwig was working out the quickest way to get to his room in his present state, his eyes fell on a small rectangular object on the coffee table. His brother had some nerve going into his bedroom without his permission, though on this occasion he was grateful. He now only had to make it to the centre of the room to acquire his phone.

At that moment the sound of "It's a small world" filled the room. Ludwig groaned as his brother had clearly changed his ringtone, and now he had to change his password. Again. He dived over and answered his phone as he fell awkwardly to the floor.

Before he could get a "hello" out he heard the one voice he wanted to hear, apologising at him at a hundred miles an hour. Ludwig let the manic voice sooth him for a few seconds before attempting to calm it down.

"Feli." It just took one word to silence the voice on the other end of the line. "Be as precise as you can. Where are you right now?"

There was a pause, in which Ludwig could almost hear the cogs whirring in the other boy's brain.

"Just past the garage by the pub." Came a slightly unsure answer. Ludwig could never tell if Feliciano sounds unsure because he did not know the answer, or because he did not think his answer was good enough.

"Well then you know where to go from there. You will be here in less than 5 minutes" Ludwig explained, knowing full well that those 5 minutes will be spent directing the Italian boy around every corner.

Ludwig was propped up against the front door when he heard a feeble knock followed by an apology. He took a deep breath before turning the handle and welcoming his visitor.

He had to brace himself as he was glomped, but it soon turned into a warm embrace.

There was movement downstairs, so the boys relocated to Ludwig's room for a bit of privacy.

As soon as Ludwig open his door, Feliciano ran past him and jumped onto the bed, squeeing with delight at the packet of fresh pasta on the pillow.

Ludwig walked over and ruffled the delighted boy's hair. "I thought you would like that more than chocolate" he explained, watching the boy's grin widen in agreement.

"Before you open it, I'd, um, I'd like to ask you something." The German stiffened as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He glanced over at his companion for a reaction.

Feliciano had put on his serious face, which never fails to make him laugh. So five seconds afterwards he was in fits of giggles, just like at the start of every maths class. Although this was one of the qualities that Ludwig adored, but right now it was not appreciated.

"Feliciano! Please could you concentrate on what I am about to tell you. It is really important. I don't know if I will be able to say it twice."

At this the giggling stopped. Feliciano could tell that this was important. More important than the list of things not to eat. More important that tomorrow's trigonometry exam. Even more important than pasta. He tried to be serious and listen to Ludwig at the same time, but he was scared that something would slip and he would make his best friend cry.

Ludwig clear his throat. "Feliciano. It has been three year since we first met. Those three years I can safely say as three of the best of my life. I have been doing some calculations and a lot of thinking. My conclusion being that the reason why these years have been so enjoyable is down to you. All of my most treasured memories have something to do with you. This cannot be a coincidence. So from this day forward I would like to propose that to maximise happiness we spend more time in one another's company."

At this point he was cut off by the full weight of the Italian knocking him sideways. "Oh Lud! I thought you would never ask! Of course I will be your boyfriend! I mean we practically are already!" Feliciano looked down to see Ludwig slowly turning red, the process of which was greatly sped up when Feliciano planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Well that not strictly what I meant." Ludwig stressed trying to backtrack, but the look on the other boy's face as he said this made his heart break. He remembered what his brother had said, how was this doing something awesome? He thought back to how nervous he had been this morning. He thought about knowing exactly what he was going to buy for Feliciano. Maybe that was what he meant after all. He had just been too caught up in mathematics and problem solving that he had forgotten to feel. How could he take back those words, those hate filled, untrue words. And then it came to him.

He slowly sat up, and as he did so he pulled his boyfriend into a tight embrace and kissed him. On the lips.

Author's Note: I don't own Hetalia