A/N: So, this is my second fic for Hetalia. This was initially going to be a really long oneshot, but I decided to break it up into shorter, more manageable chapters.
Disclaimer: Heartache-sama does not own Hetalia.
ENJOY!
The ring was beautiful. It was comprised of a large sparkling diamond supported by a sleek silver band with several smaller diamonds nestled within the metal. It caught the light in a charming, nearly innocuous fashion, glimmering subtly at first though steadily becoming more eye-catching as the golden sunlight embraced its beauty. Its owner was in a similarly shining state with a golden smile befitting of such a stately piece of jewelry.
"Oh, Italy! It's so pretty!" Matthew gushed as he admired the ring. He turned the Italian's finger this way and that, determined to examine the ring from all angles. The Canadian ceased in his delighted inspection long enough to flash a smile to the happy couple. "Congratulations."
Feliciano's smile grew, and he tossed his arms around the small blond Canadian. His fiancé, Germany, simply blushed and gruffly nodded his thanks. "Oh, thank you, Canada! I'm so haaaappppyyy! Ve~! Will you help me plan the wedding?!"
"Of course!" The two countries launched into a frenzied conversation about flowers and invitations and guests, and Ludwig found himself wincing at the thought of how much 196 invitations "printed in gold script on tasteful ivory card stock" were going to cost him. Already, he could hear his country's budget crying out in fear.
The German allowed his bright ice blue eyes to glance over at his older brother who was currently leaning against the doorframe, watching Feliciano and Matthew with a disgruntled look on his face. I don't know why he's frowning. It's not like he's paying for this wedding. Ludwig rose to his feet and approached the clearly displeased albino. "What's wrong, bruder?"
Crimson eyes widened at the sudden disruption to his thoughts. Just as quickly, though, Gilbert relaxed and chuckled rather fakely. "Kesesese! Nothing at all, Luddy! Just thinking that it's about time you popped the question!"
Germany opened his mouth to angrily protest, but he was pulled into the kitchen before he had the opportunity to do so. Neither of the two countries on the couch seemed to have noticed the brothers' absence, for they were much too busy discussing the benefits of having a DJ versus a live band. Ludwig felt his economy rapidly slipping.
"Bruder, what's going on?!" the blond demanded. Prussia's usual cheeky grin was nowhere in sight.
"Look!" the ex-nation hissed, his index finger forcefully pointing in the direction of the living room, specifically at his boyfriend's current location on the sofa.
"What?!" Ludwig questioned exasperatedly.
"Look at Mattie! He looks so freakin' happy talking about this wedding stuff with Feli, and…well," Gilbert's voice lowered to a whisper, and the blond leaned in to hear better, "do you think…he wants to get married?"
Germany was flabbergasted. His brother had never sounded quite this serious before and certainly not in regards to a relationship; in fact, his brother had never been in a real relationship before, much less one where he was questioning the marital desires of his partner! "W-well, bruder," Ludwig replied uncertainly, "I certainly don't think he'd be too upset if you proposed. Do you want to marry Matthew?"
"I…don't know," the Prussian answered quietly. "Maybe." His usually loud, brash voice was thoughtful and sincere, and his downcast red eyes held a tenderness that Ludwig had never seen in his brother before. "I mean, I know that I love Mattie more than anything, and I planned on being with him forever, but I never really thought about marriage. Ever. I'm just not a marrying guy."
"Well, think of it this way: you want to stay with Canada forever, right?" Prussia nodded. "Marriage is just a big ceremony telling all of your family and friends that you promise to stay with him forever."
Gilbert nodded pensively, seeming to truly absorb his younger brother's words. "Yeah, you're right, West! And then afterwards we get to celebrate my awesome promise with cake and booze! Marriage is awesome! But clearly not as awesome as me."
And regular Gilbert was back. Ludwig sighed. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
"Ah, this is gonna be so awesome! I think I'm gonna go propose to my little Birdie right now!" With his cocky grin firmly back in place, Prussia valiantly charged towards the living room, but a swift tug to the collar ceased his motions.
"You idiot!" Ludwig roared in German. "You can't just walk in there and ask him to marry you. You have to get a ring, and wait for the right moment."
"A ring? What the hell? How am I even supposed to know what kind of ring Mattie likes?"
"Pay attention to him. If you happen to be in a jewelry store one day, pay attention to what catches his eye."
Prussia nodded, punching in his brother's advice as a memo on his cell phone. "Pay…attention. Got it. And how will I know if the moment is right?"
Germany shrugged. "You'll just feel it. It's got to be unexpected but special. For both of you."
"Aww, West!" the white-haired ex-nation teased. "I had no idea you knew so much about romance!" He reached over and pinched the other man's cheeks.
"SHUT UP!"
"Aww, is Casanova embarrassed?"
"STOP PINCHING ME! DAMMIT!"
"Prussia, I'm so proud of you!" Hungary squealed as she wrapped her arms around Gilbert. Though he would never admit it, he was actually really freaked out by that hug. Apparently, Roderich was equally perturbed; his piano movements ceased for a moment as he simply stared at the two of them. "There's really not enough yaoi marriages in the world, and it warms my heart that you have finally grown up and allowed love to trap you in its embrace! After all, considering all the naughty things you and Canada have done, you're practically married already! How cute!"
"Please stop manipulating my awesome relationship into something that feeds your weird, totally unawesome fantasies."
Elizaveta nodded cheerfully as she twirled the handle of her frying pan in her left hand like a pro. "Oh, Gilbert, you're so funny." The Prussian paled dramatically, if that was even possible. "Now, Gilly, be a good boy and show me the ring you picked out."
Gilbert dug around in his back pocket until he finally retrieved the ring from its depths. It was a cheap trinket, equal parts plastic and some mysterious (fake) metal. The band was simple with no dramatic flourishes to speak of, and the (plastic) heart-shaped stone was hot pink with small (plastic) clear jewels surrounding it. The albino found himself smiling at the ring proudly, and even went as far to wave it in Austria's face, bragging about how a "piano-playing pansy like him could never hope to buy a ring as awesome as this".
Elizaveta retracted her arm before swinging it forward, cast iron frying pan striking Gilbert across the back of the skull.
"Gahh! You crazy woman, what the fuck was that for?!" He rubbed the large bump that currently protruded from his head, glancing up in time to see fiery emerald orbs glaring death beams at him.
"What the hell is that?!" Hungary demanded, pointing at the atrocity of a ring with a shaking finger. Prussia frowned in confusion.
"It's the awesome engagement ring I got for Birdie, duh! We were at the arcade last week, and he was saying how cute it was, so I got it for him. Dude, you have no idea how many rounds of ski ball I had to play to get this thing. Three hundred fucking tickets. It's a pretty damn awesome ring, though. Definitely worthy of my awesome Birdie."
"YOU IDIOT!" the dark-haired woman screeched, once again striking the Prussian with her frying pan. Gilbert was pretty sure the brain damage was going to start setting in soon. "You got a cheap arcade ring for Matthew, the person you plan on spending the rest of your life with, the one person in the world who can actually put up with your ass for more than thirty minutes at a time, and you plan to propose to him that piece of junk?! I should kill you; someone who's that dense doesn't deserve to be alive!" Elizaveta hit him once more, knocking him out cold.
"Come on, Roderich!" she called as she dragged Gilbert by the collar. "We've got a proposal to plan."
A/N: Ahh, Prussia amuses me so much. He's so impulsive, and that makes him so much fun to write for. I love his little mini-rant about the awful ring he picked out. Arcade games have to be rigged, and I've never seen anyone get more than 5 tickets off of one round of ski ball (Damn you, Chuck E. Cheese, and your impossible games!), so Prussia must've spent a long ass time playing. That is dedication, my friends. Canada wouldn't have been getting an arcade ring from me. Just sayin'.
Ahhh, I'm lying! I would do anything for Mattie! *hugs Canada* I would even play ski ball for three hours straight for him.
Chapter 2 is soon to follow...
SEE YA NEXT TIME!