Title: Christmas Roses

Anime: Hetalia

Couple: PruHun

Date: December Twenty-fifth

It really should not be this hard. The snow was coming down softly, a white dust already coated the sidewalk, and the breeze blew just enough to lift her chestnut locks off her cheek, a rosy red from her laughter and the chill. Her bottle green eyes glowed with an inner light as she scooped up some snow off of the house's railing and-

The white ball hit him square in the face, causing him to stumble a few feet back, his hand clenching tightly around what he held behind his back. Worry that he crushed the item, he managed to shrug it off, wiping the snow off his face, laughing his odd cackle. "Elizaveta, that's a rather rude way to greet someone with a gift!"

She laughed down at the Albino from the stairs, "You were staring at me and it was weird, like you always are. Besides, Germanic Christmas is early in the month, or have you been around America too much?" The personification of Hungary gave the dead country a sly look then, "Or did you make a bargain with a demon on the night of Lucia that if you gave out presents today it wouldn't take you away?"

Gilbert Beilschmidt scowled up at his childhood friend, forcefully reminded of the time she had scared the life out of him by dressing up as Krampus, the man who took away bad children on the day Saint Nickolas gave out presents. He may be a country, but the stories the adults had told him and the Hedervary had been downright terrifying for the young miscreant.

That was not why he was there though! He had to give them to her on this day or they would not have the same meaning! It would be so unawesome if he could not do what he had been planning for weeks…or rather, what had been a spur of the moment decision at the store that morning.

"Eliza-"

"Elizaveta, vhere is the knackwurst? I need to add it to the soup."

A loud smack and the fact his forehead was firmly planted in his palm had Eliza staring rather hard at the man before her. His arm was still behind his back, as it had been since he had arrived. Why would that be? And why would his brother bringing up one of his favorite foods cause a reaction like that…oh.

"You forgot that since Ludwig and his leader had to go to Paris on the fifth we rescheduled the family dinner." Elizaveta's accusatory tone said it all. Gilbert looked up, guilt a bit too sharp in his chest for him to ignore, for the hurt that her words did not show was hidden within her eyes. She may have grown up as a man, picked on by everyone, but her family was a very large part of her life, and that was what the Germanic nations were to her.

Which made him the lowest thing on earth at the moment in her eyes. "Yeah, Eliza, I did." It would be no use to lie. "I knew something important was today, and I did bring you a gift!"

"Just forget it Prussia, and get in here." She said coldly, turning to return to the kitchen. "They should be in the fridge Ludwig. Already cooked so throwing them into the pot should fix them."

Watching her retreat back to the haven she had found once she had grown up into the beautiful woman he loved, Gilbert sighed, the red Christmas roses still tight in his hands, the thorns cutting slightly into his skin. This was not going half as awesomely as he had planned it to.

He made his way to the dining room of the Hungarian's house, a modest thing, but welcoming whether it held only silence within or filled with an argumentative family such as his, which was just the case at the moment. Gilbert felt a small smile tugging on his depressed lips at the far too familiar sight.

Belgium was tipsy already, causing Netherlands to snap constantly, unable to smoke in his cousin's house. On the other side of the couch the stick in the mud Austrian and the equally boring Swiss man sitting with their backs to each other, Lili moving between them, negotiating for peace for the night. The only truly cheery person was the Pole who sat on the armchair, or rather, leaned over it, focused on the presents under the tree.

"Gilbert! Finally, you're like, totally late!" This same man exclaimed, sitting up straight. "They were talking about holding the presents!"

Against his wishes, his lips twitched upwards further, "That would just kill you wouldn't it Feliks?"

Before the man could answer, the older women stepped forward, leaning down to raise the hand with the roses. "Ah, Gilly! Did some pretty girl reject you?" She giggled, eyes bright. "Tell me, who was it hm?"

He sighed heavily, sitting on the other side of Roderick. "She hasn't rejected me, yet. But she sure will now." An unsympathetic look was thrown his way by the man beside him, but he promptly shoved him off the couch. "I don't need your unawesome opinion though. I'm so awesome I'm sure I'll find someone else in no time!"

"I'm sure she'll love them Gilbert."

Liechtenstein's comforting voice had him looking towards the kitchen. "I hope so lil'sis."

"Stop chatting and get in here to get your food, you didn't think I'd serve you did you?" Elizaveta's voice rang from the kitchen, causing Gilbert to wince at the anger still in it. "Me and Ludwig worked hard on this, so you better eat it all!"

No one moved, none willing to face the wraith Gilbert had turned the Hungarian into. With a look promising them all very painful deaths for feeding him to the wolf, the Prussian moved forward.

With one hand held up, he stepped forward into the kitchen. "Before you start snapping at everyone," he started, ignoring her offended grunt, "I want you to know that I forgot what today was because I was busy getting you a gift."

"Sucking up to me won't help you."

"Let me finish!"

Ludwig looked up from the newspaper he was reading, having eaten with Feliciano before arriving and thus exempt from eating what he had cooked. His blue eyes dived down to the flowers barely concealed for his brother and a very small, grudging smile of approval appeared on his face before he feigned disinterest as his brother snapped, the rest of the family watching as though it was a play.

"I forgot what today was because last night I ran out of beer. So I went to the store to buy some more and well, I spent what money I had left on these." He pushed the roses towards her. "They're Christmas roses. I don't know how that makes they different from normal roses, but I'm sure there has to be some awesome reason behind it."

Elizaveta's eyes narrowed, understanding dawning. "You forgot what day it was because you were off to meet some girl. That's just low, forgetting your family because of a tra-"

"They're for you, you absurd, awesome woman."

A widening of her eyes was her only reaction for a very long time, then she reached out and snatched them away. "Thank you Gilbert." She muttered. "I don't really know how to take this, or-"

"Stop talking and like, kiss him already!"

Gilbert's eyes widened and he half-way turned to yell at Poland, when two battle-worn but tender hands took his face between them and pulled him into a surprisingly gentle kiss for the fierce woman.

Slowly she drew back, hands sliding to his shoulders and then his hands, her eyes bright as she chuckled at the stunned expression on his face. "About time Gilbert." She managed to say in a clear voice. "But that doesn't mean you're going to waste my food."

Even as she turned to get the soup, her hand did not leave his, and to Gilbert's mind, this had finally turned into the awesome Christmas he had imagined.

So, I'm planning on writing a one-shot for everyday from Christmas to New Years to test my rapid-fire writing. All my other stories are in my binder, under the Christmas tree, so until we take that down I'm not going to be able to type them up.

Some cultural notes here, because this is my family's nationality and my Oma loves telling stories, so I had to share.

Lucia's Night-There's two versions of this, but I went with the one I know best. Demons round about looking for people to snatch away because the girl Lucia who was to be burned at the stake escaped them.

Knackwurst-Also known as Knockwurst, similiar to brahtwurst.

Krampus-An old man who comes on December 5th with St. Nick to take away bad children, spanking them with swishes when he is not carrying them in his sack.

Please enjoy these festive stories. Review please.

~Willow