The light hit Ludwig's face at the perfect angle to wake him from his deep slumber. He grumbled, tossing and turning until he found a suitable spot to return to sleep. That is until a deep breath resulted in him inhaling a large quantity of muddy water. He quickly sat up, coughing and struggling to catch his breath.

"Scheisse," He mumbled, the incident leaving him with a very irritated throat and eyes. For the first time, he managed to take a look at his surroundings. He sat in the midst of a small clearing, surrounded by a dense forest. Under him passed a small creek, that left the majority of his body soaked and muddy. He stood, beginning to wipe the unwanted filth off of him. Where was he? He searched the bank around him for any signs of footsteps. Surely some would have been left in the thick mud when he arrived. But there was no indication of him ever entering the creek. And there was no memory that could begin to point him in the direction he had arrived from.

With his lack of knowledge, Ludwig began to wonder the small clearing and think. His name was Ludwig. He was twenty years old. But he bore no other memory of his life prior to waking. His occupation, birthday, family... He couldn't even come across his full name.

Growing frustrated, he began to survey the forest around him. It wouldn't be a pleasant walk, no doubt filled with thorns and poison ivy. But in his laps around the clearing, he noticed one thing. Litter. Someone had to visit the clearing often, and he highly doubted they braved the forest each time. Keeping the thoughts in mind, he walked the edge of the clearing once more, carefully inspecting it for any makeshift paths. And he found exactly what assumed he would. It was a thin path, carved by foot that he was sure would lead him to some form of civilization.

The path was not long, but took enough twists and turn to assure Ludwig he would have remained lost in the forest without it. In less than ten minutes he assumed, he arrived at a paved road that allowed him to see the faded outline of buildings in the distance. Though he was unsure of where he would go or what he would do when he arrived, Ludwig walked.

At the sound of an old motor coming from behind him, Ludwig glanced over his shoulder. A beaten, red truck slowly pulled up beside him, sounding as if it could fail at any moment. The body was heavily dented and a new paint job was desperately needed, but Ludwig assumed the car was still loved by the old, white haired man he could see through the cracked windshield.

"Oi," The truck came to a complete stop beside Ludwig, revealing the driver to not be an old man, but a young albino, somewhere in his twenties. "Where'd you find all that shit to roll in?" He smirked widely, his eyes gleaming with arrogance. Not wanting anything to do with the taunting man, Ludwig returned to his walk.

"You homeless?" The albino man asked, keeping up with Ludwig's pace in his truck. "It's a small town, you know. Everyone knows everyone and I don't know you." He paused, awaiting any answer from Ludwig. "My name is Gilbert, Gilbert Beilschmidt. But you can call me the most awesome person you have ever met, because I am. Gotta name? Or are you a homeless mute?" He paused again. "Do any tricks for money?"

"Please leave me alone."

"So you aren't mute. And I thought I'd found myself something pretty cool." Gilbert sighed, stopping his truck once more. He leaned over, unlocking the passengers side. "Get in, shit-face. I'm calling you that, by the way. Until I get a damn name."

"Excuse me?" Ludwig stopped, raising an eyebrow at the man. Gilbert continued to smirk, motioning him to get inside. Though he didn't want much to do with such an narcissistic man, Ludwig found himself getting into the truck. "Where are we going?" He asked as he buckled himself in.

"My house. Get you a shower and a meal. You look like you can use it, and since you got in, you accepted." Gilbert began to drive again. "Though I should warn you about Elizabeta, or Liz as I call her. She's my girl, and she gets mad at, well, everything. Bringing in a homeless man will seriously tick her off. Only since I did it though. If that bastard Rodrich did, it'd be the greatest thing ever." He continued to complain as Ludwig glanced out the still open passenger's side window. The town they passed through really was small, and none of it brought back any memories for him.

"Then there's Feliciano, my roomie, He gets home from work late, so unless your staying the night, you won't meet him. But if you do... Well, it'll be a surprise, shit-face."

"My name is Ludwig."

"Sure it is, shit-face." Gilbert's smirk grew as Ludwig sighed in annoyance.

A/N: First story! Woo! All reviews are welcome.

Scheisse = Shit in German

I don't own Hetalia. If I did, would I be writing fanfiction?