Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. There. I admitted it. =[


Rain.

Pouring down outside while the large picture window stayed uncovered.

Cold.

The German felt this way as he gazed out into the blackness of the night.

Nothing outside was visible, except for the rain that continued to drench the earth. Ludwig made the mental note that he needed to check on the plants in the morning.

Only the soft light of a few candles lit up the living room of his home. The power had gone off a few hours before, so being the kind of man Ludwig was, he just lit some candles and went along with business as usual. He had finished his paperwork and had made himself some soup with his gas stove. Now he was settling into watching the rain as it created a veil between him and the outside world.

He was worried out of his wits. Feliciano had gone out with his brother that day for some brotherly bonding activities that Lovino insisted on doing. Ludwig knew the real reason: it kept the Italian's love-struck brother away from the "potato loving bastard". Lovino still hadn't accepted that the two other men had decided to start an official romantic relationship…and that Feliciano had chosen to enter the relationship of his own free will.

Ludwig sighed. 'Maybe one day he'll get it,' he thought. His mind then wandered to Feliciano…

It had been 9 months since their 'official' relationship had begun, and it was still so new to the German. He struggled with keeping it together around Feliciano when it came to cute things he did and the obvious expressions that begged for attention. Ludwig had shown with expressions and gestures how cute and irresistible Feliciano could be sometimes, but he could never voice them. Just saying "I love you" in his native tongue was hard enough. He also was still not used to calling his boyfriend "Feliciano". The three friends had decided it was time to start calling each other by their real names a little before the couple got together and they were all still adjusting.

A sudden loud banging jolted the German from his stray thoughts. He immediately reached for one of the candles that had a base he could carry and moved towards the front door. He was cautious, but he was also worried. Worried that it was Feliciano.

"Germany! Germany!" he heard from the other side of the door as he got closer. The roaring rain made it hard to make out what was said after that, but Ludwig could recognize the voice in a heartbeat.

He quickly placed the candle on the tiny table next to the door. He flung the door open to have his boyfriend wrapped around him in an instant.

"Ludwig!" the Italian cried. Ludwig gently held his lover for a few moments, whispering, "Italy…" over and over as the brunette calmed down from his panic. The blonde then moved the two of them inside and closed the door behind them. He pulled the smaller man away from him to look at his face.

"Why are you alone?" he asked as he wiped some of the rain from the other man's face. "And why did you come through the rain?"

"I-I-I-I-I…" Feliciano stuttered as water dripped from his bangs. He was both cold and panicky, not a good combination for him. "I-I told Lovino that I c-could make it home m-my-myself and th-th-th-th-then after th-th-that it st-st-started to r-r-rain."

Ludwig quickly went over to the hall closet and found some clean towels he kept for cleaning dirty boots. He came back to Feliciano, draped one over his shoulders, and used another to begin to dry the Italian's soaking hair. "You're going to get sick being so wet…" he commented as he blushed. "Why didn't you just wait out the storm somewhere?"

"B-B-Because," the brunette said from under the towel. He reached up and pushed the German's hands away gently. "I wanted to get home to you." The German blushed as red as a tomato, as he stood there in a bit of a shock. "I-I-I knew you would worry, so I-"

He was cut off by a pair of strong, gentle lips on his own. Ludwig had leaned down and silenced his lover in the only way he could muster. They slowly separated and looked into each other's eyes.

"Ich liebe dich Feliciano," the blonde said as he kissed the other man's lips again.

This time when they separated, it was the Italian that spoke. As he wrapped his arms around his lover's shoulders and leaned in to kiss his cheek, he responded, "I love you too Ludwig. Ti amo."