ABC's of an Old Family

A is for Adolescence

Characters: Italy Veneziano, Austria

So, we all know that Austria oh-so-lately discovered that his little maid was actually a boy when his voice changed. He was still a bit agitated and shocked at the discovery, mainly because of his stubbornness to not get to know his servants. Who could blame him; he was a nobleman, trained to believe that he was far too important to deal with a couple of maids.

Ah, how he regrets it now that the shock came to him. If only Hungary told him a little earlier, say, a couple hundred years prior to all of, well, this.

But then, such disappointment he would have brought unto Holy Rome. Yes, he could see Holy Rome's crestfallen expression if the news ever came to him. And then, he'd rant at the nobleman, just showing how embarrassed he was for falling for another boy.

Austria sighed dejectedly by the chair he was sitting at.

Alas, Holy Rome was not back from the war. He would not be coming back.

Austria knew this. He still felt the pity he had for Italy when France broke the news to them all. The weather was so sad, like they were that ungodly hour.

The nation shook his head. No, he was not going to bring it up again... Somehow, thinking of Holy Rome these days cold drive him to depression.

"Mister Austria, sir?" A timid voice spoke to him. Austria turned his head to acknowledge Italy's presence.

"Ah, Italy, just in time," He said to the young adolescent nation.

Yes, adolescent. The boy standing in front of Austria now was no longer wearing a silly maid's dress, Austria made sure of that. Italy was now wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and brown leather pants, but he still wore the apron and the bonnet, which the older nation disapproved of but never doted on him on the matter.

"Go and brew me some tea, would you?" Austria commands him. Wordlessly, Italy followed his orders, and walked out of the room.

Behind Austria's glasses, was a pair of worried eyes trailing off the direction Italy had went. Italy was much quieter than usual ever since France's visit and that made him and Hungary worry to no end. Sure, Austria may seem like a cold and ruthless young master, but he had a heart like everyone else.

And once more, his mind drifts off to Holy Rome.

Had he not died in battle, Austria would have seen him grow into his teen years. He would have grown bigger, stronger, and more powerful like he always dreamed he would be. And he would have spent the rest of his life with Italy.

These days though, Austria was glad for one thing.

As he sat on the piano stool playing a melody, with Italy sitting next to him, he thanked God that he was able to at least watch the boy beside him grow up, unlike Holy Rome.

B is for Bashfulness

Characters: Holy Roman Empire, Italy Veneziano

A boy, no older than eleven or twelve, sat on his chair with a bored expression as he read a ridiculously large paperback novel that Austria had instructed him to read. Sighing expectantly, the Holy Roman Empire was sorely tempted to slam the boring old book shut. Seriously, couldn't this wait? A book about a Greek war wasn't going anywhere, after all.

He could be out in the glaring sunshine, chasing squirrels or rabbits or some kind of bird, or maybe he could converse with a villager or two. Even better, he could be hanging out with Italy, and she might teach him a little bit of art or anything of the sort.

Holy Rome paused for a bit to stare at the ceiling of his study with a dreamy expression. Ah~ Italy. Thoughts of the little maid always managed to distract him and put him in a blissful mood. Yeah, sure, sometimes Austria would catch him slacking off with that dopey expression on his face and reprimand him for not taking his studies seriously, but could you blame him? Not that he'd admit anything, but he was a desperately hopeless romantic who wants nothing more than for Italy to become one with him-

'That was too strong a term,' thought Holy Rome as he blushed at nothing. Ahem, join him in his quest for eventual international dominance would be a safer way to put it.

A frightened squeak came to his ears, followed by a loud thump. Startled, Holy Rome abandoned the book he was reading to check out the noise.

He certainly wasn't expecting a half-buried Italy squeaking for help underneath a pile of several heavy books, her curl bobbing cutely as she struggled to get out.

Holy Rome's first instinct was to get rid of all the offending books. He didn't see Italy's thankful face, because then he would have blushed so hard and- oh, we all know how angry Holy Rome could look if he was ever caught red-faced. He then helped Italy onto 'her' feet, and that had involved unintentional hand-holding. That certainly would not have helped- the mere thought of physical contact with Italy makes Holy Rome explode with giddiness.

"Grazie, Holy Rome," Italy smiled at the empire, which made said empire blush anyway.

"I-It's nothing…" He says, turning away so that Italy would not glimpse the red on his cheeks. "What were you doing before you fell? That was very dangerous, you could have been hurt a lot worse than you already are," He voiced his concern for 'her'.

Timidly, the auburn-haired nation rubs the back of 'her' head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry for having you worry, Holy Rome. Austria wanted me to get a book, but it was too far up so I had to use something to give me a little boost." 'She' gestured to the pile of books that once served as 'her' footstool.

"Oh, well, then you should have just came to me for help, instead of going through all of that trouble,"

"Oh, but I didn't want to disturb Holy Rome while he's studying- he always looks so cute when he does!" Italy giggled cutely.

If it was possible for the Holy Roman Empire to blush any more than he already did, he would have never known.

Author's Note: Hey-O! See, I just got this idea while browsing through the Italy/Holy Rome stories (was anyone else confused when they saw Holy Rome/Reader? That'd be relieving to know, thanks,), and suddenly I was reminded of StarNerve's alphabet fics (THANK YOU!:D ). Check hers out! They are AWESOME.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this little story I made, but don't worry! There's more to the alphabet than just 'A' and 'B', after all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Believe me, if I did then other nations involved in WW2 would have been canon.