[Warnings: Um… mentions of alcohol and drinking.]

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Eins - Deutschland

They'd each had a couple of drinks. Italy was tipsy-giggling and nattering non-stop at the blond sat across from him, despite the fact that he kept forgetting the English words and slipping into Italian, to the extent that Germany couldn't understand him anymore. Not that he was really listening to him properly in the first place; he'd learned long ago that it was pointless trying to follow Italy when he started to ramble, and generally ignored him when he did.

But tonight, Germany wasn't completely ignoring Italy; he was just ignoring what he was saying. He was listening to the sound of the Italian's voice, watching as his hand gestures became less coordinated with each glass of wine. The beer had his barriers down, and although he didn't know it, he was smiling fondly at the man sat opposite him.

He liked Italy's voice, he decided. Germany knew that his own accent when he spoke English was rough and harsh, but not so his friend's. The Italian accent made his speech soft and musical. It suited Italy perfectly, Germany thought. A beautiful accent was fitting for a beautiful perso-

Germany hastily cut himself off from that dangerous line of thought, eying his beer mug nervously. He must be drunker than he had estimated; he could never ever allow himself to think like that. If he'd learned anything from that awful, horrifying, disastrousvalentine's day a few of years ago, it was that Italy liked him as nothing more than a friend. A good friend-his best friend even-but nothing more than that. The German was not good at dealing with the more 'mushy' emotions, but he was very fond of Italy and deeply respected his feelings. He didn't want to force anything onto the cheerful nation, and so had sworn to himself to keep it strictly to friendship. Nothing more.

Well, there was that, and the fact that even if he had wanted to start something with Italy, he wouldn't have a clue how to go about it. Germany was just not good at that kind of thing.

"Germania?" A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see that Italy was staring at him with concern "Stai bene?" [Are you alright?]
"English, please, Feliciano," Germany prompted gently, "You know my Italian still is not very good. But, er, I'm fine."

The brown eyes blinked.
"Oh, yes, English. I'm sorry Germa-" Italy was cut short by a hand over his mouth. "Mmmph?"
"And you're meant to call me Ludwig in public, Feliciano," he added, putting emphasis on the Italian nation's human name. Italy giggled again, and Germany was suddenly very aware of the lips underneath his fingers. They felt…soft. A blush rose under his cheeks and he hastily withdrew his hand-trying to ignore that his fingers were trembling. He really hoped Italy hadn't noticed that, or the blush.

Germany took a gulp of his beer, trying to avoid the other's gaze. It had happened again. He needed to get over himself, this was getting ridiculous. Every time he touched Italy recently, any progress he'd made in the self-imposed 'think-of-Italy-as-just-a-friend' project would be lost, as his body reacted in the wrong way; his heart would go into overdrive, and the accursed blush would spread over his face and ears.

It was worst (best) when Italy asked him for hugs. He would always comply (he could never resist the tearful puppy eyes), but once he was wrapped up in warm Italian, there was no hope for the cold voice of logic. Instead of sensible, appropriate-for-friendship thoughts like "I hope he feels better now" there would be "He smells nice"or just"Mmmmmmmm".

Sighing, Germany set his beer down again. He should probably just accept it-he'd fallen for Italy, and he'd fallen hard. But his reasons still held, Italy still would never feel the same, so really, it made no difference whether he was in denial about his own feelings or not-he still couldn't do anything.

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AN: As a new author, I would really appreciate your feedback. Which bits did you like? How can I improve? Alternatively, try a Three Word Review! Can you sum up what you thought of this in 3 words? It's a challenge!