A/N: I got an Anon on Tumblr who requested RusIta so I tried my best. Hopefully Russia doesn't seem OOC here. I kinda wish I read some RusIta fics to help me characterize their relationship a bit more. Hope you guys like!


Ivan wasn't the kind of guy who'd jump to conclusions. He'd always wait patiently, watching a situation unfold before deciding to act. Most people would probably think that he liked watching people argue, though the Russian never denied that he liked all the fussing people made. That was mostly because he lived a quiet life and hearing people argue brought a bit of excitement!

Unfortunately, it seemed that this was one situation that he was a bit tentative in jumping in. Out of earshot from him were the ever chipper Feliciano and the strict Ludwig. The two of them argued in hushed whispers that only made the poor Italian upset the longer they went and as much as he wanted to step in, Ivan knew he couldn't. He was the main topic of their argument.

It was no secret that Ludwig didn't particularly care for Ivan. They had worked together in the past, but during a particular project they ended up butting heads and… Let's just say that they didn't get a passing score and since then there had been tension between the two of them. Ludwig was civil to him in public, but he went through great lengths to make sure they weren't grouped together in any classes they shared. Add that dislike with the fact the German was protective of his friends and you get a mildly disgruntled Ludwig guiding his friends away from Ivan any chance he got. Kiku certainly shared Ludwig's dislike, though he gave the Russian more of a cold shoulder than anything else. Feliciano on the other hand, had no problem with Ivan.

The first time Feliciano and Ivan met was under circumstances where the Russian managed to scare the Italian without really getting to know each other. Eventually, Feliciano did warm up to Ivan when they managed to get paired up for a project. They were on good terms and talked to each other every now and then until the Italian invited him out. They had a pretty good outing and would hang from then forward. Feliciano eventually asked him out on a date and they seemed to be off to a pretty good start. That is…until Feliciano started using Ivan as a wall of sorts. The Italian would randomly hide behind his bigger frame or pull him in a different direction than they were going.

Ivan did find it a bit confusing, but went along with it. He tried to take in everything, coming to a conclusion that the Italian was trying to hide from someone. Though, the Russian would have never suspected that it was Ludwig only connecting the dots when the German was right in front of them.

"Feli!" Ludwig's loud voice caught the Russian's attention.

Feliciano didn't respond or turn back as he marched away from his friend. He simply took Ivan's hand into his own and lead him away. Ludwig called out for Feliciano once again and Ivan looked back to see the German in the exact spot. The guy looked hurt…and was that betrayal he saw in those blue eyes? Looking down at the Italian in front of him, it was clear Feliciano was upset. He could practically tell that the brunet was fed up and just wanted to escape.

"I'm guessing that you failed to mention that we were dating." Ivan said.

Feliciano's grip became rigid as he huffed to himself. "Luddy doesn't need to know everything about my life."

"Well, if you were my best friend and started dating someone I didn't care for I would be pretty upset."

"He's not mad about that."

"Are you sure about that?"

Feliciano paused, looking around a bit before pulling Ivan along. "It's…partially the reason why he's mad. I told him that I couldn't hang out after school because I wasn't feeling well. He…he came here to get me a get well soon gift."

"I see."

"But! You should have heard the kinds of things he said about you. Everything was untrue and he wanted me to stop hanging out with you. Really, he has some nerve."

"You know…" Ivan started slowly, "I always did get the impression that he liked you."

Feliciano laughed at the idea. "I don't think so. He wouldn't really like someone like me."

"Well, he likes you enough to be your friend. What would stop him from liking you more?" This made Feliciano stop in his tracks. "And even if he doesn't like you like that, he still likes you enough to try and protect you. Probably some of those things Ludwig said were true because it's probably stuff I've done in the past and he doesn't know that I've changed. You seem to be the one who's always hanging out with him other than Kiku. You are his best friend, yes?"

"Yes…but…"

"I'm not trying to defend him Feliciano. What he did was wrong but I think that his actions might have been fueled by a green monster on his back. Other than Kiku, you're all he has. I'd be pretty jealous if my close friend lied just to go on a date instead of being forward about it." Feliciano was quiet a moment before looking back where Ludwig was left behind. "You should go and apologize."

"W-What?" the Italian jumped, "What about our date? I promised you that it would be just us."

"Trust me Feliciano. You don't want to leave him like that. It's just going to hurt you both in the end. If anything, just apologize for lying and work from there."

Feliciano stood there a moment, contemplating one what to do before giving Ivan a hug. "Thank you Ivan."

The Russian was stunned a moment before finally wrapping his own arms around the Italian. With that, Feliciano quickly leaned up and pecked the other man's cheek before running off and promising to make it up to the now flustered Ivan. He put a hand where the smaller man kissed his cheek and smiled. Maybe after that's all settled, he can get on Ludwig and Kiku's good side.