Mein Geburtstag
Author's Note: And here I am, writing another one…that didn't last long. My love for these two and their adorable relationship seems to result in this. Fluffy fluff fluff writing. ~_~ It feels nice to write again though, on my own I mean. I hope this one is a little funnier than the last one, though I know it's still going to taste like cotton candy.
This story could technically take place after my first one, but I'm not writing it to be an actual sequel. Plus, this story is more Germany centric. Oh, and this takes place…sometime after Nutella is invented. :D Bwahaha.
Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia or their characters, nor do I profit from this story.
Germany stared at the thin glass of red wine he held in his gloved hand with a disgruntled huff. The wine was alright; even good, but he always preferred beer. Alas, France never served it at these sorts of things. He could go for a nice, tall mug at the moment. He glanced up. People floated by, elated, dressed in expensive, formal attire. Others danced to the elegant music that drifted through the air around them. Too much, Germany was thinking…France always made these things too lavish in his opinion. How did he afford such an extravagant party, anyway?
It was France's birthday, and the shaggy haired, scruffy man was always drunk within the first hour of these birthday parties and trying to molest anyone he came within a few feet of, claiming that since it was his birthday, that he had the right to touch as he pleased. At least, he acted drunk. There was still question on whether he only used drunkenness as an excuse to assault his own guests. This party had been no different, as France had already slyly grabbed Germany's ass twice, though regretted it instantly both times with the glare of death he received. "It was an accident! Please don't kill me!" he had shouted in fear, but then was laughing confidently five minutes later, boasting who his next conquest was. This was the reason that, at the moment, Germany was with a wall to his back, standing at the rim of the crowded party.
And not just having to worry about himself, Germany had already had to rescue a naïve Italy, who France had tried to lure to a spare room with promises that there was pasta prepared for them inside. As dim as Italy sometimes could be, he certainly should have known better than to go anywhere alone with France, especially on this day.
Speaking of...where was Italy?
Thankfully, Germany spotted Italy promptly, talking to South Italy and Spain. A small sigh escaped his lips, as he leaned back into the wall behind him, hoping he would meld with it. With a sip of his wine, he watched Italy without trying to be too obvious. Part of him wanted Italy to come back over to him. As soon as they had arrived together, along with Japan, Italy had vanished from his side to see the other countries he did not see get to see so often. Actually, this was a good thing, as otherwise he would be hanging on Germany, and their relationship was a secret from the others. Affection was not something Italy was good at hiding, no matter the situation. He continued to watch Italy as his brother was yelling about something and Spain and Italy were chuckling over it. Italy had probably only left Germany to mingle because he thought Germany would want to do the same. Germany did not mind talking, but was not good at regular conversation, and was especially not good at starting regular conversation. He would not even be at the party if it were not for the smaller Italian. There were many things Germany did, he knew how to strategize, do paperwork, fight in combat, be efficient, work hard, and even…secretly, he loved to bake cakes. And he was good at all these things, but socializing was not in this list. Italy was always the one to force him to attend these sorts of things, like America's birthday party just recently. The fireworks were lovely, but Germany would have rather seen them with just Italy, not in such a huge, noisy crowd. He had been thinking at the time that with just Italy, they would have been rather romantic, and though thoughts like this embarrassed him immensely, they still sometimes-
"Ludwig?"
There was no need to look to see who was standing to his right, as there was only one person who called him by that name. It was amazing how the mind could wander. Though he had been trying to keep his eye on Italy, his brain had wandered off into its own thoughts.
"Are you having fun, Feli?" Germany asked, using his pet name for him. His face bore none of the emotions he was feeling at the moment, whether they be about his distaste for parties, or about Italy's appreciated presence. He took a sip of wine to finish out the glass.
"Lots of fun!" Italy cheered, swinging back and forth on his feet. "After you saved me from France-niichan, I saw Canada and he told me I was the first person to talk to him all night, and even gave me a hug! Then I danced with Hungary, and France-niichan tried to take her away, but she hit him with a frying pan! Austria was furious at France-niichan and dragged him off! Then I ate lots of food and oh, did you try the fancy éclairs yet? They're sooo good, and I really wish there was some pasta, but there isn't any…I ate with Greece, who let me play with one of his cats! And then I went to talk to Oniichan and Spain and he was going on about "Why are you here with that potato bastard!" and I tried to tell him that you're nice but he just got madder!" Italy had told Germany all of this very fast, but Germany had somehow managed to keep up with what he had said.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Germany told him, a miniscule smile barely touching his lips. Italy's enthusiasm was amusing, and…admittedly, adorable.
"Ve…But then I saw Ludwig standing over here, all alone. I was wondering if he was having fun…" Italy kicked one foot shyly, looking at the floor. Germany looked surprised. That's why he had come over there? Did he really look that awkward?
"Don't worry about me."
Italy whimpered. "But Ludwiiig,,,"
"But what?"
"You have to have fun too!"
Italy's insistence only made Germany sigh again. He took Italy by the shoulders from behind and started gently pushing him back out into the party. "I said don't worry about it. Go have fun. We'll go take a walk around Paris when you're done."
The prospect of a walk around Paris with Germany lit Italy up, but he was not satisfied with making him wait until Italy was done at the party. Italy twirled around and now instead of Germany pushing Italy, Italy was pulling Germany. He lugged Germany out to the dance floor and led him into a dance before Germany even knew what was going on. Soft and gentle music drifted through the room, and Italy guided him across the floor to the timing of it in swift motions. It was a good thing Italy was leading, because not only did Germany have no idea what he was doing, he could never be more embarrassed in his life, his face bright red. His feet felt like they were made of lead, and any grace he possessed was lost to him. Everything blurred around them, like a dream…
And before Germany knew it, the song was over, and Italy was once again pulling Germany by his wrist, but now back to the sidelines. Surely everyone there had seen them. What would they think? Germany's face was still bright pink as he once again tried to disappear into the background. That's when he noticed Italy was still with him and now collapsing upon the wall beside Germany, grinning up at him. Dancing with Germany had made Italy happy, and this knowledge made him feel a little better about it…just a little. And he could not deny that in that moment, when they were on the dance floor, Italy had looked heavenly under all those ballroom chandeliers and lights.
"Why did you do that?" Germany asked him.
"So Ludwig would have fun!" Italy explained as if the answer were obvious. "And he did! When we were dancing, you smiled!"
Before stating this, Germany's stomach had been flipping about, filled with butterflies, but now it crashed with a thud at the bottom of his gut. It was one thing for people to think he was forced to dance with his Italian ally because of how he was, but if people had seen him actually enjoying it…he did not remember smiling! When had he smiled?
"Veee, are you ok?" Italy asked, noticing Germany looked as if he were in pain, holding his stomach with one hand.
"Ja…" Germany stood back up straight. "I guess…it was fun…"
"We should dance like that again, on my birthday!" Italy laughed, and then stopped. "…hey, Ludwig…when's your birthday?" He put a finger up to his cheek, looking up in thought.
Like one of Italy's surprise hugs, the question had completely caught Germany off guard. He hung his thumbs in his pockets and leaned against the wall, looking out at the party. His stare carried beyond the guests, though, into someplace that was not there.
"I don't have a birthday, Feli."
"No birthday?" Italy cried out in surprise. "You've never celebrated your birthday?"
"I just said…how would I celebrate something I don't have?"
"But everyone has a birthday!"
"Well, I'm sure I have one, I just don't know when it is."
Italy pouted sadly at him. Germany did not like this look, and tried to reassure him with a hand on Italy's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It's not something I have ever concerned myself with. I always have lots of work to do anyway, and you know how awkward I am with such things…" Germany hated to admit things like his awkwardness, but he wanted to comfort Italy.
Just then, an unwelcome guest pushed himself into the conversation.
"Hey, West! I didn't know you could dance!" Prussia sneered, then laughed. Germany gave Prussia a dead pan glare, as he had interrupted his moment with Italy. Then, his eyes grew wide as he saw Prussia was holding…
"Where did you get beer?" Germany interrogated, trying not to sound too excited about the tall can in Prussia's hand.
"Oh, this? Brought it from home, obviously. France may be able to cook, but he never serves beer at these things. Hey, Italia-chan…" Prussia pushed himself in between the two of them, giving Italy a suggestive smirk. "You know, I can dance better than West here…"
"Veee?" Italy muttered in confusion. Germany scowled angrily at Prussia's advances. Even he and Italy had not done it yet (they were both attracted to each other, but still wary of the idea of sex with another man); he was certainly not going to let Prussia have his way with him. The next thing Prussia knew, he was jerked back by the collar of his shirt from behind, and being dragged away by a seething Germany. He fought to get out of Germany's vice like grip, kicking at the air and shouting curses, but they were all to no avail. Italy watched the events, still feeling confused. His next thought was that he was hungry, drifting over to the food dreamily as he started to drool a little.
- A week later -
Light filled Germany's vision as he awoke. He felt like not even moments ago, he had been lying in bed in the dark, holding onto an Italian warmth. Now he was awake, it was morning, and that warmth was missing. As his vision focused, he blinked as he looked at the painfully empty spot on the bed. Italy had only gotten up before Germany once, the night when he had dreamt of Rome visiting them in the middle of the night, which he was still questioning whether this was a dream or not. The moment in the morning when they first woke up was the time Germany would spend with Italy where he would not be destroying anything, or getting into trouble, and Germany would not have to be busy with work or training. Just the two of them, cuddled up under the warm, puffy comforter, and just for a moment of the day not having a care in the world…it had taken time for Germany to get used to it, being so relaxed like that, but he had grown to like it.
What was worse was that it was a training day, so they did not have to get up right away. The two could have stayed in bed that much longer that morning. Germany sat up and the comforter and sheet over him slid off his muscular chest and gathered in his lap. Face laced with disappointment, Germany started to get up, but the door opened, and he paused, glimpsing up at the doorway. Trembling, Italy backed into the room, trying to carry a decent sized tray with him. Delicious smells wafted into the room as he managed to turn around. Even more surprising, Italy was wearing clothes before noon. Holding the heavy tray was obviously straining on Italy, but he saw Germany was awake now and smiled warily at him.
"Buongiorno!"
Germany launched himself from the bed. "Here, let me-"
"No, no, I got it!" Italy insisted, carefully walking to the bed, his arms shaking from exertion. Germany took the tray from Italy despite being told not to. "No, Ludwig…ve…"
"You should have brought the tray with some of the food, and then brought the rest in that you could carry…" Germany told him. Looking down at the tray, he saw that it was intricately set with a variety of delectable breakfast dishes from both their countries, more than enough for the two of them to eat. Germany also pondered on how Italy had managed to carry it as far as his bedroom…"…what is this for, exactly?"
Italy's smile could not be contained when Germany asked. "Buon Compleanno, Ludwig! That means happy birthday!" Excitedly, Italy pounced at Germany's waist, hugging him tightly and burying his face in Germany's chest. This had almost caused Germany to lose grip of the tray, which he now had to hold up over Italy. A light blush formed on Germany's cheeks as he backed up out of the hug, and to the bed to sit, placing the tray in his lap.
"Feliciano…you didn't have to do this."
"I wanted to! Everyone deserves to have a birthday! So I waited until today to give you one!" Italy declared decisively. "Today we're taking the day off to celebrate it!"
"We can't just skip a day of training…" Germany had never skipped out on training before, and did not plan to start. There was no slacking off for the German man.
"It's not like we're in the war anymore. Ludwig can have a birthday, just one. Please? I made plans and this food…" Italy was starting to tear up. This was now a losing battle for Germany. He sighed with defeat.
"I suppose…just this…one day…" He grunted, winning a happy "Ve!" from Italy.
"Let's eat in bed together, ok? Before the food gets cold!"
Germany nodded, going around the bed to get in on his side. Italy crawled into the bed and the two sat together, attacking the food, as they were both starving. All of it was cooked to perfection, per usual from the talented Italian. As Germany chewed on a sausage, he noticed a small bowl of something that looked like a chocolate spread sitting in the corner of the tray. Pointing at it, Germany gestured to Italy in silence as his mouth was full, then gave him an inquisitive expression.
"Oh, Nutella! It's a chocolate-hazelnut spread from my country, you put it on toast and its reeeally good!"
With a swallow, Germany decided to take Italy's word for it. He picked up a piece of the toasted bread, and spread some of the Nutella on it, then taking a bite. His face perked up and he almost smiled. Italy had also prepared a similar piece of toast, eagerly munching on it and carelessly getting crumbs in their blankets. Italy smiled at Germany, who looked back at him. Italy blinked, and so did Germany. Cheeks turning pink, Italy propped himself up and grabbed the back of Germany's neck, forcing him down toward him. A small lick on the corner of Germany's mouth and Italy let him go, smiling sheepishly up at the blonde. "You had some on your face!" Italy giggled. "Do you like it?"
Germany was pitifully embarrassed once more, the scarlet blush on his face giving this fact away. "J…ja…" he stammered. He took a deep breath to calm down. "Why does everything that comes out of your country taste so good?"
"What about me! Do I taste good?" Italy asked with enthusiasm. Germany cupped Italy's cheek in his hand, planning to give him an answer he would not forget, when the door to the room burst open without warning.
"HEY WEST, I-" Prussia froze as he saw what he had burst in on, and his mind attempted to register it. The small, yellow bird on his head made a tweet noise, filling the silence as Prussia stared with wide, red eyes. Was this really what he was seeing? Germany, in the bed with Italy (which really was normal, actually), having a meal and Germany ever so affectionately holding Italy's face in his hand. Laughter exploded from Prussia, and he could not stop.
"WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Germany shouted, getting past his shock and replacing it with anger. This did not change the look of complete shame he now wore on his face. "Don't you know how to knock?"
"I knew it! I knew you two were…" And Prussia still could not stop laughing long enough to continue his sentence.
"I asked why you were here!"
"I…I live here…" Prussia was trying to breathe.
"I KICKED YOU OUT TWO WEEKS AGO!" Germany was seething, his aura of certain death for Prussia slowly filling the room. Italy was whimpering, looking between the two brothers in fear. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes, and each time he turned his head, a small "Ve!" would squeak out.
"Well, I came back…"
"You can't just come back! And stop laughing!"
This comment only brought back Prussia's uproarious laughter, and his eyes were now lined with tears as well. Germany was moving the tray out of the way so he could get up.
"Why is it so funny? You're trying to get in his pants all the time!"
"But it's YOU!" Prussia insisted, now holding onto the doorframe for dear life. The bird on his head flapped its wings at top speed, as if to agree.
Germany was suddenly in front of Prussia, an evil glint in his blue eyes. Grabbing Prussia by the neck he pulled him close, glaring with these eyes straight into Prussia's. Prussia could feel a piercing in his soul from the dangerous glare.
"If you tell anyone…anyone…I will personally see to it that the next time a war rolls around, I will conveniently ally myself with your opponent. And you will not like the result. Am I clear, Gilbert?"
Prussia winced at the usage of his real name, but grinned seconds after. "Can I still move back in?"
Germany let out a sigh. "Yes…but tomorrow! Today is my birthday…"
"But you don't have a-"
"And one of the greatest gifts I could receive today is for you to stay away." Germany told his older brother, now turning him around and pushing him out the door. Prussia put all his weight back against Germany, however, peeking back in the door at Italy.
"Hey Italia-chan! You know I'm better in bed than-"
"I said out!" Germany growled.
"But he's so adorable, can't you share-"
"LEAVE." Germany pushed Prussia through the house until he was out the front door, and then slammed it closed on his back, knocking Prussia forward onto the ground. Making his way back upstairs, Germany came back in the room, to find Italy smiling brilliantly. Germany cocked an eyebrow.
"…what is it?" he asked, confused.
"Ludwig is happy to have his birthday!"
"Well, you've been so adamant on the idea…"
"Let's clean up the dishes!" The easily distracted Italy picked up the tray with much more ease now that it was emptier, and headed for the kitchen with it, expecting Germany to follow. He did, knowing that if he left the task to Italy, a few dishes would surely end up being broken.
After the kitchen was spotless as to Germany's standards, Italy demanded they get dressed and ready. Germany had no idea what for, but complied, getting a shower and preparing to leave. As he came into the main room of the house, Italy was packing a large basket, and quickly launched his body over it so Germany would not see what was in it.
"You have to carry the basket, but no peeking!" Italy warned him seriously, but then giggled, ruining the moment. Germany nodded without saying anything. He was not a fan of surprises, but knew Italy wanted to, and accepted it. As they turned to leave, Italy leading the way, a familiar sound came from Germany's office. The phone was ringing. Germany put the basket down and started to head toward it, but Italy grabbed the sleeve of his button up shirt, gently tugging on it. Silently, Italy gave him the look that said 'No, don't answer it.' But Germany shook his head.
"It may be important." Germany told him.
"But this is important…" Italy argued sadly. Germany pulled his sleeve from Italy's grip and went to the office. Italy patiently stood in his spot, waiting for Germany to come back. After a few moments, Germany returned. He looked solemn.
"You have to go to work?" Italy asked. "No birthday for Ludwig?"
"I told them I was doing something very important and could not come in." Germany told him, smiling lightly. Italy beamed, jumping at Germany with a hug. Every instinct inside Germany was screaming at him for skipping out on work, but as he watched Italy chatter on and on about how happy he was that they would be spending the day together, somehow it felt worth it.
Italy practically dragged Germany out the front door and to Germany's car. A list of directions were provided to Germany from Italy with no indication of exactly where these directions led. Germany could tell, however, that it would be a long drive.
"How far are we going exactly?" Germany asked as he put the basket in the car.
"It's about three hours away!" Italy announced, getting a dead look from Germany.
"What's three hours away that's worth driving…three hours away?"
"It's a secret!"
"Of course it is…"
With their surprise course set, Germany started the car, and they were off. All Germany could determine was that they were heading north, but it could still mean anything. Italy babbled on for a while before falling asleep for his siesta precisely at three. Thankfully, he did not bother to try and strip off all of his clothes for it as he normally would. Germany appreciated the silence for a while.
Hoping for an uneventful drive, Germany did not get his wish. First, one of their tires went flat. Italy watched sleepily as Germany changed the tire, not really helping much at all, which was no more than Germany expected. Next was a cow in the road that no matter how much Germany pushed, and Italy pleaded, would not budge out of the road. Finally, after thirty minutes of feeble attempts to get it to move, it suddenly walked off on its own. Perhaps the only good delay in their drive came when Italy found himself to be restless sitting in the car once he had gotten enough sleep. Germany pulled over so Italy could expend his pent up energy. They had stopped by a field and Italy pulled out a soccer ball from the car that he had apparently packed to bring with them. After a few rounds, the two of them collapsed in the grass and watched the clouds for a while. Germany lay in silence as Italy pointed out which types of pasta certain clouds were shaped like, and after a good bit of time passed they got back in the car to finish their trip.
It became apparent where they were going in the last few moments of the trip. Italy's directions had been surprisingly perfect. Perhaps it came from the same area of his brain his cooking and painting abilities came from.
Germany stepped out onto the beach, salty wind blowing against him. Seagulls cried in the distance. He had not been to the beach since he, Italy, and Japan had been stranded on that southern island…how different things had been then compared to now. Back then, he could have said that Italy was nothing more than a useless annoyance. But now…Italy suddenly darted past Germany with the basket he could hardly carry before, plus other things he had apparently snuck into the car for the trip, laughing and beckoning Germany to run after him. Yes, Germany knew now that Italy did have strength after all, it just depended on the situation.
This particular stretch of beach was lovely, but deserted. That was surely why Italy had chosen it, maybe not a lot of visitors on weekdays and all that. Italy laid out the blanket for them what little they had of the day they spent relaxing, going in the water, looking for seashells, and building a sand castle. Mostly, Germany had watched Italy build the sandcastle, which had gorgeous architecture for only being made of sand. Lastly, they watched the sunset together in silence, and when it got dark was when Italy pulled out his real surprise.
Italy had been leaning into Germany's shoulder, almost asleep, when he realized it was dark outside. With a mischievous smile he darted up toward the still unopened basket. Germany secretly pouted on the inside to lose his warm Italy, but naturally stayed stoic on the outside, as he always did. Dragging the basket back toward them, Italy started pulling out fireworks, and more fireworks. Germany gazed at them all, surprised. Fireworks were the last thing he expected to be in the basket.
"I got these from America. I remembered you said…you said that you didn't like the crowd at the firework show at his party, so I thought you might enjoy them more without the crowd…"
Disbelief was etched on Germany's face. He was surprised, almost touched that Italy had remembered something so small like that as an offhand comment he had made weeks ago.
"Danke, Feli…" Germany sat up. Italy started pulling out matches and Germany suddenly remembered a certain incident with Italy and a grenade he did not want repeated. "W-wait, I'll light them for us…"
"Veee, ok! You can if you want, since it's your birthday and all…and I was kind of scared too…" Italy admitted, still smiling, fiddling with the matches as he handed them over. It took a moment for Germany to figure out how they were set up, as some of them were different than others, but the result was fantastic once they had started. One after another, Germany sent off the little rockets, lighting up the night sky with explosions of light and color, Italy cheering from back on their blanket. Germany had to admit, this was much nicer than the swarm of people at that birthday party, even if he had to set them off himself and they were not quite as large. After all the fireworks had been shot off, Germany rejoined Italy at the blanket.
"Those were amazing!" Italy sniggered, pulling Germany into a tight hug. Germany hugged him back, nuzzling into his neck. This made Italy turn pink in the face and laugh. "Ludwig's being affectionate! And it tickles!"
"Today was perfect. Even with that damn cow." Germany divulged to him, for some reason not having any trouble with his words as he normally would, despite his heart still pounding into his head.
"I thought he was a nice cow!" Italy argued with a grin.
"I was talking about Prussia."
This made Italy snicker uncontrollably. "Veee…"
"You outdid yourself."
"It was nothing." Italy persisted, beaming at him.
"Nein, it was more than I ever expected, no one has ever done anything like all of this for me before."
"I promise, it was no big deal, Ludwig is always saving and protecting me, I just wanted to give Ludwig a good birthday and-"
"Ich liebe dich, Feli." Germany silenced Italy with these words, then kept him from reacting to this by pressing his lips against Italy's mouth. He was pretty sure he could feel Italy melting in his arms. When Germany let go of the simple kiss, Italy seized him around the neck and yanked him down so fast they fell back onto the blanket.
"Ti amo! Ti amo!" Italy cheered as he hugged Germany tight. Germany propped himself up so he was no longer weighing down on the smaller man and gazed at him. It was then Italy gave him a playful smile. "You know…I had one more surprise for you…if you wanted to try it…" Germany had never seen Italy's face so red before. Normally, he was shameless. But all of a sudden, he understood, and was now just as embarrassed. Were they ready for such a step? Italy continued. "Only if you wanted to though…maybe, when we get home, or…I think I want to, if you do. I know Ludwig will take care of me and I trust him…"
Looking over Italy under him, in the moonlight, staring up at him with large, chocolate eyes…Germany realized he was ready. He wanted Italy, right then, no more question. For the first time Italy had ever seen, Germany smirked lovingly at him.
"Why should we have to wait?"
-Fin-
NO SEX FOR YOU LOL.
I'm still having trouble writing such a thing where just anyone could read it…I don't think I'm too good at it XD But still, I hope you enjoyed the story, I enjoyed writing this.
If you don't know what some of the foreign sayings are, Google Translate, loves 3
