A/N: Finally, I've managed to write a GerIta fic! XD Basically, it's FemGermanyXItaly fluff, based on an ongoing RP between me and my friend; I hope you enjoy! :3 The title and part of the theme for this oneshot were based on the song "Home" by Phillip Phillips. Oh, and translations for the Italian and German are at the bottom, in case you actually want to know what our dear Nations are saying. XD

Home

"Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be foundJust know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home"

-"Home" by Phillip Phillips

"Ciao~ I'm home!"

Louise Beilschmidt glanced up from her book at the sound of the cheery, accented voice coming from the direction of the front door. She heaved a small sigh and gently placed the book on the oak table in front of her, knowing that she was not going to get anymore peace in the near future. She stood up, smoothing out her olive green pants and black tank top as she did so (she was a stickler for things always being in order, just as her brothers Ludwig and Gilbert were), and walked out of the living room into the main hallway. There she found a slender boy with reddish-brown hair sitting on the ground in front of the door, trying to pull off one of his knee-length boots, which was apparently stuck on his foot.

"Ve…I can't get it off…," he whined to no one in particular, tugging as hard as he could. Louise pinched the bridge of her nose at the sight; he hadn't even been in the house for five minutes and he was already having issues…

"Mein gott, how has he survived this long on his own?" she muttered, watching as he desperately tried to tug the offending footwear off, the prominent curl of hair sticking out of the right side of his head ever-so-slightly crinkled in agitation. Louise silently observed his efforts for another minute, until he became tired and decided to take a break. That was when he noticed the German standing in the hallway, her arms crossed in front of her and a condescending expression etched across her soft face.

"Bella!" he chirped, his mouth curving into a huge smile that lit up his entire face. He quickly scrabbled to get to his feet and started coming towards her, obviously forgetting that he had only managed to get one shoe off.

"Feli, wait- ah, never mind…," Louise flinched as the Italian instantly tripped over his own feet and fell onto the hard, wooden floor. He landed on his stomach with a thud, the impact of his small frame sounding much harder than it should have been.

"Ow…," he whimpered. He managed to use his arms to get himself into a semi-push-up position, and Louise finally walked over to help him. Without seemingly any effort on her part, she lifted the little Italian to his feet by one arm.

"Ve~ Grazie, Louise!" Feli said, his mood instantly shifting to happiness once again. He tried to pull the tall girl into a hug, but she skillfully ducked under his arms and backed up a few inches.

"Sit down and I'll get your shoe off," she commanded, not even acknowledging the Italian's attempt for affection. Said boy pouted slightly but did as he was told, sitting back on the ground as Germany kneeled in front of him. Without a word, she grabbed Italy's shoe and gave it a huge tug… which caused the boot to pop right off and the Italian to rock back from the sudden release, nearly making him fall onto the ground again.

"There. All better," Louise said gruffly, standing back up as Feli righted himself. He reached out his hands expectantly and Louise heaved a sigh and pulled him to his feet.

"Grazie, you're so helpful, bella~" he thanked her, once again going in for a hug. This time, he managed to actually get a hold of her, but she quickly pushed his arms away and backed up again.

"S-stop that," she mumbled, a slight blush coloring her well-defined cheeks. This only made Italy smile even wider.

"You're so cute, Louise!" he exclaimed, rushing at her before she had a chance to react. He gently grabbed her shoulders and planted a soft kiss on either side of her stunned face, chuckling as the crimson on her cheeks grew darker.

"Feli, stop!" She quickly pushed him away again, wiping her face as if to rid it of both her blush and Italy's kisses. She glared at the Italian, who merely gave her his usual innocent expression of happy contentment. She huffed and put her hands on her hips as he continued to gaze at her with those half-lidded amber eyes. "Was?!"

"You're so pretty, I just can't stop staring at you, bella~" Feli responded, instantly causing Louise to glare at the ground and cross her arms in front of her uncomfortably. Why did he always have to say things like that? She already knew that she surely didn't fit his definition of "beautiful;" she came nowhere close to those slim, dolled-up Italian girls that he always went after, and she didn't understand why he constantly had to compare her to them.

"N-nein, I'm not pretty," she mumbled, staring fiercely at the floor. Italy frowned; he never understood why Germany was always like this. Every time he tried to compliment her, her automatic response was to shut him down without a second thought. He had talked to his friend Japan about it, who merely described her as being "tsundere," whatever that meant…But still, Feli wished that his cute Louise would understand just how beautiful she really was.

"Louise-" Feli reached out a hand towards her, but her eyes widened and she instinctively slapped it away, harder than she had intended to. The Italian quickly cradled the hand against his body, looking slightly shocked that Louise had hit him. Admittedly, sometimes Germany had been known to react violently when she was put into a stressful situation (a trait that she inherited from her brothers), but it was rare that she turned this instinct on innocent little Feli.

"I…I'm sorry, Feli," she said softly, biting her lip and hoping that Italy wasn't going to start crying; he wasn't a person that could take abuse easily, be it accidental or not. He had been known to cry for hours because he got a splinter in his hand, or because he had stubbed his toe on a chair leg and thought it was broken when it was merely bruised. Louise had tried her best to avoid touching the Italian, no matter how much he got on her nerves. Unfortunately, her emotions had gotten the best of her and she had reacted without thinking. She just hoped that Italy wouldn't be terrified of her from now on; her brother Ludwig had accidentally smacked the Italian across the back of the head a little too hard one time when trying to reprimand him, and Feli was jumpy whenever the tall blonde came into the room for a week afterwards.

However, what Italy did next Louise would have never predicted in a million years.

Carefully, as if approaching a startled rabbit that would run away at the sight of any sudden movement, Feli took three steps forward to close the distance between him and the German. He reached out his hands and gently cupped her face in-between them. He left enough room for her to break free should she desire, but she appeared to be frozen to the spot. Then, he slowly leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft kiss. He had to stand on his tiptoes to fully reach her mouth, as he was a bit shorter than the German, but he didn't seem to mind.

Louise couldn't think, couldn't even begin to process what was happening. Why was Feli so close to her? And why were his lips touching hers like that? Was he…was he really trying to kiss her?! And if so… why?! She wasn't attractive, she knew that. She knew that when people looked at her, all they saw was a masculine figure that didn't want to be trifled with. There was no way that Italy, the country of love only second to France, would ever be attracted to her…was there?

But then…why were his lips currently pressed against hers? And why- how had he managed to get one of his arms loosely around her waist and the other one behind her head in what to anyone watching would be perceived as a loving embrace?! Louise had absolutely no idea. But she did know that this was too good to be true.

Suddenly, she came back to her senses with a burst of energy. She roughly pushed Italy away from her and backed up against the wall, glaring at him, her cheeks once again a dark, ruby red. She lightly touched her lips; they were warm from being in contact with Feli's. It was not an unpleasant feeling… but all the same, it shouldn't be there. She threw her hand to her side and turned her attention to Italy, whose expression was a combination of shock, hurt, and even a bit apologetic.

"Was the hell, Feli?!" she yelled, and he flinched at the intensity of her voice. She wanted answers, and she wanted answers now. Though she hated to admit it, she couldn't deny that she had recently been experiencing certain… feelings towards the little Italian. But surely they didn't mean anything, right? So what if her heart fluttered a little bit whenever he called her "bella" or she got butterflies in her stomach whenever he came within close enough proximity to touch her? These were needless feelings that had to be gotten rid of. She had no room in her busy life of training and work for such trivial things.

So how dare that adorable-no, not adorable, annoying; yes, that was the word she was looking for- annoying Italian toy with her feelings like this when she was trying so hard to get rid of them?!

"Louise, I-" Feli began to say, but Germany cut him off.

"How many times have I told you not to touch me, dummkopf?!" she questioned, her glare intensifying so much that Italy actually took a step back.

"I-I'm sorry, bella, I was just-"

"And why do you always call me that?! I don't get it! I'm not… I'm not like your pretty little Italian girls that you constantly flirt with, so why do you always have to refer to me as you refer to them?!"

"But…Louise, you're beautiful-"

"I am not!"

A dense silence filled the air after Louise's last outburst. Italy was shocked to see that the German actually appeared to have tears in her ice-blue eyes; she never, ever cried. Not even during that horrible war when she was on the battlefield and had gotten shot did Feli see her shed one single tear. Now she seemed about to lose it just because of one simple kiss, and for the first time in his life, Italy had no idea how to comfort this sweet, surprisingly sensitive woman. All he could do was try his best and hope that she didn't push him away again. He knew that he had been pushing her buttons, but he had just gone a little too far this time. It was certainly fixable; the only question was exactly how to do so.

"I'm…I'm not beautiful," Louise said quietly, gazing at the ground. She gripped both arms tightly, hugging herself in an effort to control the tears lurking at the edge of her vision. She hated herself for showing weakness, especially to Italy of all people. She was supposed to be strong; that's why she had trained herself not to let her true feelings show. But that dummkopf Italian had a way of getting at those emotions that she tried her best to hide.

Feli's gaze softened; so that was it. Louise just needed to be reminded that she was the prettiest girl that Italy had ever laid his eyes on. Of course, he had told her this once or twice before, but she had just brushed him off and called him a flirt. He knew that he was indeed just that, and he had to confess that he had used that line on a few other girls over the years… but when it came to Louise, he really meant it. There was just something about her soft, blonde hair, blue eyes like ice crystals glinting in the sun, and soft, pink lips that made Italy's heart race every time he laid his amber eyes on her. And when those lips sometimes turned up into a small smile… well, Italy had barely been able to contain himself on more than one occasion from grabbing Louise by the waist and kissing her right then and there.

Germany was the world to him, not merely just a small part of it. But before he could convince her of this, he needed to find out why she had a problem with herself.

"Louise, why in the world do you think that you're not beautiful?" Italy asked gently, taking a few wary steps towards her. She seemed to ignore this action and sunk to the floor, sitting cross-legged and still hugging her arms.

"I just… I'm just not, okay?" she responded, ignoring as the Italian sat down next to her. He put a light hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

"That's not a reason, bella," the amber-eyed boy said, once again placing a hand on her shoulder. Louise sighed; it seemed as if he wasn't going to let it go. Curse him for being so stubborn. She continued to glare at the ground as she roughly wiped the dampness away from her eyes.

"Being considered 'pretty' is a weakness," she tried to explain, knowing that the boy wasn't going to leave her alone until he got some sort of answer. Italy frowned behind her back. "If people think you're 'beautiful', they're not going to listen…they're not going to take orders from you. That's a weakness. And weaknesses are what get you killed. How am I supposed to command troops if they think I'm just a girl who can't do anything but look good?!

"I've lost so many things because people didn't listen to me. My land, my home, even my family at one point… My brothers taught me from a young age that your abilities matter more than your looks. So I…I gave up looking pretty for the sake of the ability to run a Nation successfully. I gave up everything 'girly' so that all the men would listen to me…I gave up my femininity… Scheiße!"

Louise cursed as a fresh batch of tears instantly gathered in her eyes. They came so fast that she had no time to stop them before two identical streaks of clear, salty liquid went running down her face. Despite her best efforts to keep her composure in check, her shoulders started to shake. Italy reacted instantly, his comforting instincts taking over. He scooted around so that he was directly in front of her and pulled her into an embrace. Louise instinctively tried to struggle free, but Italy merely petted her head and whispered soothing words into her ear.

"Shh, bella, it's okay," he said, his voice soft and comforting. "Just relax, Louise… Let it out… It's okay…Shh…" Eventually, the German gave up her struggle and practically collapsed into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder as the emotions she had been trying so hard to keep bottled up for so long finally burst free. She didn't even care that she was currently staining Italy's shirt with tears; she hadn't had a good cry in years, and this one didn't seem like it was going to let up anytime soon.

Feli continued to pet her hair comfortingly as she sobbed. He lightly kissed the top of her head and she gripped him tighter. She was holding him just a little too tightly for comfort, but he didn't care; Louise needed him, and that was all that mattered. If he had to suffer through a little bit of suffocation in the process, he didn't mind. At least his beautiful Germany was finally letting out her true feelings; this was the sweet, sensitive girl inside the rough shell that Italy had been trying to free for years. The girl that had once lost everything because she was too pretty… so she had to give up her "prettiness" for the sake of her country, for the sake of her home and her people. Italy started rubbing soothing circles on her back and she nuzzled further into his shoulder, her body still shaking with deep sobs.

After a few minutes, Louise started to calm down. She was able to re-focus her mind from the jumble of thoughts and memories that had been spiraling through her head as she cried into Italy's shirt. That's right… she was currently resting her head on the little Italian's shoulder. He had witnessed her breakdown… She quickly sat up straight and tried to push him away, much to his surprise.

"Louise-"

"D-don't look at me!" she exclaimed, removing her hands from Italy to hide her face instead. She was horrified; all of her efforts to hide her true feelings had gone out the window in a matter of minutes. She would never be able to live this down.

"Louise." Italy's tone was slightly commanding, a sound which Germany had never heard before. Warily, she moved her hands away from her face so that she could look at the amber-eyed boy in front of her. He was smiling sweetly, but his eyes showed a depth of compassion and understanding that she had never thought the small Italian possessed. "I'm so, so sorry that you're hurting, but I'm glad that you finally were able to cry." Louise tried to hide her face again, but Italy gently grabbed her by the wrists and held her hands in her lap. "Ah-ah, no more hiding that beautiful face of yours."

"S-shut up, Feli," the German snapped, turning her face away. Italy let out a small sigh and, still smiling, shifted his hands so that only one of them was holding onto her wrists. He brought the other one up to gently caress her cheek and turn her head back towards him. The look on her face was one of skeptical confusion.

"Thank you for talking to me, bella," Feli said softly. "I know it was hard, but… I hope that you can talk to me more as time goes on. I want to know everything about you, even the bad things."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Louise questioned sharply. She resisted the urge to pull away from Feli's grasp, knowing that he would just grab onto her again. "I've never been all that nice to you."

"Si, you have!" Italy laughed. "You're a sweetheart! You just don't realize it yet!" Germany shook her head.

"Nein. I'm just another 'one of the boys'… I don't deserve your kindness-mmph!" She was abruptly cut off as Feli once again pressed his lips to hers. However, this time he didn't linger; he backed off after just a moment, not wanting to overwhelm her again. She frowned at him. "Why do you keep doing that?!"

"Because you're beautiful, I keep trying to tell you that~!" the Italian responded simply. Louise merely stared at his happy expression, seeming to be at a loss; she felt that, no matter how much time she spent with this boy, he just seemed to get stranger every day. She wondered if she would ever be able to understand how his mind worked…

"But…I'm not…" Much to Louise's surprise, Italy actually frowned at her comment. It was rare that he looked legitimately upset; he must be very serious about what he was saying.

"Louise Beilschmidt, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met," he said. The German girl instantly tried to look away from embarrassment, but Italy brought up his other hand to hold her face firmly in place so that she had nowhere to gaze but into his eyes. "No, I won't let you turn away anymore; listen to me, bella, please. You are absolutely stunning, inside and out. I know that you're hurting; you lost your home, and it seems like you never fully got it back, no matter how hard you tried. I know you made a shell for yourself to save you from all the things that hurt you in your past… but I want to be the person who can break through that barrier. I want to know everything about you, Louise; what you like, what you don't like, what your favorite kind of pasta is…all the important things."

Louise couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly at this last statement. Italy took that as a good sign and smiled. He knew that he wouldn't have many chances to say this so that Germany would actually believe it, but now seemed like as good a time as any… He scooted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her neck, and leaned in so that his mouth was right next to her ear.

"Ti amo, Germany," he whispered, and he could feel the shiver that ran down her spine. Whether it was from the proximity of his body or from his words, he wasn't quite sure. He gave her a quick squeeze, kissed her on the cheek, and then sat back, awaiting her reaction.

The German was, naturally, completely floored by the Italian's actions. That had certainly come out of nowhere… or had it, really? Now that she thought about it, she recalled that Italy had recently been spending quite a significant amount of time with her, much more than he did with anyone else, even his own brother (who was, admittedly, distracted himself at the moment, but that was beside the point). Also, he had been especially clingy lately, and he even ignored a group of pretty young women that they had walked past the other day, which went completely against the love-sick Italian's nature. So did that mean that Italy really did… love her? Germany's heart sped up at the mere thought. She gazed at the Italian, who was watching her expectantly.

"Do you…really mean it?" she questioned, still not quite able to believe him. She had learned from past experiences to take those types of confessions with a grain of salt; one could get hurt otherwise. However… she didn't think that sweet little Italy would lie about matters of the heart. But she had to make sure.

"Every word," he replied, his amber eyes full of nothing but genuine honesty. Germany was completely still for a moment, letting this fact process in her head: Feliciano had just confessed his love for her. Italy had just confessed his love for her- manly, gruff Germany, who no one but her brothers ever seemed to give a second thought about.

And it made her feel like the happiest Nation in the world.

"I-Ich liebe dich…," she said, so softly that she wasn't sure if Italy could hear her. But the humongous grin that spread across his boyish face told her that he certainly had. Before she could react, he had once again thrown his arms around her, nearly knocking her over. He began to plant kisses all over her face with such intensity that she couldn't help but let out a small giggle. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, embarrassed; she hadn't meant to laugh. The Italian paused to smile at her once more.

"You're such a cutie~!" Italy exclaimed, laughing a bit himself. He then resumed his attack on the German's face, forcing her to let out another round of laughter. He planted one final kiss on her lips, and much to his surprise, she didn't try to push him away. Moreover, she even pulled him closer, to his absolute delight. After a few seconds, they broke the kiss. Italy made a move to sit up, but Germany pulled him back towards her instead and rested her head against his chest. She sighed at the sound of his heartbeat; she had always been calmed by listening to her brother Ludwig's heart whenever she was scared, but Italy's seemed to have a special sound to it. It was as if every thump was meant for her and only her to hear, and that was a wonderful feeling.

Feli hugged Louise tightly as she sighed contentedly again. He couldn't believe that he had actually managed to win the heart of Germany, of all people… Her shell was even harder to crack than her twin brother's and that was a trial all in itself. But Italy was so happy that he had done it. Now Louise was his…and he couldn't be any happier about it. He gently kissed the top of her head and hugged her closer.

They stayed like that for quite some time, neither of them daring to move lest this was some wonderful dream that would shatter the moment that they stopped touching. However, one of them had always had an issue with staying still, and eventually Italy nudged Louise's shoulder and lifted her face up towards his.

"Bella…," he said, smiling contentedly. Louise smiled back at him, loving the nickname more and more each time she heard it.

"Ja, Feli?"

"…I'm hungry…"

Louise mentally face-palmed. No matter how suave Italy acted, he was still the single-minded little boy he had always been. It was one of the many things Louise was beginning to realize she loved about him.

"Okay, Feli, I'll go make you some pasta." She untangled herself from his grasp and stood up, holding out her hands towards him. He grinned and took them, pulling himself to his feet. However, when Louise started to walk towards the kitchen, he refused to let go of her hands, choosing to pull her closer to him instead.

"Was-"

"Ve~ Bella, let's go out to eat tonight," he said. Louise's cheeks instantly flushed.

"Y-You mean…"

"Si, I want to take you on a date~" He chuckled as Louise looked at the ground shyly.

"F-Feli, don't you think you're taking this a bit fast?" she questioned. She knew that, technically, one should go out on a date (or two) with someone before they kissed them, but she and Italy had… special circumstances. All the same, they had just admitted their feelings for each other…

"Nope!" Italy responded cheerily. He abruptly put one arm behind the tall German girl's back and grabbed one of her hands in his own, dipping her as one might do if they were dancing. "Ti amo~" he said, leaning down to plant a sweet kiss on her lips. She blinked, startled, but Italy had already returned her to her feet before she could register what had just happened.

"J-ja… Ich liebe dich," she replied, flustered. Italy grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the doorway.

"Ve~ Let's go, mi amore," he said, and Germany couldn't help the small smile that crept across her face at those words.

Mi amore… my love… She was his love. She, Germany, was adorable, kind-hearted Italy's love. As she stared into his amber eyes, full of nothing but adoration and happiness, she let one more tear fall down her cheek. However, this one wasn't because of sadness; in fact, it was the complete opposite. It was a tear of happiness, of contentment, of love. She had finally found her home.

It had been within Italy's heart all along.

~The End~

Translations:

Ciao: Hello

Mein got: My God

Bella: Pretty girl

Grazie: Thank you

Was: What? (pronounced "Vas")

Nein: No

Dummkopf: Idiot

Scheiße: Shit (pronounced "Sheyez-uh")

Si: Yes

Ti amo: I love you (Italian)

Ich liebe dich: I love you (German)

Ja: Yes

Mi amore: My love

Please let me know what you think in a review! :)