Slowly, the light entering the room in low beams between the frost on the windows alerted Felicianna that it was morning and time to wake up. Her eyes fluttering open, she stared blankly at the empty impression next to her on the bed, reminding her of the event last night. So it wasn't a dream, she thought, tears immediately welling up in her eyes as she sat up. Denying herself the pained relief of crying, Felicianna stood and dressed herself before making her way out of the room.

Goosebumps appeared on her limbs as the cold air brushed past her. Had someone opened a window? That wouldn't be a good idea when there's snow outside…right? She walked into the kitchen, her stomach emitting a low growl, telling her it was time for morning pasta.

The fact that there seemed to be no audible noises around gave Italy the idea that she was the only one awake. It was strange, seeing that she liked to sleep in and it felt like it was almost the afternoon already. Filling a bowl with pre-cooked pasta, she sat at the table as it heated in the microwave.

The cold waves seeping in from the window above the sink sent a chill down her spine. Staring blankly at the frosted panes of glass, her mind wandered into a false and strange sense of security. It seemed that they were locked in Alfred's house because of the amount of snowfall last night. Locked in….with Alfred…she didn't mind. Her only question was if last night Germany had decided to leave before the snow really piled up, locking him outside instead. Was that a good thing? If they were separated for a bit, maybe she could figure things out a little easier?

The repeating beeps from the microwave broke Felicianna from her trance. Pushing the chair back with her legs as she stood up, Feli walked to the microwave and pulled out the bowl, dropping it on the floor when she felt the burning sensation.

"Ow!" She yelped, holding her hand and jumping back as the ceramic bowl shattered on the ground in front of her. Shards of the bowl flung at her ankles, sharp edges barely slicing her skin. The precise attacks were enough to have her jump back again and yelp once more.

"Italia." The deep, stern voice rang through her ears painfully. She froze, her eyes narrowing. The steam from the hot noodles on the floor rose to meet her face, adding to the little beads of sweat finding their place on the back of her neck.

Heavy footsteps made their way towards her, the echo piercing her thoughts. Why did his voice hurt so much? He wasn't gone; isn't that a good thing? She could probably fix things now, right?

A cold gloved hand was placed firmly on her shoulder, causing her to jump. Quickly, she turned to face him, her hair turning with her at a slightly delayed pace and landing over her shoulder.

Icy blue eyes looked down at her, showing next to no emotion that she could read. She couldn't help but tremble; there was something so scary about him right now. Waves of cold emanated from his skin and clothing, despite the beads of sweat on his brow.

Was that why it was so cold? Did he go outside?—Her thoughts were cut short when his other hand took hers, lifting it a bit to see if any burn marks were there. Felicianna stopped breathing a moment, focusing on their hands together. The gesture would normally feel so warm and loving to her, but his demeanor made any possibility for those feelings dissipate within seconds.

She felt so small compared to him, so weak. His hand was so heavy on her shoulder. Feli bit her tongue as his grip tightened. Those blue eyes lifted from their hands back to her face, his expression still unreadable.

Felicianna opened her mouth to speak, but any words that may have come out were quickly stifled by the sensation of cool lips meeting hers. Eyes widening, the Italian nearly collapsed under the weight of his hand. Before she had the chance, though, her hand was allowed to fall to her side as a muscular arm snaked around her waist and pulled her towards him.

Enveloped in his cold embrace, her eyes slowly fell shut. His other hand moved from her shoulder to the back of her head, his fingers entangling themselves in her hair.

The Italian girl immediately became confused as she felt warm tears rolling down her cheeks. Why was she crying? This was a happy moment for her! Her longtime friend had willingly kissed her on the lips!

Something was off, though. She couldn't really tell what it was, except that it felt awkward from his side; almost as if he had something to prove by doing this.

Ludwig felt the warm drip of liquid melt through his jacket to his skin. Hesitantly, he pulled away from her, releasing her from his grip. She stumbled backwards, nearly stepping on the broken ceramic pieces. Germany couldn't look at her as tears continued rolling down her face. Her eyes shown more confusion than pain, but the tears themselves were enough to break his heart again.

Ludwig remained still, taken back as stern amethyst eyes met his. The man took a sip of the drink in his mug as he gave Germany a disapproving look. Had that damn piano player looked into his brain? He's not even a part of this! What would he know?

Before Ludwig's angered thoughts could be projected vocally, the Austrian had moved out of the doorway and down the hall. Guilt had already begun to overwhelm him.

"D-doitsu…" the trembling voice of the little Italian girl forced Ludwig to push his thoughts aside and finally look at her pained expression. Did she not want him to kiss her? That'd be quite fickle for her…-

"I-i….I thought you hated me…" Her voice lowered a bit to barely above a whisper. Confusion crossed his face a bit before he finally understood her reasoning. A few seconds of silence passed before he finally tilted his head a little, the corner of his mouth twitching upward in a crooked smile. How could he hate her? It was rather obvious how much she liked him, and she was always so kind to him even if he scolded her. The only problem was figuring out if he liked her back as much as she did him. Unsure of himself, he figured to verbalize a generic answer.

"I could never hate you." That was true, for the most part. Ludwig felt his heart swell a bit as her face lit up with pure happiness. Was the fact he didn't hate her that joyous?

It didn't matter. It was worth it to see her happy again. Was that why he kissed her in the first place; to make up for denying her last night? The previous wave of guilt he felt had completely disappeared, along with his reasoning for the kiss when she smiled. It was so wonderful to see her smile.

Contented, Felicianna stepped forward again and wiped some of the sweat from his forehead with the back of her hand

"Were you outside?" She asked, still smiling. Ludwig nodded.

"I've been shoveling." He responded, realizing he had to continue to do so—since there seemed to be too much snow.

Kissing her forehead, he walked back out, picking up the large, wet shovel he leaned against the doorway upon entrance. Felicianna watched him for a few minutes before turning and cleaning up the shattered mess on the floor.

Heading down the hallway towards the front door, his blue eyes met warm indigo ones for a moment. The Canadian turned his head as the German kept walking out, unable to see the smirk that formed on the other's face. The guilt he would've felt changed into smug dominance.

Oh, right; that's why I kissed her.

The door slammed shut behind him, cold air brushing past Matthew's face.

Chapter end

AUTHOR RANT TIME:

Ack! I'm so sorry that this is about 1/3 the length of the previous chapter...er...yeah...but don't worry! my erratic chapter updates will soon include really long chapters! Excited? I hope so! haha; the meat of the story will be much more interesting, anyways, so please bear with me until we get to the sexy stuff! ;P