Disclaimer: I own nothing! Nothing! Except the stuff I own, which is not included in this disclaimer. And doesn't include Hetalia, which is.


Lovino awoke to the sound of his brother's voice. He cracked an eye open to see Feliciano sitting on the edge of the bed in his nightgown, brushing his hair as he sang, having obviously recently woken up. "A dream is a wish, your heart makes~, ba-da-dahm~" Odd that Feliciano was up before him, Lovino thought sleepily, and closed his eyes for just five more minutes, listening to his brother hum and sing as he performed his morning ablutions. "dadada- oh, thank you!- keep believing, the dream that you wish will come truuue~!" It was actually kind of peacef- ...wait. 'Thank you'?

The unmistakable sound of a bird harmonizing with his brother's song made Lovino open his eyes, dreading what he was about to see.

It was worse than he'd thought. Birds hopped around on his brother's pillow, and fluttered around the pitcher and bowl that held the water they used to wash their faces in the morning. Mice- mice!- crawled around on the clothes they'd laid out the night before to wear today, for some reason sweeping at them with feathers they inexplicably held in their tiny paws, like utterly pointless brooms. As he watched, a squirrel industriously polished their shoes with a fluffy tail.

He sat up with a growl. "What, exactly, is going on here?"

"Good morning, Lovi~!" His brother greeted with a bright smile. "Guess what? I dreamed about my prince last night!"

"Never mind that," Lovino was not to be distracted, "what do you" he gestured to include the birds and other beasts in that pronoun, "think you're doing?"

"You said they could sing with me in private." His brother reminded him, setting the brush on the bedside table.

"Sing, yes. But what the hell is all," he waved at the general activity of the room, "this, dammit?"

"Ve~, well," Feliciano had the grace to look vaguely guilty, "they're helping me get ready, brother~."

"That's what I thought you were going to say." Lovino rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off the headache that he could feel coming on, and turned to address the animals. "What did I tell you bastards about helping out around the house?" The little birds shifted from one leg to the other, avoiding his gaze. The mice clutched their feathers nervously. The squirrel gazed up at him with wide eyes, holding its tail close for extra security.

"But brother, they're just trying to help! I think it's sweet." Feliciano leapt to their defense, smiling encouragingly at the assorted wildlife.

"Sweet or not, it's unsanitary, dammit. Look at this." He directed their attention to the waterbowl the birds had been perching on. "Look at this." Feliciano and the birds peered inside the bowl, where little white bird droppings floated at the bottom. "We can't wash in this now. We're going to have to clean this out and get some fresh water before we can use it again." Embarrassed, the birds hid their heads under their wings.

"Oh, well, I'm sure they didn't mean to-"

"And this!" Lovino threw aside the covers and stood, crossing the room to where the mice sat on their clothes for the day. "You see this?" He pointed out the little brown mouse pellets scattered over their shirts and trousers, and a telltale dark spot or two that betrayed the rodents' inadequate bladder control. The mice lowered their ears, shamefaced. "These were clean, dammit! Now we'll have to do laundry today!"

"Ve~." Feliciano gnawed his lip, dismayed.

"What were you even doing on our clothes, bastards?"

"They, they were trying to brush them off. The dust and lint and things." His brother explained, wringing his hands. "But, I'm sure they'll be very careful from now on, Lovino~."

"Feliciano, they're incontinent." Lovino pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "They can't control themselves, moron. They're animals. And this." He picked up one of the shoes. "This..." he paused, looking it over. It shone like a mirror. "Well, this is pretty good, actually. You did alright." He said to the squirrel with grudging approval, and put the shoe back down. It smirked smugly at the other animals, tail puffing with pride. "But aside from that, this is a mess, idiot brother of mine. We had a deal." He addressed the room, hands on his hips. "You can sing with my stupid brother inside the house, and help with the chores outside the house. Take it or leave it, bastards. If this happens again, I'm taking away your singing priviledges. Understood?" Ears, tails and wings twitched and fluttered, in general beastly expressions of acquiescence. "Alright. Now shoo." The squirrel chittered at him questioningly. "Yes, you too, bastard. You did good, but you still broke the rules, dammit." It deflated, tail drooping.

"Ve, but brother, they can stay and sing with me, can't they?" Feliciano protested.

"After this mess? Hell no. This is your punishment for breaking the rules. No more singing today." Feliciano and the animals blinked at him pleadingly. "D-don't look at me like that! You knew the rules, dammit! Go on, get out!" He pointed to the window, and the mice and birds began to file out, heads drooping sadly. Feliciano's lower lip trembled. Lovino threw up his arms, relenting. "Chigi! Fine, dammit! If you're extra good, you can come back and sing with Feliciano while he makes dinner. But no sooner than that, bastards!" Chirping and squeaking their thanks, the creatures fled, knowing better than to press their luck.

"Thank you brother~." Fetching fresh clothes out of the dresser, Feliciano smiled when his brother only grunted in response, knowing he'd be singing with their little friends by lunchtime. His brother tried to be strict like papa Roderich, but he was even more softhearted than daddy Antonio, and wouldn't be able to hold out 'til dinnertime. "You slept late this morning." He observed, handing Lovino his clothes. "You're usually up before I am."

"Ngh." Lovino grunted, accepting them with a nod of thanks. "I didn't sleep for shit. Weird dreams."

"Ve~, really? What did you dream?"

"I don't know, weird shit." He had a vague memory about talking to someone who was sometimes a man, sometimes some bizarre creature, all fangs and fur and shit, shifting randomly back and forth during their conversation. It had seemed perfectly natural at the time, in the way strange things did when you were dreaming. "Probably something in those potatoes you made me eat, dammit."

"You didn't even eat a whole potato, Lovi. You barely had two bites, ve~." His brother reminded him. "You really should try to like them. They're the only thing that grows in our garden besides carrots and herbs."

"I don't like what I don't like, bastard, and potatoes are disgusting." He ran his hands through his hair, smoothing it into place. "You and 'Tonio can have 'em. I'll stick to pasta and tomatoes, even if they're dried tomatoes."

"Alright." Feliciano sighed, tying his own hair back with a handkerchief. "Well, I had wonderful dreams, ve~. Guess what? I dreamed about my prince!"

"Yeah?" Lovino slid on his shoes, admiring the shine. Not bad for a squirrel. He might even let the little bastard do their shoes on special occasions, like festivals. "Alright. What's he look like?"

"Mhm! I don't remember exactly, but I know he was pale, and blond, and so, so kind. And tall! And very, very handsome, ve~. We danced in moonlight, in a beautiful garden under the stars. " Feliciano clasped his hands, smiling dreamily into space. "We were so happy."

Che, figured. Feliciano dreamed about a handsome prince, and he dreamed about some mangy fuzzball. "Good for you, then. I'm going to go wake up dad and make sure he gets ready for work. You get started on breakfast, and then clean up this mess your little friends made, dammit."

"Roger!" Saluting, Feliciano pattered out of the room to do as he was bid, and their morning routine began.


"Boys, boys!" Lovino was sprawled in the shade of a tree, reading and listening to Feliciano hum as he hung the laundry to dry in the afternoon sun, when their father came running up the path to the house, excitedly waving a letter above his head. "Wonderful news!"

"Ve~, you're home very early, daddy!" Feliciano remarked, balancing a basket of wet laundry on his hip.

"...You didn't get fired, did you, bastard?" Lovino closed his book, carefully marking his place.

"No, no. Don't worry, I didn't get fired." Antonio waved dismissively, and proferred the letter with a broad smile. "Daddy quit, but that doesn't matter, because Daddy will never have to work again, and my babies will live in a beautiful house and be waited on hand and foot and have anything their little hearts desire! Tomatoes, Lovi! We'll have the freshest, sweetest tomatoes, and our little Feli will wear the prettiest dresses and we'll all have the most stylish shoes money can buy!"

The boys stared at their father. After a moment, Lovino turned to his brother. "Feliciano, the idiot's got heatstroke again. Get the bastard inside and get some cold water from the river, and I'll call the doctor."

"Ve~, okay, brother!" Feliciano set the basket of laundry down and took Antonio's arm to lead him inside. "Come on daddy," He coaxed kindly. "Once you've had some rest you'll feel better, and we can talk to your boss-"

"No, no! Daddy doesn't have heatstroke. Not this time." Antonio insisted, waving the letter he held. "Look at this! A messenger brought this today, while I was working. It's a letter from one of daddy's old friends from his merchant days. It's good news! Our ships survived the storm! We're rich!"

The boys exchanged a cautious glance, scarcely daring to believe their father's words. Taking the letter from his father, Lovino read it over.

Antonio told the truth. The letter, a message from one of their father's oldest friends in the merchant business, explained circumstances in detail. Their ships, although severely damaged, had survived the storm, their cargo miraculously intact. Their journey had been considerably slowed due to said damage, they had eventually managed to make it to their destination. By that time the cargo had appreciated considerably in value (party due to the fact that many, many ships had been destroyed in the inclement weather), and after a few months' delay to affect repairs, the ships had returned, bursting at the seams with treasure.

There was a catch- though the ships had returned well over a year ago, Antonio hadn't left a forwarding address when they'd moved, and so none of the dock officials had known how to get word to the family that their ships had arrived. Not that they'd tried very hard, since if the ships and cargo went unclaimed for two years, the law of the land said that the property would default to their ownership. Luckily, Antonio's friend had recognized the ships when he'd sailed into the harbour after his own business trip, looked into the situation and sent copies of the letter to every town and village in the surrounding kingdoms, hoping one would reach his friend before the deadline. By the time the message had found him, Antonio had less than a week to make it to the harbour and claim the ships and cargo before time ran out. Unfortunately, this meant the boys couldn't go with him, since they only had the one horse, and even riding hard the journey would take at least four days.

Antonio left that very afternoon.

"Ve~, now remember, daddy: When you get the money, you must-"

"Put it directly into the bank, except for a few gold coins to cover travel expenses, I know." Antonio recited the instructions his sons had spent the last 3 hours drilling into him as they prepared things for his journey.

"That's right. Very good, daddy!"

"And what else, bastard?" Lovino prompted from where he was double-checking the horse's tack to make sure everything was secure and their father wouldn't slide off and break his neck due to a loose buckle or strap. Not that that was likely to happen— Antonio was a gifted horseman, but Lovino wasn't taking any chances.

"Um...I'm not to stop to talk to anyone along the way until the money's safely in the bank, even if they say it's important, or they lost their puppy, or they say it's an amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not to be missed, very special deal just for me because they like me so much."

"Good." Lovino nodded in gruff approval, patting the horse's nose. "Don't forget it, idiot." The boys exchanged a cautiously hopeful glance. They were a little...well, okay, extremely reluctant to let their father do this on his own, knowing his unreliability in business matters; but under the circumstances there was little they could do about it. After all, the ships and cargo were under their father's name, so their father had to be the one to sign for them. They'd done the best they could to prepare him, and now it was all up to Antonio.

"Don't worry!" He assured them, swinging easily into the saddle. "Nothing will go wrong. Daddy will get there in plenty of time, and take care of business. I'm very reliable, you'll see!"

"Ve~, okay, daddy. I've packed you plenty to eat on the way, okay? Make sure you wrap up at night, and keep warm! It would be bad if daddy got sick." Feliciano leaned up for a goodbye kiss.

"Don't talk to strangers." Lovino instructed. "And go straight there and come straight back, understand? If someone gives you food, don't eat it, and if anyone tries to get you to go somewhere with them alone, don't do it, I don't care how nice they are. Understand, bastard?"

"Don't worry, Lovi! I'll be perfectly fine!" Antonio insisted, patting his horse's neck. Then he hesitated. "I was thinking- your birthday is coming up soon. Since we have so much money now, wouldn't you boys like me to pick you up a present while I'm there? Something nice for your birthday?"

The boys exchanged another glance, weighing each other's thoughts on the matter. Well...a little present couldn't hurt, right? After all, it was an awful lot of money, and their father did seem to understand how important it was to be very careful. Rapidly each decided on their present.

"A dress! I want a dress, daddy!" Feliciano turned back to their father and bounced excitedly, clasping his hands. "I want the prettiest dress, in silk and lace, and a fan! So I have something to wear when my prince comes for me!"

Antonio pressed his hands to his cheeks, overwhelmed by the mental image of his youngest in a pretty dress of silk and lace. "Ahhhh~! So cuuute! You'll be so cute, Feli! Of course, daddy will get his baby the prettiest dress ever~! So cuuuute! No prince will be able to resist!" He fawned silently for a moment, lost in thoughts of his little Feliciano floating around in a dress. After he'd recovered somewhat, he turned to his eldest son. "And Lovino? Do you want a dress, too?"

"A tomato." Lovino ordered automatically, not having heard their exchange, lost in visions of fat, juicy, fresh tomatoes. "The biggest, reddest, sweetest tomato you can find. I want a fresh, ripe tomato, bastard."

"That does sound delicious." Their father agreed, wiping a little drool from the corner of his mouth. "Alright, I'll do that. I'll get the best tomato ever for my little boy!" He spurred the horse, galloping down the lane. "Goodbye, boys! Daddy will be back soon, just you wait!"

"Bye daddy, we'll miss you!"

"Don't do anything stupid, bastard! Be careful, dammit!"

They watched him go, until even the dust kicked up by the horse's hooves was no longer visible. Finally, Feliciano sighed. "Ve~, well...I guess we'd better go inside. It'll be dark soon."

"Yeah." Lovino turned to follow his brother inside. Just before they reached the door, though, he stopped, slapping his forehead. "Shit!"

"What? What's wrong, Lovi?" His brother asked, alarmed.

"I should have asked for a whole box of tomatoes, dammit! Chigi!"


"Prince Alfred." Ludwig approached his regent, who lay sprawled across the parapets, staring into the distance. "Prince Alfred!"

"Hm?" Alfred's ears twitched, and he looked over his shoulder. "Oh. Hey, Luddy."

His steward frowned in concern. "Prince Alfred, are you quite alright? I've been looking for you everywhere. It's time for your bath."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alfred responded absently, having returned to his previous activity. "Just...thinking."

"A dangerous pastime, your majesty." Ludwig said gravely, coming to stand next to him. "Especially if one is unaccustomed to such exersize."

"Ass." Alfred snorted, butting his head against the other's shoulder. Ludwig's lips twitched as he reached up to scratch the prince behind an ear.

"What's on your mind, your majesty?"

"Just thinking about this dream I had." Alfred's voice grew distant, even as he leaned into Ludwig's touch. "It...I don't know. Something about it stuck with me. You know what I mean? Kind of like...deja vu, or...I dunno. Like a memory of something that's going to happen. Does that make sense?"

"No." Ludwig answered readily, stroking the prince's thick fur. "Not at all." Alfred sighed, laying his head on his paws with a forelorn expression, his tail tapping the stone of the parapet.

"Still," Ludwig admitted after a few moments, "I must confess I...I do know what you mean. I, also, had the most...unusual dream. It...made a similar impression on me."

"Yeah?" Alfred perked curiously. "What'd you dream about?"

"I..." Ludwig coloured, shifting awkwardly, to Alfred's keen interest. Ludwig almost never lost his composure. It must have been some dream. "I...it's...a little embarrassing."

"Now I gotta know." The prince grinned toothily, fangs gleaming in the afternoon sun. "C'mon Luddy- I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." He winked.

Ludwig coughed into a fist, and looked away. "It...I...well, there was this...person...and I, we danced-"

"You? Dancing?" Alfred's eyes widened incredulously. "No way!"

"It was just a dream, your majesty." Ludwig said stiffly, and drew himself up, withdrawing his other hand from the prince's fur to clasp both behind his back. "An involuntary succession of images and sensations with no quantifiable purpose or meaning."

"Aw, don't be like that, Luddy." Alfred dropped from the parapet to wind around his friend apologetically. "I'm sorry, I wasn't making fun of you, honest. I just- in all the time I've known you, I've never seen you dance. Like at balls and stuff. And you always turned me and Mattie down when we asked you. I figured you just didn't like it."

"I neither like it nor dislike it." Ludwig frowned, admitting, "It's simply that I'm not very good at it. I just don't seem to have the knack."

"Huh. Really?" Alfred cocked his head. "Weird. I can't really imagine you being bad at anything. You always seem to have your shit figured out."

"Language, your majesty." Ludwig said automatically, cheeks flushing at the compliment. "But...thank you. Are you ready for your bath, now?"

"Yeah, sure." Alfred paused, head turning to gaze thoughtfully into the distance once more.

"Your bath, your majesty." Ludwig reminded.

"Yeah. It's just...I can't shake this feeling. Like something's coming." His tail twitched pensively. "Someone."

Ludwig followed his gaze, his own eyes growing distant. He had to admit he'd been feeling something very similar since he'd awoken, after the dream which kept interrupting his routines with lapses of daydreaming, which were beginning to worry him. It was just a feeling, irrational, unsupported by any facts, and therefore it was inexcusable to allow it to interfere with his work. "Perhaps we're coming down with an illness." He murmured, grasping for a rational explanation. "Or perhaps it's the full moon. It has been known to influence psychological and behavioural patterns, on occasion."

"You might be right." Alfred shook himself, and stretched, claws flexing. "Can you do me a favour? Can you send someone to the greenhouse to check on our tomatoes?"

"If you wish." Ludwig agreed, shaking his own head slightly head to clear it. "It'll be another week or so before they ripen, I believe."

"I know. I just have this feeling they'll come in handy." Alfred padded towards the door, Ludwig following close behind. "Hey, wanna play catch after my bath?"

"I'd like that very much, your majesty."

"Seriously Luddy, would it kill you to call me Al?"

"I don't think I should take the risk, your majesty. After all, what would you and your brother do without me if it did?"


AN: Ludwig's right. The castle would just fall apart without him. Dust. Everywhere.