Thank you all for reviewing. I'm so happy. I even welled up upon reading those lovely words. Thank you so much ~

Alright, this chapter will mark the first time the story can really be considered an 'M' (le gasp!). Naw, it's not full-on intercourse… There's only one pers- OK! Here's chapter three! Enjoy!

The morning was very quiet for Germany. He got up, had a shower, got dressed, and headed for the kitchen. Not a peep from Italy. His heart stammered a little, and he was tempted to knock on her door to check if she was Ok, but he decided against it.

Japan was sitting at the table. 'Good Morning. Did you sleep well?'

'Ja,' Germany replied, leaning against the counter. 'Japan. I take it Italy isn't up, yet.'

'Iiya,' Japan said, evidently surprised. 'Was she not with you?'

Germany cleared his throat, flustered. 'No, she wasn't. She spent the night in her own bed.'

Japan said nothing, and sipped his tea.

'Japan, I'm going for a run. Take care of things for a little while, would you?' Germany asked, not sounding very strong. He pulled on a jacket from the back of the door and opened it, its old hinges complaining against the movement. He headed out as he heard Japan's confirmation.

There's really no doubt, Germany thought as he jogged through the quiet Saturday morning streets. The occasional cat scampered under a car out of his path. That girl is very special to me. I… do like her a lot. That's why it hurts at the fact I've upset her. But… what was she expecting last night? Did she want me to say something more? Oh… Oh… Right, I'll bet she took my lack of response the wrong way. Maybe she thought I didn't want to talk to her… Italy…

The sound of a bell emitting a high pitched jingle caught his attention, and he stopped running. It was a familiar jingle. It was the bell at the door to a sweet shop that Italy had dragged him into on so many occasions, and where he could find her hiding and feasting during training, or rather, when she was skipping out on training. A couple was walking out of the little shop, the man holding an ice cream and offering it to his smiling partner, who giggled and leaned over to lick the frozen treat. She wrapped her arms around his free one and snuggled up to him, pouring affection.

Germany smiled and headed for the shop, for the first time on his own accord. The shop keeper expressed his surprise at seeing the German unaccompanied by 'that young cheerful girl.'

Germany returned, and upon entering the kitchen, noticed he had been gone for nearly an hour. He must have been running for a longer while, because he came straight home upon purchasing the treat.

He held it carefully in his hands, and headed for the living room, hearing muffled voices. The door was slightly ajar, and Germany caught a tail end of a conversation between Japan and Italy.

'So, where is he taking you, Italy?'

'He said anywhere I want, so yay! A lovely restaurant that serves pasta!'

Germany pushed the door open with his elbow. 'Oh, what's this?'

Italy turned and beamed a smile at Germany. 'Ve~ You're back! Japan told me you went for a run.'

Germany nodded. 'Yeah, I did. Eh, Italy… I, ah, got you a little something to apologise. I realise I may have seemed a bit… cold, last night.'

He handed her the treat, and Italy unwrapped it. Her face lit up at the gelato. She blushed. 'Germany, thank you! But, you didn't seem cold. Don't worry about it.'

Her voice didn't have that sparky edge to it, though, and Germany knew she was lying. He felt guilt coil around him.

He cleared his throat. He wanted to talk about it with her when they were alone, and Japan was currently in the room.

'So, Italy, are you going somewhere?'

Italy's eyes widened in remembrance. 'Ve~ Oh yeah! Prussia asked me out, and I said that if he took me to a nice restaurant that served pasta, then I'd go.'

Germany toyed with the sleeve of his training vest, and it was evident he was uncomfortable, even to Italy.

'Eh? Do you not like that idea, Germany? I thought, since Prussia asked so nicely, and - and he promised he'd bring his bird with him,' she said, setting the gelato on the coffee table.

Germany looked to Italy, and breathed a sigh of relief. Really, Italy was mainly interested in the food, and Prussia's bird. She wasn't romantically interested in his brother.

'As long as you have a good time and Prussia treats you nicely, I have no objections.' Germany confirmed, patting Italy on the head. Her hair was so soft.

'Ve~ Thank you Germany!' Italy sang, lunging on him and hugging him. She nuzzled his neck with her cheek.

Germany blushed and hugged her back loosely. 'Ja. When are you going?'

'Later this evening,' Italy replied, breaking away from the hug and smiling up at Germany, her amber eyes sparkling like pools.

'You should find something really nice to wear, then. You should show off just how pretty you are,' Germany said softly. Warmth peppered his cheeks.

Italy stared at him, her lips parted in thought. She then nodded enthusiastically, a smile accompanying, and jumped from Germany's arms and dashed out of the room and upstairs. She immediately ran back down and lunged back into the room, grabbing the gelato.

'Oppsie! I almost forgot! I'm gonna need something tasty to help me think!' she sang. 'Ve~ Thank you Germany!'

She skipped back out of the room and back up the stairs. Germany sighed and scratched the back of his head.

'Mr Germany, you do care for her so much. Forgive me for being so blunt,' Japan said.

Germany started, almost forgetting that Japan was in the room.

'Are you Ok with her going on a date with Prussia?' Japan asked.

'She's more interested in his bird than him,' Germany said, a smile creeping on his lips.

'Ah, then, if she was more interested in him, you would not be so accepting,' Japan said, half-amused.

Germany saw no reason to deny this, as he knew Japan was aware of his… feelings for Italy. 'Yeah, that's true.'

Japan nodded, and emitted a quiet, amused noise. An almost chuckle. 'Mr Germany, again I hope you'll forgive me for being so upfront, but I think Italy would really appreciate your feelings.'

'That doesn't mean she'd accept them, or return them,' Germany added, his face reddening at the openness of what was being said. He placed his hand over his face in embarrassment. 'I… think I'll go sort out some paperwork. I'll see you later.'

The paperwork mocked him, and the heat in the room intensified around him. Germany sighed in frustration, and decided nothing useful was going to be done if he stayed in the room, so he got up and glanced at the clock on his way out of his office. He had only been there for a couple of hours. It had felt like half a day.

The cool of the kitchen was a welcome change, and Germany grabbed a beer from the fridge. He would have to buy more soon. Closing the door, he saw a note on the fridge, it read, 'I have gone grocery shopping, will be back later ~ Japan.'

Germany smirked, and vaguely hoped he would bring back more beer.

The house was quiet, Germany hadn't heard a peep from Italy since she bounced out of the room to look for something to wear. The notion of checking on her crossed his mind, and he followed it, climbing the stairs and stopping outside her room. Germany was about to knock, when he heard a faint 'Ve~' drift from the other side. He heard the scraping of metal to metal - the sound of clothes hangers against the horizontal metal pole in her wardrobe. She was still looking for something.

Germany didn't knock, and instead smiled weakly to himself. He was willing to bet on the chance that she had found many items of clothing that she had forgotten about. Perhaps girly, frilly, sexy things.

Sexy. Germany's face warmed, and he leaned on the door, his head buried in his lower arm. He had to stop himself breathing too loudly, and realising this might be a problem, he scooted quickly and quietly into the bathroom, still holding the half-full beer bottle in his left hand. He locked the door as quietly as he could. Unlike when he was going for a shower, where the thought of doing so stupidly and constantly evaded him, Germany made extra sure to lock it now.

He set the bottle down on the windowsill, the green glass making a clunking sound as it contacted the white tile. Germany's heart leapt in fear that Italy may have heard it. No stirring outside. Germany leaned over the sink, feeling something tightening in his body. In his clothes. Germany blushed heavily.

'Fick,' he cursed. Germany blushed even more, as if his face was going to erupt.

Germany couldn't control himself. He sat on the edge of the bath, and unzipped his pants. He closed his eyes as he held his member and moved his hand up and down with increasing speed. He opened his mouth, and barely suppressed a moan. For the next few minutes, all Germany could do was suppress groans, and try not to move too much for fear of creaking the bath loudly.

Germany bit his left arm as he climaxed so as to hold back his verbal expression. His whole body tensed in a lonely pleasure, and it flooded out of him like a river. When he relaxed, his arm had a deep bite mark, but wasn't bleeding. Germany suspected there would be a bruise soon. He would have to make an excuse up.

After what he had done, the silence of the house seemed even more prominent. Listening, Germany caught no sound, and risked moving from where he was perched. His cheeks still retained a warmth as he zipped his pants back up and cleaned where necessary, as well as washing his hands. He felt lonely now. He felt ashamed, as well. Germany had done what he did because he was thinking of Italy. That girl was causing him to loose control of himself. The posture and strict discipline he had kept with him all his live slacked around her, like she emitted a silent spell that would catch a hold of Germany until she was out of range.

He waited until the bite marks disappeared, which took some time, as they were deep. Eventually, he was left with a red mark. He could just say he hit it off the edge of a table. Easily covered.

Germany sighed and picked up his beer bottle. He unlocked the door as quietly as he could, and passed Italy's room. There was no sound, and he wondered if he should knock to check on her. He did, and Italy's voice sang from the other side of the door, inviting him in.

'Ah, Italy, are you Ok? I -' Germany paused as he laid eyes on Italy's bed, where there were what looked like dozens of clothing items piled up.

'Germany! Look! I forgot I had this many clothes. I've been trying them all on! It's fun!' Italy said happily, skipping around the bed, admiring the pile.

Germany smiled at the eccentric young girl, and felt more confident to step into the room completely. 'And are you going to tidy up all these clothes once you're done playing dress up?'

'Ve~ Not to worry! It'll be all put away before you can say 'pasta!'' Italy laughed. 'I have also found what I'll wear tonight!'

'Oh?'

Italy nodded and held up a dress which had been hanging in her wardrobe still. Germany's eyes widened. It was a simple but elegant knee-length pink dress with light frills around the short sleeves, and a light purple flower decoration over the left breast.

'It's beautiful, you'll look good in it,' Germany said honestly. She would look gorgeous in it.

Italy stared back at Germany, and a light blush crept across her face. 'Ve? Thanks Germany.'

There was a brief silence exchanged between the pair of them, and Germany couldn't think of any way to continue the conversation, so he cleared his throat, and said that he would go to the living room to read a book.

Italy gasped in realisation. 'Ve~ Hey! Germany! I'm nearly late for a siesta!'

Germany chuckled. Well, just clean up those clothes before you sleep, and make sure you leave the clothes you're wearing somewhere you can find them when you strip, please.'

Germany had the words out before he realised what he had said, but Italy didn't seem to care. Of course she didn't, she was Italy.

Germany left the room, and guilt about his actions in the bathroom accumulated inside of him. He felt as if it had violated Italy in some way, as well as himself. He truly cared for her, yet the way he acted in the bathroom, the way he thought of her while he was doing it, made him feel unbearably guilty. As if he had done something without her permission. He felt almost physically sick thinking about it.

What made him feel even worse was the fact that she was going on a date with another man that night, even if it was his brother. The fact that he was Germany's brother perhaps made it worse, because he knew what Prussia was like. Fat-headed, foul-mouthed Prussia. At the same time, though, Germany constantly reminded himself that Italy's main interests were not in Prussia, but in that little bird he always had with him, and in eating pasta. Germany breathed a breath of either relief, or just nervousness. His emotions were so tangled that he couldn't tell them apart.

Ok! I hope that wasn't too bad. I was going to have Italy go on the date in this chapter but then I realised how long it was already. That'll be next chapter, and the date between her and Prussia, while I won't describe it directly, will be a little tip-toe step up in Germany and Italy's relationship. Thanks very much! ^.^