"Germany! Germany! Wake up!" Italy shook the sleeping blond. Germany opened one eye to glare at him half-heartedly.
"What is it?" He mumbled.
"I was listening to big brother France's radio show, and he got a letter, and he said it was from someone he knew, and then he read it, and I thought it sounded like something Greece might write, so I called him on his private line, and he said that it was from Greece, and I think the letter was about Japan and that that might be why he's been acting so weird!" Italy grinned, proud of his deductive skills.
Germany just stared at him blearily. I think that's the longest run-on sentence I've ever heard. "Um… So why did you wake me up to tell me that?"
"Because," Italy emphasized the word as if it should have been obvious, "We should try to get Greece and Japan back together!" He bounced up and down on Germany's bed, grinning like a fool.
Germany grabbed Italy's curl and tugged on it. Italy squeaked and grew still. "What Japan and Greece do or do not do is not our business. It's theirs and no one else's. And that includes us."
"But Japan's our friend!" Italy protested. "Friends do things to make each other happy, and Japan always seems happier when he's around Greece, and he's been really sad ever since Greece visited him last week!" He looked at Germany pleadingly, silently begging for his help, or at least his understanding.
He got both. "I guess you do have a point." Germany sighed, unwillingly accepting the fact that he didn't seem able to say no to Italy. "Just don't ask me to do anything too stupid, or you're on your own." Germany shifted to look at his clock. His alarm was going to go off in half an hour. Japan and Greece's problems could wait that long.
He pulled on Italy's hair again, this time dragging him down onto the bed. As much as he hated to admit it, Germany had grown used to sleeping with Italy curled up next to him.
Italy happily obliged, snuggling close to Germany. With a sigh that was more contented than he'd be willing to admit, Germany inhaled the fresh, warm scent of Italy's hair and gratefully went back to sleep.
,,
A symbolic gift… Greece mulled over the phrase as he tried to decide what Japan would consider 'symbolic'.
Looking around his house, he saw two scrolls, side by side. One was rolled in the Greek fashion, and had a legend about Athena written on it. The other, written in beautiful Japanese calligraphy, and rolled in the Japanese way, contained a haiku. Greece still couldn't read it, but Japan had once told him what it said, and he had committed it to memory:
Furuike ya (Oh, an ancient pond…)
Kawazu tobimomu (a frog jumps into water)
Mizu no oto (its sound echoing.)
It was by Bashô Matsuo, a famous poet. Greece ran his fingers over the smooth parchment, an idea slowly taking root in the back of his mind.
,,
"Hey, Japan, have you talked to Greece recently?" Italy asked.
"No." Japan focused on the papers littering his desk, as if doing so would make Italy go away.
Germany didn't blame him. And people say I have no tact.
"Really?" Italy pressed. "I thought you two were close."
Japan suddenly grew rigid, as if he'd been punched in the stomach. "You were mistaken." His voice was tight, strained, and painfully soft.
"Italy, maybe we should talk to him later." Germany grabbed his arm and pulled toward the door. Japan sent him a fleeting, grateful look.
,,
I wonder… what Greece is doing right now…
No! No I don't! I don't care what he's doing, or if he's not doing anything and just napping, or if he's sitting in the sun, or, or…
Focus! I need to focus on my work. Yeah, focus…
Japan sighed and put his head in his hands. 'Focus' seemed to be the last thing he was capable of at the moment.
The lines on the paper blurred into black rivers, as meaningless as spilled ink. Japan pushed the heels of his hands into his sleepless eyes.
I wonder what Italy wanted…
,,
Please review! I'll give you some onigiri if you do! ChiCho out!