"Bella! Bella!" Feliciano emerges from the house, charging at Gen and Ivan with his arms spread open. He stumbles over the somewhat uneven terrain and plants himself face-first into the dirt. Ludwig, who followed him out of the back door, can only shake his head and pull the Italian upright by his shoulders. Feliciano is stunned for a split second, but resumes his advance with an energetic giggle. Gen almost asks if he's all right, but her sentence is cut off by a swift hug from the man.
"Miss Genovefa! Ludwig and Kiku and I are going for a run! You're coming, too, right? Yes, of course you are! Come on, bella!" Feliciano grabs her hand, starting to drag her towards the house. She looks back worriedly at Ivan, who shrugs his shoulders and smiles apologetically.
"What the dummkopf means to ask is whether or not you'd like to join us." Ludwig says, pinching the brow of his nose with a sigh.
"That is what I said!" Feliciano chimes in, still dragging Gen.
"Do I really have a choice?" She asks, and Ludwig blushes, shaking his head.
"Nein."
Twenty minutes later, when everyone is in their workout clothes, and Gen – thank heavens – has had a chance to brush her hair, the four pile into Ludwig's car – some sort of Mercedes SUV – and Gen once again reassures her brother that she'll be fine. He'd been shocked when Feliciano had burst into the house and declared that she would be going with them.
"I'm not too out of shape, now am I, brother?" She teases, pecking him on the cheek before she shuts the door.
"You bring her back exactly the way she is, you hear?" Francis says, pointing a finger at Ludwig in the driver's seat. "No scratches, no broken anything, oui?"
"Ja." Ludwig says, looking her over to make sure he can remember all the details to keep that promise. He nods at Francis, who steps away from the car, and they depart.
Feliciano had originally called 'shotgun', but Ludwig forced him into the backseat with Kiku, saying something about ladies getting the front seat that made Gen blush. She thanks him again as they drive, Feliciano pouting in the back with his arms crossed over his chest.
They sit in awkward silence for the majority of the short ride into town, none of them really knowing what to say to one another. Finally, when they arrive at the track and step out of the car, Ludwig speaks.
"That color looks, ah, nice on you." He says, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Gen looks down at what she's wearing – a steel blue sports top and matching shorts.
"Merci," she says, blushing. He nods, turning and walking swiftly out to the track. Feliciano follows him hastily, leaving Gen and Kiku to walk leisurely a ways behind them.
"I am sorry for what Yao said last night," he says, looking straight ahead. "He is not often the most polite person in a room."
"It's all right. Just caught me off-guard, is all." Gen says, observing the man beside her. He looks at her, nodding his head at her statement. Then, gesturing to the other two members of the group, the smaller of which being chased by the other, she says, "Are they always like this?"
"More often than not." Kiku sighs, smiling a bit as he shakes his head. "But they are good friends."
Gen nods.
"I have never been to your country. China, Thailand, the Philippines, but never to Japan. May I visit sometime?"
"Hai, I would be honored." Kiku says, holding the gate to the track open for her. "What brought you to so many places in Asia?"
"I work…worked, rather for a charity that brought education and medical care to impoverished areas of the world." Gen says, shoulders sagging.
"But not anymore?" Kiku asks, immediately regretting his question when he sees the look on her face.
"Non," she says, frowning. "They did not want me anymore."
Kiku begins to apologize, but is cut off by Ludwig shouting that they had better get moving or he'd make them run extra laps. Smiling sheepishly at Kiku, Gen races up to Ludwig.
"I will not make you run the extra laps," he says, grinning. "Just those two."
Gen smiles, catching a full-on glimpse of his face, reminding her so very much of little Holy Roman Empire, and of Germania. She doesn't say anything, but makes a mental note to ask Gilbert about his brother. Looking back at the man before her, she speaks.
"So, give me this 'German training' of yours, oui?" She grins, and he blushes deeply, but smiles widely back at her, a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.
"Ja."
Oh, how she regrets goading him on. Run a lap, then ten pushups, ten sit-ups – and repeat. Over, and over, and over again.
Gen's legs feel like gelatin after a good hours or so, and she sits on the grass beside the track, head bowed between her knees. Her chest heaves, and she takes a long drink from her water bottle.
"That was pretty good," Ludwig says, jogging over to where she's sitting, "for a Frenchwoman."
"Hey now, I am partly German, you know." Gen looks over at Feliciano, who is dragging his feet along the track as Kiku laps him for the third time. "Sadly, partly Italian, too."
Ludwig laughs, a deep, rich sound.
"Ja, I will give you that." He sits beside her, taking a drink from his water bottle. Gen can't help but notice the way he's built, his muscles glinting with sweat in the sunshine as he moves, calling out to the other two. "We eat when you finish your laps."
Feliciano perks up, yelling something about pasta as he speeds around the track. Gen and Ludwig laugh, looking at each other briefly.
"I wanted to ask you something, if you don't mind," Ludwig says, playing with the cap to his bottle.
"Oui, anything," Gen says, curiosity peaked. He looks at her, eyes searching hers.
"Yesterday, you acted as though you knew me. I was wondering who you mistook me for."
Biting her lip, Gen panics for an answer.
"You reminded me very much of someone I used to know, back when…" She trails off, picking a blade of grass from beside her and rolling it between her fingers, and sighs. "You just look very much like him."
Ludwig nods, wishing he hadn't brought it up from the look on her face. He slowly places his hand on her shoulder, trying to offer some measure of comfort, to which Gen jumps, but smiles back at him with a blush. He looks down at her shoulder, noticing a series of light, raised lines showing on her skin.
"What happened to you?" He asks, the question coming out much more blunt than he wanted it to. She follows his gaze, seeing what he's referring to, and sighs.
"Please don't tell ma petite Italie this, but much of my…my country, my land, was raided frequently by the Roman Empire." Gen stiffens at the memory. "I fought to defend my people."
Ludwig nods, keeping his hand on her shoulder. She's shaking, and he moves his hand to rub between her shoulder blades. Seeming to melt, Gen closes her eyes.
"Do we get to have the pasta now?" Feliciano yells, running up to them, panting, followed shortly by Kiku.
"Oui," Gen says, looking up at him with a smile. "All the pasta you want. And Ludwig is paying."
Feliciano cheers, running around with his arms up in the air. Gen grins at Ludwig, who fights a smile as he stands, and offers her a hand. She takes it, and he pulls her up, steadying her as she sways on wobbly legs. They make their way back to the car, chatting lightly with each other, before heading to lunch and then back to Francis' house. Gen is met at the door by Arthur, who opens it for her with a nod and leaves the house for his car, suitcase in hand.
"Where are you going, Angleterre?" She asks, hand on her hip.
"Home, I'm afraid." Arthur says, putting the suitcase in the trunk of his car. "Work to do."
"Hey, you crazy limey! Don't leave without us!" Alfred yells, running out of the house with Matthew following shortly behind him. Arthur rolls his eyes, slamming the door and approaching Gen as the other two load their belongings. He stands awkwardly, prompting Gen to pull him into a hug, which he nervously returns.
"Maybe I will come to visit, oui?" She says, pulling back to look at him. "Have some fish and chips and such."
Arthur chuckles at her attempt at an English accent, nodding. Matthew comes up to her sheepishly.
"You, too? I will be all alone now." Gen hugs him, giving Kumijiro a kiss on the nose.
"Sorry," Matthew whispers, blushing. He walks to the car, leaving Alfred to strut over with a mischievous grin on his face.
"Adieu, mon-" Gen's goodbye is quickly cut off by Alfred's lips crashing into hers. Admittedly, she doesn't resist, but keeps her participation to a minimum. Arthur is screaming and waving his arms, cursing out Alfred, and Matthew looks like he's about to faint.
"Cherie." Gen breathes, her face a deep hue of crimson. Alfred grins like a hyena, sprinting back to the car like a maniac. Arthur slaps him upside the head when all three of them are in the car, and his shouting can be heard quite a ways down the road as they drive away. Kumijiro waves at her out the back window.
Giggling to herself, Gen returns to the house to find the front room full of suitcases, and she frowns. Yao and Kiku enter the room, both dressed in travelling clothes, arguing about something.
"Not you, too." She wails, pulling them both into hug, one in each arm. The two men look at each other over across her shoulders, shrugging.
"Will we see you at next meeting, aru?" Yao asks, and Gen looks at him, puzzled.
"The world meeting?" She asks, confused.
"Hai," Kiku says.
"But, I'm not…"
"No matter. You come!" Yao insists, pointing his finger at her.
"All right," Gen says, nodding. "I will come accompany my brother."
She pecks each of them on the cheek, flustering both of them considerably. They pick up their suitcases, bow to her, and leave. She sighs, looking after them, then shakes her head and enters the living room.
Ludwig is cleaning up his paperwork and packing it into a briefcase while Feliciano stretches up to try and get Pookie down from on top of the china cabinet.
"So soon," Gen whispers, watching them. Ludwig looks in her direction, finishing his cleanup.
"Ready to go, losers?" Gilbert comes into the room, luggage in hand. He chuckles, watching his brother roll his eyes. He spots Gen, setting down his suitcase and pulling her gently into the front room as they make eye contact.
"Please don't leave." Gen whispers, looking up at him with watery eyes. "I don't want to be alone again."
Gilbert pulls her into a hug, resting his cheek in her hair. He rubs her shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Don't worry, lieber. I will be back soon. Here." He pulls a little silver cell phone from his pocket and presses it into her hand, enveloping it with both of his.
"What's this?" Gen says, looking from their hands to his face.
"I'm on the speed-dial. I don't care what time it is, or what's wrong. Just call me."
Gen nods, and Gilbert pulls her close to him, pressing his lips softly to hers. The breath catches in her throat, but she finds herself slinking her hands into his silky hair. He places a hand gently on the small of her back, the other cupping her cheek.
Above, on the landing, a pair of violet eyes watches them. Ivan's grip tightens on the handle of his suitcase and he grits his teeth, forcing the sorrow into anger.
