This chapter is considered "Safe For Work."

***Warnings: None. ***

***Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia nor the characters in this chapter. The plot is mine.***

Making the meal was nothing short of exhausting. Wang Yao rushed about the kitchen in such a manner that Kiku believed himself to be on a one man kitchen staff. Somehow, though, the housekeeper stopped from time to time to guide Kiku carefully only to launch back into his flurry of action. As dinner was finally prepared, Kiku leant against the table, heaving slightly. Wang Yao looked over to him as they both set the table.

"Did you learn a lot?" He asked with a teasing grin. The old man didn't seem breathless at all and seeing HIM run around was the main reason Kiku felt tired. In response, Kiku smiled and they continued preparing the table.

Lunch came and people ate. During this time, his housemates ate loudly, bumping into each other and sometimes sending stray specks of rice airborne. Kiku smiled at their liveliness as he too began to dig in. The food tasted even better when he had participated in its making, though not as good as Wang Yao's. He took this time to once again see those among them.

Mei and Im Yong had left their game and now proceeded to excitedly stuff their faces. Kiku wondered how two people could eat so fast without choking. Next to them, Leon ate peacefully, occasionally looking under the table at his phone. The housekeeper would have noticed if he weren't racing to finish as much as Mei and Im Yong. Kiku, himself, ate at a more reasonable rate, paying attention to the commotion around him. Three people, apparently, weren't present, probably having lunch plans elsewhere. One of the absentees was someone he hadn't believed would eat elsewhere.

After their meal, Wang Yao excused all of them to do the dishes himself. Leon, however, remained to assist him while Mei and Im Yong headed for another game. Kiku, exhausted from having made the meal, returned to his room. Closing the door, he rested his head against its cool surface, taking in the feeling of his personal space.

Bzzzzzt.

Kiku moved away from the door, scanning the vicinity for his phone. After a few more rings, he remembered the location of the device, diving into his covers for it. Tapping on the screen, he held it to his ear.

"Moshi moshi. Honda speaking."

"Kiku..."

He felt his heart squeeze painfully at the sound of his name. His eyes widened and he clenched at the covers. "Ludwig? Is that you? What happened?" Ideas raced through his head at what possibly could have happened.

"Um... Kiku, this is Feliciano."

The feeling of worry fled to be replaced with panic. He coughed into his fist, blushing profusely. "Feliciano!" He exclaimed, thinking quickly of an excuse. "I apologize for the mistake, really-"

"No, it's alright. I... Oh wait, are you still busy?"

Partially, he sighed in relief that Feliciano did not get upset or angered at his mix up. On the other, he grew concerned for his friend. Why did Feliciano sound so distressed? "No, not at all." The former excuse returned to his mind. "Anymore, I mean! I finished it just now."

"Oh, that's good," he squeaked from the other line. A silence set in. This definitely didn't sound like the Feliciano Kiku had known for the last few years. He sat on his bed, back against the wall while pulling his knees to his chest. His heart beat steadily, nervous that his plan had failed.

"Was there something bothering you?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes…"

He bit his lower lip carefully, wondering how to go about the subject. Finding out about the date seemed really important if he was going to help Feliciano and Ludwig get together but hearing Ludwig's side of the story first would have been better. However, Feliciano called him for a reason, possibly seeking reassurance. Then again… "Is this related to the outing?"

"…Yes," he stammered once more before falling silent. At this, Kiku rubbed his temple a bit, internally sighing. If all Feliciano did was answer yes or no questions, nothing would happen. Plus, this shy attitude contrasted greatly with the loud boisterousness of the Italian Kiku had known for four years.

"Feliciano, we both know you are not usually this quiet. You can tell me."

The other side of the line let out a nervous laugh, acting as if he should have known better. "Kiku, you know me better than you let on. It makes me feel flattered and at the same time silly since I got caught. Today, I was surprised to be left alone with Ludwig," he admitted. "I was really looking forward with spending time with both of you! But by the end of the trip Ludwig looked really mad at me!"

Kiku rolled onto his back. "Why would that be?" To him, he felt as if he were giving an interrogation instead of a holding a conversation. Then again, curiosity dug inside of him. He needed to know.

"I don't know at all!"The Italian cried out, frustrated.

His hand rubbed his eyes and he withheld a small sigh. Ludwig… I thought you'd know better… "Well, I'm sure we can figure that out. What happened before that?"

"I was kinda late to meet up with him so we had to skip a lot of the places. Then we went to an ice cream parlor where we saw Alfred and he treated both of us to ice cream! Ludwig kinda got upset, saying something like, 'I've been having too many sweets anyway.'" He paused."Maybe he got mad over not being able to eat ice cream?" Kiku mentally faced palmed, remembering that Alfred had been the one who recommended the shop in the first place. Of course he'd be there.

The Japanese student shook his head, then remembering that the other could not see him. "No, that's probably not why. What else happened?"

"We went around the park and stuff and I tried petting a cat only to get scratched up!"

He shot up, eyes widened in surprise. "Are you alright?!" This had happened more than once before but usually he reacted much more than usual. Not as... Cheery?

Feliciano let out a light chuckle. "Hehe, I am, it was just a bit on my hand. Ludwig helped treat it for me and he seemed a bit mad but not as much anymore." He let out a small laugh at his foolishness once more but exemplified how please he felt when Ludwig felt better. Kiku took note of this to tell Ludwig later. "Since we were getting into so many problems he decided to have us just visit one more place. So we went to the wishing well at the end of town! And I made a wish and, guess what, he made a wish too and he looked really really happy! He asked me what I wished for and I told him I couldn't tell him or else it wouldn't come true and he sort of blushed and said we should get home."

Kiku let out a sigh in relief. At least one part of his place worked. He cracked a smile, propping his chin in his hand. "May I ask what you wished for?"

"Mhm!," he answered excitedly. "I wished Ludwig would get a girlfriend!"

He sat up, blinking a couple times to process the statement. What the... "...Why would you wish something like that?" Kiku controlled his voice to the best of his ability, not trying to sound too confused. Luckily, the Italian was too caught up in his giddiness.

"He seems so gruff all the time and maybe if he got in a relationship he'd be happier." Well, he's right in a way, Kiku admitted to himself.

"I can agree to some extent," The Japanese student started, after a moment of silent thought. "He could be happy in a relationship but pushing him into one doesn't seem like a good way of going about it." He reviewed his last sentence, internally sighing at the irony.

Feliciano thought on the advice himself. "Hm... Maybe you're right…"

Kiku shook his head, dispersing his thoughts. I have to get information on what happened! "You mentioned something wrong about the outing?"

This pulled Feliciano back into the conversation. "Oh! Right! When we were walking back, I ran into a group of cute girls! They started waving at us and actually started a conversation." Kiku chuckled, realizing how this was much like the Feliciano he and Ludwig knew. "I saw one glance a couple times at Ludwig and I kinda nudged him into it too! They would have been so cute together! But then he seemed to get mad about something and stormed off." The smile faded from his face, the last comment smacking him straight in the gut. He grimaced, realizing how Ludwig must have felt.

"I think he may have felt a bit... Frustrated about the situation," he explained to the best of his ability. "You should understand Ludwig can be a bit... Shy around certain people. He may not have been prepared for such an event to occur."

Feliciano let out a small gasp. "Really?"

Kiku laid on his back, rubbing his temple angrily. For him to be so dense… "In a way, it may have been unfair to him."

"Unfair?! Really?" Now the Italian seemed even more agitated. Catching himself, he quickly came up with an explanation to soften the answer.

"He's more comfortable around you so it's hard to tell."

"Around me?"

He let out a sigh, openly this time. "You don't really notice, do you?"

"No... I don't think I understand."

Tired, the Japanese student looked up at the ceiling, eyes tired. So, there was more progress to be made than he originally thought. "It's alright. You will eventually."

"Huh?" Yup. This conversation had done nothing but give Kiku more wrinkles and confuse Feliciano. Slipping onto his stomach, he reached over for a pillow and stared at the strange pattern adorning it.

After another moment of thought, he answered, "Listen, Feliciano, you really should try talking to Ludwig. I'm not a mind reader and I am most definitely not him."

"Oh... But I'm kind of worried he'll get mad at me."

"He won't if you try your best." The best way for them to start showing each other their feelings is by having open communication! Kiku was certain this would work! "Just ask him how he feels. Let him talk."

"Alright…" Feliciano answered, contemplating for a moment before replying cheerfully, "I'll do it right now!"

"I wish you luck. Good bye, Feliciano." A smile creeped onto his features, amused at the other's enthusiasm.

"Bye, Kiku! Thanks for the help! "

Upon the beep of disconnection he looked down at his phone before flopping onto his back and rubbing his closed eyelids. However was he going to get through Feliciano's thick head?

Author's Note: I'm sorry I've been really busy, followers! Thank you for reading through this chapter which I myself found a bit tedious to write. Originally, I wrote all the dialogue and filled in the blanks… I posted early too to make up for all the updates I missed... So, what's been up with me? I'm officially starting to look into colleges and possible scholarships in hopes that I can find the right fit. I already have a first choice for a university but I'm going to find a few others as back up. Team tryouts are coming up for the Slam team at my school and I haven't written any poetry! I've also been busy since Track preseason is starting up. Upper body strength is quite important since I'm a pole vaulter… Not to mention I haven't sprinted in a long time. But enough about me! This is fanfiction, a place to escape your own personal worries to create some for fictional characters! It took some time for me to choose who would live with Kiku in his boarding home but after a while I decided it best to stick with the classic East Asian family! Sadly, this will only be featuring canon countries since I am not a fan of writing with Hetalia OCs. Thanks again for reading my abnormally long author's note and again, reviews are appreciated. Until the next post!