Date:December 3rd

Location: The bushes outside a cafe

"Ow, Gilbert! Your elbow's in my side!" Lovino whispered, as he crouched behind thick leaves and thin branches with Gilbert.

"Oops, sorry!" Gilbert said a little too loudly for Lovino's liking. Lovino purposefully elbowed him.

"And we're both going to be sorry if we get caught, so keep it down, would'cha! We're trying to spy on our younger brothers, not broadcast our location to the world, idiot!" Lovino muttered, before turning his attention back to his younger brother, who was sitting at an iron table with Ludwig of all people.

Lovino's mouth twisted with distaste. He had tried to persuade Feli not to go out to lunch with Ludwig, but oh no, Feli had to get all stubborn about it. "I enjoy his company." Feli had said. 'Yeah, well, I enjoy him being about 203.34789 miles away from you,' Lovino internally stated in response. 'Looks like only one of us got what we wanted.' Lovino let out a snort of discontentment and scowled. Shouldn't the younger brother listen to the older one?

Although, he did have to admit Feli seemed to be enjoying himself. He wore the brightest smile on his face, and his laugh could be heard even from their hiding spot a few yards away, behind a wall of shrubbery.

Lovino pushed a few more branches aside to get a better view of Feliciano's table, and almost screamed when Feliciano held the German's hand. Lovino nearly fell through the bushes, and he had to admit next time he did a stake-out, he would not use shrubbery as a refuge, but for now he thought it would be okay. What could go wrong now?

The universe, ignoring the rhetorical pat of his question, decided Gilbert's obnoxiously resounding sneeze that silenced every sound around them but for Gilbert's contrastingly polite, "Excuse me," was the answer.

"Goddamnit, Gil," Lovino practically breathed.

"Bruder, is that you?" a serious voice questioned from somewhere on the side of the barricade of bush limbs, and Lovino eyes widened because how could someone recognize a sneeze what the hell. Gilbert muttered, "Shit," and Lovino nearly slapped himself.

To Lovino, there was three ways this could go. A, they could run as fast as possible and hope for escape. B, they could continue to hide in hopes that Ludwig nor Feli would not look behind the bushes. And C, cause an even bigger scene in hopes of distracting attention away from the fact they had been spying on their younger brothers.

Gilbert and Lovino shared a look, similar thoughts running through their heads. They each knew what they had to do- be as loud and as melodramatic as humanly possible.

Following his first instinct, Lovino shoved Gilbert through the thin shrubbery and into the clearing- no easy feat for someone of Lovino's stature, but he used Gilbert's surprise to his advantage. As Gilbert landed with a thud, and with a grunt, Lovino jumped over bushes and glared down at the man, his mouth set in a nasty sneer, shoulders straight, and hands clenched. All eyes in the vicinity turned towards them and widened in bewilderment. Yes, good, it's working.

"You baffling, baboonish bastard! You can't just say things like that- especially if you're breaking up with them! You made her cry, and so you're going to pay big time! Stand and face me, coward!" Lovino declared loudly for all to hear. He felt his brother's eyes bore into the back of his skull and suppressed a shudder. He really hoped he didn't have fencing lessons with him anytime soon.

Lovino met Gilbert's crimson eyes and saw them widen, before lighting up with recognition of his plan. Gilbert stood slowly, brushing himself off as he did so. When he was finally steady on his feet, he straightened his back and tilted his chin up so he was looking down at Lovino, appearing presumptuous. Lovino nearly snorted at how silly that seemed to look on Gilbert, who was possibly the most goofy and arrogant person on the earth at times.

"What else was I supposed to say! 'I'm sorry I can't take you back after you cheated on me with 3 different men'? What else could I say besides, 'I have lost all interest in you, and ask you to never speak to me again'? I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to!" Gilbert yelled back, words like poison. The by-standers at tables near them gasped in surprise, eyes growing larger. Some froze with their eating utensils halfway to their mouth.

Lovino tensed, preparing to tackle Gilbert, but was stopped as someone painfully grabbed his ear, pulling him towards Gilbert. Glancing sideways, he saw the culprit was no other than Feliciano, who appeared resolute- his eyes steel and mouth thin. Lovino gulped in fear, but when he saw Ludwig following behind his brother, he stuck his tongue out like a child. Gilbert's expression, upon seeing his brother, morphed into one almost resembling innocence.

"Bruder! What a surprise to see you here! I had no i-" Prussia's bright voice was cut off as Feliciano yanked Gilbert down by his ear as well and began leading them out of the café, all eyes upon them. "F-Feli! How nice to see you again! I m-mean, we haven't talked in such a long while! I was thinking-"

"Don't make me get my fencing sword, Gilbert." Feliciano glanced at Gilbert from the corner of his eye. Gilbert withered under his gaze and threat. Feliciano led the boys- not men to him at the moment- to a black coupe and ordered the boys into the back seat, before taking the passenger seat as Ludwig took the driver seat. Feliciano met both boys' eyes, and they shuddered. "We will talk at home."

"I can't believe you two did that! Actually, I can believe Lovi would, but you, Gil? I expected better!" Feliciano ranted as he paced the length of his room. Gilbert visibly shrunk in his spot next to Lovino on Lovino's bed. Ludwig stood next to the door, watching with piercing eyes. "Why would you spy on us?! Don't you have better things to do with your time?" He stopped pacing, and stared at the men sitting on his bed, waiting for them to answer.

"I don't trust that German jerk. I'm just protecting you Feli!" Lovino said earnestly, and Feliciano's eyes softened slightly. Feliciano turned to Gilbert.

"And you?"

"I wanted to make sure everything went smoothly. You know how awkward and stiff Ludwig can be," Ludwig let out a huff from besides the door, "and I wanted to prevent it from being an awkward date. I didn't want Luddy to screw up his relationship with one of my favorite Italians." Gilbert said sincerely, gaze pleading for forgiveness as they flicked from Feliciano's eyes to Ludwig's. Finally, Feliciano's eyes softened all the way, and his previous tense shoulders relaxed. Ludwig sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I forgive you. Just don't spy on us again, alright? It's creepy and an invasion of privacy! Right, Ludwig?" Feli looked back at the tall man who nodded his head in confirmation. Lovino let out a grunt of agreement as Gilbert nodded eagerly, resembling a puppy wagging its tail in excitement.

"Feliciano, we have work to do." Ludwig finally spoke, his voice quiet. Feliciano let out a peppy, "Yep, let's go!" and with a brilliant smile led Ludwig from the room after everybody said their goodbyes. The door closed with an almost silent click, and Gilbert flopped into a laying position, messing up Lovino's many fluffy pillows.

"Hey! Be careful with those!" Lovino yelped as he barely saved one of his favorites from falling off the bed. He brought the pillow to his chest and hugged it tightly to his chest, head resting on top. "Are you actually going to stop spying on them?" Lovino asked with a quirked brow.

"Of course not. I hate to lie to Feli, but if I don't watch them, Ludwig might embarrass himself," Gilbert said, rolling his eyes.

"I hope he does."

"No, do not hope that. Just because you are a little ball of anger doesn't mean you have to wish your misery onto others." Lovino opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn't formulate an intelligent response.

"I don't want him to be miserable; I want him to be happy," Lovino practically sighed.

"And Ludwig makes him feel that way. Just try to tolerate him," Gilbert gave an encouraging nod. "Hey, one day you'll meet your prince charming who makes you feel all gushy and gooey inside. How would you feel if Feli acted like he hated the guy's guts?"

"Oh, whatever. First off, Feli could probably never hate anybody, and second, I don't have a 'prince charming'." Lovino scoffed.

" You will! Give it some time! He'll be taller than you, and have pretty green eyes, and be tough and strong, and have nice hair." Gilbert's eyes held a twinkle. That can't mean anything good.

"Sounds like you already have someone picked out for me."

"Yes, I do."

"Who?" Lovino asked skeptically.

"I'm not telling you." Gilbert said with a cheeky grin. Lovino shoved him of the bed, and heard him groan in pain. Lovino giggled.

"Don't be a shithead, Gil."