Author's note: Hey, guys! I'm back again! And guess what? It's fun fact time again!
Fun fact 4: The original version of this fic was drastically different to the current version. I'm quite glad that I didn't stick with the original.
Fun fact 5: My Hetalia obsession is so strong lately that my other fandoms are getting ignored. XD Tis the power of the GerIta.
Fun fact 6: I love all Hetalia characters. I honestly find it impossible to hate any of them. Though I do find South Korea rather annoying.
Fun fact 7: I have learned more about history, geography and languages (other than English) from watching Hetalia than I ever did in school... XD I also find them much more interesting to learn about now.
... Anyway! Enough about me. On with the chapter!
Hope you enjoy it~!
EDIT: ... I screwed up. XD The continuity. It 'sploded. Thankfully, I've fixed it now, though. Sorry about that!
Chapter Nine: Tepid Waters
Holy Rome fastened the cufflinks on his shirt before glancing over at Italy. His boyfriend had been relatively quiet since the previous night. With anyone else, this would have been awkward enough, but it was even worse when it was the nation best known for his bright grin and chatty nature.
His heart ached as he watched him sleep. To think that he'd made him cry. He was truly awful. All because of Germany, too. He was no longer sure if Germany even deserved any of this anymore. On the one hand, he wasn't nearly as bad a person as he'd originally thought and, from what he understood, had actually looked after Italy. On the other, he had locked him in the back of his mind for three hundred years... It was a confusing situation that was far from being normal.
"Germany..." Italy mumbled.
Holy Rome winced. Well, that had increased the awkwardness tenfold...
After a few moments, Italy stirred. He turned his sleepy head in Holy Rome's direction.
Holy Rome forced on a smile. "Buongiorno, Italy!" he said.
Italy stared groggily at him for a moment. "Oh..." he replied, "buongiorno, Holy Rome..."
Holy Rome looked away in shame. The tone that Italy was using wasn't like him at all. Ever the vibrant nation, he usually greeted people with a smile and a tone that was bursting with colour. The one he was currently using, however, was flat and lifeless.
Was it disappointment? Misery? He wasn't really sure, but it stung him, regardless.
Holy Rome fidgeted with his sleeve. "So, um..."
Suddenly, the phone rang, making him jump in surprise. He stared incredulously at the noisy device as he tried to calm his hammering heart.
Giving the phone a groggy glance, Italy slowly crawled over and picked it up.
"Pronto?" There was a slight pause. "Oh, ciao, Japan." There was another pause. "Oh, okie dokie." There was another pause. "Si, I'll tell him." There was yet another pause. "Okay, have fun. Ciao." He put the phone down and turned to Holy Rome. "Japan's not coming to training today."
Holy Rome blinked. "He's not?"
"Nope. He sometimes skips out on training, since he lives much further away from Germany than I do and, not to mention, the time zones are different and he has a lot of work-a to do, since he's a very busy nation. Did-a you know his home is seven hours ahead of ours? It-a makes you wonder how he can ever be late to a training session, but, like I said, he's a very busy nation and, not to mention, such a hard worker. I mean, some days, he practically works himself into a coma, so I'm surprised he made it to training five days in a row, since he normally-"
"Italy, Italy!" Holy Rome looked at him incredulously. "Good-a grief, sometimes, you can talk-a for the nation..."
Italy gave a chuckle that didn't sound terribly natural. "Sorry~"
Holy Rome exhaled through his nostrils, giving his boyfriend a look of pity. Poor Italy. He was suffering so much and it was all down to him. Life really wasn't fair, was it?
Italy flopped back down on the bed. "Urgh... I don't-a feel like training today... Well, I never do, but especially not today..."
He couldn't really blame him, not after everything he'd been through. Not that he really felt like training, himself. He hated running around that blasted track...
He paused as something occurred to him. Japan wasn't coming today, was he? They were only doing this training thing to keep up appearances – since it was what Germany would have done – but, without Japan there, there was no need to keep up appearances...
Smiling at his boyfriend, he walked over and stood by the bedside. "Say, Italy?"
Italy looked up at him. "Si?"
"How would-a you like to go out somewhere today?"
"... Eh?"
"Since your friend's not-a coming anyway, there's no need to train, right?"
Italy stared at him for a minute, processing this. Eventually, he broke into a smile. It was like a ray of sunshine in a dark room.
"No training?"
Holy Rome's smile grew warmer. "No training."
Sitting outside an Italian restaurant at lunchtime – as a treat for his boyfriend – Holy Rome happily noted that Italy looked noticeably more cheerful now. The spark that he loved so much wasn't quite the same as before, but it was an improvement.
As the two of them ate their plates of pasta in relatively comfortable silence, Holy Rome couldn't help wondering where things would go from here...
"Hey, dudes!" a loud voice called out, making him jump out of his skin. A pair of hands landed on the table, making the plates of pasta bounce. "Sup?"
Looking up in disbelief, his eyes landed on two unfamiliar faces. One with glasses and a wide grin and one with a scowl and massive eyebrows. Actually, had he seen the one with the eyebrows before? He couldn't quite recall.
"Argh, it's Britain!" Italy shrieked.
"Britain?" Holy Rome asked.
The one with the eyebrows sighed. "Yes, yes, it's me, you wankers..." he said.
"And me, the hero!" the one with glasses yelled happily.
... Just who were these nutcases?
"Ciao, America," Italy said, still sounding rather nervous. He paused a moment. "So, what are you two doing here?"
"Well, dude..." America lowered his head to Holy Rome's eye level. "We heard it through the grapevine that Germany here..." He leaned in closer, looking him directly in the eyes. Holy Rome had to back away slightly. "Has been acting weird."
"Personally," Britain said, "I don't bloody care whether or not Germany's acting differently. It's none of my business what he does. I'm only here because this wanker dragged me here."
America leaned away again. "But, dude, you didn't see Japan's face, man! He looked pretty freaked out when he told me!" He pointed dramatically at Holy Rome. "And I can immediately see something's wrong, just by looking at him!"
"Oh, you spoke to Japan?" Italy asked curiously.
America grinned, putting his wrists on his hips. "Yep! Japan told me, so I told Britain and then dragged him here to see it for myself!"
"It's not like you needed to bloody drag me along..." Britain grumbled. He paused. "Are you even supposed to be talking to Japan right now? Aren't we in a bloody war?"
"Eh, details."
"... And, for that matter, should we even be in Germany right now?"
"Probably not!"
"... You know what we're risking by being here, right? Which is precisely why I didn't want to come!"
"Yeah, but I just had to see this for myself! Besides, it's not like Germany's thrown us in jail yet!" America laughed loudly for a few moments, then suddenly got a panicked look on his face. "Holy crap, Germany hasn't thrown us in jail yet!"
"... Bloody hell, you're right."
The two nations stared at Holy Rome with wide eyes. Uncomfortable with the sudden attention, he looked away.
America put his hands back on the table and leaned in close, his blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses.
"So, it's true, then!"
"Uh..." Holy Rome replied, not sure what to do.
"You really have been acting weird!"
Even Britain looked interested now. He was giving him a sideways look of intrigue, while folding his arms.
Why did he have to go through this ordeal every time? People thinking he was simply Germany acting weird. It was starting to wear on him a little.
"Uh, well..."
"Hmm?"
"Wait a tick..." Britain said slowly.
"Dude... did you just, like... not mangle the language?"
Britain's eyebrows rose in surprise. In response, Holy Rome's eye twitched.
"Uh..." Holy Rome replied. Here we go again... he thought.
"... Say 'This is the third time this week'!"
"Wha-?"
"Just do it, man!"
"Uh..." He knew this was going to end badly. "This is the third time this week..."
"Duuuude! Now say 'America's the greatest country on Earth!'"
"He's not going to-" Britain started.
"America's the greatest-a country on Earth..." Holy Rome said.
"... Well, I'll be..."
"Whoa, Japan wasn't kidding! That totally sounded like an Italian accent! Dude, say 'yes' in Italian!"
Man, this guy was starting to get annoying. "Si..." Holy Rome replied.
America laughed loudly and obnoxiously. "Dude, this is so cool!"
"It's very weird, is what it is..." Britain said.
"Japan really wasn't kidding!"
"Yes, apparently not..."
"Aww, man, I have to tell someone!"
"You will do no bloody such thing! Look, it's not as if I care about Germany, or anything, but there is clearly something wrong with him right now... so we're probably better off leaving him alone."
"What? You're no fun!"
"And Germany isn't dressing and acting like this for your bloody amusement. He's either very sick, or..." He paused. "I don't bloody know, but it's none of my concern, anyway!"
"Aww, man..."
"Let's go, America." Britain grabbed America by the arm and started dragging him away.
"Aww, come on! Is this revenge for me dragging you here by your arm?"
"... Yes, it bloody well is."
As he watched them leave, Holy Rome heaved a sigh. Just how much more of this would he have to put up with? Turning back to his pasta, he prodded it listlessly with his fork.
The next day, Japan informed them via telephone that, yet again, he wasn't coming to the training ground, so, yet again, Holy Rome decided to take Italy out, instead.
Most of their day out was rather quiet. They visited restaurants, parks and various tourist destinations, but Italy retained a somewhat sombre air. He was barely acknowledging the pretty ladies he was passing, occasionally sending one a half-hearted smile and wave.
Holy Rome didn't know what to do. He was slowly losing his vibrant boyfriend and he had no idea how to get him back. Hoping to distract Italy's thoughts away from Germany, he took him to the same fountain that they'd splashed in a few days ago. Sitting on the edge, they smiled lightly at each other.
"Oh, there they are~!" a voice said.
Looking up in surprise, Holy Rome saw two men approaching, one with a long coat that stretched past his knees and one with a ponytail. The former was dragging the latter.
"Aiyaaa..." the one with the ponytail said, looking disgruntled, "you can let go now!"
The one with the long coat stopped in front of them, smiling pleasantly. "Hello, comrades~" he said.
Holy Rome frowned slightly. He wasn't sure why, but there was a strangely dark aura about this man.
"C-Ciao, Russia..." Italy whimpered.
The one with the ponytail pulled his arm free. "Aiya..." he said. Glancing over at them, he smiled. "Nihao, you two."
"Ciao, China..."
"Well, it look like you have your answer, Russia. Germany dressing weird, like Japan said. Can we go now? We not even supposed to be in dis country!"
"Not yet," Russia replied.
"You spoke to Japan?" Italy asked.
"Yes," China replied. "He tell me about Germany acting strange, so I casually mention it to Russia and he drag me here to see. We see, we go now."
"Not yet," Russia repeated.
"Aiya... but America confirm it yesterday! Dere no need for us to be here!"
"I am wanting to speak to Germany personally. Now..." Russia fixed his eyes on Holy Rome's. "Please make with the talking."
Now, Holy Rome really was fed up with this. How many countries had come to him, asking about his- or, rather, Germany's well-being? It was probably supposed to be touching, but, at this point, it was just grating.
He sighed. "Si, si..." he replied. "I'm acting weird, just-a like everybody says I am..."
"... Aiya," China said, his eyes widening, "dat voice wid dat accent sound really weird..."
"Da, I agree," Russia said. "Now, I check something." He leaned in really close, linking his hands casually behind his back. Holy Rome backed away, disturbed. After a few moments of staring deeply into his eyes, Russia backed away. "Da, I thought so. Those eyes not hold steely gaze I used to~"
China blinked, leaning forwards a couple of inches and squinting at Holy Rome. "... Aiya, you right. They different. More..." He fished around for the right word. "Sparkly."
"They hold more emotion than before. This good thing! He be easier to defeat in war now!"
Holy Rome narrowed his eyes. Just what was this guy implying? That emotion made a person... or country, or even empire... weak?
"That may be true... though underestimating never a good idea..."
Russia chuckled. "Oh, you worry too much~"
"Worrying what keep country alive. It why I pass four thousand already."
"Details, comrade~" Russia paused a moment, looking thoughtful. "You know, I think I prefer this Germany." He smiled. "He less of a threat than the old one~"
Holy Rome's frown deepened. Less of a threat? He'd show him 'less of a threat'...
"You cannot know dat just by looking at him..." China said uncertainly.
"Da, I can. His aura different." Russia leaned forward again, smiling brighter. "He be much easier to conquer."
Holy Rome opened his mouth, then paused. He really didn't know how to respond to that comment.
"Aiya..." China looked uncomfortable now. "Is conquering all you think about?"
Russia leaned back again. "Da."
"Urgh, de people I have to work with..."
"Well, it about time I get going. See you later, comrades~"
"Uh, ciao..." Italy replied meekly.
"Come, China~" Russia turned around and began walking away.
"Coming..." China groaned, following after him.
After a moment, Russia halted. Turning back again, he beamed. "Da, I decided. I like this Germany much better." He paused a moment. "In fact, I hope the old one never come back. Bye now~" He turned and followed after China.
Holy Rome was silent as he watched the two of them leave. Suddenly, the air felt heavy, his ears ringing from Russia's last comment. Slowly, he turned to Italy. His heart sunk into the base of his stomach at what he saw.
Italy's head was drooped and he was miserably kicking the floor in front of him. Even his curl appeared to be drooping.
Holy Rome didn't know what to say. What could he say?
"Italy..." he muttered.
For a moment, Italy looked up, but he quickly looked down again, trying to force a smile. "Oh, Holy Rome..." he replied. He paused a moment. "It's a bit chilly today, huh?"
He stared sympathetically at his boyfriend. Where were the comforting words when he needed them?
"Italy..." He tried to think of something to say. "About-a what Russia said..."
Italy's shoulders visibly tensed. "Oh, that-a Russia... always talking about-a conquering other nations..." He gave a hollow laugh.
Unable to look at such a pitiful sight, Holy Rome lowered his gaze to the ground. Was there nothing he could do? He was the one who'd caused this in the first place. He was the one who'd ruined something that his beloved had treasured so much.
Didn't Germany deserve it, though? He still wasn't sure. Just what could he do? He'd have to think about this for a while...
