here, have an extra chapy since i screwed up earlier. :D

A Little Drop of Healing: Reaching Out

Hungary had been in the middle of something very important when she heard the quiet sobs. Well, it was important in her opinion. Very important.

"Someone's crying," Prussia stated, pointing out the obvious.

She rolled her eyes, leaning down to adjust the frilly headband she had placed on him, "So? I'm a bit busy right now Gilbert."

Prussia turned his red eyes down, frowning, "Well . . . If you're too busy, then I guess it won't matter if Italy cries his eyes out or-" He smirked as he looked up again, Hungary already dashing towards the door at the mention of her favorite "toy." He stood up, picking up the small yellow chick he'd left on the table and placing it on his head as he skipped after her.

Elizabeth flung the door open wide, and Italy, who had been leaning against it, came tumbling inside. He choked back a sob as he saw the pair standing over him, his eyes widening slightly, "Prussia . . . Why are you wearing a maid outfit?"

The silver haired man grinned broadly, twirling around in the dark blue and white dress, "What, thiiiiis? Hungary and I were playing dress up!" He crouched down beside the other country and held out a hand, "Here, you play too, kay?"

Hungary gasped in surprise as Italy jumped up, slapping the other man's hand away, "F-Feliciano! What are you doing!?"

Italy shook his head fiercely, stepping forwards to bury his face in her dress, "I don't want to see him, or Ludwig! Both of them . . . It's both of their faults!"

"Whoa, wait," Hungary objected, casting a sideways glance at Gilbert, "What did they do, Italy?" But the auburn haired man merely sobbed into her chest.

Prussia, still crouched on the ground, narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of something that the other country had dropped. He picked it up and held it out towards Elizabeth, "Recognize this?" he whispered.

"Oh," she gasped, her arms pulling Italy close, "oh no . . . where did he get that?" She pulled the younger country with her as she followed Gilbert into the living room. Pushing Italy away from her and onto the couch, she kneeled in front of him, "Feliciano, what happened?"

Italy covered his face with his hands, choking back another sob, "I shouldn't have been so trusting . . . L-Ludwig is always telling me that . . . But I shouldn't have trusted him either! I'm so stupid!"

Elizabeth covered Prussia's mouth with a hand, knowing he was about to say something about how right Italy was. "You're not stupid," she assured him, glaring at Prussia as he snorted with laughter behind her hand, "Italy, where did you get this broom?"

Feliciano took the item from where she had placed it beside him on the couch, holding it close. "Germany's closet," he whispered, "He told me he didn't know anything about what had happened to Holy Roman Empire, but he was lying." He turned a darkened gaze to Prussia, "I never trusted you entirely, however."

Prussia pried Elizabeth's hand from his mouth, "Ludwig wasn't lying," he said slowly, earning a warning glare from Hungary, "He wasn't lying at all. He doesn't know anything about Holy Roman Empire."

"Shut up," Feliciano hissed, burying his face in Hungary's dress again, "Why else would he have it!? This was the last thing I gave Holy Roman Empire! That was the last time I saw him! And then you killed him! You and Germany both!"

"Stop yelling, Feliciano," a calm voice broke in suddenly.

Hungary looked up, smiling as she noticed the man leaning against the doorframe, "Roderich."

Austria paced forwards, sitting down beside Italy on the couch, "Feliciano, calm down." He rested his hand on the younger country's head, ruffling his hair softly, "If you heard it from me, would you believe it? Ludwig doesn't know; it isn't a lie."

Feliciano sniffed into Hungary's dress, casting a sideways look at the older man, "Really? He . . . He wasn't there? He had nothing to do with Holy Roman Empire's death?"

The dark haired man's eyes narrowed beneath his glasses at the choice of words Feliciano had used. Tricky little brat, he was smarter than he looked. "No. He was there and, in many ways, he had everything to do with Holy Roman Empire's demise," he stated, "But he doesn't know that."

Feliciano's eyes narrowed a bit, "What do you mean? He did kill him then, right? I don't understand."

"No one killed that little prick," Prussia spoke up suddenly, "I didn't either, Italy, though I understand why you thought that."

Hungary silenced him with another glare, and smiled a bit as she noticed Austria staring at the other man with a frown, eyeing how he was garbed, "Italy, Ludwig has never lied to you. If anyone has . . . It was Roderich and I."

"B-but big brother France said-"

"Think carefully about what he said," Hungary interrupted.

"He disappeared after he fought with Prussia." Disappeared. Vanished. Gone. All those were the words that France had used when Italy had asked over the years."He . . . said Holy Roman Empire had disappeared . . ." he said slowly.

"We're the ones that told him to say that," Austria murmured, "We're the liars here, Italy. Not Ludwig."

Italy stared at him, brown eyes tearing up again, "I still don't understand . . ."

"It's not really our place to tell you, even now," Prussia cut in again. "Hungary, Austria, and I agreed that what we did, all the lies we've told you, that it was all for the best. Holy Roman Empire . . . He wanted to be strong. I think that somewhere deep down, he made the choice he did for himself. Don't blame Ludwig. He's probably as confused as you are."

Hungary shook her head, turning her apologetic gaze back to Italy, "Feliciano . . . I know you'll understand, just not right now. And it isn't our place to explain it to you. Just . . . Just trust Germany. Please. And if you look close enough, I'm sure you'll untangle this mess of lies all on your own. That's how we meant it to be."

It was a few hours later when Hungary answered the door again. It was raining out now; it always seemed to be raining when Feliciano was sad. Maybe that's just how it was with countries. If they were upset, it rained, as if on cue.

Germany was standing on her porch, looking more than a little angry. "He's been here the whole time, hasn't he," he growled. Elizabeth merely smiled at him. "God damn it," he muttered, staring up at the sky, "I thought for sure he'd gone to see Romano. That git lectured me for an hour on how Italy preferred staying at my house . . ." He sighed, "Anyways, can I come in? Or is he still pissed?"

She held the door open for him and he stomped inside, shaking the water from his jacket as he took hit off. "Italy! It's time for you to go home now!' Elizabeth called, smiling at Germany, "You know, Germany . . . I wonder if you'd remember if we hit you over the head again . . ."

"Huh?"

She laughed, ignoring his bemused look as Italy came bounding into the room, his smile back in place and his eyes shining as he caught sight of the blond. "Doitsu!" he cried, leaping at him with outstretched arms. Elizabeth laughed harder as Germany, so taken aback in Italy's sudden change in attitude; fell over when the smaller country launched himself at him.

"I'm sorry," Italy whispered, burying his face against the taller man's neck, "I was mean, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

Germany managed to push himself into a sitting position and frowned as he noticed that Italy was wearing a full out school girl outfit. "It's fine," he muttered, ruffling the man's auburn hair, "Anyways, I came to bring you back. If that's all right. Or are you not done playing yet?"

Hungary waved a hand airily at them, "No, no. He can go. I still have Prussia to dress up. And I think I found the key to Roderich's study. So that's fine if you take Italy back."

Ludwig's eyes widened slightly as he heard a cry of, "Noooo! Take me back too, West!" from one of the back rooms.

"You tied him up, didn't you," he muttered, standing up with Italy still clinging to him, "Have fun then. Though I think Austria may have added extra protection besides just a locked door by now."

She snapped her fingers in the classic "darn" motion, "You're probably right about that. Shoot. Maybe the window then?"

The blond sidestepped out the door as she was momentarily distracted with plans of capturing her husband. Closing it softly behind him, he stared down at Italy for a moment, before scooping him up and into his arms.

Feliciano gasped in surprise, "Wah! L-Ludwig, you really don't have to carry me, it's right next door and-" Germany ignored him, walking towards his house slowly as the smaller country fidgeted in his arms, "Ludwig, really I can-"

"You scared me," the blond whispered suddenly.

"What?"

Germany set him down as he entered the house, "Today . . . You really scared me. I thought you weren't going to come back this time."

Feliciano blinked in confusion, then smiled, "Neh, neh, Doitsu. I'll always come back! I promise," he held out his pinky towards the taller man.

A slight smile pricked at the corners of the blonde's mouth, and he hooked his own pinky around Feliciano's, "Right. We did promise." He took half a step back in surprise as Italy suddenly held out the deck brush towards him, "Wait, what?"

"It's yours now, isn't it?" Feliciano smiled, "I'm okay with letting you have it."

His smile faltered briefly as he grasped the broom handle between his hands, but he held it in place as the blond took it. The motion, even the slight brush of Ludwig's hand against his own as he gave him the broom. It felt familiar. He shook his head, and grinned at the taller man, "I'm going to sleep in Doitsu's bed tonight, kay?"

"Wha- no!" Germany exclaimed, but Italy had already run off into the house. "At least wear some pajamas then!" he yelled after him, though he was sure that that the smaller man was out of hearing range by now. Or would just ignore him. He turned his gaze down to the broom in his hands, his blue eyes softening. It was, after all, the only thing he had from before he'd woken in Prussia's house that day and it was something he treasured. Though the thought that it used to belong to Holy Roman Empire made him uneasy. Somehow, he knew that even if he hadn't killed the boy Italy had loved, it was still his fault.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

"So how are you feeling today?" Alfred asked as he sat on the edge of the bed with another hamper full of clean laundry.

Kiku looked up from the newspaper he was flipping through, a little surprised at the question, "Huh? I'm not sure what you mean . . ."

America grinned, "Well, I'm running out of food, so I was going to go shopping. Are you up for coming along?" He took something out of the hamper and held it up for Japan to see, "Look, I got this for you the other day too. It's the right size I think."

Japan took the clothes from him. A dark blue sweater and some nice pants of reasonable size. At least he wouldn't look completely ridiculous in them. "We'll see," he replied, holding the sweater up to his chest to check the size. Turning his eyes to America again, he glared, "Out. I can't change if you're sitting there. Leave."

The blond made a face at him and scootched off the edge of the bed, sidling out the door and closing it. He waited a few moments before opening it again, smirking as he saw Japan sitting on the side of the bed in the new pants, yet minus the sweater. "Need help?" he asked lightly.

The dark haired man sighed, and held his arms out for America to slip the sweater over them. "Until I can lift my arms higher than this, yes," he muttered. "How far is this store of yours? I can't walk so far still; it's exhausting."

America laughed a bit, "Daijobu, I have that figured out."

Kiku's eyes widened slightly as he followed the taller man out of the room, "You know Japanese?"

The blond shrugged, "A tiny bit. I'm not that stupid." He grinned, ignoring the look Japan gave him when he said that last part, "Anyways, I got a gift from my boss the other day, it's really cool." He led the way out of the house and pointed to something sitting on his front walk, "See?"

Kiku stared at the thing, "A bike?"

"A motorcycle," the blond corrected, "It's cool right? I don't think your country has them yet." He lifted Kiku up onto the back of the thing, laughing when the other muttered something in Japanese at him. Climbing up in the front, he glanced over his shoulder at the shorter man, "You might want to hang on to me, kay?"

Japan looked at him nervously, "Why?"

"Cause I haven't used one of these things before!" America laughed, kicking the motorcycle into gear.

"What?!?!" the other country yelled in alarm as the blond revved the bike forwards. His arms wrapped around America's waist as they barreled down the hill from the house and he cursed against the number fifty on the man's jacket as he closed his eyes and pressed his face into the other's back. They were going to die. He just knew it.

"I can't believe you totaled that thing," Japan muttered as they left the store, which now had a nice sized hole in its side wall, "Into that old couple's store, no less."

"What? I paid them a repair fee and said they could keep the bike," America shrugged, "Anyways . . . We have to walk now. Are you sure you'll be okay? I can carry you if you'd like." He flinched slightly as Japan shot him a glare.

"No," the older country said, "You'd just drop me."

"Eh? No way! I told you before that I-"

Japan glared at him again, reaching out an arm to steady the other country as he tilted sideways, "You idiot, you're all off balance! I saw you hit your head on the handlebars when we crashed. You probably have a concussion!"

America waved his hand at him, "No, no . . . Heroes don't get concussions! I'm totally fine!" He wobbled a bit as they walked, and his smile fell slightly, "I think . . ."

Kiku rolled his eyes and held out his hand, "Put the groceries in your other hand, America-teme." He waited as the other man did so; his hand still held out towards him, "Now take my hand."

The blond blinked owlishly at him, "What?"

"If I hold onto you from this side and the bags are on the other side, you'll be evenly balanced," Kiku explained in a tone that said, "stupid."

Alfred took his hand, smiling, "Holding hands? Okay!"

"T-that's not why I'm doing this!" Kiku stuttered.

America ignored this remark as they continued down the road, "Everyone wants to hold hands with the hero!"

"You're insane," Kiku muttered under his breath as Alfred swung their clasped hands back and forth between them. But he wasn't mad. In fact, their hands together, it was warm, and comforting. But he'd never admit that. "Teme, don't swing that bag, there's milk in there!" he snapped as Alfred started to twirl the bag around with his other hand.

"But it won't spill cause I'm awesome!" America laughed.

"I'm starting to think you hit your head a bit harder than I first thought," Kiku muttered.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

So . . . Rereading some of the Hetalia strips I have stashed all over the place on my laptop, and decided to read the America's Ghost Situation again. The more you watch the anime I think, the more u should go back and read. It gets funnier somehow. Specially cause I noticed at the end of one of those strips, when Japan gives America the scary games, America says, "So Japan, do you want to sleep togeth-" and then Kiku runs for it. Hahahahaha. *points* CANNON peoples! I'm sure the actual translation may have been "sleep over" but, same thing. O 3O

Yaaayyyy Italy though. And I got to write about Hungary too, one of the only girl characters I like in anime. :p I made her kinda sadistic with those outfits though, lols. But I can see her doing that, and she has too. Remember that many of Italy's outfits are ones she gave him, and he dresses like a girl. And then when she made Austria wear the cat ears . . . Hahaha. And I read somewhere about something with Germany in a maid outfit? I've never actually seen that strip, if anyone has that one, send it to me please! It's one of the rare ones I think. = 3=

And the guide here, almost forgot to add it.

Austria - Roderich (human name) I had to look this one up. :p he has a funny name, him and Gil both. (Alfred too. I keep wanting to call him Al. But then in my head, a tiny Ed yells at me.)

Hungary - Elizabeth (human name) I'm not entirely sure this is right, so say so if it's not.

Prussia -Gilbert (human name)

England will show up again next chapter, and will be more than a little confused on many issues. And our "bad guys" will appear again! FINALLY! (anyone else see Russia and China dressed as Team Rocket when I call them the bad guys?)

Review to lure Russia back! (Actually, he's probably having tons of fun right now with China, but we need him for plot. Review to make me DRAG him back.)