A/N: Listening to Les Mis and typing fanfiction…this is bliss ^.^

Poor Italy ;A;

(Lol this was done a few days ago DX way to update, Kira….)

Review ? Please ? Pretty Please? Pretty please with a cherry and Italy on top?

oOoOoOo

"Story books full of fairy tales;
Of kings and queens and the bluest skies…
My heart is torn just in knowing,
You'll someday see the truth from lies…

When the clouds will rage, and storms will race in,

But you will be safe in my arms…
Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around-
But you will be safe, in my arms…"

oOoOoOo

The moment Italy woke up he knew something was wrong. He felt weak, like he'd just had a nasty bout of the flu, and his eyes felt heavy. But there was also an absence, one he recognized, and he gasped, trying to sit up. He had to find his brother, had to make sure-

"Feliciano!"

He looked up, surprised to find Germany behind him. Which meant his head must've been on the other man's lap…he blinked, trying to remember what had happened. He'd been lying down, trying to go back to sleep, when…

The pain. The awful pain, one like he'd never felt before, but it wasn't even his pain. No, most of it was…

"L-Lovino!" he gasped, coughing slightly as his chest tightened in pain. Germany drew him back so he was resting against his broad chest, a deep frown on his face.

"Don't move, Feliciano. You're only going to hurt yourself more."

"W-what happened?" Italy asked, and Germany's frown deepened.

"Your country was bombed last night, but this part of the country didn't receive the majority of the damage."

"B-but what about f-fratello?" Italy asked, dreading the answer, and Germany sighed mournfully.

"We don't know, but ….Feli, it's not looking good. England went down there after the bombs stopped, and he said that it was…"

Germany didn't need to finish the sentence-Italy could see It all from the look on his face. He felt his eyes welling up with tears again-he didn't want to think about it, but how could he doubt what he felt? He didn't feel the connection with his brother anymore…but no, he couldn't believe it.

"He's not dead." Italy whispered, tears running down his pale cheeks. "H-he can't be, Ludwig, h-he can't!"

"Calm down, Feli." Germany murmured as Italy's breath sped up, running his hand down Italy's face, and he was shocked to feel how warm it was. He swore-a fever in a nation was never a good sign. While North Italy had been mostly spared, there were still a few areas that had been decimated, and his brother's supposed death or serious injury wasn't helping anything. Germany let his hand run up and down Italy's flushed cheek, soothing the smaller nation. There was no one in the house other than them and Prussia in the other room-America, Japan, and England had gone back to their own countries to attempt to push back Russia's planes. Hungary had called a few hours ago, telling him that she and Austria had successfully pushed them out of Italy, which was a relief. Other than that, however, he hadn't heard anything from the others, and he was actually getting worried-

His phone rang, and both he and Italy jumped at the sound. He grabbed it from the side table, flipping it open.

"Hello, this is Germany."

"Oh, good, I got the number right!"

Germany blinked in surprise-the voice sounded like America's, but much softer than he'd ever heard the other nation speak. Besides, America knew his number, so who…?

"It's me. Canada." The person on the other end of the line informed him after a long moment of silence. Germany gasped, and said.

"Oh, Canada."

"Yes. I-I was calling because Italy never answers his phone…"

Germany snorted-he knew that much was true. The fact that he hadn't heard a phone going off in the room meant it was probably left lying around somewhere.

"He never does. What do you need, Canada? It's not really the best time…"

"That's why I'm calling!" Canada said his voice suddenly rising a pitch. "I-I'm with Romano at the moment."

"You are?" Germany gasped, his grip on Italy tightening subconsciously. "How is he? Is he…?"

"He's alive." Canada told him, and Germany heaved a deep sigh, relieved.

"Oh, Gott, that's good to hear. We were thinking something had happened, especially after England saw what it looked like. How bad is it?"

"Well…" Canada hesitated, but he finally said in a soft voice. "Russia beat him."

"What?" Germany couldn't contain his horrified exclamation, and Italy started, his amber eyes going wide in question. Canada sighed sadly.

"Romano tried to head butt Russia, and, well…he wasn't too happy, to put it mildly. So he hit him, with his pipe, a-and…" Canada's voice broke. "It was awful, Germany. H-he's barely breathing, a-and there's nothing we can do. I-I asked to bring him to a hospital, but R-Russia said no."

"Bastard." Germany growled, running his hand through Italy's hair to calm him. "Doesn't he know what will happen if Ro-if he dies?"

"What's going on? Ludwig?" Italy gazed up at him, his entire body trembling. Germany just hushed him, trying to smile.

"Just hold on a moment, Feli. Just let me finish."

Italy nodded, but he looked young and scared as Germany listened to Canada's soft reply.

"If he dies, Veneziano will become the singular representative of Italy. It's the same with my brother and I, and, I assume, you and Prussia. However, it is never a good thing, to suddenly place such a burden on the other half…"

"He can't take both parts." Germany hissed. "He just can't."

"I know, Germany." Canada replied, a small sigh sounding through the speaker. "I'm trying my hardest, and you have to too. You need to take care of Italy."

"Of course I will." Germany snapped, and he saw Italy's eyes fly open from where they'd drooped. "I will always watch over him, Canada."

"Eh, Canada?" Italy gasped, jerking upright. "Does he know? Did he say if fratello was-"

"Feli!" Germany gasped as Italy began coughing, curling in on himself. He heard Canada's voice fading as the phone dropped onto the sheets, soon getting lost as Germany pulled Italy to him, holding him close until the smaller nation regained control of his breathing. He sighed in relief as Italy said in a rather shaky voice.

"I-I'm okay…Ludwig, m-mi di-"

"Don't apologize." Germany said sternly, but his face held only relief and fear for the man he loved. Italy just smiled sadly, a shadow of its usual bright glee.

"O-okay…b-but really, what did M-Matt say?"

"He…." Germany was trying to figure out to shuffle around the truth, but one look in those amber eyes and he found himself giving in. "Your brother is alive, but in a bad condition. It's not certain whether or not he will survive."

"H-how…?" Italy managed, his normally tan face going white as a sheet. Germany bit his lip, lost for words. Finally, he muttered grimly.

"Russia."

He didn't need to say more-Italy gasped, his trembling starting up once again, only more violently.

"R-Russia h-h-hurt fratello…?" he stammered, and Germany nodded sombrely.

"Ja. Canada's taking care of him…" he suddenly remembered the phone he'd left on. He dug around in the sheets, keeping one arm tightly clasped around Italy. After finally retrieving it he sighed. "Sorry. We had a bit of an, ah, issue."

"I could hear that." Canada replied, sounding a bit harassed. "I was going to hang up anyways. Romano…well, he's not looking so good. I'm going to see if Lithuania or someone will help me."

"Alright. Be careful." Germany added grudgingly. Canada paused, and then said in a confused voice.

"Huh?"

"Be careful. For your damn brother's sake." Germany sighed, a flush going to his cheeks at his own caring. Italy was rubbing off on him. "He's been really worried about you, you know."

"I do." Canada sighed. "I'll let you knew if anything changes. 'Bye."

Germany didn't have a chance to reply as Canada hung up. He sighed mournfully, hand absentmindedly stroking Italy's hair. His trembling was slowly subsiding, and he had shut his eyes once again. It wasn't long before the younger nation drifted off again, leaving him in silence that was only broken by his lover's erratic breathing. He wasn't sure how long he sat here watching Italy breathe, but next thing he knew there was a snort from the doorway.

"He doesn't look so hot, bruder."

Germany looked up to see Prussia leaning on the doorframe, a pained smirk on his face. The German frowned.

"What are you doing up?"

"I just wanted to see what the commotion was. Besides," his grin broadened, "you can't keep the awesome Prussia down for long."

"Gilbert, you need to rest." Germany scolded, and Prussia just snorted, rolling his scarlet eyes.

"I don't want to. It's so boring, sitting in bed while the rest of you take on Russia."

"How did you..?" Germany frowned. "You've been awake this whole time, haven't you?"

"Ah shoot, you caught me." Prussia sighed. "Yeah, I have. I couldn't sleep, especially after hearing that scream…"

Germany didn't say anything, his gaze going back down to Italy. It was easy to see just how slim the odds were with Romano, looking at the pale face against him. He tightened his grip, pulling Italy closer to him protectively.

"What should I do?" He whispered, not looking up as he addressed his brother. He heard Prussia heave another sigh, taking slow steps across the room until he was at the bed. He sat behind his brother, his snowy head leaning onto the other nation's strong back.

"Hell if I know, bruder. But…damn it, I know this is cheesy as hell, but…you've gotta hold onto him, Lud. Because love is a hard mistress, and…augh, god damn it…."

Germany could hear the sadness in his brother's voice, and he knew why Prussia had chosen to sit behind him. His older brother probably didn't want him to see the painful emotions on his face-Prussia was like that. He wanted to always be the awesome older brother, the one who would always stay strong. But Germany knew that there were a lot of things that Prussia had been hurt by, even if he never spoke of them. Germany leaned his head back so that it was leaning onto his shorter brother's, sighing.

"I know. But if…if his brother dies…"

"He won't, Lud." Prussia assured him. "That Romano is one tough bastard. He won't go down without a fight. Besides, he would never do that to his brother, right?"

"Right." And neither would youright…? Germany frowned, knowing that was what his brother had also intended to say, but couldn't. After all, admitting your feelings just wasn't awesome. Germany felt a sardonic smile make its way to his face. His brother hadn't changed, even after centuries, and somehow he'd always found that to be a sort of comfort. He sat there, lover on his chest and brother leaning on his back, until he heard the sound of rough snores from behind him. He couldn't stop a soft chuckle from escaping his mouth-Prussia really had worn himself out, even if he'd denied it. Knowing that if he moved he'd wake both men up, Germany just sat there, listening to the chorus of snores, and after a few minutes, joined in…

oOoOoOo

"Why, Matvey, this is a surprise!"

Canada didn't say anything, his violet eyes hard as he stared at the large man behind the desk-France's desk.

"Where's Francis?" Canada asked, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice so as not to upset the Russian. He couldn't risk that, especially not if he wanted to get the violet-eyed man to agree to his plan. Russia just grinned eerily, shrugging.

"How should I know? You know how dear Francis is, da? He's probably off cavorting with women or performing some other debauchery, da?"

Canada frowned, but then smoothed it over with a neutral expression again.

"I suppose. I guess I can just ask you."

"Ask me what?" Russia asked, raising his pale eyebrows, but that only served to make Canada's heart beat double time. Russia scared him an incredible amount, but just as he was about to falter and turn away he remembered the laboured breaths and weak voice of Italy. He took a deep breath, steering himself for what he knew was likely to happen.

"I need to take Romano to a hospital, or he may not recover."

"Why should I care? He betrayed our alliance, da?"

"H-he was just protecting his brother." Canada swallowed, trying to wet his dry mouth and cursing his nervousness. There was no one else to step up for the older Italy brother, and if he didn't, the Italian would die. He would never let that happen, especially with the chance of him and his brother being in the same situation. Russia gazed at him coolly, a smile still lighting his pale lips

"Da, and by protecting his brother he betrayed us. Italy wasn't supposed to leave. I believe we made that perfectly clear, da?"

"Y-yes." Damn it, how could Russia's smile send such shivers down his spine? He wanted to turn tail and run, but he couldn't, and he was afraid. Russia didn't say anything for a long minute, and then he held out his hand.

"Hand over your phone."

"H-huh?" Canada's heart sped up-did Russia suspect something? Well, of course he suspected a little bit-he was Russia-but did he know…? "O-of course."

Canada dug into his uniform pocket, drawing out the small silver device and handing it over. There was a long, tense silence, and then Russia suddenly threw the phone to the ground, causing Canada to jump as he brought his boot down and crushed it to pieces. When he looked back up, his smile was gone, and his purple eyes held unimaginable darkness.

"Very clever, Matvey-you may be able to erase your phone history, but did you really think I wouldn't notice you sneaking off to inform you dear brother of our plans?"

Canada felt himself beginning to tremble, now extremely frightened of the man before him, images of Romano's horrifying beating running through his mind. He was in trouble, big trouble, and for once his hero wasn't there to save him. He whimpered, watching Russia's malevolent purple eyes gazing into his own, and cursing his cowardly thought. He was so dependent on his brother, but America couldn't always be there to help him, and he knew that. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to meet Russia's gaze without the giving into the urge to turn and flee. After a tense moment, Russia finally broke their gazes, turning to face away from the smaller nation.

"You may go now, Matvey."

Canada nodded swiftly, relieved to finally be free from that cool gaze. The moment he got back to his room he shut the door and sank down to the floor, finally letting his emotions free. Tears welled in his eyes, and he buried his face in his arms.

"I'm sorry." He wept. "I'm sorry…"

oOoOoOo

"Mr. Jones, I would appreciate it if you would stop pacing."

America stopped, turning to glance at the woman behind the desk. The vice President was staring at him, looking tired and worn. There were deep bags under the blonde woman's eyes, and she looked older than her forty years. He sighed, running a hand through his hair with a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, Ms Pederson, I'm just worried, ya know?"

"About your brother, I'm assuming." The woman sighed, crossing her fingers and resting her chin on them. "You don't have to stay here, Alfred. We have this situation under control now, and we're keeping a close eye out for any Russian planes"

"I know, but I need to make sure nothing bad happens to my precious country." America smiled sadly. "Because I'm the hero, right? That's what I'm supposed to do."

"But you also have to be a hero for others, Alfred." Pederson reminded him, her voice gentle. "Besides, I'd say Europe is in far more danger than we are, wouldn't you agree? Italy's already been bombed," America's face twitched, "And I'm fairly certain Germany or England are the next likely targets. You should be over there helping your friends instead of worrying yourself to death over here."

"I…" America sighed, staring out the window that provided a beautiful view of his favourite city in the world. "Alright. Thank you, Ms Pederson."

The blonde woman just smiled, making a shooing motion with her hand. He walked out of her office in a few long strides, the door shutting behind him. He had tried to hide his anxiety, but she had come to know her country's avatar quite well over the past five years, and she knew how much he was longing to get back to his friends. She shook her head, resting he head back onto he chin.

"Idiot…"

oOoOoOo

Romano opened his eyes, groaning weakly. He felt like he'd been steamrolled, and his head was throbbing painfully. He heard a soft gasp as he finally got his eyes to crack open enough to see, and a blurry figure moved into his line of vision.

"Oh, thank heavens! I-I thought he'd killed you!"

"L-Lith…ua…?" Romano couldn't finish the name as pain laced through his chest, harsh coughs ripping from his throat. God, everything fucking hurt. Lithuania placed his hand on the other nation's chest, his green eyes sad.

"I'm so glad you're alive. Your brother will be so happy to hear it."

"Prob'ly…knows…al'dy…" Romano said weakly, and Lithuania looked confused for a moment. But then his eyes widened, and he gasped.

"That's right, the connection! Alfred's mentioned it before…well, at least that means we don't have to sneak around to call him."

"Wha…mean…?" Romano asked in his broken voice, and Lithuania sighed mournfully.

"Russia found out about Canada's phone calls to his brother, and he broke his phone."

"Wha…'bout…Can…da..?" Of course, he wasn't worried-well, maybe just a little, but…it was only because the damn maple syrup loving bastard had taken care of him! That was definitely it.

"He's fine." Lithuania assured him. "He just went to the storage room to get some more bandages. R-Russia…he hit you p-pretty hard, a-and…w-we thought…"

"Vene…ziano…h-how….bad…bombs…?" Romano tried to get his point across, but it was hard to get the words to come out. His chest was constricted and he had a feeling there were a few broken ribs. Lithuania frowned, shaking his head.

"The northern half of your country wasn't hit as hard, but there were still several bombs dropped. After you defied him, R-Russia had them concentrate on the lower half."

"Bas…tard…" Romano grumbled-no wonder it was taking so long for him to heal. Usually, the smaller wounds would have already have been almost gone by now, but if his country was in a bad spot…and that, of course, meant that his brother was suffering too. He hoped that Germany was taking good care of Veneziano, because he already felt awful enough without the guilt of causing his brother pain just because he couldn't control his anger against Russia. He growled, regretting it instantly as pain shot through him. Lithuania jumped, his green eyes wide in concern.

"Are you alright?"

"'F course…'m not…" Romano said, trying to sound annoyed as usual, but the pain in his voice made it come out as a whine. Lithuania frowned and said in a quiet voice.

"You should get some more rest so you can get better."

Romano was about to protest when the door swung open. Both nations started, turning to look (or, in Romano's case, attempting to), and they both sighed in relief as Canada shuffled in. The dirty blonde looked exhausted, and there were bags under his violet-blue eyes. When he saw the other nations he smiled wearily and shut the door behind him.

"Ah, Romano, I'm so glad to see you awake. Your brother was very worried."

"You…to him….talked..?" Damn the pain, making him talk like a two year old. Thankfully, Canada knew what he meant to say, and he nodded slowly as he began to rebandage Romano's wounds.

"Well, not to him directly, but I could hear him in the background." Canada decided not to mention just how much pain the younger Italy brother seemed to be in. "I called Germany's phone, knowing your brother never picks up his, and I told him what had happened. He told Italy as well."

Romano frowned, wincing-his brother was probably worrying himself silly over him, especially if Canada had told him what happened. But at least it was confirmed that his brother wasn't alone, and the though made Romano smile a bit as he drifted off again.

He's not alone anymore…

oOoOoOo