Thanks to vvrules21 (you're welcome) and inmemoryoftheMasterRapper (thanks, I completely forgot to proofread that chapter and didn't even notice those mistakes. I've fixed everything though) for their reviews, you guys are awesome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

Chapter 14: Interlude

"Ludwig,"

"Ludwig,"

The whole world was hazy and cloudy and the eerie voice reverberated incessantly around Ludwig's head. Ludwig shrugged his shoulders to shake it off, "hmph, leave me alone."

"Ludwig!" the harsh commanding tone woke Ludwig up from his slumber.

Stunned, he shot up and rubbed his eyes, still bleary eyed, he tried to make out the fuzzy image of the man standing next to him.

"You know, sleeping on the job is very unsatisfactory, Herr Beilschmidt." his boss clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Ludwig rubbed his eyes and yawned, "I apologize, had little sleep last night."

His boss' ears perked up, "Oh, what happened?" he asked curiously.

Ludwig gazed warily at the other man. Ever since the courthouse he's been a tad more suspicious and careful of his boss, especially after his implied threat to Feliciano, "Its nothing, I guess I'm coming down with a cold or something."

The other man nodded, "Well, get well soon, I guess." He coughed on his handkerchief, "Carry on," before he left the room.

Ludwig sighed, its been more than a week since that incident, but his boss still leers over him like a watchful hawk, paying attention to all his movement within the facility. The only bright spot to all of this was Feliciano. The man didn't stop visiting the Ministry, rather he visited with increasing regularity, usually it's for work, but there's been an uptick in his interaction with Ludwig, including the lunch they had a few days ago...

Ludwig groaned in annoyance as he passed by the service room where the incessant non stop clicks and clacks of the typewriters and the constant whir of machines have given Ludwig constant headaches. He briskly walked passed the area and entered his office. On his desk was a note by his desk, probably left by one of the secretaries, "You have a visitor outside."

Crumpling the paper and tossing out at the waste bin, he grabbed his coat and walked outside. After a brief walk, he made his way outside before shivering from the cold December winds nipped at his heels. He glanced around at the other soldiers. Most mingled among themselves while others stood and smoked alone.

His eyes wandered until he found Feliciano. The jovial man ran up the steps of the building and hugged Ludwig, catching the man off-guard. Though it was common knowledge that Feliciano had little regard for personal space, he has rarely broken into Ludwig's especially not in public.

Feliciano relinquished his hold as one soldier walked by and frowned at the pair. "So, Luddy, how was work?"

Ludwig shrugged, "boring and a bit annoying, how about you?"

"Same thing, though I did see one of our staff members ask the cute seamstress from across the road. He asked her out and she said yes. Ludwig stared, knowing full well that Feliciano can literally speak for hours and taking to account his short lunch break he interrupted him,

"That's nice, but is there anything you need specifically."

Feliciano stopped in mid sentence, "Do you want to have lunch together?"

Ludwig blinked, "uh sure thing, do you have a place in mind?"

Feliciano nodded, "Si, there's this restaurant near the embassy, it's just a short walk from here, want to come?"

Ludwig smiled, "sure thing."

The walk was uneventful, the pair entered the restaurant and Ludwig ordered a nice plate of Kurtoffelsalat, while he managed to convince Feliciano to try the bratwurst. He was a bit reluctant to taste it, but afterwards he commented that it was, "not bad, but still not as good as Italian sausages," before launching into a rant about an argument he had with a cooking rival from Spain, on which country had the better sausage.

The two talked more, talking about their lives back home, their families, including their older brothers and about what they wanted to do after the war, "What do you want to do when you get back?"

Feliciano looked up, "um, its kinda weird, I'm pretty sure no one else has thought of it."

Ludwig chuckled, "no dream is ever weird."

"Okay, but promise you wont laugh."

Ludwig nodded, "I promise."

"Well..." Feliciano began tentatively, "I'd like to open a restaurant with my brother,"

"What kind?"

"A pasta place. Just a place where I can cook to my heart's content."

Ludwig placed his drink on the table, "That's a great goal, something to settle down with while doing something you love."

"What about you? What's your plan, after the war?"

Ludwig scratched his head, he tried to think of one, but came up with a blank. In all honesty, he didn't have one, he just wanted to settle down and enjoy life, perhaps in a more bucolic setting, away from the deary drab of the concrete jungle, "Maybe settle down in a farm?"

"Where?"

"Somewhere far away."

Feliciano nodded and finished up the last of his wurst. The two talked for some time, until Ludwig noticed that he was late for work. They've talked for over two hours and his lunch break ended more than an hour and a half ago. Ludwig profusely apologized and the two men paid their bills before running back to the Ministry.

"My boss is going to kill me." Ludwig groaned

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure he'll understand."

Ludwig quirked his eyebrows, "Somehow I doubt that."

"You had fun right?"

Ludwig nodded, "Of course, it was good."

Feliciano smiled, "At least you enjoyed it, and that's what matter right?"

Ludwig blushed, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Great." Feliciano hugged Ludwig. This time, the blond hugged the other man back. Feliciano relinquished his hold, "I'll see you later."

"Ja." Ludwig nodded before walking back into the building.

earlier that day...

"Signor Vargas." a voice came from the door.

Feliciano put his pen down and opened the door, Sir."

"Did you finish the report on the developments of the Eastern Front and our Official Statement to the government of Sweden?"

Feliciano sighed, he knew he'd forgotten to do something, "Si, it'll be done by the end of the day."

The man nodded, "understood."

Feliciano resigned himself to more paperwork, he knew this work would be hard, not to mention, mind numbingly boring, but at least he was staying with Ludwig.

"Ludwig." He mused. What did he think about the man? Well, he was certainly nice enough, they've even shared a few personal stories about themselves and their families. And they've lived in relative peace and comfort for about a month now, you could even say Ludwig was his friend.

Then again, there was the nagging possibility that Ludwig was getting more and more suspicious of his activities in the Ministry. Especially after he demanded to know what he was doing, about a week ago. 'What brought that on anyways?' Feliciano thought.

However, he knew that Ludwig has his own secrets too. And although he did find out about some of them. There still isn't a whole lot that Ludwig was telling him, and that can make for some awkward moments living together.

Despite this, he still felt that he needs to know more from him, something was drawing him closer to him. As a spy, every instinct told him to turn around and run, to ignore what Ludwig was doing, and deflect attention from himself. But his heart was telling to do the opposite. He wanted to spend more time with Ludwig, he wanted to get to know him better, and there was that nagging feeling that's telling him to show the true nature of his stay in Germany and bet that he doesn't rat him out.

Feliciano smiled ruefully and quietly whispered, "Maybe that's why I'm a terrible spy."

Standing up, he quickly grabbed a pen and paper and scribbled down a quick message before handing it off to one of his assistants.

The man took the slip of paper, "Can you cancel all my meetings for today?"

The man smiled and nodded, "Sure thing, sir."

"Also could you deliver that note to Signor Beilschmidt's desk at the Ministry. His office is beside Signor Sturmer's."

"Of course."

Feliciano grinned, "You seem happier today, did anything happen?"

The man gave Feliciano a dopey smile, "Remember that seamstress from across the street." Feliciano nodded,

"Oh yes, I remember you talking about her, she sure looks like a keeper."

The man blushed, "yes, well I asked her out."

Feliciano's face split into a wide smile and began gushing at his co-worker's luck, "Seriously. That is maginifico. how did it happen?"

"I was walking down the street when I saw that she was closing shop. She was just standing there and I saw her drop a heavy-looking bag, so I came and helped her out. Naturally, I helped her close shop too. We started talking and soon we realized we've talked for an hour. We quickly closed shop and went home."

Feliciano bent over and looked at his eyes attentively, completely absorbed at the man's story. "So what happened next?"

The man nodded, "The same thing happened for the next week and yesterday I asked if she wanted to eat at that restaurant down the street from here. And she said yes."

Feliciano jumped up, "That is wonderful news, I just knew that you two would be perfect for each other."

"It's just a first date, sir?"

"True, but I can tell that you both would be absolutely perfect for each other."

"Thanks, maybe you'll find someone too, sir."

Feliciano's mind wandered and thought about Ludwig. His co-worker noticed that Feliciano's eyes were wandering and quickly snapped his fingers to capture his attention, "sir?"

Feliciano snapped back into attention, "Oh right, I almost forgot, here's the note. See you tomorrow."

"Ciao."

later...

Feliciano was walking home, well technically, he was walking back to Ludwig's place. Although the other man has insisted to make himself at home. His light footsteps echoed in the now deserted streets and made him reminisce his time with Ludwig. They've had a nice time, even Ludwig was having fun. To a point where he completely forgot about work and showed up over an hour late. Which was a but of a miracle considering Ludwig's meticulous attitude towards work.

So what did he think of him, "He's a nice guy?" Feliciano searched for the right phrase but that was the only one that kept coming back to his head. And he still wasn't any closer to delving deeper into Ludwig's mysterious activities. Though he did assure him that he was still ready to listen whenever he was ready.

What else, "he's generous." Feliciano said, thinking back to when he found out about Ludwig's involvement in smuggling out Jewish families from Germany. But what did he feel about the man. There were other kind and generous people in the world, he's pretty sure there were many in Berlin, but why this particular person? What was it about him that's so alluring.

Feliciano sighed, he knew he wouldn't be able to answer that question tonight, instead he picked up his pace. Ludwig was cooking dinner tonight and after eating some German cuisine he was expecting something delicious, like Käsespätzle. Yes. that sounds about delicious right about now.

Feliciano smiled as the cool chilly breeze brushed his face and the first snowflakes of the season began to descend on Berlin. A stray snowflake landed on Feliciano's nose as he blew it away, while he subconsciously wondered whether Ludwig liked snow. He decided he'll ask him after dinner.

He turned a corner and walked up to Ludwig's home, "Hey Ludwig, I'm home." The door opened and Feliciano walked in.

Unbeknownst to him, a man dressed in black was hiding behind a nearby tree. He scribbled down all of his observations furiously, "interesting," the mysterious man noted, "very interesting indeed."

Thanks for your support guys, and don't forget to read and review. Well, things are starting to pick up. Especially in the next chapter. Till next time...