THE CAFE OF DOUBLE LIVES...

Chapter 29

At the dance studio, Lovino was at odds with himself. No matter how much time passed and no matter how many times he practiced the steps, he was still faltering in the dance routine. It stumped him since he had been practicing regularly, yet the fruits of his labour didn't show. It also didn't help that he felt tired as ever, which was why he was thankful when they were given a break.

Sitting at the corner on one of the benches present, the Italian observed his surroundings at the dance studio. Some of the students formed their cliques and chatted amongst themselves. A few others were still performing their steps with Arthur giving them instructions every now and then. He could have joined that group, to try and perfect his moves. But his feet were really sore, so he couldn't be bothered and decided to play 'I spy' with himself.

While Lovino was scanning around, he heard someone say, "Why so pissed off, sheila?"

"Dammit, Kyle! Stop your habit of just randomly popping out of nowhere!" Lovino scowled as he was startled to see the pale green-eyed brunette (with a small adhesive bandage across his nose) sitting next to him. He should've been used to it by now since Kyle did it often but the Aussie always managed to surprise him.

"I've such a habit?" Kyle pretended to be nonchalant, "I didn't notice."

The Italian snorted in contempt but when he heard Kyle again asking 'Lovina' what was earlier bothering her, he mused with a thoughtful expression, "If I wanted, I could get along fine with the boys here but it sure is hard to mingle with the girls. Is because they feel I'm a bad dancer and I am not worthy to be in this troupe?"

Kyle chuckled, "You might not know this information because you're still new to the group but most of the chickie babes here are vying for Arthur's attention." He moved closer to Lovino and whispered, "This might not be a secret but Artie always has been partial to the blond blue-eyed types: most of us learnt about it in the most unusual way possible."

When Lovino asked for details, Kyle responded, "If I remember clearly, this happened roughly 2 years ago during lunchtime since I recall eating a juicy steak with a nice cold beer in one of the hangouts where college students mostly frequent."

"Oie! When I asked for details, I didn't mean those," Lovino huffed while his patience drew thin.

Kyle paid no need to the fact that his story was taking a slight detour as he continued, "And there I was enjoying my meal when I heard Alfred -who was several seats away, by the way- congratulating Artie and Francis on their new found happiness before declaring he, the "great hero," was Arthur's first love."

'How does Arthur manage to get himself involved with idiots all the time.' Lovino didn't know much about Alfred, apart from him being Matthew's brother; nevertheless, he was shocked about this revelation and began to feel sorry for the Brit when he learnt a bit more of his past, "...Who ...does ...that?"

"I know right!" Kyle shook his head while laughing, "I mean, everyone who was present at the moment, couldn't even get surprised over the fact that Arthur was just 'outed' by his ex-boyfriend, because that ex-boyfriend had just loudly stated such a thing to his present-boyfriend and to anyone else who was in a 50-mile radius!"

Lovino, still unable to believe the stunt which the American had pulled, inquired, "I am guessing the other two couldn't take it anymore and the sh*t hit the fan after that?"

However, Kyle once again surprised him by answering, "Actually, Artie was beyond embarrassed and started ranting something about cutting a very important equipment of Alfred's but Francis, on the other hand, was quite calm. Or, at least, it looked like he wasn't stressing about the whole situation." The Aussie then straightened his back to rest against the wall as he turned to watch his peers. "Anyway, after Arthur's major coming-out, most of the girls didn't bother to court him because they knew even though they might be blond and blue-eyed, they wouldn't be in the running because they belonged to the fairer sex. Which is why you are a blessing in disguise."

Lovino couldn't follow what the other was trying to imply, "How do I fit into all of this?"

"Artie introduced you as his 'most beloved person' and you are neither blond nor blue-eyed, plus you're a babe," Kyle proceeded to confuse Lovino even more by declaring, "So, you give them hope that they can score with him."

The Italian first showed a stunned look before saying, "Hold on, even though they're all under the impression that I'm going out with Arthur, they still want to date him?"

Turning to look at Lovina, Kyle raised his eyebrow, 'Does this mean she isn't Artie's chick? I was positive these two were going out.' He then smiled and showed the three finger salute, "Scout's honour. I swear I ain't lying. Besides, you should know it better than me." When Lovino asked what it was, the Aussie answered, "The quote which most women say- good blokes are either taken or gay. In Artie's case, he was at first gay, now he's not since he's with you."


Processing what Kyle just shared, Lovino felt his last statement was not true for obvious reasons, but he reasoned there was no point in correcting it. The Italian later asked, "That... gives these girls the excuse to be cold to me?"

"They see you as a threat, and I'm not surprised why," Kyle had a serious expression as he inquired, "Do you remember the 'Musica Extravaganza' when Artie announced he wanted to choose a dance-partner from the crowd?"

Lovino nodded. Of course he did; he was the one who got selected in the end.

Kyle then dropped the bomb, "That wasn't scripted." Hearing him say that, Lovino was shocked and look at him with wide eyes. The Aussie –seeing Lovina's reaction– stated, "Yeah, our sentiments exactly; me and the troupe were stressed out at that time because it was our grades which were hanging on the balance. We had practiced our steps for so many days, but we weren't prepared for such a scenario. So, to have the whole thing ruined by some amateur, would've been the pits." He gave a small laugh before continuing, "Imagine our surprise when we found out you actually knew our choreography. I guess it was expected of Artie to do something so unpredictable at the last minute."

'After what I've been through and hearing this, I wonder if there is anything else that Arthur hasn't confided in me yet...' and this mindset of the Italian continued when he heard Kyle saying, "Though Artie rarely dances with a partner, to be honest, before selecting you. I was sure he was going to select Francis since he was walking towards him. We all thought he was using this event to get back together with him."

That revelation actually made more sense to Lovino, 'Could it be he was originally going to choose Francis but because I was near Antonio, he had to improvise?'

Lovino then stopped thinking about it when Kyle finally stated, "However, after seeing how Artie interacts with you, I guess that wasn't the case. So don't expect to be making friends with the girls anytime soon."

Seeing Lovina's grumpy expression and hearing her mumble, "Fine, who needs to be near those back-stabbing b*tches," the Aussie became curious.

"So, you aren't going out with Artie?" He asked.

Not paying attention to the change in expression on the other's face, Lovino shook his head, "At present, no."

Kyle immediately took Lovino's hands into his own and said, "That's ace! Do you want to go out with me?"

'What the f*ck?!' That was the only statement which was going on in Lovino's head. This was why he didn't want to interact with the boys. For some reason, the Italian seemed to attract a lot of male suitors when he was dressed as Lovina. Though, in Kyle's case, he wasn't really sure because the Aussie had a playful attitude who had no problems taking jabs at himself or the others for that matter, just for laughs.

Before Lovino could give his usual rude curt response, he heard someone interrupt, "Kyle Sanders, are you trying to hit on Lovina?" and turned to see Arthur standing in front of them, glaring at Kyle. Apparently, the Brit decided to stop teaching the group he was with when he saw his relative was getting a little too comfortable with Lovino.

Giving a cheeky smile as he got caught for cosying up with his cousin's crush, Kyle slowly released his hold from 'Lovina' before standing up, "I'm not trying to hit on Lovina. I AM hitting on her since she said she was single," then turned to give a wink at the Italian, "If you ever get tired of Stuffy Pommy pants here, come find me, ya? Ta!"

"Kyle! Continue with that attitude and I swear I will give you a reason to really keep wearing that ridiculous bandage!" Arthur growled out at his cousin who was walking away without a care in the world, clearly showing to the duo that the Brit's threat had no effect on him whatsoever.

Lovino sighed as he thought grimly, 'Porca vacca! Right now I'm like one of those girls in the shojo-manga books which Kiku had shown me a few times: one guy likes someone, then all the guys like the same person! On the other hand, with all of this male attention, it's almost like being compared to a b*tch-in-heat and that's NOT a nice comparison!!' while Arthur started ranting with a grouchy disposition, "Everytime I introduce someone to my family they get hit on: first Francis, now you—"

That intrigued Lovino who got up and interrupted, "Your brothers hit on mega-pervert? I thought they preferred the Forest instead of the Snake."

Hearing Lovino choose such euphemisms, Arthur stopped his angry rant. He opened and closed his mouth for awhile before declaring, "I don't think women worldwide would appreciate their lady parts being called the 'Forest'."

Lovino shrugged and asked, "Is 'Bald Eagle' a more suitable term?"

"Aren't bald eagles and snakes sworn enemies?" Arthur never made it a habit to answer a question with a question, but the way Lovino was able to spout words without considering he might be crude, amazed the emerald-eyed blond.

Reaching the end of his patience, Lovino wondered why they were having this conversation as he finally stated, "Fine! The Rose then– since most claim the lady parts sometimes looks like a 'Full Blown Rose'."

After that statement, Arthur felt he would never be able to look at his national flower the same way again.

He heard Lovino once again repeat his previous question, so he replied, "Just my eldest brother. Ian once stated he would go gay for Francis," and later wore a sore look, "And the Bloody Frog then had the nerve to flirt with him right in front of me– he's goddamn tosser who doesn't know the meaning of the word restraint!"


Staring at Arthur who now wore a melancholy expression on his face, Lovino remembered what Kyle just shared. He sighed. Lovino had always had a suspicion that Arthur still had some lingering feelings for the Parisian. After a while, the Italian asked, "Do you miss Francis at all?"

Immediately Arthur responded with a stutter, "D-don't be ridiculous! W-why should I miss that lecherous git when I have you." As soon as Arthur said that, an awkward silence took over them as the Brit reminisced the night after the group date was set -

Even though he knew he had a head start over Antonio since the other didn't know of the Italian's secret, Arthur decided to lay his cards on the table and speak candidly about his feelings to Lovino. So, when it was time to head home after the cafe shift, Arthur had requested Lovino to walk with him saying he had something important to discuss.

As they walked through one of the barely crowded streets which was used for practicing their dance routine earlier, Arthur made sure there was nobody-in-sight before finally starting to speak slowly, "I know you regard me as friend but I wanted to let you know I regard you as much more. I'm not sure what it is because I'm fairly confused myself. All I can say is my feelings for you are more complex than those feelings I would've for a friend-" When Arthur was confiding in Lovino, he realized he wasn't exactly forcing the other to go out with him like initially wanted to.

But while Arthur was talking, he was surprised by what happened next. Lovino started freaking out. His limit of understanding was slowly breaking. He then immediately sat on the asphalt ground and was now cross-legged with his arms crossed as well.

"Not you too!" Lovino finally stated with a frustrated voice. The Italian looked up at him. "Ever since I entered the cafe, I feel like my life has been turned upside down, and I can't tell my left from my right!" He later pouted, "Up until now, I've been with girls, and let me tell you, I was good in wooing them; I had scores of chicks crushing on me. Now, it's only boys!"

Still slightly taken aback by Lovino's reactions, Arthur quickly pull himself together and chuckled. In a teasing tone, he asked, "Dames flocking towards you? Aren't you patting yourself too much on the back."

Lovino promptly flipped the bird at him, "Vaffanculo! I can have how much ever MENTAL MASTURBATION I want, after what I'm going through and being amongst those who are either—" he then proceeded to count with his fingers, "Boy'sLove-Crazy; a piano addict; behaves as lazy as a cat; a perverted old man; becomes infatuated with cute stuff; likes playing mind-games; a neat-freak Lolicon; and acts like a valley-school-girl. I thought you were the only sane one left!"

The Brit narrowed his eyes at Lovino, "So, now you've deemed me insane for professing my feelings towards you?" but slightly thankful the Italian didn't think that he was insane for believing in fairies and the occult.

"Well, I guess I should've figured something was off with you when you decided to buy the 'smashing pink tunic dress'~" Lovino once again mimicked Arthur's accent, which immediately caught the Brit's attention since his temper -which was threatening to erupt within the Italian- sort of calmed down quickly after he said that; but it still didn't please Arthur because Lovino said those dreaded four words yet again.

"You're never going to let that one go, will you?" He frowned when he saw Lovino teasingly shaking his head. After a moment, he noticed the Italian looked a little troubled.

He sat next to the other and asked gently, "Is there something-else that is on your mind?"

Lovino was quiet for awhile before becoming misty-eyed, "My only brother is getting married and I can't be his 'Best Man.'" He began to reveal to Arthur about how Feliciano and his fiancé had announced to Ludwig's family that they would be getting married. This was surprisingly accepted by everyone. However, Ludwig's grandmother requested a traditional marriage to be held.

This piqued Arthur's curiosity, "Traditional? With two guys?"

Lovino nodded, "That was what she wanted since Ludwig was the youngest grandson. She's hoping to make this whole wedding as memorable as possible with Ludwig being the 'groom' and Feliciano being the 'bride,' even though they'll both be dressed up in suits. Talk about messed up and unfair, huh? Why couldn't that blond beefcake be the 'bride' instead?"

Even though it was mentioned both parties would be in suits, Arthur couldn't help concocting an image of Ludwig wearing a bridal gown. Luckily for him, Lovino distracted him by saying, "They had to select two grooms-men and bridesmaids. Potato bastard, of course, had selected his brother and his best friend Kiku. Feliciano, on the other hand, couldn't choose me since bridesmaids are usually filled by girls. So, in the end, he had selected Elizabeta and XiaoMei."

"If I really wanted to be a grooms-man, I could've requested it but I don't want to be Potato Bastard's Best Man. Gilbert can have that honour, for all I care," Lovino huffed. Arthur shot him an incredulous look. The Italian sighed, "I know what you're thinking. Even though we're going to be family, I still have something against Potato Bastard. But DAMMIT, it's gonna take me some time to get used to the whole thing."

Finally, Lovino tsked as he said, "You know what the sad thing is? I feel all the problems that I'm facing right now would instantly disappear if I was a girl. I wouldn't have worry about my sexuality when I'm being courted by guys, and I could stand next to my only sibling at his wedding as the Maid-of-Honour, instead of the honour going to Elizabeta."

They both then remained silent sitting on the asphalt before Arthur stated, "I'm sorry for burdening you with more problems by sharing my feelings with you... I just felt I couldn't keep lying to you anymore," then he became slightly frustrated, "Besides, I had a feeling if I didn't make my move, Antony would one up me."

He saw Lovino raising one of his eyebrows up when he had anglicized the Spaniard's name. Lovino stared at him for awhile before asking, "Is that what has been bugging you? Can that be one of the reasons why you've been trash-talking Antonio all this time?"

The Brit closed his eyes to hide the guilt in them as he spoke, "I know you've some difficulty in trusting people, and for me to do something so low just for my own personal benefit won't put me into your good books, but I have always let opportunities slip by before. Hence, I decided to do whatever is necessary so as not to miss my chance anymore."

Lovino probably didn't want him to feel guilty because he later spoke up, "Well, I wouldn't exactly called what you did as 'low,' because I never gave a damn about what others thought about Antonio. So, you can trash-talk him as much as you want. It won't make much of a difference to me."

Arthur feigned a look of disappointment, "Blow me, I don't know whether I should be upset or not that you just told me point-blank that our opinions don't matter much to you."

The Brit realized his mistake as Lovino retorted, "You bastard! You got balls to say such a thing!" Giving an exasperated look, Lovino continued, "The very reason why this date situation keeps happening is because of all of you! If I didn't really care about your opinions, I would've told Antonio the truth a long time ago!"

Arthur quickly apologized and replied, "If you telling that Spanish twat the truth would make him back-the-hell-up, then by all means, I would certainly encourage you to do so but Lovino, it's just—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know- cafe's secret will be out; cross-dressing is looked down upon; fear of ridicule by the FAG trio," the Italian huffed in indignation as he rolled his eyes.

Hearing the word fag, Arthur wasn't sure -considering his circumstances- whether to be insulted or not, because he was sure Lovino wasn't referring to a cigarette when he said that.

But just as Arthur was angsting, Lovino quickly added, "Oie, don't get all pissy now. When I said 'fag', I was just referring to them by their initials: Francis, Antonio and Gilbert..." Noticing how late it was getting, he got up from his place while telling him, "Now that that is settled, concerning the issue where you're asking me to reciprocate your feelings... Unfortunately for you, I honestly don't know what I'm feeling... So, at this moment, I don't have the answer that you are looking for."

The Brit also got up and looked at Lovino with a small understanding smile, "It's alright. I'll wait 'til you find your answer," and they both proceeded to leave.

While Arthur was thinking about that, he saw Lovino's expression which was mixture of, 'I'm still not ready...' and, 'A*shole, pressuring me won't help!' Not wanting to hear any form of rejection from the Italian just as yet and wanting to draw out the possibility that Lovino might become his for as long as possible, Arthur informed in a loud tone to everyone that the break was over.

So Arthur went towards the dance-troupe with Lovino following him and resumed their rehearsal, practicing 'til it was time to go home.


Meanwhile at the Beilschmidt residence, after Matthew had finished making the pancakes topped with maple syrup (which he had bought from the store), he began to worry. Gilbert was taking too long to come to the kitchen, 'Is it because he doesn't have the energy to walk anymore?'

Putting the necessary items on a bed-and-lap tray, Matthew decided to take it towards Gilbert's room instead. Upon reaching the room, he knocked on the door a couple of times. There was no reply. When he opened the door himself, he realized why the silver-haired man was taking his time. The room which was a mess before, now looked like a tornado had gone through it. There were even more clothes thrown around in the room. Looking up at the ceiling fan, he saw a sock was hanging there. But before Matthew could even question how that item managed to get up over there, his voice got stuck in his throat.

Standing a few feet away from him was Gilbert wearing nothing but a pair of blue trunks. Apparently the silver-haired man had decided to ransack his whole wardrobe to find something suitable to change into, and when he found what was he was looking for, he had shed the remaining of his clothes. Though that wasn't what caught Matthew's attention; even after hanging out with Gilbert for so long, Matthew hadn't noticed how lean his body was. It shouldn't have been a surprise to him since the other had once mentioned that he enjoyed playing football, tennis, and basketball. The thing was Gilbert always wore clothes in such a way, it made it hard for others to guess his physique.

As Gilbert proceeded to put a shirt over his head, he caught sight of Matthew standing near the door. Not passing this rare opportunity to flaunt his body, Gilbert held the shirt in his hand, turned around and did the 'Javelin-Thrower' pose while wiggling his eyebrows playfully, "Hot stuff, dontcha think!"

Seeing it in the flesh, Matthew couldn't help but agree with Gilbert's statement. That taut body was definitely a product of years playing his favourite sports. Hell would freeze over before Matthew would give Gilbert the satisfaction of making his ego even bigger. So, he hummed, "I concur. With that fever of yours, you look as hot as Rudolph."

"Ru-Rudolph? As in Rudolph, the reindeer? What's so hot about Rudolph?" With a confused expression, Gilbert watched Matthew as he pointed sideways with his head.

Following the direction in which Matthew had pointed, Gilbert saw himself staring at the mirror. He liked what he was seeing concerning his body, but his face was a whole different matter. Due to flu, he had a red nose and because he had haphazardly removed his shirt, his hair was sticking in weird directions, almost resembling antlers. With a pout, Gilbert mumbled, "Below the belt! That's so not cool of you to call me that," while proceeding to wear the new shirt to hide his embarrassment, and making sure his hair was in place.

With Gilbert's previous shirt, Matthew was slightly appalled but now, he wanted to laugh out loud. The new shirt read, 'I'm So Awesome, I'm jealous of Myself'. He made it a point to go shopping with the silver-haired man the next time.

Before Matthew could comment on the shirt, Gilbert already slipped on a pair of pants and slipped into the bed, still pouting about the Rudolph comment. Matthew knew that when Gilbert wasn't in the best of health, he would throw temper tantrums which was probably why Ludwig had seemed so haggard when the violet-eyed man saw him earlier. Sensing a temper tantrum might emerge soon, he decided to bring the tray to the other, hoping an full stomach might pacify the silver-haired man.

Gilbert gobbled the pancakes as soon as the tray was within his reach and while he was snarfing the food down his throat, he stated with a mouthful, "Ouhf guesshf whatf," and gulped the rest of the food, "that scary Russian dude just informed us that the date is gonna take place this Sunday!" When Matthew asked how Ivan was able to contact him, Gilbert declared with a slight shudder, "He... sort of mind-tricked me, Tonio and Franny into giving our cellphone numbers to him."

Matthew knew there was there was something else that the other wanted to add, so he asked, "You're telling me about the date because...?" Gilbert replied saying that he just wanted to make conversation but when he saw the playful glint in Gilbert's eyes, Matthew thought, 'Here it comes. Brace yourself.'

"Aaaannnnd, lately, Matilda has not been finding the time to spend with yours truly! Everyone wants a piece of the Awesome, so I wonder why the unbelievable is happening."

Matthew tried not to show any visible face contortions as he thought, 'That's a no brainer- you make it more difficult for me to be in my cafe avatar than as myself...'

Gilbert then added with an innocent expression, "So, I thought maybe you could pass the message to her."

This time, it was hard for Matthew not to roll his eyes at sheer absurdity of that statement, but he remained unperturbed and just showed a poker face, 'Hmm, you didn't think of the possibility that Matilda would be the first one to know about it? 'She' does work with 'YanYan' of all people. Honestly, your logic doesn't make sense most of the time...'

However, curiosity crept up upon him as he inquired, "It has come to my attention that you've been seeking my sister out a lot lately. Why do you want to spend so much time with her?"

Matthew had always claimed that it was easy for him to read Gilbert; now was of those times which was an exception. The silver-haired man was wearing a stoic face when he claimed, "I find it extremely relaxing whenever she is around."

'I'm on pins-and-needles whenever I am dressed as Matilda, and you say you feel RELAXED during that time?!' Matthew thought, but just stared at the other. This would also be one of the times where he wished his curiosity didn't get the better of him because when he asked what the other meant by that, Gilbert responded with a small cheeky smile, "Let's just say, I get a kick out of teasing her."

Matthew could almost hear thunderstorms going above his head. Gilbert had basically said that the time he spent with Matilda was something he found amusing.

'In other words, what we were doing -up until now- wasn't a game involving two people, but where I was being jerked around by him'. Matthew didn't even bother taking note of the pun he made since he begun to see things red when he realized Gilbert just saw the comedy in that situation and nothing else.

Trying not to lose his self-control, Matthew noticed Gilbert's tray and decided to change the topic, "Eating pancakes isn't enough. You need to take your medicine and vitamins."

It seemed Gilbert was hell-bent in making the violet-eyed man ticked off because he replied, "I don't wanna! You can't make me take them!" while showing he would definitely throw a tantrum if Matthew persisted with that topic.

That childish reply was like the straw which broke the camel's back. Matthew's eyebrow twitched.

'Oh that's it! I'm done playing Mr. Nice Guy!'

He responded in a calm collected voice, "Fine, have it your way," and quietly left the room.

Gilbert wondered where he went but when he saw Matthew re-entering the room with a thermometer, he figured that the other must have gone to the medicine cabinet to get it. 'Phew, I don't mind using that instead of taking my meds.' He soon realized he would be eating his words when Matthew spoke.

"Because you won't take your medicine, I'll need to check your body temperature to see whether you are in the clear or not," As Matthew said that, Gilbert would also later realize that it would've been better for him to have gone with option number 1 because Matthew added, "And since you don't have an ear thermometer, the temperature has to be measured rectally."

"WHAT?! Why in Gott's name, do you have to do that!" Gilbert held the blanket protectively to his chest, wondering what on earth was going on.

"Ludwig left you in my care, so I've to make sure your illness doesn't worsen during my watch," With an unseemly aura surrounding him, Matthew then calmly stated, "Besides, taking a Rectal temperature is the most accurate way of measuring body temperature."

Gilbert, with an almost pleading expression on his face, asked, "But why can't the temperature be taken orally like normal?" to which Matthew replied with equally unfazed reaction, "That can't be done because if one needs to take an oral temperature, one mustn't have had anything to eat or drink within the last 20 minutes. You just ate right now."

"So, let's just wai—" but before Gilbert could plead anymore, Matthew came closer with the now-seemingly-harmful-thermometer and interrupted him.

"Don't assume that I would like to spend my time unproductively. Now turn around, pull your pants down and bend over."

After a lot of crying and begging from Gilbert (which almost sounded like 'I am not ready to give up my ass virginity'), he was finally able to calm Matthew down and convinced him to put the thermometer away when the silver-haired man swore he would gladly take his vitamins and medicine instead.

Now drinking his medicine and with the glass of water close to his mouth, Gilbert wondered what had set Matthew off. Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't find the answer to his question because Ludwig had entered the room soon after he was done with whatever he wanted to do. Matthew, in turn, left as soon as his brother had returned.

x

A/N: Kyle is Australia (Since not much is mentioned about his character [except for the author mentioning the list of potential names; which are Kyle, Jett & Ralph: is a pale-green-eyed brunette with a hairstyle similar to Austria's except he has two ahoges instead of one, and wears an adhesive bandage across his nose. Australia also owns a pet koala which wears an evil smirk but he doesn't seem to notice that, calling it cute instead ^0^], Kyle here is based on the stereotypes of Australians: eccentric, never politically correct; generally accepting towards various ethnicities; not wary of strangers; & isn't afraid of making fun of themselves).

Ian is Scotland (Again not much is said about his character- however according to history, France & Scotland have always sided with each other [Auld Alliance between these two nations is considered as the longest Alliance in the world], hence couldn't resist mentioning a Scotland/France pairing here)

Arthur still persistent about his feelings for Lovino? England is notorious for having unrequited feelings- just trying to stay as canon as possible in a non-canon setting XD [It's probably obvious that you all are now thinking: "Always going against the tide *shakes head*", but it can't be helped. If you want to know why, then keep reading to find out v^-*] ... Anglicizing Antonio's name? It's just to show that Arthur even goes to the extent of refusing to say the Spanish version of that name, just so as to insult him ... Arthur speaking badly about Antonio? This is is to draw parallel to the Hetalia series where England in the late 1500's, was jealous of Spain and hence decided to use any means necessary to dethrone Spain from the seat of power- in this case, making sure to spoil Antonio's image as much as possible so as to reduce any chances of the Spaniard having a special place in Lovino's heart [Arthur's being too mean? Well, what do you expect- England was a pirate ^^].

Everyone seems to be falling for Lovino? ^0^ Apart from taking a 'tongue-in-cheek' approach to the usual shojo manga cliche- in the Hetalia series, most of the nations wanted to conquer the younger Vargas brothers: here Lovino as Lovina seems to subconsciously charm almost anyone with whom he become friends with (in other words, Lovino provokes people into having feelings for him~) ... Surely you know who Romano was describing but here's the list anyway: Hungary-Austria-Greece-Turkey-China-Canada-Netherlands-Poland ... ^.^' Ahem, hope you've a slight idea what 'Snake', 'Forest', 'Bald Eagle' and 'Full Blown Rose' stands for (trying to pass Lovino as a PG-16 crude person is hard XD)

Football, tennis & basketball are the popular sports in Germany- so, it made sense that Gilbert would be into them... FYI, Rectal temperature is the most accurate reading for the measurement of body temperature, next comes ear temperature, then oral temperature and last axillary temperature... Matthew making Gilbert cry? This is almost similar to the Hetalia strip where Canada made America cry.

Once again, sorry for the late update- to make up for the absence, hope you enjoyed this long chapter