Austria noticed it first when he walked into the kitchen that morning. It startled him momentarily, but then the brunette offered a curt "Guten Morgen," before leaving, only mildly surprised that he didn't receive any response.

The next to stumble in was Italy, who paused and regarded the other occupant with a bit of disdain. "What are you doing back?" he asked quietly as he leaned against one of the counters and fixed his fuchsia stare at the kitchen table. "I thought we made it clear last night that you are not welcome." He awaited a response, but when it became clear he wasn't going to get one he approached slowly. "You are being quiet today, but I wonder if I can get you to scream."

"Gutten Morgen," Germany announced as he stepped into the kitchen, freshly showered and hair still damp.

"Buongiorno!" Italy spun around and skipped to the blonde, throwing his arms around him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I still need a shower. I wish you would have waited for me to join you."

Germany made a strange awkward noise and tried to push Italy back down when his eyes fell on the extra person in the room. "Bruder," he said as he dropped the brunette to the floor and then looked uncomfortable with how to proceed. "Gutten Morgen."

Prussia nodded and stared back without saying a word. Maybe it was Germany's imagination, but he seemed a little duller today. His hair which normally was a bright silver shade was more a lackluster grey and the piercing crimson eyes was a dark maroon.

"Uh…" the blonde started, "about last night…"

"Don't worry about it!" the Prussian stated, holding up his hands and smiling softly. "We can just forget about it."

"Oh, okay…" Germany nodded as Italy slowly rose to his feet beside him and brushed himself off.

"Fratellino~! Are you and your muscular boyfriend decent?" A familiar voice sang through the house and a blonde tufted head peered into the kitchen. "Though I wouldn't mind so much if you weren't~"

"What are you doing here?" Italy spat at him and Romano simply shook his head.

"Manners, Veneciano. That is not how you welcome someone into your home."

"Fine," the brunette shrugged, "This is Germany's house. Now that you've seen it, feel free to see yourself out."

"Afraid I can't." the blonde sighed and pulled several folders out from under his arm. "These need your immediate approval and I can't seem to get a hold of the men you have blackmailed into working for you."

"What do you mean you couldn't get a hold of them?" Italy groaned and attempted to sort through the various papers. "I left their numbers on my desk!"

Romano shrugged. "Perhaps they do not have the right incentive."

"Blackmail?" Germany looked between the two.

"Si, but do not worry about it, la mia patata." The brunette hummed and shuffled around the folder contents.

"Not worry? You are blackmailing your own citizens!"

Italy looked up from his work and blinked. "How did you think I had so much time to spend with you?"

"Prussia!" Romano squealed as said nation drew back and pulled his cloak tighter against him. "I haven't spoken with you in a while! How is the handsome albino nation?"

"Ex-nation…" Prussia mumbled.

"Romano…" Germany tried to stop the over excited blonde, "Today isn't a good day…"

"Oh, what isn't with you? You can be so rigid." Romano pouted and put a hand to his hip. "What is wrong with a perfectly good day?"

"There was in incident last night and…"

"That faccia di stronzo shoved me into a wall." Italy pointedly glared at the albino who retreated further into his cloak.

"It was an accident…"

"I am sure you deserved it, fratellino." Romano easily dismissed the account with a wave of his gloved hand.

"Deserved it?" The brunette laughed. "Ask Germany about what happened. What did I say to instigate an attack out of your idiot brother?"

"Er…" Germany tried to escape from the situation.

"I… I… I…" Prussia stuttered from the other side of the room, his dark maroon eyes glistening with moisture. "I am s-so s-s-sorry…"

"You're… sorry?" Germany asked slowly hardly believing what he was hearing.

"Maybe I will not accept an apology from someone like you." The Italian grumpily replied by crossing his arms.

It took approximately ten seconds for Italy's statement to sink in and another ten before salty tears began to stream down the nation's cheeks. Before half a minute was up, Germany was desperately searching for a way to retreat away from the sudden emotional display, not sure how why it had started in the first place let alone how to fix it to make it stop. Prussia was openly sobbing into his hands to the shock of the entire room.

Italy raised an eyebrow. "He's broken."

Romano dashed across the room and wrapped his arms around the albino's shoulders. "Oh, look what you have done. You are so mean, Veneciano!" The blonde Italian dug through a pocket to find a silk handkerchief and began to dab at the crying nations face. "There, there, Prussia. No need for tears here! And mind the suit, if you could. It stains easily."

Gradually the albino calmed to a light sniffling as Romano stroked the top of his head. "Good," he beamed as Prussia carefully tilted his head up, "and I know what can make it even better. A make-over! What do you say amico? Would you like to be a little less drab?"

Prussia seemed to think it over momentarily before nodding silently which made the little blonde Italian ecstatic. "Perfect! I have always wanted to play with your wardrobe! You have amazing features and you never seem to emphasize them correctly."

Germany watched as Romano dragged his brother out of the room excitedly discussing colour palettes and seasonal trends while Prussia nodded quietly despite the confused look on his face. Italy had gone back to signing papers and at this point the German nation decided he would never be able to understand any of this without first making a much needed cup of coffee.


Austria's fingers swept across the keys to his piano, a delicate melody with a deeper harmony and his eyes closed so he could focus on the sounds being produced. In his mind's eye the music was a beautiful picture, a peaceful garden sanctuary in the midst of a portentous atmosphere. Though it was hardly a surprise that image came to mind. He was merely expressing his feelings with the notes that he played.

The final chords played and the sound resonated through the room. A major chord to end on a happier note however cliché he found it right now and he sighed realizing he needed a break. He opened his violet eyes and turned on his bench only to jolt at the added presence in the room. He frowned and attempted to recover with whatever dignity he had left. "What are you doing here, Prussia?"

The albino dipped his head to the tray he held in his hands. "You have been playing for hours. I thought you might need something."

Austria was still not particularly convinced but before he could respond the albino had run forward and pushed the silver tray into his hands. "It's really not much. Just some coffee and cake. I tried to make it how you like it, but it's probably not very good. I didn't want to interrupt a musician playing such beautiful pieces. I'll leave you alone now." And without another word the nation fled the room, leaving a rather stunned Austria where he sat.

The brunette quirked an eyebrow and looked at the contents of the tray as he carefully slid it onto the seat beside him. The cake looked fairly promising and the coffee still had steam rising from it. He took a fork full and slid it into his mouth, pausing only to savour it. Sachertorte, his favorite. He stretched his fingers and turned back to his piano to begin to play once more. One could get used to this sort of treatment.

AN: Happy New Year to all of you lovely people! And well done to those who noticed that extra line last week: "Two in one night..." ;)