Germany shuffled through his empty house, dutifully cleaning anything he came across and reorganising whatever he thought was not quite right. Austria had a tendency to leave a dish or two in the sink to be washed when more had been accumulated which annoyed him to no end as he tried to do everyone as it appeared rather than let it build up, however Prussia was now the new source of his frustration. Normally one who shared in his cleaning ideals (or pretended to uphold them in the past), now took to hiding the dishes around the house. His latest cache? Apparently the albino was stockpiling spoons somewhere and he was going to have to find and wash every one.
Japan had turned up to a meeting with a report that Prussia had been captured by the allies and being held hostage, though everything he had given to them appeared false when the albino was found walking aimlessly near the house once again. Hungary and Romano had been thrilled at his return and soon had the ex-nation trying on several new outfits that they had found for him during his disappearance. Italy, on the other hand, was suspicious of Japan's motives and already several private letters had been delivered to the German's by America suggesting they put less trust in their ally. The only thing they had gotten out of Prussia was that where he went he had a nice time and met some new friends.
He had acquired a fist full of spoons as he moved into his own room. Prussia apparently wasn't one to leave anything that had gone missing in a conventional place; already he had found one spoon underneath Aster's bowl, inside a couch cushion, and within the logs in the fireplace. At first glance his room seemed to be untouched, though he went through all his drawers, looked underneath his pillows and even checked inside all of his shoes.
Germany shook his head as he continued his search. At least these sorts of tasks gave him something else to dwell on besides his current relationship status. He and Italy had hardly spoken, though every time it disappointed him when they left their meetings without a friendly word. Another spoon sitting on the windowsill and he added it to his hand. It was likely time he attempted to speak to him again and mend their relationship.
After feeling as though he had searched every inch of the upper floor of his house and still only seeming to have found half of his cutlery, the blonde nation took the stairs, grumbling complaints about having to search the ground floor a second time when he heard the water running in his kitchen. As currently the only member of the house that actively did dishes anymore, the sound intrigued him and he went to explore the source of it.
Facing away from him, sleeves rolled up to his elbows to avoid coming into contact with the warm soapy water he was currently swirling his arms in, was a slimly built brunette. He glanced at him over his shoulder and lifted one of his hands out of the water to show him what he had. "I found the rest of them." He informed him, shaking a fistful of wet spoons, "Thought I would help you out."
Germany blinked away the shock, giving a stiff nod and depositing the rest of the spoons in the water with the rest. Whether or not all the spoons had been found was yet to be seen. He knew exactly how many there were supposed to be (an even 50 consisting of coffee, tea, soup, dessert and tablespoons) and he was prepared to stand there and count to make sure every one of them had been returned.
Snatching the towel, he went to the other side of his companion and picked up the first washed spoons, drying them carefully and laying them out on the counter according to size, doing so without a word. They worked in silence save for the sounds of the spoons clinking against one another and the basin and already Germany had ensured a third of his set was present.
Italy finished the next spoon and paused a moment before letting it go. "I wanted to speak with you. We have the house to ourselves."
Germany reached for the spoon slowly, already suspicious of the other's intent. "Austria should be in today."
The brunette shook his head. "Hungary convinced your brother to steal one of his shoes. We should have some time."
Actually, that would explain the loud amount of noise he had heard earlier from those two. He had grown used to Austria's occasional tantrums and hadn't bothered to check on them, especially when it dissolved into a very welcomed silence.
Germany set the spoon next to another of its kind, keeping his eyes on it rather than look up. "What did you wish to talk about?"
Italy sighed, reaching back into the soapy water. "To apologize. It is long overdue."
A grunt was not the response he was looking for and those fuchsia eyes flickered with annoyance briefly. "I am sorry about the way I acted, but you have to understand that you just suddenly dropped that on me. How was I supposed to react?" He set a few more cleaned spoons down and turned to him completely. "You understand, don't you? I want to marry you, just not right now."
"When?" Germany's voice grumbled in return, chancing a quick at Italy out of the corner of his eye.
"Germany~" Italy softened his voice and touched his arm. Although tense, the blond didn't pull away which encouraged him to step closer. "Win this war with me and I promise we'll be together." He smirked as he tilted his head up. "And if it would make you feel any better I can ask you next time."
The blonde nodded slowly as he thought it over. "It would be better if you were to tell me what you wanted ahead of time."
Italy hummed. "I think I can manage that. Does this mean you forgive me?"
A moment of silence and he nodded. "Ja, I forgive you…" Germany sighed, smiling a little at the large grin that covered the other's face.
Austria wouldn't even notice the two having dinner together when he returned later though this can be mostly attributed to how out of breath he was and how much dirt he was covered in as he stumbled past them and upstairs to clean up and change. At least he had managed to successfully retrieve his property.
AN: Sorry, this is a little late...
