Natalya searched the entire house from top to bottom. While she did accidentally walk in on her older sister Katyusha in the shower, she did not find Ivan. The only person she was looking for.

Why is this time different from all the other times?

She wasn't going to stalk him. She wasn't going to ask him to marry her. She didn't even want to talk to him all that much, let alone marry him.

She was angry. She wanted vengeance, but not for herself.

For Tolys.

That's why.

This is different.

Ivan had fled the house. Natalya was more than just frustrated; she was plain livid.

How dare he do this to Tolys? That poor, obedient, little puppy. Subjected to all of that…

The image of Tolys in the maid uniform flashed into her mind. Natalya felt sick.

Why do I care so much about him anyway? It's not like…

A furious blush spread across her cheeks. It left as soon as it came.

I don't like him! I just feel bad for him, that's all.

Pity. That's all it is.

In the midst of her fury-fueled search, Natalya remembered that Katyusha wasn't the only other person in the house.

Дзярмо. I completely forgot that Tolys was still here.

She glanced at the grandfather clock at the end of the hallway. It read that the time was 7:13 in the evening.

Well, it is kind of late. He may have already gone home by now.

Natalya remembered something else.

That's impossible! Tolys doesn't have a car. He must have taken the bus or something.

It's dangerous to use public transportation after dark, though. There are some psychos and creeps lurking around, and god knows what their intentions are.

People like Ivan.

A bitter taste filled Natalya's mouth.

I don't even know where he went. The garage was empty; he must have taken big sister's car.

An idea popped into her mind.

I'll just track his phone. The GPS on there will let me see where he is.

The idea was quickly shut down.

What good would that even do me? I don't really care all too much.

I could just wait until tomorrow to confront him about it. Or until later tonight. He should be back by then, right?

"N-Natalya?" Tolys's face was flushed; partially from trying to catch up with Natalya, and partially from embarrassment. "I tried looking for my shirt in Ivan's room… it wasn't there anymore," Tolys said in an almost-whisper.

Natalya cleared her throat. "Right. Um…" She tried to compile her thoughts together into words, but was preoccupied with what was standing just a few inches in front of her.

I didn't know he had so much muscle… he looks so wiry.

Tolys noticed her staring and instinctively tried covering himself. The attempt was in vain, naturally. Not knowing what else to do, he nervously shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

Natalya snapped out of her muscle-induced trance. "Katyusha may have accidentally put your shirt in with the laundry. Do you mind waiting until it's finished?" She posed this as a question, but in actuality, she really wanted Tolys to stay. For at least a little longer.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, she really did enjoy his company. It was a nice change of scene from her usual life. Nobody was brave (or stupid) enough to try conversing with her. Granted, Tolys wasn't either. Not until not, that was.

"No, not at all," Tolys replied.

Natalya nodded. "Mhmm." She gestured to the last door in the hall. "We can go back to my room, if you like."

God, why am I acting like a docile housewife all of a sudden? It must be his fault!

Her indigo eyes flew over to Tolys's left hand. The bandaged had come off, but the fingers looked stiff and somewhat swollen. Natalya cringed, knowing full well that it was her own doing.

Right. Because I wanted to apologize. Or at least something along the lines of that.

"Okay. And, by the way, Natalya," Tolys started. "I wanted to thank you. For doing this for me. It.. it means a lot, you know?"

A ghost of a smile made its way onto Natalya's usually serious features. "It's the least I could do."

Tolys's soft grin told Natalya one thing. One thing that she wanted to hear so badly ever since the week prior.

Apology accepted.

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

Alfred drove in silence. He didn't even bother turning the radio on, oddly enough. He felt like a taxi driver, more than anything in that moment.

Because Ivan was sitting in the seat right next to him.

It seemed like a rather comical situation. Two rivals that had absolutely despised each other, taking any opportunity to fight;

It was a change, to say the least.

Ivan could sense the thick, unspoken, tension in the air, too. He couldn't quite see Alfred's face (it was much too dark,) but somehow, he could make out two blue orbs.

Alfred's eyes. They were practically luminescent in the unlit car. So much so that Ivan couldn't even ignore them.

No! Alfred wants to have Tolys for himself, and I can't let that happen. I will not get friendly with him.

Every so often at a red light, Alfred would look over at Ivan, his facial expression unreadable. Ivan pretended like he didn't notice these stolen glances, partially because he himself didn't understand the intent behind them either.

The night carried on, as did the ride. It was taking a surprisingly long time to get to Alfred's house, and the uncomfortable silence made it feel even longer.

Ivan decided to have the first word.

"So, Alfred. What do you think about Tolys?"

Alfred was taken aback. Ivan did have a tendency to cut straight to the point. "Isn't it obvious?" he scoffed. "Besides, what's it mean to you?"

The rivalry was back once again. It was clear that the two weren't friends. Far from it, actually.

Ivan maintained a neutral facade. "I was simply curious. What was that name you called him again…." He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, imitating pensive thought. "Liet? Ah, yes. You seem to want something from him, Alfred. I know it."

Something flickered in those bright blue eyes. Something like… anger? Frustration?

Only God knows.

Alfred narrowed his eyebrows. "So what? Listen, commie," He looked at Ivan for a brief moment defensively. "I am in love with Tolys Laurinaitis."

No shit. We all saw that one coming.

The insults were back, too. Ivan had been degraded to 'commie' once more.

Ivan chuckled humourlessly. "I could tell. I do not care about your feelings for Tolys. But let me tell you something." He lifted his lips into a creepy, childlike, smile. One that was reserved for people Ivan needed to get rid of. "Tolys is mine. You may confess to him, you may ask him out to the dance this week, but he will be mine."

Mine.

Forever and always.

Alfred tried hard to hide his nervousness. And failed.

"Whatever. I'll have him before you even get the chance. I'm going to do it, Ivan," insisted Alfred. He smirked. "And I'll have you know that I can get him to be with me on his own accord."

Ivan sneered. "What makes you so confident about that, hm? Unless you have some magical ace up your sleeve, I don't believe you."

Really, I'm the one with the ace.

I have a plan. I have a plan to make Tolys mine. Nobody else's.

Mine. Forever and always.

And once I play it…

Well, the cards will all fold.

For Alfred, that is.

Alfred didn't even look the slightest bit intimidated by this. "I'm smarter than you might think. Plus," He leaned in closer until their faces were mere centimeters apart. The tension and animosity were much too high for the moment to be considered romantic, though.

Ivan couldn't help but notice something else.

His lips.

If I leaned any closer… I would taste those lips.

A rosy shade of pink.

He made eye contact with Alfred.

Pink and blue.

A perfect match? We'll have to see about that.

"You're not the only one with a plan, Ivan."

The traffic light glowed bright red in the dark.

Pink and blue and red.

Three colors swam through Ivan's vision, making everything else seem dull in comparison.

Alfred caught himself in time. He immediately moved back, averting his eyes to the road.

What was that?

Ivan looked back at the American in the seat right next to him. Apparently, his suspicions were proved correct.

He found himself getting lost in two endless puddles of blue.

I really was wrong about him.

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

Lovino was growing more and more annoyed by the second.

I'm in this stupid potato bastard's car, sitting next to another potato bastard!

He shot Ludwig a sideways glare.

Ludwig looked absolutely smitten with Feliciano, who seemed to reciprocate these feelings.

To make matters worse, Feliciano was sitting on Ludwig's lap!

There were only two seats in the back of Gilbert's car, so it was decided that improvisation had to be made. Much to Lovino's anger, Feliciano had actually volunteered to sit there!

The younger Italian seemed blissfully ignorant of Lovino's glares and curses and continued to chat with Ludwig. It was just basic small-talk, but Lovino couldn't help but overhear.

"Ve, do you have an outfit ready yet?" Feliciano asked.

"Nein. I suppose I probably should have one by the end of the week," replied Ludwig.

They're talking about that stupid homecoming dance.

Lovino was instantly reminded about his own romantic situation. More specifically, a certain Spanish boy. His face was tomato-red in an instant, very closely resembling the fruit sculpted on Feliciano's ring.

Shit. I never gave Antonio an answer about the dance. How long has it been? A week? What if he's already forgotten about me and decided to just ask some pretty girl instead?

Lovino didn't want to admit it, but the possibility seemed very much realistic. Antonio (along with both Francis and Gilbert) was quite popular amongst the girls at World Academy. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that half of them had already asked Antonio out before.

Damnit! I bet that is what happened! I blew my chance with him…

Again.

And he gave it to me on a silver platter. How pathetic is that?

Lovino took notice that Feliciano's and Ludwig's lips were awfully close. Elizabeta was holding a camera (similar to the one Kiku owned) with a tissue pressed to her nose to prevent blood from leaking.

Am I jealous of them?

Lovino thought back to that evening back in Feliciano's room. That very evening when he walked in on his younger brother and Ludwig kissing. It didn't even look like a chaste peck, it was something much more than that.

Antonio visited the house that evening.

Lovino felt a stab of guilt for tossing the tomato at Ludwig's face.

He spends a lot of time growing those. I would know more than anybody else.

Lovino recalled the days he would spend in Antonio's garden, tending to the beautiful, succulent, tomatoes.

So red. So full.

Suddenly, he felt a craving sensation conquer his brain.

I want one. Those juicy tomatoes… I want one.

But more than anything, he wanted Antonio.

Toni… you deserve better than me. You deserve someone nicer.

Feliciano's tomato ring was the only thing Lovino could focus on. It was almost taunting him, in a way.

Reminding him of what could have been.

What should have been.

Here's something you want.

Can you see it?

Can you feel it?

Can you taste it?

You want it, right?

Good.

Now let's rip it away from you.

Stupid tomatoes. Stupid Antonio. Stupid romance.

How do they make it work so well?

"Hey, West!" Gilbert yelled from the driver's seat. "Do you know Ita-chan's address?"

"I do!" Elizabeta piped up. "2238 Valentino street." She pointed out the window. "I think it's the last one on this side..."

Gilbert grinned mischievously. "Kesesesese… I'll write that one down for later…" He winked at Feliciano (who dutifully ignored him.) Ludwig looked mildly annoyed and tightened his hold on Feliciano ever so slightly.

Elizabeta groaned, realizing that she probably made a mistake. "Gilbert, violence is not prohibited outside of school grounds, need I remind you," she said. "Unless you want to end up with another frying pan concussion, I suggest you shut your mouth."

Gilbert quieted down, but not before letting out a few playful chuckles. "Whatever you say!"

Lovino rolled his eyes and cradled his head in his hands.

I'm starting to really get sick of these people. Potato number two might be even more obnoxious than potato number one.

A few minutes later, the car pulled up to a familiar-looking house.

"We're here!" Gilbert left his seat and rushed to the back, holding open the door. "Have a nice night, gentlemen," he said, imitating a chauffeur.

Ludwig awkwardly let go of Feliciano, allowing him to slide off his lap. "Uh… Auf Wiedersehen, Feliciano. Gute Nacht." He leaned a little closer and whispered something into Feliciano's ear, something that Lovino wasn't close enough to hear.

Whatever it was, it must have been something good. Feliciano smiled, a soft pink blush tinting his face, much different from the bright red that Lovino oftentimes sported. "Ciao, Luddy." Mirroring Ludwig's actions, Feliciano leaned in closer and whispered something additional.

"Tch. So much sentimental nonsense," grumbled Lovino under his breath once inside the house.

Feliciano put his saxophone case near his brother's. "What's the matter with you, Lovi? You seem kind of upset."

Lovino's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

When did my stupid brother learn to read the mood? I bet the Japanese kid taught him a thing or two.

Nevertheless, Lovino wasn't quite ready to spill his guts out to his younger brother. "I'm fine, damnit."

Lovino's eyes subconsciously found their way to the ring Feliciano's middle finger for what felt like the 100th time that night.

Feliciano took notice. He looked from Lovino to his own hand, and then back again. "Is this about Antonio?"

We've been down his road before.

No matter. I just have to do what I always do.

Deny, deny, deny.

But he couldn't. Whatever generic rehash of "I'm fine" that was about to leave Lovino's mouth got stuck.

His throat felt choked up, and his vision blurred.

"Y-yes, damnit..." Lovino managed to say.

Feliciano's lips pulled into a worry-filled frown. "What happened, fratello? Did he hurt you?" He gestured for Lovino to take a seat in the living room, which he gladly did.

Lovino shook his head slowly. "No…"

Quite the contrary, actually.

"Feli… I think I hurt him."

NOTES:

Дзярмо (Belarusian): Shit

Auf Wiedersehen (German): Goodbye

Gute Nacht (German): Goodnight

I believe Prussia canonically has feelings for North Italy. This may show up a few times in the story, to give you a heads up.

You may or may not be wondering what pairings are included here. Honestly, I'd rather not give it to you straight as that would just be pretty boring. Try figuring it out based on what you've already read so far. If you want hints, feel free to PM me. I want to make this as engaging as possible!

I've never said this before, but I would really appreciate it if you'd review. Seeing people enjoy my work and receiving constructive is something I look forward to. Just a suggestion :)