"ITALLLLLY!" Ludwig screeched. The Italian man immediately looked up in fear. He ran behind you before moving his hands around chaotically.

"Oh-a-a G-Germany I'm-a sorry I just-a saw this super cute kitten and followed it here. I was supposed to be-a welcoming people into-a Rome but it seems my-a fratello doesn't want me introducing everyone. I-a followed the super cute kitty here but didn't realize you arrived. Sorry I-a ran into this Bella..." the Italian man rambled out loudly. He was practically attached to your shoulder as he said that. He hid all but his small hand that waved around a white flag over your shoulder. "Is-a she your-a girlfriend?"

Ludwig looked at the Italian sternly. His piercing blue eyes seemed to go right through you as they attacked the frightened man.

Italy ran up to Ludwig and hugged him tightly. He clutched onto his suit as if he was an infant. Ludwig tried to shake him off but the Italian stayed clutched to Ludwig's side.

"I'm-a sorry is she-a your fiancé?" He asked as he shook Ludwig. Ludwig's anger only grew inside him, he growled at the man with beast-like teeth. He continued to try to pry Italy off but the Italian now had his arms around Ludwig's arms, constructing him from moving.

"Wife?" Italy asked looking up to Ludwig's pure red face. You couldn't tell if it was anger or embarrassment or a mix of both on Ludwig's face, but it was glowing red.

"ITALLLLLLY!" Ludwig yelled as he grabbed the Italian with his bear paws. He held up the Italian and threw him off his body with a furious motion. The Italian scrambled to his feet but to your surprise, his face beamed with happiness.

"Awww come on Ludwig you-a know you can call me Feliciano! Better yet you-a can just call me Feli if you would-a like!" Italy said with a warm smile. Ludwig simply shook his head and rolled his eyes. You almost felt bad for the man named 'Feliciano' because Ludwig always gave a cold shoulder to others. Though you understood Ludwig's dismissal in the man's chaotic and goofy behavior.

"Italy-" Ludwig started.

"Feli~" Italy corrected.

"ITALY!" Ludwig repeated more sternly.

"Felicianoooo~" Italy said twirling around.

"ITALLLLLLLLY! Ludwig yelled at the Italian man as he gripped onto his collar. The Italian shrunk into his suit, keeping his head hidden from the enraged German. Ludwig glared at him before continuing, "Zhis is , she's mein special guest. Zhe one I talked vith you about yesterday." Ludwig spoke as he gritted his teeth.

"Ahhhhhh... oh sì sì," the man said as he shook your arm really hard. "I'm-a Italy but please call me Feliciano or Feli whichever is fine with me!" You found the short Italians smile very cute as he beamed up at you, but his accent choked you like a cobra. The sweet northern Italian accent reminded you of Elena far too much. You hid your face to the ground unable to speak back.

Ludwig rubbed your shoulder reassuringly. The warmth of his hand spread throughout your body, allowing you to break out of your frozen figure. Whenever Ludwig had your back, you seemed to have the confidence to talk about your pain or at least push past it. You didn't rely on him for it but it felt nice to have someone there who cared for you. Ludwig knew exactly what you were going through, so he tried his best to help you out of your mental down spiral.

"It's nice to meet you Feli! My name is _. As Ludwig said, I am here to speak on the behalf of what I witnessed," you spoke with confidence and composure.

"That's great _! I'm so glad you are safe now! I-a promise we will take great care of you here in Italy!" Feliciano said as the curl on his hair bounced.

", I need to go meet for zhe opening and velcoming of the nations. Feliciano vill look after you. He may be a bit of a nut case but he's one of mein oldest friends," Ludwig said. He had a hard time letting go of your shoulder but he had to go meet with the other nations. Tensions and relations had to remain stable while at this emergency summit in order to a stop any trigger-happy countries. If Ludwig didn't show for the welcoming, other nations would get suspicious of the west's actions.

"Ludwig... you have to go. It's ok I'll be alright, I'm not completely defenseless. I did have some training before coming to the frontlines. Plus this is Feli's home, I'm sure he can stop anything bad from happening." You smiled lightly back at Ludwig as your eyes met him. A strand of hair poked out of his usual slick back hair, so you brushed it back into form. Ludwig blushed a little at your action and placed his hand on your cheek.

"Here are some clothes fur you to dress in. Make sure you wear zhe pin, it should keep most people with bad intensions away," Ludwig remarked softly as he handed you some clothes with a German flag pin on top. "And please stay safe... bitte." As he spoke, he rubbed your cheek slightly and turned to walk away. Gilbert slightly snickered at you while Roderich waved goodbye. They followed Ludwig away to what you assumed to be the building the conference was being held. Gilbert and Roderich were yelling at Ludwig about something in German. You could see Ludwig's ears glow a bit pink as his shoulders raised from embarrassment.

Feliciano must have seen this because he started to squeal like a little girl. "Awwww it's-a so obvious he cares for you so much. Just-a don't forget to invite me to the wedding!" Feliciano said cheerfully. Your heart raced and your stomach started to turn at Feliciano's remark. You were about to correct him that you were simply friends but he dragged you down the street before you could say anything.

Your eyes traced up and down the narrow cobblestone streets. A few of the small walkways were made from brick and fitted the warm colors of the city houses. You've visited Rome multiple times with Elena before, but it felt completely different this time. Usually people were out smiling, playing music, or selling goods, but there wasn't a person in sight. There weren't any Vespas racing down the street or tourists admiring the Italian architecture. The air was stale and silent. Even the plants on the sides of the building seemed to be wilting from the idle environment.

"Feli... what happened here? I've been to Rome before, but this isn't the Italian capital I remember," you asked, running up to his side. His cheerful smile dropped suddenly to a depressed frown. He stopped and turned to look at a pot of beautiful lilies that were clinging on to life. Similar to Feliciano, they welted with their petals and leaves falling over the clay pot.

"The war. It's killed everything in my home. It's not even in my country but the echos of it can be heard by the people, the city, and even the flowers," Feliciano sadly remarked. His voice didn't have an inflection as he barely spat out each word. He grabbed some water from a nearby fountain and lightly showered the dreadful lily. "I can't help everyone, but as a country personification, I have to help protect my people and my nation."

A sense of sadness and guilt washed over you. You remembered towards the end of your training the moral of the Italian country side was extremely low. People even started to move away, saying that their home was no longer safe for them to live in. Even though the Italians had The Germans to back them up, the fear of war engulfed the country like a forest fire.

Felicianos cheerful self eventually returned as you weaved between the narrow streets and buildings. Although he seemed in a better mood than a few minuets ago, you could still see the doubt swelling in his demeanor. You decided to try to take his mind off of the melancholy streets.

"Elena took me here a lot. I have a multitude of great memories with her here. She always loved her country greatly," you spoke to Feliciano happily.

"Who is this-a Elena?" Feliciano asked with a grin.

"Oh she's a close friend of mine. I met her here in Italy before the war. She lived out in the country but would often visit the city. She showed me all the great gelato spots and the hidden places locals would spend their afternoons. I'm glad I could revisit Italy, it really is a beautiful country," you said to Feliciano. You decided to not talk about Elena's death as to avoid spilling tears in front of someone you just met.

"I'll-a have to meet her after all this," Feliciano said brightly. "I'm-a so glad you-a like my country that much though!" Feliciano twirled you around before hugging you tightly. You seemed to please Feliciano a little by reassuring him how wonderful his country was. Like all countries, there are many cracks and loose ends, but overall, Italy was a beautiful and delightful country. You'd hope you could help it return to its energetic mood once the war was over, but you weren't sure if you could bring yourself to come back to Italy. It was hard enough already. If I have to bring the news to Elena's parents about her death- you stopped yourself. Now is not the time for that.

Feliciano and you winded down the thin roads through the vibrant European buildings. A few cars would drive by, and you passed some people on the walkways, but the city was eerily quiet. It was only mid afternoon but it felt like midnight when you entered an alley with an overlooking shadow. Feliciano didn't seem bothered as he continued to walk a few paces in front of you. You weren't sure exactly where you were heading but you hoped it was more comfortable than the desolate alleys.

As you walked by a shaded alleyway, a hand grabbed the collar of your shirt and threw you into the darkness. You immediately went into fight or flight mode with your hands up at the ready. You focused your eyes at the darkness, seeing a trembling figure emerge from the shadows. His arms were up showing his trembling face and watery eyes. His caramel hair touched the top of his brown leather vest and he wore a white button down shirt with plaid red suspenders.

You loosened up a bit as he walked forward, suspecting that if he wanted to kill you he would already have. You kept your fists up, trailing his emerald eyes. You noticed for a second that he had a Lithuanian pin attached to his vest. The stale air thickened as the tension rose between you two.

"I don't have a lot of time, so I need to make this quick," the man spoke in a thick Eastern European accent. Immediately, you knew he was part of the EEF. You turned to run in the opposite direction but a firm arm grabbed your wrist. "Please, just hear me out."

You tried to break free from the man's grasp, half listening to what you suspected to be a false facade. However, his grip was firm on your arm and he kept talking while looking straight into your eyes.

"Ivan knows who you are," the man said strictly.

"Who?" You asked as you tugged away from the man. He held on, not letting you budge from the shadowed alley. You didn't want to give into the man's pleading, but the name he spat out seemed familiar to you. His eyes kept darting all over the narrow street and he repeatedly looked over his shoulder.

"Ivan Braginski! Y-You know t-the infamous Russian General!" He whisper yelled. You started to recall his name more and leaned into the conversation, but before you could speak the mysterious man cut you off. "H-He knows who y-you are a-and v-vhy you are here. P-P-Please be careful. H-He has eyes and ears every-e-everyvhere. H-He also knows that you are here with G-Germany... TRUST NO ONE."

The man then pushed you out of the shadows and scurried back into the darkness like a sewer rat. Trust no one, you thought to yourself, how am I supposed to trust you then weirdo. You looked down the dark hall for a few seconds before turning to find your Italian escort.

Feliciano was back up the road looking between the shops and streets. His face only displayed worried and grief as he silently mumbled about something like 'Germany going to kill him'. You screamed out his name and waved to him from down the road. He quickly scampered up the path and grabbed both of your arms.

"Please never-a do that again Bella! I thought you were kid-a-napped or something!" Feliciano was practically crying into your shoulders as he hugged you tightly. For how short and scrawny he looked, you were amazed at how tight he held you.

"Where did-a you go?" Feliciano asked taking your hand and dragging you back down the street.

"Oh-I-uh," you stumbled your words as you tried to think of an excuse. "I saw these pretty pink roses and wanted to see if I could buy a few for Ludwig but the store was closed." Hopefully your lie was compelling enough for Feliciano. He seemed like the gullible type but even you knew your lie was forced. You just didn't want to say what actually happened. If what the man said was true, you weren't sure who you could trust.

"Awwwww you two are so-a cute. Of course you'd want to-a buy him flowers. That's adorable Ve~" Feliciano cutely remarked as he held up his puppy dog eyes. His amber eyes were far too innocent for a world like this, let alone the raging war.

You're faced turned rosy, similar to the flowers you 'were going to buy'. "I-It's n-not like that Feli," you said, stumbling your words. You curled a piece of your (h/c) hair and looked away from his eyes. Feliciano just hummed back a 'mhm' and continued to drag you along the red bricks.

Finally, Feliciano and you reached a light bricked house at the end of the road. The house was very Italian as the frame of the house almost looked like polished marble. A few Italian cypress trees followed the edge of the house with a pair of white lilies here and there. Just below the auburn roof there was a large balcony with a hanging engraving. The engraving hanged below the balcony with the words "Vargas" inscribed. The house was truly beautiful, with each brick and stone carefully crafted to fit the design of the house.

"Go ahead in! You probably haven't had anything to-a eat. I'll make you some pasta!" Feliciano almost cheerfully chanted. You walked into the house and admired the fine art and architecture.

"Oh im alright Feli, really you don't have to," you said to him as you entered what seemed to be the living room.

"B-But I-a want to!" He pleaded.

You felt a little guilty for not accepting his generous offer. "Very well, but at least let me help you!"

"YAY PASTA!" Feliciano screamed.

You followed him into the kitchen and helped make the pasta. Out the kitchen window you spotted a magnificent water fountain in the middle of a courtyard. There were red and pink flowers in bloom along with a few marble statues. You also spotted a few cats bolting between the trees and bushes. You reminded yourself to explore the charming place a little more after dinner.

"Al-a-right! The pasta is-a ready!" Feliciano told you. He plated you a portion and walked over to the table to sit with you. You stared down at the pasta ready to dig in, but as you lifted your fort you stopped. The words 'trust no one' echoed in your mind as you looked at your delicious meal. He wouldn't poison it, you thought to yourself, looking at Feliciano with a mouth full of food.

"What's-a wrong _? Do you not-a like it?" Feliciano asked sadly. Even if he had tomato sauce smeared around his face, he was still had a wholesome smile.

You decided to trust Feliciano with the wonderful food in order to spare his feelings. You didn't want to make him cry for the third time today. If Ludwig trusted him so much, you convinced yourself you could do the same. Here goes nothing I guess, you thought. As you placed the fork into your mouth, you hesitantly held your breath.