Just a little something I made during the holiday, and it's more of a filler chapter more than anything else, but I figured it was about time I update this fic while I can. This is sorta rushed and unbeta'd due to lack of time but I guess it was alright (I totes feel that my writing skills have regressed since school though so I'm sorry guys ;A; my life's a bitch and my schedule's hectic and I just wanted to give you guys a little something while I still could!) R&R please, but please don't flame me QAQ

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia and its characters.

A young couple stands alone together atop the meadows in the hillside; clothes tossing and flitting with the gusting breeze, voices whispering distantly and hushed, lone figures watched over by the prying eyes of the rising morning sun.

"We'll see each other again," one promises, as an onyx cross is handed over by a pair of calloused hands, resting in the palms of thin fingers and milky-white skin.

"No matter how many hundreds of years go by, I'll always love you more than anyone else in the world," swears the other, as parted lips lean in closer and shrink the distance that lay between the rosewater pair.

A clock ticks to five as the sun peeks through the curtains and its rays nestle into the room; bright amber orbs fluttering open in shock before a single breath can be exchanged more. A pale hand grabs hold of the cross, its shaky grip never letting go of the ebony pendant as it rests atop the Italian's aching chest.

-x-

There's the sound of muffled voices he hears from behind the door. Outside the hallway, Ludwig slows down his pace in order to prevent himself from interrupting what he presumed to be a heated conversation.

"I told you I'm fine. Sono benissimo. Please don't worry about me, fratello –"

"Don't give me that. Hai sognato di lui? Did you see him again?"

"Si, but then– "

"Then damn it, Feli, you aren't fine at all. Here, take this. It'll help your fever."

"Ve, no need to, fratello. It's almost gone now. I'll be fine-"

"Ugh. You're impossible. Just take it in case; it might go up again if you don't. I'll drop by again later with some more meds and let's get you drugged up and well soon, alright? No buts. And if you fuckin' say that you're fine one more time I swear to Dio, Feli-" The sound of a honking car bellows from the streets below the apartment floor, halting his speech as their conversation is cut short.

"Wait. Shit. Okay, I have to go now. Antonio's waiting in the taxi outside. Just rest up, okay? I'll see you tonight."

The older brother mouths a curse and a hasty goodbye as he makes his way out the door, a soft tsk escaping him as he flashes a grumpy scowl towards the German's direction and heads to the taxi. Without a word, Ludwig eyes the Italian and sidesteps to the left, making way for the irascible and seemingly cantankerous brunette to pass through.

"Ve! Sorry about that, Ludwig. That was my brother, Lovino. He's in one of his grumpy fits again, but he's really a kind person inside-"

"You had a twin?" he asks as he enters through the doorway and faces Feliciano; confusion riddling his features, mouth slightly agape from bewilderment and awe. It was strange seeing such an angry expression worn by someone who had the same face as the cheerful artist.

"We aren't twins, although we do get that a lot," the auburn-haired boy denies and he chuckles at the blonde's inquiry. "He's older than me by a year. We do have the same birthday though: the seventeenth of March. Don't ask me how or why though," he says with a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders, securing the blanket-turned-shawl that hung over his small frame. "It just happens."

"Mhm," Ludwig hums distractedly as he gestures to the canvases that lay wrapped on the floor. "What's all this?"

"Oh, I have a show coming up two days from now. I'm sending my pieces to the gallery tomorrow, so I have to compile and assemble all my works today."

"But aren't you sick?" the German replied sharply, gaze transfixed on the young artist as he assessed the Italian's condition. Bags hung from underneath his eyes and his smile had lost its usual glow. His eyes, red and puffy, looked tired and deprived of sleep. If anything, however, Feliciano didn't look sick. It was almost as if he had just recently been crying.

"No, I'm fine. I'm not sick anymore. I just didn't sleep well last night," Feliciano explains wearily, dreams still caught in his eyes as he stifles a yawn to speak. "I'll be fine by tomorrow. I just have to carry them over in morning and I'll be free again later on in the afternoon anyway."

"Carry?" the model turned to his employer in disbelief. "Why don't you get a truck to deliver them, or have the gallery owners drop by to pick them up instead? From what I've heard from your brother, shouldn't you be resting?"

"It's fine," the Italian dismisses him with a shake of his head. "I wouldn't want to spend too much money on sending them over. I'll be okay, Ludwig."

"But isn't that a little too much for you to do on your own? Which gallery will you be bringing these pieces to?"

"The Heckscher Museum of Art. It's only four blocks away. I'll be fine," he says, repeating himself for the umpteenth time that day.

The blonde stared blankly at the pile of canvases, his thoughts drifting momentarily away in pensive thought. "Pardon me for the intrusion, but I really think you should take it easy. Drücken sie sich nicht. If you'd like, I can help you bring them to the gallery tomorrow."

"Ve~ Ludwig is so kind!" Feliciano comments with a gentle laugh. "That would be nice though…I'd like that very much."

"Please don't think much of it," the blue-eyed boy reddens at the thought, averting his gaze as he coughs to clear his throat. "I'll only be assisting-"

"I know, I know," the Italian placates with a gentle tone. "So…tomorrow at nine?"

"Ja. Tomorrow at nine."

"It'll be a date then," the artist says with a smile, as he ushers the model into the old studio, their routine setting calmly back into motion with soft-spoken words, glissading paintbrushes, and the abating glow cast by the sun and lost in the time of the late afternoon.

Translations:

[Italian]

Sono benissimo - I'm fine

Hai sognato di lui? - Did you dream about him?

Si - yes

fratello - brother

[German]

Drücken sie sich nicht - Don't push yourself too hard

Ja - yes

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