AN: Okay, here's the second chapter, guys. 2k+ words! This is what I aim to do each chapter. :D Also, I realized I forgot to do the disclaimer last chapter, so I apologize for that. Blah.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia!

...

Feliciano clung to his brother's pant leg tightly as they walked to the bus stop together for the first time. He had turned 3 years old on March 17, and now he had enrolled into Pre-K class at the school.

Lovino tried to shake him off, but failed to.

"Dammit, bastard! Get the fuck off my pant leg! You know how to walk properly!"

But Feliciano kept gripping onto the fabric tightly, and whined in protest.

"Fratellone, I'm scared though, ve! I wanna stay near Lovi!"

Lovino was groggy, sleepy, and cranky (he always is, what are you talking about?) and he felt like saying "Fuck you Feli, and shut the hell up." Unfortunately, if he did that, Feliciano would break down into tears and cry and whine and bitch and whine a little more. As if he wasn't already annoying before.

And then he would be forced to comfort him (no, the crying didn't make him feel bad! It was just that he wanted Feliciano to shut up already!) and dry all of his tears and clean him up again.

It wasn't worth it.

So he just dealt with it until they got onto the bus.

"Now, stay close to me, alright bastard? I don't want you to get up and annoy the other people. And stay seated, dammit! Just sit your ass down and look out the window or something."

He pulled his little brother close to him as Feliciano clambered onto the large leather seat. Not because he cared about him, of course! It's just to ensure that Feliciano doesn't run off and break his neck on the floor while the bus moves.

Feliciano leaned on him as the bus drove off.

"Ve, Lovi, this is fun! It's not as scary as I thought it would be! I thought that the bus was super scary and that people died on here!"

Lovino jumped up and stared at him. "Where did you even hear that bullshit?!"

"I heard a girl telling her friend about it, ve!"

"Where were you when you heard that bitch?!"

"I was playing outside with you, and you were getting the ball out of the bushes, and you were saying something reeaaally quietly so I couldn't hear you, and then I saw the girl, and they were walking by, and she was talking to her friend, and then-"

"Feli?"

"-they were talking about the bus, and- ve, fratellone?"

"Shut the hell up already!"

"...ve, fratellone! Scusa, scusa, I didn't mean to make you mad! Per favore, per favore, forgive me fratellone! I just wanted to answer your question so that you would know and be happy and-"

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY, FELICIANO."

Feliciano (finally) took the hint and shut his mouth.

Lovino let out a deep breath. Then he noticed the other people on the bus were staring at the brothers.

"What the fuck are you all staring at? Go do your own shit."

…

"Okay, now go into room 105 for your class. AND GO STRAIGHT THERE. DON'T WANDER AROUND BY YOURSELF, DUMBASS."

"Ve! Fratellone, per favore, come with me! I'm scared!"

"Not anymore, dammit! Now go! Just look at the map! I have to go to my own classroom, bastard!"

"Per favore, fratellone!"

Oh my fucking god. Feliciano even used the damn eyes on him.

You know, the ones that glow like ambers and look deep into your soul? (no, they are NOT adorable and precious, stop suggesting things like that!)

...well...yeah, okay, they melted him.

Oh, just shut the fuck up! No one can resist Feli's eyes!

"...fine, bastard. I'll walk you there. But that's it, okay?! I'm just walking with you there, and I'm dropping you off! Then you go into your classroom and then you don't talk to me again until lunchtime!"

Feliciano gave a bright smile.

"Ve! Okay, Lovi! Can you hold my hand?"

…

Fuck.

He really needed to learn how to resist those damn eyes of Feliciano's.

Guiding Feliciano through the extensive hallways, he thought of a plan to do just that.

…

"Here we are. Now let go of my hand and get the fuck in already!"

"Fratellone, I'm still scared though!"

The first bell rang.

Lovino swore (not like he doesn't every second).

"FUCK! Feli, you'll be fine! I'll see you at lunch, okay?! JUST GO IN! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!"

He shoved the poor, frightened little boy into the classroom and raced down the halls.

Feliciano kept looking out after him with small tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Ve… but… fratellone…"

The teacher saw this scene and quickly ushered Feliciano to a seat.

"It's okay. You're going to have so much fun in here! Here, here, an empty spot right next to Kiku!" She plastered a big smile on her face as she sat him down.

Once all of the kids had settled down, she went up to the front of the room and announced that they would be starting off the day with a "meet-n'-greet" with their tablemates.

Feliciano, still a little nervous from what had happened earlier, turned to the quiet dark-haired boy sitting next to him. His "tablemates" seemed to have known each other previously and started talking to each other, completely ignoring Feliciano and "Kiku". So, being the social little Italian boy he was, Feli tried to make conversation.

"Ve...um...ciao?" His greeting came out sounding more like a question than an amiable hello.

"Kiku" looked at him with an expressionless, neutral face.

"Ohayo gozaimasu…"

"My name's Feliciano! What's yours?"

"My name is Ho-... Kiku Honda. I am pleased to meet you."

Feliciano gave him a bright smile.

"Ciao, Kiku! Ve! Um… do you want to be friends?" Using the eyes again, he gave a hopeful, pleading expression.

Kiku nodded at him nonchalantly, but on the inside, he was flattered. "If that is what pleases you."

"Ve! So, what do you like?"

"I enjoy reading books, manga, and watching anime. I also like drawing. I like researching topics that I find interesting."

"Man...ga? Animay? What is that, ve?" Feliciano asked in a puzzled tone.

Kiku thought for a moment. "I can bring some of my favorites as examples for you to see tomorrow in class," he responded.

"Ve, okay!" Feliciano gave a big grin (not like he doesn't 24/7).

"So, Feliciano-kun, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?"

"Ve! I love to play outside with my fratellone! I also like drawing, too, ve! And painting! I try to get Lovi to draw with me, but he says he's not good at it, and that's it's boring and dumb. But he still draws with me sometimes when he doesn't have to do something else, ve! I love doing everything with fratellone, it's so fun, ve!"

"...what is a fra-tell-oni?"

"My fratellone? Oh, ve, it means "big brother" in Italian! Lovi is my fratellone! Do you have one?"

"No. I am an only child, though I do have a cousin that is quite close to me, and he takes care of me sometimes since he is old enough to."

"Ve?! Really?! How old is he then?"

"I think he is about… 22 or so."

"Wow! My fratellone is only 11! Lovi's in the 6th grade class, I think!"

"Ah. So your older brother's name is "Lovi"?"

"Well, actually it's Lovino, but I call him "Lovi" because it's shorter, and easier to say!"

"Ah, I see…"

The conversation started dropping (as if it weren't awkward enough already), and both Feliciano and Kiku didn't know what to say next.

Luckily, the teacher clapped her hands to signal for attention just in the nick of time, and then she informed the rowdy class that it was currently time to start a cut-and-paste activity "so that they could show their families what they learned today, and remember their first days of school when they grow up."

They were supposed to cut out an apple, and then, throughout the day, they would fill it with all the stuff that they would do that day, then, in the last 10 minutes, they would paste it onto a bordered paper their favorite color, and label it "My First Day of School."

Ah, preschooler activities.

The kids think it's difficult now, but that's what they'll think every year.

And then they'll look back onto previous years and say, "Man, it was all so easy back then…".

It's the "Circle of School Life", so cue The Lion King music.

…

So the youngsters had their fun throughout the day, learning about the campus and their new peers.

Now, it was recess, so Feliciano suggested to Kiku that they play hide-and-seek together at the playground. Though Kiku agreed, he didn't really know the game rules, so Feliciano was currently trying to explain how to be "it".

"Ve, Kiku, you have to count to 20 with your eyes closed, and then when you're done, you have to say "Ready or not, here I come!" and then you have to try to find me!" Feli instructed.

"Ah, but Feliciano-kun, what if I am unable to find you?"

"Umm...I think you just say "I give up!" If you do, I pwomise I'll come out, ve?"

"Hai. Let's start then."

"Okay!"

Kiku promptly turned away, closed his eyes, and started to count.

"One...two...three…"

Feliciano quickly sprinted in the other direction and ran up the steps of the playground equipment. He crawled into the one tunnel that wasn't crammed up with sweaty little kids and curled himself into a ball to prevent Kiku from seeing him through the clear (albeit distorted) patch. He put himself in the far corner and stayed put, looking out the patches watching out for his new friend.

"Ve~ I hope I hid well enough!"

He smiled to himself. It was fun, playing with Kiku. When he played this game with his fratellone, Lovino always ended up walking two steps, then demanding Feliciano get out of his hiding spot "this instant, bastard, or else…!"

So even though Feliciano went through great lengths to properly hide himself, Lovino never really tried to look for him and tired of the game quickly.

Kiku was a nice change for him. He actually tried to seek him out.

Snap!

Feliciano perked up, more alert now. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even remember to check out the patches. Was that Kiku? He curled into himself further, and stayed absolutely still, not making another sound.

Step. Step. Step.

He could hear someone climbing up the steps to the playground.

He didn't dare take another breath.

I hope that's not Kiku…

"Feliciano-kun… are you in here anywhere?"

Awww… it was him...he's sure to find me now…

Still, he tried to make himself unnoticeable in an attempt for Kiku to walk by and not see him.

But, unfortunately for him, Kiku was a very attentive little boy. He had been checking everywhere, even inside the boys' bathrooms before coming to this deserted section of the play equipment.

So, he glanced into the tunnel and caught sight of the hiding Feliciano, still curled up in a ball with his head in his knees.

He smirked. "Found you, Feli-kun."

Feliciano's head shot up like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Nooooo! It was Kiku, ve!"

As Kiku started to crawl towards him, Feliciano frantically wiggled out of the tight tunnel in a desperate attempt to escape. Once he succeeded, he kinda-sorta defied the rules and taunted Kiku.

"You'll have to catch me first before you can win, ve!"

And with that, he slid down the slide the tunnel connected to, hopped off at the end, and ran off in the other direction.

Kiku sighed. Just when he was about to catch his friend…

Well, two could play at that game.

He went back down the way he came up from, and then gained on Feliciano all the way down until they reached the far end of the playground where a large tree on a platform marked where the end of the play area was.

Finally, he had cornered Feli and caught him. But, in the process, Feliciano slipped and fell into the piles of leaves scattered about on the ground. Good thing it was fall season, because all of those leaves cushioned Feli's fall so that he didn't get hurt.

Feliciano giggled.

"Ve! You win, Kiku! You got me!"

"It seems to appear so, Feli-kun."

He extended an arm to help Feliciano get up, but when Feliciano took ahold of his hand, he laughed and pulled Kiku down onto the ground with him.

Surprised, Kiku let out a gasp before realizing what Feli had done. Once he did, a rare chuckle escaped his lips. He even grinned at Feliciano as they laid side by side next to each other on the leaves.

His friend smiled enthusiastically back at him.

"Ve~ Kiku, that was so fun!"

"Indeed, I had fun playing hide-and-seek with you too, Feli-kun."

"We should play it aga-"

A shrill whistle interrupted him.

They heard their teacher's voice call out, "Alright, everybody from room 105 class, please follow me back inside the classroom!"

Disappointed that they couldn't play more, Kiku got up, and then helped Feli up (for real this time).

"Awww~ I wanted to play longer with you, Kiku…"

"...it's alright, we can work together in class at least, and do the activities together…"

Feliciano beamed at him.

"Yeah! That's fun too!"

"Hai. Let's go in now. The teacher is waiting for us."

"Sì!"

Feliciano started to skip towards the classroom, but when he noticed the lagging Kiku behind him, he ran back, took hold of his hand, and pulled Kiku along with him.

"Ve, then c'mon! We have to hurry!"

Kiku's face flushed at the physical contact.

"A-Ah, Feli-kun… You don't need to do this… The teacher won't be mad or anything…"

"Nooo! We have to hurry! C'mon, ve!"

They dashed towards the classroom together, still hand in hand.

…

AN: :D Tell me what you guys think of this one.