Oh look, I'm back. I apologize for the super long wait, but just so you know, this fanfiction will never ever become a deadfic. I may have long breaks between updates, but I'll continue writing this until it sees it's end.

There's a lot of deaf-culture things in this chapter, which I'll explain at the bottom if anyone would like to know. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

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

Talking on Paper

By IdiotFromOsaka

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

oOoOo

The café Feliciano had told Kiku about, though cute, was nothing particularly special. Mia's was in a small brick building, nestled between a laundromat and music shop, and only steps from the grocery store. A plastic 'open' sign hung in the doorway. On each side of the door was a window, allowing Kiku to easily see the interior of the building. The walls were painted and olive green color, and the floor was covered in off-white tiles. On one side of the store was a display of pastries connected to wooden counter. A boy, probably no older than 19, stood behind it in a black apron, tapping his fingers in a sporadic rhythm. The other side of the store was filled with tables and chairs, along with an assortment of people.

Kiku entered, and was immediately hit by the smell of newly dried paint. A shiver ran down his back as he began to feel the difference in temperature between the air conditioned cafe and the outdoors, weather that hadn't changed since summer. Kiku scanned the room for his friends, but there was no sign of them. He sighed, and pulled out a chair for himself. It made sense that they weren't here yet, Kiku figured. Kiku's school wasn't more than 10 minutes from this place by foot, but his friends all went to a school that was all the way across town.

Relaxing back into his chair a bit, Kiku took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the place. Under the overbearing scent of paint, he could smell coffee, as well as baked goods. He imagined that when the sharp, and almost annoying, odor of paint had faded, the place would be filled with a fragrance that made you hungry as soon as you got a whiff of it.

For a split second, hot air flooded the store. Kiku looked towards the doorway, now open. Four bodies strolled through entrance, and Kiku immediately recognized them.

First was a smaller boy, with lightly tanned skin and auburn hair. His lips were pulled into a huge grin, and his hands were a blur as he signed to the rest of the group. Behind him was a boy of a similar stature, but slightly taller. His hair was just a little darker than that of the first boy, as was his skin, but they both had the same thin body structure and fine facial features. That was where the similarities ended. The second boy had his face twisted into a permanent scowl, endlessly shooting glares at the two boys behind him.

Trailing after him was the tallest of the group, a rather strong-looking guy with slicked back blond hair and cerulean eyes. His face held no real expression, but Kiku noticed he kept sneaking glances at the first boy. Last through the door was certainly the oddest looking of the group. Although taller than the first two boys, he was shorter than the blond boy in front of him. He had short white (yes, white) hair, and smiling crimson eyes. A smirk was cemented on his face.

Kiku knew every single one of them. He waved at the group, hoping to get their attention. The boy leading the group was the first to notice, and before Kiku could react, the cheery boy had basically tackled him. Even though he was pretty sure it was supposed to be a hug.

Kiku stiffened. He was exactly a fan of public displays of affection. Or affection in general. Or people touching him.

He squirmed, and the boy let go.

'Hi Kiku!' he signed, but instead of spelling his name out, he made the sign for K, bringing it to his ear and tapping twice with his middle finger. Kiku's name sign.

Kiku gave a tight-lipped smile. 'Hello Feliciano,' he replied. Like Feliciano, he used a name sign in place of the other boy's name, bring a flat hand to his chest and quickly brushing the fabric of his shirt with his palm. The motion meant 'happy', a descriptor that everyone agreed suited Feliciano perfectly.

Feliciano smiled a little wider, and his chest shook. 'Your shirt is dirty.' And indeed it was. Grey graphite had marked the fabric of his shirt, irking Kiku. 'What have you been drawing?'

Kiku looked to his fingertips. A gleaming grey substance covered his fingers, making it apparent to anyone with artistic experience that he had been shading. Kiku lifted his head back up to meet Feliciano's eyes. 'We're working on portraits in class.'

Feliciano's eyebrows raised. 'That's so cool!' he said, and let the topic drop. Kiku knew he wouldn't push further if he thought the drawing was at school, he wouldn't obsess over how good he thought it was, he wouldn't show it to the entire restaurant. This peace of mind let the guilt of lying to Feliciano subside. (But was it even lying if he just hid part of the truth?)

After surveying the café, Feliciano pointed to a table in the corner of the restaurant. He turned around to face the group and walked backwards, signing 'This way!' as he went.

Only maybe an inch from the edge of the table, he stopped and signed to the tallest of the group. 'Ludwig,' he said, signing the word 'stone', but replacing the fist that tapped the back of his had with the letter L, 'Sit with me!'

Ludwig nodded, going along with Feliciano's wishes, although not everyone in the group was exactly pleased.

The darkest haired of the group, a boy named Lovino, shot Ludwig a glare. In one harsh motion, he brought a sideways hand up to his forehead in a way that made it look like he was attempting to chop his head in half. 'Bastard.'

No one remarked on the swear. The gesture was such a common one coming from Lovino that, if noticed at all, was met with a small chuckle, usually from the white-haired boy, Gilbert.

The group sat down. Kiku, seated between Gilbert and Lovino, leaned back against the wooden chair that wasn't nearly as comfortable as the chair he had sat in earlier, shifting when he felt the slats dig into his back. The others, not counting Lovino, sat up alertly while the dark-haired boy slouched.

'So!' Feliciano started, motioning widely, 'How was every one's summer? Kiku?'

Kiku blinked, noting that he'd been addressed. 'I did not do much,' he told them, 'I took some art classes. I stayed in town, though,' Feeling uncomfortable with all eyes on him, Kiku politely brought the focus back to Feliciano.'What about you?'

Feliciano smiled brightly. 'Lovino and I went to Italy! It was so pretty, and Grandpa taught me how to read Italian, and everyone was really really nice. The food too! The food was super good!' Kiku's interest in the story slowly waned, and he let his attention float to art class.

He thought about Herakles. He had to create a portrait of him, didn't he? Mrs. Tanner didn't say what medium to use. Since it was Drawing & Painting, he could paint it, couldn't he?

No oil paint, he mused. That would take to long to dry. Acrylic would work. He wouldn't want to use too big of a canvas- speaking of which, gesso or no gesso? Kiku thought for a moment, finally coming to the conclusion of not using it. The laziness of it seemed very Herakles-ish. Then there was the composition…

Kiku was pulled back to reality by a hand waving in front of his face. Eyebrows snapping up, he realized he had been addressed. He apologized immediately.

'It's cool,' Gilbert said, a mischievous smile plastered to his face. 'Little Feliciano here just wanted to ask you something.' Feliciano nodded eagerly.

'What is it?' Kiku asked.

'Well,' Feliciano began, 'I was just saying how you couldn't have done nothing over the summer!' Feliciano shook his hand slightly as he signed the word 'nothing'. 'So I was thinking, you have to have gotten a boyfriend or something!'

For a moment, no one moved a muscle as Kiku sat, stunned. The first to move was Ludwig, lightly elbowing Feliciano beside him.

'Feliciano,' he scolded. 'You can't just say things like that.'

But Feliciano was immune to the unspoken rules of society, it seemed. He looked up at Ludwig, puzzled. 'Why not?'

Kiku paid no attention to the conversation, for his own mind was a flurry of thoughts. Part of him almost laughed at how silly the assumption was. Of course Kiku didn't have a boyfriend. Kiku didn't like men.

He was pretty sure, at least.

But another part of him asked, what if he did?

Kiku shook away the thought. He couldn't think like that. It wouldn't lead to anything good, just confusion. No use.

He began to sign. 'Feliciano, I'm not interested in men like that. And I currently am not involved in a relationship.'

'I see..'

The conversation came to a halt, and awkwardness reached over the group. No one moved until Feliciano tried to start a conversation, ultimately failing.

After a few minutes, Gilbert started signing. 'So, anyone want some coffee?'

oOoOo

The group remained at the coffeehouse for another half an hour before everyone said their goodbyes. Kiku decided to take his time walking home that day. He had no homework to finish, no chores to get done. And it was a beautiful day.

The early autumn sun warmed his skin, the heat balanced out by a gentle breeze. The wind's soft hands played in his hair as he walked.

The was only one thing on his mind now.

Kiku's brow furrowed. Feliciano's assumption from earlier kept ringing in his head, only answered by that name.

Kiku didn't like men, so why did he think of that sleepy, wavy-haired boy every time?

Every single time.

It annoyed him. He was sure of that. Yet somehow, thinking of Herakles made him smile. The perfect messiness of his hair made him laugh. Every word written in his nearly illegible handwriting made him feel warm inside.

Kiku kicked a stray rock on the sidewalk. Is this what they called a crush?

He didn't know. He just didn't know.

Sigh. Kiku's getting pretty angsty here. I don't think I'll have a lot of problem with the whole 'questioning sexual orientation' thing though, considering I've been through it myself. Anyway, author's notes:

Name signs are an alternate to finger-signing names in the deaf community. Since finger spelling out someone's name can take a long time (Could you imagine spelling out F-E-L-I-C-I-A-N-O every time you said his name), sign names are an alternative, although people with names under 3 letter may not use them.

Name signs usually come from one of 4 things: Personality, appearance, a play on someone's name, or a hobby or job. Kiku's name sign is a play on his name. Tapping your ear twice means 'hear' in sign language, and although the kanji for Kiku's name means Chrysanthemum, when written in hiragana 'kiku' means 'to hear'. So the letter K was mixed with 'hear' to make his name sign.

Feliciano's is pretty obvious. He's a happy guy, so his name sign is happy. Ludwig's sign is a play on his personality and appearance. He's both built like a rock and has a very hard-headed personality. Gilbert's will probably end up being 'mischievous'. I have nothing for Lovino. I'm open to suggestions for him.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm going to attempt to get a new chapter up by new years. Happy Holidays!