Italy rolled over and groggily opened his eyes, the face of his new allies coming into focus. "Ve...what happened?" He asked, sitting up and placing a hand to his throbbing head. Why does my head hurt so much?

"You passed out again, idioto." Romano said, rather unsympathetically, though Italy saw a small amount of relief on his brother's face. It wasn't very visible at all, in fact very few would be able to pick out the emotion behind the older Italian's usual mask of annoyance and just plain spite.

"Oh, right...sorry about that." Italy said as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. I must have really hit my head hard when I fell over.

"Are you sure you're okay?" America asked, "You started getting all huffy and you did a nose dive straight into the floor."

"Yeah, he's fine." Romano answered for Italy as he peeled his brother up off the floor. "He's kind of a dumb ass, so it happens a lot."

"No it doesn't..." Italy said slowly, still mentally recovering from signing the armistice and then fainting face first into the floor.

"For Christ's sake, Veneziano! You've got a fucking nose bleed!"

"Should I get some tissues?" China asked.

"Tilt your head back and pinch the bridge of your nose, that'll help." Britain inputted.

Romano glared angrily at everyone, even though they were trying to help, "No! I got tissues in my car, and that'll just make the blood run down the back of his throat! Stop trying to fucking help him, he doesn't want your damn help!"

That wasn't so true, Italy needed help. Especially since Germany wouldn't help him anymore, "But Romano, I-"

"NO! You don't. These people were just our enemies a little while ago, they were insulting us, and looking down on us! Just because we signed a fucking piece of paper that says we're on the same side, doesn't mean everything they did never happened! We almost died, Veneziano!"

"But they're being nice now..."

"You're too fucking forgiving, fratello. Come on, we're leaving!"

The room was dead silent as Romano grabbed Italy by the wrist and tugged him out of the room. The Italian just looked back at his new allies as he was dragged towards the door. There faces all said the same thing, 'He's right.'

He is right, for all the trouble they caused me, for all the trouble they're causing Germany. I don't have to like them or let them help me because I signed a piece of paper that says we're allied. And they don't have to do the same for me, in fact they shouldn't. But I still want help, and I still want friends, and it's not their fault they're in a war and we have to hate and kill each other because of that.

Am I too forgiving? Why should I be less forgiving if that's all I want from everyone else? How can I expect Germany to forgive me if I don't forgive, too? Of course, Germany probably won't forgive me, and I've already forgiven him for what he'll do to me. But that's okay, I'm used to that.

I love him, anyway.

xxxxx

"Hey fratello?"

"Damn it, Veneziano, I'm trying to sleep here!"

"Oh...sorry. I just had a question."

"Fine. What the hell is it so I can go back to sleep?"

"Ve, when will the armistice be publicly announced?"

"For fuck's sake, talking about that damn thing again? Does it matter? We saved our asses, can't that be good enough for you?"

"I just wanted to know, I thought maybe it would be better if Germany heard it from me, and if I can find him before it goes over the radio I-"

Romano shot up out of his bed and glared at his brother, "Forget about that goddam potato bastard!"

"But I..." Italy caught himself before accidentally mentioning his love for Germany, "...I need him."

"NO. YOU. DON'T. Go back to your fucking room and get to sleep, now!"

Italy clasped his hands pleadingly, "Please fratello, please! Do you know what it's like to have your most favorite person in the world hate you?"

Romano's eye twitched and his whole face morphed into anger. He answered spitefully, "Yes."

"Oh..." Italy said, apologetically, he didn't realize his brother had hurt the same way as him, before, "Who?"

Romano grit his teeth and his eyes narrowed, "My own fucking brother."

That hurt. That really hurt. Italy didn't know what to say. He had just declared that Germany was his favorite person in the world. To his own brother.

"Now get out, dammit!" Romano spat, his voice sounded a little choked up.

"F-fratello? Please, no! I don't hate you! You're my brother, you don't count!"

"I know I don't fucking count, now do as I said and get out!"

"But, fratello!"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!" Romano screeched as he chucked a pillow at Italy's head.

The pillow hit Italy square in the face, and it didn't really hurt, but the gesture did. He slammed his brother's door shut and ran out of the house, crying.

"Everyone hates me, it's all my fault! Everything's my fault and everyone hates me! No one will ever like me! Never ever never! I don't deserve to have friends, or brothers, or anything! I don't deserve to be a country, either! I just can't handle it! I can't take this! Everyone hates me, everyone hates me! They'll always hate me, too! Nothing can change that!"

He jumped the small wooden fence around their home.

"Stupid war, stupid world, stupid politics! I hate being a country, I hate it!"

Just beyond the fence was a small meadow that Italy often found himself in, weather his mood was good or bad. This was where he found himself sobbing face first into the sleeping flower buds and long grass at this moment.

"What if me and Germany hadn't been countries? What if we were just people? What would things be like then? Would we even know each other? I think we would! I think God would help us find each other!" Italy smiled faintly at the thought, the tears falling from his eyes slower, "And we'd spend all day playing football and talking, and I could always make him pasta and we'd always have fun and Germany would never have to do paper work and everything would be happy! We wouldn't have to worry about meetings, or wars, or surrendering! Everything would be fun! And then someday we'd just go to heaven like everyone else, and it would be okay, because we would have had a happy life!

"We would know that we were going to die, humans know about how long they're supposed to live. We would know when we were getting old and then one day we'd just be gone to heaven...but countries..." Italy smile fell off his face, "We live so long, and we never really know how long we're supposed to live, it's like a game. I don't know if I'm going to die tomorrow, or maybe a million years from now." He voice faltered, "And with a life so long we have so much time to sin...so many enemies to kill, so many people to hurt...do countries even go to heaven?"

Italy rolled on his back and looked up at the stars above him quietly, it felt like a thousand angles were looking down at him. He waited, as if one of those angles were going to answer his question. Finally he whispered, "I think so. I think Grandpa Rome went to heaven, and Holy Rome, too. I think maybe God understands that we do what we can, that it's not our fault that we're countries.

"I think God just wants us to always do our best and be kind to each other. I think God would let us go to heaven if we really really tried." Italy smiled, "I want to go to heaven."

He thrust his arms up at the sky and grinned, looking at the stars between his fingers, "I could see Grandpa Rome, and Holy Rome, and we could be so happy. But I don't know if I deserve it..."

His arms fell along with his face, "I betrayed Germany and Japan, I hurt mi fratello's feelings, I don't always try my best and when I do I mess things up. I'm lazy, gluttonous, I'm envious, too. But only of humans because they get to live like normal. Maybe I'm a little greedy, too, because of all these things I want. I want to be human, I want Germany to be human, sometimes I just want to die...

"Those are cardinal sins, four out of seven. I'm probably going to Hell, because I'm such a lazy, useless, traitor. Maybe, though, maybe God will forgive me. Maybe if I keep forgiving other people God will forgive me, too, and maybe so will Germany."

Italy's heart swelled at the thought of being forgiven by Germany, "Maybe if I go talk to him first thing in the morning and tell him that I'm sorry, that it was for the best, that one of us was going to die, if not both. Maybe he'll forgive me, I know I probably don't deserve it, but I want it so bad. I want Germany to stay my friend forever. I don't care that he doesn't love me, back. As long as he's still my friend I'll be happy. All I want is to be with Germany and do my best for him.

"He'll respect my honesty, I bet. Yeah, that could work. We could still be friends! I just have to tell him first. Tomorrow morning I'll wake up extra early! That way I can make Romano breakfast and clean the house for him. I bet he'd like that, he's so mad at me and I want him to know I don't hate him. I love him too, but I don't love him the same way I love Germany. That doesn't mean I love him less. He needs to know that! Then I can go to Germany's and tell him everything and beg for his forgiveness, maybe he'll listen, I hope he does. It's worth a shot at least!"

Italy beamed at his little plan. Things really seemed to be looking up, sometimes just going out and sitting under the stars helped.

"Maybe then, if I do everything right, when I die I can go to heaven, too."

Author's note: And there you have it! Sorry this chapter was so religious, but Italy is a religious country and I thought it was an important topic to bring up with Feliciano's character. Especially since he has such a simple idea of religion. There's a God. He just wants us to be nice and do our best. It just kinda reflects on who he is as a person and what he values in other people. Sorry if I've offended you by putting that point of view in my story at all.

Sorry if Italy's whole soliloquy was too long for you, but It's kind of an important part of this story because this whole little conversation with himself will resurface in the sequel, somehow. And there was a small amount of foreshadowing here. Very very small, but it's still there. (Don't worry, he's not going to suddenly die and float on up to heaven, as far as I have planned anyway. XD)

Anyway, I've officially decided. Two chapters left. One from Italy's point of view, and one from Germany's. Maybe, if I feel like some loose ends need to be tied up, I'll throw in one final chapter from Italy's point of view, but I doubt it.

P.S. I really love reviews, I kinda feel like a dick asking for them, but what you guys think is important to me. I would like to know how you feel about my story so far, positive feedback is welcome as well as negative feedback, since if I don't know what I'm doing wrong I can't fix it. Just keep any negative feedback you have constructive, since I really don't know what I'm doing wrong if you just right something along the lines of, 'Boo, this shit sucks.'