(( Hello! Next chapter! Yay!
No more chitchat. Chapter 2, commence! ))
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Italy brought Germany into his house safely. "Would you like to lay down on the couch, or in bed?" Italy asked.
"Whatever is closer," Germany quietly answered. That would be the couch in the living room. He wearily sat down, holding the blanket around him. The other brought a hand up to his forehead.
Veneciano noted how hot he felt, as Ludwig stared up at him. He took a seat beside him.
"Germany… what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" he asked.
"… My head," he answered. "I keep seeing things…"
"Maybe it's because you have a fever. I'll get you some cold lemonade, okay?" Veneciano suggested, standing up. He looked down at Ludwig, who had a disheartening expression of nervousness written all over his face.
Before leaving, Italy knelt down on the floor in front of him and grabbed Germany's ankles. He struggled to lift up his legs and shift them up onto the couch, using them to turn him to a laying down position across the furniture.
Italy smiled, then left him momentarily for the kitchen.
Now reclined on his back, Germany looked around the room. Italy's house was always very welcoming and comfortable. Stress, even Veneciano-induced, seemed to roll off his shoulders whenever he decided to visit. Though, he couldn't help but notice a few small stacks of junk laying around. Italy was lazy, but not untidy.
Veneciano came back with a glass of lemonade and a usual vacant smile occupying his face. "It's nice and cold from making it this morning," he said. He then noticed Germany's attention turned to the mess. Afraid of being chastised, he quickly added, "I was just going through lots of my old stuff! I'll throw away some and put away the rest! I'm sorry for not keeping my house clean."
His guest said nothing. Feeling a bit awkward, Italy helped him sit up a bit so he could take the glass and sip some of the juice down. Before he could lay back down, Veneciano slipped a fluffy pillow under Germany's head and shoulders to make him comfortable.
Italy took the glass back when he was done, even though it was only half empty. Germany lay back and sighed, relishing how nice and cool the pillow felt against his skin. His headache was dying down a bit, but it still throbbed once every five seconds or so.
"I think I might keep cleaning to get this stuff out of the way. Do you want to sleep somewhere quieter?" Italy offered.
Ludwig just slowly shook his head no.
Something was really wrong with his Germany. Italy was worried by how quiet and subdued he was. He could even be considered a bit clingy at the moment. It was really confusing, making Italy feel slightly disturbed.
Despite this sudden change, though, Ludwig was really important to him. No matter what was wrong with him.
Being that there was a considerably thick coat of dust on everything, Italy went to grab an apron and some dusting cloths.
Ready to bust some dust bunnies, he came back to head straight for the closest stack of stuff. A good majority of it was his old art supplies and pictures. Trying not to be too loud, he began to dust things off and organize them into a newly emptied closet in the hallway. Germany would close his eyes for a bit, then open them whenever Italy came back to move the next item.
Though, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to close his eyes again when Italy left. There was a picture leaning up against a trunk, revealed after several other things had been taken away.
It was very old. The canvas had stretched a bit and become loose over time, the markings fading a bit. Yet, the drawing was still relatively distinct. It appeared to be a sort of small child in laying down in maid's clothing, fast asleep. The picture was probably drawn with the maid unaware.
He heard a small cry of surprise as something down the hall toppled over. "Darn it…" Italy mumbled.
Germany slowly got up and made his way over to the picture, crouching down in front of it. Something about it… really intrigued him. He couldn't stop looking at it. Upon closer examination, he noticed that the sleeping maid had a small curl of hair, similar to Italy's.
Why? Why did this picture mesmerize him?
"Oh, you're up," Veneciano said. Ludwig looked over to notice that the Italian was now standing beside him. He craned his neck curiously to see what his guest was looking at. "That's one of the oldest pictures I own. But didn't draw it. It was left behind by someone a long time ago."
"You… liked it that much?" Germany softly let out, not even realizing what he was saying.
"It was from someone who was really important to me. I don't know if he noticed that he dropped it," he continued to admit, fiddling around nervously with a crease in his apron.
"We have to go back! I dropped it!"
"We can't afford to turn around now, it's too dangerous."
"But what if I forget what she looks like?"
"If you really love someone, you'll never their face. Don't worry."
"Ow… Ow…" Germany gasped with a grimace, holding his head with both hands in pain. Italy quickly caught him before he fell over from losing balance.
"Germany! What's wrong?" Italy frantically asked. Not gaining a response, he pulled him back over to the couch and laid him down. He rushed off to the kitchen, then came back with a small bag of ice.
Veneciano came back, and knelt beside Ludwig. He reached over to pull one of Germany's hands away from his forehead so he could carefully place the bag of ice there instead. Keeping hold of that hand, he stood a bit so he could sit on a small space on the couch next to Germany's hip. He reached over with his free hand to grab Germany's other one, which was holding his aching head.
Worriedly, Italy sat there beside his friend, holding both his hands so that he wouldn't hurt himself more. Remembering the times when his brother had developed a migraine, Veneciano used his thumb to stroke the back of Germany's hand, while holding on.
Fixating on that reassuring feeling of Italy's touch, Ludwig distracted himself from thinking about how much it hurt. Slowly, he started to calm down as the ice dulled the pain.
…
Italy was preparing dinner in the kitchen. He had left Germany in the living room to sleep in the meantime. He didn't like this illness that his friend had. Not at all. But he was going to help him get better again.
You… liked it that much?
Italy thought to himself, realizing that Germany had said that while he was explaining the picture. What did that mean? It wasn't a bad drawing at all. Did he not like it? And why did it seem that he knew what it was?
Whatever it was, he temporarily put it out of his mind to continue cooking. Italy had been experimenting with combining wurst and pasta. The first time wasn't so great, because he tried adding potatoes, too. But now, with the wurst chopped like sausages, and with the appropriate spices added to the sauce, it would work this time. For certain.
He finished everything, putting the boiled pot of pasta into a colander, then giving the sauce with wurst a quick stir while turning off the heat. Italy retrieved two plates to scoop some pasta onto. He then gave each a good amount of sauce on top. One had a bit more wurst on it than the other, made specially for Ludwig.
Veneciano took the plates into the dining room, where he had set the table nicely for the both of them. Before the food cooled down too much, he fast-walked to the living room. Cautiously, he placed a hand on his sleeping guest's shoulder to wake him up.
"Germany~ It's time for dinner," he happily and softly said.
Ludwig slowly came to, blinking in the light. "Alright," he responded. He sat up on his own and got to his feet. He followed Veneciano to the dining room. He paused a bit, noticing the hard work his host put into this supper, and then continued to sit down in the chair offered to him.
Italy took a seat across the table from Germany, looking a bit anxious. He wanted to know what the other thought about his new dish.
Germany hesitantly took a bite, a piece of pasta and meat on the end of his fork. The taste was so familiar… He realized that the meat was actually wurst. Eagerly, he took another bite, and another.
Italy beamed with pleasure, knowing that Ludwig liked it. He began to eat, too. He didn't like wurst as much, but anything tasted better when Germany was happy.
…
Notice me… Notice me…
Germany stared at Italy, reclining back a bit while sitting back on the couch. Veneciano decided to sweep up the dust off the floor where the pile of things used to be, before retiring to bed. He was back in his apron again, using his broom to move all the dust and dirt into a neat pile to be swept up later. He was a bit tired, spacing out while completing this task with his back to Germany.
Please notice me?
Without knowing why he did it, Ludwig reached out. He grasped a fold of the apron and tugged on it.
Instantly, Italy responded, "E-eh! I'm sorry, Holy Roma-" He stopped, realizing where he was when he turned around to face Germany.
Germany stared at him. "What… did you call me?"
"It was nothing, I was a bit dazed, so…" Italy trailed off, looking down into Germany's big, blue eyes. "Holy… Roman Empire," he couldn't help but answer.
Ludwig's eyes widened a bit. "That name… Say it again?" he requested, feeling like it wasn't himself speaking anymore.
"Holy Roman Empire," he repeated, frozen in place.
"Chibitalia," Germany responded, feeling like a door opened in his brain to let a flood of memories, previously locked up, flow through his mind.
His blue eyes, his blonde hair, those sideburns… "H-Holy Roman Empire," Italy repeated again, a smile spreading across his face.
"Ta… daima," Ludwig said in a distant voice, like he had said those many years ago. Instantly, Italy threw himself into Germany's arms, tears of happiness forming in the corners of his eyes.
"You're okay! I waited so long, Holy Roman Empire," he cried.
Ludwig felt his face heat up with a blush, ignoring his throbbing headache. "I promised I would be back. I'm sorry I took so long…"
"It's-"
Italy was suddenly cut off by the sound of someone pounding furiously on his front door.
Veneciano knew who it was.
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Sidenote: "Tadaima" is pretty much Japanese for "I'm home" or "I've arrived".
I hope you liked this chapter! Review if you get the chance.