Alright so first off I want to say that I am REALLY sorry for how late this is. If anyone cares at all why it is so late I have two legitimate reasons. And another one that's not her fault (this is DeepSentinel, her beta)

1. This weekend was Otakon, which is an anime convention on the West coast of the United States. It was so much fun and I don't regret going for a second. Nor do I regret buying the Hetalia poster with Russia sitting on top of everyone…. ^_^

2. The second reason is… my computer crashed… with the new chapter on it. What is even worse is that I have to send my computer out to get it fixed so as of now I am using my family computer, so expect updates to be a little spotty. Hopefully though it will be back home safe with me soon!

3. A lovely little thing called school started up... *hangs head in shame*

Other than that I really have nothing to say right now other than thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing and just keeping up with this story. It really means a lot!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia… but if I did there would be more segments of Spain the boss and chibi Romano =]

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Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

Mom wasn't moving at all, which I knew was a bad sign. Mom always seemed to be moving, even if it was just swaying back and forth or twiddling his fingers. At the moment, however his entire body was stiff, and his face was unchanging.

I could barely even breathe myself. I had no idea what he was even looking at. No idea what that picture contained. Was it one of the pictures of us as a family? If it was I didn't know what I would tell him. I couldn't really lie to him, he's my mom, though telling the truth was honestly the last thing that I wanted to do.

I stood there for what seemed like eternity. I didn't want to speak, fearing that the words that would escape my mouth would ruin the moment. I admit I was relishing a bit in the quiet that was sure to lead to an explosion of noise from not only my mother but from myself.

Eventually Mom looked up from the picture and his eyes met mine. They were filled with so many different emotions that I couldn't name them all if I tried. There was happiness, an unbridled joy, and most importantly, there was hope in his eyes.

'What is Mom hoping for?' I wondered.

I didn't have to wait long, though, as Mom opened his mouth to speak.

"What does this mean?" He asked, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Ummm" I answered as intelligently as I could. "I don't know? I don't even remember what the picture is of, to be honest."

Well they do say that honesty is the best policy. Plus, this way I won't get stuck in a lie. Hopefully.

"V-ve?! How could you not remember carrying around a picture like this?! It would be my treasure forever and ever!" Mom said, getting slightly worked up. His grip on the picture tightened and I could only hope that it didn't get crumpled.

"Well, I was making a scrapbook earlier, see? I was probably going to use that one in it, but I can't remember now." I replied back, keeping my answer simple with some truth to it. One thing Dad had drilled into me was to never give away too much information when you don't have to. Hopefully I was doing it right, the whole not giving away too much information thing.

"But this is a real picture right?! This really happened?! It's not edited like those ones at America's house, where they put people's heads on other people's bodies and stuff?! It's called photo-whatever, right? But this is real!?"

Mom was getting really worked up now. I could practically see the sparkles in his eyes as he prattled on. Honestly, I was getting really worried.

What was in that picture?

"I could tell you if it was real or not if you showed it to me." I told him.

"R-really?" He asked excitedly.

"Really really."

There was no hesitation as he turned the picture around for me to see.

I was in shock.

It was that picture. Out of all of the pictures that I was sure were in my pocket, why was it this one?!

In the foreground was me on some old stone steps looking about 6 or 7, in a white dress with red roses on it. I had a bunch of flowers in my hands and was smiling happily at the person holding the camera. But I wasn't worried about me, oh no, I was more worried about what was going on behind me.

In the background, you could clearly make out a giant church, as well as a couple standing in the doorway of said church holding hands. There were people surrounding them on either side of the steps. Everyone there wore huge smiles on their faces, though most were hard to make out due to them being blurred. As I remember the moment, no one was really able to keep still for too long, they were all too excited.

The couple at the top of the stairs, while small, was not the least bit blurry. Anyone with eyes could make out the darker skin of the person on the right. For once his hair looked slightly tame and despite the distance from the camera, you could clearly see a big goofy grin and joy filled green eyes. He was in a white tuxedo with a white undershirt and a red tie.

On the right was another man holding his hand. This man was shorter than his counterpart and his skin tone fairer. His hair was as it always seemed to be, funny curl on the right side of his head and all. His face was covered in a giant blush and he looked like he was about to burst. His tuxedo, much like his counterparts was white, but his shirt was red while his tie was white.

In other words, it was my Uncles Romano and Antonio. Also known as South Italy and Spain.

And in case you haven't guessed, this was at their wedding. Looking at the picture it wasn't hard to tell as even Mom had figured it out after a few seconds.

Now why was this picture so horrible, you ask?

Well, I will tell you in a few simple words.

Other. Future. Couples. Shown. On. Sidelines.

I mean, come on! Can't I catch a little break here?! If you looked off to the left side it was plain that Uncle Prussia had his arm wrapped around Canada's waist. And no I don't call him Uncle Canada…. And I won't until Uncle finally 'puts a ring on it' or 'permanently claims his vital regions'. And then off a bit to the right were America and England. Let's just say that America so caught up in exuberance he jumped on top of England… literally. If I remember correctly, England ended up falling down the stairs and landing at my feet with America on top of him. I'm pretty sure I laughed.

However, it seemed like some form of god was on my side. Mom and Dad were not next to each other in this picture. Mom was too busy running towards his brother to hug him, leaving Dad standing alone next to Austria and Hungary.

"Ve~! So is it true?! Did Fratello get married?!" Mom asked joyfully, looking like he was going to burst if he didn't get an answer.

I said the only thing that came to mind.

"….May~be~…."

Apparently that was all the conformation he needed. I swear to you he started to shine like a thousand suns, and I almost had to look away. It was rare to see Mom this excited. I had to avert my eyes, or rick getting blinded.

"Oh I am so happy for him! I bet he and Spain are soooo happy together! I bet brother put up a fight though, because he never acts like he likes Spain but I know he does! It's because we are one country, so I know how warm his heart gets when he is near Spain! When does this happen?! Is it going to happen soon?! I need to know or I'll die! Ve~ you can tell me, right?! I promise I won't tell anyone! Ever! Not even Germany and I tell him everything!"

"I would love to tell you, but the pasta is boiling over." I replied. As mom had been rambling in order to avoid direct ye contact I had decided to look over his shoulder. What I saw was not pretty.

As all of that had been going on the oven had not been turned off. The pot of water was now boing over, and its contents were everywhere.

"The pasta!" Mom cried as he rushed to turn off the stove, never once letting go of the picture.

"It will be okay… I think. It wasn't already in there was it? Or were you just boiling the water?"

"The pasta is ruined!" Mom wailed over the failed pot of pasta.

Oh god. Not again.

Before I could console him further however Mom looked gown at his hands and saw the picture still resting in them.

"Oh but this makes me so happy~!" He said while looking at the photo. "I have to go tell Romano!"

He jumped to his feet, all traces of sadness gone, and started to head out of the kitchen area. He grabbed my hand along the way and dragged me with him. As this happened my brain tried to process what he said.

"Wait,-what?!" I asked astonished.

He wouldn't! He couldn't!

Then I remembered it was Mom and I knew he could and would.

"We are gonna go tell Romano that he gets married to Spain! He is so shy when it comes to Spain so maybe this will make him less worried. I mean if they are married that means Spain loves him too right? So we need to show him!"

At this point, he had dragged me out of the hotel room completely and we were once again amidst the maze of halls.

"Well yes. I mean no. I mean- ARG I don't know what I mean!" I said. I quickly got my thoughts together and answered a bit more rationally.

"Yes Spain loves Romano, and yes they are married, but we can't tell them! What if one doesn't feel that way about the other yet?! Then one would end up heart broken and they would never get together and it would just be one big mess I would like to avoid."

I was so caught up in my speech I never noticed mom knocking on a door and said door opening. In my defense I have learned that when arguing with mom it was best to look at the floor. That way he could not use his sad faces to guilt you into anything.

"So we can't tell him?" Mom asked sadly.

"No. Now I want you to promise you won't tell your fratello that he gets married to Spain. Pro-"

I never finished that sentence because I was interrupted by a cry of "What the hell!?"

My head shot up, and I saw not only my mother's face, but a face very similar to his.

The face of his fratello.

And he looked livid, and embarrassed. Not a good combination for a certain Italian

Someone, shoot me now….

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And what will happen next?!

Who knows! Not even I know!

Okay… I do know, but it's a secret….

And yes this chapter is kind of filler-ish but it is setting up the next one, which will not be.

Spoiler Alert: A certain country obsessed with l'amore will be in the next chapter, 3 guesses who!

Don't forget to review, I love hearing all of you opinions!