Quiet worked well in his favor as Italy stealthily made his way across the grass towards Germany's house. When he had left the other day he had been angry (more like furious) that Germany had dared to pull the stunt that he did; however, now he was going to remind his blonde that he was never to be crossed unless you are able to bear with the consequences.

Only the dogs heard him approach, and as he neared where they slept they whimpered at his presence. He barely threw them a glance as he kept going past them. Normally they would have run up and licked his hand but ever since he had woken up feeling different they seemed afraid to come close. Seemed just as well, he shrugged as he circled around the back, and it didn't bother him any whether they liked the new him or not.

It didn't take long to spot his usual entrance into Germany's home. Back in the beginning when they first met Italy would often visit to find Germany changing locks in order to keep his unwanted visitor at bay, and each time the small brunette would simply giggle and watch in amusement at his futile efforts. It wasn't through the doors the he was able to slip in and out of the house, but through the window he was standing before now. The frame that held the pane of glass was only held in by a few loose nails and by pulling one of them out it allowed the entire thing to swing open and give him just enough space to squeeze through into the blonde's basement. And little did Germany know, he was actually very good at keeping certain secrets to himself.

Once both feet were planted firmly inside, Italy carefully reclosed the small window to hide all evidence of his entrance and leave the dumbfounded blonde guessing how he managed it. Just as he had hoped, the entire building was silent at this time of night and he began his trek past the door that led to Prussia's room and up the small flight of stairs that joined the rest of the house. It was a familiar path and he knew it well enough to avoid all the loose floor boards as he casually headed towards the upstairs bedrooms with one singular mission in mind.

The bedroom door opened easily enough and what little light there was provided just enough for the brunette to see his intended target. There was a large blanketed lump on the bed and Italy began to creep across the floor towards it indicative of a large cat right down to the bright fuchsia eyes that practically gleamed in the darkness as they closed in on their prey. Just as he had any night before, he eased his way onto the bed, careful not to let the added weight to the mattress disturb the other occupant and sidled up as close as he could to the huddled form. A wicked grin formed on his lips as he pulled the small knife he'd concealed and leaned in close. "Svegliati Germany~" Italy whispered, trying to stifle the giggle that attempted to escape, "I have a surprise for you~!"

The figure rolled over at the sound of his voice and pulled the blanket down from off his head. Italy's face fell as bleary red eyes took in the Italian perched next to him and pale arms quickly encircled the other's waist to draw him closer. "Look at that," the albino mumbled while still half-asleep, "there are perks to sleeping in West's bed…"

"Prussia!?" Italy hissed as the ex-nation settled down to sleep once again while unconsciously nuzzling into the brunette's hair. "What are you doing here? And where's Germany?!"

Prussia just sighed as he cuddled the smaller nation and letting his eyes slip closed. "West wanted to switch…"

Italy growled from where he had been caught in the other's grip, his arms pinned down to his sides and pulled snug against the albino's chest. "Prussia, let me go!"

There was a small giggle from above him and if possible he was being held tighter. "No…"

"Prussia," Italy started again, stilling as he fumed and punctuating every word so that it dripped with venom. "Let. Me. Go." Silence followed his statement save for the slowed breathing that began again.

Threat ignored and temper rising, Italy settled for thrashing in his captors arms with growls and hisses and his struggling effectively woke Prussia from his slumbering state. Confused and sleep deprived, he sat up while trying to hold onto the struggling brunette. "Italy? What the…? Hey! Calm down!" Luckily for him, although he hadn't realized it at the time, it was only nails that dug into his arms as the small knife had been lost among the blankets and the smaller nation twisted and snarled and fought.

And as suddenly as it began, Italy's struggles suddenly ceased and they froze in the awkward positions they had found themselves in. Prussia was breathing heavily as he tried to see what the other was doing, but the brunette had managed to turn around in his arms and was now facing away from him. "Italy, what was that?" he demanded, raising an eyebrow even if the other couldn't see it, "What are you doing here?"

There was silence that seemed to stretch on far longer than the albino was able to deal with and his patience was quickly waning as he awaited an answer until there was a small sniffle that softened his harsher stare. "Prussia," he heard the choked whisper accompanied with another sniff as the brunette turned his face farther away from view, "You're hurting me…"

"Oh, Scheiße, Italy. I'm sorry!" Prussia quickly apologize and loosed his hold on the other. "I didn't mean to-"An elbow collided with the center of his face and the albino was sent off the bed, taking half of the bedding and the bedside lamp with him to the floor.

Germany's eyes sprung open at the sound of the crash and he sat bolt upright in Prussia's bed at the sound of his brother's cussing. Instincts kicking in more than rational thought, he leapt up and ran up the stairs meeting an Italian radiating death as he stormed down the hallway being chased by the Prussian with a hand clamped over his profoundly bleeding nose and sputtering every curse in the book.

As soon as Italy's eyes locked onto the terrified blonde's he marched up to him, slapped him across the face and continued out the front door without another word. Germany watched him go before facing his furious brother. "Prussia, I-"

"No, don't speak you Sitzpinkler! When you offered to switch for a few nights, I knew something was up but I let it go. Had I known you had angered that Alp I wouldn't have taken it in the first place!" He waved about his free hand while he ranted, blood still spilling out from beneath his pinched nose and Germany frowned as droplets landed on the floor. "Now look what's happened to my awesome face!"

The blonde rolled his eyes as he pointed a finger to his own still prominent wound. The cut had scabbed over, but it was showing signs that it was going to leave a scar on his skin. "It could have been worse. At least yours is temporary."

"Temporary? He nearly broke my nose!" The albino groaned dramatically as he whined, "It's going to leave a terrible bruise and what will I tell anyone who asks how I got it?"

"Just say you angered Hungary again if it bothers you that much."

Prussia visibly brightened at the suggestion. "That could work."

Further along down the hallway, another door was wrenched open and a ragged looking brunette stepped out, his hair sticking out of place, glasses askew, and robe pulled tightly against him. "Will the both of you be quiet." He glared between the two of them at being awoken in the middle of the night. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"Fresse!" Prussia growled in return, resuming his fight with his brother. "I thought you changed the locks yesterday!"

"I did!" the blonde tried to argue back and ignoring an appalled and fuming Austria as he walked back into his room and shut the door. "He just bypasses them!"

"Well you better think of something here soon." He pulled his hand away as the flow slowed down and grimaced at the sight of the blood coating his hand. "He'll just as soon turn on his allies as his enemies. Did you even find out what happened with France?"

The German shifted a little, remembering the Italian's delight at recalling his mission. "The spy hasn't seen anything…"

"Yeah? Probably because he's dead and that little terror that was just here was the one who did it." Germany opened his mouth to argue back but Prussia cut him off. "It's been a week! I've known France for years; he doesn't just stop making public appearances just because he's been beaten down by someone. Occasional bouts of depression when he's sure his hair's a mess, but even those only last an afternoon!" A few more mumbled curses and Prussia turned away and stomped down the hallway. "Just because we're not on the same side this time doesn't mean I don't care what happens to him!"

"Where do you think you're going?" he called after his brother's retreating back.

"To my own bed where I won't have my throat slit in the middle of the night!" Prussia shouted back over his shoulder, quickly disappearing out of sight. Germany groaned and ran a hand through his mussed up hair. He was far to riled up to be able to back to sleep, and someone needed to clean up the blood before it stained.

As the shouting, stomping about, and door slamming came to close and house was once again quiet, Austria tsked moodily. "Finally." He muttered as he buried his head into his pillow.

AN: Hmm... I wonder what happened to France...

German curses? Yeah, don't repeat those. At least one of them will get you slapped for ever speaking it aloud. Oh, but an Alp is a mythical creature of German folklore. They tend to sneak into people's homes in the middle of the night, perch on top of your chest and crush you or give you nightmares (hence the German word for nightmare is 'Alptraum' or 'elf dream'). Also, Alps are just the male version, Mares are the more common female versions (and part of where the word nightmare comes from). I always find that interesting/love mythical creatures.