A/N at bottom

Fall, 1619

Matthieu sat under a large oak tree in Paris, quietly waiting for his friends to show up. Though the trio doesn't get to meet up too often, they had grown close over the past five years. Matthieu squinted his eyes and made out the shape of his German friend. He smiled as Ludwig approached.

"Guten tag, Matthieu."

"Bonjour Ludwig. Do you know where Romano is?"

"No idea. I thought he was with you. Maybe he won't show up..."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure he will!"

"I don't know..." Ludwig muttered.

"...You don't want him here," Matthieu sighed.

"What!? Of course I do!"

Matthieu attempted to raise an eyebrow.

"It's just... He's always so negative! Nothing is ever good enough for him!"

"Ludwig, you're not exactly a ray of sunshine yourself," Matthieu chuckled.

"And there's nothing wrong with that! At least I-"

"Hey guys."

Matthieu and Ludwig jumped in surprise. In the middle of their argument, their Italian friend appeared.

"Oh, hi Romano!" Ludwig said with a smile plastered across his face, hoping Romano hadn't heard too much of their conversation.

Romano, in turn, looked like a mess. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and he looked like he hadn't slept in months.

"Romano, what's wrong?" Asked Matthieu, the ever concerned member of the group.

"...I'm fine."

"Are you sure about that?" Ludwig muttered under his breath.

"Shut up. I said I'm fine. Just move on with it already."

Ludwig sighed deeply. "Whatever."

"I can't do this."

Romano and Matthieu looked up at Ludwig.

"What do you mean?" Matthieu wondered aloud.

"You," Ludwig spoke with a serious expression.

"Me?" Romano questioned. "What did I do?"

"You've been silent all day!" Uttered Ludwig. "You haven't shouted, swore, or complained about something once this entire day! What's going on with you?"

Romano shrugged and looked at the ground.

"You know whatever it is you can tell us," Matthieu encouraged.

"It'smybrother," Romano rapidly whispered.

"What was that?" Ludwig asked.

"It's my... Brother."

"You mean Antonio?" Matthieu questioned.

"No, well, yes, kind of. It's also my... other brother."

Matthieu and Ludwig locked eyes.

Romano rarely spoke about Feliciano, and when he did it was often with dislike. Ludwig cleared his throat.

"Do you want to tell us what happened, or-"

"Antonio likes him more than me."

"That's obviously untrue." Matthieu gasped.

"But what if it's not?" Mumbled Romano.

"Come on Romano. Don't be ridiculous! Why would you even think that?" Ludwig questioned.

"It's just that... He's always comparing us!"

"Oh Romano, I'm sure he doesn't mean it!" Matthieu sighed. "Besides, the two of prefer you over your Feliciano any day! Right, Ludwig?"

Ludwig looked up.

"We- we do? But we haven't even met Feli-" with that, Matthieu stomped on Ludwig's toes.

"Ouch! I mean, yeah! Of course we do Romano! Don't worry!"

"...Promise?"

"Of course," the other two exclaimed.

"Hey, you jerks better not think I'm a softy now." Romano grumbled after the ordeal was over.

"There's the Romano we've been looking for," Ludwig whispered to Matthieu.

"I suppose so." Matthieu whispered back.

"Oh, and if you guys ever tell anybody about this, I'll kill you in your sleep."

However, no matter how much reassurance he received from Matthieu and Ludwig about him and his brother, Romano always had lingering doubts in the back of his mind. But he would never, even if threatened with death, admit how he felt.

And that's the chapter! Next part goes up next Friday. Feel free to review with any criticisms you may have!