Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

EstSeb: Smart

"Um, Ed, could you help me with this please?" Marcello asked.

Eduard rolled his eyes, before abandoning his homework to see what his roommate was up to. He wasn't too surprised to see that it was science – and he couldn't help but wonder why Marcello even bothered having it in the first place – and he started to scan the question, trying to see what the assignment was.

He tried to ignore how nice the Italian smelled. Did he use apple shampoo or something?

"You need to explain the process of heat transference," Eduard explained. "This is seventh grade stuff."

"Could you please explain this to me?" Marcello asked with a pout and wide eyes.

Eduard sighed, before he explained the process of convection, conduction and radiation. Marcello nodded his head as he wrote it down, but Eduard could already tell that he didn't really understand what the Estonian was saying.

Why did he have to have such a bothersome roommate? Between science and mathematics that he had to explain, it was a miracle that he managed to get his own homework done. Though at least Marcello only bothered him with the mathematics when it was algebra, or as Marcello put it, 'the unholy union between maths and the alphabet'.

Eduard wasn't going to admit that he found that one pretty funny.

"Okay, I think I've got it," Marcello said. "Grazie."

Eduard sighed.

"Why did you even take science if you can't even understand the simplest of things?" he asked.

"My dad wants me to do it," Marcello sighed. "It was either this or economics."

Eduard shook his head. Perhaps Marcello would have been better off with economics. He went back to his own homework, hoping that he could get some work done before Marcello inevitably asked him for help again.

…

Marcello was writing while the teacher was explaining something, but not notes. He was working on a short story, one where a guy wanted to surprise his girlfriend on Valentine's Day with an engagement ring, but then he got a call from the police, informing him that his girlfriend was in an accident.

He knew that he should probably have been paying attention, but the work was so boring. What was his father thinking when he told him to pick something like this? He knew that he was probably going to get an earful from Eduard about this later.

He really wished he could get along with his roommate. In some strange way, Eduard was pretty cute, but the way he was so critical and harsh with Marcello made it a lot harder to be friendly. He was always afraid of saying the wrong thing, of making Eduard angry in some way. And it wasn't his fault that the science teacher had a voice that would be better to utilise at a kindergarten before naptime.

What could he do to get Eduard to like him?

…

Eduard sighed when he got back to the room. He had a lot of homework to do, plus three assignments and a test. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to explain the science to Marcello again.

He came to an abrupt stop in the doorway when he realised that Marcello wasn't there. Usually the Italian arrived at the room before he did.

He smiled when he realised that he would have some peace and quiet for a while, but as he made his way to his desk, he saw an open notebook on Marcello's. Curious to see what the other was working on, he leaned closer to see the contents of the notebook.

…These weren't notes. It looked like… a story. A pretty good one, from what he could see. Curious, he picked up the notebook and flicked to the first page. There was a story about a boy who got lost in the woods, a story about a shopping mall hidden inside a closet, a story about a person whose car broke down and they were helped out by a ghost… All sorts of stories. All of them pretty good.

"W-what are you doing?"

Eduard jumped when he heard the voice, and he spun around to see Marcello at the door, staring at him and the notebook in his hands. Eduard blushed when he realised that he'd been caught violating the Italian's privacy, and he quickly put the book down.

"S-sorry," he said. "I just… got curious."

Marcello stalked towards the desk and grabbed the book, hugging it against his chest. Eduard swallowed thickly. He couldn't remember ever seeing Marcello look so scared before.

"Did… did you write all of that?" he asked.

Marcello flinched, before nodding.

"Well…" Eduard said. "It's good. Really good."

The Italian's head whipped up and he stared at Eduard incredulously.

"What?" he asked.

"The stories," Eduard clarified. "They're pretty good. Did you come up with them yourself?"

Marcello shakily nodded his head.

"Are… are you being honest?" he asked. "You're not just making fun of me?"

"Why would I do that?" Eduard asked, perplexed.

"Because… That's what they did before. And… I-I was just…"

Eduard smiled.

"You know, I've got this narrative essay to write for English," the Estonian said. "Do you think you could give me tips?"

Marcello's eyes widened, before he smiled. He nodded eagerly.

"Si!" he chirped. "I'd be happy to."

The prompt is: 'Imagine person A of your OTP being incredibly science smart, and person B not doing that well on that aspect but secretly being extremely "story smart" – an artistic soul who loves to write and create stories. Bonus points if person A thinks person B isn't that bright until finding some of A's works, by either on accident or entirely on purpose.'

I have a seventh-grade science exam on my computer, and one of the questions is about heat transference.

The shopping mall in the closet is something that frequently comes to my mind, ever since I was little. Basically, you can find anything there, but there's a price connected to it. I've only thought of the concept, never a plot.