Kiku stared blankly at the ceiling. He turned his head to the clock; it read 1:09am. Why can't I sleep, he wondered to himself. Sure, there was thunder rumbling, lightning tearing through the stormy night sky, and raining pelting the roof as earsplitting as a thousand tiny little jackhammers, but he could usually sleep though it with almost no problems. Tonight he couldn't.

He sat up and got off the bed, gazing outside through the window. Despite it being loud outside, the inside of the house was extremely quiet and peaceful. Ludwig's snoring didn't fill the air tonight; he was out on an overnight mission in France. He mentioned that he might make it back in the morning, but until then Kiku was stuck in the house with Feliciano.

Kiku sighed deeply, closing the curtains. He grabbed his night robe and tiptoed out of his room, hoping he wouldn't wake Feliciano up. Unfortunately, the creaky floor didn't help; as it moaned with each careful step he took.

Eventually he made it into the den, where all their books were kept. Kiku approached a bookcase and pulled out something that looked interesting (in Japanese, of course). He sat in a chair and began reading to pass time.

It didn't take him long to finish; it was almost 2 when he was done. He put the book away and started to pace around the place. He just couldn't think of something to do that would make him fall asleep! Normally, he would walk around the garden to ease his mind, but of course, there was the storm. There just wasn't anything to do that wouldn't create a lot of ruckus.

He passed by Feliciano's room, but quickly stopped to see if he was sleeping. He stepped back in front of the door, rotated the knob slowly and silently, and peeked through the gap as he opened it a smidge. Feliciano was on his side; his small figure moved up and down with every slow breath he took. His relaxed expression told him that he was at peace in his sleep. Kiku shut the door, once again trying to think of something to act as a distraction.

He treaded back to his room and sat on his bed. Maybe I can meditate for a bit, he thought. Kiku crossed his legs over one another into the lotus position, closed his eyes and attempted to clear his mind. It all began to drain out… out of his mind… out of his body... and then there was nothing. In his head, all he could see was a blank canvas; untainted with no stressful thoughts, feelings, or memories.

KA-RASH!

Kiku felt he literally jumped at that roar of thunder. He heard a voice scream from the next room. He leapt off the bed and bolted for Feliciano's room. The door swung open, and Kiku looked inside.

'… Kiku?' said Feliciano's voice. He lowered the sheets covering his crying face a bit, then all the way down, and rubbed his teary amber eyes with an arm. 'D-did I wake you up? I'm s-sorry…'

'Don't be.' Kiku said as he approached Feliciano and sat at his bedside. 'I know these things can be a little frightening at times.'

Feliciano sniffed. 'Were you already awake?' he asked crestfallenly.

Kiku shrugged a bit. 'I couldn't sleep. I've been up since about 10:00.' he told him. 'Although I usually sleep through these things without many problems...'

The room was awkwardly silent for a moment or two after he said that.

'I wish Ludwig was here…' sobbed Feliciano. 'He lets me stay in his room when I feel uncomfortable alone at night…'

Kiku sort of wished the same thing; he didn't really know what to do to calm Feliciano down. Ludwig knew him better than he did, since he went almost everywhere with him. That or Feliciano followed him. Feliciano flopped backwards on the bed, lying on his back.

'Kiku…'

Kiku realized he was being spoken to. 'Yes?' he answered.

Feliciano hesitated to ask, twiddling his fingers on his chest instead. 'Does Ludwig hate me because I'm scared of everything?' he wondered.

'W-well, I wouldn't say he "hates" you…' Kiku started, hoping he wasn't lowering his spirits. 'But… I guess he just gets a little annoyed at times, since you've been caught several times already during this war…'

Feliciano's eyes began welling up again, probably because now he was beating himself in his mind. Kiku gritted his teeth nervously, trying to think of something better to say to him.

'I'm sure it doesn't mean he hates you though! There's probably many other things that he likes about you as a friend.' Kiku said sincerely. 'You may not be the best when it comes to fighting, but you're good when it comes to painting and cooking!'

Feliciano looked at his Japanese friend hopefully. 'Y-you think so…?' he blubbered.

'Of course I think so.' replied Kiku, giving him a small smile.

KA-RASH!

The second clash of thunder made Feliciano scream once more, and he lunged himself directly into Kiku's arms.

'H-hey! What are you doing?' cried Kiku, turning a shade of bright red. He tried to push him away, but Feliciano only clung tighter to him.

'Sorry… I'm just scared…' Feliciano whimpered. 'I've never seen a storm this bad before…'

Kiku looked outside once more; it was a lot windier than the last time he checked. Some branches from the trees had broken off from the large amount of pressure from the gale-force winds. He worried that if it got any worse, it might turn into a hurricane.

'Can… can you stay in here for tonight?' Feliciano pleaded to him, burying his face in the other's stomach. 'I just… need someone here… please.'

Kiku blushed brightly at his inquisition. 'Well…' he hesitated, feeling a little uneasy. 'If it's just for tonight... then okay.'

Feliciano sat up and hugged him thankfully. 'I'm sorry… I usually ask Ludwig this, but you're the only one around…'

'It's okay.' said Kiku, slowly hugging him back. He felt a little awkward, but he knew it was only western tradition to hug somebody you like. That didn't mean he was used to it yet.

He let go of the Italian, and watched as he laid himself beside him, staring up at the ceiling. Kiku decided to move back a bit to actually sit on the bed rather than on the edge, seeing as he promised to spend the night in here for Feliciano. He examined the room, noticing the painting of the smiling woman on the wall opposite to where they were.

'Feliciano-san…' Kiku started.

'Yeah?'

Kiku pointed to the painting. 'What's that painting there called?' he wondered.

Feliciano turned his head to look. 'Oh, that?' he said. 'That's the Mona Lisa. It's a really popular painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. It's one of my favourites, too!'

'Why is it so popular?'

Feliciano thought about it for a moment. 'I dunno… I guess it's because no one knows why she's smiling.' he assumed. 'My big brother Francis has one as well.'

Kiku continued to look at it; he tried to think of a reason, but nothing came to mind, seeing as it could've been anything. 'It's a painting though.'

'What does your country do for art, Kiku?' he asked.

'Well… we paint pictures too, but I've heard that the comic and animated film industries are getting more popular nowadays.' he responded. 'We call them manga and anime.'

'Cool!' Feliciano beamed. 'When this war is over, can you send me a comic?'

KA-RASH!

And with that, Feliciano was clinging onto Kiku once again. Kiku sighed, leaning his head against the wall; his eyes were starting to feel a bit droopy now. He quickly remembered that Feliciano had asked him to send a comic. He opened his mouth to reply to him, only to find that he was asleep. Kiku half-grinned at his friend.

'Sure.' he muttered, yawning.

He gazed out the window once more at the dreary-looking landscape before everything went black.

OMAKE #1 (the more realistic one)

The sun glistened trough the fading clouds in the sky; remnants of the previous night's rainstorm were still hanging off the leaves of the surrounding trees and vegetation, dropping onto the ground below.

Ludwig opened the front door and exhaled heavily; it was a long night of reconnaissance. He hung his hat and coat up on the rack, wiping the sweat and water from his forehead off. He looked at the clock, which read 6:04am. Got back earlier than I thought I would, he told himself. He kicked his boots off and made his way towards the kitchen. The fridge door opened, and Ludwig pulled out a bottle of domestic beer.

He lightly kicked the door closed, popped the bottle cap open, and headed for Feliciano's room to see if he was sleeping. He slowly opened the door, and a jolt of surprise came to him.

'Holy...'

On the bed were two passed out friends of his; Feliciano sleeping in the lap of Kiku, who was sitting upright and leaning against the wall.

Without a second to spare Ludwig shut the door, and slapped his face in annoyance.

'Geez, Feliciano... you had to bug Kiku into staying with you, since I wasn't here...' he muttered irritably. '... What am I going to do with you?'

He shook his head and took another swig of his beer as he walked away without another word.

OMAKE #2 (the retarded one (because I was just that bored))

*Ludwig kicks the door through; it smashes against the wall*

Ludwig: 'HONEY I'M HOOOOOME!'

*opens the bedroom door*

Ludwig: '*le gasp* YOUS BEEN CHEATIN' ON MEH, FELICIANO!'

Kiku: 'Say whut?'

Feliciano: 'Noooooooooooo D:'

Ludwig: 'I H8 CHOO 4 EVA'

Feliciano: ';A;'

Kiku: 'Lol'

FINFINFIN