Kind of a song fic. Kind of not. Either way, it's based loosely on the plot of the song/music video Louise by Eisblume. Note: for the female counterparts, I use the name Amelia for America, Madeline for Canada, and Francine for France. Also, Madeline is pronounced "mad-a-lynn." And yay for fem!France + regular, grumpy England. The world needs more of this pairing.

Ich und du (me and you): Chapter One

Sie waren verliebt

Und fast noch Kinder

Die Ewigkeit entfernt und doch so nah (1)

A family stood together with their heads held down in silence towards a headstone at a fresh grave. There was a picture of a spunky, smiling young blond with blue eyes. Beneath it, engraved in the stone was the name "Amelia Kirkland." The living twin to the girl, Madeline Kirkland, knelt before the grave.

While they were twins, Madeline had longer, wavier hair that she kept in pigtails. She also wore glasses over her blue-violet eyes. In her hands she held a flower – a yellow rose. The girl nodded solemnly to the picture of her sister, and gently laid the flower on the loose soil.

Francine, the girl's mother, was crying as Madeline got to her feet. You could tell Madeline got her wavy hair from her mother. It was a family joke that Francine was Madeline in twenty years (not really, only Francine thought so).

She shredded the white rose she held in her fingers, the petals falling and scattering all over the ground. Arthur, the father, clenched his jaw, not daring to open his mouth for fear of losing all control.

There was a loud clunk and a sloshing noise. A water pitcher rolled to a stop, soaking the ground at Madeline's feet. She bent down to pick it up. When she lifted her head, she met a pair of crimson eyes.

Er trug ihr Bild

In seiner Seele (2)

"H-here," she whispered, practically throwing it at him. He blinked, staring first at her, then the water pitcher, then back at her. And then he laughed.

The albino wasn't trying to be rude. Really, he wasn't. Boys just tend to do stupid things in front of cute girls. Madeline would have been offended if it weren't for a cute little yellow bird that distracted her by landing on his head. She pointed at it and laughed.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Chirp. He gasped, "Gilbird!"

"Gilbird?"

"He's named after the awesomeness that is me, Gilbert Awesome Beilschmidt." He said, smirking. "Wanna pet him?"

She nodded, having a natural affinity for animals. He took the bird off of his head and offered him in his cupped hands. She started to reach for the bird when someone grabbed her wrist. And that was when red eyes met green.

"Madeline, we're going." Arthur stated.

"But dad-"

"His type only leads to trouble, poppet. Besides, birds are filthy creatures." Her father ranted, pulling her away.

Dumbfounded, Gilbert watched her retreating figure sadly. The bird chirped.

"You're right, Gilbird. Being alone is awesome!"

Standing the whole time by her headstone, Amelia finally realized what it was like to go unnoticed. She sighed, and disappeared into thin air.

Und niemand wird versteh'n,

Was dann am Meer geschah (3)

A Few Days Later

Madeline stood at the water's edge, overlooking the sea. She could feel the wind rustle through her hair and smell the saltiness of the water, and hear the seagulls cry overhead.

"Maddie!" Amelia yelled, "Looky at what I found!"

Amelia dragged her to what looked like an old rowboat.

"Let's go out on the ocean! I wanna play pirates!" Madeline yanked her hand away.

"First of all, it's a sea, not an ocean. Second, that thing looks really old…"

"Lame! You've been hanging around dad too long."

"Have not. It just looks really unstable… What if it breaks while we're in it!"

"We swim to shore,"

"No."

"C'mon, Maddie," She pouted, "where's your sense of fun?"

"Amelia! Madeline! Your mother made lunch, so get over here!"

"Fine, then." Amelia grumbled.

But there was no mistaking the determined look in her eyes.

"You're not gonna go kill yourself now, are you?"

Madeline jumped.

"G-Gilbert! God, no, why would you ask that?"

"You were looking all mopey and shit. So I take it you weren't about to go and unawesomely drown yourself?"

She shook her head.

"This is where… my twin died." Gilbert's face fell.

"…shit."

"Shit, indeed."

"Girls shouldn't cuss,"

"Neither should a gentleman." She tossed back. Gilbert grinned, taking a step toward her.

"But what if I'm not a gentleman?"

"…oh? Then what are you?"

He leaned in, almost an inch from her face.

"I'm awesome," He whispered. Madeline could feel the warmth of his breath, and shivered.

He spun around, and started walking in the opposite direction, leaving her feeling dazed and slightly disappointed.

"Kesesesese. See ya around, Birdie!"

She watched him depart, wondering what possessed him to call her "Birdie."

Madeline – mein Herz

Du bist so schön

Die Rosen wollen verblüh'n wenn sie dich sehn (4)

Weeks Later

They always met by the sea to talk about Amelia. She told him stories of when they were younger, and how Amelia always got into trouble for the things Madeline did. Gilbert told stories of how he got in trouble for all of the things he did. His younger brother Ludwig was apparently the golden child.

"… but then she got contacts. Somehow, she still always ended up in trouble."

"I know how that goes. Actually, no I don't. It's me who always ends up in trouble. I don't think Luddy has ever gotten into trouble. Lucky bastard."

"So you're the trouble maker in your family?"

"I wouldn't say that. I like to think the world has it out for me 'cuz I get bored too easily."

"Sure," she said, staring sadly over the crashing waves.

"Say, Birdie?"

"Mmm?" She never could get a good answer for why he chose that nickname, but it stuck.

"If it's okay, can I ask – I mean… how did she die?"

Madeline was quiet for a few minutes, making Gilbert worry that he brought up the topic too soon.

"She wanted to play pirates," She whispered, looking at the water lapping onto the shore.

"Pirates, huh?" He asked, taking her hand in his. Smooth.

"She asked me to go with her in this old rowboat, but it just didn't look safe at all."

Gilbert watched the subtle changes in her voice and facial expressions. He gave her hand a light squeeze.

"Amelia was always such a determined girl."

"So she went by herself?" She nodded. Her eyes were beginning to burn.

"She didn't bother checking the weather – Amelia never planned ahead, so she didn't know about the storm-" Madeline started to cry. He pulled her into his arms, a hand cradling her face, and an arm around her waist.

"Shh, shh, it's fine. Just let it all out. Meanwhile, I'll tell you a story about the awesome me, okay?"

"…okay."

"Do you remember when we first met?"

Madeline laughed.

"You dropped a water pitcher."

"No, I threw it. Awesome people don't drop things."

"…uh huh."

"So anyway, you've probably wondered at some point why I was there at the cemetery that day with a pitcher of water."

"Yeah,"

"Well, I was visiting someone. Bruder and I had planted flowers on his grave after he went."

"What kind?" Gilbert gave a sad smile.

"Cornflowers."

"Who was this person? The one you and your brother planted flowers for."

"He was like a father to me, that old man Fritz."

"Mmm,"

Madeline slipped her arms around his waist, and gave him a hug. Gilbert got an idea. He smiled.

"Hey, Birdie?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you have too many sad memories at this place." They both turned to look out at the sea.

"I suppose so,"

"We should do something about that."

"Like what?"

"Make some happy memories. Drive out the sad ones." Madeline cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you m-" They kissed. She was so surprised, that she lost her footing. He caught her, laughing.

"Overwhelmed by my awesome already," He teased. She turned red, and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ouch! Damn, that hurt." She smiled, innocently. "Cheeky thing. Hey, you wanna hang out again tomorrow? We can go to that one wheat field… do you know which one I'm talking about?"

"The one by the orchard?"

"Yeah, that one. Show up around three. And bring me a picture with you in it. Only you, I don't wanna look at the eyebrow monster."

"Why?" She chuckled at the comment about her father. He did have some crazy eyebrows.

"It's an awesome surprise."

Translations:

1. They were in love / and still only children / eternity was far away and yet so near

2. He carried her picture / in his soul

3. And nobody would understand / what happened then on the sea

4. Madeline (originally Louise in the song, but I changed it to fit the story) – my heart / you are so beautiful / roses want to wither when they see you

That should cover everything. Oh, yeah – disclaimers (grumble grumble).

Hetalia – no own. Wish I did. Then I would be even more awesome.

Louise – owned by Eisblume and the one(s) who wrote it. Go check it out on youtube. Then fill out a venn diagram and write an essay comparing the two… no! Bad school, bad!

Thanks for stopping by, and reviews are appreciated. Until next time (whenever that is - lame school is lame).