Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Going to try and keep it as simple as possible under the circumstances and not let the story get too much more complicated than it already is. Do your best, me!

"Oh Mattie, oh Mattie, oh Mattie," Feliciano sighed, head falling to the side as wet heat closed around the soft skin of his throat. "I love you so much."

"Mmmh," Matthew hummed, his arms tightening around Feliciano's waist, pulling him closer. "Say it again," he begged, peppering kisses over his fiance's neck and the exposed part of his right shoulder, "say it again, Feli."

"I— ah!, I love you," Feliciano shivered, and curled his fingers in the prince's hair as he breathed, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

"I love you too," Matthew promised against his skin between kisses, "I love you, Feliciano." Feliciano's skin flushed, and he felt giddy with happiness and the sensations assaulting him under the prince's touch. He slid his hands down to Matthew's broad shoulders, and wriggled forward in his lap until he could feel how badly his prince wanted him pressed against the junction of his thigh, and clutched the prince, gasping.

"Mattie!"

"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea!" Suddenly two pairs of eyes flew open, hearts racing with alarm as much as passion, as the unmistakable sound of Feliciano's brother and father's arguing echoed through the corridor outside.

"Oh, come on, Lovi, Don't be silly! What could possibly be so bad about a family celebration! Families should be together! Especially on such a happy occasion."

"I'm so sorry, Feli, I," Matthew sputtered, pulling back, mortified and ashamed. Feliciano's dress hung loose on one shoulder, skin soft and warm and glistening, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright and mouth open and panting, and Matthew's shame and desire increased at the sight, but he was a prince, and trained to behave properly. "I shouldn't have—" Feliciano pressed a hand against his lips, smiling gently.

"Don't be sorry, Mattie." He reassured softly, eyes twinkling mischeviously. "I'm not." He slid his arms around his prince's neck, pressing close, and tilted his head up to brush his lips across Matthew's. "We're not doing anything wrong. We're engaged, right? That's practically married, ve~!"

"Th-that's true." Matthew agreed, swallowing. Feliciano's lips were so close, soft like petals and moist and sweet as fresh berries...but he could hear the others growing closer, their footsteps weren't far, now. "And we will be married soon..."

"Mhm." Feliciano smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to his prince's lips, and pulled away to pull his sleeve back up. "So it's okay."

Matthew was too shaken to reply, although his conscience was telling him that the others might not agree with that perfectly reasonable arguement, and so he lifted Feliciano off his lap and stood. They busied themselves straightening clothing and hair, endeavouring to look less like they'd been doing anything that might be considered inappropriate and more like they'd been having a quiet cup of tea and conversation, or something equally innocent, and joined the others in the hall.

Lovino eyed the two as they entered the hallway, noticing their flushed faces, bright eyes and slightly-out-of-breath-ness, and the way the side of his brother's neck was suspiciously reddened and glistening. Well, he shrugged mentally, they were going to be married pretty soon. After all, Prince Matthew was Feli's prince, his True Love and everything; so it was only natural that they should be irresistibly attracted to each other. And it wasn't like anything could possibly happen to separate them now that they'd found each other. Feliciano'd gotten his prince, and Lovino was happy for him. He even liked Prince Matthew, who seemed kind and gentle and deeply in love with Feliciano; which was to be expected, of course, but it was still nice to see his brother's Happily-Ever-After turning out so well.

Antonio, unsurprisingly, was oblivious to the young men's ruffled state, and cheerfully incorporated their assistance in bringing dinner to Ludwig's room so they could all celebrate together.

Alfred was pleased to see them, and thrilled (though surprised) to learn that Matthew and Feliciano were already engaged. He was profuse in his congratulations, and tackled both of them to the floor for a thorough licking in his excitement, sending Feliciano into fits of giggles, and then Antonio decided that everybody needed hugs and kisses from daddy, too, until finally Lovino reminded everyone that they were supposed to be being quiet so they didn't bother the injured Ludwig, who, surprisingly, had remained asleep through the whole thing. Once everyone was settled down, Alfred returned to his task watching over Ludwig and the others went back to setting up the dinner they'd brought.

Alfred watched curiously when Lovino moved away from the others and came around the bed to set a covered dish down on the bedside table. "Is that for me?"

"No, this is for him." Lovino nodded towards the sleeping 'princess'. "It's that junk he's supposed to eat to make him better."

"Lovi worked very hard on Ludwig's dinner." Antonio commented proudly. "He wouldn't let anyone else do it, because he wanted it to be perfect. Isn't that sweet?"

"Really? That was really nice of you, Lovino!" Alfred said, and Lovino blushed, embarrassed.

"I just...didn't want the— him to have to eat bad food." He frowned at the dish. "I did what I could, but it's still liver and potatoes. That's all he's supposed to eat."

"Well, it smells delicious." Alfred sniffed, licking his chops. The smell was making him drool and reminding him that he hadn't eaten in quite a while. "I'd eat it."

"This isn't for you, bastard." Lovino said pointedly, putting his hand on the dishcover. "Your food is over there." He pointed to where Antonio was arranging the rest of the meal.

"How is he?" Matthew came over to hover anxiously over the two on the bed, laying a hand on Ludwig's forehead to check his temperature.

"Completely zonked out." Alfred answered frankly, shifting closer and laying an arm across the pillows above Ludwig's head. "He's woken up a couple times, but he's kind of delirious. He keeps babbling nonsense."

"Hmm." Matthew frowned, checking the bandages. "He's so pale."

"Well, he lost a lot of blood." Alfred sighed, laying his ears back. "I don't think he remembers anything that happened, though."

"That's probably for the best." Matthew murmured, stroking Ludwig's hair. Seeing Matthew's distress, Feliciano came to stand next to him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "He is very pale, but he already looks much better than he did earlier." He observed, peering curiously at the pale figure he'd helped clean and dress earlier.

"He does." Matthew agreed, frown relaxing slightly. "It's nice to see him resting peacefully."

Privately, Lovino thought that the poor guy would be able to rest a whole lot more peacefully without everyone in his room noisying things up, but there was no stopping Antonio when he got an idea in his head (well, Papa Roderich could do it, but he was the only one, and unfortunately he wasn't here).

"There we go!" Antonio stepped back from the cabinet, setting his hands on his waist and nodding in satisfaction. "That's everything. Oh, wait, no— did you get the wine, Lovino?" He asked, turning to his elder son.

"Oh, yeah." Lovino nodded, pulling the basket he'd carried up from the kitchen off his arm and heading over to set it up next to the food.

"Oh, his lashes are so long!" Feliciano noticed, releasing Matthew to lean over Ludwig admiringly. "They're so pretty! I'm a little jealous."

"Oh?" Antonio came to nudge his son aside so he could hover over the comatose blond as well. "Let me see!" True to Feliciano's observations, Ludwig's eyelashes were almost ridiculously long, thick and golden, and very pretty to behold. "Wow, they are! They're like little butterfly's wings~! I didn't notice that before. How cute!"

"They are, aren't they." Alfred agreed with a touch of proprietorial pride, gazing down at the man sleeping next to him. "Luddy's really pretty when he sleeps."

"Ludwig's always beautiful, Alfred." Matthew corrected from his place at Feliciano's side, gently brushing the steward's bangs down to cover his bandages. "You just never notice, eh?"

"It's just easier to notice when he's sleeping." Alfred explained. "When he's awake he always has his guard up, and he's always frowning and bein' all stern and stuff. When he's asleep he's all relaxed and peaceful."

"You're right, Alfred. Ludwig is very pretty when he's sleeping." Antonio smiled, fidgeting a bit as he hovered. "Can I touch him? Will he wake up?"

"Yeah, sure." Alfred smiled, wiggling his tail against the covers, adding when Feliciano looked at him hopefully. "You both can touch him. He won't wake up, as long as you're quiet."

"Of course!" Antonio affirmed, brushing his fingers across Ludwig's lashes. "Oh, his skin's so soft! And what pretty lips he has, too! Look, Lovi, isn't Ludwig pretty?"

Lovino lifted a shoulder, grunting noncommittally. He couldn't really see Ludwig from where he was standing, especially since the others were all crowded around him (he'd seen him earlier, sure, but no-one looked their best when they were undergoing major trauma); but he was a princess, so it was only logical that he would be pretty. Just look at Feliciano, and Papa Roderich.

"Oh, it is soft." Feliciano exclaimed, touching his cheek gently. "I'm really jealous, now!"

"Enjoy it while you can." Matthew warned, smiling. He was as proud of Ludwig's good looks as Alfred, but he couldn't help his amusement at the thought of what Ludwig's reaction would be if he were awake. Their steward would be mortified to be admired and petted like this. "He won't let you do that when he's awake."

"Yeah, he gets all embarrassed." Alfred snickered. "Luddy's pretty shy."

"Awww, that's so cute!" Antonio cooed, petting Ludwig's hair. "All my boys are so cute! I'm so lucky to have such cute children!"

"Are we ever going to eat?" Lovino complained. "I'm fucking starving."

"L'n'ge, y'r m'jsty..." Ludwig murmured, shifting in his sleep.

"Awwww, look Mattie, he's sleep-nagging." Alfred and Matthew grinned at each other, and gazed fondly down at their longtime companion. "Isn't that just the cutest thing."

"It is cute, but Lovi's right, we should eat." Antonio regretfully ceased his petting, and went back to the cabinet. "You boys sit down, and Lovi and I will make you plates, hm?"

"Thank you, Antonio." Matthew smiled, and then paused to frown down at Ludwig, and glanced at his brother. "Erm...should we wake him?"

"Yeah, probably. He's gotta eat." Alfred pushed himself up and lowered his head to nudge Ludwig's shoulder, and then paused, ears flicking back hesitantly. "Um, you know what, maybe you should do it, Mattie. Everytime he wakes up he gets all freaked out that I'm in his bed."

Hearing the prince's voice so close to his ear, Ludwig's eyes flickered open, and he turned his head to see Alfred's face close to his own. His eyes widened, and he took a sharp breath, and a few eventful seconds later, Alfred was pulling himself up off the floor, and Matthew was settling Ludwig down.

"H's majehssty sh'n't be'n my bed." Ludwig slurred to the attentive younger prince, who hummed sympathetically as he propped the injured man up with pillows. "It isn't, it isn't prop'r."

"Shhh, I know, you're right. He shouldn't have been in your bed. It won't happen again." Matthew soothed, settling him into a sitting position. "Alfred should have known better."

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Alfred flicked his ears back sulkily, licking his bruised side. "It's not like I can sit in a chair. Besides, I kind of had to, to get him into bed."

"I know, but it isn't proper for you to stay in his bed, Al." Matthew sighed, fussing with Ludwig's covers. "You should have called me once he'd calmed down."

"Now, Mattie, I don't see why Al and Ludwig can't share a bed." Antonio interjected, handing Lovino a couple of plates and indicating that he should carry them to Feliciano and Matthew. "You boys are brothers, after all. Lovi and Feli share a bed all the time!"

"We do." Feliciano agreed cheerfully from his chair, smiling up at his brother as Lovino handed him his dinner. "Me and Lovi always sleep together."

Lovino flicked his brother's forehead. "That's just 'cause you never stay in your own damn bed, idiot."

"Ve~." Feliciano rubbed his forehead, smiling unrepentantly.

"There, see? They do it." Alfred leaned his head and forepaws on the bed, giving Matthew and an confused Ludwig his best puppy eyes.

Matthew's lips thinned, and he frowned as he uncovered Ludwig's dinner. "It's not the same, Alfred."

"Whatever." Alfred huffed, slinking off to sit next to Antonio, who patted him absently on the head.

Ludwig accepted the plate that Matthew handed him, settling it into his lap with care, and glanced around the room, confusion clear. "What...what's going on?"

"We're having dinner in here tonight, Ludwig." Matthew pulled a chair up next to the bed, and adjusted the plate in Ludwig's lap so it was more secure as he explained, "Antonio thought the whole family should be together to celebrate. You see, Ludwig, Feliciano and I are engaged. We're going to be married." He smiled over at Feliciano, who beamed back.

"Oh." Ludwig paused. "Feliciano?"

"Antonio's youngest." Matthew elaborated. "They've come to live with us, you remember? I've asked him to marry me, and he's agreed."

"Oh." Ludwig seemed to take a few moments to think this over. "Congratulations." He decided was the appropriate response, and stared at the plate in his lap with a puzzled frown, as if he wasn't sure how it'd gotten there or what to do about it. "What is this?"

"That's your dinner." Matthew said helpfully. "The doctor put you on a very specific diet, Ludwig. Antonio's son Lovino prepared it for you specially. Oh, here, let me get that for you." Seeing that Ludwig was having trouble understanding, or even holding his fork, Matthew took over, taking the utensil from his hands and lifting his dinner from his lap. "I'll help you eat, okay?"

"Your highn'ss," Ludwig attempted to protest, swaying slightly as he leaned back from the forkful of liver the younger prince offered. "I am p'rfectly culpable of eating m'self."

"Be reasonable, Ludwig. You've been injured, eh?" Matthew coaxed in the face of his friend's stubborn frown. "Just let me do this for you."

"'S embarrassing." Ludwig muttered, his frown edging on the verge of pouting.

"Honestly, Ludwig, you're acting like a child." Frustrated, Matthew appealed to his brother. "Al, help me out here."

"Luddy, let Mattie feed you." Alfred ordered, following Antonio to a chair. Ludwig pursed his lips briefly, but obediently opened his mouth, allowing the younger prince to feed him.

"Mm," Ludwig's eyebrows lifted in surprise as he chewed, a little laboriously. "'S good."

"Good. I'm glad you like it." Matthew smiled, readying another forkful. "Now, eat up. It'll help keep your strength up, eh?"

"Ludwig seems a little out of it." Antonio noted worriedly as he sat down, and lowered Alfred's dinner to the floor next to his chair. "Will he be okay?"

"Well, he lost a lot of blood." Alfred explained, sniffing it tentatively and dragging a chunk of meat off the plate and dropping it between his paws to eat. "He whanged his head pretty good, too."

"Hey, hey! What're you doing?" Lovino interrupted, setting his own plate aside and jumping up from his chair to cross and crouch next to Alfred, pulling the meat out from under his nose and dropping it back on the plate. "No! Bad!" He scolded, scrubbing at the floor with his napkin. "Eat on the plate, not the floor! Tch, look at that, you got sauce everywhere."

"It's okay, I'll just lick it up when I'm done eating. Don't worry." Alfred reassured him, lifting a paw when Lovino batted it aside so he could scrub under it. Lovino shot him a look.

"Are you kidding? This is a marble floor. You can't get stuff like this on it, it's too porous. It'll stain if you let shit sit too long. You eat off the plate." He ordered, setting the plate authoritatively between Alfred's paws and sitting back on his haunches. "Not the floor. Got it?"

"Got it." Alfred agreed, returning to his dinner, eating off the plate this time.

"Good." Lovino ruffled the prince's head and stood, returning to his seat.

"I'm glad to see you two made up, Alfred." Antonio remarked.

"Oh, yeah, the churros worked great." Alfred's tail thumped the floor. "He's not afraid of me at all anymore!"

"That's great." Antonio smiled, patting his head.

"He shouldn't have been afraid of you in the first place." Matthew said pointedly, and Alfred lowered his head and ears, shamefaced.

"I know," Alfred admitted. "I screwed up. But I apologised, and we're okay now. He even climbed the Princess Tower with me!"

Ludwig stopped chewing and closed his eyes, inhaling slowly through his nose; and Alfred's eyes widened, his ears laying flat against his head.

"Hoshit." He muttered. Ludwig swallowed, and opened his eyes to level a stern glare in the direction of the prince, leaning forward and bracing his arms against the mattress in order to keep from keeling over as he growled,

"Alfred."

"It was perfectly safe!" Alfred pre-defended. "I haven't fallen off a tower since I got claws, and anyway I usually land on my feet now, and besides, I wouldn't have brought Lovino up there if I thought it was dangerous, and— er, Ludwig?" Ludwig had closed his eyes again, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he was fighting off a headache, and was slowly falling sideways off the bed. Matthew caught him in time, and carefully settled him back against the pillows. Once Ludwig was lying down, Matthew pressed a hand to his forehead, and checked his breathing.

"Well," he said, "he's out. The stress must have been too much for him. Good job, Alfred." He sighed, setting the remains of Ludwig's dinner aside and pulling the covers up around Ludwig's shoulders, tucking him in. "We might as well let him sleep. He finished most of his dinner, at least."

"At least he called me 'Alfred'." Alfred muttered, hunching over his dinner. "Funny how he only ever does that when he's insanely pissed."

"He wouldn't get 'insanely pissed' if you didn't keep doing suicidal things, Al." Matthew couldn't help pointing out.

"It's not suicidal, it's fun!" Alfred protested. "It's barely even dangerous."

"Alfred has an adventurous spirit." Antonio said fondly, ruffling Alfred's ears. "He can't help it."

"He can, and he must." Matthew's lips thinned, and he reached for his wine. "Alfred is the crown prince, Antonio. The whole kingdom is depending on him."

"That reminds me," Alfred broke in, "the tournament. Now that Ludwig's out of commission, your training's going to be set back, too. That puts us at a disadvantage." He pushed his empty plate aside, licking his lips, and regarded his brother seriously. "I can help you with strength and stamina training, but that's about it. We're going to have to wait for Ludwig to recover before you can go back to weapons training and horsemanship and stuff." He curled his tail around his paws, flicking one ear back thoughtfully. "If we forfeit some events, and focus on the ones that you're stronger in, we should still be able to rank in the top 10."

"I'd forgotten about the tournament." Matthew admitted, slumping back in his chair. "We were already at a disadvantage. If it were you or Ludwig it wouldn't be a problem, but..." He poked his food listlessly. "I don't know if I can do this, Al. I'm just not cut out for it."

"Don't worry, Mattie, you can do it." His brother encouraged. "You just need a little confidence, and—"

"A lot of training." Matthew interrupted dispiritedly. "Face it Al, I'm just not made for fighting. It's not my forte. With you and Ludwig, it just..." he waved a hand around, frustrated, "comes naturally, and —"

"Now, that's not fair." Alfred said seriously. "'Specially to Ludwig. You know better."

"You're right." Matthew rubbed his face with a hand, sighing. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Alfred padded over to his brother, and lay a paw on his knee. "I know it can be frustrating when you're first starting out, but it does get better. You just have to practice, Mattie." Matthew nodded, and managed a smile, placing his hand over his brother's paw.

"I know. I'll do my best."

Alfred thumped his tail.

"Why don't you just make dad do it?" Lovino cut in, gesturing to Antonio. "He's good with weapons and horses and all that shit. He can train you for the tournament."

"I can!" Antonio gasped, realising his son was right. He turned to the princes excitedly. "I can train you, Mattie! I'll teach you everything you need to know to crush your enemies!"

"He will, too." Lovino affirmed.

"Daddy's very good at fighting." Feliciano added his support. "He can train you, Mattie! He can teach you anything you need to know about fighting or riding."

The princes glanced at each other, apparently communicating telepathically, and then looked over at Antonio, twin smiles growing across their faces and a hopeful light in two sets of eyes that made them look remarkably similar despite their physiological differences. They'd seen Antonio fight. If he could teach Matthew even a fraction of what he was capable of...

"Would you?" Alfred asked, wriggling slightly in his excitement. "Really?"

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd be very grateful." Matthew admitted, also wriggling slightly.

"Of course I will!" Antonio exclaimed, pumping his fist emphatically. "I'd love to train you, Matthew!"

Matthew visibly melted in relief, and Alfred made an excited squealing noise, bouncing on his paws a couple times before going up to lick his brother's cheek, and bounding across the room to pounce on Antonio, licking and nuzzling his face, tail (and entire hind end) thrashing madly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, 'Toni! You're a lifesaver!" Antonio laughed and giggled, ruffling Alfred's fur.

"Not at all, Al! We're family, now! I'm happy to help my boys!"

"Hey, I thought of it." Lovino interjected without thinking, and regretted it instantly when Alfred bounded over to lick him, as well.

"Thank you, Lovino!"

"Augh, get off!" Lovino ineffectually attempted to fend off the prince's affections. "Down, boy, down!"

"Hahaha!" Alfred laughed, finally backing off. "This is great!"

"We'll start first thing in the morning." Antonio decided, standing up and placing his hands on his hips. "Now, who wants dessert?"

AN: Am I the only one who's noticed that Himaruya always draws Germany's lashes ridiculously long? Especially when he's in profile. Germouser, too. It makes me want to see them up close!

You may have wondered why Alfred is crown prince, but not king, considering that both his parents are dead. That will be answered.

I'm looking forward to Ludwig's recovery. And Antonio's training! Bet that'll be fun.

Also there were some things I wanted to say about something, but I have to check and make sure I didn't sign any confidentiality agreements first.