Mistletoe Dinner -GerIta-

Summary: It's Ludwig's turn to host Christmas dinner, when he and Feliciano get caught under the mistletoe. What follows is a bit of a surprise to the other nations.

Pairing: Germany/N. Italy

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Laughter filtered through the slightly open door, and Ludwig smiled a bit. He had been chosen as the host for this year's Christmas get together, and all their friends were gathered in his dining room as he and Feliciano bustled around the kitchen. A few others had tried to get in to help, but were quickly dissuaded by the reactions of the two countries. A wooden spoon and baster could be very effective weapons.

"Hey, West! Is the food done yet?"

Ludwig rolled his eyes and called back, "Almost! Just a few minutes more!"

Feliciano spun and handed him a platter with the appetizers. "Here, Ludwig. Bring these in while I put the finishing touches on the dinner."

He carefully balanced the platter as he pushed open the door. "Will you be fine with the –"

"Ve, of course I'll be fine! I've cooked more difficult food than this!"

Ludwig chuckled as he let the door swing shut behind him. The thump it made caused everyone to immediately turn toward the kitchen. He held up the platter and said, "I come bearing food! The roast will be done in a few minutes. Feli's putting the finishing touches now."

Everyone cheered and laughed as he set the plate on the table, the countries immediately digging in. The atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful as they poked fun at each other and told stories of their eventful pasts. By mutual unspoken agreement they passed over the more painful parts of their histories.

"...And would you believe it? My little Luddy here walked right up to that guy and gave him the most beautiful right hook I've ever seen! He dropped like a rock, and Ludwig just stood over him and said, 'No one touches my brother like that.'"

Prussia grabbed his brother in a headlock, mussing his hair and making his already blushing face even redder. "I've never been more proud of my little bro. Granted, he was drunk, but –"

"That is enough, Gilbert," Ludwig said, twisting out of his brother's grasp and fixing his hair. "Tell of some of you own escapades instead of others'."

He walked toward the kitchen, ignoring the chatter about 'fair maidens' and 'knights with a love of beer'. He pushed open the door, stopping short when he realized how dangerously close Feliciano was to it. He stumbled a bit, platters swaying dangerously before Ludwig caught and steadied him.

He reached for some of the dishes, but Feliciano shook his head and backed away slightly. Ludwig sighed and said, "You Italians and your overprotective instincts for food."

He stepped to the side instead, holding the door open for the Italian. "Grazie," Feliciano said, edging his way around Ludwig.

Giggling broke out at the dinner table, and they both stopped and looked at their friends, confused. France smiled and pointed to a spot above their heads. Ludwig and Feliciano froze, having a good idea what was up there. Sure enough, when they looked up a sprig of mistletoe was hanging from the doorway.

They sighed and caught each other's eyes. Ludwig glanced at the dining table before shrugging and bending down, catching Feliciano's lips in a quick peck. He grabbed the top plate and jumped away, chuckling a little at Feli's fake-angry face as he set it down on the table.

"Ve, you should know better than to steal food from an Italian!" he said, shaking his finger at Ludwig.

"But I didn't steal it! I was only making sure it made it to the table in one piece" he retorted, sitting in his seat. Feliciano huffed but did the same. He waved his fork at Ludwig and said, "You know I would never drop good food."

Ludwig chuckled again, the beer and eggnog obviously having an effect on his usually stoic personality.  "One can never be too sure."

It was in the dead silence following this remark that they realized their friends hadn't said a word. They looked at the other countries, noticing the surprised look on their faces.

"Are all of you alright?" Feliciano asked.

"B-but, we thought..." France stuttered, breaking the slightly awkward silence.

"You thought what?" Ludwig said, looking around the table.

"We thought you'd be red as a holiday stocking right now, stuttering and embarrassed about being forced to kiss Italy," Gilbert broke in, snapping some people out of their stupors. There were some murmurers of assent and nods around the table.

Germany and Italy looked around the table, and burst out laughing.

"What the bloody hell are you laughing about?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms.

"Y-you mean you didn't know? We haven't exactly tried to hide it," Ludwig said, trying to catch his breath. He took Feli's hand and laced their fingers together.

Everyone stared.

Hungary recovered first, asking, "So how long has this been going on?"

Ludwig gripped Feliciano's hand tighter as he said, "Since New Year's."

"What?!"

"So long?"

"Is that where you were when no one could find you at midnight?"

Glaring at France for that last comment, he said, "I'm surprised none of you noticed. I know I'm not very romantic and I'm uncomfortable with PDA, and Feli respects that, but I thought you would have noticed something was more romantic between us."

The other nations thought back, and one by one they began to laugh as they realized how much they had missed over the past year. There were so many clues!

Looking back, some of them were pretty damn obvious. Like that one incident at the World Meeting...

Alfred raised his glass. "Well, now that we've proven what a bunch of unobservant asses we can be, I say a belated toast is in order. To Ludwig and Feli, and to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

Everyone cheered and toasted, digging into the delicious spread their hosts had prepared. The light chatter from before had returned to the table, but this time some of the topics were a little more... invasive.

"It seems, mon ami, that your 'gag' gift may actually be put to use."

"Yeah, I guess those anal beads will really –"

"Gilbert!"