Ludwig ran as fast as his legs would allow. His heart raced, fed only by ragged breathes that provided barely enough oxygen to his screaming lungs. But the panic- injected adrenaline burned underneath his skin, and he forced his legs to keep pumping. The rolling black cloud edged closer and closer, tendrils of smoke wrapping around his ankles and solidifying into chains, until at last, he was yanked onto the cold, hard ground. He clawed at the floor as the chains dragged him into the smog.

"Foods here!"

Ludwig lurched up in bed, a cheerful voice unlocking the chains and blowing away the dust cloud. His breathing slowed, chest opening up and allowing sweet oxygen to dilute the burning sensation that currently occupied his lungs. He blinked and saw a pair of brown eyes watching him curiously from the foot of the bed.

"Ve, Luddy," whined Feliciano "They didn't bring us any pasta!" In his hands were two plastic- sealed trays, the saran wrap beading with condensation. As Germany sat up, the Italian pushed the plate under his nose, and Ludwig blinked rapidly like it was the first time he noticed it. He was still a little caught up on that nickname.

"Well ja, it's not like we could expect gourmet cooking. We're lab rats, remember?" said Ludwig, taking the tray from the smaller boy. Feliciano frowned thoughtfully into his mushy potatoes and colorless coleslaw. He poked at the mess with a plastic fork.

"Suppongo che," sighed Feliciano. He scooped up a mound of coleslaw, examining the way it slid around in an unnatural glob as he titled the fork from side to side. Ludwig, on the other hand, shoveled mounds of coleslaw into his mouth, chewing only enough to swallow and not to savor. Ludwig looked like a soldier fitting in a meal between lulls in the fire. Feliciano appeared a picky toddler.

Once the two finished their meals, Ludwig's plate spotless and Feliciano's smeared with leftover food, they returned to their rightful beds. Ludwig lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Feliciano was thrown in a position that could only be comfortable for a cat; one hand hanging over the headrest, chin against the edge of the bed with eyes focused on the ground, other hand tracing circles on the dirty ground. He kicked his feet through the air, flexed toes bouncing on the squeaky mattress.

"So when are we getting outta here?" sighed Feli after only a minute of silence passed. Ludwig sighed as well.

"Six days, granting neither of us show symptoms," replied Germany. Another silence fell over the room, but the two were so lost in their thoughts they didn't notice. Ludwig closed his eyes.

Would it have killed the doctors to give them a television?

Two hours passed, and Germany still lay on his bed in the exact same position. Feliciano's legs now rested against the wall with his back pressed against the mattress, but this was short lived as his legs fell asleep and he decided to return to a curled up fetal position. The boy had fidgeted the whole two hours, sighing in big gusts, and letting out a small whimper every so often. Ludwig ignored him.

"Luddy, I'm bored," Feliciano whined. Germany bristled at the nickname, idly wondering why this boy he barely knew found it fitting. Ludwig cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry… why don't you take a nap?" he suggested. Feliciano made some unidentifiable high-pitched noise and rolled off the bed. He slid across the floor to Ludwig's bed, resting his chin on the bed frame and staring at the flushing German with miserable eyes.

"Uh," Ludwig lurched up. Italy had absolutely no regard for personal space. His face had been mere inches away, so close Ludwig could smell the Italian's cologne.

The reason Germany was blushing again was because the cologne smelled good.

"Let's play a game," suggested Feli, crawling up onto the bed.

"Vhat?" said Ludwig.

"How about truth or dare?" said Feliciano. He plopped down Indian style on the bed, hugging Ludwig's pillow under his chin. Ludwig rested his back against a bedpost, watching the lithe boy with wide blue eyes.

"Are you serious?" he said. Feliciano glanced up at him and nodded vigorously, causing a few locks of hair to fall in front of his eyes. Ludwig looked away at the cute spectacle.

"Si! I've seen it on TV and it looks fun!" Feliciano piped enthusiastically. Ludwig refrained from rolling his eyes.

"Eh, vhy not?" he muttered. Might as well shut the kid up for a while he thought.

Letting out an excited ve, Feli threw the pillow into the air, and it fell back to earth, only missing the bedside lamp by a few centimeters. He scooted closer to Ludwig, and the German had to refrain from scooting back.

"Okay, okay," said Feli as he clapped his hands together and set them on his lap. His eyes turned deadly serious, flashing as he stared directly at Ludwig, who avoided the younger man's gaze at all costs. Taking a deep breath, Feliciano asked:

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth," answered Ludwig automatically. Feliciano let out a whine, unclasping his hands to cross his arms over his chest with a pout. At last Germany glanced at him, eyebrows coming together and smirk playing on his lips.

"Vhat's wrong?" he asked, although he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"You didn't even think about it," whined Feli "And I had a really good one for dare too!"

"Alright zen, dare," said Ludwig.

"No, you already chose truth!" pouted Feli "It's against the rules to change."

"Rules?" smirked Ludwig. Feliciano squirmed, leaning back on his heels and squinting at Ludwig like he was staring directly at the sun. His face dawned with an idea, eyes lighting up as he let out yet another "ve."

"I got it! Okay Luddy, who do you have a crush on?" he asked. Germany's stomach twisted like he just sucked down a shot of alcohol, but he was able to recover quickly before his mind raced off in several different directions. It was just an innocent question. Something Feli probably got from television, especially since the term "crush" was so overwhelmingly middle school in nature.

"No one," replied Ludwig, earning another whine from Feliciano. "Vhat? It's the truth." Feli buried his face in another pillow and mumbled something incoherent. "Vhat?" Lifting his head, Feli repeated:

"Non sei molto bravo in questo gioco," Italy smiled at the German's baffled expression "You're not very good at this game."

"I didn't realize it took skill," mumbled Ludwig.

"Ve, you're turn!" giggled Italy. He bounced his knees against the mattress excitedly and glanced up with Ludwig with wide eyes only comparable to that of an eager puppy. Germany muttered an unenthusiastic "Truth or dare," and Italy instantly answered "Truth!" with another giggle. Ignoring the hypocrisy of this response, Germany stared up at the ceiling in an attempt to come up with a question that would suffice to satisfy Feliciano.

"Uh, who do you have a… 'crush' on?" said Ludwig, air quoting the word "crush." Feliciano's brown eyes widened.

"No ask-backs!" he said, pointing at Ludwig like he was caught red-handed committing a crime. Germany's eyebrows came together and he frowned.

"What ze hell is an ask-back?" Ludwig asked.

"Ve, it's where you ask the same question back to me," replied Feli "It's against the rules." Ludwig sighed, running his hands through his disheveled blonde hair.

It's going to be a long day….

Suppongo che- Italian, I suppose.

Non sei molto bravo in questo gioco-Italian, You're not very good at this game.

A/N-Hey guys, so sorry this took me forever to upload, I've been in a major slump of writers block for this project. Right now on my other writing website wattpad, I've got a really popular story that has been consuming my time. But I have not forgotten about my Hetalia love! Hopefully my next update will be…. About a week? Give or take. I'll try to be timely for my lovely fan girls. Also, if anyone wants to design a cover for this, it would be much appreciated for a lazy writer like myself.

Song for the chapter: "Love Like Whoa" by The Ready Set

Critique or flame, but please review! Thanks!