Flipping Burgers & Hearts

A Change In Menu

Disclaimer; I seriously don't own Hetalia. Let's be real guys.

Feliciano got into his Fiat and quickly darted off toward the German district. It wasn't very big, but it didn't have to be with Gilbert around. That man acted like everywhere he went was the German district. Like somehow he was the living embodiment of Germany, though if you told him that you'd probably get a long ass lecture about how he was a Prussian and not a German and how horribly insulting you were being. Feli wrinkled his nose. Luddy's brother was a bit fickle and definitely weird, but he was nice and so there weren't any problems in his book.

He pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. He slid out of the car and locked it before rushing inside and tackling his boyfriend of four years with a hug. The tall Germanic man swayed slightly, but caught the little Italian with ease. His green eyes were annoyed, but mostly joyful for the sudden appearance of his boyfriend.

"Feliciano, where were you?" He asked worriedly.

"Ve, I was with fratello at Antonio's! They got back together again! It was really sweet! Fratello tol-"

"You took Lovino to Antonio's, Feliciano?" He asked warily. Feliciano nodded.

"I did! And they made up! Fratello told Antonio all of these really beautiful things in Italian. And it was the sweetest thing ever! Why don't you look happy, Luddy?" He asked pouting.

"Feliciano… That's really bad for them, don't you realize that?" The naïve Italian blinked.

"Why would that be bad…? They love each other." He asked confused.

"Feliciano… You know how we act?" He nodded.

"Ve, of course, we're really good together! Everyone says we balance each other out!" He said happily. Ludwig nodded.

"And how do Lovino and Antonio work?" Feli frowned a little.

"Well they're different from us! They fight a lot, but they have a ton of passion, ve? Lovi doesn't have the best attitude, but if they love each other then what's the problem?"

"The problem, Feli, is sometimes no matter how much you love someone or how much passion you have, sometimes you're just not good for each other. Do you honestly think that Lovino's good for Toni? Think about Toni for a moment. He's happy and bubbly. He likes to cook, dance, and laugh. He's outgoing and generous. Now think of Lovino. He's sour and rude. He tends to be stand-offish and mean. I'm not trying to insult your brother, but do you really think that they're the best couple?" Feli frowned a little seemingly considering the thought.

"Well… They're not the best, but they make it work, and they do love each other, Ludwig. I think that's the most important part no matter what. If I hadn't kept trying then we wouldn't even be going out. It took me two years to get you to give me the time of day and another three to get you to ask me out. Love takes work. And theirs' just happens to be on the daily level." He said before squirming away from his boyfriend.

"I'm going to go get ready for our date now." He said softly before turning away.

It was ten minutes later when Feliciano came down stairs looking as delectable as ever. His sweet eyes were like liquid chocolate. His hair was just messy enough to be careless, but just fixed enough to be sweet. That was Ludwig's favorite word to describe his little Italian. Sweet. He was definitely sweet. Sweeter than anything else he had ever known. He pulled Feliciano in for a hug.

"I'm sorry if I insulted you, baby." He murmured into his ear. Feli smiled.

"It's fine. Oh! Five minutes to spare! I'm pretty good, ve?" He said his happiness just bubbling up again like they had never even had the disagreement in the first place. Despite himself Ludwig felt a small smile curl onto his face, but it quickly disappeared as his brother barged into the house.

"'Sup, West?" He greeted loudly and casually. The blond man flinched at the nick name.

"Gilbert! Be quiet you're in a house, not outside." He scolded.

It was a little ridiculous if you actually knew the pair. Gilbert was older and louder, more rambunctious, yet he acted at least five years younger than his actual age of thirty. He went through women and men like they were candy. He drank ridiculous amounts of alcohol and partied all the time. He was the exact opposite of his younger brother. He acted as if he were the thirty year old here. He had a stable job, went to bed at a decent time, and had a steady boyfriend.

"Hey!" He squeaked slightly as the little Italian tackled him.

"West… You mind calling your puppy off?" He asked playfully tapping the smaller man on the head lovingly. He adored Feli regardless of how he acted.

"Feliciano isn't a dog, Gilbert." He growled. Feli pulled back and beamed at Gilbert.

"He's just being himself. Don't be mean, Luddy." He said before rushing over to Francis and hugging him as well. Francis returned the squeeze happily.

"You could still come, Francis." He mumbled into his chest. The tall Frenchman shook his head.

"I really couldn't though, Feli. I don't have anyone to go with. It's a double date for a reason. I was just the ride." He said patting his back, knowing that the other just wished for him to be happy. That's all Feliciano wanted for everyone, happiness.

"Feli, you should let Francis go. I'm sure he's tired and wants to go home to sleep." Ludwig piped up. Feli reluctantly let go.

"Are you sure, Francis…?" He asked softly wanting the Frenchman to change his mind, but knowing that he probably wouldn't.

"Non, Feli, I should really be getting home. I have an early meeting anyway. Have a great night you guys. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He said with a wink before he disappeared out the door.

Ludwig looked down at his phone curiously as it beeped. He frowned a little at the message he received.

Ludwig, I don't know about this double date thing… Is it too late to call it off? - Matthew

Luddy chewed his bottom lip looking at the message before tapping out a response.

Kind of… My brother is already here and his ride just left. What's going on? - Ludwig

Alfred is extremely upset and I'm afraid to leave him alone… - Matthew

Gilbert snuck up behind him and peered at the message. He frowned. It couldn't be… Not….?

"The burger boy?" He groaned without thinking.

Ludwig jumped and flung his elbow back and dug it into his brother's ribs harshly. He spun around and glowered dangerously. He hated being snuck up on, especially by his nosy older brother.

"That was entirely rude, Gilbert. No one likes a nosy frat boy." He scolded before realizing what the other said.

"Wait, burger boy…? How did you know that was Alfred's job?" He asked unsure of the newest developments of the night. God, this was such a mess.

"We met him at McDonald's. He was all over Toni. And man was he eating it up! It was puttin' me off my food…" He trailed off with a frown.

"We – so I assume Francis was there as well?" Gilbert nodded immediately.

"Of course he was! Toni was lonely and managed to twist Francis' arm into having us stop for lunch with him which is obviously how I know who Alfred is and where he works." He explained nonchalantly. His brother nodded.

"Do you think Francis could go stay with Alfred? I don't know what happened, but if we can't get someone over there your side of the date is going to fall through." That got Gilbert going faster than he intended. The phone that was once between his fingers was now in Gilbert's hand as he stormed outside to make the call his parting words full of anger and irritation.

"I'll be damned if that fucking burger boy cock-blocks me tonight!"

He tapped his foot impatiently on the sidewalk as the connecting signal rang in his ears.

"Bonjour?" The voice on the other side of the receiver answered warily.

"Francis, it's me! Where are you right now?" He demanded making the other man splutter.

"I… I'm near that McDonald's we went to for lunch, why?" Gilbert sighed in relief.

"Great! Pull into the parking lot! I need you to do me a favor." The Frenchman sighed.

"Fine, what is it, Gilbert?" He asked clearly tired and rather exasperated with his friend. He'd spent the whole day playing chauffer and now the man wanted more? Was he never satisfied?

"I need you to go spend time with Alfred." Francis blinked.

"Alfred from this afternoon, Alfred? Alfred falling all over Toni, Alfred? Alfred who took Toni home, Alfred?" Gilbert cleared his throat clearly in a hurry.

"Yes, burger boy with a thing for the Spaniard. Look, something obviously happened, I don't know what, but I need you to help me out here. My date hangs in the balance somehow. Dunno how – It just does. I refuse to be blue-balled. Please Francis?" He asked sincerely.

Francis stayed silent as he drug his fingers through his surprisingly tangled shoulder length wavy golden locks. He bit into his plush bottom lip and chewed for a moment. He squeezed his bright cyan orbs shut for a moment. A headache was already blooming at the base of his head. He sighed.

"Alright, Gilbert, I'll do it. But where exactly do I go?" There was a moment of silence on the other side.

"Shit… I dunno, man. Lemme ask West." There was a scuffle and a bit of muffled talking.

"Alright, I'm back Franny. It's three blocks behind the McDonalds. It's an apartment complex and his door is literally an American flag, the number is 1776. Thank you, Francis." He finished softly before quickly hanging up.

Francis blinked bewildered at the dimming screen of his iPhone. He had said thank you for something? Now that was unheard of. Gilbert never thanked anyone for anything, especially not Francis. He had zero respect for the French naturalized man. He often times called him a pansy and mooched off of him. There were no thanks or gratitude expressed ever. He sighed again and just shook his head before following directions and driving to the apartment complex.

He walked cautiously up to the door and knocked. The door opened a crack and a short, pale man with purple-ish blue eyes framed peaked out at him. He swallowed.

"Who are you?" He asked timidly his voice soft and sweet. Francis smiled lightly and a bit nervously.

"I'm Francis. I met Alfred earlier today." The man furrowed his brows at the statement.

"Um, at McDonald's we had lunch together…" He trailed off uncertainly. Had Gilbert not informed him of what he was here to do? Was he not expected? He sighed.

"I'm sorry, maybe you weren't informed, but, ah, I was asked to come over and keep him company…" Francis looked entirely uncomfortable as the other man just looked bewildered.

"Gilbert really went to all that trouble for our date…?" Francis nodded.

"He did… I'm sorry if it's too much. I'm just a bit worried about Alfred and Gilbert asked…" He trailed off nervously fiddling with his fingers.

"Do you really want to be here though? I mean I don't want to impose upon you and Alfred really is a handful when he's like this. It's not really something I want to put off on another person. It'd be unfair…" Francis waved his hand dismissively.

"It's not a problem. I want to, please, allow me." He said firmly. Matthew sighed and nodded.

"Give me a moment please. I should at the very least ask Alfred about it…" He trailed off before frowning.

"I'll just wait out here. You go ahead." Francis supplied with a smile knowing that the other was struggling with just what to do with the man at his doorstep.

Leave it to Gilbert to cause a problem even when he was trying to be helpful. The man had good intentions and ideas, but he hardly thought to inform others or ask for help. It was actually rather frustrating, but there was no changing the ways of the other man. Many had tried and failed, including Francis himself, and considering Francis' job it was a big deal that he had failed. He was a renowned therapist specializing on the correction of behavior. He'd tried as a favor to Ludwig, but he'd failed miserably and it was something he felt he could never really live down for the entirety of his career. He sagged against the wall with a sigh itching for a rare cigarette, but appeased himself with gnawing on his bottom lip a bit viciously.

Mattie peeked his head out before stepping out completely. He left the door open as he shrugged on coat. Francis pushed off the wall and smiled.

"I take this as a sign that Alfred doesn't mind me staying with him?" Mattie shook his head.

"No," he said softly, "he doesn't mind, but be careful okay? He's on a bit of a self-destructive streak as of late. Try to keep him from it if you can. No alcohol if you can manage. Lots of food is usually a good idea… I'm afraid I won't be able to make it back tonight, Gilbert can be… rather insistent and I'm not very good at rejecting him…" Francis blanched.

"Okay. Okay. The picture is crystal clear. No worries, cher. I can easily take care of your brother. I take care of people for a living, well sort of, go and have fun at your date. You deserve it, Matthew." He gently pushed him towards the stairway.

Francis just shook his head and shut the door leaving Matthew outside for a moment. He licked his lips and considered just giving up on this whole idea. He reached into his pocket for his phone only to find it vibrating softly alight with Gilbert's name. He answered cautiously.

"H-Hello?" He stammered out. He could practically see Gil rolling his eyes.

"Don't you give me that shy hello like you're thinking of backing out on me on our first official date, Mattie. You're the one who wanted to make it official and public, not me, so you can't back out." Matthew sighed as he heard the sheer desperation and anxiety in his boyfriend's voice.

"Okay, okay… I'm coming, Gilbert. I'll meet you at the restaurant."

"Awesome! West, Feli, and I are heading out then! See you there, birdie." His voice is so full of relief and happiness Mattie almost convinces himself that it's okay to just leave his brother in this state with a near stranger, almost…

The night is a blur of emotions and laughing. They start out the night at a small Texas style steakhouse and end up at a rave style bar. The steakhouse was clearly Ludwig's decision, and the rave bar? That should be completely obvious as to who suggested it and twisted everyone's arm into it (Gilbert…). Feliciano had managed to get enough liquor and beer pumping through Ludwig's veins to remove the proverbial stick from his ass and get him dancing – actually having fun. So scandalous and rare, but Feli brought out a lot of good things in him like his wild side. It reminded Gilbert that his brother wasn't just a stick in the mud and book on propriety and manners. It also made Mattie loosen up and let himself drink a little more and dance sinfully against Gilbert. No one in the crowd complained of the new faces, in fact, they were welcomed into the hot writhing throng of pulsing bodies. It was phenomenal except for the dual nagging thoughts of an Italian-Spanish liaison and an American with a Frenchman who was probably more than a little overwhelmed with his task.

A/N: Long time no write, people. I know, I know, it only took me what? Four months? I suck. I get it. I get it. But I hope this helps to appease you some. Not exactly the SpAme action you're looking for, but I swear we'll get there! I just have a thick plot in mind first. I don't have a beta so I hope I'm at least doing some justice here. Lemme know what you think? (Be sure to berate me about not updating. I deserve it!)

With heaps of love and regret,

Ai Chiyo~