It was a pleasant autumn morning, just the right kind of chilly before the weather took a turn for the worse. Birds were chirping in the trees and a cool breeze caressed the two men's cheeks. Dried leaves crunched under Austria's boots as he gingerly followed Germany through the woods, treading carefully and holding his Prussian-blue coat above his knees.

"What is the meaning of this, Ludwig?" He called after the broad-shouldered man a few paces in front of him, a slight frown passing over his features as his coat caught on a twig. Germany turned, a ghost of a smile passing over his face, and answered, "Just thought it'd do you good to get some fresh air, Roderich. You've been sitting at your piano this whole week, surely you're going to get carpal tunnel syndrome anytime soon." Austria frowned again. "That's–" he was abruptly cut off as Germany slowed to a halt. They had come to a large clearing; birch trees framed the grassy space. Without a word, Germany took Austria's hand and gave it a gentle tug. Austria, momentarily distracted by how Germany's hand was big and warm and rough despite the cold weather, allowed himself to be led to a particularly large tree at the edge of the clearing. When he looked up, Germany was gazing down at him with a smile in his oh-so-blue eyes.

"Roderich, we're going to climb this tree." Austria blinked in confusion. "What – Ludwig, you know I can't climb–" Ludwig simply rolled his eyes, looped an arm around Austria's waist and gave a sharp tug (Austria letting out a little squeak). Before he could even protest, Germany had both his arms around Austria's waist. Austria could feel Germany's muscles tense. "On the count of three, I'm going to give you a boost and you're going to climb up. One…"

"Wait, Ludwig!" Austria panicked, trying to wriggle free. "I'm not–"

"Two…" The blond-haired man murmured into Austria's ear, causing him to temporarily still in his struggling. Germany grabbed his chance.

"Three!" Suddenly, the ground seemed so very far away from Austria's feet, and he couldn't help but squawk and scramble for a foothold, his flailing arms catching onto a nearby tree branch. Below him, Germany grunted, "Haul yourself onto that branch there, yes, that big broad one…" A moment later, Austria was sitting on a low branch, disoriented, his heart still hammering. Germany climbed up after him with easy grace and swung his legs over the branch. "Nice view, isn't it?" Austria spun to face Germany, spluttering with outrage. "Ludwig! You–" Once again, he was interrupted by Ludwig pulling him into a warm embrace. "Just enjoy the view," he heard Ludwig rumble into his hair, warm breath tickling the brunet's strands. Austria sighed, gave up, and pressed his forehead into the thick, coarse material of Ludwig's greatcoat, listening to the steady heartbeat. There was a moment of silence, then he felt Germany pull back slightly. He looked up, eyebrows furrowed and a question on his lips, but then suddenly Germany's fingers were cupping his chin and tilting his face upwards and Germany himself was leaning in and kissing Austria and oh–

"AHAH!" A very loud, very familiar voice startled them, causing them to break away. Germany looked towards the source of the voice, glowering and growling low in the back of his throat. Austria, disoriented and nerves still on fire, followed Germany's gaze – and saw a certain albino man grinning up at them, hands on his hips. Germany opened his mouth to snap at his older brother, but before he could get a word out –

"AUSTRIA AND GERMANY SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Prussia yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing at the couple with a huge shit-eating grin on his face. "GILBERT!" Germany roared, shooting a death glare at the gleeful cockblocker, and would've continued if Hungary had not suddenly burst out a nearby shrub, shaking her fist at Prussia and waving a camera and shrieking. It was all too much for Austria, who very much felt like burying his flaming red face in his hands or even better, pouring his feelings into a heart-wrenching Chopin concerto. Instead, he settled for jumping off the branch, coat and tree bedamned, and strode towards the two bickering nations, fully intent on giving them a piece of his mind –

"Roderich." He felt Germany's arms slide around his waist and his warm breath ticking his ear. "Don't mind them. Let's go home." Austria started to protest but when Germany took his hand and pulled him away, found that he could not resist. Sighing, he cast one last glare at Prussia, who was getting soundly beaten by Hungary (where did she get that frying pan?), and allowed himself to be led away, down the path with sunlight filtering through the red and gold leaves, back towards home.

Behind them, Hungary, having beaten the living daylights out of Prussia, stormed off in a huff; while the great Prussia himself lay comatose till the evening. It was still autumn. The birds were still singing. And Germany and Austria were still deeply and irrevocably in love with each other.

I've never climbed a tree. I wish I could try someday...
(this was really fun to write teehee)