I do not own Hetalia okay? I have a few big things I want to get to that I have some written out but can't wait for you to read. Anyway, enough of this A/N, on with the fic.

Julius looked at his men and sighed. Here were the top lieutenant of the group, along with his grandsons. If nothing else, Feliciano is a good get away driver. Julius thought. His run away instincts need to be honed as to when to do so and when to fight. Lovino isn't as much of a risk to do so. But the theft of his truck was something that was not to be taken lightly. His men had scowered where the drivers were last for any evidence that would tell them where the trucks were. None of the equipment showed up in the usual suspected spots like flea markets and pawn shops. The booze was likely a loss. But the truck couldn't be nowhere. Running the records checks he could, he found out that it wasn't sold, no scrap yards had come into possession of it, but it was still too early to tell. These requests often took awhile. Unless they just drove the thing into the lake. He thought as he shook the thought away. Unlikely...

"Boss, what are you thinking?" Giovanni asked.

"We have some rivals trying to start up and they are using our supplies." Julius remarked.

"But where?" Toni asked, another one of the gang members.

"That I am not sure of." Julius said. "We have a missing truck, and missing cargo in said truck." He paced the study while his men followed every movement he made carefully. Feliciano seemed entranced by his grandfather, while Lovino, who had been on many a run to Canada himself really didn't care. If he was in said truck, he thought he would have at least fought back. There were times he was more talk than he was actual fight, but nowhere near where Feliciano was, thus one of the reasons that he was sent on runs more often than Feliciano was. Getting bored, he pulled out the Marx book that Matteo had given him.

"Well where was the truck stolen?" Lovino asked as he looked up from the book he was half paying attention to. Some of these ideas aren't that bad...From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

"On the North side. Near some ice cream shop..." Julius replied.

"Maybe they are around there?" Lovino suggested.

"Hmmmmm..." Julius sighed. "We'll have to have some agents in the North side. We'll also be a little more forceful when we ask people things..."

"I can get behind that..." Giovanni said with a smirk and pulled out a switchblade.

"When are the girls coming back?" Feliciano asked.

"In a week or so." Julius said. "Why?"

"Because they ask about them at the soup kitchen I've been working at since they headed to Alfred's place." Feliciano asked.

"Interesting..." Julius said. "But no worries Feli, you'll see your cousins soon enough."

"Yeay!" Feliciano said as Lovino rolled his eyes.

Arthur headed to the law office he worked at with a sigh. Here he was again, Wulver as Alba liked to call him heading to work as just another clerk while his brothers were off working the rails and meat packing plants. This week, Alba was assigned to a train headed to the Appalachians to work with the coal cars but he was going to get the moonshine that Arthur had talked to him about. Well I will try forcing Seamus and Patrick in bed together...I can get some peace in the bed... Arthur thought greedily as what Alba said about what he thought about Amelia came back into his head. "I have got to stop thinking of that. It cannot be."

"What cannot be broski?" Feliks said as he and Toris ran into Arthur.

"Oh!" Arthur said. "Nothing, nothing."

"Chill out. If you like that Amelia girl and it goes well, I'll officiate the wedding!" Feliks laughed. "Mozl tov!"

"We're not Jewish." Arthur said.

"I'm not either, but that didn't stop me." Feliks said.

"If we're in public, at least act like you are..." Toris said. "You're legally a rabbi. Act like it!"

"Fine, fine." Feliks said. "But we were thinking of taking a boat and offering it up as a speakeasy. We know a guy who could do something like you did with Gilbert there."

"Hmmmmmm..." Arthur said. "There is some merit to that..." He wondered. "But please, do not be so loud." Arthur said. "You're lucky things are so loud around here."

"Sorry, but we were heading in to sell some fish before our shift at the packing plant..." Toris said with a sudden 1000 yard stare.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked him

"Fine." Toris said. "Just heard some bad stories before the plant unionized."

"Oh." Arthur said. "I supposed there may have been some truth to that book that Sinclair wrote then, is there?"

"To say the least." Toris sighed. "Look, I can pack a punch if need be." He said dropping his tone. "I know we don't look it, but Feliks and I can fight. You will need enforcers and such and if we need to recruit more, we know who would be open to it and who can be trusted."

"You have a point." Arthur said as they approached his firm. "And either I or my brothers will reach out to you. But I am not planning anything until Alba is back from his assignment."

"Fair." Feliks said. "You know where to find us. Shalom!"

"Shalom..." Arthur replied back as Toris and Feliks went on their way.

"That man is a terrible rabbi, probably knows less about the Torah than I do, but he has a legal connection to wine now, guess that helps..." Arthur said putting his face in his palm.

Lovina stood in the kitchen with a sigh. Luckily, this farmhouse wasn't too antiquated as many others were, there was a gas cooking stove. Having a hard time coming across some of the ingredients she would need, as many tomatoes were not yet in season, she was appalled to have to use canned. But there were canned ingredients she had to use at the soup kitchen, so she could salvage it. In the freaking middle of nowhere, and I can't get all I need. No mozzarella, provolone, nothing but I guess I can salvage this. She thought as she wiped her head and burped up some stomach acid. "Great, he poisoned me with that chicken and dumplings." She said dismissing the discomfort. Taking a breath, she stirred the mixture of fresh and canned sauce and added some salt and garlic cloves. It was bubbling as she sighed and turned to the pot of ravioli she had made. All by hand. There was sone ground sausage at the market she was able to use to put in the middle. God if I got stuck here for more than a week and had to cook I would want some of the tools the chef has when it comes to pasta. No way could I make all the spaghetti without some of their tools. Well, I could I just don't want to. Lovina thought as she checked on the pasta to make sure it was cooked enough.

"My breadsticks will almost be ready soon." Felicia said as she shoved Lovina away from the stove to the nearby oven. "Get out of my way."

"Hey!" She yelled. "I'm cooking here!"

"Girls!" Alfred said with a sigh but slight panic as he dove to separate the two so Felicia could pull out the breadsticks with Alfred getting hit in the hand with the hot pan. "Ow. Son of a-" he said as he put the side of his hand in his mouth. "That fucking hurts..."

"Let me see that." Lovina said as she looked at it. "Okay, doesn't look too bad." She headed over and wet a cloth. "Here, keep that on there." She said. "I apologize for my sister."

"Hey!" Felicia said. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it to happen."

"It happens." Alfred sighed. "I've done it myself to myself. Part of being on a farm." He smiled, trying to calm Felicia down, noticing tears welling up in her eyes. "Look, just don't worry about it, it doesn't even look that bad. I'm sure I'll be fine by morning."

"Well let me kiss it like my mama would when we hurt ourselves." Felicia said as Lovina looked over with a scowl at her sister. She knew why that Felicia was doing that, she wanted Alfred for herself and was throwing herself at him.

"Okay..." Alfred said with a slightly confused look as Lovina began to spoon the ravioli onto plates and took a few breadsticks are carelessly placed them on the plate. She carefully took Alfred his plate and looked at the face he was making out the corner of her eye. He looked like he was feeling awkward about it but trying to not let Felicia get mad. Not that she could get mad at you. I swear when that Potato eating bastard of hers left for the war, she wasn't mad then but some forelorn lover, hoping to see him come back from that hell that was the Italian border. She recalled what Lovino had told her of when he was in the army when they were heading to America after the war was over. "Uh thanks..." He said as Felicia sat at her seat and looked slightly disappointed at the sauce.

"Dinner." Lovina said. "And despite being with limited fresh goods, I think I did better than your chicken and dumplings." She teased Alfred.

"I'll be the judge of that." Alfred said. "You have a high bar to meet though, my first experience with real Italian food was what they make at your grandfather's." He poured both Lovina and Felicia a glass of milk and one himself. "Sorry I don't have much wine. Before prohibition, I kept some bourbon handy, but best I can do here is my neighbor's moonshine. I don't think you girls would handle that well."

"How about you get me a shot then." Lovina smirked.

"How uncouth." Felicia whispered as she took a bite of the ravioli. "And this sauce is terrible."

"I'd like to see you do better." Lovina said. "You saw the store. Tomatoes and basil are not in season and I don't have that cheese sauce recipe from that restaurant we went to or I'd have made that."

"Here." Alfred said as he poured some of his personal moonshine into a tea cup for Lovina.

"You poured a shot into a teacup?" She scoffed.

"I don't have proper shot glasses; I normally just down this thing straight from the jar." Alfred smirked. "Most of the time, it's me by myself up here. You think I am suited for guests other than my neighboring farmers?"

"I suppose not." Lovina said as she took the cup and sipped the liquid. Her eyes widened as she felt a slight burn as it went down her throat. She felt her head lighten.

"Now you may not get too drunk off that," Alfred said. "I mean they always say to eat something before you have alcohol."

"Maybe after dinner I'll make some tea and then you can put that in there." Lovina said as Alfred laughed.

He loves her because she's so uncouth, so unrefined and not like the other girls. Felicia realized. He may not know it himself, but he loves her and that is why! She realized as she continued on the ravioli. No amount of me throwing myself at him will win his heart. Maybe I should act more like her. Then again, why do I want him? Because I am desperate to get married because Ludwig promised to marry me when the war ended? Well he died, so that's not going to happen. She thought slightly despondent when she took a sip of the milk This is pretty good milk... Looking over at how Alfred was talking to Lovina, she sighed. "This milk is pretty good."

"Fresh." Alfred smiled. "And I make sure my girls have the best care I can give them."

"Well it shows." She said as she went back to her food.

Alfred finished his food and got up and saw there was more in the pot of both ravioli and sauce. He took the spoons and helped himself to more. "Take it you liked it." Lovina smiled proudly.

"Not bad. I mean it's nothing like your grandpa's chefs make but..." Alfred began.

"I don't have the access they do to the right ingredients, so I did the best I could." Lovina said as she got up and clean off her plate.

"I'll do the dishes." Felicia said getting up.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Alfred said. "I could do them before bed."

"No, I need something to do to help. Grandpa always likes Lovina and I taking up chores of the average person to show them we are just like them." She smiled feebly.

"Well thank you." Alfred said as she took his plate and put it in the sink and began to pour water into a large pot to heat up to wash with. As Alfred took Lovina into the living room, she put a kettle on to make the tea and smirked out of the room. Looking at her hands as she washed the pots, pans and plates, she lifted up her left hand and thought of the promise that Ludwig had made and just how she would be if he had lived. He had looked after her, taken care of her and found her mannerisms charming, even if he acted like they were annoying. She knew that if he hadn't died, they'd be happy in Germany together. Or Italy, they hadn't decided where just then and it was before her grandfather became rich and kept his grandchildren closer than he did before. "Alfred is nothing like Ludwig." She told herself, trying to force herself to let go and be happy for her sister, even if she and Alfred didn't know what they were feeling themselves. I mean I know she came out of his room this morning when I got up adjusting her pajamas. She thought.

So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. I have a few really big things planned for this story, so stay tuned. I don't know how fast I can update, just depends on how much inspiration I have and time. Anyway, remember to read (well you just did) and review. Ciao for now,

otherrealmwriter

aka

Realm.