Lovino stood at the docks watching the ships begin to come in from their most recent voyage. It had been a two-year sea trek and Lovino was anxious to see the Spaniard who was suppose to be his caretaker. Simply because Spain wasn't here didn't mean Lovino was alone. Miss Belgium was always a smiling face to wake up to and Mr. Netherlands, although a bit scary was good about helping Miss Belgium around the estate. In fact Miss Belgium and Mr. Netherlands stood back a bit from Lovino keeping an eye on the tiny Italian. The eyes on him though did nothing to keep him from prancing about a bit nervously. He grabbed the edges of his shirt and tugged at it impatiently. There were definitely not as many ships coming in as there had been going out. Lovino explicitly remembers. He bites his lips as his eyes widen. The ships are close enough he can see the names. His wide hazel eyes scan over them and….No. Tears well up big in his eyes and his arms fall to his sides. Miss Belgium comes up and scoops Lovino up as he cries quietly. Feli cries loudly, but Lovi always was quiet the rare times he did cry.
"Hush hush Lovi! I'm sure Antonio is on a different ship. You know he is pretty sturdy." Miss Belgium tried softly but Lovi simply shook his head and cried harder, his tiny body shaking. She looked to Mr. Netherlands, feeling a bit lost but there was nothing to be said to the boy. "Lets go back to the house." Tim said softly, well, softly for Mr. Netherlands Lovi supposed.
Miss Belgium carried Lovi back the whole way and when they got to the house she offered to make her famous waffles but Lovi didn't want waffles. He wanted the tomato sauce that only Antonio knew how to make! Lovi ran off quickly from Miss Belgium and Mr. Netherlands. Down the long hallway and up the stairs, down this new hallway now and there, third door on the left. Lovi stood before the door and slowly pushed it open. No one was in there but the room looked like it had once been lived in. A large bed with a thick wooden backboard next to a window with light airy curtains, with the perfect view of that damned sea. Lovi cursed the sea quietly as he closed the door quietly and moved to crawl into Antonio's bed. Lovi grabbed the pillow and hugged it close as he sat by the window watching as the ships finally finished docking and the men poured out. He wanted to hate those men for loosing Antonio. Lovi simply couldn't bring himself to do it though. The hours moved slowly as he watched the men leave the ships. The dock men moved and emptied the ships of cargo and then began to wash them and inspect them, some of them were no longer fit for the sea, and even Lovi could see that. Eventually the hours grew too late and the sun was long gone from the sky. Lovi strained his eyes to see the sea in the darkness. A knock at the door had his head wheeling around to see who would enter.
Miss Belgium cracked the door open and held a tray up. There was a bowl of something warm and a cup beside it. Lovino frowned a moment till his stomach growled. His cheeks lit up and he scooted down from the bed as Miss Belgium smiled and set the tray down on the floor to allow Lovino to eat. She crouched there by him quietly, a simple smile on her face as she watched. "Are you staying in here tonight Lovi?" she asked quietly and Lovi nodded as he pushed another mouthful of the vegetable soup into his mouth. He got a few more mouthfuls in before a spasm moved through him and the spoon got flung from his hand. He frowned, tears forming again as he pulled his legs up to his chest. "This is Antonio's fault!" he claimed quietly.
Miss Belgium smiled sadly and shook her head. "You don't mean that Lovi. We all miss him but I know he is doing everything he can to get back to us. I know he was trying to help you with that but just because he had to leave in the middle doesn't mean anything. You know he wanted to stay Lovi. He hates leaving us. Leaving you!" she said soothingly and moved to rub small circles on Lovi's back as he hiccupped quietly into his knees.
He didn't say anything and after a little while fell asleep, his head resting on his knees. Miss Belgium smiled again and scooped Romano up to put him in Antonio's bed gently. She tucked him in and kissed his forehead. He grumbled in his sleep and curled towards the window. Miss Belgium glanced through the opening and frowned softly. "Where are you Antonio?" she asked quietly to herself.
The next morning Lovi woke up groggily and glanced around the room. He was in Antonio's room. It was at least mid morning if not early afternoon. Lovi crawled out of bed and moved slowly back to his room to change clothes. He was in fresh clothes and his hair was sorted out when he realized that he had to start tomato harvesting today! Antonio would be so upset if Lovino forgot! Lovi dashed down the stairs and even bypassed the breakfast table.
"Why didn't you wake me Miss Belgium! Tomato harvests start today!" he called as he kicked out into the fields. A few others were there with children to assist.
He smiled lightly and grabbed a basket to move into the fields himself.
"Ah Lovi I don't think you should go without an adult!" Miss Belgium called after him.
"Don't worry about it! Antonio showed me how to do this plenty of times!" Lovi called and reached for the first tomato.
Another spasm kicked through him and his hand crushed the delicate fruit in his hand. He stood frozen and unmoving as the juice slid down his arm. Tears flooded his eyes again and Miss Belgium quickly moved towards him. It didn't help though. Another child saw and thus it begun.
"What's wrong? Why did you squeeze that tomato so hard?" the child asked Lovi curious.
Lovi looked at them and laughed awkwardly. "I ah..I just…my hand…it just." The child didn't wait and handed Lovi another tomato to put in his basket though it didn't help, another spasm, another crushed tomato, more tears.
"Stop crushing them!" the child cried and shoved Lovi down. Lovi sat in the dirt looking up at the child with tears in his eyes. "I didn't try to! I can't help it!" He cried out to the child and stood up.
Miss Belgium was there in an instant and scooping Lovino up and carrying him away quickly back into the house. "Shh… Sh… its okay Roma…" she soothed. She smiled tiredly when Tim came in and gave a confused look to her. She twirled around a bit to ease Lovi as she whispered sweet nothings to him. Eventually he quieted down and simply sat in her arms.
Miss Belgium eventually sat Lovi down on the table in the kitchen while she got to work cooking dinner. Tonight it was sausage and potatoes. Lovi hated it when Miss Belgium cooked the stupid German food but he supposed she could make what she wanted since she was cooking. Lovi said on the table quietly eating a tomato some of the workers had brought it for them. "We can go out this evening to pick some Lovi. No one else will be there, just us! We can pick as many as we want!" she offered as she put the potatoes on to boil.
He shook his head quickly, "I don't want to squish anymore. Antonio would be sad if all the tomatoes got ruined by me." He mumbled looking down at his shoes. Some of the tomato guts from the earlier fruits he had tried to pick still sat on his shoes. He toed the shoes off and let them fall to the ground in a thud. Miss Belgium frowned a bit but said nothing as Lovi moved off the table and went to go sit in the sitting room. He could again see the sea from here. Not as well as he could in Antonio's room but well enough that he could spend a few hours sitting there watching it. Miss Belgium came in an hour or so later and called him to dinner with her and Mr. Netherlands. They sat down at the table and Miss Belgium served them food.
They ate quietly at first and Lovi pushed the food around for a few minutes before he put his fork down. "Miss Belgium?" he asked quickly.
She perked up a bit and looked at him. "Yes Lovi?" she asked politely.
"Can we go sit at the docks tomorrow? I promise I won't cry or anything!" he said quickly.
Miss Belgium smiled sadly and shook her head gently. "I'm sorry Lovi, I have to work the fields tomorrow with Mr. Netherlands." She apologized again and Lovi's head lowered. He ate the rest of his meal silently.
The rest of the evening went by much the same with Lovi refusing to say a word. Finally he returned to Antonio's room and lay down to sleep.
Lovi woke up late again the next morning. It was warm out, unbelievably humid and sticky out. Lovi groaned a bit and flailed his arms as he got out of bed quickly. He ran down the hall to his room to change into cooler clothes before he went downstairs. Miss Belgium and Mr. Netherlands were already out working the fields, hunched backs and baskets filling quickly. He glanced at the table and grabbed two tomatoes before filling a cup with water. He drank the water and ate one tomato quickly before sneaking out the side door of the estate. Normally he could come and go as he pleased around the village. Normally Antonio was here. This wasn't normal and so Lovi wasn't really suppose to go down through the village without someone. He wanted to sit by the docks though! Maybe if he waited there Antonio would see him and come home.
Lovi rushed down through the side streets and through the village to the docks. He didn't quite make it there though. Children from the fields yesterday caught up to him and one of the boys tripped him rudely.
"My dad told me that your dad didn't come back the other day on the boats." The boy said callously.
"They're not boats they're SHIPS!" Lovi cried standing up shaking. His tomato that he had carried to eat later or give to Antonio was crushed against his shirt now.
"You can't have anything nice can you?" it was the child from yesterday. "You crush all the pretty tomatoes!" she exclaimed.
Lovi shook his head, "I don't try to!" he mumbled.
"I bet that's why your dad didn't come back." Another boy entirely said.
Lovi shook his head hard, his curl bouncing about. A child moved forward and grabbed the hair pulling. Lovi's cheeks lit up like tomatoes and tears poured down his cheeks.
"Don't pull it please" he mumbled.
It was one thing with Antonio, it was another with humans entirely. As countries, Lovino and Antonio were stronger then humans. If Lovino didn't like something, a flying head butt usually got the picture across. However with humans, especially children, Lovino wasn't sure how strong he could be with them. He didn't want to hurt humans; it was a bad idea all around. However he didn't like his curl being pulled either!
The children pulled harder and one came up, shoving him down. His curl was pulled from the other child's hands and Lovi stayed down this time curling up and protecting his curl and face.
The children didn't stay to bother him though. Thunder clapped after a flash of light and the children scurried home. A moment later as Lovi stood up and the rain poured down in waves over him, drenching him in minutes. He looked up at the estate and considered going back. He was already soaked and already at the docks practically. He might as well go sit for a bit. Besides maybe Antonio would come back. Lovi recalled the one time it was pouring and the waves were even taller than Mr. Netherlands, but Antonio still came home.
Lovi made it down on to the docks and sat down quietly. The rain poured and the sound against the ocean eased Lovi a bit but really his eyes were aching at trying to see through the storm out to sea. A few people ran past behind him yelling out something in Spanish that Lovi didn't quite pick up. It was still a stupid language and hard to learn. He turned back to the sea and saw a ship coming in. It looked like it was barely afloat and it was rocking so hard. Lovi stood up and his hands came up to clutch his chest tightly.
"Lovi what are you doing out here in this storm! Come in right now before you catch a plague!" Miss Belgium yelled running down on to the docks.
"But no! Its Antonio! I know it is Miss Belgium!" Lovi called hard over the rain and pointed out at the ship.
"Lovi nothing is there will you please come in with me!" Miss Belgium shook her head and after a moment more leaned down and picked the child up. Lovi screamed like Miss Belgium might be flogging him but no she carried him back and put him to a warm bath to warm him up. He cried in the tub and cried as she dressed him for bed and cried after she had tucked him in and walked out of the room. He got up and looked out over the docks and into the sea. There were no new ships at dock and none out at the harbor. Where was Antonio's ship? Lovi could have sworn he saw it! Did it sink right there? Lovi cried harder but was still quiet.
The next three days passed the same. It rained cats and dogs the whole time and Miss Belgium would send Lovi down to the docks with a servant and umbrellas. Lovi would stand at the dock from when he got up in the morning till Belgium came to get them for dinner. The servant would bring a lunch sometimes or Lovi would grab some tomatoes to snack on. He didn't care either way. He just needed to see Antonio. Know what happened to the Spaniard. Countries weren't easy to kill and surely if Antonio had been killed or taken over wouldn't there be something happening here in the country? Lovi was confused and upset.
The third day Lovi was walking down in his rain boots and his umbrella down to the dock. One of the servants was following behind him quietly. Men rushed past Lovino and accidently tripped him. He fell forward flat on his face into the mud. One of the men doubled back to check on him and Lovi asked what the rush was about.
"One of the ships from the fleet returned early this morning." He explained and Lovi was on his feet flying faster then light towards the dock. Men were already leaving the ships and they looked horrible. Heavy bandages and blood soaked shirts. Lovi's eyes were wide as the rain soaked him down again. The servant finally caught up and handed him back his umbrella. He took it and white knuckles held the rod in place to cover him. His eyes scanned the men and it took forever but finally, old, worn, black boots slid down the plank onto the dock. Lovi's hands released the umbrella and he flew to those legs. "Antonio!" he called loudly.
Antonio spun around and saw a flash of auburn hair before his legs were squeezed tightly. "Ah…Roma?" he murmured pulling the boy's arms away as he kneeled down. "Look at you! You've grown so big!" he smiled a bit though his arm was bandaged and his chest had bandages peaking out from under his shirt. He didn't really wear his jacket so much as had it resting on his shoulders. His head also had some bandages around his head.
"You stupid IDIOT!" Lovi cried hard and his tiny little hand came down on Antonio's chest. The Spaniard coughed and fell to his knees completely. Lovino startled a bit, his eyes wide.
Antonio put his hand to his chest to try to ease the pain as he looked up at Roma in a wince. "I'm sorry Roma. I know you're mad at me…But…take it easy on boss for a couple days okay?" he murmured. Some of the men from the ship came and helped Antonio back up checking on him. Antonio waved them off and leaned down offering his arms to Lovi. Lovi shook his head but grabbed Antonio's hand before placing the umbrella in the other. "Come on lets go home." He murmured glancing away.
Antonio looked surprised at Lovi but nodded happily. He moved forward to take a step and fell right back down to his knees. He sat there a moment as Lovi whipped back to him and cried out for him. Lovi's tiny arms wrapped around Antonio's shoulders and held him tightly. "Stupid idiot! Getting hurt so bad! Taking forever to get home! I should leave you like you leave me!" Roma said quickly as tears formed and tipped down over his cheeks.
Antonio pulled back shaking his head. "Don't go Lovi. The only way I can come home is because I know I have my cute mi tomate here waiting for me."
Lovi looked at him, tears streaming down his face as he nodded slowly. "Then don't leave me alone for so long!"
Antonio smiled softly and nodded, "Alright Lovi. Lets get home okay? You can be doctor again." Lovi nodded agreeably and helped Antonio up the best he could.
They walked through the village and cheers rang out through the rain. Antonio would wave to them and smile, not putting off how hurt he really was. He barely made it to the house and collapsed to his knees in the vestibule once inside. Miss Belgium was there in an instant being the adult Lovino wishes he could be for Antonio.
"Don't bandage him! He said I could do it!" Lovi called following them up stairs. A bath had already been prepared and Lovi got in with Antonio, refusing to be but a foot away from the man.
Antonio needed a bit more assistance than Lovi could provide but Miss Belgium was there. She smiled a moment then asked Lovi to help her with a big job.
"Lovi would you help Antonio out really big this time? We didn't get his clothes or fresh bandages from the storage room down the hall and in his bedroom. Can you go get that stuff for us?" she asked with a big smile that said it would be the biggest help to her.
Lovi's chest puffed up and he nodded wiggling out of he tub with Antonio's help. Once out of the room Antonio gave Lauren, that was the name she was using now a days, a curious glance. "My clothes and fresh bandages are right-"
SMACK.
Lauren looked so upset and angry at Antonio as her own tears welled up in her eyes. "That child is so much stronger then you'll ever know Antonio because you're gone ninety percent of his life!" she cried.
"He still has that problem with the muscle spasms. The kids are starting to tease him! He's been so patient with you, waiting for you! The past four days he's gone down to the dock every day, rain or shine looking for you. One of these days you'll go out to sea and he'll never see you again. Tim and I are fine. We're use to countries disappearing. Lovi isn't. We still haven't told him his grandpa has finally disappeared completely! You can't leave anymore Antonio. Spain has plenty of young men for the sea. Stay home." She asked softly looking to him carefully.
Antonio nodded slowly as Lovi came back with clothes and fresh bandages. He pouted a moment when he saw the materials already gathered on a chair near the door. "Miss Belgium!" he cried upset that he had left Antonio for a pointless task.
"Sorry Lovi! I didn't know it was already taken care of!" she smiled apologetically and Lovi huffed a bit crawling back in the tub with Antonio.
The Spaniard looked at Lovi for a long minute and noticed some of the baby fat beginning to burn away and his eyes weren't as wide as he remembered. Lovi was growing up and Antonio was missing it. He frowned and Lovi looked at him confused. "What are you frowning over tomato idiot?" he asked moving closer in the water.
Antonio moved forward and despite the aches and pains and wounds, hugged the boy close. "I'm sorry Lovi. I left you so long and so often when you've needed me the most. I'll be here from now on. I'll help you get over that stupid muscle thing. We'll show those kids you're perfectly normal. I'll be here for you now Lovi." Antonio mumbled into the little mop of auburn hair.
Lovi was started at the hug at first, not really use to it but stayed quiet and listened to Antonio talk. His little arms moved up to hug him back closely as he nodded. "I don't really care about those other kids so long as you're here." He murmured burying his face in the crook of Antonio's shoulder.
Antonio smiled and leaned back in the tub to relax for a bit as Lovi clung to him.
Lovino woke up a bit groggy next to Antonio and groaned rolling away from the sun pouring in their window. "Tonio…?" he murmured peaking his head up at the Spaniard.
Antonio lifted his head to look at Lovi in return a bit sleepily, "Si mi tomate?" he mumbled half awake.
"I had a dream about when you last came home from the pirate voyages. All those years ago.." he mumbled closing his eyes.
Antonio looked at Lovi more awake and stayed silent. Lovi looked at Antonio carefully. "Do you regret giving up the sea then to take care of me?" Lovino asked softly.
Antonio grinned brightly and shook his head. "Lovi, anything involving you is impossible to regret. I would give up anything to make sure you were, are and would be okay." Antonio explained happily.
Lovi nodded for a moment then rolled his eyes a small stupid smile on his face. "Sappy Bastard." He mumbled rolling back over and moving back to sleep as Antonio moved closer, wrapping his arms around the Italian and cuddling with him before he went back to sleep himself.
As my Spain requests, I shall write more. This time she wanted a Chibi Romano and Pirate Spain fic. I had no problem pulling this one out and am considering making the RP between my Spain and I a fic though it'll take a good bit of time and effort. Haven't completely decided yet.
Anyway enjoy.
EDIT: Spaced for your easy reading pleasures.