Drabble I ~ Just a Children's Game

Author's Note: This is just a little one-shot I came up with together with Chica-Samira. It started as a lighthearted Tomato-family fanfic but then it turned into something more serious. Everything is explained in the fic.

Summary: Tomato-family. Netherlands has left Spain's house and has gone to war with him. Belgium, Romano and Luxembourg stay behind in Spain's house and a children's game brings up the painful subject.

Extra: Sort of OC Luxembourg (In historical aspect this character is questionable but I wanted him to have a bit of spotlight as well.)
Mentions of SpaBel, if you squint.

Enjoy!
X.

~ x ~

The light of the descending sun shone in oranges and reds through the windows of the kitchen as Belgium finished off the last of the dishes. She sighed heavily in delight as she dried her hands on her apron and placed the last of the plates in the cupboard.
She was nearly done for the day. The only task still ahead of her was to get Romano and Luxembourg in their beds and then she would finally be able to relax.
Belgium walked through the hallway of Spain's large house and up the massive oak stairs towards one of the more grander bedrooms that the Spaniard had redecorated into a playroom for the two smaller nations. As she walked, the Belgian girl prayed that both boys wouldn't be too difficult this evening. But her hopes were short-lived as she could distinguish raised voices coming from the room. The closer she got, the louder the high-pitched voices sounded and Belle sighed in exasperation, wondering when those two would finally learn how to play with each other nicely.
Belle turned the knob of the door and gasped at the sight before her.

The whole room had been turned inside out. Toys were scattered across the floor as two piles of furniture and cushions were placed in front of one another in such a fashion that they looked like huge fluffy fortresses.
In the fortress on her left she saw her little brother swinging his arms rapidly, 'bombarding' the other fortress with little wooden toy-blocks. His light brown curls bounced up and down frantically together with his high-squeaked war cries of "Take that! And that! And that".
Out of the fortress that was currently 'under attack' Belgium saw South-Italy's single hair curl peeping through the multicolored cushions he was using as a defensive barrier. Whenever Luxembourg would run out of 'ammunition' for a few seconds, South-Italy peered his caramel-colored eyes over the cushions and started throwing similar objects in his little enemy's direction, accompanied with the shouts of rather offensive curse words and taunts.

Belgium took a few steps forward and was just about to ask what was going on when Luxembourg rather carelessly flung a little wooden toy-soldier across the room and struck his sister on the head.

"Ow!" Belgium grunted when the wooden toy made contact with the side of her head rather harshly.

The two little nations finally acknowledged her presence and their eyes widened in worry. They scurried over to where Belle was standing, rubbing the side of her head to stop a bump from forming.

"Look what you did, idiota!" Romano was first to arrive by Belgium's side.

"I'm so sowwy!" Luxembourg exclaimed rather cutely, reaching Belgium's other side a few seconds later.

Belgium smiled, not at all hurt as badly as the two little nations thought she was. They had both taken a few folds of her skirt into their tiny fists and looked up at her with big beautiful eyes, one pair as blue as the ocean and another as warm as honey-sweet caramels.

Belgium couldn't be mad at them, she found them both too adorable for words.

"It's okay, Lux. I'm fine." She crouched down to her little brother's eye-level.

"I didn't mean to hit you, I swear." He told her with watery eyes.

Belle took his little fist in her hand, untangling his fingers from her skirt and squeezed it reassuringly. "I know you didn't Lux. Please don't cry, okay?"

Luxembourg didn't seem convinced and, apparently, neither was Romano. "But you were rubbing your head just now, so that means it did hurt." The little Italian said hotly.

Belgium turned her eyes towards Romano and gave him a reassuring smile. "Ah, that's just a natural reaction, Romano. I'm fine, really."

Romano still didn't seem very convinced and opened his mouth to retort but Belgium cut him off when a playful idea came to mind. "You could always give it a kiss, so it would stop hurting or turn into a bump."

Belgium's eyes shined mischievously and a feline grin graced her lips when she saw Romano's cheeks flush. He stuttered something incomprehensible in Italian and started fumbling with his white apron, not knowing what to say to that.

"I'll give it a kiss, grote zus, if it'll help?" Lux seemed happy to heal what he had caused.

Belgium smiled at him and leaned her head closer to her baby brother's face. He brushed some of her golden hair aside and gave the spot where the toy soldier had hit her a quick peck with his tiny lips.

"Is that all better?" He asked.

Belle ruffled his brown hair affectionately. "Much better, Lux. Merci beaucoup!"

That seemed to brighten the young nation's spirits again.

Belgium was about to stand up straight when she felt a little tug on her skirt. Romano had re-entangled his fingers in the fabric and pulled on it lightly, trying to get her to look at him.

Belle shifted her attention to the Italian boy. "Yes, Romano? What's the matter?"

Romano looked about ready to explode, that's how red his face was. He stared holes into the floor, embarrassed, while he mumbled something Belgium couldn't quite understand.

"What was that?" She asked.

Romano blushed even harder now and repeated himself timidly, not trying to look Belgium in the eyes, which was a rather strange sight to see coming from such a loud child. "I want to kiss it too." He said in a very small voice.

Belle thought her heart would melt. For all the times Romano caused Belgium trouble, it were these little gestures that made them all fly away in seconds. She giggled on the inside but refrained from doing so out loud, Belle didn't want the boy to feel like she was laughing at him.

"Okay." She just said and leaned in closer so Romano could easily reach her face.

The little Italian rather clumsily stumbled forward and placed a soft kiss on the same throbbing spot. The blush that spread from his ears to his cheeks moments later was too adorable for words and Belgium now saw quite clearly why Spain often called his henchman his cute little tomato.

"Thank you, Romano. The pain is all gone now, isn't that great?" Belgium gave the little nation a wide and happy smile and grabbed a hold of his little hand next. "Now, I think it's time for you two to go to bed."

Belle took Luxembourg's tiny fingers in her other hand and lead the two young nations towards their bedroom. She ignored their little wails of protest and walked steadily onward. Belgium wasn't one to cave in that easily.
When they entered the bedroom she helped Luxembourg to dress into his nightgown. Seeing as he was only 4 years old in human years, he still had difficulty pulling the complicated sleepwear over his head. Romano, on the other hand, had insisted from the start that he could do it himself. He did exceed Lux's human age with two years so Belgium let him, careful not to look while he undressed because the little Italian was rather prude when it came to that.
Apart from Spain's own quarters, the bedroom was the largest one in the entire house. The floor was covered in maroon colored carpet while velvet curtains in the same color hung from the 7 feet high windows. The beds of the little nations could probably fit about 10 children each and the trunks in front of them were stuffed to the brim with clothes.
Spain didn't mind spending a few thousand Florins to maintain the comfort of his 'guests'.

"What about our fortresses?" Luxembourg whined. "Don't you want us to clean them up?"

Belgium knew this was her baby brother's idea of prolonging the 'going to bed'-ritual, by taking an unnecessarily long amount of time cleaning up the play-room. She didn't fell for that anymore. She'd rather clean it all up by herself. It would take half as much time than when Romano and Luxembourg would do it.

"Nice try, Lux." She murmured, slipping the little white nightgown over her brother's head.

"But we were fighting a war!" He protested. "We can't just leave the battlefield!"

Belle rolled her eyes. "Yes, you can." She pulled one of Lux's arms through the long right sleeve. "Soldiers need to sleep too." She reasoned.

"But we're no mere soldiers!" Romano joined in.

"Well then, generals have to sleep too." Belle sighed.

"But we're not generali either, we're-"

"No more 'buts'!" Belle interjected looking around at Romano. "The sun has already set and you're both still up! You won't be able to wake up in the morning."

Belgium finished dressing her brother and was about to lay him under the blankets when she noticed the sad pout on his face. The female nation sighed inwardly. When she turned around to watch Romano he had already crawled into his bed, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
What just happened? Had she said something wrong?
Belle now sighed loudly and carried Luxembourg towards Romano's bed where she placed him next to the little Italian. She sat herself on the corner of the bed as well and tilted her head quizzically to the side.

"Now, what's with the sad faces?" She asked them.

Romano clammed his teeth together and deepened his scowl, stubbornly refusing to answer. Luxembourg on the other hand was silently sniffling into the bed sheets and his bottom lip quivered dangerously.

"Lux?" Belgium stroked the palm of her hand over his chubby cheek. "Are you crying because you can't play anymore? Come on, you can still play tomorrow. Right?"

Luxembourg just nodded slightly, eyes downward. Romano still refused to talk. Belgium was baffled to see them both acting so strangely. It's not like it was the first time they had been playing together when they needed to go to bed. What was so important about their little war-game today?

Belle tried once more to lift their spirits. "If you'd like, I'll leave the playroom like it is now? I won't clean it up, so that tomorrow you can continue where you left off. Does that sound good?"

That seemed to brighten their moods a little, seeing as Romano stopped scowling and Luxembourg looked up expectantly. Though they still didn't look as relieved with Belgium's proposal as she thought they would've been.

"It's just…" Romano silently spoke, looking down as if the cringes in the bed sheets were absolutely fascinating. He looked thoughtful. Trying to get a grip on his thoughts before he voiced them.

This fact made Belgium aware that the situation must apparently be taken more seriously than she previously reckoned; Romano never, ever, thought before he spoke. He mostly just blurted everything right out like the blunt little nation he was.

"It's just that, we were fighting a real war." He locked eyes with Belle, still seated on the edge of the bed. "A war that's going on right now and…" He shifted his eyes back down, a pink blush creeping onto his cheeks. "…And we really wanted to know who was going to win."

Realization hit Belgium like the wooden toy soldier had done on the side of her head moments before. A barely audible "oh" escaped her lips and a sudden feel of nausea swept over her, the touch of cold sweat running down her spine in reaction.
She tried to ignore all of this, still keeping a smile on her face for the children's sake. But she couldn't retain her eyes from glazing over with the memories of past events.
Spain and The Netherlands violently arguing in the house, Belgium trying to block out the loud voices from Romano and Luxembourg, the built up tension, Netherlands dark looks when he witnessed Spain's display of affection towards Belgium,…
And then the day her brother left crossed in front of Belle's eyes. She felt so pained to see him go, not knowing what to do when he told her she could always join him when she was ready. Belgium remembered herself nodding quietly, tears in her eyes and arms outstretched, trying desperately to touch him, hold him, hug him. But Spain held a dominating arm around her waist, preventing Belle from reaching her brother; his own green eyes blazing with fire and his Spanish accent rolling thickly over his tongue when he told The Netherlands he'd be sorry for trying to fight him.

"… Belle?"

When hearing Luxembourg's voice, Belgium snapped out of her, quite hurtful, walk down memory lane. She visually shook her head and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I just…" She tried thinking of an excuse. "… I just- I- I'm probably tired as well." She forced herself to smile, hoping the little nations wouldn't start questioning her.

The three of them were silent for a few moments before Romano and Luxembourg looked at each other quizzically. They weren't buying Belgium's attempt to look happy and absolutely not disturbed or worried at all with the little nations way of turning frightful events into a childish game.

"What do you think Belgium?" Romano braved himself to ask her.

Belgium blinked a few times, trying to register the question but failing miserably. "About what?" She asked and too late it downed on her what a stupid thing it was of her to inquire further.

"About this war between that Dutch jerk and that Spanish idiot." Romano puffed out annoyed.

Belgium rolled her eyes inwardly at Romano's choice for words. She had tried reprimanding him numerous times for using those horrid phrases but the little Italian's brain just seemed to run on that sort of vocabulary. So she eventually had no choice but to abandon her naïve ideas of teaching Romano the most basic of manners.

"I think neither of you should worry yourself about that." Belle said matter-of-factly.

"But…" Luxembourg mumbled into the sheets. "Won't grote broer get hurt?"

"Holland is strong, Lux. He can take care of himself." Belgium tried to shush him.

"And what about Spain?" Romano jested.

Belgium was getting more annoyed every second this conversation took place. She wondered why Romano, out of all of them, was so interested in this. His borders where the ones most removed from the conflict between Spain and The Netherlands.

"What about him?" Belgium answered more coldly then she anticipated.

"Aren't you worried about him getting hurt?" South-Italy scowled again. "He has already come home numerous of times injured and scarred. And you had to fix him up."

"That's because he keeps getting into fights with England." Belgium had lost count on how many times she had told Spain to stay clear from that pirate. "Besides," She continued. "Whenever that'll happen again, I'll be here to patch him up once more."

"But aren't you worried about him? You love him, don't you?" Romano asked boldly.

"I…-" Belgium couldn't find the words to speak.

She felt her cheeks heat up at the little nation's impertinent assumption.
The truth was that she didn't even know what to answer him. True, there were times when Belle thought she loved Antonio. He had always been very affectionate towards her. But being still a young and naïve girl she didn't know what those sentiments meant. That is, until the first time he had asked her to warm his bed. She didn't know what to expect, but luckily for her he turned out to be very gentle and loving, like a real gentleman should. Belle could feel her stomach flutter every time Spain stole a kiss from her plump lips and she didn't understand why Holland was so reluctant in seeing the positive characteristics in Spain, like she did.
But there were other times as well. Times when Spain would turn out to be a cruel and fight-happy nation. Times when Belgium wasn't duly for paying her taxes and she would get yelled at for it. Times when her people decided it was enough and rebelled, and Spain's soldiers would crush them like a boot crushes an ant.

"It doesn't concern you." Belle replied flatly.

In fact, it really didn't concern any of them of how she felt towards the Spanish nation. Not Romano and not her brothers. As for the conflict that was at large right now, she felt torn between two evils. On the one hand she would stand by Spain where she would feel safe and secure but also repressed of her own feelings and ideas. On the other hand she would stand by her big brother where she would finally be able to breathe in the air of freedom again but the cost for her people of such an alliance would be enormous. Belgium found that sometimes it's just better to stay out of things like these, not choosing sides and thus avoiding open war.

Romano didn't seem to let go this easily. His head was as red as a tomato once more, but this time it wasn't of embarrassment. This time he seemed to fume with anger at the reply he had gotten.

"But it concerns you!" Romano yelled out. "How can you stay so calm when your own brother and Spain are fighting a war on your lands? It's your countrymen who're dying, aren't they? How come you don't care about your people anymore?"

"Romano!" Belgium yelled out in shock, her eyes wide with increasing vexation. "How dare you…"

That last sentence came out as a growl and Romano's courage from before slinked to a medium-sized grape when he saw how angry he had made Belgium. She had jumped of off the bed in frustration and was now keeping her back to the two small nations, squeezing her hands into fists in an attempt at self-control.

Luxembourg had watched the argument unfold and was desperately trying to lighten the mood. "Soeur?... Please don't be mad at us. Okay?"

Belgium sighed heavily, her anger flooded away so easily when she heard her baby brother's concerned voice. She turned around again and sat back onto the bed, a small smile found its way back onto her lips as she spoke.

"I'm not mad. I was just startled at your outburst, Romano." She directed her smile to said Italian nation. "Believe me when I say that I care very much about my people. But sometimes it is better to wait on the sideline for a while, before making a decision that might cost you or your countrymen's lives."

Belgium picked up Luxembourg who was now yawning widely and carried him to his own bed. "The war between The Netherlands and Spain is a dreaded affair, I'm sure." She covered her baby brother in the blankets and kissed him goodnight. "But wars end and so will this one."

"Spain will come home tomorrow." She walked back to Romano's bed. "And when he does we'll be happy that he's back." She ushered him under the covers and leaned down the kiss his forehead. "And I'll make some pasta with lots of tomatoes to celebrate his return." She smiled fondly at the little Italian, telling him so that she wasn't angry at him, and kissed him goodnight as well.

Belgium walked towards the door and turned around once more before closing it. Both little nations were already off on their way to dreamland and Belle couldn't help but smile sorrowfully. She had hoped they would grow up into a world that was much less violent then what she remembered from the world in her childhood, but unfortunately the world did not seem to learn from its past mistakes.

"Goodnight." She whispered silently and closed the door.

But Belgium was a positive nation and while she walked down the broad corridor towards her own room she felt herself smiling. Even with all the pain there was in the world there were still young nations who would become strong one day and help the rest of them lick their wounds and treat their scars.
Belgium at least new two of those young nations who wouldn't hesitate a second to help her and that made her feel shamelessly comfortable inside.

~ x ~

Translations:

idiota : (It.) idiot
grote zus : (Dutch) big sister
merci beaucoup: (Fr.) thank you very much
generali : (It.) generals
soeur : (Fr.) sister

Author's Note: Read and Review, please~