The storm outside raged in bursts of fury, blinding lightning crackling across the deep, cloudy sky to be followed by thunder blasts that rumbled and churned angrily over the land. It would have been a terrible night for any of the creatures caught outside in the torrential rain, but inside it was warm and calm.
Germany sat in a chair in the comfort of his living room, reading a book and completely ignoring the storm outside. Even as blasts of rolling thunder shook the house, he just tuned it out. He sighed contentedly, closing the book and sitting back to look thoughtfully around the room and enjoy the fact that Italy seemed to be quiet and out of sight for the time being.
But then again, she was probably too scared to speak at the moment—Germany knew how much she hated storms, and unless he was in the room with her at the exact second something hit she would freeze and start shaking, too afraid to make a sound.
He sighed and stood up, placing the book on the nearby table and wincing as the lights went out with another huge blast of thunder that shook the ground. Now it would be even harder to find Italy. Although he wasn't bothered by the darkness, she would probably be huddled into a corner shaking uncontrollably. Germany began the search.
The guest room, where she usually stayed, was empty. So was the office. He checked the rooms all one by one, until finally he reached the one at the end of the hall—his bedroom. Quietly he opened the door, just as another jagged flash of lightning exploded across the sky.
For a few seconds he just stood there, waiting patiently for the thunder to come, but then he heard a telltale whimper out of the silent darkness.
It was then that he noticed the shivering lump buried in the covers at the very foot of his bed.
"Italia?" he called to it gently. It squeaked.
"D-D-Doitsu?" the lump stammered, terror making her voice shake. She burrowed her way back to the top of the bed, tentatively poking her head out from under the sheets.
"I'm here," Germany murmured, sitting down on the edge of the bed and smiling a little in spite of himself as she threw her arms around him and leapt into his lap, curling up into the quivering ball again with her face buried in his chest and her arms around his neck.
"It's so scary..." she shivered, tears welling in her big brown eyes. "Ooh, I hate storms..."
Germany gently moved his arms around her waist, and she hugged him even tighter. A glassy tear slid down her face, but Germany carefully wiped it away.
"I-It's just a storm, Italia," he said gruffly, though he held her close to his strong body.
"G-Germany?" Italy asked shakily.
"Ja?"
"Um-" she began, but was cut off by another blast of thunder that made her jump and squeeze her eyes shut as she hugged her Doitsu even tighter, if that was humanly possible. "D-Do you m-mind i-if I sleep in y-your bed t-tonight?" Italy managed as she clung to him, opening one eye a tiny bit to see his face.
Germany sighed, looking down at the quivering mass in his lap and making his decision. "Well... Only for tonight," he finally submitted, and Italy probably would've tackle-hugged him had it not been for the fact that another roll of thunder cracked at that moment and she shrank into him, covering her ears. He hugged her protectively until the thunder had rolled off into the distance again, and then slowly relaxed in the relative calm of the pouring rain outside.
"Only for tonight," he whispered, gently stroking her hair and closing his eyes. Italy smiled and snuggled closer to him, relaxing for the first time since the storm had begun, knowing she was safe in his arms. For a while they sat like that, until Italy shifted in his lap and Germany opened his eyes.
"If we're gonna sleep... I need to go change," Italy murmured sheepishly. "I-I'll be right back, Doitsu..."
Germany smiled as the door closed behind her, then quickly got off the bed and stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt, knowing she was right. A few moments later Italy came streaking back into the room, tackling him onto the bed and clinging to him so tightly he could feel her shaking.
"Th-That was s-so s-scary..." she managed to say, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head as she buried her face in Germany's chest. Germany took the opportunity to hold her close, slowly lying back on the bed and allowing her to lie on top of him until she finally stopped shaking.
Italy let out an unsteady sigh, rolling off of Doitsu and reaching for the covers. Germany smiled as she slid under the blankets, following her and wrapping his arms around her soft, warm body. Their noses were touching, and Italy smiled, nuzzling him lovingly. He blushed, giving her a gentle squeeze, and after a moment he kissed her forehead. Italy giggled.
"We need to do this more often, Doitsu," she told him. He smiled, and that alone brought a grin to Italy's face also. She thought for a moment. "And being here with you does make the storm a lot less scary," she added as an afterthought.
Germany hugged her close, her forehead against his, actually enjoying this closeness for once. Italy smiled.
"Veh... Doitsu?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow in reply, and she kept going. "Can I kiss you?"
These words caught Germany so off-guard that he didn't even have time to disguise the look on his face. A blush crept into his cheeks as his mind raced to find an answer.
But then he made the mistake of meeting Italy's eyes, and they made the decision for him. Slowly he nodded, face now bright red with embarrassment, but Italy just smiled, leaning in closer and brushing a stray hair out of his eyes.
And then she kissed him.
It was soft and loving, with an innocence that only Italy could manage to channel into a kiss. She hung on for a few seconds, then broke away slowly, opening her brown eyes to meet his blue ones. "How was that?" she asked.
"Wonderful," Germany whispered, hugging her close. Now he was the one shaking. "Ich liebe dich, Italia. I always have..."
She smiled at him, snuggling up so their noses were touching, and they were staring into each other's eyes. Italy slid her arms around Germany's neck, giving a contented sigh as both of them melted into the warmth.
Just before she drifted off to sleep, Italy pried her eyelids open one last time. "D-Doitsu..?"
He moaned a quiet reply, not moving or even opening his eyes, just listening.
"I think I like thunderstorms now," Italy murmured, and Germany opened his blue eyes, kissing her softly on the cheek.
"I do too."