The Storm

PROLOGUE

Romano x Reader

Hetalia

(Author's Notes)

(Okay, I know that this story may cause hatred towards me or whatever, but please keep in mind that I'm the kind of person that really enjoys a happy ending. Thank you! ; 3 Also, this is my first story! Yaayyyyy! Thank you very much for reading this and I promise I will write more soon! - CJ)

CHAPTER ONE

My house (in Washington, D.C., USA) is pretty far from Italy, or the Clinic, which is located in %*^#$^. Sorry, forgot. I can't tell anyone the location of the Clinic. Anyway, since D.C. has turned into a busy, crowded city, I've been kind of stressed. I began my yearly trips to Rome about ten… maybe twenty years ago, thank to Alfred (Whom is America), who originally did this for my stress. I'll have to send him a card this year… Anyway, I was going to Rome by plane, and I marveled at the beautiful Italian landscape. I saw some huge clouds roll in as the tiny plane landed, but I dismissed them. That happens every year: a huge drizzle of rain for about four days.

During a long drive from the airport to Veneciano's home, I get a call from him, "Ciao, Rosa! How was your trip?" I hear someone talking in rushed Italian in the background, "Uh, pretty good, actually. How are you and Roma?" I love picking on Romano. He hates being called Roma, so I made sure I yelled out his 'special name', "Well… That's what I called about," North Italy stammered, "There is a huge-huge-HUGE storm coming towards Rome, so I'd hurry along if I were you," I gulped. I hated storms. They meant lightning and the beating rain and… I shuddered, "Well, I'll be there in a second, Vene. Oh, hey! I'm outside!" He hung up as I pulled my bags out of the car. They were small, but I had three. Ugh. Not good for a weakling (ha-ha). Yelling inside the small house gave me the idea that Romano was home too. Perfect. I looked down at my watch to change the time to this time zone.

Suddenly, I look up to see Romano storming outside to the car, "Hey, Rosaline," He was blushing furiously, so I figured I should give him some space. He seemed mad, "Uh, hi Romano," He started pulling the bigger bag towards the house, and I grabbed my other bags. What a gentleman! "Hey, Romano! Make sure you show her where she's staying," I started to say that I'd be better off in a hotel, but he raised his hand to shush me, "No no, not during this type of storm. It'll be an hour before the storm closes in, but unless you want to fly, I suggest you stay here," Oh my gosh, he sounds more and more like Germany every time I come over! "Then why are you putting on your jacket…?" He then explained in a hoarse voice (poor guy) to Romano in Italian that he was going to get flashlights and some bread. Romano agreed to 'watch over me' as Veneciano left, and he did leave after a few hugs.

CHAPTER TWO

Not ten minutes later, the wind picked up viscously and started howling loudly. I could sense Romano's fear for his ditzy older brother, so I decided to calm him down, "Romano, I'm sure he'll be fine. There's a church not too far from here, I know he'd bunk there if he had to…" He looked at me and nodded quietly, and stared back out the window, into the gray sky. I looked out there just in time to see a tree ripped from the ground and flung across the vineyard. I could barely see the church through the thick rain. Thunder roared as Romano whimpered, "Oh… Rosa… I think this is a hurricane… Turn on the radio," I swear I saw Roma wipe away a tear. I felt bad for picking on him all this time. I tuned the radio to a fuzzy station. I could hear the man on the radio say, "Oka… Now, I'm cer… …at this is hurri… Sandy… Stay a… …ome…" before we finally lost all signal on all stations. I turned the radio down, "This… this is not good," Romano stated as a huge bolt of lightning streaked through the sky. We yelped as the power surged off and on for a second. After a few surges, the power finally gave in and just went out altogether. (This is where I try to calm you guys down, right? Mind you, I'm afraid of lightning, and Romano is scared of being alone in the dark. Anyway, I'm sure something good'll happen later, yeah?)

After a few hours, I had found some candles and lit them, and Romano had grabbed some food, "I know it's not much, but I'm sure it'll last until the storms over, or close to it," I nodded. I lay down on the floor as Romano put away the bread in a bag. I lay there for what seemed like hours listening to the rain beat on the roof like a rapid heartbeat, just boom-boom-boom. Really fast, really hard, really scary. Romano was shivering in the cold, and I was trying my best to not cuddle with him to keep warm. I know he would've complained. I looked over and saw his damp hair, "You know you're sitting right under a leak, right? That's why you're so cold," "Aw, shut up," he retorted as he moved over. I got up with a loud sigh and looked for a bowl to catch the water. As a stood, another bolt of lightning struck the sky, "AHH!" I jumped and fell into Romano's lap. We stared into each other's eyes for a minute, and I pushed off of him, "Oh… I-I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to fall on you…" I started to explain, but then Romano put his finger on my lips as he stood, "Shush… I know it wasn't your fault, but I have to ask… why you stayed." I suddenly couldn't breathe: I didn't know why I stayed on him… I didn't have a good answer! "Uh… W-well…. I, um… I stayed because… Oh dear…" I stuttered. Romano ran his fingers through his wet hair as his ears started to flush a bright pink. He smirked at my stutters, and put his hands on my arms, "How about this? Is this a good answer?" and he gently pushed his cold lips onto mine.

CHAPTER THREE

"…sa? Rosaline!?" I shook away the dream. I had been daydreaming, staring into those dark hazel orbs that belong to Romano Vargas. I then realized I hadn't really answered him, "Oh, um… I…" I sighed in defeat, "I don't know why I stayed. I'm sorry…" I suddenly acted like I had a huge interest in my soaking wet shoes and the floor. I was really interested in whether Roma would forgive me for my daydreaming about us together… Again.

I could feel his gaze on me, just staring. I looked up to see not anger, but confusion. Well, I saw anger, but I could see amusement in the mix. Then I saw something I never saw outside of my constant daydreams: his eyes started to soften, and his grin was genuine, "You like me!" "What!? Oh well…. Um…" "You like me! I knew it, I knew it! You really like me!" he kept repeating this to himself. I found it offensive that he would say those things over and over, "Well…" I said, blushing furiously, "So what if I like you. I'm sure you don't li- !" All I know after that was he was kissing me for what felt like a beautiful forever.

Wow… even in my dreams he wasn't this good at kissing. Wow… After he broke the kiss, we sat huddled together. I laid my head in his shoulder, and he put his arm around me, "So…" he asked quietly, "What should we call this?" I thought for a moment, "I don't know… maybe we could call this dating?" Romano thought this out, and nodded, "Sounds good," he said, kissing my forehead, "You know, for a tsudere you sure are sweet," He looked at me as if I had just hit a mark. Then he burst into laughter. I started laughing, his unusually sweet laughter incredibly contagious. We laughed for a good twenty or so minutes as the rain and wind of Hurricane Sandy ripped through the fields.

And we didn't even notice.

CHAPTER FOUR

The next day was quiet. We were in the eye of the storm, and we temporarily gained or radio back, "…ight, folks! Now, this'll be fuzzy… so I'll make it q….. andy is now directly over the city of Rome. Now, for prayers: please pray for the safety of you, your family, and the River's Side Catholic church. It has been...… by a flying car. Please be caref….." I shuddered at the thought of a lot of people hit by one car that could've come from anywhere, "Wait… did he say the River's Side church?" Romano asked briskly, "Um… yeah, I think he did," His usually tanned face seemed to turn sheet white. Then he looked out the window. Through the light rain, I could see the church… with a Volkswagen sticking out of the roof. I then realized what that church was: the church that Veneciano had bunked in. I felt hot tears go down my face at the thought of Vene being hurt, or worse. Romano sat down slowly, not knowing how to take this, "…" We both fell silent. Not even the thought of our newfound love could calm the sadness and the hatred for the storm.

The third day of the storm was brutal. The only sound that was heard was the pelting rain and the vicious wind tearing at the house. Romano and I kept a silent vigil, no one spoke, and we barely ate or even moved. It was around the afternoon when the wind finally calmed enough to go outside. Romano and I pushed the front door open to see the entire field (the brothers had a cute vineyard) was destroyed, the ground was under six inches of water, and the church had finally fallen after twenty-four hours with a car in its roof. Romano gaped open-mouthed at the damage Mother Nature had provided. He sat down in the mud and shook his head, "I can't believe I let him leave… The damage is done… Now I have to represent both sides, huh?" he tried a laugh, but it only came out a squeak and a sigh. Then, in the distance, we heard a cry, "What was that?" I asked.

CHAPTER FIVE

Romano jumped up and grabbed my arm. We sprinted clumsily through the vineyard to find the source of the yell. With his hand on my wrist, I felt safe in the rubble of Hurricane Sandy, running towards the poor person in need of… VENE?! "Help! I'm stuck!" Romano let go of my hand as we looked into the rubble that was once the River's Side Catholic Church. Veneciano was stuck in there, and we had to help him! "Come on, Rosa! We have to help him!" Romano screamed. I've never heard him this upset before, and I'm glad he's not mad at me. But he is mad at Mother Nature, so that's that. When we saw him, he had fallen through the floor, and gotten stuck, "Hey, guys! Heh… I kind of fell when I was helping the poor kitty," A small calico kitten mewed at this point. I fought the urge to face palm; I could see that Romano was fighting that urge too, "Okay, now, Rosaline, grab his arm," I grabbed his left arm, "And I'll grab the other…" He grabbed his right," Now PULL!"

We pulled Veneciano out of the hole quicker than we had thought, and we all fell over in a heap in the thick mud and water. On the way home, I could hear Veneciano petting the little kitten and laughing at the tickly whiskers. Romano sighed and linked his fingers through mine, "I guess we have another little kitten to keep us up," I laughed at the thought of a little kitten pawing Roma to feed it in the early morning. I guess Veneciano heard us laugh, because then I heard him stop in the water, "Why are you two holding hands?" He gasped, "Are you two DATING?! Oh, how cute! I knew you two would finally get along! Oh, my goodness this is so cute!" Romano laughed quietly as his grip tightened a little, "Are we?" he whispered at Vene continued to gab, "I guess so," "Good," he whispered as he kissed my temple. Maybe I should ask Al if I could stay longer…

PROLOGUE

Soaking wet, we returned to the house, which was missing a large portion of the second floor. I was glad that I hadn't decided to explore the house during that storm. Romano stared at the house, and Veneciano (in an Italian fashion) broke the silence, "How are we going to fix this…? Our vineyard is destroyed, we have nothing… Our people are hurt, and all our farms are destroyed…" Then Romano grabbed Vene by the shoulders, "Are you crazy?! We have everything! You're alive, we're alive, and that's all that counts here!" then he kissed his brother's head, "I was so worried!" then the brothers fell in the mud in a laughing embrace. I smiled at them as they hugged each other.

I saw an ambulance speed through the water towards the church, and I watched as someone was pulled out. Then two, then three. I couldn't watch anymore as I shifted my attention to the house again. Where would the brothers stay? What could they do if they were considered homeless? I felt almost responsible for Veneciano almost dying out there… I felt horrible that those two men – an incredibly important duo country! – were now being treated by Mother Nature horribly. I felt a scowl form across my face as I silently cursed the air, the sea, and Nature herself. I spun around at the sound of someone clearing their throat to see Alfred Jones (my boss/home country) standing there, marveling at the damage done. His bright blue eyes were unusually dull; frightened at the bodies of the dead/injured being pulled from rubble, and the house that was once a home. His eyebrows were furrowed in thought, "You… How did you guys survive?!" I explained how we survived and what happened (Save for what happened between Roma and me). Alfred stared out blankly into what was left of the vineyard as Romano stood up, "We don't need a charity. We can come back up just fin- !" Alfred threw himself onto Romano, saying over and over how he shouldn't have survived such a hit, how Veneciano should be dead, and how amazed (and happy) he was that everyone was okay.

Several months later, Italy was finally almost back to normal, save for Vene's random bursts of shivering and Romano's nightmares. The bi-yearly World Conference (Every other year) went well, and there was no mention of the hurricane until Romano started to thank America in the library on the third day, "Look, I know I said no charities, but I have to say, I couldn't do what you did. I couldn't get off my ass and help someone. Thank you so much, Jones," Alfred merely clapped a hand onto Romano's small shoulder, "No problem, dude! Anytime you need a hand, I'll be there," Romano and Alfred laughed as they headed to the door, where I stood waiting, "Ciao, Roma," "Um, hey, Rosaline- !" That day was the day that Romano got more claps and cheers than Japan and his pollution promises. And all the girls were a little mad, but I didn't care. He was my Romano Vargas, and no one could say otherwise.