Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Kinda early, but happy holidays to you all ^^* I know you guys are eager for the next chapter for Hue of Crimson, but I just wrote this today for a friend and wanted to put it up. It's very short and very fluffy (literally!).
It was Christmas morning (literally, like, 3 in the morning). Little Romano was sneaking down the stairs to check under the tree for presents. The living room was dark aside from the lights on the tree and along the fireplace. He skidded to a stop. The only thing under the tree was Spain's cat, which eyed him lazily. Romano stared at the tree for a moment before kicking the ground and trying not to cry. "D-dammit! He didn't show! I knew it."
"Who didn't show?" Romano jumped and looked around for the source of the new voice. Sitting on the couch, watching Romano with a little smile, was Spain, still half dressed in his uniform minus the coat, boots, and halberd. Romano hurriedly rubbed his eyes free of tears.
"S-Spain! You're home!" Romano tried to look indifferent, but he still walked over to the man and held out his arms. Spain chuckled and scooped him up to cuddle him.
"Didja miss Boss that much, Roma? That you thought I wouldn't be home?"
"No, I didn't miss you! Let go, yah jerk, I can't breathe!" Spain let Romano go on the couch beside him. He was tiny in comparison, but slightly bigger than the Spaniard remembered. It made Spain a little sad, knowing that Romano was growing up, but he didn't let it ruin the holiday mood. "I was talking about Santa. That fucker forgot to visit our house! He—he forgot me." Romano's voice dropped and he tried to hold back his tears again. Spain frowned and wiped his cheek.
"Aw, Roma, don't think like that. Santa never forgets anyone!"
"Then why aren't there any presents?"
"You're so greedy." Spain teased, then reached over the arm of the couch behind him and pushed out a box. "See? Santa didn't forget you." Romano's eyes lit up and he got off the couch to kneel by the box.
"Can I open it?"
"Of course! It's Christmas morning… sorta." Spain shrugged. Romano examined the box curiously, eyeing the holes made in it, before he started opening it. He peeked inside to see a little kitten, white with brown spots. It looked up at him with sleepy brownish-yellow eyes.
"It's a kitty!" Romano was shocked. He expected toys, clothes, money, even sweets or one of Spain's homemade 'gifts'. He never expected a pet.
"Santa left it here just as I came home. He said that he picked him out because he reminded him of you." Spain smiled at his surprised henchman. Romano reached in and gently pet the kitten on the head. It gave a 'mew' and went back to sleep. "Well, he wasn't wrong." Spain murmured. Romano punched him in the leg. Meanwhile, Spain's cat heard the meow and his ears perked up. He stood, stretched, and went to investigate the box. He sniffed around it, then rose to look inside. Being a friendly cat, when he saw Romano's kitten, he let out a small meow.
The kitten woke up and scrambled to its feet, hissing and trying to bat at the bigger strange cat. Spain's cat meowed again and tried to go into the box. The little kitten started yeowling. "He definitely wasn't wrong." Spain tried not to laugh.
"Spain, do something! Your stupid cat is scaring him!" Romano cried. Spain nodded and grabbed his cat before he could crawl into the box.
"They'll have to get to know each other eventually, if they're gonna live in the same house." He set his cat on the couch and stood up, holding his hand out for Romano's. "Why don't you let the kitten explore and we'll drink some Spanish hot chocolate?" Romano frowned, but nodded and reached in to grab his kitten. The kitten was still freaked out, so its claws dug into Romano's hands, but Romano managed to set the kitten down gently before standing and taking Spain's hand.
"Just don't make the hot chocolate too spicy this time. I nearly burned my mouth last time."
"Hehe, si." Spain and Romano both went into the kitchen, leaving the cats alone. Romano's kitten let out tiny meows as he watched the humans leave. When they didn't return, he decided to check out his surroundings. He smelt the air and the ground around him, slowly approaching things like a string from the carpet and the box he came from with care. He reached the blanket right under the tree and recoiled. It smelled like a strange cat, and it was still warm.
The little kitten remembered the other cat and looked around for him. He spotted him sleeping on the couch. The kitten approached the older cat cautiously and rose up to bat the older cat's paw, hanging down from the couch. The older cat's eye opened and looked down at him. "Si?"
"Who are you and what are you doing in my new territory?" The kitten eyed the bigger cat. The cat yawned and stretched, looking down at the kitten with amusement in his big green eyes.
"Actually, you're in MY territory, but I don't mind sharing~ As for who I am, I am called Antonio, but I am sometimes called Toni. Do you have a name, little one?"
"Don't call me little!" The kitten hissed at Toni. "My mama named me Lovino."
"Nice to meet you, Lovino." The cat greeted kindly.
"Whatever. Just stay away from me." Lovino turned away and went back to exploring. Toni stayed where he was, but kept an eye on the kitten. Lovino went back to the tree and sniffed every other ornament, then tried going by the fireplace but found it too hot. Something shiny caught his eye as he walked away from the fireplace. Upon further investigation, he found it was a shiny bell of some sort. His instincts took over and he crouched, then pounced on the bell to try to catch it. It rolled away with a tiny ringing sound.
Lovino kept pouncing and pouncing to try to catch it. Eventually, it rolled under a small end table. Without thinking, Lovino dove under the table to catch it. It had rolled just out of reach. He tried to get back out to try to get it from another side, but he couldn't move. He pushed himself backwards and nothing. He tried using his claws or wiggling. It was no use. He was stuck. "Help! Mama! Help me!" He cried, but knew his mama couldn't hear him. He started getting scared and claustrophobic. "Toni! Help!" He desperately cried, meowing as loudly as he could.
Suddenly, he felt a pinch on his exposed back, then something pulling him. He lowered his head to avoid getting hit, but the table still scratched him a little. Before he knew it, he was out in the open and in the air, held by his fur in Toni's mouth. "Are you okay?" Toni asked urgently.
"M-mmhm." Lovino nodded his little head, then started squirming. "Alright, you bastard. You can put me down now."
"Nope." Toni said and started walking back to the couch, still holding Lovino in his mouth. Lovino squirmed more.
"What?! Let me go, dammit!"
"You have a dirty mouth for a little one."
"Let me down!" Lovino demanded again. Toni jumped onto the couch and set Lovino down.
"You're staying here so I can keep an eye on you." Toni told Lovino sternly.
"Like hell! You're not the boss of me!" Lovino padded over to the edge of the couch to jump down, but he hesitated. The couch was really high off the ground. He took a deep breath and tried to hop down, but lost balance in his legs on the landing and fell over. Antonio sighed, jumped down, and grabbed Lovino by the scruff of the neck.
"I am the oldest cat here, so you should let me help you. Your mama is not here to help you when you get into trouble. I don't care if you don't like me, you're going to have to get used to me being here and let me help you. Alright?" Toni hopped back up on the couch. Lovino made a grumbling sound in his throat, but didn't respond or squirm. Toni took that as approval, or as close to approval as he could get. "Bien. Now, let's clean you up. You're all dusty."
Before Lovino knew it, he was sitting on the couch and Tonio was licking the dust off of him. It was weird, since male cats don't normally do this unless the other is injured, but Lovino was pretty dirty from the box, the different hands he had been in, and the dust from the table. His mama hadn't given him a bath since the few hours before he was adopted. Sadness weighed heavily in his heart.
"I miss my mama." He murmured to himself, hoping that the older cat didn't hear but knowing he did anyway.
"She sounds like a good cat." Tonio paused his licks by Lovino's ears to comment.
"Not that it's any of your business, but she was. She loved all of us, even if my grandpa liked my younger brother more."
"You have a younger brother?"
"Yeah, Feliciano." He spat out the name. "I love him as a brother, but he was always spoiled, even by the humans that we lived with. My mama was the only one who treated us fairly." Lovino's ears drooped and his head bowed. Antonio kept cleaning for a moment before leaning away and laying down so he was peeking up at Lovino's face.
"Don't be sad. I'll take care of you just like she did."
"You're not a girl!"
"No, but I can still take care of you. I'll be like your papa, if you want." Lovino eyed him. He never saw his papa. Whoever his papa was left and neither mama nor grandpa liked talking about him. He didn't feel like he should trust this cat. Toni only just met him. He'll probably get sick of him sooner or later. Before he could answer, a big yawn escaped him. "Ah, you're tired. I'll let you sleep, then." Toni stood up and walked over to the corner of the couch. As he curled up there, he saw Lovino padding over in his direction. Without saying a word, he curled up, back pressed up against Antonio's ribs.
Antonio felt very happy to see that, but he didn't say anything either. Instead, he curled around Lovino to keep him warm and licked the remaining dust off the top of the drowsy kitten's head before closing his eyes and letting sleep take him. He didn't even notice his master walking through the living room, holding his own sleeping henchman in his arms. Spain smiled at the sight of the cats. He wondered if this is what he and Romano looked like sometimes. If they were anything like him and Roma, he wasn't worried about those two getting along in the least. "Merry Christmas." He murmured before heading upstairs to tuck Romano in.
Sorry there's not much plot. Maybe I'll write some in someday? For now, enjoy mindless fluff.
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