Warning: OOCness

I do not own Hetalia

Spain walked down the street of Naples with a curious expression on his face. He wasn't entirely sure he had ever been here, mostly spending his time visiting Lovi in Rome and Milan. But yesterday Romano hadn't been at the foreign embassy like he promised. It turned out he had been tied up in Naples so he had grudgingly asked Spain to come.

Walking through the city sure was an eye opener. One little girl on the back of her father's moped had given him the finger as they passed by. Yup, she was one of Lovi's. His friend hadn't given him any specific location to meet, simply saying 'I'll find you' But Spain wasn't worried, he would turn up eventually.

He was proven right when he heard the cries of "Oi! Bastardo! Over here!" in a familiar voice.

He turned around and found the personification of Southern Italy sitting at one of the many makeshift outdoor tables with a bunch of men, playing what looked to be poker.

"Hola Lovi! Como estas?" Spain ran over and tried to hug him

The men at the table started snickering, one of them leaned over and whispered something to Romano. He hurriedly covered his cards and blushed. Then he glared over at the Spaniard and violently pushed him away "You're in Italy stupido speak Italian! And what have I told you about calling me that! It's not my name! If I wasn't so busy with this game I would head butt you into next Thursday!"

Antonio shrugged it off, he was used to it. So he sat down next to his host and watched them. Some of the men at the table were old and some were fairly young. But all had a hardened look in their eyes, their scars plainly visible on their necks and faces. They were the shoot first ask questions later sort of guys. Surprisingly though, Lovi seemed to be holding his own with them. Even though he looked like jail bait he kept his signature glare on his face, swearing and occasionally yelling at the men. They didn't seem to mind however. If anything they liked it. As they played they chatted about various things, talking about people Antonio didn't know and occasionally cussing each other out with accusations of cheating thrown in.

It wasn't that surprising that Lovi got on so well with them. They were his citizens after all. What was surprising was the amount of ease he seemed to have with them. Even through his glare Antonio could spot a certain contentment that he had only seen on his charge's face when working in the garden. He never personally had that look directed at him however, even though he had practically raised him. Maybe this was what Lovi had been so busy with. Maybe he had chosen their company over his! Why? What did these humans have that he didn't?

His face fell from its usual smile into a depressed pout. No one noticed though, they were too intent on their cards. A new round had started and everyone placed their money on the middle of the table. One man, completely out of money, placed a gun. A man with a ponytail placed the chips in and everyone else followed suit. They started to raise the bet more and people started folding. Lovi stayed in though. His glare had turned into a shit eating grin, daring anyone near him to go against him.

Spain glanced at his cards to see what got him so confident. When he saw his eyebrows went up. Lovi's hand was complete crap! The little minx was bluffing. He considered keeping the info to himself and seeing how it played out, but the jealousy still riled in his stomach, it would be revenge for picking those humans over him. Plus if Lovino lost all his money, then he wouldn't be able to play anymore, so they could go out and do something.

Thus he leaned in really close to Lovino and whispered so that everyone else could hear "You have no pairs or straights Lovi, does that mean you're winning?" He asked in Italian too, just to be sure.

Romano's red face went unnaturally pale. If looks could kill Antonio would be six feet under. Around them, the men who were still in got delighted looks on their faces. The ones who folded looked slightly disappointed.

That was when he snapped "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! FUCK YOU BASTARD! YOU KNOW HOW TO PLAY FUCKING POKER! WHY'D YOU DO THAT? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FUCKIN MONEY I LOST! I WAS NICE ENOUGH TO INVITE YOU HERE AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

The men around the table slowly inched away from him. Antonio himself just looked at the man. He was expecting this type of thing from his tomato. He just wouldn't be his little Lovi if he didn't act like this.

Lovino stopped, as if sensing that yelling didn't work. So he turned down the volume, but his hatred for the Spaniard could still be heard in every syllable "You know what? Just leave. Get out of here. Go. Vaffanculo" He turned so that all that was facing Spain was his back. Said man slumped his shoulders and sadly left the table, the jeers and insults of the humans physically hurting him.

As he wandered down the busy street he mentally kicked himself for letting the jealousy get the better of him. That type of behavior was left over from his glory days as a conquistador, plundering and then destroying civilizations. Back then the jealousy was an asset, giving him motivation to capture and annihilate. Now however, he didn't have the power to back up the wanting and the hatred. He hung his head even lower. Lovi would never forgive him.

He was pulled out of his black hole of despair by the laughter of children. He looked up, and smiled. He was surrounded by them: chatting, and laughing, and giggling. They must have sensed his depression and came to cheer him up. That was why he loved children, they were so innocent and kind.

Slowly the kids started to circle him, chasing each other. They began to pick up speed until it turned into multiple games of tag all orbiting around him. Their faces and clothes started to blend and the noise turned deafening. Spain clutched his head, he was starting to get a headache. He was jostled from side to side as the children ran through him to get to each other. They were no longer an orderly circle, but a mob.

"Stop it!" cried out a very familiar voice. All the children halted, staring at a short Italian. He walked right up to one of the older girls whose hair was in a messy bob, ignoring Antonio as he brushed past him.

Romano put on his most charming smile and addressed the girl "Sorry Isabella, this one's off limits" He plucked the wallet she had been hiding behind her back out of her grasp and slipped it smoothly back into Antonio's back pocket. The spaniard blushed as he felt the light contact.

Isabella put on a scowl that was remarkably like Lovino's "Sorry boss, but it's not like you marked him or anything" She rounded up the children, all ranging from ages three to twelve. She shot a disappointed look at Spain as if imagining all the meals she could have bought with his money.

As they turned to go Romano put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Nice job though. Poor sucker didn't know what hit him." He gestured to Antonio and the children laughed, basking in the praise of their boss. He reached into his leather shoes and pulled out a wad of money. He winked at them "My emergency stash" and handed it to Isabella.

She took the money and smiled brightly "Grazie boss!" She and the other children dashed away, seeking out another foreign sucker.

As the men watched them leave, Lovino's smile disappeared and his face turned bright red. He tugged on Spain's sleeve, when he looked at him he rushed out an apology "I-I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean it...much...it's just that...well you were being a dick ...but...I really shouldn't have...made you leave...and..."

Antonio cut him off, just happy that he was forgiven "It's OK mi tomate I'm sorry too for doing that, I don't know what came over me."

Romano looked away "Yeah sure whatever" He took his arm "Come on, let's go get pizza"

Spain's smile was back full force "Sure Lovi" He was finally going to spend quality time with him!

Lovino let the nickname slide...just this once "You're paying though."

Romano's not the only one bluffing. I know nothing about poker, but it seemed so much manlier than Go-Fish. Tell me if I should fix anything. Also, I'm sorry if you're from Naples and are offended. The description mostly comes from the book Eat Pray Love, which is what gave me the idea for the story in the first place. Also the robbing children mob is based on the one from the book 10 Little Blue Envelopes (or something like that) Just thought you'd like to know