Canada was vastly confused. Sitting there in his living room was a quiet Romano. It was odd for the moody Italian to come all this way, but he seemed upset since he wasn't yelling or swearing, or really doing much of anything besides "admiring" the wall paper. Canada shifted in his chair.
"So, what brings you here?" Canada's voice was always soft, but a slight nervousness made it even more so.
"How do you do it?" Romano didn't flick his gaze from the wall.
Canada was taken aback. "Do what?"
"Everything! Dealing with that obnoxious albino, having an equally obnoxious brother bugging you all the time." Romano slowly looked over as he spoke, "How can you do it all and not loose your mind?"
"Did Spain do something?" The words were out of his mouth before Canada could stop them. Romano stiffened and lowered his eyes. Canada began to panic. "I didn't mean-" he stuttered, but Romano motioned for him to quiet down.
"No, you're right, it's probably written all over my face."
Oh no, Romano was admitting that Spain did something that upset him, this was bad. Canada and Romano weren't what you'd call close or anything, but they understood each other better than most others. Both of them had out going brothers that put them in the shadows. Both had feelings for obnoxious men that didn't always know when to stop. They may not have been close, but through their understanding they had this unspoken agreement that they were there for one another.
"Romano, what happened?" Canada spoke gently, hoping not to sound pushy.
Romano looked at Canada again, but once again looked away before speaking, "We had a fight. Veneziano said that it's nothing new, that we fight all the time..."
"But?" Canada encouraged with a knowing smile.
"But it was always one sided arguments before, just me yelling at him... He's never retaliated until now, and I don't know what to do..." It was obvious that Romano was fighting back tears, he looked so helpless sitting there.
Canada moved to sit next to Romano, putting a hand on his shoulder. Romano looked at him in surprise, but Canada just smiled kindly. "I could have someone pick Spain's brain for what's wrong. That is if you want me to."
"Prussia? He would do that?"
Canada giggled, "If I asked him to, he may be open to the task." a sly smile came across the Canadian's face, which made Romano give a weak smile.
Romano thought for a moment, smiling to himself softly. Canada had never seen this side of the Italian before and wondered exactly how many had. "I should probably talk to him myself, having a spy, especially that idiotic albino, will only make things worse."
"That's probably true, but at least let me have him find out if Spain is still mad."
A grateful smile took Romano's face, "Thank you."
Canada smiled brightly as he excused himself to call Prussia. The phone only ran once before the familiar German accent said, "Mattie-bird! Sorry, but I can't really talk right now!" He sounded panicked.
"What's wrong? Can I help?" Canada tried not to change his tone, but between being called "Mattie-bird" and his lover's distress. He didn't want to worry Romano though.
"It's just Tonio, he's pissed at himself!"
Canada froze for a second. He felt Romano's eyes on him and heard Prussia's worry at the sudden silence. Finally he let out a laugh.
"Matt...?"
"Canada...?"
Two very different names were said in each of his ears as he couldn't control himself. Canada wasn't even really sure why he was laughing, there wasn't anything funny about this situation. He heard Spain and France in the background over the phone, asking what was wrong. It took awhile for him to calm down, when he did he noticed Romano had come to stand next to him in the hall.
"Canada... Are you alright...?" Romano ventured carefully.
"Romano?" a Spanish accent came over the phone, shocked with traces of worry. They must have been on speaker, and Romano was close enough to hear and be heard.
Romano stiffened immediately. Everything was silent but for the nervous sound that escaped Romano.
"Roma, are you ok? Where are you? Your brother is worried sick about you!" The tone was a little harsh, but overflowing with worry. Canada guessed Italy wasn't the one worried sick.
France and Prussia talked in an odd scramble to calm Spain down, but none of it worked. Spain got louder and louder, demanding Romano answer him. When Canada looked over at him, tears had begun falling down Romano's face. Oh no.
"Romano..." Canada didn't know what to say. Romano was crying. He'd heard that in the old days Romano was quite a cry baby, but as he got older he locked all his emotions behind insults.
Canada hung up the phone. Romano was breathing heavily, but he kept himself from sobbing. He looked to be in physical pain from these emotions spilling out. Canada took a chance and pulled the Italian into a tight hug. Romano's entire body started shaking, and he let out a few small sobs.
The phone rang, but it was ignored. Canada would call Prussia back once Romano was calm again. It took around thirty minutes for the sadness to go through his system, and by the end Romano couldn't stand on his own and was clinging to Canada. Kumajiro was kind enough to provide tissues and extra comfort as Romano sat on the floor. Canada then made the call he was dreading.
"Mattie-bird! Is everything ok? You hung up! Is Romano alright?" He started out loud, but the last question was little more than a whisper. Canada really loved Prussia's attention to detail.
"I'm sorry Gil," he started softly, "But it was getting to be too much and we needed to calm down over here." Canada looked over and gave Romano a warm smile. Kumajiro had climbed onto his lap and was trying to help wipe the tear streaked face.
"Don't apologize! This bastard over here had to calm down too." Prussia said easily, letting out one of his famous laughs.
"How are things there? Has he calmed down?"
"Sort of, he's sulking in the corner right now." Canada could envision the expression through the tone, soft, warm, but scolding, like a parent.
"Matthieu, is that you?" A heavy French accent stole the phone. Canada smiled.
"Yes it's me Papa."
"How is the little Italian? Is he holding up ok? Antonio told us they had a huge fight and he walked out."
"He'll be alright I think. You just need to calm Spain down enough that they can talk through this." Canada looked over his shoulder at Romano again. His hazel-green eyes were calm.
"Yes, and I don't think they should speak face to face just yet. Would Romano be willing to talk over the phone?" France's voice was gentle, but it had that commanding hint to it.
Canada didn't need to say anything, Romano knew. He stood up, still holding the little polar bear. He took the phone. "Is the Spanish Bastard there? We need to talk weather he's calm or not." His voice was a little shakey still, but his resolve didn't waver.
Romano let Canada listen, they knew France and Prussia wouldn't leave Antonio in case he started yelling again. So everyone was now involved in this problem, and so they all would see through it together.
"Romano." At the sound of Spain's voice Romano tensed.
"Spain." Several minutes passed with not a word spoken. It was an uncomfortable atmosphere. Finally Romano took the plunge. "I'm sorry..." was his quiet plea. It was a plea, a plea to put this nightmare behind them.
Spain didn't reply right away, and Romano started getting worked up again. Kumajiro climbed up to sit on his shoulders, started messing with his hair to keep him calm. Canada put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry too." Romano froze, eyes wide, at the quiet words. Spain sounded just as upset and torn up as Romano looked. These two were truly exhausting.
They talked a few things out over the phone, and agreed to keep a little distance for awhile. Just physical distance, they could still call and text each other if they wanted. France said it'd only last a week, and Canada silently agreed. Romano stayed with Canada for a few days to distress, and Canada enjoyed the company. Upon returning home, Romano promised he'd let his friend know how things were in a week or so.
Canada knew Romano wanted to see Spain the second he heard his voice on the phone, it had been written all over his face. It wouldn't be long before the two were back to normal. But one thing happened from this experience that would last for the rest of their lives, a firm friendship had formed between Canada and Romano.