In this story Romano is about 13. My theory of nations and dying is that they can die if they are in a battle with another country and are killed by them. Romano is part of Spain's territories at this point so he is also technically at war with England as well.
Romano hoped that Spain would come home soon after he'd won his battle with England. Sometimes he stayed with his army and celebrated, but no matter how much he struggled and wriggled, Romano loved it when Spain came home and celebrated with him. He'd tell him stories of how many Englishmen he'd killed and Romano would file each number away in his head to write in his journal while pretending to look uninterested. Spain's smiles were unlimited then. Plus, the tomatoes were almost ripe, so that jerk needed to hurry back and help him pick them!
The front door creaked open and Romano started walking,
"Hey Spagna! Is that y…" He trailed off. It was England. Smirking, spattered in blood and pointing a very sharp sword at him. Romano went to turn and run, but England was quicker. Grabbing Romano's wrist, England span him round till he was backed against a wall with the sword pressed against his throat. England leaned over, and Romano flinched away but England just whispered in his ear.
"Your 'Spagna' is dead Romano. I killed him with the same sword I'm going to kill you with." Romano's eyes went wide and his legs buckled as he slid slowly down the wall towards the floor, England constantly keeping the sword to his throat. It cut the first layer of skin and blood trailed down.
"You're wrong," Romano muttered, "You're wrong!" Louder. "He promised he'd come back! He said that he wouldn't let me be alone again! You must be lying! You have to be!" They both knew he was convincing nobody. A look of delicious despair passed over Romano's face and England revelled in it.
"It's true as true. He died pitifully, begging me not to touch his precious Romano." England told him, his word laced with a venom that finally made Romano snap. In a spilt second, Romano grabbed the blade with his hand and wrenched it away from his neck, spattering the blood across the wall, before diving into the kitchen. It caught England off guard but did nothing to deter him. "You can run little boy, but you can't hide from me!" However when England followed Romano into the kitchen he was honestly surprised at what he found.
Romano was not hiding in some cupboard, he stood in the middle of the kitchen, holding a sword with a look of pure hatred on his face. But when England looked more closely, there were tears streaming down Romano's face at the same time.
"I'll kill you, you bastard! He was the only one who ever cared about me! I'll kill you!" Romano yelled, his speech distorted by hysteria. Lunging towards England he slashed and stabbed and blocked, each move Romano made countered by the more experienced Englishman. The ferocity with which Romano made each move was what was helping him in this fight, normally he would never have been able to hold his own against England. So England decided to try something different against Romano.
"Before I killed Spain," England grinned, "I let my men have a little fun with him first. They were a bit frustrated about being at sea for months on end with no women so I allowed them their way with him. He was screaming as three thick…"
"Shut up!" Romano screamed, cutting England off, but it was too little, too late, and his concentration was knocked. A sharp, mind numbing pain spread out from his stomach and he looked in shock at the sword that was piercing his body. England dragged the sword back out of Romano's stomach, making the wound wider as he did so, and Romano collapsed to the ground. Unable to move, weak and bleeding out onto the ground, Romano's breathing was heavy. Before he turned and left, England whispered into Romano's ear. It was the last thing Romano heard before his body went limp and his vision faded to black.
Spain walked into his and Romano's house, a bit disappointed about losing the battle, but happy that he escaped before England could find him and do anything about it.
"Roma! I'm back!" Spain yelled. He expected the usual: 'Don't call me that bastard' in return, but when it did not come, Spain started to worry. He went to walk past the kitchen but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the blood on the wall. A cold chill spread down his spine and he turned round to go into the kitchen instead. The sight made his stomach curl.
Sprawled out on the floor was Romano, surrounded by a pool of what appeared to be his own blood. A jagged wound in his abdomen that made Spain's heart stop. The sword still clasped in Romano's hand. But what made Spain's hands tremble and his legs threaten to give way was the message written in blood on the wall. It read: "He died thinking that he was getting revenge for your brutal rape and killing. How sweet. He died for nothing." It was in English.
But he ignored that and went straight to Romano. "Roma? Romano? Please don't be dead! You can't leave me alone!" His eyes watered and he buried his head in Romano's chest. "I'm sorry Romano, I broke my promise, and I didn't come back for you in time."
He dissolved into tears, but was shocked out of his sorrow by the best sound he thought he would ever hear. A heartbeat.
He rushed in a sudden panic to find medical supplies, and tended to Romano's wounds, faster than he thought he could do anything. Giving him what medicine he could find, and laying Romano in Spain's own bed before going and scrubbing at the walls and floor till his hands were raw. Still Spain come see that message ingrained in his memory and he scrubbed even harder, harder still until he realised with a start that his hands were actually bleeding. He bandaged them before going back to his room where Romano was still asleep and sat on the chair by the bed.
"Lo siento. Lo siento. Lo siento. Lo siento." Muttering over and over. He was sure he'd managed to say it at least a thousand times before he fell asleep. Images of Romano lying there, dying swam through Spain's mind, interjected by brief snippets of the message England left behind. He jolted up with a start and, was surprised to see that Romano was awake, staring at him.
"Was it real?" Rasping, a whisper compared to Romano's usual voice.
"He lied Romano, I wouldn't die and leave you alone. I never will!" Spain's voice cracked and he started crying. "Lo siento Romano. Lo siento."
"When I die, even though you'll probably have left me by then, when I die will you be by my side? I don't want it to happen! Just because I've always been alone, it doesn't mean that I have to be when I die. I won't let it come true. He can't be right!" Romano was almost yelling, but was stopped there by a fit of coughing, and when he took his hand away from his mouth, there was blood on it. However, Romano just started muttering.
"You've lived alone, you'll die alone. You've lived alone, you'll die alone. You've lived alone, you'll die alone. You've lived alone, you'll die alone. You've lived alone, you'll die alone. "
"You won't die at all Romano! I won't let you! That way there's no way you can ever die alone!
You'll be fine Romano.