Stubborn Love {Romano x Reader}

"Okay, so I love you. Deal with it… idiota ragazza."

You'd never been more worried in your entire life.

You continued to sit in that uncomfortable hospital chair, simply watching him, for hours. Though no matter how long you waited, he still wouldn't wake up.

You had no tears left, your knees weren't shaking anymore, and your heartbeat wasn't thumping erratically. Not like it had been during the time of the accident, of course.

You sighed, and continued to watch his sleeping face. He looked so cute and innocent that way. The nurses had cleaned him up pretty well; so his body wasn't covered in blood and dirt anymore.

The beeping of the heart monitor was what kept you from going insane. You feared for his life, yes, but that monitor kept your hopes up. It had maintained a healthy, steady beat, just as the doctors had told you it would.

It wasn't too serious of an accident- in fact the doctors assured you he wouldn't die from it- but you still couldn't keep from worrying. Your mind was always set for the worst when it came to him; he was Romano, after all.

And being him, of course, he just had to do the stupidest things.

He'd only been trying to show off to you, Italy, and Germany again. This time it had almost cost him his life.

As you watched him- your crush since forever- you couldn't help but feel how much you hated him at the moment. Why did he have to be so stupid, idiotic, stubborn, and reckless all the time?

Couldn't he… just be more like his brother, Italy?

You smiled a bit, looked down, and shook your head. No. Romano couldn't be like Italy. Mostly because, one, they were complete opposites, and two, because you loved him the way he already was. And part of it was for those irritating ways he acted—if you were gonna be honest.

As you thought more about him, you barely noticed the slight movement from the hospital bed in front of you.

Romano began to stir, slowly turning in his sleep. Just as the bed creaked again, your head snapped back up.

"It-… Italy… don't eat my pasta…" He mumbled quietly in his sleep, turning his head a bit.

Normally, you would've giggled at his sleep talk; but at the moment, you were completely speechless.

The motorcycle incident seemed like years ago; although it had just happened this morning. The time you spent agonizing over his life, going through every mean thing you've ever said to him, and praying that he'd be alright had felt like forever. Italy and Germany had tried long ago to get you to leave, but you'd refused; saying you wouldn't until he finally woke up.

He made another movement, and you quickly stood. You watched as his eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing beautiful amber-colored eyes that you'd always loved, loved, loved.

Just as his eyes began to focus, you almost felt like slapping him. Who was he to make you worry like that? He could've died, and throughout the process he'd acted like it was no big deal. Before making it into the emergency room, he'd told you and Italy to shut up and leave him alone. Was it a crime to care for him so much?

He looked up at you and blinked. "_...?"

He appeared so innocent and fragile—you couldn't bring yourself to yell at him. Not right now, at least.

"R-Romano!" You squeaked, and hugged him tight. You didn't care if you squished any of his injuries—for all you knew, he deserved it. Maybe a mega-tight hug or two would be better than simply yelling at him again.

Mostly because, he never listened to you anyways. He did what he wanted, whenever he wanted. Usually you were just a side annoyance rather than a friend trying to tell him he was gonna get himself killed one day—or so you thought. But on the you're-so-stupid-you'll-probably-kill-yourself-one-of-these-days part, of course, you knew you were right. Today was a perfect example.

"H-Hey! That hurts, idiota ragazza!" He whined, weakly trying to push you away.

You simply held him tighter; tears forming in your eyes. Nothing would've made you any happier than to finally hear his voice again.

"R-Romano… I thought… I'd lose you forever…" You stuttered, and began to cry uncontrollably.

Before he'd awoke, you'd felt like there were dark, heavy rainclouds surrounding you. Raining down, making sure to wipe away any happiness until he woke up. Now that he was warm and alive beneath you—the clouds drifted away and finally let the sun in your life shine again.

You continued to cry, letting out all your relief as you embraced him tighter. You wrapped your arms around his neck, and buried your tear-soaked face into his chest.

Romano blushed the tiniest bit, and pressed you tighter against his chest. Partly because he didn't want you to see him blushing, and partly because he secretly liked having you so close to him.

He had a cute pout on his face as his blush deepened—his eyebrows narrowed and bottom lip jutted out. He wasn't used to you crying around him, much less crying on him. He wanted to comfort you- let you know he was alive and happy to see you- but didn't know how. All he could do was hug you close and let you listen to his heartbeat.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, you finally pulled away from him. "Romano… I'm so happy you're okay," You said; your voice just above a whisper.

"Yeah, that's obvious." He stated, crossing his arms and looking away to hide his pink blush.

Not only had you been passionately embracing him, but somewhere in that time, you'd crawled into his lap and hadn't even noticed yet. He on the other hand, realized right away and felt his cheeks burn at the close proximity.

Secretly, he's always wanted to do that with you. Secretly, he wanted to do a lot of things with you. But being as stubborn as he was, everything he wanted with you was a goddamn 'secret'. No one knew but him.

Another secret? He's loved you forever.

You pouted, a bit annoyed at his lack of remorse. Why did he have to act like 'the cool guy' all the time? Couldn't he ever let his true emotions out? "'That's obvious'? Romano, don't you understand how worried we've all been? Especially me, I've been worried sick! You have no idea how long I've stayed here waiting for you to wake up— Italy and Germany couldn't even get me to leave this place. Why can't you just…" You trailed off; your voice was getting higher and higher. You definitely did not want to start yelling here—while in the hospital with plenty of patients needing their sleep.

He kept his arms crossed, a scowl still evident on his face. He stayed silent; just as he always did when you began lecturing him.

He didn't like when you yelled at him—but not because he simply thought it was annoying. It was just a reminder from his best friend/longtime crush that he wasn't good at handling his temper.

He hated his temper. But it wasn't something he could really control.

Whenever he saw you with another guy- one that wasn't his own brother Italy- he got so insanely jealous that his anger would just go overboard. He'd blame it on something else, and wind up with another lecture from you. The same one he'd always sulk through, of course.

That was what always seemed to push you away, rather than bring you closer again.

"Go ahead, lecture me. See if I care." He challenged, wanting to punch himself immediately after letting the words slip through his mouth.

You were used to his attitude by now and had grown accustomed to it. "No, not right now, Romano. You just barely woke up. I should tell Italy and Germany, too. And… I-I'm sorry," Your voice dropped to barely above a whisper, and you avoided eye contact, "I was just so worried for you. I… care about you so much, Romano. I couldn't keep myself from worrying. I lo-"

You paused just in time. You wanted him to be aware of how much you cared for him, but you weren't quite yet ready to let him know you cared 'that' much. You simply weren't ready to confess.

Somehow, the tears came back. They slowly began streaming down your cheeks as you looked down, avoiding his face. For all you knew, he would probably be embarrassed to hear you say such a thing to him.

Though what you didn't know was that your words had gotten to him far more than you ever thought they would.

He didn't think it was possible for you to feel the same way he did. In fact, most of the time he thought you hated him. He had no idea how to act upon these emotions; so he usually resorted to anger and frustration.

But what you admitted to him- that beneath it all, you cared for him deeply- made him completely rethink your relationship. You were always making sure he was okay, lecturing him if he wasn't—that couldn't mean that you hated him, right? If anything, it meant you cared.

And besides, he could've sworn he heard you say what almost sounded like 'I love you' in your last sentence. He figured it was probably his imagination, but he loved to think you really said it.

Well then, it's now or never… He thought to himself. All of the things he realized about you and him simply made him more determined to finally let you know. You deserved to know, after all this time. He couldn't handle keeping it in anymore.

You sniffled, and rubbed away your tears. He still hadn't said anything yet, and you began to feel embarrassed. You contemplated leaving—you had wanted to see him wake up, and you did. What else was there to do? Italy and Germany were probably more worried about you than him—since you'd been waiting in the hospital for so long; not even eating a single meal.

As you finally made a move to leave, you felt a hand on your wrist. You looked down, and saw Romano had grabbed onto you.

Nothing could have surprised you more than when he reached forward and hugged you again, now sobbing. You couldn't believe it—you'd seen him cry hysterically around his brother many times, but never when it was just you and him.

"Okay, so I love you. Deal with it… idiota ragazza." He grumbled, face once again blushing and in a stubborn Romano pout. "It's your problem now."

You were stunned speechless. 'Your problem'? …Was that how he really thought of it? That his love for you would just be a minor annoyance in your life?

He couldn't be more wrong. You loved him. All you ever dreamed about in your life was hearing him say those words.

Your heart was now hammering in your chest; almost as much as it had been when the accident first occurred. It pounded in your ears; your face burned. Am I dreaming?...

It wasn't too long before you became overly aware of your surroundings. In other words, you finally realized you were still in his lap—and blushed bright red.

You slowly glanced at his face, and noticed it was burning just as much as yours; if not more.

You almost teased him about how it looked as bright as one of Spain's tomatoes. But he had that same pout on his face; he wouldn't let you tease him and get away with it.

His pout looked so cute that you just about wanted to kiss his cheek. And, since he'd just told you the very thing you've wanted to hear since you met him, you did. Just a short, quick kiss on his cheek as you blushed furiously.

He gasped slightly, and turned to face you.

"It's not a 'problem' for me, Romano. It's the opposite. That right there was just about the stupidest thing ever," You almost felt insulted, like one of those moments when you hated his guts, "because I love you too, idiot."

He was silent for a moment. He simply stared at you, and this was the first time you caught him genuinely speechless. This is too good to be true… you thought to yourself.

You watched his face, to check for any signs of getting a response soon.

Then before you could say anything more… he leaned in and gave you a quick peck right on your lips.

The feeling sent a jolt through your body, and made your face burn once again.

As he pulled away, he was blushing furiously again. "Just don't expect me to be all sweet or anything, dammit. It's not like I love you back or whatever…" He murmured; too shy to make eye contact.

You giggled at his stubbornness. He always had a tendency to act bipolar. And get angry easily. And completely contradict himself. But it was just all that made him Romano.

You grin, and lean forward to give him a quick kiss on his lips in return.

When you pull away, he smiles a bit; eager for more. He pulls you closer again, wrapping his warm arms around your waist, and then gently caressing the side of your face. He slides his fingers down to your chin, and uses his thumb and index finger to slowly bring your lips to his once more.

You kiss him back, still straddling his hips. It was a long, lingering kiss, one that you'd keep in your memories forever.

He began kissing you more roughly; bringing out his romantic Italian side. You felt his warm tongue slowly glide over your bottom lip, asking for entrance. You complied and slightly parted your lips, allowing him to slip in his wet tongue. He began feeling you all over, while brushing his tongue lightly against yours. You nearly moaned into his mouth, and he smirked through the kiss.

You soon begin to feel something hot and stiff beneath you, and you break the heated kiss to look down.

He pouts, "It gets like that a lot… Usually only when I'm around you, though…" He admitted, cheeks burning.

You giggled, and removed your arms from around his neck to push him down on the bed. Visiting hours would be over soon, but you were definitely not done with him yet.

A.N.: Oh Romano, you're such a tsundere XD

I hope you liked the ending. I tried to make it extra romantic, since Romano's that kind of character. Not all of these one-shots will have a kiss, you know ._.

This one turned out to be pretty short, along with China's… I'll try to make the others a bit longer. At least 3,000 words. Anyways, don't forget to review… idiota ragazza.

-Usa chan (:

Next time: England— "Dream Girl"