Antonio was abruptly awoken by something heavy hitting his gut. Jolting up and gasping for breath, the Spaniard looked down at his lap to find a very angry child sitting on top of it. As the small boy opened his mouth and began yelling, Antonio came to realize that yesterday wasn't a dream at all. Romano was still in his apartment, and he would live here for who knows how long.
"Bastardo! Aren't you listening, I'm hungry! I want peaches!"
After being snapped out of his thoughts, the Spaniard gave Romano a cheerful smile. "Si, let's have some breakfast!"
As the two sat at the kitchen table, one sipping coffee while the other dug into his sliced peaches, a quiet and peaceful aura took over the apartment again. Antonio watched Romano finish his breakfast before breaking the silence before the loud Italian could. "After I pick you up from school we'll need to visit the grocery store. Okay, Romano?
"Humph!" Romano pouted at his empty plate and didn't reply.
"… Now go get ready, you have a big day waiting ahead!" Antonio tried to sound cheerful to cover his dread. If Romano was anything like yesterday, then it would be a terribly long day for both of them. Making it a point that Romano did not want to obey, the 5 year old very slowly slid out of his chair then stomped all the way to Antonio's room and slammed the door shut. Antonio set his cup down then buried his face in his hands while he took a moment to pray to god that his neighbors would not file a noise complaint.
When Antonio picked Romano up his school, he noticed how deathly quiet the Italian was. The Spaniard had no idea what this meant, even if he was close with the Vargas family, he had rarely spent time with him until now. Hoping it was a good sign, Antonio parked his car and entered the store with Romano, who slapped the Spaniard's hand away every time he tried to take Romano's. Antonio pulled out the smaller shopping cart and smiled down at Romano. "Would you like to sit inside the cart, Roma?" As a kid Antonio knew how much he loved riding in shopping carts, so maybe Romano wouldn't be so different.
"No!" The boy finally spoke while crossing his arms over his chest, then turned his head and stomped inside the store. Taken aback by the snappy response, Antonio had to jog to catch up with Romano.
"Hey! Don't run off, always stay where I can see you, alright?" Antonio was now walking beside the angry Italian while pushing his cart. Romano only replied with a huff and continued not to look at the Spaniard. Sighing for the sixth time that day, Antonio simply followed the young Italian through the store while quickly grabbing what he needed before rushing to catch up with Romano who would not stop for anyone. Several times Romano picked out an item (usually sweets) and demanded Antonio to buy it. Each time Antonio told the child "no" and set the item back in it's original place. "But you can pick out one candy bar at the register!" Antonio kept promising, but it didn't seem to be enough for the spoiled Italian, and the constant nagging was wearing down the Spaniard.
Romano ran down the cereal aisle and spotted a box before pulling it off the shelf. "I want this!" He proclaimed as he held the box over his head. Antonio sighed for the tenth time that day.
"No, Romano. We're not getting Reese's Puffs, now put it back, please." Antonio replied in an almost monotone voice as he picked up a cheaper box of cereal and placed it in the cart. He didn't have the best paying job, otherwise he would've loved to spoil the little boy. Antonio was about to continue onto the next aisle when he saw that Romano didn't obey and was in fact following the Spaniard with the box of cereal hugged tightly to his chest. Antonio let go of the cart and placed his hands on his hips to make himself look more authoritative. "Romano..." He said in a firmer voice. "Put the Reese's Puffs back."
"No! I want it and you're not the boss of me!" Romano hugged the cereal tighter and turned his back toward the Spaniard. A twinge of irritation fell down Antonio's spine but he took a deep breath before continuing.
"Romano, I can't afford two boxes of cereal. Let's get the Reese's Puffs next time." This seemed to calm Romano down a bit. Antonio then stepped in front of the Italian and grabbed the top of the box, carefully pulling it away as if he was playing the Operation Game and if he brushed against the edge he'd be buzzed and loose the game. Just as the box of cereal was almost his, Romano's grip suddenly tightened.
"But I want it now! Put your stupid Cheerio's back and we can get the Reese's Puffs!"
He lost the game, though Antonio could still win the argument. He was an adult, after all! "No, Romano. Next time we'll get Reese's Puffs." If Antonio could pat himself on the back for being so responsible, he would. But for now his hands stayed on the box of cereal.
"Nooo!" The little Italian whined as he tugged the box downward and it managed to slip out of the Spaniard's hands. Immediately Romano ran to the other end of the aisle and hugged the box to his chest again as he huddled in a corner. At this moment Antonio noticed how many customer's were sharing the same aisle as them, and he felt nervous. He didn't want Romano to make a scene, yet he had no idea how to calm the angry Italian. He wasn't even sure why the Italian was throwing such a fit over a small thing. Walking over to the young boy, Antonio returned back to a serious tone. "Romano, give me the box of cereal. Now."
"Nooo! You're a fucking jackass and I hate your guts!"
"Romano! No cussing! You shouldn't even know that word!" Antonio was getting impatient and he could feel the thousands of eyes towering on his back. The Spaniard reached over and grabbed at the cereal again, but Romano pulled it away and did his best to crouch over it though the large box was as big as the boy's torso.
"Fuck you, you bastardo! You jerk face! Asswipe!" Romano was almost screaming now. This was bad. Very bad.
"Romano! If you don't let go of the cereal then….! Then..! Then you're grounded! For the rest of the day!" Antonio continued to try and peel the Italian off the box but the little boy had a death grip on it.
"Ground me! Do it, you fucking whore!"
"That's it." The wave of anger that Antonio kept holding back finally let loose. The Spaniard had shutdown and his instincts took over. Picking up the young boy by his belt, Antonio ripped the mangled box from the tiny arms and tossed it on the shelf. Leaving his cart, Antonio threw the screaming boy over his shoulder and held onto him tightly as he quickly left the store. He could feel all the eyes following him, he could see all the concerned looks on everyone he passed by. He was sure someone was thinking that he was kidnapping Romano by the way the child was screaming and kicking at Antonio's chest while hitting his fits on his back. Antonio couldn't feel anything, the adrenaline had kicked in and kept him from going back. Once outside, the cold wind hit his body like a wall of ice as he marched toward his car. He didn't even realize how hot he felt until now.
Antonio slipped his hands under Romano's arms and held onto his sides firmly as he lifted the Italian and sat him down on top of the trunk of his car. The Spaniard glared down at Romano with fierce green eyes only to have them widen in surprise. The Italian's face was bright red and wet from the waterfall of tears rolled down his cheeks. His eyes were pink and puffy and an abundance amount of snot was already dripping from his nose. The worse part about his face was that he looked scared. Antonio did not want to make any child feel frightened of him, not even Romano. Softening his expression, Antonio bended over so that they were eye to eye. Romano continued to wail and tried moving away from Antonio, but the Spaniard kept his firm grip on the Italian. "Roma… hey, calm down. It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." Antonio spoke softly, barely above a whisper, but the little boy continued to cry loudly over it. "It's alright, Romano..." Antonio pulled the Italian against his chest and ruffled the boy's brown hair as Romano buried his face against Antonio. This had a much better effect. Romano's loud wails died down to sniffles and Antonio could feel tiny hands grab at the sides of his shirt. "That's it, mi tomate. Calm down." Antonio held onto the boy's back and slipped a hand underneath him as he picked him up and began swaying from side to side. He wasn't sure where the nickname came from, but he found it quite fitting as he glanced down and saw Romano's red ears. Sighing for the eleventh time that day, Antonio continued to rock the little Italian until his cries were no more.