Morning stretched from the horizons into the grand room of a certain Spaniard, highlighting two figures laying peacefully on a large king bed. The Spaniard had his arm wrapped around the other, while the Italian, pressed against the Spaniards chest, fidgeted uncomfortably, seeking the warmth he had before having the source stolen from him. The blanket, abandoned behind one, held all the problems for the other.
Mornings such as these were days of calm for the pair of lovers. However, the peace was not to last. Not with the day being Christmas. Lovino was the first to wake and realize that something was amiss; they two were the only ones in the house weren't they? If so, then why was he hearing footsteps outside of the door?
He drowsily opened his eyes, immediately seeing the broad chest of his significant other and receiving heat on the cheeks which replaced his previous coldness. He rose his head to snap at the older, but stopped himself upon seeing his sleeping face. He wore a satisfied grin on his face, and Lovino didn't have the heart to wake him, however stupid it looked. He bit the inside of his mouth in frustration, sliding his teeth from side to side; regrettably making it hurt more than necessary. He lowered his glance in defeat to only raise them again and attempt to wriggle his way from the Spaniards grasp. At first, it seemed as though it was working as he heard a whine from the other, but as he soon found out, that was definitely not a good sign. "Spain, "He gasped as the hold tightened. "Let go." He struggled against the others' tight grip, internally cursing at how strong he was now compared to how he usually was. "Spain!" He said again, hoping to wake him up and escape from the strangling hold. When his name was called a second time, Lovino recalled the reason why he even began needing to wake. Why did things slip so quickly when he was near the other? "Spain, I think someone's here." He snarled quietly after a short silence of Antonio still refusing to rouse.
The Spaniard stirred, after what felt like eternities to the Italian, and hid his face in Lovino's hair. "Hmmm. But Lovi, I'm so tired. Let's sleep together a bit more." Antonio whined, though relaxing his grip on the other. "There's still a lot of time until the Christmas Party, so Feli and Ludwig probably decided to come early." He added, trying to persuade the younger into staying in bed with him. Lovino, however, wasn't taking any shit from Antonio, and was content on getting up. He placed his hands on the Spaniards arms and set to pry his way out. He gathered all of his strength and pulled on his arms, but to no avail.
"You fuckin-!"
"You jerk! Wake up!"
Their hearts stopped.
Another voice.
Huh? That was weird, Antonio could have sworn that he closed the door, and that that was his tomato's voice. No, of course it was his tomato, but his voice was higher. Was it his little tomato? But that was impossible…
That was the trigger to opening his eyes; they widened, looking down at the also surprised Italian in his arms. Within a second's time, he felt a very familiar painful head-butt on his back. Because of the force, Lovino was thrown out of his arms. He laid still beside Antonio in a dumb founded manner, staring blankly at his stomach. That amount of force that pushed against Lovino when he was in the others' arms was dangerously powerful. He rose his gaze and locked eyes with the Spaniard as he returned the bewildered thought. However, he was indeed glad for a split second that he was freed from the suffocating embrace, though that was replaced by confusion as a very particular and well-known curl popped into his view. It bobbed up and down as though having difficulty reaching the bed. Then it abruptly stopped, as if giving up while it turned around and walked away. The sound of footsteps made it obvious that it was doing so, but it also brought the attention to Antonio as he began turning around. Then, suddenly it stopped and sounded more- wait, was it running?
Eyes wide, Lovino watched as a miniature version of him leaped onto Antonio; the same way as he did way back then. His mouth gapped open while the Spaniard grimaced in discomfort at the long lost painful feeling of head-butts on his stomach. The mini-him sat up and glared straight at Antonio as he placed his hands on the others stomach, oblivious to the suffering of the one below him. "You bastard! How long were you planning on sleeping?!" He yelled to him, "It's Christmas today! What am I supposed to do alone if you don't wake up?!" He added, a pout on his face as he persistently spouted more nonsense at the confused man. The words rambled on and on without Antonio able to do anything in his state of shock. Despite the fact that Antonio hadn't reacted, Lovino regained his posture and sat up, gaining the attention on the little boy. "Who the fuck are you?" The boy questioned without sympathy at his tongue, trying his best to defluff his cheeks, though failing. Upon seeing the face, on normal terms, Lovino would have thought that it was cute, but the strong words threw him off.
It also touched a nerve.
"…You little brat!" Lovino snarled, leaning over and grabbing the child by the back of his collar, and pulling him off of Antonio. For a while, they both struggled against each other as the Spaniard watched them with a dumbfounded look before actually blinking and getting ahold of the situation. Lovino sighed and stabled the kid. "You're supposed to fucking introduce yourself before asking others for theirs!" The Italian scolded, narrowing his eyes at the one in his hold. The younger-him bore a face of fear, trembling in his grasp. He observed as his eyes darted from side to side, finally connecting with Antonio's and desperately seeking for help. Once again, Lovino heaved a heavy sigh and released the boy, watching him as he immediately jumped back into the Spaniards' arms. He didn't seem surprised when the child did so, but gave Lovino a remorseful look.
Antonio returned the hold on the boy, wrapping an arm around his waist and stroking his hair with the other. "That wasn't very nice, Lovi." He finally commented, earning the attention of both Lovino and the child in his arms. He chuckled wholeheartedly as he gained a confused stare from the child. "Ah~ Roma and Lovi in the same place! This is surely heaven~" He joked as a huge smile occupied his face. Antonio extended his grasp towards Lovino and ruffled his hair in attempt of peace. "Fusosososo~" He sung, achieving a glare from Lovino and small gasps of struggle from Romano. "God must've granted my wish this Christmas!" He teased one last time, leaning towards his younger lover and pulling him closer to squeeze the living life out of the two in his arms.
Lovino gasped at the tight squeeze on his shoulders, and mumbled curses under his breath. He gritted through his teeth as he struggled out of Antonio's grasp. "Yeah, you'll definitely reach it when I punch your pathetic ass up there. Plus, God doesn't even exist." He said, immediately shutting his mouth. The room fell into a dark silence as he rose from the bed.
God doesn't exist. God does not exist. Why god, do you not exist? Have we done sins that cannot be forgiven? Does the blood that stain our hands scare you? Have we done wrong for attending to our king? All the spilled blood at your feet, do you understand your importance? What more shall we do for you to understand? God, where were you in our time of need?
He pressed his eyes shut and opened them, fixing his gaze on the strangely-still-closed door and resisting the urge to apologize to the other. He paced to the door, clenching his fists and ignoring whispers of confusion from Romano and reassuring responses from Antonio. Lovino placed his hand on the handle and opened it as quickly as he could. He took a few steps out the room, and shut the door, running down the hallway when it was securely closed.
He ran. There was only one place in his mind to run to. Antonio would always find him there though. He knew that he loved going there, and that was okay, because he liked it too. So he turned towards the garden, and ran straight for the tree. It was their favorite place to rest during the tomato harvests. Antonio had planted it during his conqueror days, and it was still flourishing. Its branches stretched out wide, and the trunk was thick and sturdy, its roots rose above ground and were also thick and strong. It flourished year round, and stood near the end of his patch, looking over the house and harvest. Lovino recalled watching Antonio plant it in a faraway dream, so long ago it was.
He slowed as he approached the tree, leaning against its trunk and sitting down, missing the figure who stood beside it. He closed his eyes and sighed, lowering his head in shame. The sound of a branch breaking made Lovino snap his head up to stare at the source. It was a boy. He bore a head of chocolate curly hair and optimistic emerald eyes, and he was staring straight at him. Lovino returned the look, gazing back at him with unwavering eyes. But as soon as they connected, the olive eyes retreated. His face felt hot, not with embarrassment, but something else. The olive eyes darted from side to side, eventually hesitantly trailing back to the confident emerald eyes. A wave of emotions filled his chest as he took in all of the emotions from the pair of eyes.
They say to look into someone's eyes, and the truth would be revealed to you. Lovino never believed those words. He never connected eyes with anyone. He knew what they thought of him; aggravating, derisive, problematic, impractical, insignificant. Feliciano was the better Nation. Feliciano was the better brother. Feliciano was the better decision. Feliciano. Feliciano. Feliciano. All said so many times that Lovino was practically immune to them all. But years later, when Antonio forced him to look into his eyes, he believed for the briefest moment that he was needed. He saw desperation, hope, love, lust, desire, and compassion. That day, Lovino cried for the first time in centuries, but of course he made Antonio promise never to bring it up. Yet, when he gazed upon the child's eyes, they showed the same emotions. They weren't as strong, but they were definitely there, and though never admitted, Lovino never connected his eyes with Antonio's for long.
Not once did the emerald eyes fade, he only searched Lovino's eyes with tender passion, as if dealing with the most precious treasure in the world. The same as a certain Spaniard did. However, Lovino was trapped. He was trapped in the younger boy's gaze. Fuck, he was paralyzed under the penetrating eyes. He couldn't bring himself to blink. "So beautiful." The boy whispered, almost in a daze. Lovino blinked, caught by surprise at his words. The other did the same as soon as he did, and for a moment, they both were caught in catching up with their blinking before looking at each other in confusion. Lovino was the first to speak.
"What?" He asked, his voice hoarse from previously running and being immersed in what would be known as the longest staring contest ever (?). It surprised him as he brought up his hand to rub his throat, tilting his head upwards and narrowing his eyes in irritation. The boy only watched him with the same dumbfounded look on his face as earlier, before processing the situation. He adverted his eyes from Lovino's general direction
He was quiet for a while before he opened his mouth. "¿Usted sabe dónde estoy?" [Do you know where I am?] The boy questioned, ignoring what Lovino had said.
"Spain." Lovino responded, feeling stupid at how simple the response was. Obviously he knew he was in Spain, there was nearly nowhere else that was as beautiful, other than Italy of course.
For a second, the boy paused, as if waiting for Lovino to say something else. Though he seemed to snap out of his trance when Lovino rose an eyebrow. "So you understand Spanish." He mumbled in a heavy Spanish accent loud enough for Lovino to hear, then continuing. "...Lo sé. Puedo sentir los arboles y las personas, pero ¿donde en España?" […I know. I can feel the trees and people, but where in Spain?] He specified, turning himself so both he and Lovino could see the field and house.
"Country-side." He said immediately, noticing a car parking in their (Lovino practically lived with Antonio by now) drive way and standing up. "By the way, what's your name?" Lovino asked, keeping his eyes on the four figures who exited the car.
The boy shook his head. "No, deberia ser '¿Que país eres?', ¿verdad? Pero, ¿no es educado decir su nombre primero antes de preguntar a los demás?" [No, it should be 'what country are you', right? And, isn't it polite to say your name first before asking for others?] He laughed as though trying to ease the tension, and poked Lovino on the hip.
"Uwah! The fuck are you doing?!" Lovino cried out, surprised and released his train of thought to focus on the boy who poked his hip that still ached from a fortnight ago. He quickly shielded that place with his hand. "Fine, fine! I'm South Italy! Are you happy now?! Plus, how did you know I was a Country anyway?"
"No puedo sentirte." [I can't feel you.] He replied, looking and placing a hand on his heart, then looking up to Lovino, he smiled. "Soy España, por cierto, aunque tengo la sensacion de que eso ya lo sabía." [I'm Spain, by the way, though I get the feeling that you already knew that.] He slid his hand off his heart, and glancing at the house, began towards it. "¿Os importa si me voy dentro de su casa con usted, Italia?" [Do you mind if I go inside your house with you, Italy?]
"…Sure. It's not like I had a choice to begin with, and don't call me that. Just call me Lovino."
A/N:
Hello everyone! Forgive me for releasing this chapter two days late. I was complementing whether or not to make the chapter longer. I'm honestly, very, very, very sorry. I know my writing can't make up for this chapter, but I honestly hope future chapters do. Anyway, google was not my friend again. If any of you know the actual translations, please feel free to PM and correct me! Also, thank you for all of the reviews you all gave me! I think they gave me more motivation than anything!
Thank you so much, Lovilove! Thank you so much, miroku girl15! Thank you so much, QueenOfOlmypus! You three do not understand how happy and motivated your reviews made me! Thank you so so much! If you all want, please request me something! I really want to repay the favor!
Oh yes, I'm also working with imtheRATZ to write lemon, for her recent 'Frozen Hearts' fanfiction! Please check it out if you have time on your hands!
IMPORTANT NOTE: As you have all seen, Younger!Spain is not like Romano. I actually biased this Spain off of Pirate!Spain. That means that Younger!Spain is not a child. He is actually a teen. I'm sorry if some of you don't like it. Also, the God part was biased off of a doujinshi I read. Please do not mind it.
Edit: I know I am really extremely late, but thank you to QueenOfOlympus1 for the translations! I'll be depending on you in the future.