Title: Love's Aftermath

Pairings: Italy/Germany, Spain/Romano, Spain/Italy, France/Canada, England/America

Italy's pregnant, Germany's gone missing and Romano just won't quit, have these kids STILL not got their act together?

Chapter 3 - Morning Regrets

The steadily rising sun shone through the open curtains, casting a harsh ray of light across Italy's dishevelled bed that morning. Sounds of soft, gentle chirping birds and the quiet humming of cars and scooters came from outside, adding to the peaceful, serine ambience of the new day. Such a contrast from the raging hormones, emotions and passionate love making that had taken place last night. The bedroom seemed to reek of regret, guilt and just a little shame, all revolving around the bed, where the deceitful act had taken place.

There Spain lay, fast asleep, sprawled out on the bed with the sheets draped across his bare waist, one arm resting against his head, chest steadily rising up and down with each gentle breath. Slowly the Spaniard opened his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the harsh sun light blaring at him through the windows, before giving up and closing them again, trying to get back to sleep. 'Too tired to get up...how late was I up last night? Wait...last night...' Spain shot up in bed, gripping the sheets around him, a look of pure horror and shock on his face. 'Oh-Oh God...' Spain swallowed heavily, running a hand through his hair, clutching his messy locks, heart pounding nervously in his chest. 'L-Last night...last night I had sex with Italy! Oh God...oh God no please, that didn't happen!' he bit his lip, shaking his head desperately as all the events from the previous night came flooding back...

"Ah-Ah Spain!"

"Nghn...I-Italy..."

"Ah...I'm almost...almost..."

"God...Italy..."

"Oh God, I'm not a good man...not at all..." Spain bit his lip, rocking back and forth in bed with his head in his hands, "What have I done? What have I done to Italy? To Germany? To...R-Romano..." he stopped his frantic rocking and gazed across the bedroom, a lump forming in his throat, "Romano..." he said softly, the guilt in his stomach tripling three fold. Slowly he climbed out of the empty bed, only then did he register Italy wasn't there, nor anywhere else in the bedroom. He searched around until he found his boxers strung on top of the lamp and pulled them on before making his way downstairs.

His heart was hammering nervously as he approached the kitchen door where he could hear someone shuffling around inside. Spain bit his lip as he slowly opened the door and stepped inside, Italy was there, pressing some buttons on the coffee machine, dressed in some kind of Japanese dressing gown. The Spaniard stood awkwardly for a few moments before closing the door with a soft thud, making it apparent that he was there. Italy looked up, trying to smile, "Ciao Spain..."

"Buenos días..." Spain said softly, still standing awkwardly by the door.

"I made coffee." Italy indicated to the machine which was steadily pouring the steaming liquid into two mugs.

Spain nodded, going over to him, taking one of the mugs once it had been filled, "Gracias..." he muttered, avoiding Italy's gaze as they both stood silently side by side, sipping their coffee.

Italy bit his lip, struggling to build the courage to start the conversation he knew the two of them had to have. He sighed deeply, put down his mug and turned to face Spain, "Are we going to talk about it?"

Spain chocked slightly on his mouthful of coffee, coughing and spluttering, "U-Urm...I-I don't know...maybe?" he laughed nervously, also placing his mug down as he grabbed a cloth to wipe his mouth with.

"Spain..." Italy looked at him seriously, yet the Spaniard could clearly see fear in his eyes, "Last night shouldn't have happened."

"I know." Spain agreed, sighing deeply as he let his hand thread through his hair, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too..." Italy whispered, shaking his head, "Why did that happen?"

Spain shrugged, leaning back against the kitchen counter, "We were angry, upset...our emotions just took over."

Italy bit his lip, tears starting to well in his eyes, "What about...Germany?"

Spain looked at him, "He doesn't have to know...if you don't want him to."

"You won't tell him will you?" Italy asked, looking up at Spain with panic stricken eyes.

Spain reached up, gently ruffling Italy's hair, "Only if you don't tell Romano."

Italy nodded, gently wrapping his arms around Spain, hugging him gently, "Grazie..."

Spain hugged him back softly, "It's okay...it was just a stupid mistake."

"Sì..." Italy let go of him, reaching for his coffee again, "I...I don't know why we let that happen though...I don't feel that way about you Spain, I love Germany."

"I know you do Italy, it's okay...we were just hormonal." Spain smirked slightly, sipping his own coffee, "These things happen, best thing we can do is just forget about it sì?"

"Sì." Italy smiled slightly, finishing his coffee.

Spain smiled back briefly before sighing softly, despite the agreement he couldn't stop feeling guilty, and he knew that Italy must feel the same. Italy was his friend, as was Germany, he knew in his heart that he wouldn't do anything like that with Italy ever again...but even though he was certain of this, there was still something prodding him in the back of the mind, telling him that if he'd stayed alone with Italy any longer it would just make things a whole lot worse. He knew Italy needed someone to help him through this tough time, but he knew it couldn't be him. Spain sighed softly, "Italy..."

"Sì?"

"I...I think I should go back to the academy..."

Italy looked befuddled, "But I already told Mr Danketsu I've dropped out."

"I know, I mean...I need to go back...alone." Spain bit his lip as he watched Italy's eyes seem to fill with hurt.

"But...then I'd be alone here..." he said quietly, hands clasped together anxiously, "Mr Danketsu said you could stay with me as long as you wanted."

Spain sighed, gently taking hold of Italy's hands, "It's not that Italy, I'm afraid if I stay here it'll just make us both feel more guilty then we already feel...and if something happens that makes us, you know...do it again..." Spain bit his lip, looking away from him, "It's just safer if I stay away from you...for now."

"Oh..." Italy whispered, biting his lip, "...okay...I understand."

Spain looked at him sadly, gently patting his back, "You'll be fine Italy, I'm sure Germany will be along soon to take care of you..."

"I hope so..."

Spain hugged him gently, "Look...if Germany's not back by next week call me, and I'll come right back over."

Italy smiled slightly, glad for the offer but not wanting to seem pathetic and needy, "I'll be okay by myself." he said unsurely.

"Okay." Spain pulled back, gently kissing his forehead, "I'll go and get dressed and packed up"

~0~

Italy jumped violently as a car outside zoomed past the living room window, he sighed in relief when he saw it wasn't a threat and settled back on the sofa. He'd only been by himself at home for a couple of days but every unexpected noise had put him extremely on edge. Italy wasn't used to being alone in the house, he usually had Germany with him, and he always had Romano with him. This was the first time being left alone and he didn't like it one bit, he missed Germany, he missed Spain...he even missed Romano.

Italy sighed, curling up on the sofa, turning up the volume on the TV, he wasn't even watching it, but the constant sound of people talking calmed his nerves and he could pretend that he wasn't the only person in the house. Night time was the worst, he'd resorted to sleeping with the lights on like he did when he was a kid, he had even started getting up every few minutes just to make sure all the doors were locked, even though he lived in a really friendly, safe neighbourhood. He didn't know how much longer he could wait for Germany, he still hadn't been in contact with him, Italy was afraid that if he tried to call the German then his fears about Germany leaving him would be confirmed, at least at the moment he could hang on to the belief that Germany was simply too busy to call him.

Spain was still playing on his mind, he'd sent the Italian a few texts to make sure he was okay, but Italy was starting to feel guilty that he was being so clingy to the Spaniard, his brother's ex he might add, and had reassured him that he was doing fine and he didn't mind being alone. He knew he couldn't ask Spain to come back, that would just be selfish of him, but Italy was starting to get hysterical from loneliness, he needed someone. Coming to the conclusion that it would be wrong of him to drag Spain back, and Germany needed to come to him, not the other way around, Italy decided to call his brother.

"What do you want?" Romano snapped from the other end of the phone when he'd seen who it was calling him.

"Fratello...please come home." Italy said softly, curling up on the sofa.

Romano narrowed his eyes, "I'm not coming back till I find that potato bastard!"

"Romano please I'm so scared of being left alone!" Italy said, starting to get slightly hysterical.

Romano quirked an eyebrow, "Alone? Spain's there with you isn't he?"

"No he went back to school, please Romano I'm all alone."

"You mean he just left you? That bastard! Why'd he leave?"

Italy bit his lip, heart hammering nervously as he tried to lie, "He just...wanted to go...I told him I'd be okay but I'm not!"

"Well that's your problem, I'm in the middle of something." Romano went to hang up the phone.

"Romano! Please!" Italy starting whimpering, crying softly into his hands.

Romano sighed, pressing the phone back to his ear, "Look just stop being a baby, I'll come back if you really want me to."

Italy sniffed, "R-Really?"

"Sì, but that doesn't mean I still don't want him dead! In fact..." Romano grinned devilishly, "I'll be much more likely to get him at home...he'll probably try to come and see you at some point, and when he does, I'll be there waiting for him."

Italy ignored the last part, "You'll come home?"

"Sì, I'll be over soon."

"Yay! Grazie big brother!"

~0~

"I'm so glad you're home big brother!" Italy grinned, grating some cheese onto the two pasta dishes he'd prepared that evening. Romano grunted, fiddling with his phone, no doubt texting one of his mob bosses, "I don't know how you can be so scared about being on your own in your own damn house." he looked up at Italy properly in his kimono, "Are you still wearing that damn thing?"

Italy looked down at himself, "Japan got it for me for Christmas." he smiled, twirling around in it.

Romano rolled his eyes, "Spain got me that stupid jumper, doesn't mean I wear it."

Italy bit his lip, feeling guilt settle in his stomach at the mention of the Spaniard, he coughed awkwardly "I'm scared because it's scary at night." he carried the two bowls to the kitchen table, taking a seat opposite his brother.

Romano rolled his eyes, grabbing a fork and spoon, "You're such a coward, for your sake my theory better be right, that bastard better come round here soon!"

Italy looked at, "You won't really kill him will you?"

"Yes! That's the whole point of this!"

Italy shook his head, picking up his own cutlery, "You won't kill him fratello." Italy said certainly, he knew his brother far too well, he didn't have it in him to take a life.

"Yes I will!" Romano slammed his fist down on the table, glaring at his brother, "I don't understand how you can still care about that bastard." Romano growled.

"I love Germany with all my heart." Italy said softly, twirling the spaghetti around on his fork.

Romano scowled, "How can you? He abandoned you!"

Italy winced slightly, "No he didn't, you chased him away."

"True, but he hasn't come back has he? I mean..." Romano glanced at Italy's phone which sat on the table, "He hasn't been in contact with you since he left has he?" Italy glanced at his phone, biting his lip, hoping it would suddenly burst into life as Germany tried to call him. It didn't. He sniffed slightly, trying to concentrate hard on eating to stop from crying, Romano softened slightly, "Look, I didn't mean to upset you, I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"You chased him away...that hurt." Italy mumbled softly, miserably forking some pasta into his mouth.

Romano sighed, "That was obviously his excuse to leave you cause you're pregnant, can you not see that?"

Italy stopped mid-mouthful, he couldn't deny that that thought hadn't crossed his mind, "...not true..." Italy whispered softly, yet only half believing his own words.

"Veneziano, I just think it's better if you start getting over him now...rather than hold out for him and end up getting your heart broken." Romano said softly, trying to look sincere.

Italy bit his lip, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, "B-But..."

"If he loved you he'd be here with you now." Romano pointed out, feeling slightly bad that he was upsetting his brother but pushed that to one side as he worked to get his point across.

Italy bit down harder on his lip, a tear slowly leaking from his eyes, dripping onto his now unappealing bowl of spaghetti, "...okay..." he whispered, gently placing his hand on his stomach.

Romano smiled slightly, reaching over to pat him on the arm, glancing down to see where his hand was, "Don't worry about the baby." Italy looked up questioningly, "I've been in contact with an adoption agency, they're going to find a couple who will take the baby from you."

Italy nodded slowly, dabbing at his eyes, "...okay..." he whispered again, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

"Until then I'll stay and look after you alright? Then once it's born and given away we can just carry on like nothing ever happened." Romano smiled, tucking into his food.

Italy bit his lip, gazing down at the table, letting his tears silently roll down his face. 'So that's it? I have to let him go...'

~0~

Italy slowly closed his bedroom door that night, resting his head against the polished wood, sighing deeply. He was glad Romano was home, finally he could feel safe whilst going to bed...but at the same time he was starting to regret calling his brother, in terms of emotions he was feeling a lot worse then before Romano had shown up. Italy let out another sigh, slowly wandering around the room, picking up the scattered remains of his possessions that had been wrecked by Romano a few days earlier, purely to distract himself from the depressing thoughts running through his mind.

After about an hour or so, everything was put back in his proper place and his room was tidy again. By now it was nearly eleven but Italy wasn't the least bit tired, even still, he climbed onto the bed and lay back on top of the covers, staring up at the ceiling, allowing himself to be alone with his thoughts; 'Did I really agree to forget about Germany? How can I forget about Germany? He means everything to me...sure he's been a big meanie pants lately but I don't want to forget about him...' Italy closed his eyes, quietly weeping into his hands, 'If he would just call me everything would be okay...even to break up with me, I just want to know where we stand! I want to know if he still loves me...'

Italy sniffed, wiping his eyes furiously, suddenly flooded with anger, 'Why hasn't he called me? Even if he doesn't love me he should still call me to tell me! Instead he runs away like a coward...' he bit his lip, curling up on his side, cuddling his pillow to his chest, he was struggling to distinguish between hurt and anger, he couldn't tell which was stronger. Italy didn't know whether he wanted Germany to come back or to stay the hell away from him.

He didn't know if he slept at all, or if he'd just spent two hours silently crying into his pillow as he lay curled up on the bed. Italy only sat up when he thought he heard something, a gentle tapping on his window, followed by the soft mutter of his name. The Italian tilted his head to the side curiously, slowly getting up and drawing back the curtains to find the source of the noise. What he saw almost caused him to fall over from the shock.

Germany grinned, waving at Italy from the other side of the glass, clinging onto the window ledge to keep himself from falling to the ground below, "Italy! Hurry und let me in before I fall!"

Italy shook his head in amazement, he fiddled with the window latch and pulled it open as wide as it could go, stepping back as the German climbed into his bedroom, "Germany..." Italy blinked slowly, not sure whether or not he was dreaming.

Germany stood back up, a smile playing on his lips as he saw his love for first time in nearly two weeks, "Italy..." he reached towards the Italian, holding out his arms, "I've missed you so much." Italy bit his lip, taking a step back, Germany looked confused, "Italy what's wrong?"

"...you left me." Italy said softly, slowly shaking his head.

Germany bit his lip, stepping closer to him, "Italy I'm sorry but I had to, Romano had a gun! I had to run."

"Why didn't you call me?" Italy took another step away from him as Germany was getting steadily closer to him.

Germany stopped, "I...I didn't want to risk it...Italy I've come all the way over here to see you, don't I at least get a hug?" Germany asked, slightly irritated after all the effort he went through to sneak into the country. Italy looked away from him, slowly shaking his head. Germany stared at him, slightly hurt, "Italy-"

"You should go." Italy interrupted, "Romano's here."

Germany faltered slightly, "H-He is?"

Italy nodded, "Sì...I won't tell him you were here."

Germany bit his lip, glancing back at the window before shaking his head, narrowing his eyes, "No. I'm not going anywhere."

"Germany he wants to kill you."

"I know. But I'm sick of running, I'm going to face him." Germany reached for the bedroom door, about to open it when Italy grabbed hold of his arm.

"Germany just go! He's going to hurt you..." Italy bit his lip, taking his hands off Germany's arm.

Germany looked at him, gently cupping his face and pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head, "I'll handle it, I want to be here for you Italy." he smiled reassuringly, pulling open the door, stepping out onto the landing. He glanced across at Romano's bedroom door, taking a deep breath, "Romano! Guess who's here!" he called towards the bedroom.

In an instant, Romano's bedroom door burst open and the red faced Italian stood there, eyes wide, practically breathing fire, "I've been waiting for this a long time..." he growled, reaching into his dresser beside the door. Germany bit his lip, yet stood his ground, waiting for the inevitable. Romano furrowed his brows when he couldn't find what he was looking for, "Veneziano! Where did you put my gun?" he yelled, still scrambling around for it. He growled irritably, "Oh the hell with it!" he lunged forwards, head butting Germany in the stomach. Germany winced slightly yet didn't even stumbled, he grabbed hold of Romano and held him at arms length.

"Look, I'm sick of this, you need to stop trying to kill me ja?"

"Let go of me you bastard!" Romano screamed furiously, struggling in Germany's grip.

"Not until you stop trying to attack me! I'm trying to be here for Italy und you're not making it easy!" Germany snapped, slowly lowering Romano back down onto the floor.

Romano glared at him, eyes narrowed dangerously, "He doesn't need you! Just FUCK OFF!"

"Italy in mein boyfriend and he is carrying mein child! I am going to be here for him whether YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" Germany thundered, Romano starting to shake under the German's intimidating glare.

"He doesn't want you to be there for him." Romano grumbled, glancing towards Italy who was peeking out at them from behind his bedroom door.

Germany looked towards him, "Italy?" Italy bit his lip, looking away from him, closing the door of his bedroom on the two of them. Germany stared at the door, feeling incredibly hurt.

Romano smirked, "You see? He doesn't need you, I'm looking after him and then we're giving the baby away, you're not needed at all."

Germany glared at him, "I'm not leaving, I'm staying here und I'll win him back."

"You can try." Romano scoffed, "But you're not staying in my house, you can get the hell out."

"Fine...if you call the hit off on me."

Romano sighed, "Alright, I won't try to kill you...Italy's left you, that's all that matters." Romano said heading back into his bedroom, not before reminding the German to get the hell out of his house.

Germany sighed deeply as he closed the front door behind him, his vision of romantically scaling Italy's house and climbing into his bedroom, taking him in his arms and making him feel loved had gone a lot better in his head then in reality. The German frowned, shivering slightly in the cold, he didn't want to find a hotel to stay in, he wanted to stay as close to Italy as was physically possible without being in the house. A tall alder tree stood at the foot of the garden, Germany went and sat with his back against the tree, facing the house. He took of his jacket and used it as a blanket as he lay down against the trunk.

Italy drew back the curtains slightly and peered out into his dark garden after hearing the front door close downstairs, he spotted Germany curled up against the tree, his bit his lip, watching him for a moment. Germany looked up and saw Italy gazing at him, he smiled, blowing the Italian a kiss. Italy smiled slightly, waving before he retreated away from the window. Germany sighed, settling down to go to sleep, he'd make Italy forgive him. Even if he had to spend every night outside on the lawn.

Yay Germany's back! :D Not the happiest chapter I know but please tell me you've all stopped hating me XD
Also, I've changed the rating of this to M for...later chapters XD

Reviews are love :)