disclaimer: I dont own hetalia.
Where The Heart Is
Chapter Eight: Decorating
Romano gets up and heads downstairs with a small blanket wrapped around his shoulders. "It's so cold, tomato bastard! Turn up the heat!"
"Ah~! A vision of beauty, little Romano!" Francis coos from the foot of the stairs.
Romano pales and looks around the bottom floor seeing all of their friends decorating. Matthew and Gilbert are hanging the lights and garland, Arthur and Alfred are placing angels and other knick knacks around, Tino and Kiku are decorating the table and kitchen counters while Nate and Berwald hang things on the walls and windows. Then his eyes fall on Antonio who is laying out fake snow on top of a short and long bookcase. Wondering who to talk to first, he decides to start with Antonio. "Hey, tomato bastard, why didn't you wake me up before they got here?"
Antonio smiles at him. "I went to wake you, but you were just too precious sleeping~!" He ignores the twitching Romano is currently doing and pulls over a large box. "Help me make the Christmas village?"
Romano goes to grab something and his blanket falls, causing him to shiver. "Why is it so cold? I thought you liked the heat like I do…" He asks, his eyes venturing to Antonio's still slightly red cheek. A blush spreads across his face as the memory of his lips on that skin comes back. "Merda…" He hisses under his breath and shivers again. From the cold. Yes, the cold.
"I know it's cold…I don't like it either. The heat is malfunctioning. On the plus side…Gilbert said its perfect cuddling temperature! F-for him and Mattie…of course!" Antonio says, quickly leaning down and grabbing the blanket before wrapping it around Romano's shoulders. "Peter and Marcello are making hot chocolate…and Feliciano and Ludwig…are…" His eyes land on Romano's now healed cheek before traveling down to his neck. Before his eyes can wander any further Antonio lets out a shaky breath and backs away. "Feliciano and Ludwig are outside decorating the yard. Y-you…can join them if you want. Marcello and Peter will be going to help them when the hot chocolate is done…"
Romano looks at him confused. "I thought you wanted my help with this village…"
"I…have to…go make sure Marcello and Peter aren't destroying my kitchen." Antonio says nervously and hen notices a sad look on Romano's face. "Y-you can…help me with the village if you like, I just thought you'd rather spend time with your brothers…" He pats Romano on the back awkwardly before running to the kitchen.
"Like hell I'll go outside in the fucking cold…" Romano mumbles and picks up some things for the village. "Hm…we never did this at dad's…" He looks around to see if anyone can help him, only to see everyone is busy. "I suppose I'll wait for the tomato bastard."
Kitchen:
Antonio grabs Francis from the kitchen and drags him into the pantry before slamming the door closed. "Oh god Francis I need help!" He cries and Francis looks at him amused.
"Problems with little Romano?" Francis asks and Antonio nods, his face buried in his hands. "Problems with…l'amour?" The Frenchman asks and Antonio nods, slowly this time. "So…what happened, mon ami?"
Antonio sighs and leans up against the door of the pantry. "I…kissed him on the cheek, where the bruise is…" He notices a smirk on Francis' face. "B-but that is not really what bothered me. I only kissed him there as an apology!"
"Liar." Francis says quickly and Antonio sighs.
"Ok, yeah, even I don't believe that…b-but what has really made me lose the great amount of control I had before is, shockingly enough, from Romano's actions!" Antonio says and Francis gasps. "I know, right! He…begged me to make up with his uncle…and for the first time since he's moved in with me…since we first met…he said my name. It was so cute I almost lost it right there, Francis!" He groans and begins banging the back of his head against the door.
"Oh…yes…that is hot, I'm sure, but enough to make you like this…?" Francis asks, watching Antonio create what will most likely be a big bump on the back of his head.
Antonio sighs and covers his face with his hand. "No, that was just the first thing…he admitted, about as much as he can, that he cared about me." Francis shrugs, still not seeing the big deal and Antonio groans. "He was so different last night…but the straw that broke the camel's back was when he…kissed my cheek. Lovi, Romano, the boy who has never even hugged me, except when I paid Alfred to scare him into doing so at the haunted mansion, kissed me on the cheek! Without any sort of provocation from me he just saw the swelling and kissed it!" Antonio moves his hand to his cheek and lets out a dreamy sigh. "Romano…"
Francis smirks. "I never knew you were so easy, Antonio. If I had known such small things could make you snap I would have tried to get in your pants when I had the chance. But I suppose that the fact such a small thing could make you like this…is just proof you are truly in love, no?" He sighs dreamily. "How sweet~!"
Antonio twitches a little before blushing. "I would NEVER sleep with you, Francis. We had this conversation. I'm waiting for Romano. GAH! SEE! At this rate…I don't know if I should live with him…if such a small thing can set me off, maybe I should have him live with Tino and Berwald. Not Romulus, though. Never Romulus."
Francis groans and slams the palm of his hand against Antonio's forehead. "Idiot! You would be breaking both his, and your, heart! I know you, and you would never do anything. I also know Romano well enough to say that if, by some miracle, you snap…he would stop you as soon as he was uncomfortable-why the hell are we even talking about this! It's not going to happen! So go back to normal before you freak people out!"
Antonio rubs his head and nods. "I'll behave...OH CRAP!" He quickly turns and pushes the door open. "Lovi is waiting for me~!"
Francis sighs and watches Antonio run out to the living room. "Ah…my boys are growing up~!"
"You better not be referring to fratello as your anything." Marcello warns and Francis laughs. "And don't ever touch him, for the record."
"I wouldn't dream of it! Well, not anymore~!" Francis stops when he sees Peter trying to refrain Marcello who has now acquired a knife. "I'm off~!" He laughs before heading to the living room.
Living room:
Romano stares at the top of the bookshelf now covered in the village stuff and he begins freaking out. "Wh-what do I do with these? Oh god! Where is that tomato bastard when you need him?" He whines.
"Here I am, Lovi~! Shall we finish the village?" Antonio coos and Romano glares at him before nodding.
"Why the fuck did you leave for so long? I hate you." Romano crosses his arms and pouts.
"Oh god…Lovi you are so cute~!" Antonio squeals and pulls him into a tight hug.
"Get…the…FUCK! OFF!" Romano yells and Antonio laughs, letting him go.
"You're so silly! Let's finish this thing now, kay?" Antonio turns to the village and picks up the church. "We'll start with the most beautiful building…where do you think it would look best?" He asks and Romano pouts.
"If I knew that than I would not have them all piled up like this. I've never made a…I've never really done much of anything for Christmas before…" Romano mutters and Antonio's eyes light up.
"So in a sense, this is your first Christmas?" Antonio asks excitedly and Romano shrugs. "Then I am honored~! I get to be Lovi's first!" They both immediately tense up and look everywhere but at each other, ignoring the furious heat on their faces. "Wh-wh-what I meant…was…" He looks at the village again. "In that case I shall help you have the best Christmas ever!"
Romano rolls his eyes and looks to the people around them. "…With these people I'm sure it will be interesting…but not in a good way…"
Antonio laughs and pats him on the head. "Don't be so pouty! It will be great! I promise!" He flashes Romano a smile before he goes back to helping him make the village.
That night:
Antonio comes up to Romano while the boy is staring out the window at all the snowmen everyone made. "Lovi~! Time to decorate the tree!"
Romano looks at him confused. "Why didn't we do that with everyone here?"
Antonio smiles and rests a hand on his shoulder. "Because I wanted to decorate it with only you." He blushes when he sees the embarrassed look on Romano's face. "Wh-what I meant was…well…if everyone else was here they would take over and we wouldn't be able to decorate our own tree…"
Romano looks at the empty tree and then to the box of decorations. "…So…what do we start with?"
Antonio grins and takes the lights from the box. "We start with this, Lovi~! Now you get on one side of the tree and I'll get on the other. Then we string up the lights and garland!" he goes on the opposite side of the tree and they pass the lights and garland back and forth, blushing and looking away whenever their hands happen to touch. After those are on Antonio pulls over the box of ornaments. "Now we have to hang these on the tree branches!"
Romano glares at Antonio. "I know how to put the stuff up. I just have never done it. The maids would do it while father and I were out." He looks over into the box and sees a large angel with shinning wings and a beautiful star behind her. "…Is that your top?"
Antonio smiles and pulls it out, handing it to Romano. "Would you like to put it up?" He asks as he watches Romano delicately trace over the angel with his fingers.
"I-I do not think…I can reach…" Romano mumbles, looking at the top of the tall tree. "Besides…it's your tree. You should put on the finishing touches." He sets the angel on the table near them before he goes about stringing up ornaments.
"Lovi…" Antonio sighs and pats him on the head. "It is our house, our tree, and our ornaments. You are my family now, Lovi." He smiles down at the now blushing boy. "What is mine is yours. I'm not asking for the same in return, but I will ask that you stop feeling like a guest in our house." He pokes Romano's nose playfully with an ornament.
"D-don't poke my nose! And…I…um…I suppose you are like my family as well…y-you're as annoying and clingy as them, at least…" Romano mumbles as he idly plays with an ornament or a tomato with a Santa hat hook. "Wh-what is up with this ornament, anyways? I've never seen one like it…" He says nervously, trying to change the subject.
Antonio smiles sweetly at Romano and looks at the ornament. "That was made by Berwald and Tino for me. Tino is a great designer and Berwald is amazing at building things. He's surprisingly gentle."
"Really…? Who would have thought…?" Romano mumbles before going and placing it on the tree, finishing the decorations.
"So now we have the angel." Antonio says and comes up behind Romano, handing him the ornament. Before Romano can object, Antonio wraps his arms around his waist and lifts him up.
"I-idiot! What the hell are you doing!" Romano yells, blushing from the feeling of Antonio's breath ghosting over the back of his neck.
"Put it on the tree, Lovi~!" Antonio coos, resisting the urge to eliminate the distance between his face and the boy's body. "Hurry~!" He says cheerfully.
"R-right…" The teen nods and places it on the tree, once he gets put down he quickly rushes over to the outlet and plugs everything in, making the ornaments come to life from the illumination of the lights. The angel lights up as well; it's wings, the star behind it, and its halo all glow in a multitude of colors. "It's beautiful…"
Antonio grins widely and pulls Romano into a tight hug. "Ah~! I can't wait until this weekend! Oh! But we need to go Christmas shopping! I'm going tomorrow morning and when I get back you can go out and buy everyone something!" He moves away from the alarmingly complacent Romano and gets an envelope out from the drawer. "Here's the money your father left you. Use it all or only use some, it doesn't matter. I'm off to bed now~!"
"Ah! Wai-!" Romano stops when Antonio runs up the stairs. "Damnit! What happened to sitting on the couch and watching TV for a few hours before bed…?" A blush quickly rises to his face. "N-not that I really care or anything! He was just so insistent before…it is weird…" His eyes land on the turtles in the living room, who are staring at him. "Oh shut up! What do you know you homicidal bastards!" He looks the aquarium over, noticing nothing Christmas related around it. Thinking it over he realizes the many aquariums of turtles in the house have nothing holiday related, and they are the only things. "Heh…he even decorated my room. I guess he likes me more." Romano says, smirking in victory before twitching a little. "My god…am I…competing with a bunch of fucking turtles? Er-! I mean-! I-I don't give a damn if he likes me…or…l-loves…m-! GAH! FUCKING HELL MATTHEW! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
Somewhere in Matthew's house, the blonde suddenly finds himself smirking in victory.
a/n: ok, i promised someone i would try this style...and i DO NOT LIKE IT! i am sorry, i know it's a better style...BUT I DONT LIKE IT! it took me longer to write AND i couldnt even get half the stuff in it i normaly would be able to...so...yeah. ik this was supposed to be the xmas chapter..but...that didnt exactly happen...it will be next chapter, though. when i go back to the normal style. . like i said, i know this is an easier read and whatever...but...i just dont like writting it. i am also pretty sure i did it wrong since i dont have much to go by. most of my books are manga or historical books, textbooks, diary-style books(Dracula, The Diary Of Ellen Rimbauer, etc) so...i had to take one of mom's novels to base it on. i cant do it this way! IM SO SORRY!*goes in a corner with her failness*