Romano X Reader- Words and Dreams

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or you or much else actually…

You breathed in the warm air and enjoyed the sunshine as you took a walk around Rome. You were happy to be able to call the ever beautiful, yet occasionally troublesome, city your home.

It had been about four years since you moved to the city in order to attend a college you had been eyeing for quite some time. Four years since you made quite a radical change in your life. It had also been four years since you met a very interesting character...

******

You were shopping for groceries when you saw him.

"Him" referred to a rather handsome young man who was purchasing tomatoes at the outdoor market, just a few feet away from you. He had dark brown hair, with an odd curl sticking out, and brown eyes. He was talking with the vendor in rapid-fire Italian. You hadn't gotten a firm grasp of the language but you figured he was haggling down the price of the tomatoes.

"He must really love tomatoes if he's buying that many," you said to yourself as you saw just how large the bag was.

As you reached into your pocket to grab your wallet, you felt your heart drop when you were met with nothing. You mentally scolded yourself as you looked around, first to see if it had fallen and then for anyone acting suspiciously. You had been warned multiple times that you had to be on guard in Rome!

You felt tears starting to form in your eyes. It wasn't the money you were most concerned about. You had some precious photos in that wallet, along with good luck notes from several of your family and dear friends from before your move…Those were irreplaceable.

"Cosa c'e'?"

You turned to see the young man from before staring at you curiously, a large bag of tomatoes in his hand.

"I'm sorry, I can't understand you," you said, wishing you had taken the time to properly learn Italian before moving to Italy.

"I asked what's wrong," the man replied, speaking your language.

"I think someone stole my wallet," you said, feeling a mild panic coursing through you, "Damn it! I should have paid more attention!"

The man didn't respond. He looked around the town square for a few seconds before pointing at a casually dressed man just a few feet away.

"That's the bastardo," he said confidently.

"Wha-? H-how can you tell?" you asked in surprise.

"I've lived here long enough, Signorina," the man said.

You began to march towards the person the man had pointed out, ready to force him to give you back your wallet, when the man grabbed your arm and held you back. You glared at him.

"Let go!" you said, "I need my wallet!"

"Let me take care of this," he said, "Some pickpockets can be violent…"

He told you to hold his tomatoes as he walked toward the pickpocket. You could only widen your eyes when he simply walked past the man without stopping and then came back to you.

"That's what you call 'taking care of it'?!" you asked when he came back, "You did nothing!"

The man simply showed you his hands.

You felt your jaw drop. In both hands were wallets.

"Which one's yours, Signorina?" he asked.

"…That's…That's pretty impressive," you said as you grabbed your wallet, looking in it to make sure everything was there, "I didn't even see you move when you grabbed them!"

"I-it was nothing," the man stuttered, a slight blush on his cheeks, "It's just one of the few things I know how to do…Not that I do it often!"

You laughed as the man tossed the other wallet, which turned out to be the pickpocket's, into a bush, saying how a pickpocket of all people should be more wary of his belongings.

"I'm Lovino Vargas, by the way," the man said.

"I'm ____," you replied as you gave him his tomatoes, "Um, thank you…No wait! It's 'grazi', right?"

"Ugh, you sound like a stupid American I know, Signorina ____," Lovino said with a growl, "We don't waste vowels in our words. It's 'grazie'."

"Damn, I can't even say that much!" you said in frustration, "Okay, so it's 'grazie'?"

"A little less hesitation. Half the battle is the attitude you put into your words."

"Grazie…"

"More confidence…"

"Grazie!"

"Benissimo," he said, "…It's your first time here, si? Why don't I give you a tour?"

"But I don't want you carrying around that heavy bag!" you said, eyeing the heavier than you expected bag of tomatoes.

"I can handle this much," he said, offering his arm, "Especially when there's a lady by my side."

You laughed and accepted his arm.

Thus began a close friendship…

******

About two years into your friendship, Lovino revealed to you who he really was…The personification of South Italy…It had come as a shock to you, the whole concept of living countries, but it didn't change the way you saw Romano, as he preferred to be called.

He had anger issues but he cared what people he liked thought of him. He seemed lazy at times but he was a hard worker when he set his mind to it. He argued with any man he came across, especially Germany and his younger brother, North Italy, or Veneziano as you and Romano called him. He ran at the first sign of danger…But not always out of cowardice…

Yes, Romano was a very complex person when you really thought about it. At times, he seemed to be contrasting…

But none of that altered one little detail…That you had fallen in love with him…

******

You were about to knock on the door of the large house the Italy brothers shared when said door flew open. You quickly moved to the side as a figure darted past you.

"Hey there, Veneziano!" you called out.

Veneziano paused at his name and turned to wave at you happily.

"Ciao, ____!" he said cheerfully.

"Let me guess," you said upon seeing Veneziano's nervous expression, "You're late for a training session with Germany?"

"Si, ____!" Veneziano replied, "I guess I overslept during my siesta! Fratello's upstairs if you need him. Ci vediamo!

You felt sorry for him as he ran off, knowing what a stickler Germany was when it came to when his training began and ended.

You went inside the house and proceeded to go upstairs. As you passed a hallway mirror, you took a quick peek at your appearance, making sure nothing was out of place.

Even though you had yet to tell Romano of your feelings for him, you still wanted to look perfect for him…Well, as perfect as you could…

"Romano, you in here?" you said as you opened the door to the room he and his brother shared.

You paused when you saw Romano's figure sprawled on his bed. You slowly walked over to the side of the bed and let out a small chuckle.

"He looks so innocent," you whispered as you brushed a few strands of hair away from his eyes.

He almost seemed like a child when he slept. So gentle and sweet…Quite a difference from how he was like when he was awake…

"You're such a diamond in the rough, Romano…" you said as you stroked his hair softly, being careful as to avoid his curl.

As you smiled at your love, you slowly became aware of something. Romano and Veneziano had a certain habit when they slept…

They tended to sleep naked…

You clapped a hand over your mouth to muffle the short shriek you let out. You felt your face get warmer and warmer with each passing second. You were silently thanking fate for letting Romano's blanket cover "certain parts" you were nowhere near ready to see yet.

Okay, ____...you thought. Just back away slowly and quietly. He'll wake up later.

As you turned to do just that, you heard Romano stir. You froze, hoping the guy didn't wake up. You looked over your shoulder.

You let out a sigh when Romano simply turned to his side. As you proceeded to walk away, he started to murmur something.

You were twitching as Romano would let out the occasional soft mutter. You wanted to get away before he discovered you in his room. But at the same time, you were really curious as to what he was saying. You never knew Romano talked in his sleep.

"Oh, screw it," you said as you silently strode back to the bed.

You leaned down close to Romano, trying to make out what he was saying.

"What was that, Romano?" you whispered, trying to gently pry his hand away from his face.

You let out a gasp when Romano pulled your hand, causing you to tumble into bed. You became still as he gently wrapped an arm around your waist, your faces barely an inch apart. He was still asleep.

I'm in bed with a naked Romano…you said in your head. I'm in bed with a naked Romano. I'm in bed with a naked Romano…

As you were about to try and pull away without waking him, he started sleep talking once more…And you heard what he was saying.

"…____..."

You raised an eyebrow at his barely audible voice. Your name…That was your name he just said…

Romano let out a soft sigh and pulled you even closer to him. You became nervous as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

You held your breath as you felt his lips slowly, sleepily, move against your skin.

"____..." he murmured once again.

You knew you were blushing profusely as you felt him kissing your neck slowly, his grip on your waist tightening and relaxing. Just what kind of dream was he having? And were you really involved in it?

…So badly…You wanted to know if it was really you he was dreaming about…But why was he dreaming about you? …Was it simply hormones? …Was that all it was?

You focused your attention on his voice as he started talking again. He was speaking in Italian. You had picked up a fair amount over the past few years but not enough to understand everything Romano was whispering against your skin…But you recognized a couple key phrases.

"Bella"…Beautiful. "Baciami"…Kiss me...

…………"Ti amo"……………I love you…

As Romano's sleep-kisses moved to your cheek, you couldn't take it anymore. You reached out and gave his curl a hard tug.

You went crashing to the floor as Romano sat up with a start.

"Damn it, you jerk Spain!!!" he yelled furiously, looking around for the man, "I told you to quit doing that!!!"

Romano's eyes locked with yours.

"____," he said.

About five seconds passed as his brain properly started up again.

"____!!!!!!!" he yelled in shock as he threw his blanket over his entire body.

"H-h-h-h-hi, R-R-R-Romano…." you stammered, still in a state of shock.

Romano was shaking under his blanket, a dark blush on his face. Why??? Why, in the name of everything good in the world, was ____ in his room at the exact moment he didn't want her nearby?!!!

"Um, I'll wait downstairs for you!" you said awkwardly as you finally raced out of the room.

******

You looked up as Romano, fully dressed, came into the living room. His movements were rather stiff and he wasn't meeting your gaze. He sat down on the couch, making sure there was a good distance between you and him.

You kept your eyes fixed on the ground. What were you going to do? What were you going to say?

"____," Romano said after a couple minutes of weird silence, "I'm sorry you saw me like that…I mean, I knew you were coming over but I didn't expect you to come so soon. I thought I could get a siesta in before and…"

You saw how flustered Romano was getting as he went on and on, trying to explain himself.

"It was my fault, Romano," you interrupted, "I mean, I know you tend to sleep around this time so I shouldn't have just walked into your room or anything…"

Another silence grew between the two of you. You couldn't stand it any longer…You needed to know.

"It sounded liked you were having a nice dream though," you said, making an honest attempt to sound casual, despite the situation.

Romano wondered what you were talking about for a moment when he suddenly recalled it. His dream…

"A-a-a dream?" he said, turning away from you, "What dream? I don't really remember my dreams."

"Well," you said, knowing he was bluffing, "It sounded like it was about a girl…A girl who happened to have the same name as me."

Romano's figure tensed up at your words but he said nothing so you went on.

"And there was a bunch of kissing…"

"Really?" he said, sweating slightly.

"…I hope none of those kisses left a mark on me…"

Romano snapped his head towards you at your words. You had put a hand against your neck. You looked at him, hoping he would understand.

By the growing expression of horror on his face, he apparently did get it.

"………It was you…?" he asked slowly.

You nodded.

"…Not a dream?"

A shake of your head.

"Chigi!" Romano said, hissing his verbal tic and putting his head in his hands, "____, I swear I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't?" you asked, wanting so badly to know the truth, "Did you really not mean it?"

Romano let out a deep sigh and shuffled closer to you. He looked at your eyes, a serious expression on his face.

"…Whether you were real or a dream…" he started, "…I would've meant it…"

You saw how nervous he was becoming as he tried to think of the proper way to get the words out.

"I want to hold you," he said, "I want to walk with you by my side. I don't want other men taking you away from me…………I want to kiss you, the real you."

"Ti amo, ____."

Romano's face grew redder and redder and his curl was starting to spaz out as you stared at him in surprise.

"…A tomato…" you finally said.

"What?" he replied. That was not the answer he had been expecting.

You giggled.

"Spain was right!" you said, trying to hold back long enough to get the words out, "You really do look like a tomato when you blush!"

"Che palle!" Romano said, standing up, "That bastardo is spreading rumors about me?! I'll knock his head off!"

As Romano marched off to get his revenge on his former caretaker, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. He paused as he felt your face press into his back, your grip on him strong.

He hoped you couldn't hear just how loudly his heart was beating from your touch, unaware that your own heart felt like it would burst.

"You can't say you love me and just go," you whispered, "Don't you want to hear my response?"

You took Romano's silence to mean yes.

"Do you think I'm the type to look pretty for nothing?" you asked, "I want you to notice me…To look at me and tell me I look nice. I want to walk hand in hand with you…You are one of the best friends I've ever had, Romano…"

"But that's not enough anymore."

After a moment, Romano gently pried your arms off of him. He turned around to face you. Both of your faces were tinted pink.

"I love you," you said.

He stepped forward and cupped your face in his hands.

"Four years and you haven't learned that much Italian?" he asked, a rare smile on his face.

"B-but-"

Any argument you had vanished when he leaned his face close to yours…You could feel his breath on your face. The look on his face was unlike any expression you had ever seen him make. It was seductive…And it sent shivers down your spine.

"Say it…" he whispered, teasing you by barely brushing his lips against your own, "For me…?"

"T-t-ti…Ti amo…" you stuttered.

"A little less hesitation…" he said, his thumbs rubbing your cheeks so softly, "It's the attitude you put behind your words that give them power and meaning…"

"Ti amo…"

"More confidence, ____," Romano said as his mouth drew ever closer.

"Ti amo, Romano," you said, putting a hand on top of one of his.

"Benissimo…" he said as he pressed his lips against yours.

As your arms wrapped around his neck, Romano's hands made their way to your waist, pulling you even closer. You threaded your fingers into his hair as his own fingers slowly stroked your back.

The two of you pulled away to breathe but you kept your arms around each other.

"By the way," you said playfully, "What exactly was going on in that dream of yours?"

…Apparently it is actually possible to become even redder than a tomato….