APH Fic Ballare chapter 2 (original) (raw)
Title: Ballare
Author/Artist: Me!
Character(s) or Pairing(s): FemGermany, S.Italy, EventualS.ItalyxFemGermany
Rating: T
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Romano didn't know when he could no longer hate Germany. Maybe it was when he found the hidden secret that Germany was actually a girl and he was entwined with her secret. And slowly love starts to bloom on the dance floor.
“Okay.” Germany said standing out of the wreck that was once their plane. “I have a simple question. We were on our way towards France for a surprise attack and to see the situation there.” she turned to Romano who was pulling his suitcase out of the wreck before going over to him and helping him tug it out. “So does someone want to explain to me how in the world we ended up in your part of the land?”
Romano grunted as they pulled the case out and set it on the ground. “Hell if I know.”
Germany crossed her arms and looked around. Her eyes glazed over and she began to mumble to herself. “France is there. Italy is there. But…how in the world?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I am mostly trying to figure out who we got from all the way from up here.” she said holding her hand up on an imaginary map. She then brought her hand down a few feet. “To all the way down here.”
Romano shrugged. “I don’t know and quite frankly I don’t really care. We’re not hurt, that’s all I need to know for now.”
Germany nodded before tugging her own backpack out of the wreckage and putting it on. She looked expectantly at Romano.
“What?”
Germany sighed. “Romano. Where are we?”
“Italy.”
“Where in Italy Romano?”
“The southern part.”
Germany nodded. “Exactly. This is you Romano. I’ve been to the northern part or some of it at least. I have no idea of we’re to go here. Just help me get to the train station and I’ll go on my way to my home.”
An internal struggle appeared at those words inside of Romano. It’s Germany. But Germany is also a girl. But it’s still Germany. But it’s a girl. Germany. Girl. Germany. Girl.
Before his mind could catch up with his actions he grabbed Germany by the arm and started to tug her, gently though, towards a road that was familiar to him.
“Romano?” she asked.
Without looking at her he said “We’re going to my house. You can stay there for tonight. I don’t mind.”
“You don’t have to Romano.”
“I know.” he said closing his eyes. “I want to.”
The two walked in silence for a few minutes until Germany said in an amused tone of voice. “You can let go of my arm now, im going to follow you.”
Romano noticed that he had indeed not let go of her arm since he had taken it. His face reddening he quickly let go.
The two walked in silence a while longer until Germany broke it.
“Your part of the country is different from Feliciano’s.” she said looking around the town.
He had heard this many times, he knew the way it went. “Yeah I know. His is better and happier.”
“Mm no. Yours is more…real if anything. Feliciano’s seems fake, hiding something over a cheery mask and hiding from the rest of the world.” she looked around his buildings once more. “However yours is more real. I don’t like masks, while the northern half is more like a…I think the word is a mirage yours is more…like reality.”
She looked over to him and smiled. “The northern is more carefree and the south seems to be the one that works for what he wants. I honestly do like that.”
The blush on Romano’s face intensified. She had complimented his part of the country while at the same time talking about Feliciano’s part of it. And in her way she had insulted Feliciano’s part of the land.
“I didn’t know that you and Feliciano had different houses.” she commented.
Romano grunted. “We are separate beings so therefore we have separate houses. I just spent the most time there because he’s closer to the other countries. Especially now when we‘re in a war its better to be closer to…the other allies.”
“Why didn’t you say your allies?” Germany asked quietly.
Romano didn’t answer. Instead he choose to point out a few restaurants and other points of interest. Germany didn’t mention the change in subject and instead choose to listen to his words.
Only after hearing her voice for some time did he realize that she had dropped her lower voice and instead was using her regular feminine voice.
That realization was not helping the blush on his face go away.
Finally they arrived at his house. It wasn’t that magnificent but it was comfortable and large enough for a few people.
Silently he took the keys out of his pocket and opened it and held the door open for Germany to enter.
She smiled at him as she entered his house.
He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat as he followed her.
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Romano took a deep breath and knocked on the door to the bathroom.
“Its open.” she called out. He opened the door and entered.
Romano dug his fingers into the soft cotton of the shirt and boxers. “I…I um got you something to wear to bed.”
Germany peeked her head out from the shower curtain. Her wet hair, as short as it was, was plastered against her head and face giving her a slightly softer look than usual.
Thankfully the shower curtain covered her from the neck down. “You didn’t have to do that you know.”
“I…I don’t think you have anything in your bag for comfort like this. I’m guessing it’s all military and all that shit.” Romano stuttered. “I…I wanted to.”
Germany smiled at him. “Thank you.”
He nodded before placing the clothes on the sinks counter before running out of the bathroom his face ablaze.
The moment he saw Germany leave the bathroom with the clothes he had put for her on and toweling her short hair dry he immediately walked by her and straight into the shower, barely getting his clothes off, and turned on the cold water across his body.
This was going to be an interesting night.
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Romano walked out of the bathroom toweling his own hair dry with another towel. He found Germany in the room he gave her for the night, surprisingly ironing her uniform.
When she saw him she smiled hesitantly before holding up his iron. “I hope you don’t mind that I‘m using this.”
Mutely Romano shook his head.
Germany nodded before turning back to ironing her uniform; she occasionally hummed a lyric from some song. Her old national anthem he realized.
“Don’t you have a new one now?” he asked her.
She nodded. “While the new one is…alright I suppose. That one was very important to me, I‘ll always sing it.”
Testing his luck he decided to ask another question. “Why are you ironing/”
“To keep my uniform nice and neat. If there’s something I don’t like it’s a messy uniform.” she said.
She looked at him before saying “I owe you some answers for keeping this a secret. And I’m sure you have some questions.”
Romano thought for a moment. “How long?”
“A few years after I was born and got to a suitable age where I could somewhat understand the world around me.” she easily answered.
“The voice?”
“What about it?”
“You don’t ever mess up or accidentally use the wrong one?”
“No. I’ve used this one for so long I started to forget what my regular voice sounded like.” she answered.
“Do you want to go out?” the question left his lips before he even realized what he was asking.
Germany turned and looked at him.
“What?”
Romano swallowed the lump that had taken residence in his throat for the past day before repeating himself. “Do you want to go out? To a restaurant, I don’t know about you but I am hungry and I doubt either one of us is in the mood to cook. Or we could go dancing or something. That’s popular with my people now.” Romano kept talking and talking inwardly hoping she would decline and spare him further embarrassment.
Germany looked at him incredulously. “Are…are you being serious.”
“No! No I‘m not! Forget it!” he wanted to scream.
Instead he nodded and quietly said “Yes I am.”
Germany still looked at him doubtfully. “I don’t think I have anything I can wear to something like that.”
“I can fix that.” Romano said.
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Germany fixed her collar in the mirror and tightened the belt. She gave another hesitant look at the mirror.
For the first time in years she was about to go out without her bindings on, the entire world could see that she was a woman.
Well minus the hair that fitted a man and not a woman and the fact that women didn’t wear pants like she was at the moment.
“Do the clothes fit?” Romano asked from the other side of the door.
“Yes they do.” she called back. She slipped her iron cross necklace under the shirt and her papers into her jacket pocket, that was the only thing that was hers that she was wearing at the moment.
Romano meanwhile was a wreck on the other side of the door as he paced up and down the hallway with his arms behind his back.
Was he taking her out on date? Was this a date? Why was he blushing so much? Why was she causing this pit in the bottom of his stomach and for that pit to be turning over and over again? What was happening to him? Was he becoming sick? That wouldn’t make sense, his economy was good and he had been at perfect health so far.
His thoughts were interrupted when Germany’s bedroom door opened and she appeared. She was wearing one of Spain’s suits that he had forgotten the last time he was here and it thankfully fitted her perfectly. Including…
She had let the bindings go. He swallowed heavily when he noted that. She really was a woman.
“Romano? Are you alright?” she asked.
Romano nodded before holding out his arm.
“Shall we?”
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“That was I think the most fun I had in years.” Germany said as they walked through the town.
Romano smiled back at her without even realizing it. They had ate at one of the more popular restaurants, the only disagreement they had was over the bill and then they agreed to split it fifty-fifty, they had danced at that same restaurant. He was able to see and hear how some of the people there were talking about his companion and the fact that she looked so much like a man.
And for the first time in years Romano didn’t have the urge to yell and scream at them. In fact he couldn’t have brought himself to care what they thought about him.
It was a warm and somewhat satisfying feeling.
The evening had flown by for some reason, before they even knew it the hour was nearing midnight and they needed to return to his house.
“I don’t think I ever danced like that.” Germany said.
“It would’ve been better if you had let me lead.” Romano grumbled playfully.
In truth he didn’t mind that he needed to show her almost the entire dance. He had enjoyed teaching her.
“All I know is from a male perspective so you’ll have to be patient Herr Vargas.” she said.
That was another thing. She had almost constantly referred to some things in either a German accent or in the German language itself. The language that nearly always drove Romano up the wall, excluding French and Spanish of course, had started to sound cute from her.
Germany. Cute. Those two words never go together.
But apparently they do.
They were walking arm-in-arm he noticed. Somewhere from the road from the restaurant and on their slow walk back to his house his arm had slid around hers and neither of them let go.
“Hey.” he suddenly said.
“Mm?”
“What’s your name?” he asked.
Germany looked amused. “Ludwig.”
Romano shook his head. “Your real name.”
Germany smiled. “Louise.”
“Louise.” he repeated.
‘What would she do if I kissed her?’ he suddenly thought.
No. That was out of the line completely. Kissing Germany was not something he could or would ever do.
No matter how red those lips were or soft looking.
He immediately looked away from Louise and instead focused on two things. The first was making sure they were going the right way home.
And the other was the warmth of her arm in his.
A pleasant feeling arose in his stomach this time. And unlike the others before it, it was a soothing and nice yet foreign feeling.
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“Thanks Romano for tonight and everything.” she said.
Romano nodded. “My…my pleasure.”
She smiled and started to enter her room.
“Louise.” he called to her.
She turned back and faced him.
“Listen. I know, actually I don’t but still, that sometimes being someone your not is tiring and if you ever feel the need to get away from your male persona and embrace your female side then come here. To South Italy. To me. We‘ll go dancing; eat at a restaurant, whatever you want. You can be a girl here.” Romano said.
“I don’t need to be a girl Romano; I need to be a fighter.” Louise said.
“Who says you can’t be both?” he challenged.
“Society.” she shot back.
Okay that was a good comeback. Romano shook his head and said “Then whenever you need to get away from everything else. I won’t ask questions about that or anything.”
Louise slowly smiled. “Alright I‘ll think about it. Thank you Romano.”
“Lovino.” he corrected.
“Lovino.” she repeated. A fire went down his spine from her accent when she spoke his name.
“Buona notte Louise.” he said.
“Guten nacht Lovino.” she said as they went into their respective bedrooms.
“A man would’ve kissed her goodnight.” a voice in his head said.
“Shut up.” Romano said back to the voice as he headed towards his bedroom.