"Lovino, what the hell are you doing?" Esmeralda had been searching the large house after hearing Spain call for her from some anomymous place down stairs. Door after door she's opened and to no avail, no Spain. She opened the door to a room that served no perpous actually. Just a large empty room with a clear roof to let all the sunlight in, maybe Spain was hoping to do some renovation and turn it into something useful, or maybe he just wanted an empty room in his house.
Lovino however, was making great use of it. Inside this empty room sat Lovino in a cirlce of freshly made candles and trying to touch his toes.
"It's called yoga, it helps you get in touch with your inner self or some shit. I'm cleansing Esmeralda; I heard that so much negative energy makes you unnatractive and I can't risk that" he said matter-of-factly as he slid into downward dog.
"Are you serious, because you look like youre trying to summon the devil" she snorted as she leaned against the door frame and watched as his face contorted into one of discomfort.
"Yes, yoga is an actual thing and is highly intesive, not for everyone" he shut his eyes tight, trying to surpass the pain, oh poor unflexible Lovino.
"I see..." Esmeralda smirked and found amusment in his failed attempts, but she had to give him credit for trying so hard.
"Oh shut up, I wouldn't expect any of you dumb Hispanics to know anything about yoga" he rolled his eyes as he stretched his arms up to the sky as if he was reaching for something. "What are you doing anyways?"
Oh thats right, Esmeralda had completly forgot about her search. "Looking for Antonio, he said he had something to show me" she examined the golden cross on her neck, watching the way is shined almost too brightly in the sun as its rays hit it in certain angles.
"Yeah he probably wants to show his dick. A waste of time if you ask me. You should come do some yoga with me instead" he glanced up at her from his new pose. "Hey isn't that the cross he gave you when you first came over here" she nodded and he continued as he sat on the ground, taking a break. "Shit, I'm surprised you still have that"
She shrugged, "Why not? Anyways, I should start looking for him again. You just continue doing your yoga or...yeah whatever, see ya" and before Romano could protest, she turned her heel and shut the door.
She continued walking around the house for a few minutes more before she came across the second set of stairs, but this one led two a long corridor unlike the one on the other side of the house that led to her and Romano's bedroom. She walked along it, looking at all the paintings and stained glass windows. Just as soon as her hand touched the cold handle of the nearest door, Spain jumped out of it.
"Oh there you are Esmeralda! Quickly, come in!" he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind her. He grinned widely, obviously excited about something, but Esmeralda had no clue why. The room they were standing in looked just like any other storage room. Cabinets and chests holding who knows what and drawers stuffed with letters collected over the centuries. She scanned the room and then turned back to Antonio who appeard as if sunshine was going to sprout out of him.
"What" she simply stated, blinking as she realized Spain wasnt aching to explain to her his choice on new wallpaper for a room no one used. Instead, he immediatly went over to a sack filled letters and pulled out at least three of them. He held them up to the light, squinting as he read the adress that was sloppily written down in black ink. As if by some assurance, he nodded to himself and stood up.
"Yup! These are the ones! Here, take them" he smiled as he outsretched his hand, beckoning Esmeralda to take the letters. Esmeralda didnt move an inch; well except for the ones on her face that grew from suspicion as she looked from the Spaniards face to the three letters in his hand. He seemed to get tired of this and with a huff, planted them in her hand. "They're yours. Well actually, they are for me, but they are about you-your place, and I decided you deserve to know how things are going over there"
Esmeralda rose an eyebrow before reading the same sloppy inscription Antonio just read not too long ago. "Go on, you've earned it..." Spain gave a soft smile, for so long, he's worked to keep her own country a secret from her, making it as forgein as possible so that she would stay with him in Spain for as long as she could. So that Spain was the only thing she knew and Spanish culture was the only thing she was. But she was growing, and quickly, maturing and developed a mind too big for just live in Spain. He figured it was time to shed some light, knowing how much it mustve meant to her.
Esmeralda ran a sunkissed hand over the broken seal of the first envelope and looked up at Spain who nodded encouragingly. It's been so long since she was independent and she had something to set her apart. So long since she first moved to Spain and was immedatly set on a rigorous path to learning how to be Antonio's little colony. She kept her memories of her life as an Aztec captiol, but it all seemed like a farytale, she could hardly believe any of it actually happened. Spain was indeed all she knew these days, being catholic was her strongest and only faith and speaking Spanish came more natural than the old language of the Aztecs. If anything, she was more Spanish than anything. She looked at the man who made and sculpted her into who she was today and realized he had moved a bit, seeing as he was now standing about a couple inches away from her. She rolled her eyes and posted a mental note in her head to teach him about personal space.
She carefully slipped out a parchment from the envelope and began to read the Spanish scribbles. It was from the man that Spain's boss had entrusted in watching over the colony and making sure everything was going accordingly to the Spaniards favor. He simply stated, in a business like tone so that Esmeralda could practically see the gold sticking out of his ass, that the colonist had taken a licking to developing their own things that the country of Spain had not directed them to. He then stated,
'But we cannot worry too strongly on this. They are just colonist, not war prisoners. We do need to take heed in the style of everything. I am afraid that developing their own taste in style in everything they do, it wouldnt be too long before they develop their own sense of culture and become their own little world instead of our colony. The ways of the Aztecs are still stron and the natives have somehow managed to tie in Aztec culture to their art and food. They are striving on their own and he are having slight trouble in keeping them in check with our ways'
Esmeralda snorted and folded up the letter, keeping the others in her hand. At least her people werent little minions like she feared they would be. Spain was bashfully smiling and she put her hands on her hips, reflecting on the letter. "Well! What do you think? Pretty cool huh?" Antonio's eyes beamed, hoping that showing her the letters would open up another gateway to trust. He might've been trying a little too hard at times, but after centuries of finally getting her to warm up to him, he had to make sure it stayed that way.
"Well, it seems to me as if your little plan of making a mini version of you has gone down the drains" she allowed their eyes to meet and the corners of her mouth were tugged into a smirk. Spain's green eyes rolled and he reached out to ruffle her hair.
"Jeez, I can't tell if you're flattering me or mocking me" he crossed his arms and matched her smirk. The two stayed like that, idle, until Esmeralda took up the challenge of verbal combat.
"Or maybe I'm just stating the obvious. It's okay if you don't understand. You just go and stay in your little lala land where obvious things get stuck in your curls before they can make it to you brain" Esmeralda raised an eyebrow as Antonio let out a snicker.
"Okay, I get it now! You're flattering, but don't want to tell me in case it leaves a dent in your pride. I understand, in fact, I believe I understand more than you do" his tone was playful and he had to try hard to keep the smirk on his face and not to let it turn into a grin by biting on the inside of his cheek.
Esmeralda was better at keeping the smirk in place. "Oh do you now? Please explain how you understand more than I do, I'm just dyeing to know" she pleaded dramatically and almost let a chuckle escape.
He nudged her shoulder before responding and she nudged him back. They continued to helplessly nudge each other before Spain finally spoke. "It's easy really, I can't see why someone as smart as you can't see it. Look at what your people are doing, they are creating their own culture mixing my teachings and influence with what you left for them. The colony of New Spain is our baby. You're nothing with out me" of course it was a joke. Spain knew with the right push, Esmeralda was everything without him, and it scared him. She was bright, independent, she could easily leave him and start her own new country. Well at least in his opinion she could.
"I know I'm nothing without you" she said without hesitation and Spain's face melted into one of confusion.
"I...what?" now he clearly wasn't understanding anything. Those words were something he couldn't even dream of her saying and she just spat them out in person.
New Spain let her face relax, looking up at Spain, smiling sheepishly. For the longest time, she's felt more Spanish than Aztec, she considered Spain her home, took up greatly on the Catholic faith that Antonio taught her, and thought of Spanish as her own language. Though she's never allow herself to admit that. The news of her country becoming their own image excited her, as well as saddening her. She wanted to be there as they gave the Spanish a hard time and established their own ways of living, but instead she was here, giving her own personal Spaniard a hard time. It saddened her that they were making decisions with out her, she wondered if they even remembered her...But she couldn't leave.
"Look, I'm not saying I'm jumping to have little babies with you, like you mentioned, but it would be absolutely stupid for me to try and become independent" there was still so much to learn, she still depended on Spain for so much. "If I did, I wouldn't even know where to start! What with forming a government and then needing an army. I'd make a fool out of myself" she shrugged and met his eyes. They were glossy with admiration and his mouth formed the softest smile as he listened intently. "It's not that I want you! Don't be getting any ideas...But I need you Antonio, and it's going to stay that way for a long ass time before I can even dream of independence"
Something was gleaming on Esmeralda's chest and it caught Spain's attention. He reached out and grabbed the golden cross, staring at his reflection and turning it to different angles, seeing how the light hit it. He set it down and looked down at her, "You still have the cross I gave you?". She nodded and he didn't ask any more questions, not wanted to get side tracked. He cleared his throat and looked at her, hope blossoming in his eyes, "So you're not thinking about leaving me?"
She shook her head, "Nope. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me, amigo. Isn't that what you want? Isn't that why you plunged into a selfish, greedy war? To keep me by your side to fulfill your awkward dreams? Well you got it". She rose an eyebrow and they both let out little laughs of their own. It was rare that the two would laugh together, and while Esmeralda stopped paying attention to those moments, Antonio cherished all of them.
"Thank you" Spain whispered before lunging forward and pulling her into a tight hug. She was so much more then land to him, he hoped if the day came that she would become independent, that she would at least stay with him. She hesitated a bit before wrapping her arms around him, engulfing in his scent; it was something like nature and healthy food. She let out a laugh as she caught the scent of food and noticed how secure his arms were around her. It made her feel safe, so when the hug finally ended, she felt empty. Without saying another word, she was out the door and ran through a path that would lead her to her bedroom where she would slam the door shut and freak out while thinking about her conflicted feelings about a certain green eyed idiot.
She could still smell him, as if he was still there, or maybe it was because she wanted him there. Esmeralda was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts when a hand shot of no where and pulled her towards it's owner.
"Where the hell are you running off to? The nearest bathroom is in the other direction smart ass" Lovino stood there, raising a questioning eyebrow with one hand on his hip while the other pointed in to the left.
Esmeralda rolled her eyes and looked everywhere but at Romano in annoyance. "Shut the fuck up, I wasn't going to bathroom. Smart ass" she made sure to add the last part to push his buttons, and it worked.
Romano scoffed and threw his hands up, "Well excuse me for trying to help out!"
Now it was Esmeralda's turn to raise an eyebrow, "Shit Lovino, I think you need to go back and finish your little cleansing yoga. You still have some hot air in your head"
"Hey! I'll let you know that it worked just fine!"
"Then why are you shouting? Did your inner soul reject you?"
"My inner soul loves me!"
"Oh I'm sure it does"
"Are you mocking me!"
"Bitch I might be"
They bickered like this for a while before the argument became ridiculous and just a waste of time to see who could come off with the worst insults.
"Hey, Esmeralda..." Lovino stood up straight, finally calm and all the rage left. She made a noise, gesturing him to go on. "You're having quite the time with Spain nowadays aren't you?" it was an honest question brewed from genuine curiosity.
"Well...We are getting along now" she shrugged and leaned against the wall. Lovino came over and stood in front of her.
"No shit. You two are like an awkward couple who are in the steps of falling in love but neither of you wants to admit you feelings. Well here's how I see it, that Spanish bastard is head over fucking heels for you but wants to wait for the opportune moment, and you're just being a stubborn tightass who doesn't even want to admit that you think he's a sexy hunk of stupid" Lovino wriggled his eyebrows and Esmeralda rolled her eyes.
"Have you become so bored with your life that you have nothing better to do but imagine a fake romance with Spain and I? Have you been reading France's romance novels? Do I need to take them away from you? Besides, Spain and I aren't in love, don't be stupid. I'm still too young for him" She stepped off the wall and stood with her hands to her hips. Spain had the appearance of a person in their mid twenties, and he has been for three centuries. Esmeralda still resembled a teenager, one at seventeen to be more exact.
"You won't be underage for too long, your growing fast and soon enough you'll be old enough to be swept away from that idiot. So do me a favor and don't fall for him, because I think I'm going to bash my head in the wall if you guys do" his little crush on Esmeralda was still there and pretty soon, Spain would be in line for his competition, and he didn't like that at all. The two were getting friendly and it made Lovino nervous as it caught him off guard. Even though he was sure he would never get past friend zone, he'd be damned if Antonio wooed Esmeralda and he didn't.
"Oh wait, before you go," Esmeralda had already had enough and began walking away, but turning back to face Lovino, only to have a pair of lips pressing against her own. Lovino's lips lingered for a second before pulling away completely. He stood tall and pride, like he just wrestled a bull and one. She rose an eyebrow, not in disgust, but not in amusement either, just curiosity.
"Well that's new" was all she could say on the matter.
Lovino shrugged, "It just looked like Spain had a good chance and I just wanted to kiss you before he did. Anyways, I'm gonna go take a nap". With that, he patted her head and turned away, walking in the opposite direction while yelling: "Take that Spanish bastard! Who's the man? I'm the man!". He felt relieved, finally getting the anxiety of sexual tension off his chest and feeling proud that Spain could no longer think Esmeralda was just his. Now he had some points against the Spaniard, and some points to add on for himself.
Esmeralda sighed and shook her head as she watched her best friend disappear. "What a strange young man" she said with fondness as she walked the rest of her way. "Men" she snorted, feeling more at ease. She closed her eyes and the warming scent of nature and food filled her nostrils. She could still feel Lovino's lips on hers, she noted that he tasted like junk food and laughed. Spain and Lovino. Lovino and Spain. She smiled warmly, but then her eyes snapped open. Spain and Lovino! "Men!" she yelled with wide eyes and ran up the stairs and slammed her bedroom, heart pounding as even more conflicting filled her young teenage mind.
Men indeed.