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The chilly October air was thick with anticipation as England and Romano stood before the old, creaky mansion. The haunted house loomed ominously, its weathered walls barely illuminated by the flickering lanterns outside. England having that gleam in his sharp green eyes was clearly excited about the evening's activities.
Romano, on the other hand, shifted nervously, tugging at the sleeves of his jacket.
"I don't see why you dragged me here," Romano muttered, trying to keep his usual grumpy tone intact. His eyes betrayed him, though, flicking nervously towards the shadowy windows of the house. "I could be doing...anything else."
He'd only gotten really acquainted with the blonde nation as of recently. He hadn't expected to like England that much, not with his reputation and everything that Spain had told him. And yet ever since they'd gotten to talk with one another at the last EU meeting they'd somehow kept in touch. From texting to calling to... well hanging out in a haunted house apparently.
"You could be," England agreed with a knowing smile, "but where's the fun in that? It's Halloween, Romano. A little scare is part of the tradition."
Romano shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, glancing up (yeah, up. Damm that tall bastard!) at England out of the corner of his eye. When they stood close like this Romano had to admit that despite those giant eyebrows
England was actually... good looking. Especially-
Fuck. No. Look away for fucks sake. You're being creepy, Romano chided himself. A gust of wind blew, ruffling England's hair and despite the fact thst it as messy to begin with, England absentmindedly ran a hand through his blond locks in an attempt to get it back in place.
Suddebly finding it very warm despite the cold air, Romano looked away.
Jesus fucking christ. Be cool. You’ve got to act cool.
He'd never admit to this but it had been a long while since another nation had asked him to do something together. Last time Veneziano called or was because he had his head stuck in a bucket and need help getting it off. And Spain well... he did technically tell his friend to leave him tbe hell alone last time they spoke but the bastard could at least call sometime? It was Spain's fault for choosing the worst possible moments to call him to talk about literally nothing! Like don't call to face time, swearing you have an emergency, have Romano panic and pick up whilst on the toilet just to show that one the harvested tomatoes kind of looks like Enrique Iglesias.
Ugh whatever. Thinking about any of that wasn't what he needed. Romano instead tried to focus on keeping his composure in amongst these... absolutely not at all scary surroundings.
Fuck. He was secretly really fucking happy that England had called him to do something like his for Halloween, and the last thing he wanted was to come off as scared in front of England. His stupid, annoyingly composed, attractive friend.
“I’m not scared,” Romano said quickly, squaring his shoulders. “Just don’t think it’s all that interesting, that’s all.”
England chuckled softly, leading the way up the creaky steps. Romano followed, silently cursing himself for already being on edge. He had wanted to impress England tonight, maybe show him he could be as composed and brave as he acted. But between the eerily creaking house and England’s infuriatingly charming smile, he was already losing his nerve.
The door swung open with an ominous groan, and they stepped into the darkness. England glanced back at Romano, his face illuminated in the dim light, the corners of his mouth lifting into a small smile. “Stay close,” he teased lightly, “wouldn’t want you getting lost.”
Romano’s heart skipped a beat at the look, and he immediately bristled to cover his embarrassment. “I can handle myself just fine, bastard.”
England nodded. Huh. Romano had expected one of those witty remarks the blond was so good at throwing his way. The both of them did often spend most of their text messages to eachother or phone calls bantering about the stupidest things. And Romano liked that. A lot.
England’s dry wit and sarcastic sense of humor were all things things that made him want to get closer to the blond nation. England was as it seemed one of those very few people that could keep up with Romano's own sharp tongue.
But right now he was thankful that England didn't point out the obvious. Aside from usually enjoying the other man's sarcasm he also secretly liked how England, in moments like this, treated Romano... in a way he wasn't used to. Especially when others tended to get frustrated with his temper.
"Shall we continue?"
"Y-yeah. Let's go."
The haunted house wasted no time getting into its theatrics. As they moved through narrow hallways draped in cobwebs, shadows shifted in the corners, and distant, ghostly wails echoed through the rooms. England was taking it all in stride, his steps even and relaxed, but Romano flinched at every sound, his pulse quickening with every creak of the floorboards. He tried his best to keep his cool, stealing glances at England whenever he thought he wouldn’t notice. Fuck, why does he have to be so calm?
They passed by an old mirror when, without warning, a ghostly figure flickered to life behind the glass. Romano let out a small yelp, jumping closer to England before realizing what he had done. He quickly pulled back, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I wasn’t scared! It’s just…cheap tricks.”
England turned slightly, his eyes warm with amusement, but there was no teasing in his voice. “Of course. But just in case, feel free to stay close. I don’t mind.”
Suddenly, England's widened. He blinked a few times as if surprised by his own statement, then hastily added, "I-if you don't mind, of course! If... I mean if you do at some point get scared... or something. You can always stand a bit closer."
Romano’s face flushed even deeper. “I don’t need to—” He cut himself off as another eerie moan echoed down the hallway. His bravado completely flew out the window, and before he could think twice, he found himself edging closer to England again.
England, for his part, was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his own composure. Though for him it had nothing to do with the ghostly atmosphere. It were Romano’s reactions that were endearing in a way England hadn’t expected.
During their recently blossoming friendship England had come to admire Romano’s fiery personality, but there was something undeniably sweet about this more vulnerable side. Especially since Romano, normally so intent on appearing tough, was letting himself rely on England—even if only for a moment.
They walked deeper into the mansion, and the scares became more intense. Zombies clawed at the floorboards, bats swooped down from the rafters, and the ghostly apparitions seemed to get more realistic with every turn. Romano flinched at almost everything, but what surprised England most was how often Romano’s hand brushed against his arm, how close he stayed despite his earlier protests. England, caught between wanting to offer more protection and the fear of overstepping, was both thrilled and nervous.
Then came the final room. A loud crash rang out as skeletons seemed to come to life, their bony hands reaching out toward them. Romano froze, his heart racing, and before he knew what was happening, he grabbed England’s arm, clutching it tightly. His breath came in short, sharp bursts, and he didn’t even try to play it off this time.
England blinked in surprise, feeling the warmth of Romano’s hand gripping his arm. He could hardly focus on the scares anymore; all he could think about was how close Romano was to him, how protective he felt in that moment. His heart sped up, his embarrassment creeping in. It wasn’t often he got to be the one Romano relied on.
“You’re alright, Romano,” England said, his voice quieter than usual, a soft tremor of affection running through it. “I’m here.”
Romano realized how tightly he was holding onto England and quickly pulled away, his face turning bright red. “I—uh—I wasn’t…you know, scared, I just—”
England, trying to hide his own flustered state, smiled gently. “I know.”
They stepped outside into the cool night air, the haunted house behind them, but the tension still hanging thick between them. Romano rubbed the back of his neck, glancing sideways at England. “You…really didn’t mind that, did you?” he asked awkwardly.
England looked at him, surprised by the question. “Not at all,” he replied, his voice softer than before. He hesitated, the words slipping out before he could stop them. “In fact…I rather enjoyed doing this with you.”
Romano’s eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, the air between them seemed to freeze. “Y-You did?”
The fuck? I made such a fool of myself!
England felt his face grow warm, and he glanced away, trying to recover. “I mean, I just—it's not often I get to see that side of you. The side that…well, doesn’t always try to be so tough.”
Romano blinked, his heart racing for an entirely different reason now. He wasn’t sure what to say, but for once, he didn’t feel the need to cover his feelings. He could tell England was being sincere. And... if there ever was a moment to become closer with the blond nation then this was it.
“Well…maybe I don’t mind showing it to you,” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
England’s heart skipped a beat at the words, but before he could respond, Romano quickly added, “But don’t get used to it! It’s a one-time thing.”
England laughed, the tension breaking, but there was still a spark lingering between them, something unspoken but shared.
And as they walked home, a little closer than they had before, neither realized just how much the other’s heart had been racing all night.