Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

A short fic inspired by the original World Meeting strip, where Spain is making paper roses and Romano is just sitting there looking thoughtful (and Italy talks about getting gelato with lunch and it's all very silly)

All nations were gathered for a World Meeting on a certain day of a certain month. As usual, America started the meeting with his absurd ideas. There were comments of disagreement. Next thing anyone knew, a fight broke out between England and France and China was stuffing himself with candy. Russia was in an argument of his own with Poland. Germany tried his best to gain control, but with Italy buzzing around him, it was nearly impossible.

Everyone else didn't give two shits about what was going on. I was too busy listening to my growling stomach and letting my thoughts wonder to focus on whatever chaos the potato tried to control. Greece was asleep on Egypt. Austria was picking at his nails. Spain was making paper roses. He had made 15 since he sat down and watching him make one practically lulled me to sleep. How is he managing this without dropping, anyway? It's not like he sleeps at night with his shitty economy anyway.

I sighed and looked at the clock— not for the time, but just so I had something to focus on. It was a few months ago, but I still remembered having to take care of the churro bastard sitting across from me when his economy was at his worst. I had to work frantically while dealing with my own cold and the damned mafia on my tail just to get some money flowing into his bank. The next day, he's a picture of health and making fake roses all because he went to work in America. I didn't even get a thank you for my efforts.

Almost every European country has a cold now. My brother and I got it bad a few days ago. We still have the sniffles, but we're fine otherwise. Spain caught it too, so he has to work double-time again to get better. So HA, take that, you unappreciative idiot!

I was snapped out of my thoughts by my brother, suddenly. He was discussing what they should have for lunch, but was whining to me that Germany needed data for a request to be considered. Why the fuck did he think I had data for why we need to eat gelato for lunch? So, while I was talking that out, Spain was finishing up the rose he was making.

~*S*~

"Ah!" I smiled at the rose in my hand. I had finally finished another paper rose, and I think its one of the prettiest ones I've made! The creases and folds were done perfectly. The little stem was straight and not too thick or thin. Each petal was accurately aligned and none of them bent. At first sight, I could have sworn that it was real— that is, if I hadn't created it~.

"Austria! Look how beautiful this flower is!" I chirped to the nation beside me.

"Mmhm, that's nice."

"You didn't even look…"

"Spain, hush! I'm trying to listen!" I frowned. Austria wasn't listening to the meeting before, but suddenly, he had his focus trained on Germany as the man made more unreasonable demands for handling the meeting. Oh well, if Austria didn't want to see my perfect paper flower, that's his loss. I looked at my other side. Greece was still sleeping and trying to wake him up would just be a waste of time (although, it could help out Egypt, poor guy).

I smiled when I considered the Italian right across from me. Romano was a good person to talk to about anything, even something trivial. Sure, he might yell at you for wasting his time on something stupid (which, by his standard, is almost everything), but he'll listen and state his opinion truthfully. Besides, he's helped me with my cold in the past and knows how much making the best roses means to me.

"Hey, Roma!" I whispered at first, trying to get his attention without attracting anyone else's. He didn't seem to hear. He had just finished negotiating something with his brother, it seems. He relaxed from whatever rant he delivered and leaned his cheek into his hand. The perfect opportunity to talk to him without getting snapped at. "Romaaa~" I called a little louder. Once his eyes drifted up to look at me, I held out the rose.

Before I had a chance to speak, Romano shot up straight as an arrow and tried to shove his chair back, but it must've gotten caught on the rug, because the chair tipped back and he fell over with a loud yell. Everyone nearby looked up; Austria and Italy stood up and Greece woke up with a snort, much to Egypt's relief.

"Ow! Fucking hell!"

"Romano, are you alright?"

"Fratello! What are you doing on the floor?" Italy tried to help Romano up.

"Oh, you know, just looking at dust bunnies." Romano answered his goofy brother, yanking himself free of his grip. "Why the fuck do you THINK I was on the floor?!"

"I was just wondering if you were okay. There's no need to be rude." Italy pouted.

"I'm fine, so don't ask stupid questions." Romano bent down to pick up his chair before he looked up to glare at me. "And you!"

"Me? What did I do?" I frowned, confused.

"You… you… why did you hand me that rose all of a sudden?!" His exclaimation was very loud; everyone in the room was now looking at us.

"I was showing it to you! I had just finished making it and thought it was one of the prettiest flowers I've made so far, so I wanted to know what you thought of it." I tried to smile, but it was hard to do under the dark look he was giving me.

"Spain, please put the roses away for now. The meeting is almost finished anyway. You two can discuss this later." Germany gently commanded. I nodded and put the roses under the table. Romano, Italy, and Austria sat down so the meeting can restart. Greece fell back asleep, this time on the table.

~*R*~

So the meeting started up and I managed to calm down, again . First, I had to deal with my brother and Germany before he finally agreed to let us order gelato and pasta for lunch. Then, that idiot Spaniard hands me a rose with no explanation, scaring me and making me fall back on my chair. Now I find out that he did that for the stupidest reason ever and I'm pretty sure that chair bruised my butt (I have a war injury there, dammit!).

'I wanted to know what you thought of it.' I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or flip the table so it landed on top of him. It was the dumbest thing I've ever heard, but its so endearing at the same time. It was typical Spain. He was such a little kid sometimes. It's also kind of flattering. He wanted my opinion on his hard work. He knew I'd be the best judge of what is beautiful— I am Italian, after all.

I won't admit it to him, but even though he did startle me by thrusting that rose at me, that's not really why I got so scared and fell off my chair. When he first handed me the paper flower, I thought he was actually giving it to me. I mean, it's not like giving someone flowers is a huge deal in my country. You give friends, family, or lovers flowers to make them feel happy. I'm pretty sure Spain has similar views.

Still, unless there's a special occasion, giving flowers at random is usually a method of flirting, especially roses. Sure, its made of cheap paper, but the symbolism still stands. So I'm actually relieved that Spain just wanted me to see it. Spain and I have a rocky relationship as it is. He was a good friend, and sadly one of my only friends. I don't want to ruin it with misunderstandings or false promises of us being anything more than that.

The meeting finally ended and everyone was running the hell out of the stuffy room. I started to leave with my brother, who was babbling about which restaurant we should stop at for lunch. "Hey, Roma?" I looked back to see Spain waving and walking over. I debated leaving anyway, still pissed about him scaring me, but I knew he would call later if I didn't.

"You go ahead; I'll catch up." I told my brother. He nodded and went ahead while I walked back to meet Spain in the middle.

"I'm sorry for scaring you like that earlier. I guess I shoulda told you about the flower sooner." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, you should have, you jerk. Don't do that to me again!" I scolded, then punched his shoulder lightly. "You're forgiven for now."

"Really? Oh, what a relief! I didn't want you to be mad at me, especially since I only wanted your opinion on it. I still do, actually." He smiled brightly at me.

"O-oh, yeah, right." Suddenly, I felt a little… disappointed? No, that couldn't be it. What does it matter if he just wants me to see it? It was never meant to be given to me, and it's not like I even want it! Something pretty like a paper rose should be given to a pretty lady, not to someone like me.

Spain smiled crookedly and pulled out the paper rose from early to hand to me. A peace offering. I pursed my lips, teasing him, before taking the rose and examining it. It really was well-done. The petals weren't wrinkled, the stem was straight, and it actually looked pretty real. "You managed not to half-ass it this time. Good work." I snorted. It sounded harsh, but that's the best compliment Spain ever gets out of me and he knows it. His face lit up. I handed the flower back, another small wave of disappointment hitting me that I suppressed.

To my surprise, Spain put his hand against mine and kept it from coming closer with the flower. "Keep it." he stated. I blinked.

"I— what?"

"It's my gift to you, in return for scaring you today and taking care of me a few months back. I never got a chance to say thank you for that." He smiled kindly at me. I stared down at the flower, avoiding his eyes while my face was probably turning beet-red.

"You bastard, you don't have to—"

"I want to. You deserve it, Roma."

"But this is one of the prettiest flowers you've made, and you need to sell these so you can make some money and get better, so—!" I was cut off when he put his finger to my lips.

"Don't you worry about me, Roma. I can always make more flowers." He shrugged and gave me one of his most affectionate smiles. "Besides, there's no one who deserves to have my best creation more than you." My stomach was twisted up into knots and I had to bite down on my lip to keep from smiling. No one has ever said that to me before. "Of course, if you're really serious about not taking the flower, you can give it back." He offered.

"Hmm…" I looked long and hard at the flower, then squinted my eyes at him. "I will take this-" I held up the flower. "-for compensation for all the hard work I put in to make you feel better a few months ago, plus the damage to my ass from those crappy chairs at the meeting." Spain chuckled and nodded.

"Understood. Now that we settled that, you should probably go catch up to your brother." Oh shit, I almost forgot that Veneziano was waiting for me.

"Yeah. I'll talk to you later, then." I nodded. Before I could say anything more, he leaned in and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"Until then, Romano. See yah." He gave one last wave before turning to leave in the opposite direction. I stood frozen in that spot before I finally came to my senses.

"H-hey! Don't just kiss me like that without permission, you bastard! Do you hear me?!" I called out after him. He didn't respond, but I swore I heard him giggling a little. "Jerk." I grumbled to myself, turning and leaving to catch up to my brother. All the while, the spot where Spain kissed my head tingled a little. I tried to rub away any evidence of it, but the feeling remained.

I climbed into my brother's car and the first thing he noticed was the flower. "Oh, did Big Brother Spain give you the flower he made?" I nodded and he smiled at it. "It's so pretty! It was nice of him to give you something so lovely, huh?" He started up the car and drove out of the parking lot. I looked down at the flower. The sun through the windows shined through the thin petals and highlighted the red color. I finally let a small smile trace my lips.

"Yeah… it was." I gently answered. Spain was a friend, just a friend. Someday, though, maybe I could give us a shot. If that happens, he better give me some real flowers.