Laying in the shade of his back porch, Romano snoozed, curled in a ball. White ears flicked away the crimson ladybugs that swirled in the clear air. Warm, inviting sunlight sneaked in and kissed his brown fluffy forehead, as if to praise him for napping. Napping in pure silence was a joyful daily thing to the small brown and white cat. His owner, Lovino Vargas, was tending to his Roma tomatoes, the most cherished items to the Italian. The fruits had ripened to a bright scarlet; perfect for picking. Romano never quite understood why Lovino spent about an hour everyday out here in the hot sun, especially right now in summer. Even so he followed the young man outside everyday simply because he had nothing better to do. However, there was a consequence to going outside. Romano knew very well the bliss of his quiet siesta would soon end due to—

"ROMA! Are you there~?" screamed the squeal from over the tall wooden fence that separated two yards.

"Scossa*! Spain, get out of my yard," Romano hissed. "It's my freaking yard; why wouldn't I be here?"

"You might have moved…how would I have found Roma then? I'd be lost, I tell you, lost! I wouldn't even be able to find my stuffed turtle! It's not like I can find him now, but that's not the point~!" Spain (odd name for a cat, no?) meowed in his defense.

Spain happened to belong to the Spanish man next door. Bigger that Romano and marked with brown on a white fuzzy surface, Spain could overpower the smaller housecat if he felt like it. However, being an airhead of a mammal ("Roma, I'm not a camel! They have humps on their backs!") Spain didn't have the brainpower to lord over Romano. Annoying Romano, however, was an easy task.

"I came here to see what you were doing~!" Spain chirped.

"Oh, you know, plotting to send you to the darkest part of the universe. Any other questions?" Romano scoffed.

"….Can I bring a nightlight with me to the darkest part of the universe?" Spain whimpered. "And that's mean—wait! You're taking a siesta! Can I join? My daddy doesn't get home for some time. I have a cat door, but I'd rather sleep with Roma~!"

Ignoring how wrong the last part of Spain's monologue sounded, Romano sighed. He really didn't have the energy to fight Spain on this right now. Moving to the side, Romano left space for the other feline to get close to him without being in the sun. Not like he cared if that jerk got sunburned! He could be on fire for all Romano cared! Yet, as Romano noticed, it wasn't half bad to have Spain cuddled next to him. Two fluffy tails intertwined as Spain purred his approval. Romano snorted and went back to sleep with his new hot water bottle curled around him.

About an hour or so later, Romano woke up, Spain still sleeping ("Mr. Turtle, don't run away from me! You can't run~!"). Romano knew this peace would come to an end in a moment's time. Lovino had finished watering the last plant and was walking over to his gatto* on the back porch. Lovino was very fond of Spain's handsome owner—yes, yes, fangirls, you may start with the girly screams of joy—and Romano often found them talking together in Lovino's house-Antonio talking and Lovino cursing, that is. Romano didn't like Antonio; he was too cheerful for his grumpy likes. However, Lovino seemed to worry less and be more open whenever Antonio was around. The cat was thrilled that Lovino was pleased around Antonio. No, it was Spain he couldn't stand. How he loathed the entire feline: too big, empty-headed, a general pain in the tail, being too cute...wait a second! Dang it, he didn't think that! No, never! Sure Lovino may have fallen for his owner, but Romano had some pride, for god's sake! That wouldn't happen—

"God, Antonio! Keep your stupid cat out of my yard!" Lovino snapped at Antonio, who had just returned home from a meeting.

"Lovi~! Hello to you as well. I was just wondering where Spain was. Daw, look at the kitties! They're snuggling together! Let's copy 'em!" Antonio said happily.

In one quick motion, Antonio was hugging Lovino, who was semi-fighting back. Why the Spaniard was so affectionate to a man who basically neglected him, Romano had no idea. Same to Spain, Romano thought. Why did the feline come back day after day? He knew he had other friends, two of which were purebred perverts. Everyone loved Spain, though he and his friends were public enemy number one when in a trio. Maybe the other cat was just leading him on; there was probably a female cat Spain met around a corner when Romano wasn't looking. Looking at the humans, Romano questioned Antonio's honesty. Did even really go to work? Who in the world came home from an eight hour day smiling? Romano was determined to find out about each of the Spaniards, cat and man.

He supposed he could start now. Considering he had just finished his pre-nap, siesta time wasn't for another hour. Following Lovino, Romano padded into his house, accompanied by Spain and Antonio. First thing he noticed: Spain didn't walk. He pranced. He freaking pranced. What was society coming to? Romano decided if he was going to figure out these two he needed to choose one to start with. Two Spaniards at once was a bit too much for anyone. Since Lovino took care of him and...took care of him-you try living with a grumpy Italian and see how that goes-Romano would work on Antonio first. Once the humans were seated on the couch, Romano leapt onto Antonio's lap and started to purr to get attention.

"Aw, Lovi, look~! Romano's being so sweet to me," Antonio cooed.

"Oh, please. He's probably going to tear your eyes out...hopefully," Lovino muttered.

Antonio took that as a cue to put an arm around "his" Lovi. Lovino, of course, angrily shook it off, only to have it put back on. Sighing, Lovino gave up and let Antonio have his way, but not without leaning on his chest a bit. Antonio's smile then could have blinded anyone. Romano took note of this and mentally wrote it down: "Shows adoration". He then moved to Lovino's lap.

"Ha, see—he likes me more. That's what happens when you take care of your cat, bastard," Lovino gloated. As if to make a point, Spain climbed into his owner's lap in defense.

"Yes, but now I've had both cats on me, so there! Even if I'm not quite sure where 'there' is...," Antonio said in triumph. When his Lovi looked defeated, Antonio took pity. "But then again, I've had Spain for so long, so he's not used to being so close to other people is all. I'm sure Romano loves you a bunch, just like a lot of people!"

"Will you just say it, jeez!" came Spain's reply, only to be heard by the humans in an angry meow. One moment...um, fangirls, I know you want this, but can you please stop the squealing for a bit? Thanks.

"Say what?" Romano said, tilting his head in an adorable way.

"Oh, my owner can be shy when he wants to be~! And sort of dull..well, that's all the time. He gets mad whenever he could have said what he needs to but roostered out," Spain said sadly.

"'Roostered out'? Don't you mean chic—screw it," Romano needed to get back to his research.

Throughout the rest of the evening, Romano kept a sharp eye on Lovino and Antonio. He watched them during some romantic movie with too many kissing scenes, a dinner of paella, and general cuddling on the couch. Through this all, Romano was on his best behavior. When Antonio wanted to pet him, he tolerated it. Every time Spain came near and wanted to play, play he got. Lovino got the same love and affection as he always did with some extra purrs. This was only because of his plan and nothing more.