Damn Lemonade Stand | Romano x Reader

“Hey Lovi…?”

“Che cosa? And don’t call me that, dammit!”

“Whatever. Have you ever wondered where the metaphor ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade’ comes from?” You rolled over and hung off of the edge of the couch, looking at your Italian friend. He looked quite peculiar with that scowl on his face. Albeit you were gazing at him upside-down, due to your awkward position….but still.

“Where the fuck did that come from?”

“Just answer the question!”

He looked at your exasperated expression for a moment, then rolled his honey-coloured eyes and said, “No, ragazza, I haven’t, because I’m not a complete idiot. Who has enough time on their hands to be wondering stupido things like that?”

“Me,” you replied promptly, and Lovino groaned.

“Well, you’re….you.” Lovino scowled at your smirk and stood from the couch. He stretched, and the edge of his shirt was lifted up as he extended his arms above his head. You couldn’t help but stare as his abs were exposed. He dropped his arms after a minute and you quickly moved your gaze up to his face, cheeks slightly pink. He frowned at you before turning around and heading toward the kitchen.

“Hey! Where’re you going?” you whined, quickly rolling off the couch to stare at Lovino with puppy dog eyes.

“To the kitchen, idiota,” Lovino muttered as you latched onto his arm. His face flushed a little and he snapped, “Let go of me, ragazza!”

“Well, since you’re going to the kitchen….we should make something!” you suggested, eyes shining. “Like lemonade! Life delivered me lemons today, and I intend to use them!”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means Antonio dropped off some lemons and tomatoes he had grown in his garden at home on my porch! He even left a little note! He’s so sweet~” you cooed, making your way over to the counter once you and Lovino had entered the kitchen. You missed the slightly disgruntled look on Lovino’s face when you mentioned Antonio, your back to him as you reached for the cute white basket full of lemons and tomatoes sitting on the counter. Pulling it to you, you grinned and seized one of the plump tomatoes in one hand, and a tart lemon in the other. You waved them in Lovino’s face, beaming. “Toni brought me all of these! Isn’t he the nicest guy ever? They’re fresh and homegrown and…. perfect!”

Lovino frowned and crossed his arms. “Just because the tomato bastard grew them and brought them to you doesn’t mean he’s so ‘sweet’ and ‘nice’ dammit!” He made a face and mumbled, “Stupid bastard isn’t even that good at growing plants and shit….”

You rolled your eyes. “Lighten up, Lovi~” You pinched his cheek and giggled at the look on his face, then walked over to the cabinet. You pulled out a large glass pitcher and set it gently on the counter, then took out a large spoon from the kitchen drawers. “Be a dear and grab the sugar, would you, Lovino?” You gestured toward the pantry and stuck out your bottom lip.

Grumbling, the Italian obeyed your wish and removed the desired items from the shelves. He dropped them onto the counter beside the basket of fruit and the glass pitcher, then asked, “What the hell are we doing?”

“Didn’t I just say? We’re making lemonade!” you replied, smiling happily. As you did so, you turned the handle of the sink and filled the pitcher up to the two liter measurement line. Then you skipped back over to the counter and said, “You wanna help me, Lovi? Please?”

“No,” he responded flatly. “I’m not making anything using fruit that the tomato bastardo grew.”

“C’mon, Lovi!” you wheedled, “I wanna make lemonade with my best guy friend in the entire world!”

He didn’t respond.

“Fine,” you huffed, “I’ll just go make some with Toni.” You started to gather up your various tools and kitchen utensils, but were stopped by a hand latching around your wrist. You turned to see Lovino, glaring at the floor with red cheeks.

“Whatever, ragazza,” he muttered, “let’s make the damn drink already.”

“YAY~!” you cheered, and quickly set everything back out on the counter. You turned to him and beamed, then said, “Okay! So the first thing we have to do is mix the water and the sugar! So, Lovi, grab the sugar and measure out two cups.”

Lovino grumbled under his breath as he walked over to where the sugar was sitting on the counter. He opened it carefully, then reached over to take the measuring cups. Still mumbling, he plunged the cup into the paper bag of glittering sugar and measured out two cups like you asked, pouring each one into the large glass pitcher. “Now what, idiota?” he asked when he was finished.

“Now we have to mix it! Stir it slowly, so the sugar dissolves perfectly into the water. I’ll go juice the lemons while you stir. I just have to find the juicer….” You trailed off and left the kitchen, heading to the basement when you realized you had left it down there a while back. You disappeared around the corner, not seeing Lovino turn to watch you go.

As soon as you left, Lovino started to smile, just a bit. “Stupida ragazza, you come up with the randomest things….but I guess that’s why I love you.” As he went back to mixing the sugar-water, his gaze landed on the basket Antonio had brought over. Just like that, his smile vanished. “Stupid tomato bastard, trying to steal (Name) away from me…. Why does he have to be so damn likeable!? The one person I want in the world, and he goes after her too, dammit!” He began stirring the water with more vigor, his anger getting the better of him.  

Lovino was lost in his thoughts until you reappeared from the basement. Running up to him, you glomped him and sang, “Found it, Lovi~!”

“A-Ack! Idiota, get off of me!” He nearly fell with you on top of him.

“Sorry, Lovi,” you giggled, and released him from your glomp.

“How many times have I told you not to call me that, dammit!?”

“Like sixty times today alone, dammit!” you responded, still giggling like a five-year-old.

“Are you mocking me!? Stupida, quit laughing at me!”

“Aw, but you make me smile! Isn’t that a good thing?”

“No, it’s no—” He stopped. “….I do?”

“Of course! Especially when you blush! Like right now, you look like one of these!” Chuckling, you pointed to the basket, singling out one of the tomatoes. You skipped past him after that, heading toward the cutting board. “I’m gonna cut the lemons now, Lovi! if you need me, just call!” You picked up the nearest lemon, carefully picked up the knife, and began to slice the lemons.

Lovino just shook his head, an embarrassed frown on his face. He went back to mixing the lemonade, resting his head on his palm. He was about to ask you what to do next once he noticed that the sugar was all dissolved, but then he heard a high-pitched “Ow!” and his head whipped around sharply. “(Name)? Are you all right?”

“I-I’m fine….I j-just nicked myself with the knife.”

“You what?” Lovino rushed over and forced you to show him your left hand, which you held awkwardly to your chest with tears in your eyes. There was an awful gash all the way across, starting at the end of your pointer finger and ending down by your wrist. Lovino’s eyes widened and he asked, “Where’s the first aid kit?”

“I loaned it to Antonio the other day. He said he needed it for Feliciano when he and… Ludwig came over. Apparently, Feli tripped over Antonio’s guitar when he was running from Ludwig because he didn’t train hard enough.” You gave a weak chuckle. “Classic Feli, huh?”

“Idiota, now we don’t have anything to clean the wound with!” Lovino panicked inwardly, then quickly went over to the sink and grabbed several paper towels. He began clearing the blood away, but you winced and inhaled sharply. “Mi dispiace!” he apologized immediately, feeling awful. Water, I need water! His mind was so panicky that he wasn’t thinking clearly. So, despite that fact that there was a sink directly to his left and due to his subconscious little urge to confess to you Lovino brought your hand to his mouth and quickly started to lick away the blood.  

You squeaked in surprise. “L-Lovino!”

“Shut up,” he snapped, and allowed his tongue to glide along the patch of bleeding skin. He pulled away, spitting the blood out into one of the paper towels, then grabbed the hem of his shirt and ripped a long strip off. He used this to wrap around your wound, tying it tightly in place, then pulled away from you and scolded you. “Ragazza, don’t ever give your first aid kit to that tomato bastard again! What if you hurt yourself and I’m not around to help!?” His accent had thickened, and you just stared at him in shock.

Finally, you dropped your gaze and murmured, “Sorry, Lovino. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Bueno.” The Italian turned away and started toward the cutting board. “I’ll handle cutting the lemons, you do the rest.”

“O-Okay,” you replied, still a little shocked. You replayed the scene over and over in your mind, your thoughts really stuck on the feel of his tongue on your flesh. You shook your head and watched Lovino as he cut the lemons, expert fingers moving fast and with precision. Well, he was fantastic in the kitchen. You continued to gaze at him with confused (e/c) eyes while your hands subconsciously prepared the lemonade whose recipe you knew by heart. He was acting as if the….ah….the accident never happened. Why?

Eventually, everything was finished. Lovino brought over the bowl of lemon juice, freshly juiced from the lemons, and poured it into the glass pitcher. You mixed it well, chattering about random things as you did so. You didn’t want Lovino to feel awkward (if he even did) about earlier, so you tried to act as normal as possible.

Finally, you added the last two ingredients, the ones your mum had always done when she showed your this recipe in the first place. You added a few drops of strawberry juice and several drops of vanilla to the mixture, stirred, then placed a slice of lemon over the side of the glass.

“Finished!” you declared happily.

“Great. Now what?” Lovino asked, looking at the glass with disinterest.

You thought for a moment, then a smile lit up your face. “LEMONADE STAND!” You seized Lovino’s arm in one hand and the glass pitcher in the other, then sprinted outside, ignoring Lovino’s colourful shouts of protest.

“NO WAY IN HELL AM I DOING A FUCKING LEMONADE STAND!”

“Too bad!” You pulled him to the end of your driveway, then skidded to a stop in front of your mailbox. “It’ll be fun, Lovi! C’mon!” You set the pitcher on the ground, and Lovino raised an eyebrow.

“How the hell did you manage to bring that out here and not spill a drop?”

“I’m special~” you sang back, and started toward your garage. “Stay here. If you try to leave, I’ll shoot you with the tranquilizer gun I stole from Ludwig.”

“Che cazzo!?”

“You know, the one he uses to put Feli asleep whenever he runs away?”

“Che cazzo?!” Lovino repeated, but you ignored him.

Instead, you took off, leaving Lovino with the glass pitcher of lemonade. He cursed under his breath, glaring after you as you searched around your garage. He watched you drag a table out from beneath all of the crap, followed by two chairs, then a sign that read, “LEMONADE! $0.25!” You then proceeded to nudge the table down the driveway with your right foot, a chair under each arm. You eventually came to a stop before Lovino, flashing him a smile as you gently placed a chair behind him, then suddenly shoved him down into it.  

“Sit, Vargas!” you barked, then plopped the second chair down beside him and went back into the garage. You came out holding the sign and a glass jar. You skipped back to the table, propped the sign against the front of the table, then sat down in your chair beside Lovino and swiped the glass pitcher from Lovino’s grasp. You plunked it down on the table, smiling brightly. “Perfect!” you declared as you positioned the glass jar next to the lemonade.

“What the hell do we do now?” Lovino asked, sounding irritated.

“Wait for customers!” you replied, giggling.

“Why do I have to do this?” he whined.

“Because.”

“Because why, dammit!?”

“Because I want to spend time with you!” you snapped, then blushed a little and quickly added, “Best friends have to spend time with each other!”

Lovino, who had perked up at your earlier statement, sunk back into his seat and muttered, “Yeah. Spend time with friends. Right.”

You both sat in awkward silence for a while. You were starting to feel a little discouraged at your lack of customers, when someone down the street caught your eye, jogging your way. “Hey….is that….Antonio?” You jumped up. “HEY! TONI!” You waved at him frantically, and smiled when the Spaniard saw you.

“(Name), chica! What are you doing out here?”

“Lovi and I are running a lemonade stand!”

“Really!?” Antonio’s eyes lit up. “I’ll take some!” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. “Twenty-five cents, sí?”

“Yeah!” You took the quarter and dropped it into the jar. You then went to make Antonio a glass, then smacked your forehead and gave an embarrassed chuckle. “I forgot the glasses inside. Be right back, you two!” You dashed up the driveway and onto your porch, disappearing through the front door.

Antonio watched you go, then as soon as you vanished from sight, pulled Lovino close and murmured, “So? How’s the date going?”

“It’s not a date, dammit! Let go of me!” Lovino ripped himself out of Antonio’s grasp and turned his head away, frowning. “She told me straight to my face that this was something she wanted to do with her ‘best friend’. Nothing more, nothing less. She doesn’t feel anything toward me, tomato bastard. Now go away.” He crossed his arms and glared at the lemonade pitcher.

“Ah, amigo.” Antonio shook his head, smiling slightly. “The chica is most likely afraid you do not reciprocate the feelings. If you turned her down, (Name) would certainly be heartbroken, and she doesn’t want to risk it.”

“So, what!? Am I not good enough for (Name) to ‘risk on’!?” Lovino spat, eyes flashing.

“No, Lovi, I never said that. I simply said that she doesn’t want to risk it. Meaning, she doesn’t want to be selfish and ruin your friendship with her feelings toward you.” Antonio patted Lovino on the back and straightened up, green eyes darting to the front door. “And I figure that if you tell her of your heart’s wants, she will be the happiest girl on the face of the Earth.”

Lovino opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, you came running back outside with your hands balancing several glasses. “Here you go, Toni!” you called, coming to a stop beside Lovino’s chair. You quickly poured him a glass and handed it to him. You watched him gulp it down anxiously. When he finished his sip, you asked, “How is it? We made it with the lemons you brought me, so I really hope we didn’t mess it up—”

“It’s delicious!” Antonio interrupted, beaming. “Great job!” He downed the rest of the glass remarkably fast, then licked his lips as he set the glass down on the table. “Well done!” He glanced at his watch, then flashed you an apologetic smile. “Lo siento, (Name), but I have to get going. See you around!” He waved and started down the street. “Good luck!” This comment seemed more directed at Lovino than you, but you shrugged it off.

Another thick silence stretched over the two of you when Antonio left, and you struggled to think of something to say. As you did so, memories from the earlier….mishap….came flooding back. Why did he do that? you wondered. Lovino’s never done anything like… that before.

“….(Name)?” Lovino’s voice pierced through your thoughts.

“Hm?” You blinked, and were startled to find Lovino’s face a little closer to your own than it had been before. “Wh-What is it, Lovi?”

“I….I was talking to Antonio when you went inside, and….ah….”

“Yes?”

Lovino seemed flustered. “Well….Antonio said….um….” He trailed off, shy expression becoming frustrated. “Why the hell is this so hard to say!?” He clenched his fists. “(Name), I….I….fuck it!”

He grabbed you by the shoulders and pulled you forward, into his lap. Both of you nearly toppled into the grass behind Lovino’s chair, and you started to protest, but Lovino leaned forward and slammed his lips onto yours, moving his mouth aggressively with your own. You started and parted your lips, only to have Lovino snake his tongue in to explore. You had yet to respond, frozen with his arms around you and his lips working furiously with your own. He bit sharply on your lower lip, wanting attention, and automatically, your body gave it to him. Your hands came up and tangled themselves into his hair, while your lips began to move with Lovino’s. He smirked against your mouth and pulled away, leaving you gasping for air, only to come back for more. He constantly moved to try different angles, each one better than the last, leaving you dazed and gasping for air as he satisfied his need.

No wonder Italians are the best lovers, you found yourself thinking.

Eventually, Lovino pulled away and allowed you to regain your breath. Which you gladly did, panting for oxygen desperately, cheeks flushed and (e/c) eyes wide. You gazed at him in shock, shakily opening your mouth to say, “Ah, L-Lovino….what….what was that?”

“That was me confessing. What the hell did you think it was?”

“Ah….” You started to giggle, then full-out laugh, collapsing against his chest.

“What the hell’s so funny!? Why’re you laughing!?”

“B-Because….” You wiped imaginary tears from your eyes and managed to say, “Y-You….you’re the best f-friend I ever had, and now….now you’ve gone and kissed me!”

“Why’s that funny, dammit?!”

“Because it’s all I’ve ever wanted you to do!” you exclaimed, taking his face in your hands suddenly. “Lovino Vargas, I’ve waited so damn long for you to kiss me. And it took you all fucking day to work up the courage!?”

Lovino was shocked. He had just kissed you and expected to get slapped, and now….you were saying you liked him back?!

“For Holy Rome’s sake, Lovino, you took your sweet time!” You pecked his lips, then sighed. “I swear….sometimes I wonder….”

Lovino shook his head, then crossed his arms and scowled. “Well, I confessed. Are you happy now!?”

“Yes.” You smiled and patted his cheek. Your gaze went to the lemonade on the table behind you both, and you giggled again. “You know, Lovi, sometimes you remind me of a lemon.”

“What the hell?”

You proceeded to explain, “You can be so sour sometimes, but you can be sweet, too. Just like the lemonade we made. Sour and sweet. It’s a good combination.”

Lovino pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ragazza, I’ve been your friend for so many years, and now I’m your boyfriend, but….I still don’t understand you.”

You nodded. “Good. I need that air of mystery.” He rolled his eyes at you, and you leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “You know you love me,” you teased.

Before Lovino could respond, someone shouted, “(NAME)!” You both looked up to see young Peter Kirkland running your way down the sidewalk, fleeing from what looked like an angry Arthur. “(Name), you have to help me!”

“What’s the matter?” you asked, quickly getting off of Lovino’s lap and coming to stand in front of the child.

“That jerk Arthur’s being mean again! I’m really thirsty, and I asked for some lemonade, but he said no!”

“Oi, Peter!” Arthur caught up to him and frowned at the boy. “I said no! I don’t have any bloody money on me, so stop bothering me and these two about it! Either come with me now, or we won’t go to the park!”

Peter gave you his big round blue puppy-dog eyes. “Can’t I at least have some of those lemons, (Name)?” He stuck out his bottom lip. “Please?”

You and Lovino glanced at each other and shrugged. “Well, I don’t see why not.” You handed over the lemons you had placed on the edge of the glass pitcher. “What do you want them for?”

Peter grinned devilishly. “Well, when life gives you lemons….” He whipped around and squeezed the lemons directly into Arthur’s eyes.

“BLOODY HELL!” Arthur roared and stumbled back.

“….SQUEEZE THEM IN JERK BRITAIN’S FACE AND RUN!” Peter screamed, then took off down the street, sprinting toward the park.

“PETER KIRKLAND, YOU BLOODY GET BACK HERE RIGHT SODDING NOW!” Arthur shouted, and charged blindly down the sidewalk after him, swearing at the top of his lungs as he rubbed frantically at his burning eyes.

You and Lovino stared after them for a minute, then you grinned. “I think that’s where the metaphor comes from.” The Italian just shook his head, and you chuckled. “Well, Lovi, I’d call this stand a success! We made twenty-five cents, watched Peter blind Arthur, and became boyfriend and girlfriend! All in a day’s work.”

Lovino rolled his eyes again and gave a small smile. “Damn lemonade stand, I can’t believe I’m still out here with you.”  

“Hey!” You patted the table and smiled. “Good ol’ lemonade stand got us together.”

Lovino sighed loudly. “Whatever. It’ll always be ‘damn lemonade stand’ to me.”

Then he took your hand, and the two of you disappeared inside your house together.