Feliciano was ten years old when his older brother slammed him against a wall. He didn't understand why Lovino was so angry with him, when he did nothing wrong. Even at such a young age, Feliciano could see the hatred in his eyes. Tears formed in the corners of both brother's eyes. Lovino moved Feliciano away from the wall, only to shove him down on the hard ground. Feliciano begged for his brother to stop.

"You want me to stop?" his brother cried. "Is that what you want? Because baby Feliciano always gets what he wants!" Lovino put his foot on the little boy's chest and slowly set it down on his lungs. "He doesn't have responsibilities, or his life set for him. He doesn't have to take over some stupid family company when he gets older, or find out on his thirteenth birthday that he has to marry some girl he's never met!" He pressed harder on Feliciano's chest. "Mom and Dad like you more. That's why they let you have all the freedom you want!" Feliciano could hardly see his brother's face as his vision was fogged from crying so much.

"Lovino, please!" Feliciano shrieked. He could hardly breathe, let alone cry loud enough that their parents could hear. Feliciano didn't understand what his brother was talking about. He was just lucky their father saw Lovino's rampage and grabbed him before he completely crushed his lungs.

"I hate you!" Lovino roared to Feliciano as he tried to fight his father to finish the punishment he set for Feliciano. The last thing Feliciano saw that day was his brother crying and throwing punches at their father to try and break free.

That day, the brothers became distant from one another. Even after nine years they kept their distance. Lovino learned to accept his responsibility much to his disliking, yet he still claimed he hated Feliciano. Feliciano on the other hand, did learn about what Lovino meant that one day. He felt bad for his older brother, and he wished things could have been different. Sure, he didn't want to be the one taking over the company and marrying a girl he had never met, but he at least wanted to be closer to Lovino. He wanted to be not just a brother, but a friend. Lovino never wanted that, and Feliciano was forced to grow up without his brother for the most part. Despite this, he became quite the bachelor.

It was a hot July evening when Feliciano was dressing up for his brother's engagement party. Tonight was the night where Lovino would finally meet his fiancée. His parents had arranged the entire party to be set in one of the largest ballrooms in the city. Both families would be there, and so would be the rest of the city. Feliciano saw this as an opportunity to find a woman of his own to court. He fumbled with his hair to try and slick it back for about half an hour before he gave up, washed the gel off and let his bangs fall down the sides of his face like it naturally did.

Feliciano jumped a little when he heard the violent knocking on the bathroom door. Only one person in the entire family would be rude enough to attempt to break down a door. The dazzling smile Feliciano had faded instantly.

"What the fuck are you doing in there?" Lovino shouted from the other side of the door. "Last time I checked, I'm the one meeting a woman tonight, so I should be the one spending the most time getting ready! If I'm to impress her, I need to not look like something a cow spit up!"

Feliciano sighed a little and opened the door. "I'm sorry, Lovino," he mumbled as he hung his head low. "I just wanted to look nice for your party. I'm trying to find a woman for myself you know."

Lovino glared at his brother. "You're nineteen, idiot. You don't need to be looking for a woman to marry. If I had your freedom, I'd be exploring the options of women!" Lovino shoved his brother out of the way. "Now stop wasting my time!" He slammed the door hard, which could have been the equivalent to a small quake.

There wasn't a single inch of the ballroom that didn't have light on it. The place was crowded with many men and women Feliciano had never met in his life. Everybody seemed happy as they danced along to the music the band played. Despite the rudeness his brother showed earlier in the day, Feliciano was quite happy. One of his first thoughts was about looking for a woman to sweep off her feet. The problem was every woman looked the same. They all had long hair that were up in buns and their bangs looked like they took a curling iron to them. Their dresses were colorful and poofy, and the makeup they wore made them all look like the dolls little girls would play with. Feliciano didn't deny that every single woman was breathtakingly beautiful, but the problem was their similarities with one another. He was afraid he'd meet a girl, and would quickly lose her in the dancing crowd.

Feliciano did dance with a few women, but he felt no connection to them. He gave them compliments on their beauty, and asked why they were at the party in the first place, but nothing clicked. He even had to force a woman away because she was too curious about the strand of hair that stuck out on the left side of his head. He figured it was a lost cause, and he would just try to enjoy the rest of his evening and be happy for his brother's engagement. It wouldn't be too difficult.

He made that decision before his eyes locked on a woman he hadn't noticed before. He didn't understand why, because she was different. Her blonde hair wasn't long and pulled up. It was short and it didn't even touch her shoulders. The dress she wore wasn't colorful and poofy. It was black and thin. It was long enough to touch the floor and at the same time, it defined the curves she most definitely had. Her face looked pale as if she didn't wear any makeup at all, compared to all the rosy cheeks he saw on other women. Even though these were features that made her different from the other women, the one feature that stuck out the most was that she wasn't smiling. She sat on a chair and stared at her right hand, which she fidgeted with frequently. Feliciano just had to go talk to her, even if it was just to make her feel better.

Feliciano snuck his way over towards her. He was approached by other women during this time, and it made him feel bad for having to turn them down. He just didn't want to lose his chance with this short-haired beauty. He wiggled his way through crowds of people while he made sure he didn't take his eyes off her for even a second. As he was halfway to getting close, he came to the realization that she wasn't going anywhere. The closer he got, the more he noticed there were empty seats on both sides of her. He didn't understand why someone of her appearance would be completely alone. Of course, he would use that to his advantage.

Once Feliciano finally made it, he sat down next to her, and hummed a little to get her attention. The woman's sluggish posture quickly changed to something stiff, and she only glanced over at him. Feliciano looked over at her and smiled. That was also when he noticed that her eyes were just as gorgeous as the rest of her. They were as beautiful as sapphires, if not even more.

"Good evening," he chimed to her. "What's someone like you sitting here being alone?"

The woman looked away from Feliciano and said sharply, "I'm not interested."

Feliciano's eyes widened at his quick rejection. However, he wasn't going to give up just yet. If there was one thing he was persistent with, it was romance. "Who said I'm trying to flirt?" he lied. "I just saw you were alone, and I thought that you needed a friend to talk to."

The woman still kept her gaze away from him. "I don't want to be here, and I don't want anyone talking to me."

Feliciano inched closer to her. "But this is a joyous occasion!" Feliciano exclaimed. "Why wouldn't you want to be here?"

"Romance isn't my thing," she snapped. "Plus, I was forced to come here."

Feliciano placed a hand at the edge of her chair. "Nothing is ever fun if forced." He sighed a little. "But maybe that can change for tonight? Look at me please." The woman hesitated before turning her head to look at Feliciano. "How about we try to make this a good night?" The woman bit her lip and averted her eyes. "My name is Feliciano. And who is this gorgeous woman in front of me?"

The woman's face turned a bright red which matched the faces of the other women. "Monika," she stuttered. "My name is Monika."

"Monika." Feliciano mumbled her name over and over. "That's a lovely name." He smiled brightly at her and attempted to touch her hand, which she pulled away as soon as she felt his touch. Feliciano shrugged it off and assumed she was just shy and wasn't used to a stranger's affections. "So tell me, Monika. What does a man like me have to do to get you to dance with me?"

"I don't dance," she replied. "I was supposed to learn earlier in the year, but it never happened."

"So why don't I teach you?" Feliciano stood up and held his hand out for her. "We can start out slow, and if you really need to, you can step on my feet." Monika was surprised with herself when she took Feliciano's hand. Then again, this was the first man to approach her. "I knew you couldn't pass up my offer," he joked. Quickly, he led Monika into the depths of people in the dance floor.

Much to his luck, a slower song was playing. Feliciano saw this as an easy way to help teach Monika. He placed his free hand on her waist and with the hand that held hers, he pulled her close.

"Try to follow my lead," he told her, which she nodded in agreement. With the first step Feliciano took, Monika stumbled. She scrunched her face in disappointment. "The first steps are going to be awkward," he told her. "Everybody stumbles at first." He continued to move, yet Monika kept tripping over her own feet. Feliciano stopped immediately once he saw her struggle more.

"This is pointless," she grumbled. "I'm going home." She let go of Feliciano's hand and started to fight her way through the crowd.

"Wait!" Feliciano cried as he ran after her. He was able to place a hand on her shoulder before she completely left his sight. "Give me another shot," he pleaded. "One more try, and if it doesn't work out, I'll let you be."

Monika was hesitant in agreeing to Feliciano's compromise. Feliciano took his hand off her shoulder so he could hold it out to her. He smiled sincerely at her, and she could tell he was being honest. "Fine," she muttered as she took his hand. Feliciano pulled her closer than before, and even had the strength to lift her a couple inches off the ground.

"Thank you, Monika!" he cheered. "You won't be disappointed." He set her down and led her back to the spot they occupied at first. "Now," he said, "Place your free hand on my shoulder." Monika did so, and Feliciano placed his hand back on her waist again. He tightened the grip on his hand that held hers. "I'm going to move to my left, and then all you have to do is move to the right." He slowly swayed to the left, and Monika swayed to the right, just as Feliciano said. She didn't stumble once. "See? It's the same when I move to the right. Just move left." Feliciano stepped to the right, and Monika followed what he said. Once again, she didn't stumble. "We just needed to start out slower. And all we need to do is that. Only when you're comfortable do things get complicated."

For most of the evening, Feliciano spent his time teaching Monika the basic steps for dancing. It was never perfect, and the more complicated the steps became, the more she would stumble and get frustrated. He would stop immediately and try to regroup in order to prevent her from storming away. But as the night came to an end, Feliciano noticed that the Monika he met earlier in the night was smiling a little. It made the young man's heart melt.

"Are you having a good time?" he asked Monika before he spun her.

Monika could only nod a little after getting the spin down after so many attempts from earlier in the evening. "It makes this occasion bearable."

"You're quite the dancer." Feliciano pulled her close and now had both his arms around her waist. "I'm sure you'll make any man lucky to have you." He leaned closer so his lips just barely touched her ear. "I hope this isn't too soon, but I'd love that man to be me."

Monika jumped and yanked herself off of Feliciano's hold. Feliciano looked at her and was confused with her sudden reaction. "Feliciano, I," she was cut off with the sound of Feliciano's father calling out to the crowd.

He was finally announcing the engaged couple. His speech consisted of the relationship the two families had over the years, and how thrilled he was to finally merge the two together. He announced Lovino, who was standing right next to him. Lovino smiled with a smug expression, which Feliciano didn't understand. If he didn't want this engagement, why was he smiling. His father continued to talk about how happy he was about Lovino agreeing to such commitment, even though Feliciano knew it was a lie. Lovino always hated the idea. His father continued on with the name of his fiancée.

"Miss Monika Beilschmidt."

Feliciano felt his stomach tie into knots. He looked at his father in horror, even though nobody noticed. He didn't understand how he didn't notice earlier? He knew the name Beilschmidt countless times due to the family's relationship with them, but he never knew the first name of Lovino's fiancée. Feliciano looked over only to find Monika wasn't there anymore. Tears formed from his eyes before dashing through the crowd and out of the ballroom. He felt like he betrayed his brother.

Feliciano flashed back to the day where Lovino screamed his hated for him.