" Michelle, mi bella, we should meet up tonight. 8:30, I'll come pick you up? It will be special."
I hit send and hoped the reply would be quick.

In the past I'd been quite lonely, it felt like all the people I liked disappeared after I realized it. Grandpa had the most time with me, teaching me nearly all that I know. However, he was brutally defeated and forced to depart from us. Then there was the Holy Roman Empire. He was nice, even if a bit too shy. When I finally admitted to myself I liked him I had a couple days with him until he had to leave for war. I am still thankful I had the chance to tell him, because that was the last I saw of him. Gradually I grew, and became more independent, mainly because I had few to depend on. Now I have Ludwig, but it's not the same, my love for him is the love of brothers. Nothing more.

A few years ago was when I met her, right as I began college. I was headed out to the recreational field to play a game of football with my brother and a couple of his friends when I heard an argument. There was a young-looking woman talking to a somewhat older looking man, though she didn't seem pleased about it. He was leaning forward, a light grin on his face, and she was frowning, obviously trying to escape without being rude.

I remember walking up, calling to them " Ciao Francis, who is this friend of yours~?" . She answered for him " I am not his friend, I did not even know his name! Please sir, I am trying to continue past you." His expression said he knew that, and he thought it wasn't happening.

I was a bit worried for her, I thought she might be late to her plans, so I walked up to them and casually looped my arm around her lower back and looked at him with an innocent smile. He understood the point and started to back off, mumbling about how he heard a friend's voice nearby. She sighed and I let her go, expecting her to rush off. Instead, she looked up at me and smiled, expressing her thanks with a slight French accent.

" Merci sir, for helping me. I do not know what he was thinking, but eet was not polite." When she was smiling she looked younger, like she could be seventeen or eighteen. Her twin ponytails aided that effect, making her seem sweet and clueless. I'm still not sure what it was that drew her to me, but I'm glad for it.

We talked often after that, usually going on walks around our school, or through the small town it was based in. Sometimes we would talk about our pasts, sometimes our futures. She wants to learn to cook better, and to learn about marine wildlife. Her favourite cuisine is French, and she enjoys orchestral music as well as more native-sounding drums and guitars. She enjoys cute animals and people.

There was one particular afternoon when we decided to head to a local coffee shop during our lunch hour that I consider when we first became a couple. We had ordered different drinks, mine a smooth Amaretto, hers a caramel flavoured Frappuccino, and they gave us each other's drinks. When we realized we quickly swapped drinks, laughing a little nervously. I noticed her hand stretched out halfway across the table, almost as if she'd put it purposefully in reach. Slowly, in case I misinterpreted her pose, I moved my hand over on top of hers. She twitched when we made contact but didn't pull back, instead turning her hand palm up.

When I walked her back to her apartment building she was shaking lightly. It wasn't a cold night, though, so I looked down to ask her what was wrong. She had a determined look on her face, almost as if she were plotting something. Her cheeks were a darker shade of pink than normal, but not out of the ordinary. I smiled warmly and asked her " Are you feeling alright?" . She nodded quickly and made a sound of approval, so I thought nothing more of it and looked around up the street. It was a bit busy, but not much foot traffic. We reached her doorstep a little too soon, and she turned around to say goodnight. " Buono noche" was going to be my full reply, but a quick, shaky peck on the lips and she ran inside before I could say more than a syllable.

There were a few group dates here and there, but we were mostly by ourselves, enjoying each other's company. There were nights we sat in one place, talking about our potential future together, others we sat and stared at the sky in a warm silence. We had a couple arguments, as would most couples, but we were never truly angry at each other, never said things we couldn't take back. Almost three years now, we have been dating. Two years, eleven months and fifteen days. That's long enough to fall in love, right? To find the one you want to be with forever? I will find out tonight, I hope.

There will be at least one more chapter to this (my first multiple chapter story, joys :D ), so stay tuned~. It should be withing the next few days.

Any suggestions to the story are welcome, I'm willing to work on parts if people dislike them. Except his 'relationship view' with Germany, they need to be just friends for this story to work. Sorry GerIta fans D: .

[ I'm a GerIta fan, but this is ItaSey~.]