Aria's POV

So this is Regalo… Impressive! I wonder where I can find a job and a place to work?

I walked around Regalo looking for a place to work. Soon I found a restaurant that needed another cook. I showed the owners my cooking and now I've got a place to stay and a job! Brilliant, and I've only been here a day. I'm hoping to stay here for a long time. :)

I was making some lasagne for a customer. He had ordered 5! At first I thought he must have friends joining him, but then the other cook told me he normally comes here to eat lasagne himself! It's very odd. Later on, as I was leaving, he was asking the owners, my bosses, who had made the lasagne; my bosses pointed me out as I hurried out. I could feel them looking at me and it made me very uncomfortable.

A week had passed of me living in Regalo and I was in the market buying new clothes and food, when suddenly a cart with a bunch of men drove by! Everyone jumped out of the way but I was too late and it pushed me into a stall but someone caught me; I opened my eyes and looked up, it was that lasagne man! He smiled down at me, his arms around me. I blushed furiously and made to get up but he held me down and said "Wait." I blushed but stayed down, two boys, one that looked like me (blonde and blue eyes, pale skin) and another boy with blue hair and eyes! I blinked and wondered what was going on, soon a girl with red hair ran by followed by a man with dark hair and a man with an eye patch.

Th man with the eye patch stopped and looked where we were lying and yelled, "OI, Pace! What are you doing? I thought it was my job to get all the girls!"

I blushed and as the man, Pace, I assumed his name was, chuckled and got up with me. "I was just helping her!"

"Sure! Now hurry! We have to go help the others!"

"Debito! Wait! She's hurt!"

"Then help her!" Debito yelled back as he ran off to help the others.

"I'm sorry; here I'll help you back to your home."

"T-thank you." I said shyly.

He helped me back to my apartment and bandaged my wounds.

After he left, I couldn't stop thinking about him and his strange friends. At work I asked the other cook, who I had become close friends with. She told me all about the Arcana Famiglia and what they did and the Arcana Duello and how the daughter of the head of it was dating the boy who looked like me, Liberta. She told me all their names and how Pace was a food lover and loved lasagne and Limone pie and had the Strength power.

I thought about the Limone pie. I had heard of it from where I had grown up, my mother used to make it for me lots of times before she and father had died and I had gone to live with my grandfather in the country when I was 14, oh that stupid flood. I bent my head to hide the tears from Agnese but she saw anyway and brushed away my tears. I told her my how life story, of how my parents died in a flood, how I had no brothers or sisters and how my grandfather had died of old age a month ago. I had inherited everything but gave it to my cousin. In return she told me about her life. She is such a sweet old lady. :)

A month had passed and I had grown used to my new life. One afternoon, I was returning home from work. Night had fallen and I was a little afraid but I was comforted by the thought of the Arcana Famiglia

"AHHHHH-!" I screamed loudly as I was dragged into an alleyway, before a hand clamped over my mouth and eyes.

"Take her money." A gruff voice ordered. I felt two hands on my body, looking for my money. I squirmed and tried to scream but the man holding me, held me so I couldn't move. It was terrifying. Another voice said, "Hey, she's got a good package…" I felt a hand stroke my neck and I tried to squirm away and before anything else could happen, the man holding me suddenly let go and I fell to the floor, hard. I coughed and when I looked up, Luca was holding his hand out to me. I took it and he helped me up.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded, "I think so…" I looked around. Liberta, Debito and Pace were beating the three men up and Nova was collecting my money that had fallen on the ground. Felicita came to me and asked if I wanted to have dinner at her manor.

I blushed and waved my hands in front of me, "No no no nonono, it's okay; I don't want to intrude…"

"No, we've wanted to invite you for a while. Come on, it'll be nice!" she smiled at me.

"O-okay," I blushed and looked down, my hands folded in front of me.

Nova handed me my money and Luca stopped the three boys from killing the criminals and we walked to the manor, everyone talking to me and Debito flirting. It was fun and sort of embarrassing. When we got to the manor I met Felicita's parents and Felicita's maids dressed me up.

During dinner, they asked about my life and I told them and they told me about their adventures.

The next day I woke up and for a second I forgot where I was and panicked. Then I remembered how they had practically forced me to stay. I lay in the bed for a while, thinking and smiling. Until I realised I was late for work.

I jumped out of bed and pulled on my clothes running out like I had lost my head. Then someone knocked on the door. I stopped what I was doing and fell over.

"OW!" I yelled out.

"Are you okay?!" Luca burst in through the door to see what happened and saw me lying on the floor. "Ah! Aria, are you okay?" he asked as he helped me up, concerned.

"I'm okay, but I'm late for work!" I cried out, urgently.

He smiled, "It's okay, we told them you had nearly got mugged last night and they said you could have the day off."

I relaxed and smiled. Luca handed me some clothes and told me that they had been brought from my apartment and I had been invited to spend the day with everyone. I agreed to come and an hour later, I was laughing at Pace with everyone, he was so cute! Oh! I shouldn't be having these thoughts for someone who is older than me! He's 25, 2 years older than me. I scolded myself.

I spent the day hanging out with the 'gang'. They were fun to hang out with and they considered themselves to be my friends for I which I was glad about. I love making friends!

It had been almost a year later when I bumped into pace again. I had a new life, had visited my relatives, made many friends but I still had no love life although… I may have a little teeny tiny crush on *whispers* Pace…

Well anyway, I was shopping at the market, like I normally do every Saturday and I guess that I wasn't really watching where I was going because I bumped into Pace! And most of my shopping fell on the floor.

"Ah! I'm sorry I wasn't watching where I was going!" I apologized quickly.

"It's okay!" Pace smiled and he helped me up and looked around at my shopping. "Ah! I'm sorry! Here, I'll help you pick them up."

He helped me pick up the things that we could and bought new stuff to replace what had broken or dented. Ah, so sweet… hehehe

"Hey, it's lunch time soon… want to have lunch with me?" Pace asked.

"As long as you promise not to eat everything!" I laughed to hide my blush.

We went to a restaurant, not the one I worked at, but a really nice one (not that my one isn't nice) and it had traditional Japanese foods and the desserts where lovely!

We ordered sushi and a smoothie and talked a lot! We talked about what had been happening lately, our lives, what we liked, we dislikes… stuff like that! Pace ate a lot! But he didn't eat the whole restaurant, thank goodness!

After lunch, we went up to the park and walked about for a while, still talking and somehow the conversation turned to who we liked.

"Hmmm… I've never actually gone out with anyone but I have had crushes on some girls. Wait, does eating lasagne count as a date?" Pace asked mock-seriously.

I laughed and shook my head.

"No, I don't think ANYONE does!"

Pace made a dramatic pose and flopped down in front of me.

"Nooooooo… my one true love, lasagne!"

"Would you choose food over your lover?" I asked, curious.

"No! I mean, I would really love them and would be willing to anything for them. Same for my close friends… and you…"

"Me? Why? We aren't exactly close friends…" I looked up at him, confused.

He blushed and scratched his head. "Well… I… I mean it's just that… well, you're… you…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, really confused now.

He stopped walking. I turned to look at him, and his eyes, I guess you could describe them as smouldering. He stepped towards me, placed his hands on the sides of my face, tilted my head up and kissed me.

It wasn't my first kiss but it felt like it was, I could see fireworks though my eyes were closed and I felt tingly all over. But it was over before I wanted it to end.

He stepped away from me, looking really worried.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. I mean! I should've do-"

I stepped forward and kissed him before he could finish his sentence.

"I'm glad you did do that, otherwise I wouldn't have had the courage to do that." I smiled.

He hugged me and whispered, "I love you,"

I smiled again and whispered back, "I love you too."