A/N:
In case you didn't know:
Gilbert= Prussia
Francis= France
Antonio= Spain
Vendor= no one of any real importance
Boy=...
brother=...

okay, so, first story. I am supper stoked. I hate long A/N's so I'm gonna try to be quick. This story is the first of... 4? maybe more, I don't really know yet and is a human AU. it tells the story of Antonio's (Spain's) and Lovino's (S. Italy's) relationship from Antonio's view. That said... read on viewers, read on.

"Mon dieu!" the exclamation of fluent, easily spoken French was quickly lost in the crowd of the busy Italian market. "Just how many beers can you hold in one sitting Gilbert?" blue eyes wide in a semi-impressed state.

Simply raising one, thin eyebrow at his friend, Gilbert chugged his umpteenth beer, letting pale eyelids slide shut over dark, ruby-red eyes. His Adam's apple bobbing slightly as he swallowed several mouthfuls.

With a gasp for air, Gilbert brought his head back down after cleaning the last of the amber liquid from its confines, stark white bangs falling back over his eyes and blinding him before he brushed them back again with a long, pale, impatient fingers.

"Gilbert's right, Francis." a dark-skinned Spaniard piped up. Bouncing his way around he made his way in front of his friends, emerald-green eyes gleaming in delight. "Gil is a German after all-"

"Prussian!" Gilbert exclaimed, his voice strong, untouched by the alcohol still working its way through his system even after the last couple of hours. "For the last time, Antonio, mein kleinen Bruder is German I am Prussian!" he emphasized the last three words by stomping his foot childishly and crossing his arms with a huff.

"Right, arrepentido, Prussian. Anyway, he's Gilbert, he drinks, are you really surprised?"

Rolling sapphire blue eyes and sporting a signature smirk Francis flipped shoulder length blond locks behind his shoulder.

"Of corse not mon ami it was a rhetoric question." the words could have been taken harshly but, Antonio had a knack of not picking up the... less... kind meaning of other people's words and Francis had not ment the answer as anything beyond a fond kindness, smiling and ruffling a dark, curled mop of hair as Antonio tilted his head quizzically to the side.

"¿qué?" Antonio questioned with an innocent blankness in his eyes. "rhetoric?"

"It's... uh... well-" Francis stumbled uncertainly, glancing at Gilbert and begging for assistance.

"Just leave it Toni." Gilbert jumped in. "Look, tomatoes."

His entire face lighting up, Antonio whirled around, quickly taking off in search of the red fruit, leaving his friends to share a fond glance between the two of them before taking off in search of the third of their trio.

Making his way through the Italian marketplace excitedly, Antonio searched for the promised tomatoes.

Moving through the crowd with surprising agility despite not really paying any attention to where he was going, who was around him, or what was going on it was not a real surprise when he didn't hear the angry shout of Italian ring its way across the immediate area.

Nor was it a surprise when Antonio didn't notice the small body moving towards him that is, until they both ended up on the ground, ass first, and Antonio's head cracked harshly against the hard ground.

"Ow..." Antonio whined, clutching his head as he sat up, his eyes clenched against the splitting pain. opening his tear filled emeralds after a few seconds he looked for whatever it was he had run into.

Or, perhaps, whoever he had run into would have been better as the Spaniards eyes locked.

Right in front of him sitting on his own ass, dazed and confused as Antonio, sat a young Italian boy who couldn't have been older than fifteen. Letting his eyes trail over the child, Antonio took a moment to just stare.

The boy had dark hair, just a shade or two lighter than Antonio's that had a single, unruly curl to it and fell just about his ears. He also had deep, honey brown eyes that portrayed the overwhelming fear the glare marring his features tried to hide.

As the boy scrambled upright Antonio decided he was just a touch taller than the child who had presently opened his mouth, but, suddenly whipped his head around, searching behind him frantically and fearfully.

Following the chid's gaze, Antonio saw... Nothing, but the Italian turned deep, soulful brown eyes back to Antonio, fresh fear lighting up wide eyes for a moment before his entire body went into motion.

Antonio watched the Italian's body surge up, almost in slow motion, small chest expanding, long spine first straightening then curving in, knees folding and then bracing, and, finally, his feet sent him off into a full on sprint from his tense standstill in front of Antonio, moving past Antonio and away, but...

Somehow, Antonio was faster.

One hand shooting out, long, calloused fingers wrapped around the tattered, filthy cloth of the Italian's shirt.

'Bad idea.' Antonio knew as soon as the fleeing child felt the restraining hand. The knife wound on the back of his palm didn't hurt him nearly as much as the memory of the betrayed, frighted look directed at him from that sweet little boy. Antonio watched him flee.

Antonio heard the approaching vendor before he saw him and, he didn't have to be fluent in Italian for him to understand that the large man behind him was... unhappy with whatever it was that had happened.

"Dannato moccioso." came the Italians voice, a growly thing, mean, and gravely.

Turning, Antonio saw a very large, very greasy, very angry vender spit in the direction the child had gone and then turn to leave but, Antonio stopped the man with a hand on the back of the shirt, feeling a strange sence of deja vu.

"Hey! Wait!" Antonio spoke loudly to be heard above the markets noise, tightening his grip on the man's clothing, as though he thought he would be ignored.

Turning, the man looked at Antonio strangely for a moment before raising an eyebrow at the Spaniard.

"That child, the one that just ran by, were you chasing him? Why? Do you know him? Where is he going? What did he do?" Antonio looked up at the vendor, tilting his head to the side, not unlike a puppy who didn't understand what was being said to him.

"The teenage runt?" the man asked, looking past Antonio in the direction the boy had gone. "Yeah, I know 'im." he continued, not letting Antonio answer. "Whole village knows 'im, he and his brother. Little brat thought he could get away with stealing from me like he does everyone else did he? Well, I'll get 'im next time." he shook his fist at a child he could no longer see. "You hear that, boy?! Next time, you won't be so lucky!"

"Antonio!"

"Toni!"

Turning, Antonio saw Francis and Gilbert making their way through the crowd.

Feeling a light touch on his shoulder, Antonio turned.

"Have a nice day, signore." the man said, bowing his head politely, though his eyes still burned in resentment for the boy, before taking one, two steps back, lifting one hand in a final farewell, the other stuffed into his pocket, and then turned on heel and slipped back into the crowd.

Antonio nodded mutely to the worried questions (Franny) and demands (Gil) coming from his friends, not really hearing the words tumbling out of their mouths, his emerald gaze still locked on where the man had disappeared. Antonio recalled what the man had said.

'So, he's well know throughout the village is he?' Antonio thought, conjuring up the boy in his head and, thinking about the his overall appearance. 'Thin, too much so for his height and age. Dirty, filthy really, dried mud, dust...' Antonio shuddered at the memory of a red tint in his cloths, ignoring Francis's soft voice inquiring if he was chilled.

'Thief, not the first time he's stolen, not the last. For his brother maybe?' The three made their way out of the busy streets and along an old, gravelled path, Francis cooing about the beauty while Gilbert boasted about killing bears or mountain lions or whatever.

'He looked so... scared?... frightened?...' Antonio paused in his musings, racking his brain for an appropriate word. 'Terrified.' Antonio decided. 'Terrified like he thought, if he didn't keep looking back, someone was going to...' the Spaniard didn't even know how to complete the thought, he didn't want to.

'And the way he looked at me...' Antonio felt his gut knot itself up and bile rise in his throat. 'Did he think I was some sort of demon?'

Antonio's attention snapped back to the real world as Gilbert swung the thick oak door of their old-fashioned log cabin open with a loud, obnoxious laugh that the two other members of the trio had become used to over the years and Antonio couldn't help but wonder the what and why and how of that seemingly perfect child.

'Why is he so afraid? Why does he not ask for help? How, if he lives the way I think he does, how does he survive? What...' stepping into the cabins bedroom, Antonio closed the door, pressing his back against the wood and sliding down, propping his elbows on his knees and cradling his head in his hands. 'What am I supposed to do?'

Mon dieu-My god (French)

mein kleinen Bruder-my little brother (German)

arrepentido- sorry (Spanish)

Mon ami-My friend

¿qué?- what? (Spanish)

Dannato moccioso-Goddamn brat (Italian)

signore- sir (Italian)

A/N (Part II) If y'all don't like long A/N's just scroll on down. Okay, so, ch. 1: done! ^.^

I'm not gonna do this too often but, thought y'all might like to know why the hell I'm doin this.

I got the idea from an assignment in my English class, we had to write a short story, 800 words or more, and, because I can't write a short story to save my life, I ended up with a 9,253 word, 29 page short story (and that was after a lot editing and shortening in which I still felt as though it was rushed and incompleted) anyway, so I thought "Why not lengthen it out, split it into chapters, publish it, and see what happened." so, here I am.

Oh, and, if y'all like this and wanna give me a hand, check out my profile. I need help. Titles, ideas, I STILL haven't figured out the website either. send me a PM if y'all got time! ^.^

Anyway, show some love, R&R, whatever, let me know if I'm doin a-ok. I'm not gonna go all "I need such-and-such number of reviews before I'll update" on y'all I just wanna write, y'all are here to read, so it all works out, right? Right.

So, after retyping this 3 times, 3!(STILL haven't gotten the hang of FF) I think I have it the way I want it so... Ja ne (see you)!