[ A/N: So, I decided I needed to do a songfic! This one is going to be Itacest, inspired by the song "Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I just thought that the song, kind of, fit.
Note: I do /not/ call Veneziano/Feliciano "Italy". He's not the representation of all of Italy. So, he doesn't need to be called that. I'm not hating on Feli, I just happen to roleplay both Romano and Veneziano, so, yeah.
Enough of the Author's Note, I'll hurry up and get to the story now.. Enjoy! ]
Every single time..
Every time I see that smile..
I can feel the tears in my eyes..
You're just so pretty when you're happy, you know..?
Not that you aren't always..
But.. when you're smiling..
I can tell you mean it.
I can tell when your smile is real.
And.. your real smile.. it's beautiful, fratello.
It was rare, for one to be privileged enough to see that smile. Though, one could tell that he really did mean it when he allowed someone to see it. Even if it was just a small smile, it had that emotion behind it. Even if he wouldn't admit it, it meant he was truly happy.
The first time the younger of the two Italies had seen his big brother smile like that, they'd been no older than a few years (humanly speaking, not country-wise). And no matter how many years passed, he'd always remember that moment. It was forever in his memories. It gave him hope in the darkest of times.
It was a perfectly clear summer day, a year that they'd had the privlidge of spending on their own land. At the time, Italy was a completely different place than what we know now. There were no big cities, only small villages here and there. It was, to put it simply, beautiful. This was before Austria and Spain had power over the two halves of Italy, before Grandpa Rome took Veneziano away. Back when Veneziano and Romano were merely ideas. Back when things were peaceful.
The two brothers were completely different back then as well. Veneziano didn't have to hide everything under a smile, nor Romano under a frown. They weren't countries, nor kingdoms. Only, ideas. Ideas, that, one day, would become reality. But for now, all they were, were two little boys, dressed in white robes, without a care in the world.
Sure, there was conflict between the North and South, but, back then, the two were not connected to their land as well as they are now. The two were born simply from two ideas, that manifested themselves in the form of two brothers-orphans, though. Their parents had died. At least, that's what they thought. But that didn't stop them from being happy, from being free. It was a time they they could be together without having to worry about a thing.
Both, though young, knew it wouldn't last forever. Peace never lasted forever, no matter how hard one might try to preserve it; all good things must eventually come to an end. However, for now, that didn't matter. All that mattered was them, being together.
This day though, was particularly special. The day Veneziano, the North, fell completely in love with his brother. Though sin it may have been, the young idea didn't care. From the instant he saw that smile upon the older idea's lips, he knew that, though it was wrong, it was, at the same time, so right. It was an innocent love; hand holding, giggling, the occasional kiss on the cheek. Veneziano promised, upon all those moments, that he would protect his brother, forever, even longer than that if he had to. His heart belonged only to Romano.