Italy was so beautiful in the spring. Everything seemed lively and warm. People were passing through the market merrily and spirits were high. Everyone just seemed happier, and much more generous. No one could frown on such a beautiful Italian day! There was truly nothing like a walk through the crowded streets of Venice. Vendors were everywhere, offering all sorts of delicacies and Trinkets. Such a fascinating country.

Antonio Carriedo wandered along with the breeze, pausing briefly at times to inspect a booth or smile and wink at a pretty woman. The city was absolutely crawling with the latter. Everywhere he turned; there was another beautiful specimen to gawk at. God, he loved Italy.

Antonio whistled absent-mindedly as he went. His tune dropped when he heard a light tapping of what sounded like a tambourine. Antonio turned his head, in search of the source of the increasingly rapid beats. Antonio's heart raced when his eyes fell on what had to be the most beautiful woman in all of Venice; in all of Italy.

Antonio stepped closer, never breaking his gaze away from the dancing woman before him. She was attracting quite a crowd, which Antonio did not find surprising at all. Her scarlet skirt swooshed along with her hips, loosely flying around as the girl spun. A small, teal bodice hugged her waist, adorned with all sorts of belts and sashes, each equally as colorful and mesmerizing. Her shirt gently hung off her shoulders with long puffy sleeves that flapped along with the dance.

While her body was quite breath-taking, Antonio was really reeled in by her eyes. They were the most fascinating shade of brown, closer to gold or honey. And they were so bright. Antonio could even make out a few tiny specks of green. The woman paused before scanning the crowd with a mischievous smile that made the Spanish man's heart flutter.

She chuckled before letting out an enthusiastic "Hey!" and started moving again. The young woman swayed and beat her tambourine all while humming an infectious tune. She turned once again, hitting the tambourine with her hip, rapidly turning her head to keep contact with the crowd. Watchers began to clap in amusement as she continued. 'Oohs' and 'awes' could be heard as she perfectly executed a cartwheel before smoothly sliding down into a split.

Her tanned chest moved up and down rapidly as the crowd applauded. For a moment, Antonio had the honor of catching her eye. The girl wordlessly smiled and winked at him before standing back up and throwing a hat down. Quite a few people immediately threw in some coins, pleased with her performance.

Antonio waited for the crowd to dissipate before stepping forward while she scooped up her earnings. She quickly counted the coins and scowled, displeased with the amount. "Greedy cowards" she growled under her breath. Antonio cleared his throat, but soon realized he had forgotten how to speak when her piercing gaze met his. The woman cocked an eyebrow, obviously waiting for some kind of response from Antonio.

" That was amazing" he finally blurted. The girl smirked a bit and chuckled. "You really think so?" she asked. Antonio just nodded. The girl laughed and extended out the hat. "Prove it."

Antonio smiled and dug into his pockets, dropping a few coins into the hat. "Grazie" the girl replied with a bow. Antonio watched her turn away, disappointed in himself for looking like such a fool in front of such a beautiful woman. But he soon felt his heart leap for joy when she turned back around and grinned.

"I've never seen you here before. Are you new?" she asked sweetly. Antonio nodded and stepped closer. "Si, I am Antonio" he answered as confidently as possible. The girl smirked and closed the gap between them, letting her chest brush against his.

"Antonio, huh? I think I like you Antonio. I'd be very happy if you came to see me again. Will you do that for me Signore?" she cooed, playing with the trim of his vest. Antonio gulped and nodded. That flipped 'r' and rich, heavily accented voice nearly brought him to his knees.

"Wh-What's your name?" he asked weakly. The girl slowly drew back and smirked. "Ask around, you'll find out soon enough" she called before turning. "Adios Antonio" she said as a sweet farewell. Antonio again just nodded and watched her go. Only then did he hear amused snorts coming from behind him. Antonio turned and saw a group of older men shaking their heads. Antonio gave them a puzzled look until one finally spoke.

"Check your pockets, buddy."

(-)

Lovina flipped through the newly acquired wallet as she travelled down the narrow alleyways. She smirked and chuckled to herself. "Gullible bastard" she scoffed under her breath. Man, Antonio was loaded. With this money, she could feed everyone for almost a week!

Lovina kissed the wallet and raised it to the sky. "Grazie Antonio!" she cheered as she picked up the pace. Lovina scanned the narrow roads, making sure she wasn't being followed, before slipping through the flimsy wooden paneling of an abandoned building.

Lovina was instantly greeted with a bone crushing hug from her brother. "Sorella, how did it go?" Feliciano asked cheerily. Lovina pried him off of her before proudly displaying her new prize. "Got it off some Spanish bastard" she beamed. Feliciano frowned and shook his head.

"You know that isn't right sorella" he scolded. Lovina shrugged and walked past him. "We gotta eat" she replied dismissively. Lovina looked around before cupping her hands around her mouth.

"Alright, ya little bastards; role call!" she hollered. A stampede of rushed footsteps came from all corners of the building. Soon, a line of younger children stood in front of her.

"Feliks, Tori, Raivis" she called authoritatively. She nodded when she heard a unanimous "Here" from all three of the boys. She frowned, however, when she heard Raivis let out a shaky cough.

"Raivy, what's wrong?" she asked quickly. "Have you been eating enough?" The nervous boy looked at the ground shamefully. Lovina sighed and kneeled before him. "You get seconds tonight. No if, ands, or buts, understood?" the boy nodded and smiled a little. Lovina rolled her eyes and stood. Little boys were supposed to be begging to stuff their faces, not nearly starving themselves. The other two she had called gave Raivis a sympathetic glance.

"Lili, Mattie, Alfred" she continued. She almost didn't hear the first two after them being drowned out by the latter's booming "Here". Lovina rolled her eyes and shot Alfred a warning glare. He either didn't see it or didn't care, considering he continued to laugh like an idiot. Matthew tried and failed to silence his brother.

"Peter, Honda, and Heracles" she finished. The last three made their presence known to her quickly. Lovina smirked and turned to her brother. "Feli, start the fire, it's time for dinner."

Feliciano nodded and headed for their makeshift kitchen. "Anybody get anything good?" she asked the rest. They all stepped in and tossed half of what they earned into her hat. Lovina smiled quickly counted through. These kids were truly amazing.

"Wonderful! We should all be able to get by with this for awhile" she praised. The younger kids smiled and said thank yous before heading into the kitchen to help Feliciano. Lovina was really proud of them. They always worked hard and all agreed to pool in half of whatever they made without any problems. Her little band of orphan misfits had been growing, but they still managed provide for one another.

Lovina walked up the stairs to her own private room to sit at the balcony. She had the most amazing view of the sea from her little perch. The sun was just starting to set and Lovina could already start to make out some stars littering the darkening sky. She let out a heavy sigh and laid back.

Lovina idly traced circled on the stone ground beneath her. She was getting tired of living day to day. Dancing in the streets to be ogled at by perverts wasn't her definition of living life to the fullest. Lovina's chocolate brown curls spread around her head and waved ever so gently with the breeze.

Lovina's thoughts drifted to the man she had met earlier. What was his name…Antonio! He had really nice eyes. They were so green and she could tell they were smiling when she had looked into them earlier that day.

Lovina reached between her many sashes and pulled out his wallet. It was nothing special; a piece of black leather stitched in such a fashion to hold money. Maybe she could sell it and make even more.

Lovina stared out at the sun. Antonio. Was it bad that she wasn't lying when she said she wanted him to watch her again?

Lovina scowled and tossed the wallet aside. Yes, yes it was. The only thing he was good for was money, just like all the other fat-cat rich boys who used their free time to undress her with their eyes.

And that's all that really mattered; money. Money meant food, food meant somewhat healthy kids, and that meant Lovina didn't have to worry as much. She only had three rules for her followers; no one sells their body, everyone works together, and no one gets turned away or left behind. They were pretty easy to follow. Everyone enjoyed each other's company and got along just fine.

"Sorella! Dinner!"

Lovina sat up and sighed before bounding back down the stairs to fill her empty stomach.

So there we have it! Street-smart Lovina and Naïve Antonio. Review/follow/favorite!

Characters thus far:

Antonio- Spain

Lovina- fem!Romano

Feliciano- Italy

Raivis- Latvia

Tori- fem!Lithuania

Feliks- Poland

Lili- Lichtenstein

Matthew- Canada

Alfred- America

Honda- Japan

Heracles- Greece

Peter- Sealand