Venturing Out

Summary: Romano has to deal with the after effects of getting much closer to a tourist than he should have.

"Veneziano?"

"Romano!" he heard his brother's cheerful voice on the other end of the call. "Germany said you were looking for me! What's up?"

Romano sighed. Did he really want to dredge all this up? Would it be better to just attempt to let it all go? Forgive and forget? Well, that was the problem, wasn't it? He couldn't forget.

"Fratello…" he continued, figuring there was no way around pouring his heart out to his brother now. "I've done something stupid."

…

Though he would from time to time, there was really no need for Romano to venture out into his own country. If there was something wrong, he would know it from the safety of his home. However, there were some that he enjoyed conversing with from time to time. And besides, who wanted to stay couped up inside all day long anyway?

As much as she'd been looking forward to this trip across Europe, Alcina hadn't been particularly excited about visiting Italy. However, her friend Elaine was looking forward to that portion of the trip in particular, and the cost of this trip had been significant, so she figured she should try and enjoy every part of it as possible.

While they were being accompanied by teachers as well, it was the tour guide that was taking roll call. Already having checked in, Alcina was waiting for her friend's name to be called so they could continue their conversation.

"Elaine?"

"Eee!" her best friend shouted in response. "El-ain-ee!" She turned away from the scowling guide. "You'd think by now they'd all have learned how to say my name," she grumbled to her friend. "I've corrected them at least six times already."

This was the only sore spot Alcina knew her friend to have. Usually Elaine was a bright ball of sunshine. At times an extremely annoying bright ball of sunshine… But, still, she could sympathize. As far back as her memory went, this tour guide was the only one who'd been able to pronounce her name correctly without guidance. Back home everyone messed it up. Repeatedly. She shook her head. Americans…

Her best friend lost any and all traces of a sullen attitude when the tour guide announced they they were soon to be docking. Alcina noticed that she wasn't the only one to brighten at his words. Mass amounts of excited chatter broke out around her, and she saw her seasick French teacher look especially relieved to be about to get off this boat.

Personally, Alcina loved being on the ocean. She enjoyed one last breeze that blew back her hair before exiting the boat.

They had arrived at Reggio Calabria… the largest and most populated city in southern Italy.

Once everyone was off and accounted for (again) they were free to either go off and explore on their own or stay with the tour guide. It came as no surprise to Alcina that very few chose to stay behind with the guide and the teachers.

Alcina couldn't say she wasn't really expecting it when, nearly the second they were out of sight of the teachers, Elaine ditched her.

"I'm sorry, really, it's just that I promised Melinda I'd hang out with her, and you know, as much as I like your little fun facts, we left the tour guide for a reason…"

"It's fine," she cut in, letting her friend go. Elaine could go on rambling for quite a long time if you let her, and she really did look guilty. Besides, as much as she loved her best friend, Alcina would admit to being a bit of a loner. There was actually a strict buddy rule with her school, but she wasn't too worried. All the teachers required was that everyone checked in with them every few hours. They tended to spend all day in the area they were visiting.

She quickly noticed something. Though southern Italy was the poorer half, everyone here seemed so laid back… the streets were packed with people. They were chatting as if they had all the time in the world to just hang out.

It was refreshing. Her father loved to take the family up to Boston on the weekends back home. It was a nice change to spend a Saturday without all the hustle and bustle of the city.

It sounded kind of funny when put this way, but Alcina decided that she bumped into the young man because she was trying to take in everything, not because she wasn't looking where she was going.

He turned. There was a scowl on his face. When he saw that it was just a young girl that had run into him he tried to school his features into a less unpleasant tone, but by then she'd already begun apologizing sheepishly.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you!" What if he didn't speak English? she worried. She only knew a single word of Italian, and it would hardly help her here.

Needless to say, she was relieved when he replied in English. English with a heavy Italian accent, but English nonetheless. "There is no need to apologize, but I accept it all the same. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Sorry," she apologized again even though he'd told her not to. "And you?"

"Nnn… Mezzi mezzi, but it has nothing to do with you."

…

Later, he would tell his brother that he wasn't sure if he'd said that to get her attention or not. But either way, for better or worse, it had worked out that way.

…

Alcina nodded, ready to move on, but she felt guilty about it. She wasn't one to normally stand around and chat with strangers, but she had just run into him, and he was being awfully kind about it…

"Really? How come?" Now that she took the time to really look at him, she saw that he was particularly handsome. Definitely someone Elaine would have picked out of a crowd of strangers. She had no doubt that he was at least a couple years older than she, (at least nineteen or twenty to her sixteen) but his face has a certain youthfulness to it. At the same time, his eyes held a wiseness behind the laid-back look he was giving her.

"I just have my days."

"That I can understand. I'm known to have my days too." Never had she been more honest. She held out her hand, figuring it had gone on long enough so that he at least deserved to be rewarded with her name. "I'm Alcina."

He ignored her hand and decided to give her an authentic Italian greeting instead, leaning down to place a kiss on both of her now glowing cheeks.

…

It had been natural at the time, but now he questioned this behavior. Was that when it had started? Should he have just taken her hand?

…

"I am pleased to meet you. My name is Romano."

She just nodded, not about to get up on her tiptoes and attempt to return his form of greeting. "Very Italian…" she commented, not really thinking clearly.

It was his turn to nod. "Yes, I am a full-blooded Italian." Well, this was hardly a lie. "And your name is Greek. It means strong-willed." He realized now that he probably shouldn't be uncovering so much of his knowledge. "I'm a bit of a history person," he added on as an excuse.

"Yes, it does, and I do happen to be very Greek… I'm a bit of a history junkie myself. Did you know this town was originally a Greek settlement?"

Romano smiled. "I did."

…

It was at this point in the story that his brother broke in. "She seems very nice."

"Yes," Romano said stiffly, wondering if his brother was understanding the point to this tale. "Though she could be quite true to her name when she wanted to be."

…

Alcina wasn't completely sure how it happened, but they began to walk together, going nowhere in particular and talking about nothing of much importance.

Romano revealed that he had lived in Italy his whole life, but he made sure to steer the conversation more towards her.

She told him about the school trip that she and her friend had saved up for for the past year and a half. How they had been so excited, though this trip didn't cover all of her preferred travel spots, but satisfied all of her friend's dreams.

"Really? Where would you like to go?"

"I've always wanted to visit England and Canada," she responded truthfully. She went on to explain how neither of these places had appealed to Elaine.

England? She'd wrinkled her nose in disgust. But it's always so… wet there.

Canada? This had made her laugh. Unless you go for Carnival, there's nothing up there worth seeing! What would I paint, a moose? Besides, it's way too cold!

"Your friend paints?"

"Yeah. She's my best friend, but we're pretty different." Really different, actually. Especially when it came to how they chose to spend their free time. Elaine would paint and she… well…

"What do you do in your free time?"

Alcina looked up, surprised. It was almost as if he had read her mind. "I study," she answered truthfully. No wonder everyone always found Elaine the more interesting of the two. Boys interested Elaine, and Elaine was definitely an interest to boys in return. "I plan to major in history," she added.

"You seem to be well on your way," Romano answered approvingly. Maybe she was a bit of a stick in the mud, but he could hardly complain about her subject of preferrence. "What do you plan to do with your knowledge?"

Alcina groaned. This was her dad's favorite question, although, Romano's voice wasn't nearly as mocking. "I'm not sure… I'd be content just being a historian, digging up facts for the rest of my lifetime, maybe do some traveling… but, as my dad always brings up, that will hardly bring in the cash… I don't know. Maybe I'll take up the restaurant business like my parents as a side job. Isn't that so cliché?" she added, wrinkling her nose. "The Greek immigrant sets up a restaurant… Well, at least they're good at what they do."

She didn't add in her entire story: The Greek immigrant sets up a restaurant, has a daughter, and expect her running the restaurant in the future to be the extent of her dreams.

"They do their culture justice though, yes?"

"Yeah," she answered, hoping he hadn't just missed the disgust in her 'cliché' comment. "I guess. But, personally, I've had enough pizza and pasta and fish for the rest of my life."

His eyebrows shot up. "You don't like pasta?"

"I like pasta just fine," she answered, beginning to get a little irritated. "I've just eaten so much of it over the years that it's all begun to taste the same."

He grinned, suddenly having a tint of arrogance to his features. "Not the way I make it."

"I doubt that," she snorted, no longer caring if she offended him or not. She'd been polite long enough; if he didn't want to deal with her, he could get lost.

"I'll take that challenge."

"Will you?" she asked skeptically, rolling her eyes for good measure.

"Yes. Follow me."

Alcina described how her trip had gone so far in detail on the way to Romano's home. She explained how they'd already toured Portugal and Spain. How they were going to Greece next, and how, despite all her groanings regarding her upbringing, she was looking forward to that portion of the trip most. Next they would loop around back up to northern Italy, spend their last four days in France, and then fly back home to Connecticut. They would spend two days in each half of Italy, four days everywhere else, and be back in the US in time for the first of August. Enough time to give everyone on the trip time to hurriedly finish/do the summer homework they'd been slacking on so far.

It wasn't until they were at his doorway that Alcina realized that she had just followed an older man to his home. To his extremely lavish home… something she realized upon a second glance.

"Wow…"

He ignored this and went into the kitchen. Alcina sat at his table and took a couple extra looks around as he began the preparations for the pasta. She tried to quell her nerves. How dangerous could be, really?

Extremely so, the answer came immediately. Who knew what was beneath his gentlemanly exterior? He had basically lured her home, hadn't her? She subconsciously fingered the cell phone in her pocket.

"Is everything all right?" Romano asked.

"What? Oh, yeah." She was surprised to see that he had already finished. The pasta was steaming, heaped with tomato sauce and melted cheese on top. She realized that she hadn't eaten lunch yet, and that the meal still looked delicious no matter how much pasta she'd eaten in her lifetime. She took a bite off the top. It. Was. Heavenly.

"Well?" Romano already had a triumphant look on his face. She considered telling him she hated it just because of that, but Alcina dreamed to be a historian, not an actress for a reason.

"I admit defeat," she told him humbly. (A/N, How many times has Italy ever hear that? XD) "You are quite the amazing cook."

He smirked as she took another bite… and spit it out. "You jackass!" She flicked the olive and the grape half that had previously been in her mouth at him. He'd added the two in even though she'd mentioned how much she hated both despite being Greek.

His smirk widened. "I did promise you a pasta experience like you'd never tasted before," he sniggered, taking the olive and popping it into his mouth, having no worry of germs apparently. "And besides," he added as an afterthought. "I was under the impression that girls are quite fond of jackasses. At least, your half of our species sure has a habit of falling for them."

"Is that going to be your excuse the next time someone asks you why you're acting like one?" she asked with a laugh.

"It just may be," he replied, returning her smile. "What's yours?"

This made her laugh harder. "I'm a girl. I don't need one. Any jackass tendencies I have can be blamed on PMS." Oh. My. God. Had she really just said that?

But if Romano found anything strange or embarrassing in her words, he didn't show it. "So let me get this straight. In terms of being a jackass, your excuse is that you're a girl, and my excuse is that I'm a boy?"

"Doesn't that just sum up humankind."

They were silent for a moment, just smiling at each other's company before Romano spoke up. "You know, you don't act nearly chilled out enough to be Greek."

Alcina shrugged. "My mother's have English, half French. I figure the contradictory origins enable me to act with whatever personality I want."

Working with her better thought, (working against her hormones) Alcina didn't stay much longer, claiming that the teachers required a face-to-face check-in, and that it would be strange to show up with some stranger she'd just met. And she really needed to find Elaine so they could coordinate this check-in together… She reminded herself to refrain from giving excessive excuses in the future.

When she left, Romano sat back and took a deep breath. What the hell was he doing? There was a reason countries didn't get as close to regular, mortal human beings like he was doing. Sure, Spain and the Italy brothers had been known to openly chat in the marketplaces with such people, but he had just gone much farther than anyone else ever had. And what scared him was how effortless it had been.

Alcina considered keeping her exotic day from Elaine, but she knew in her heart that there was no use. Elaine could see it on her face the second they met back up. At least she had the decency to hold off on her interrogation until they were safely in the hotel room they were sharing. And once the subject came up, she demanded to know every little detail.

"And who was it that didn't want to go to Italy?" she crowed after she'd sucked every possible bit of information out of her friend.

The next day would be special. The teachers promised that. It was not only their last day in Italy, but for the first time in field trip history, their curfew would be bent, just a little. The reason for this was the festival they were holding out under the moonlight that night. The students would be allowed to stay out to enjoy the festivities.

She wasn't about to say that the thought of meeting Romano there hadn't crossed her mind, but she was surprised when she met up with him so early in the morning.

"What are you, stalking me?" she asked. Her tone was slightly standoffish out of habit, but he seemed to think it was playful enough. Thank god. She hadn't realized until that moment how much she really didn't want him to go away.

"Me? I live here, I'll remind you. There's a higher chance that you're the one stalking me."

"Let's say I am… what would you do about it?" Alcina was surprised at her own words. If this counted, it was the closest to flirting she'd ever come. She refused to get this close to guys from her hometown. At least with them she knew them. How was it that she'd allowed herself to act so freely around this boy (who, she realized with a start, was really more of a man) who she didn't know at all?

The next smile that crossed his face had a seductive air about it, there was no other word for it. A thrill went through her as he drew closer until they were almost touching. Then they were touching. He'd gently taken each of her elbows in his hands. They were almost chest to chest. She was looking up at him. He was blocking out the sun, there was really nothing else for her to look at, he'd made sure of that.

"What would you want me to do about it?" he asked in a low voice. Maybe Alcina was enhancing things a little in her mind, but she could've sworn his voice resembled a purr. And for the first time she understood what it menat when someone's eyes were smoldering.

"I'd want you to invite me to the festival tonight as your guest." She wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed to get the words out. She was even more surprised when they turned out to be coherent.

"It's a date," he promised, releasing her at last, and walking down the street, never once looking back, knowing it would only make her want him more, knowing that, without a doubt, he shouldn't be doing it.

Alcina watched him go until she couldn't pick him out from anyone else in the crowd. It was all she could do to avoid sinking to her knees in the middle of the street.

When she told Elaine, her best friend was ecstatic. This part was okay. Alcina was glad her friend was happy for her. She wasn't so happy when her friend insisted she let her dress her up for the occasion.

"Oh, come on," she pleaded. "How many other times will you get the chance to flaunt yoruself shamelessly for an extremely hot Italian? I won't add any makeup," she wheedled.

It wasn't until Elaine promised not to make her hair too unrecognizable that Alcina finally caved.

When Elaine was done, Alcina could truthfully say that she hardly recognized herself, and not in a bad way. Of course, she'd had to borrow every article of clothing she was currently wearing as she had packed for comfort.

Alcina left the hotel last… and saw Romano already outside, waiting for her.

"You look beautiful."

Alcina blushed. Surprisingly enough (well, surprising to her anyway) this wasn't the first time she'd been told she was beautiful by a boy. But this was the first time that she believed him without a doubt.

"Thank you. You look nice too." Actually, Romano was dressed comfortably. Still in a dress shirt, but with the first couple of buttons undone. Of course, it was hardly like Romano needed to be in a suit and tie to be undeniably handsome.

Their walk there was quite like many of their others had been. In which they talked of meaningless things. Alcina brought up how ridiculous it was that the tour guides took attendance after they got on the boat and right before they got off it. Like nobody would notice if someone had fallen overboard or something.

Then she worried that she sounded utterly childish. However, if he thought so, Romano didn't bring it up. They began to speak of more personal things. Including that she'd never had a boyfriend before. She had been kissed before, but she assured him it was nothing spectacular. She'd never been kissed by an Italian, though she didn't say this out loud. They'd begun to speak of Romano's brother when they arrived at the festival.

The town center was all decked out for the occasion. Music was already blasting and people were dancing, enjoying themselves in the moonlight.

"Would you like to dance?" Romano asked, holding out a hand.

"You have to ask?" she responded with a smile, taking his outstretched hand immediately.

The music was predictably Italian. Nothing she recognized, yet beautiful all the same. At first their dancing was modest-dancing fit for strangers.

But as the music got slower, they began to get closer… and soon, his lips were on hers. The first kiss was gentle, light, barely there. The next was longer… deeper.

When they pulled away, Romano bent down and whispered something in her ear. Alcina wasn't entirely sure what he'd said, but she nodded all the same. She wasn't really aware of anything. She'd just proven that it was possible to get drunk without touching a drop of alcohol.

He led her after him. She ended up following him to a beach where the moon was brightest. Neither said a word. Neither needed to. It was like they were both intoxicated by a different music. One that belonged solely to them instead of having to share it with all the people out in the square.

Alcina was aware of the kisses continuing, of each one being more wonderful than the last. She was aware of Romano's hands traveling up and down her body, of her not caring. Her own hands were exploring the muscles in his back and stomach.

It all had a dream-like quality. Alcina only woke up when she was aware of every single button on her blouse already undone. She pushed away from him, panting.

Romano didn't question this. Secretly, he was relieved that she'd had the willpower to do so because he was fairly certain he didn't.

The two lay side by side on the sand listenign to the ocean. While she hadn't redone her buttons, she had brought the two pieces of fabric up to cover her exposed breasts and stomach.

"I'm sorry," she said at last when their breathing had quieted. "But I am still Greek."

Slowly, she sat up, leaned over and gave him one last, gentle kiss. As she did so she noticed that all of the buttons on his shirt were undone as well. Had she done that? Had she been sending signals that she wanted to go farther?

No… it had to stop somewhere. After all, she was leaving tomorrow. Perhaps never to see Romano again.

She stood and walked away across the beach, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn't say goodbye. She wouldn't be able to bear it.

He watched her go, not rising from the sand for a long time. He knew it was for the best… but he wished otherwise with every fiber of his being.

Review please!

This was sort of random on my part. Of all the characters to write about, I would get attached to Romano…

My friend Payton isn't on this site, but she also writes stories. She's mentioned that she's noticed she only really ever writes tragic romance stories. This is the first tragic romance I've ever written. Apparently, it's catching… I'll have to thank her because, surprisingly enough, I'm fairly pleased with how this turned out.

I don't own Hetalia!