Bistro

by humanity'sfangirliest

You and your best friend travel to Italy and eat at a small bistro.

You sighed as a cool breeze ruffled your hair. 'Today just feels lucky...' You shifted in your seat and redirected your attention to your best friend. She was talking about how cool the buildings were that the two of you toured earlier.

"...and the archways were amazing! I can't believe how rich in culture Italy is!"

"Yeah..."

For some reason you were feeling distracted, as if something big was about to happen, but what? Your friend noticed.

"(name), what's wrong? You've been unusually quiet since we sat down."

You glanced over at her worried face and smiled.

"I'm fine (B.F's name). I just can't shake this feeling that something exciting is about to happen. I don't know, does that sound weird?"

She shook her head.

"Not at all! I get distracted easily too!"

'That's not what I meant! Oh well...'

Just then a bubbly waiter came up to your table.

"Ciao Ladies! My name is Feliciano and I will be your waiter. What can I get for you on this fine day?!"

You immediately liked his personality and grinned up at the cute Italian.

"I'll have the pizza, and whatever type is fine with me."

He scribbled this down. "Any type? You're brave bella."

You blushed at the compliment.

"And I'll have the chicken alfredo pasta please."

Feliciano's eyes lit up. "Pasta? My favorite! And what drinks would you two ladies like?"

We answered simultaneously, "(fav. Drink) please."

Feliciano giggled. "You two are really in sync! Just like mi fratello and I! I'll have those (fav drink)s out in a minute!"

He almost skipped away to the door of the outdoors bistro we had decided to eat lunch at.

"Well he had a lot of energy!"

You nodded in agreement and let your eyes wander around the bistro grounds. 'It's a nice place.' You thought as you took in the cast-iron chairs and tables and the quaint brickwork walls of the building. Your eyes noticed movement and darted over to the window where the specials of the day were written on a chalkboard. A guy about your age was writing down the new specials on the board. He was wearing the same waiter outfit as Feliciano, but he also had a red apron-skirt on. 'Maybe he's the cook...'

At further investigation, you realized that this guy and Feliciano looked almost exactly alike. 'That must be the brother Feliciano was talking about. I had no idea they were twins...' The guy must have sensed you looking at him because he glanced over from his work and made eye contact with you. You quickly looked down so as to not look like you were staring.

You felt a nudge under the table and looked sharply up at your friend whose grin could compete with a Cheshire cat's.

"WHAT?!"

She wiggled her eyebrows a little, that stupid grin never leaving her face. "Do you see something, appetizing?" She drew out the last word and ended it with a little tongue roll for good measure.

You felt your cheeks light on fire and you quickly looked down at the placemat on the table.

"Shut up."

"Oh, but I'm right aren't I?" She cooed at you.

You smiled to yourself. (B.F's name) had been trying to get you a guy friend since high school, so whenever you expressed any interest, she would be the first to jump on it.

"So what if you are?"

"Ha! I knew it! You should talk to him."

You snorted. "As if! And get rejected again?! No thank you!"

She frowned at me and was about to reply when Feliciano returned.

"Here are the drinks! And the pasta is being made! But, ah, miss?"

You looked up at the concerned face of Feliciano.

"Yes Feliciano?"

"The cook wants to know what kind of pizza you want."

You sigh dramatically. "If he must know, I want his favorite kind of pizza."

Feliciano looked surprised. "Are you sure? He has funny tastes..."

"Tell him that I want what he would normally get and anything he wants to add to it."

"Okay bella, whatever he wants."

You smirked as you watched Feliciano's retreating back, thinking about the face of the cook when he got your answer.

"Are you crazy (name)? What if it's something really weird? You would have wasted you money!"

"I trust the cook to make a good pizza, that's all there is to it."

She sighed. "What am I going to do with you? You're so unpredictable sometimes."

You grinned. "Yeah, that's why you love me~!"

She smiled. "True. That's why we're best friends."

Suddenly a loud crash came from the bistro's kitchen and loud giggling that was obviously Feliciano followed by an angry deeper voice. Feliciano ran out of the door and scampered over to your table.

"What was that crash?"

"That was the cook! When I told him what you said, he dropped the pan he was holding and got tomato sauce everywhere!"

"Oh gosh! Tell him I'm sorry that I caused him so much trouble!"

"Si bella, I will!"

He ran back to the bistro to relay your apologies.

You and (B.F's name) looked at each other and burst out laughing. Before you could stop, you got caught up in the joy of laughing and found it hard not to find anything funny. Tears were streaming down both of your faces as you both tried to stop the hilarity, but to no avail. Many of the surrounding tables were looking over at you and (B.F.'s name) , but you didn't care. After a good five minutes you both managed to calm down enough, and thank goodness, because your sides were splitting and your abs were sore.

You looked away from your friend, so she wouldn't start you up again and met the gaze of the man from earlier. He quickly pulled the curtain across the window he was watching from, but you saw him. You blushed furiously. 'Was he watching us the whole time?'

~Le Awesome Time Skip~

Feliciano walked up and set down a steaming plate of chicken alfredo pasta in front of (B.F.'s name).

"There you are bella! Your chicken alfredo pasta! And miss, the cook himself will bring out your pizza."

He winked before waltzing back to the bistro.

'THE COOK?!'

Your panic must have been evident, because (B.F.'s name) almost choked on some noodles.

"Goodness (name)! I've never seen you so scared before!" She started to giggle.

"Stop that! I can't have you starting us up again!"

"Sorry."

She continued to eat as you sat twiddling your thumbs, watching the cars drive past.

You froze at the sound of the bistro door opening. 'Oh crap!'

(B.F.'s name) looked up and almost choked again. 'That's a bad sign! I don't want to turn around...'

You sensed him standing there behind you.

He cleared his throat, and you turned around. It was the guy from earlier! He was holding your pizza above his shoulder and was looking down at you. He had hazel eyes and dark auburn hair; 'goodness he was gorgeous!'

"Are you the one who ordered my favorite food?" His voice was deeper than Feliciano's, but you liked it. Suddenly you felt shaky in the stomach and a little light-headed.

"Y-yeah."

He smirked. "Then I hope you like it! You already know I do!"

He set the pizza down and you gasped at the wonderful smell coming from it. The pizza had extra cheese and was topped with pepperoni, green peppers, olives, tomato slices, and some Italian spices; it looked mouthwatering.

"This looks amazing! I can't wait to try it!"

He looked pleased. "Well then go ahead and take a bite."

'Is he going to watch me? I guess that makes sense...'

You picked up a slice and took a large bite, making sure to get everything, and whimpered from the explosion in your mouth. The taste was far better than could have been expected.

You talked with your mouth full. "This is fantastic! The flavor is perfect! This is my new favorite!"

He blushed. "Th-thank you ragazza. I'm happy you like it."

You devoured two whole slices in record time before you realized that he had spoken again.

"By the way, what is your name? Or should I just call you 'the cook'?"

He glared at you for a second. "My name's Romano. What is yours? Or should I just call you 'ragazza'?"

"Touché. My name is (name). It's a pleasure meeting you."

He smirked again. "I'm-a glad you liked it."

And with that he left; Feliciano gave you another wink and followed his brother. You turned your attention to the masterpiece in front of you. You had just downed the last bit of crust when (B.F's name) finished her pasta.

"I will never know how you were able to down that entire pizza by yourself before I finished my single serving of pasta..."

You snickered. "You just eat slow!"

She pouted a little. "I do not!"

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too~!"

"DO NOT!"

A few people glared at us and you just laughed. You talked for a while with (B.F's name) before standing and grabbing your purse. You both headed back to the hotel, and you got an idea.

"Hey (B.F's name), what are you going to do now?"

"I'm just going to sunbath, do you want to join me?"

"Nah, I think I'll walk around a bit."

"Be careful."

"Always!"

You waited until she had walked down to the pool area, before rushing out of the front of the hotel and back to the bistro. You were halfway there when you saw a familiar figure.

"Feliciano?! What are you doing?"

"Ciao Bella! I was trying to-ah! I was going for a little walk-a on my break."

"Okay, well I'm heading back to the bistro, I want to make reservations for dinner!"

"Well my break is almost over! We can-a walk back together!"

"Okay!"

You joined the Italian and you both had a casual chat as you made your way back to the bistro. When you got there, you walked inside with Feli; the room was dark and your eyes had to adjust before you could see clearly. There was a counter, and beyond that was the kitchen; you could see Lovino tossing a pizza in the background.

"Fratello! Miss (name) has come back! She wants a reservation for-a dinner!"

"Wha-?! Feliciano?! Don't-a sneak up on me like that! And you know we don't do reservations!"

'They don't do reservations? Well darn!'

Lovino turned around to see your fallen expression. He moved to stand across from you behind the counter and scrambled around for a pad and pencil.

"Feliciano! Do you have a pen?!"

Feli stuck his head in the door and threw a pen at his brother; you had to duck to avoid the flying projectile and Lovino caught it expertly.

"So ragazza, when do you want to reserve a table?"

"Bu-but I thought..."

"I'm going to make an exception."

"Okay. Uh, I think I'll reserve 8 o'clock."

"Alright." He scribbled down the time and your name. "Be sure to be here on time."

"I wouldn't miss it!"

You both smiled at each other, and Feli burst in breaking the atmosphere.

"Fratello! It's the late lunch rush! I need your help out there!"

"Oh crap! Please excuse us ragazza! I'll see you tonight at-a eight?"

"Yeah, definitely!"

He grinned again as Feli grabbed his wrist and yanked him out the door. You giggled at the brothers' antics. 'Did I just reserve myself a date?'

You left the bistro and headed back to the hotel to chill with (B.F's name). She smirked when she saw you, and you got the feeling that she knew.

"Sooo (name). Where have you been?"

"Uh, nowhere..."

"Liar."

You stuck your tongue out at her and lay down in the sun with your mp3 and sunglasses.

"Come on! I know you went back to the bistro!"

"I'm not listening to you~!" You replied as you put the headphones in your ears and started listening to 'Sara Perche Te Amo'.

She lay back down and decided to drop it because she knew better than anyone, not to interrupt you when you were listening to music.

Around six thirty you both headed back up to the room, as soon as she closed the door and locked it, she attacked.

"Okay (name). You tell me what you went and did earlier!"

You put your hands in front of you in surrender. "Calm down! If you really must know I reserved us another table for dinner at the Vargas brothers at eight tonight."

"Ha! I knew it! You can't stay away from him can you?"

You blushed. "Whatever."

"Well, I'll eat at the hotel lounge then."

"Uh, did you hear me? I said that I reserved us a table, as in you and me."

"I don't feel like going there again, so why don't you go by yourself?"

"I thought you liked the food?"

"(name)! I loved the food, but I think it would be best if I just stayed at the hotel."

"Okay weirdo."

You showered and got dressed before heading out the door at seven thirty.

"Have fun!"

"Kay!"

You took your time walking to bistro. 'No reason for me to be there early... right?'

As you rounded the corner you gasped; there were lanterns lighting the tables surrounding the bistro, and soft Italian music was playing as ambiance. 'Were those lanterns there before?'

Feliciano was standing a little bit away from the seating area; he was dressed the same as before, and was smiling at you.

"Ciao! You are right on time! Follow me to your-a table." He walked away as you followed him to a secluded table with a notecard labeled 'reserved' on top. You sat down and looked up at Feliciano expectantly.

"Is your pretty lady friend going to be-a joining you?"

"No, she wanted to stay at the hotel. It's just me tonight."

"Awww! That's-a too bad! But I'm very glad you came Bella! What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have some tea, thanks."

"Right away Bella!" He ran to the bistro doors to get your drink. You took the chance to admire the warmly glowing lanterns that cast the surrounding area in a flickering yellow light, giving off a cozy and comfortable feel. You sighed and settled back into your chair and looked around to the other tables. There was a pretty good-sized crowd eating there tonight.

"Here you are~!"

You squeaked in surprised at Feli's sudden appearance.

"Sorry, I didn't-a mean to frighten you (name)! Did you decide on what you wanted to order?"

You took a quick sip of the tea before smiling up at Feli. "Tell Lovino, that I'll have whatever he thinks would be best."

Feli grinned and ran off to relay your order.

~Le Second Awesome Time Skip~

You laughed as you checked out what one of your friends said on Facebook about a goofy picture you and (B.F's name) took earlier that week. It had been about fifteen minutes since you ordered, and you eventually gave into the temptation of your cell phone. You sensed something different and looked up to see that Lovino had managed to sneak up on you, and was carrying a bowl filled with something steaming.

"Lovino! You scared me!"

"Sorry ragazza, are you ready to see what I-a cooked up for you?"

"Yeah! Hit me with your best shot!"

He carefully set down a mouthwatering bowl of pasta; it had tomatoes, sprigs of basil, and countless other spices in it, and was topped with a sauce that was filled with delicious hunks of hamburger meat.

"Oooooh! This looks fantastic! And there's so much! I don't think I'll be able to eat it all by myself."

Lovino looked confused. "What? Isn't your friend-a coming?"

"No, I told Feli that she wasn't coming."

"Dang that stupid fratello of mine! He didn't tell me that, so I cooked enough for two people! I'm sorry Bella."

"It's no problem, but I'm just a bit upset that all of this wonderful food would go to waste."

"I know, I feel bad that half of it will be-a thrown out."

"Lovino, would you like to join me?"

"Wha-?"

"Well you know, I need another person to help me eat all of this and you like this dish..."

"I'd-a love to join you!"

"Oh wait! What about your work?"

He turned back a smiled. "I'll just have mi fratello take over."

Then he hurried off to change out of his uniform. It was about five minutes later when he trotted back up to the table; he had changed into some black slacks and a red designer shirt. He sat down across from you and grinned.

"So Feli was okay with taking over?"

He smirked, "I didn't really give him a choice."

You laughed at the thought of sweet Feli being coerced into working overtime. Without much else to say, the two of you dug in.

"So (name), right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think you might-a want to hang out after dinner? The bistro closes in twenty minutes, and I was wondering if you had a chance to go enjoy the night life of-a Italy."

You gulped down a string of pasta as you thought about his offer.

"Your right, I haven't had a chance to see anything at night here yet. Yeah, I think that would be fun! I'll just have to call (B.F.'s name) to let her know where I'm going."

A small smile graced Lovino's lips as he listened to you.

"Bene. I know just where to-a go."

The two of you finished dinner and you made sure to call (B.F.'s name) really quick before heading out.

"(name)? How did dinner go?"

"Uh it went well, but I'm not getting in until later."

"What? Why?! Is everything alright?"

"Yeah yeah! I'm fine, Lovino's is going to take me to see some of the night life of Italy."

"Oh really~?"

You decided to ignore the obvious smirk in her voice.

"Yes really, so I was just letting you know."

"Okay, be safe. Bye."

"Bye."

You turned to Lovino who was standing a ways off looking into the sky. You walked over to him and he turned his hazel eyes on you.

"Ready (name)?"

"Yep! Let's go!"

He took you to the riverside and you started walking down the lantern-lit path enjoying the quiet rushing of the river.

"This is beautiful, but I thought you were going to show me some night life?"

He chuckled. "I am, this is the way to-a said 'night life'."

"Oh, okay."

After another ten minutes of easy conversation and walking you came across a bustling little building; many people were entering and few were leaving the small house. You could hear pounding music and see many different colored lights shining through the window and doorway.

"Is this a dance club?"

"Yeah, it's the best one in this area. Mi fratello and I go here often."

You both walked in and you stopped in the doorway as your senses were overloaded. There were lights flashing and lasers blazing everywhere; music pounded in your ears and there was a crowd of people on the dance floor. Lovino grabbed your hand and pulled you to an empty table on the wall and had you sit down.

"Mi displace ragazza, I forgot how overwhelming it is the first time."

"That's okay. Do you want to dance?"

"Only if you do."

You both walked over to the dance floor and stood there until the beat of the music took over your movements. You were never a great dancer, shoot you were never a good one, so you were very nervous when you started to move in time to the beat. Lovino however looked just a scared as you; his movements looked forced and jerky. Eventually you gave into the easy way of dancing that you did in high school, which was basically jumping and pumping your fist to the beat. Lovino followed your example and you both started to laugh at how the other was so awkward.

Half an hour passed, then an hour, then two; the music was always fast-paced and easy to 'dance' to and the two of you were covered in sweat and grinning like idiots. Eventually it happened, a slow song came on and you both stood there awkwardly; neither of you wanted to leave the dance floor, but you weren't sure how the other felt about dancing to a romantic song. You took the first move and grabbed Lovino's hands; he jerked his eyes up from his feet to look at you. Then you slowly moved in a waltz-like manner; a step to the right, two steps to the left and turn. Your breath was hitched because of how close you were to him and you could barely keep up with the dance once he took over.

After the song ended you decided that you needed a break and walked over to the table; Lovino went to grab some waters from the bar. Your face was flushed and you were hot and slick with sweat; thankfully a vent was blowing on you, so it was easier for you to cool down. Suddenly a guy sat down next to you, getting awfully close to you. His breath smelled of alcohol and he was obviously a bit more than tipsy.

"Hey sweetheart. "

"Leave me alone."

"Oh? The little kitten has claws? I like that." He got even closer and grabbed your arm.

You pulled your arm out of his grip. "I said leave me alone."

His face darkened and he grabbed your arm again, hard. You tried to pull away again, but he had a stronger hold this time.

"You're not escaping me kitty."

He leaned in to kiss you and you pulled back as far as you could, but there was no escaping. 'Lovino where are you?!' Just as he was about to smash his disgusting lips into yours he was pulled up and turned around. You looked around him to see Lovino standing there. Even though the man was a good foot taller than him, Lovino still gave him a death glare that could curdle milk.

"What do you-a think you're doing to my friend?!"

The man hiccupped. "I was just showing her a good time, unlike you. You should thank me; she was starting to look bored."

Lovino turned red in the face and grit his teeth. You knew what was coming; you had seen it many times before in movies and on TV. Sure enough, Lovino's hand clenched into a fist and he cracked the man in the jaw; the guy fell over, instantly knocked out. You made a small squeak as he fell and looked back up to Lovino. He was taking deep breaths to calm himself down; the bartender walked over, "What's going on here? I won't tolerate fighting in my club."

You jumped in. "I was relaxing when this man tried to come onto me, my friend here stopped him from doing so."

The bartender looked from you to Lovino; "Is this true?"

"Yessir. Seeing that the guy was bigger than me and sloppy drunk, I thought that knocking him out was the better option than trying to reason with him."

The bartender nodded in understanding. "Alright, I'll throw him out, but try not to knock out anyone else."

"Yessir."

The bartender had a few bouncers come and drag the man outside. Lovino sat down across from you.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you any?"

"I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."

"Alright, then we'll sit here for a while."

The two of you talked and chatted until you started feeling better and then you headed out to the dance floor again. It wasn't long before you worked up another sweat from 'dancing' and the two of you seemed to have forgotten about the incident completely. You both took breaks periodically for water and rest. As it got later in the night Lovino seemed to get an idea; he ran up to the bartender and whispered something in his ear. The bartender nodded approval and Lovino grinned. He came back over to you, grin still in place.

"What are you smiling about?"

"How do you feel about karaoke?"

"Uh, I've never done it, but I always thought it would be fun."

"Great."

And without another word, Lovino ran over to the karaoke machine and put in a quarter; he selected a song and then grabbed two microphones and handed you one.

"What? Lovino what song did you pick?!"

He grinned. "A personal favorite of mine, 'Nah It'll Settle Itself Somehow'.

You gasped; you listened to that song all the time on your mp3.

You looked up at the TV screen as the song started up and Lovino started to sing the words at the very beginning. You waited until the bam-bam-bam started before singing 'bambino!' Before long, the two of you were singing at the top of your lungs and laughing at each other. In the middle of the song you both paused for a breath and the crowd watching started to chant 'Chi-chi-chi-chigi'. You realized how many people had stopped dancing to watch you and Lovino sing together and blushed; Lovino got your attention as the second part of the song started up and you went back to singing with him. Near the end, everyone was singing the backup part and you and Lovino finished the song with a loud 'BRAVO!' Everyone started clapping and the two of you laughed and high-fived.

After that, you got very tired, and told Lovino that you needed to go to sleep. He walked you back to the bistro and got out his moped. He handed you a red helmet and you put your arms around his waist as he zipped through the streets to your hotel. When you got there, you hugged him goodbye.

"Thanks for taking me out, it was really fun."

"Sure thing ragazza."

"Well, goodnight."

"Buonanotte (name)."

You went back to the room and fell asleep immediately.