A/N: If you brought me roses, I would throw them in your face. If you brought me roses, I would burn them in this place. If you brought me roses they would end up on your grave. Because… red, white or pink. It's not what you think. They're such a cliché. I will never like roses; not tomorrow or today.

And that was my hatred of roses song. I was so bored I was compelled to write a song. Yeah. Weird...

Passing The Fallen Star: Thank you for all of your reviews. You make me very happy to see your commentary. Sorry about the Gerita. I wasn't really thinking about them that much but I might put some in there depending on how I feel as the story progresses. Funny how your surname is Harris. I was actually thinking of my old P.E. teacher, but I didn't want to use his real name. And yes, something finally happened between Lovino and Antonio. Don't worry, more sexy times will ensue this pair as their relationship grows.

On with the story!

Meet and Greet

"Reli, where did you get this plane?" Esperanza questioned. They were tens of thousands of miles, flying high above the ground. The four of them still had several more hours on this so why not ask the question that been burning a hole in her pocket for the last two hours.

The Israelite tried to be nonchalant. "What do you mean?" Her poker face was terrible. It kept going back and forth from bleak, blankness to the smirk that seemed to keep gracing her features.

"Don't play coy with me." She narrowed her eyes at her. "This is a privet plane with Israeli tags. Plus this is the same plane we took for when we took that trip Bolivia. So tell me, where did you get this plane?"

Michal confessed, "I borrowed it from my father and he's not going to notice that it's gone. The man's got a bunch of others just sitting there, collecting dust. Are you happy now?"

Risa retorts, "Borrowed? More like stole." For adults they could sure act like a couple of teenagers. Michal huffed and stuck her tongue out at her friend. In return, Risa glared half heartedly back. This went on for a good six minutes before they gave up because they knew neither would win this silly game.

The Italian was lazily looking out the window. Lovino had been forced to wake up super early and was drowsy. Sure, the view was amazing since he had never been on a plane before, but he was too drained to take that much notice to it. Lovino then felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned to see the last person he wanted to see: Antonio.

"What do you want, you-" The Italian tried to think of something clever. Bastard was getting too old. He scanned the Spaniard for something he could make as an insult. Lovino finally looked down at Tonio's hand and saw the one thing he'd been craving for a very long time. "Pomodoro bastardo."

"Pomodoro?"

Lovino answers, "Tomato. Tomato bastard. Now give me one." He reaches over to grab it, but Antonio pulls it away from his reach. The Italian frowns and stretches his arm out farther. He still can't seem to grab it. "What the hell's your problem? Give it to me."

"No." And Antonio holds the fruit other his head and farther to the right. A mischievous smile was plastered on his face. He just loved teasing his Lovi. The expression the Italian made was just too cute.

"What do you mean no?"

"No. I'm not giving it to you."

Lovino had had enough with him. He raised the arm rest and climbed onto the Spaniard's lap without another second's hesitation. The Italian snatched the tomato from Tonio and sent him an icy glare. As victory he took a huge bite out of it.

He continued to munch on the fruit as Antonio said, "Lovi, that was my last one!"

Lovino replied between bites, "Tough tomatoes, bastard."

So he wants to play that game, huh, the Spaniard thought. He wrapped his arms around the Italian and brought him closer. He buried his face in the crook of his Lovi's, inhaling his natural scent. And it was wonderful. Practically driving his senses crazy. "En lugar detomates quenotienes,mi amor. (Instead of tomatoes I rather have you, my love.)"

Lovino blushed and felt the fleeting feeling of butterflies in his stomach. Why did that idiot have to roll his r's like that? He nailed Antonio right in the ribs before moving back to his seat. Tonio on the other hand was coughing from having the wind knocked out of him.

"Lovi, that was mean!"

"My name is not Lovi, motherfucker!"

"But Lovi-"

"Shut up!"

Michal interjects, "Um, boys, I hate to break up your lover's quarrel, but Risa has something to say." The Italian gave her a we're-not-lovers-glare, but it had no affect on her. His glare was exactly like Katerina's: cute and threatening. And she way too used to that.

The two turned their attention to Esperanza. "I think we all should get to know each other better."

The Italian raised a curious eyebrow. "Like twenty questions?"

"Well, yeah. Basically we'll go around the room and ask each other questions. We've got like several hours left on this thing and it's a good way to pass the time."

"Any objects," The Israelite asks. Antonio smiles and Lovino shrugs his shoulders. That was good enough for her. "I guess I'll go first. Lovino, how many places have lived over the last four years?"

The Italian glances around the room nervously. He gulps before asking, "Legally or illegally?"

"Does it really matter at this point if you lived somewhere illegally since I made fake IDs and passports and borrowed a plane that belongs to the Israeli government so we get England?"

Lovi begins to count on his fingers. "Italy, the Island of Sicily, Spain, Portugal, England, Brazil, Chile, Trinidad, Mexico and America." The others stare at him in amazement. No wonder he's been so hard to track over the last couple of years. "I had to keep moving or Customs would find and put in an orphanage, foster home or jail."

Risa begins to open her mouth to ask another question, but he beats her too it. " I can speak, read, and write in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and English all fluently. I also know a little Yiddish."

"Wow. That's impressive."

He starts up again. "Since it's my turn now, um, Risa?" The Italian looks at her and then back at himself before unclasping the silver necklace around his neck. He holds it in his out towards her and asks, "How old are these pictures?"

She holds the locket in her hands and stares at the old photos. Esperanza stares at them long and hard before returning it to him. "I'm sorry, but those are a decade old. Probably older since those flowers Rina's holding are what your father gave her on her birthday. Carnations and daisies. Those were her favorite flowers."

Risa sees the sad look that appeared on his face and tries to cheer the Italian up. She fishes in her bag and hands him a piece of paper. He questions, "My birth certificate?"

"Not just any- your real one."

Lovino gives her skeptic look before actually looking at the paper in front of him. He scans it and sees that it almost identical to the one he's always seen except for two things: his name was changed and the father's name was changed. A strange sensation struck him. The Italian tried not to show it but it was creeping up on him; slowly trying to make it's way to his features.

Is Lovi about to-?

"Now you won't have to go by that bastard's name anymore. Let's just say it's a late birthday present."

Lovi stumbles over his words. "Th-Thanks, I really don't know how to repay-"

"Oh, will you just shut up and smile," Michal interjects. For that she gets a glare, an awkward glance, an a confused stare. Reli merely crosses her arms. "What?"

Esperanza lets out a heavy sigh. "You kill the mood every time."

"Yeah, but it was getting too sentimental in here." The Israelite stretches while her friend gives her an exasperated look. She lets out a yawn and says, "Well, I that's enough questions for today. Let's get some sleep so when we get to the safe and meet my old pals we won't be half awake."

The others silently agreed and drifted off into sweet dreams.

-xxx Page Break xxx-

Michal lightly raps on the door in front of. The house the group was stand in front was an typical English house. It had a chimney, brick exterior, and cobblestone steps. Pretty stereotypical if I must say myself.

Anyway, she continued to rap until her rapping turned to banging. Reli huffed and banged harder until her hand turned red and started to stung. She nursed her injured hand and yelled, "Yao-Yao, I know you're in there!"

The door opens, but just a fraction of an inch and the chain was still up. A man in his late thirty's peered out. His golden eyes were cut into slits and a frown was plastered on his face. "You're not allowed back here, aru."

"Oh, come on Yao, what I did wasn't that bad."

"You turned my kid into a killer!"

"He said he liked fireworks…"

The door shut with that. Well that could of ended better, Michal thought. She pulled out her cell phone and sent a quick text. Just seconds later the entire house was filled with smoke and loud yelling came from inside the Wang household.

"Xūn, shénme shì dìyù? (Kaoru, what the hell?)"

"Duìbùqǐ bàba. Tā ràng wǒ zuò. (Sorry dad. She made me do it.)"

The door reopened and standing in the door way was Yao and Kaoru Wang. Kaoru clothes were a bit sooty and both were couching violently. Once there coughing fit died down they were met with a cocky grin. "Are you going to let me in now Yao?"

The Asian says, "I hate you so much, aru." He sends her a fierce glare, but moves over to let her in. Esperanza, Antonio, and Lovino awkwardly follow in after on to stop and marvel at the inside of the house. The décor was marvelous down to its fine china tea set sitting on a lone coffee table. The Spaniard whistled while the Italian gawked since he had never seen a place so nice.

"Great, now my house is a mess and it's all your fault." Yao moaned and rubbed his temples. He had a headache and was seriously getting too old for this. He looked at his two younger guests and saw that he hadn't properly introduced himself. The Chinese man turned his attention to them. "I'm Yao Wang and this is my son, Kaoru."

Risa finally decides to speak. "This place has sure changed since the last time I was here." She takes a quick once over of the house. "Antonio, Lovino you stay down here with Kaoru. Yao, Reli and I need to talk." Esperanza ushers the other two adults upstairs leaving the teens to stare at each other downstairs.

They walked into a room and Risa closed the door behind her. The looked at Yao long and hard before he asked, "So why are you two really here, besides the need of a place to stay?"

"We know you know something."

"Like what?"

Esperanza crosses her arms and retorts, "Don't play dumb, Yao. You're hiding something. Something big."

"You know what happened the year we lost all contact with Katerina, don't you? Lovino was about seven at the time and Rina was sick that year- what happened?" Michal adds.

He merely shakes his head in denial. "I honestly have no idea what you taking about."

"Piànzi! (Liar)"

Before the fighting could start, the door opened and Kaoru popped his head through the door. "Um dad, Arthur's on the video chat and if you don't hurry he'll hang up."

The trio rushed downstairs and to the computer. Up on the monitor, the Brit was rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning. He was clad in mint bunny pajamas with a sleeping cap to match. No only was the teen sleepy, but he was also rather cross too.

"Well, well Kirkland, it's been a while since the last time we had a proper chat."

He retorts, "I'm not enjoying this, Michal. Do you know what bloody time it is in California right now?"

The Israelite lightly taps her. "Two, maybe three a.m.?"

"That's right! I have to wake up so damn early just so you get can some information on the Vargas'. And another thing-!"

"Petit lapin, qui parlez-vous? (Little bunny, who are you taking to ?)"

Arthur looks over his shoulder and replies back, "Personne. (No one)"

The unknown speaker walks in and wraps his arms around the totty Brit. He nuzzled his cheek while Arthur yelled, "Get off me, you bloody frog!" He tried to push him off but the Frenchman would not budge.

Francis slurred, "Mais je ne veux pas. Si je dois y aller, alors je veux que tu viennes avec moi. Et parler le français. Vous semblez plus sexy quand vous faites. (But I don't wanna. If I have to go then I want you to come with me. And speak French. You sound sexier when you do.)"

The Brit huffed and refolded his arms. "Merde, pourquoi avez-vous de moi si difficile? Je parie que vous êtes encore trop saccagé. (Damn it, why do you have to be so difficult? A bet you're still trashed too.)"

"Ces mots durs de la bouche d'un tel mignon qui pourrait être faire d'autres choses sales. (Such harsh words from such a cute little mouth that could be doing other, dirty things)"

Arthur sends the Frenchman a harsh glare and says, ".Bâtard sanglant."

In response, Francis gives him a quick peck on the cheek. The Brit's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink while he just gave a cheeky smile. The Frenchman releases his grip on his lapin and walks out of the room.

"Well aren't you two just lovers in paradise," Michal chimes in.

I can't believe his banging Francis…

The blonde turns his attention back to screen. He sees the Israelite in all her cocky glory and a member of the Bad Touch Trio cackling at the sight he just witnessed. "Don't start with me, woman. I'm already as tired and as sore as it is. Now do you want hear what I have to say or not?"

"Shoot."

"Alright, Feliciano and Romulus cleaned up the mess you made in that abandoned building on Lily Lane. They somehow made it look cult suicide. Also another body turned up, but I don't really think it's your work."

She questions, "What was his name and cause of death?"

"Giovanni Francione. He had a gunshot wound to the head, but the police found multiple bruises and some cracked ribs too. The pattern seems to come from a size eleven shoe, right foot. The funny thing is the person who took the shot is a lefty. I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say Romulus did the stomping while Feliciano shot the poor bloke."

"What would I do without you, Kirkland?"

Arthur retorts, "A lot of things that don't involve me and your ridiculous shenanigans. Anyway, those two haven't picked up on your trailed yet, but they are ended for Europe in three days."

Esperanza adds, "What country? City?"

"I'm not exactly sure. The flight they're taking doesn't making any stops for Italy, England, Spain, or France. That's about all I can tell you for now."

"Thank you, Kirkland. Call us up again if you get anymore information," Reli says.

"Finally. Now I can get back to bed."

"Back to bed or back to the frog?"

The Brit let out a loud growl and turned off the monitor. The gang was left staring at a blank screen. Michal stretched and said, "I'm gonna go take nap. Anyone wanna join me?" All hands went up.

Yao adds, "There's only two extra so you and Reli will be rooming together and Antonio and Lovino will be sleeping together."

"I Have To Sleep With The Tomato Bastard!"

-xxx Page Break xxx-

She kicked her legs up as she sat at the edge of the bed. The girl was bored and her father was busy signing papers and doing other adult things that she couldn't even imagine to know what they were about. But she was determined to be patient and wait. Having patience meant maturity and maturity meant not being treated like a little kid. But the girl's patience was running thin.

Finally her father emerged from his office. The girl ran and embraced him. "Papà, ho praticato il mio inglese. Sei vuoi qui? (Papa, I've been practicing my english. Do you want to here it?)"

The man could see that see his daughter was ecstatic and he couldn't deny her eyes. Plus, she was stubborn and would never let him live it down if he ignored her. "Diamo qui. (Let's here it.)"

"My name is Cara. I am ten years old and was born in July. I live with Papa. My birthday was last week and Papa bought my a new dress."

The man clapped his hands and praised her. "Molto bene, Angelina. (Very good)"

"E 'Cara. (It's Cara.)"

"Si Angelina." She pouted and then stuck her tongue out him. He was never one to use her name; it was always her middle. Not that Cara hated it, but it would be nice to here him say her name.

Cara came out of her thoughts and saw the expression her papa had on his face. She was use to him looking like this, but he was never the one to let her caught him looking like this. It was unsettling. She asks, " Papà, perché sei così triste a volte? Sono io? (Papa, why do look so sad sometimes? Is it me?)"

He replies softly, "No, sto solo pensando a qualcuno. (No, I just thinking about someone.)"

"Un amante? (A lover?)"

"Qualcosa del genere. Chi ti ha insegnato di amanti? (Something like that. Who taught you about lovers?"

Cara simply says, "Signora Palladino, il mio insegnante. (Ms. Palladino, my teacher.)"

"Ahsì,era la donnadei miei sogni, che mi lascio sfuggirele mie dita. (Ah yes, she was the woman of my dreams who I let slip through my fingers)"

A/N: Again I must apologize for my lateness. I just hope I can get the next chapter up sooner. I bet you guys I wondering who Cara is. I'll just let you have you're guesses. Sorry for the FrUk, all you UsUk lovers. I love that pairing and if you hate it, skip the scene.