Title: 100 Lifetimes
Chapter Title: Life 10; I Dream of Lovi
Summary: When Romano finally agrees with one of Spain's corny ideas, they have no idea the journey's that that one decision will take them on, courtesy of a sneaky god.
Chapter Summary: Antonio x Genie!Fem!Lovino. Antonio has three wishes; hopefully he doesn't waste them.
Rating: T for very slight language.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia in any of its many shapes and forms. I don't even own all of the one-shot ideas for this fic, since some were ideas suggested by my sister. Others are mini ideas that I had for other fics, usually just a scene or idea. These I do own. But Hetalia, no.
Warning: Slight language, my bad writing skills, a somewhat confusing way of writing/reading, etc…
Characters: Lovina, Antonio, Emma, Lars (the Netherlands), Carlos (Cuba), mentions of Sadik, Grandfather Romulus, Vash, Lili (Liechtenstein), Berwald (Sweden), Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, maybe Arthur.
Pairings: Friendly/Sibling-like Antonio/Lovina. Or romantic, if you really want it to be.
Word Count: 4,036.
Notes: I was able to write this all in one sitting, late at night. It took a few hours, thanks to a few distractions. I was writing the part up here, when Microsoft Word closed on me. I hadn't saved anything yet. Luckily enough, Microsoft Word saved it for me. I…don't know what I would have done if it hadn't. But that's moot now. Enjoy!

Edit: I have an interview on Saturday, so next chapter may be a little late.

"So, I really get three wishes?"

"Yep, three wishes, no more, no less. No take-backs, no do-overs, and absolutely NO wishing for more wishes. Don't be a smart ass; don't be that guy that wishes for more wishes, even after I've told you not to. Just don't be that guy. Any other questions?"

"Umm…is there anything else I have to know? Any wishes that I can't make?"

"Well, other than not wishing for more wishes—yes, I will keep pressing this issue until you get it—you can't wish for me to kill someone for you. You have to do your own dirty work yourself. The same goes for making someone fall in love with you; yes, very generic, I know. But it gets the job done. Ready for your first wish?"

"Hmm…"

Lovina thought that it would be easy. Just another job like all the others. Someone would rub her lamp, she would come out, do her thing and grant their selfish wishes (though, admittedly, she did sometimes get selfless wishes; like that one time that Swiss guy wished for his sister to be able to get that operation she needed. His other wishes ended up being unending isolation and not wasting money. That was definitely one of her stranger cases), and then Lovina would *POOF!* return to her lamp, which would then return to the Magic Realm for about twenty years or so. After that, she would be assigned a new area to wait for who knew how long until someone else came along and rubbed her lamp. That's the way it usually happened.

And then she met Antonio.

He was a strange man; she knew that as soon as she saw him. However, that didn't mean anything to her at the time, since she had had quite a few strange ones, such as the time those two guys found her, one with a carefree, easygoing personality and two strands of hair that stuck out over his forehead. The other guy had two hair curls, similar to Lovina's own. They had wished for someone to take sides for them in arguments they had, to 'prevent a blood feud'. Then again, it was usually the strange ones that sought out the genies in the first place. If you were normal, why would you want to seek out danger just for a few wishes? But still, Antonio was strange, even for the people who usually visited her. He had the usual travelers cloak and outfit, looking a little worse for wear. She felt like smirking when she saw how tattered his clothes were. Apparently, her boss Sadik had assigned her to one of the more dangerous, remote areas of the world.

It was always a matter of pride for a genie to be assigned to a hard to reach place. It added to the wonder and mystery around the myth of the genie-folk. If they were assigned somewhere where they were found shortly after being assigned, then it had the feeling of being cheap attached to it. It was an insult, really; like saying that they weren't as good or as powerful as the other genies. Usually it was the weaker genies that had these positions. The really powerful genies, the ones that could use magic that would affect more than just the area around them, sometimes even change the fabric of the universe, were the ones that were hidden away with the most intrigue surrounding them, and the most obstacles.

Judging by the tatters and scorch marks on Antonio's clothes, he had encountered a dragon sometime in his search for her. Lovina felt a glowing pride fill up deep within her. So she was worth a dragon, was she? Having looked around, she noticed that she seemed to be in a labyrinth as well. Grandfather Romulus would have been proud.

She went through the usual speech that they were to give to their new 'masters', but with her own flourish, her own… 'personal touch'. Antonio had nodded along, almost as if he had expected nothing else. This made Lovina raise an eyebrow. What sort of tales were told about her, she wondered? It had been about one hundred years since she had been assigned. It was more than most, but it wasn't quite the best. Oh no, there was a legend among even the Genie People; the legend of the Great Genie who had waited ten thousand years in the Cave of Fucking Wonders of all places! Okay, so fucking wasn't in the actual name, but still. It was a legend. It was something that many dreamed of being able to accomplish, including Lovina herself. Rumor had it that Sadik even knew the genie that had had that honor. Some said that it was Sadik himself. Lovina knew that she had to keep doing good so that she would be able to one day have such an honor.

Antonio had told her first of all that he wanted to get out of there before he even started to think about his wishes. Lovina had offered to get him out with her power, but Antonio had merely shaken his head no. He wanted to get out with his own power, not with hers. She understood this. Others had found Lovina and wanted to get back without wasting one of their wishes. They thought that since they were able to get through the first time, they should be able to make it back out. Rarely did they actually succeed. When that happened, Lovina had to wait again for a new 'master'. Judging by how much enthusiasm Antonio had as he tucked her lamp into his waist belt, she figured that he had a fifty-fifty chance of making it out. Deciding to wait out the trip, she waited in her lamp during his adventure.

She was vaguely surprised when she was let out again, out in the woods somewhere. She didn't think that it had been that long since she returned to her lamp to suddenly appear in a forest, but she could have been easily mistaken. She didn't know what the geography of the area was like. She had thought that she was in the desert, but that could have been wrong. What also surprised Lovina was that Antonio wasn't alone. There were three other people with him, two men and a woman. They were all looking at her in awe and amazement; well, as much as they were able to. One of the new men had a very stoic looking face, looking like he never had much emotion showing on his face. He also had spiky blond hair and a scar on his forehead. What she also noticed was that he had a ridiculously long scarf wrapped around his neck.

The other man had a dark skin color like Antonio's, looking like he could have been related to him. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail of dreadlocks. He wore a colorful shirt and a beaded necklace. He was also smoking a thick cigar, the smoke pluming up over their heads. Now that she noticed it, the tall man with the scarf was also smoking something, but in this case through a long pipe.

The only girl in their company had short, dark blonde hair that was held back by a green scarf. She had a curious smile on her face, and she had a grip on the tallest male's arm. One thing that Lovina noticed about her, and about everyone else there in general, is that they seemed to defer to Antonio as their boss.

Antonio himself smiled proudly as he showed her off. Lovina felt like sighing. She had been through this as well before. Some 'daring adventurer' would find her lamp and either bring her as a gift or sell her to some merchant or wealthy ruler for a profit and a good will gesture. What they didn't know was that she would only obey the one who found her. If something happened to her master, then she was automatically sent back to the Magic Realm. Also, it wasn't up to Lovina how her 'masters' used her powers. All she was there for was to grant their wishes. She once asked Sadik why it was that genies had their jobs. His response had been that it was up to them to observe human wants and desires. If they understood what it was that humans wished for, and why, then they could understand human nature.

Antonio introduced everyone to each other. Well, he introduced Lovina to everyone else. The tall man with the scarf was Lars. The woman was his sister, Emma. The other man was Antonio's cousin Carlos. Together, they made up the Tomato Gang. Lovina was slightly intrigued. It had been a while since she last worked with a gang or criminal organization. Usually it was just various people who came and went just as quickly as their wishes did. Other times, it was kings and rulers who needed her to either secure their rule or ruin someone else's. It was always interesting to work with a gang.

From what Antonio told her, they were going to sneak into a neighboring fiefdom and steal some important documents. They were mercenaries, they said, and very famous, very good ones. They were charged with bringing the documents to another fiefdom where the lord there, one Lord Berwald Oxenstierna, would decide whether to inform the king or not. Something about high treason; the Tomato Gang didn't care either way, as long as they were paid and not bothered by anyone in particular. Lovina could respect this. It was how she felt most times, waiting for her current 'master' to use up his wishes so she could return to her home in the Magic Realm.

Lovina had thought that her role to play would be to use her magic to make the mission a success. Lars had scoffed, saying that they worked with their own power and nothing else. Emma had smiled apologetically, explaining that they had a reputation to maintain. If word got out that they had used a genie on one of their jobs, their credibility would fall. That confused Lovina. Then why was she even there?

Antonio smiled. He explained that they had been on the way to the fiefdom when they caught word of her and her lamp. They thought that it seemed a little sad and unfair that she wait forever like that, so they went in and saved her. Or at least, Antonio did. Lovina blinked. Then, what was she to do? She had to grant wishes; that was her job, her sole duty while in the human realm. Judging by the blank expressions on their faces, this hadn't occurred to them.

Antonio hadn't remained confused for long. Grinning proudly, he loudly declared that his first wish would be for tomatoes. Lovina had stared in disbelief. Antonio clarified, he didn't want just any tomatoes; he wanted a lot of tomatoes! Lovina had glanced around the group to check their reactions. Carlos laughed as Emma smiled her strange smile again. Lars saw her expression and shrugged. Why did you think we were called the 'tomato' gang, he had asked. Lovina shook her head. There was no helping it. Her 'master' had asked for tomatoes, so tomatoes he would get.

The way that Antonio had cheered when he saw the tomatoes was almost endearing. Lovina appreciated a man who could appreciate tomatoes. The Tomato Gang set up camp for the night, saying that they would set out later the next day. They had a deadline to make, Lars had reminded them, and they had already wasted a lot of time on their side trip. Emma had soothed Lovina and calmed her down, saying that her brother was just like that. He wasn't upset or anything with Lovina, he just never got along with Antonio. Carlos had shrugged, sitting down and lighting another cigar. That was just the way things were with this group. He assured Lovina that she would get used to it soon. That made Lovina stop and think; just how long would she be staying with these people? When would be the next time that she would be able to return home?

Antonio's second wish had been something rather similar to the first, at least in terms of ridiculousness. He wished for ice cream for Carlos, since his cousin was practically addicted to the stuff. Carlos had apparently contributed greatly to the mission, including punching out one of the guard bosses. Since it would be a long time until they could find another place that had ice cream, Antonio decided to indulge his cousin.

As Lovina continued her journeys with this group of thieves, killers, mercenaries, whatever they needed to be, she grew to understand them better and learn more about them. For instance, she learned that Carlos and Antonio were actually third cousins, but they had been raised together close enough that they considered each other to be siblings more than anything. As for the actual siblings, Lovina found out that Lars and Emma had another sibling, a brother who was younger than the both of them. She also learned that they both adored him, but each in their own way. They wanted what was best for him, so they left him at a good school so he could learn magic and other arts while they went around as the Tomato Gang (with their identities anonymous) to raise money to send to their brother in school. At least, that's what Emma said she did. Lars was ridiculously tight-lipped about his own earnings.

She caught herself smiling whenever she was around them, something she almost never did. Maybe Sadik had been right, she thought to herself. It wasn't so bad to learn more about human nature.

Despite all of her newfound knowledge about human behavior, Antonio continued to remain an enigma. On the surface he seemed so artificially happy that Lovina was surprised to find out that he really was that happy all the time. But she also knew that there were hidden depths to him; he had to have them, to have become the leader of the Tomato Gang. But there was also a kindness that he showed almost exclusively to the Tomato Gang. Even among the gang, he seemed to have a soft spot for the girls, especially Lovina. She couldn't say that she didn't like it either, since it was the first time in a long time that someone had paid that much attention to her. She was quite happy and content to stay with the Tomato Gang and share in their adventures. She knew it couldn't last forever, though.

The subject came up every now and then. Lovina would float over to Antonio in the evenings when everyone was relaxing by the fire. She and Antonio would start in on some conversation or another, and eventually she would ask him; when was he going to ask his third wish? What was his third wish going to be? Every time she would ask this, Antonio would gain a strange look in his eye, like he was tired of Lovina asking this but didn't want to show it in case he offended her. He would redirect the question, asking her what she thought he should ask for. Exasperated, Lovina would tell him what she told him every time. She couldn't influence her master's wishes; they had to come up with it themselves. Antonio would say that yes, he knew that. But he still wanted to know if she had any ideas. She would shake her head and float (or walk; it depended on how angry she was) away.

The growing suspense was starting to get to her. She didn't like this stagnation, this waiting. She knew that she would have to go back eventually. She just wished that Antonio would hurry up with his wish. It would make the parting less painful than if she stayed any longer.

When the third wish was finally made, Lovina didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Was he even serious? Did he even know what he was asking of her?

Antonio had drawn her away from the rest of the gang for a private word or two. Everyone was used to this by now, since Antonio had taken a special interest in Lovina. She had thought that it would just be something mundane, a quick word of encouragement or something. She was surprised, and admittedly a little saddened when she heard that he had finally decided to make his third wish. When she asked him what it was, another strange look crossed into Antonio's eyes, shielding her from understanding what he was thinking.

"You"

He had said simply. Just you. She turned red and looked to the side. Don't be an idiot, she had told him. I already told you that I can't make anyone fall in love; that includes me, you know, she had let him know. He told her he knew. But he also knew that that shouldn't be a problem anyway. He also told her that he wasn't asking her to make anyone love him. All he wanted was her, as herself. Lovina wasn't sure what to say to that. She didn't even know if there was a protocol for something like this. Antonio walked over to her slowly, looking straight into her eyes. He asked her simply if she wanted to stay with them. He wanted to know if she would rather stay with the Tomato Gang, or if she wanted to go back to her home. He told her that he understood if she wanted to go back; after all, that was where her home was. That was where all her family, friends, and other people she knew were.

But, he warned her, she was also wanted there with the Tomato Gang. They all loved her, and they would be sad if she left. Lovina had shook, emotions starting to overflow. She had never been given a choice before. Usually she would just hear wishes and grant them, with no other option. Even in the Magic Realm, she would get an assignment and then have to go there. Did she want to stay with her new friends—her new family—or did she want to go back to the Magic Realm? If she went back, she wouldn't be able to stay there forever. She would eventually be sent off somewhere else. But for how long? How much longer could Lovina stand to go through the same thing, over and over? With the Tomato Gang, everything was an adventure. Every day was bright and new, and Lovina didn't know where she would end up next. She looked shakily into Antonio's eyes. What did she need to do, did he know? After all, he was the one that had to make the wish.

Antonio smiled, letting the emotion in his eyes shine again. For the first time, Lovina saw worry reflected in those beautiful green eyes. She saw happiness, pride, and…love. All she needed to do, he told her, was allow him to wish that Lovina became human. Her eyes widened. If she turned human, she would never be able to return to the Magic Realm again. Lovina steeled her will. That was alright with her. For a long time now, that place hadn't been home for her. The only home she needed was with these four people here and now. That was something worth sacrificing everything for.

Lovina accepted the wish. She felt as the magical connection that she had with the Magic Realm grow suddenly and then fade away completely. She was cut off completely. For a horrible moment, Lovina felt unmistakably, horribly alone. But then Antonio hugged her from the side. Then Emma came over, tears in her eyes. She hugged Lovina as well. Carlos walked over and patted her on the back, comfortingly. Welcoming. Lars stood to the side, not really one for touching, heartwarming moments. She did catch his eye, though, and he gave her a little nod that let her know that her decision was not a mistake.

She was welcome here. She had family. For once, Lovina wasn't off by herself, alone. As far as she could tell, the only remaining evidence of her life as a genie was a higher level of magic than regular humans. She didn't mind. From now on, she would be able to help her new friends—her new family, she thought as she looked at Antonio—with their work now. She wouldn't just be a burden that had to be carried along in her lamp. She could pull her own weight—and how!

Speaking of that lamp, it was completely useless now. She probably could have sold it for a sum of money, but it just held too many memories that she didn't want to get rid of yet. This lamp had been with her through everything. It may have seemed silly, but she wanted to keep it. At least, keep it until she found a good place to leave it somewhere for closure. Until then, she would hold onto it.

Who knew; it may come in handy sometime.

End of Chapter 10. Next up—we're going back to camp!