Hello everyone! Hopefaith2 here! I have a couple of reasons why it took me so long to update. Firstly, the day after I updated chapter 10, my grandmother passed away at the age of 71. I kinda took off time to grieve, mourn, and to understand and accept her death. Secondly, I work at Party City for the Halloween season, so I get a lot of hours. On the plus side, we get to eat candy, and to dress up in costume. I was Princess Aurora. lol The little girls loved it, the boys...not so much. Thirdly, my birthday was on October 13th. I'm officially nineteen years old! Happy belated to me! And lastly, Hurricane Sandy. As you guys know, it really hit the Tri State Area hard. I live in New York, and m,ost of us lost power, and there was flooding and all that. I got off school for a week! So those are my reasons for such lateness, and for this chapter not being good. I'm just giving you guys a heads up about why this chapter isn't my best per say. So give me a belated birthday gift and read, review and enjoy!
Subplot Three: Hope's Sunday off: Italy & His Lost Love
Part 4: The Reconciliation
The House: Present Day 2012
Three Days Later
Three days has passed since the Henrich/Wy incident. Almost everyone is trying to adjust in the aftermath. Unfortunately, it's more easier for some than others.
The ones adjusting the hardest were ones the most affected, especially poor Italy. He hasn't said a word, Italian or English, smiled, or even tried to make Pasta since then. It's serious when Italy hasn't even made not one plate of Pasta in three days. Because of that, Romano has been worrying constantly over his little brother, which causes him to stress out, which in turn, worries Spain. Germany has been more quiet than usual. It can be assumed since Italy is not doing something stupid or ridiculous, the German doesn't have a reason to scream his head off at him. Most would assume that he would enjoy this time of peace and silence, but if it were under better circumstances, he would be. At times, his mind wander back to the fight with Heinrich, and his words about the German's past. What is it that Prussia didn't tell him, and why didn't he tell him in the first place? Why did he keep it from him? The thoughts wouldn't be for long as he would tried as hard as he can to cheer up his dear friend (which is really hard for him to do since he doesn't even smile himself). Japan, who in my opinion has a better chance in cheering Italy up, also tried to help Germany cheer him. But nothing they could do could lift Italy out of this state of Depression. Romano and Spain tried as well, but there's so much one can do. Austria didn't even try to cheer him up. He figured this is something that only Italy can do on his own when he was ready. So he instead went to the music room and play beautiful pieces from Beethoven, Mozart, and the like.
The others who had a small role were having an easier time adjusting than them. Russia and China were outside, enjoying the beautiful weather chatting away. One could say that those two were the only ones in somewhat of a good mood. Canada was in the kitchen, eating pancakes while trying to get his pet bear, Kumajiro, to remember his name. It doesn't help that he can't remember his bear's name either. Britain and France are in the living room together, surprisingly not fighting or arguing one another. Britain is reading one of his Sherlock Holmes books while France is drinking a cup of wine. The youngest and loudest member of the group is shockingly sitting in a bedroom in absolute silence. Yes, America, the country who can never keep his mouth silent for more than five minutes, is sitting in a bedroom quietly. He is currently sitting in a chair next to a bed, watching it intently to make sure the inhabitant is alright. If you haven't guessed by now, the sleeping inhabitant is Hope. He said he would stay with her, and he damn sure is going to keep it.
Hope's Bedroom: Present Day, 2012
Hope Marianne managed to be brought back by America safe and sound. Her injuries range from cuts and bruises to a broken wrist, a few broken ribs and a stab wound at her stomach. Britain managed to heal all of her most serious injuries using his magic, while China used his ancient Chinese medicine to bandage up her minor injuries. She has a few bandages on her face, and a black eye on her right eye. Her left hand, wrist, and part of her arm are in a cast to help her broken wrist. Britain didn't have enough magic to every injury, so they decided to leave the wrist injured. They would put it in a cast, seeing as her healing magic would heal it in a matter of a week or so. Indeed, it had been a very quiet and grim three days...but those days were about to come to an end. Suddenly, her door is knocked on by France. America doesn't even look up from her to acknowledge him.
"Amérique? I made lunch. Would you like some?" France says as he stands in the doorways, watching the two of them warily.
"No thanks. I'm not hungry." America says, not once taking his eyes off the sleeping reader. France sighs as he walks toward, and puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Amérique, you must eat. Espérance would want you to eat. She will be fine. She's a strong mademoiselle, non?"
"I know, but I gave her my word that I wouldn't leave her. And I plan on staying right in this chair until she wakes up. I'm the hero, and heroes never go back on their word. And I have eaten." America says as he points to the pile of hamburger wrappers on the ground. France rolls his eyes at the wrappers.
"She will understand if you did leave her side to eat or sleep. You haven't eaten something authentic or slept in three days! She wouldn't want you to starve yourself, or lose sleep. She wouldn't want you to get sick over her. Heroes can't get sick, non?"
"I know but-"
"I understand how much you care for her. She is your citizen, a part of you. I would have been the same way if my Jeanne was in the same way." France takes a deep breath at the mention of Joan Of Arc.
"But my Jeanne is not Espérance, nor vice versa. However, I do know Espérance well enough to know that she would want you eating healthily, or what you consider is healthy, sleeping healthily, and being happy. Do you understand mon ami?" America sighs and smiles at France.
"I understand. I'll be down in five minutes." France nods and leaves her bedroom. As he leans against the wall, he wipes a few stray tears at the thought of his beloved Joan. She may not be you, Jeanne, but she has your spirit and heart. France clears his throat and smiles as he continues walking downstairs to the kitchen.
Hallway nearby Italy's bedroom: Present Day 2012
"Veneziano! You idiota! Open this damn door!"
"Lovi? What are you doing?" Antonio says as he sees Romano knocking as softly as possible (for Romano anyways) on Italy's door. Romano stops and turns to look at him.
"What does it look like tomato bastard?! I'm knocking on my stupid fratello's door! Open up idiota!"
"Lovi? What if Veneziano isn't in his room?"
"Bullshit! He has to be there! There's nowhere else he could go!" Romano says as he continues knocking on his brother's door. Spain softly grabs his hand and pulls it away from the door.
"Spain! What the-"
"Lovi, Italy went through a very traumatic experience a few days ago. He had to find out the truth about Holy Rome after all this time, was lied to by someone pretending to be Holy Rome, and almost lost someone else important to him. I know you're worried about your hermano, but he needs time alone to heal and understand everything that happened."
"But-"
"Give him time. He'll come out when he's ready to." Romano knows Spain is right. He turns back at the door, and walks away to the kitchen.
"Fine. But that idiota better come out soon!" Spain smiles and follows him to the kitchen.
Kitchen: Present Day 2012
In the kitchen, all the members (with the exemption of Italy and Hope) are eating lunch silently. To say it is an awkward silence is a understatement for this situation.
"So." Germany starts as he breaks the silence in the room, surprising everyone.
"Hope. How is she doing?" Britain takes a few seconds to recover, and clears his throat from drinking his tea.
"Well um she's doing fine. Her most serious injuries are healed. She has a few cuts and bruises, a black eye, and a broken wrist."
"A broken wrist? Wouldn't that affect her ability to use her magic?" Japan asks curiously as he eats his sashimi.
"Well yes, but her healing magic should heal her wrist. Since she's a beginner, it may take longer for it to completely heal in comparison to an expert like myself."
"I see. And Italy. What of him?" Japan asks in concern for his friend. The whole room becomes quiet at the mention of the European country. They all turn to Romano, hoping he would know what is of his younger brother.
"I don't know. I haven't heard a peep from him or from his room since we brought him back."
"This is bad mon amis. There's the fake Holy Rome running around, Espérance is injured, and my sweet little Italy is no one to be found or heard. What do we do now?"
"This is var, France. Something you wouldn't know much about since you always lose."
"Hey!"
"We must pick up our losses, change our tactics, and fight again. First thing first, we must find Italy, and then get Hope back on her feet."
"As nice as that sounds Germany, I already beat you to the getting back on my feet part. But thank you for being so concerned about my health." The group's eyes are widen in shock at the sound of a feminine voice that's not France's. They turn to the sound of the voice to find Hope, leaning on the rail with her left hand. On her left arm is a small cast that goes from the palm of her hand to a couple of inches past her wrist. She has a couple of bandages on her face and arms. A black eye has formed on her right eye. She's wearing a white shirt and pink pajama pants. Her hair is an extreme mess due to bed hair. Regardless, she has a smile on her face. America slowly stands up and slowly walks toward the stairs.
"Hope?" She puts her right hand on her hip and smiles sincerely at him.
"Hello Alfred. While I'm touched and thankful that you stayed by my side,you left a shitload of nasty hamburger wrappers on my floor and-" Hope doesn't get to finish her sentence as America wraps his arms around her, catching her completely off guard.
"You're awake. Thank goodness." America says softly as he holds her tighter. Hope blushes deep crimson at the hug.
"Of course. I'm the Reader, right? If I went down that easily, I might be out of a job." Hope says jokingly as she giggles.
"Screw the job. Your safety is more important to me than that damn job." America says seriously as he lets her go and inspect her to see if Britain and China missed any injuries. Hope blushes at his concern, and rolls her eyes at his overprotective behavior.
"America, they got them all. I'm fine. Honest."
"Of course you're fine! Thanks to the hero!" Hope smiles sincerely knowing the America she knows is back.
"Yeah. I have to say thank you America. And to Germany, Japan, and all you guys. Thank you for saving me a couple of days ago. And Romano." Hope says as she slowly walks down the remaining stairs with America's help (that wasn't asked for by the way.) She slowly makes her to Romano, who looks at her in shock. She smiles and hugs him tightly.
"Thank you so much or listening to me. I know it was hard to leave your brother like that, and the way I asked you wasn't very considerate at all. I probably shouldn't have asked you much more sincere and nicer than the way I did. But I'm glad you did. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you. I owe you my life, Romano. Honestly." Hope says sincerely to Romano, which completely catches him off guard.
"But Speranza, Heinrich almost killed you."
"Yes he did. But I wanted to go up against him to give you more time. That was completely my choice, and I had to deal with the consequences. I'm just glad I had you to help me. Grazie." Hope says as she lets go and kisses his cheek in appreciation. Romano blushes lightly at the kiss, but turns away.
"Prego, but I should be thanking you Speranza. You saved my fratello, and almost died for it. I owe you."
"You don't owe me a thing! I'm the Reader. It's my job to help you guys through whateva. Sides, you're my friends. I gotta look out for my boys. Speaking of boys, where's Italy?" The group's happiness died with that question as the silence and sadness return. Hope notices the somber looks on their faces.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Cher, no one knows about Italy. We haven't seen or heard him since you two came back." France says in a somberly tone. Hope says nothing and looks away. She takes a deep breath and looks back with a smile.
"I'm sure he's fine." The countries look at her with a shocked expression on their faces.
"But Espérance-"
"Trust me France. Italy will be back to being happy, ditzy, and obsessed with pasta and pretty girls before you know it. He just needs to find a way out of his grief and mourning. I was like him when my aunt died last year. I found a way out, and so will he." Hope says as she sits down at the table (with America's help, again unwanted or unasked for) and eats some of the food prepared by France with the countries.
Kitchen: Present Day 2012
One Hour Later
"Are you sure you'll be alright, love?"
"Of course! I'll be fine." Hope says reassuringly to Britain as he and the rest of the countries (minus Italy) head out for reasons they won't say. They didn't want Hope to stay alone by herself, but they didn't want her to find out early on either.
"Look Hope, you can come along with us if you want. I don't want you to stay alone and unprotected either." America says, worried about his citizen's well being.
"America, I'll be fine. I may have a broken wrist, but I can still fight pretty well." Hope says smiling to the American. America smiles back at her, but he's still worried about her well being.
"Fine. But if you find yourself in any type of trouble, big or small, call me. You do have my number right?" Hope rolls her eyes yet again.
"Yes, I do. I have yours, as well as Japan's, Britain's, and France's."
"Good. Now seriously, if you find yourself in any trouble-"
"Call you as soon as possible. I know America! Jeez! Now get out before you miss whatever you have to do." Hope says as she pushes the American out the door. Surprisingly, she actually manages to push him out the door.
"Alright. We won't be gone for long. Be careful okay?" America says as he ruffles her hair. Hope raises her eyebrow and fixes her hair.
"I will. See you guys later!" Hope says as she waves to the countries as they walk away to do god knows what. Hope closes the door, and locks it. She walks into the kitchen and figures out an idea.
"Now what can I do until they get back? Maybe I can cook dinner for once to show my appreciation to them. But what to cook? Maybe I can cook some spaghetti or something." She says as she walks into the refrigerator and then the pantry to see what she has to use.
"So we got tomatoes, pasta, chicken, seasoning, spices, and Parmesan cheese. I can make Chicken Alfredo! That's perfect!" Hope says as she takes out the ingredients and put them on the table (after clearing off the table and cleaning the dishes). She takes out her laptop and looks up the recipe for making Chicken Alfredo from scratch. She finally finds a recipe and starts working. She puts a pot of water on top of the stove, and turns the stove on to the right setting. She then puts the chicken cutlets on the cutting board (after washing both the chicken and the cutting board) and starts cutting the chicken into little pieces while humming a very happy tune.
At that moment when the water in the pot started to boil, Italy's eyes instantly open. He sits up in such haste.
"I hear...boiling water. I smell...pasta." Italy says quietly to himself. He slowly gets out of the bed and opens his bedroom door. The smell of pasta becomes stronger at every slow step he takes toward the kitchen.
"Who's making pasta?" He says to himself as he reaches the last step on the staircase. His eyes widens as he sees Hope, looking much more healthy and better than the last time he saw her. She is breaking the pasta apart and dropping it into the pot while humming happily.
"Speranza." Italy whispers to the air. Hope stops breaking the pasta and turns around to see Italy. She smiles warmly at his presence and continues what she was doing before.
"Hey Italy. I'm making chicken alfredo to thank you and the rest of the guys for everything you've done for me. But, you are way more experienced in this than I. Maybe you can help me out a bit, if that's okay with you?" Hope says as she finishes putting the pasta in the pot and turns around to face him. Italy says nothing as he stares at her in shock. She walks toward him slowly and looks at him curiously.
"Italy? Are you alright?" Italy starts to tear up and tackles her, hugging her like there's no tomorrow. He starts to sob on her shoulder. Hope smiles and wraps her arms around her while saying soothing words to him.
"Now, will you help me make this Alfred for Germany, Japan, and the others?" Italy releases her from his death grip, and smiles once more.
"Si! Germany, Japan, and big brothers will be really happy!" Italy says as he runs over to the pot and mix the pot, cut the chicken, and makes the Alfredo sauce. Hope chuckles to herself and she looks on the scene.
"And Italy Veneziano is back. Hey! This was my idea! Stop taking over everything you pasta crazy fool!" Hope laughs as she walks toward Italy and the food. As they continue making the meal, they somehow got into a flour fight. They throw flour at each other, which landed everywhere in the kitchen. Once all is said and done, Hope and Italy are sitting on the kitchen floor, covered in flour. The kitchen is a mess, but they surprisingly managed to actually finish the alfredo in record time.
"Man, I can't believe we did this." Hope says as she wipes away tears while continuing to laugh.
"Germany is going to be so angry when he sees this!"
"Angry? That man is gonna be furious. That stick will finally come out of his ass, and he'll use it to beat us!" Hope screams as she and Italy starts to laugh uncontrollably at her joke. After a few minutes, the laughing dies down and the two sigh. They sit in silence for a few minutes.
"Speranza?" Hope turns her floured covered head towards Italy.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I should have known Holy Rome was dead. Had I known, this could have been avoided."
"I'm sorry that you had to find out the way you did."
"But Speranza, you told me the truth! Now I don't have to wait anymore for Holy Rome. He's with Nonno now!"
"Nonno?"
"Grandpa Rome! They're together in heaven with all the pasta and the pretty girls they like!" Hope smiles and puts one arm around him and brings him closer to her.
"You're right. And don't apologize for running off. I understand where you're coming from. I didn't react very well to the news of my Aunt's death. I cried for days and days after I found out. When I finished crying, I started lashing out against my family. I didn't wan to accept the fact that she wasn't around anymore. But, I finally learn to accept my aunt's death. It took me almost a year to accept it. I know you won't accept Holy Rome's death easily as well, but one day you will. And besides, you're my friend Italy. I always got your back. Always." Italy leans in on the hug and puts his head on her shoulder.
"Speranza, you won't leave me the same way Holy Rome did...will you?" Hope was literally taken back by the question. She didn't expect him to ask him something so deep, and blunt like such.
"Of course not. I don't plan on leaving you guys anytime soon."
"Pinky promise?" Italy says hopefully as he stick his pinky finger out for her. She smiles and wraps her pinky finger into his.
"Pinky promise."
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?! LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO THE KITCHEN?!" Germany roars at the two of them. Hope and Italy jump startled by the sudden outburst. Japan is standing next to him looking on in confusion and curiosity. Italy jumps up from the floor and runs toward Germany and Japan excitedly. He hugs the two of them tightly. He lets them go and jumps up and down happily.
"Germany! Japan! Speranza and I made chicken alfredo for you guys! It's really delicious!"
"It's true. Es muy delicioso. And about the mess in the kitchen, I'll clean it up. It's my fault that this mess is here, so I'll take responsibility for-"
"Go wash off the flour before the other come back. I'll clean up the kitchen." Germany says suddenly, cutting Hope off.
"What?"
"You heard what I said. Go take a shower and clean off the flour. I'll clean the kitchen."
"Hai. And I will help you." Japan says, shocking Germany. He gives him a look of gratitude. Italy runs up the stairs happily.
"Grazie Germany!" He screams before heading into the shower. Hope slowly walks to the staircase, passing Germany in the process.
"Hope." She stops at her name being called. She turns around and looks at him.
"Danke. For helping Italy." Hope smiles at the German, finally seeing that he actually does care about the cheery, ditzy, Italian. And maybe he's actually not that bad a of a guy. Well she wouldn't say that to his face.
"You're welcome, Germany. It's the least I could do to help a friend out." Hope says as she continues to walk up the stairs and into her bedroom. In the end, life was slowly starting to become normal again for the group. Though it wouldn't be the same as it was before, but it's a start. And who knows? Maybe each participant gain a little something out of this adventure too. But to gain something, they must also lose something in the process.
And that is the end of the Italy/HRE arc of this story! Or is it? As I wrote in the last chapter, you guys can submit questions to the character of the fanfic. However I got none. It made me very sad to say the least. I'm not forcing you guys to send questions, but it would be really funny if you did, because I got an idea to go with this, and it would be funny. So if you guys forget the rules, I'll post them on here again for ya!
1. Each person gets to ask a maximum of five questions.
2. The highest rating they can be is T. I have kids reading this fanfiction you know?
3. You must send a PM. It's much easier for me then to look at the Reviews to find each question.
4. It has to be related to the story. Not directly related, but somewhat related to it.
And that's it. Oh and before I forget, Election Day is on Tuesday (Thank god!), so if any of your readers are over the age of 18, and live in America, GO OUT AND VOTE! Make your voice heard! If you don't vote, then you're part of the problem! Until next time! Stay safe everyone and keep your head up!
~Hopefaith2