53. Playing Hooky
Date Written: April 24, 2019
Date Posted: May 2, 2020
Characters: Veneziano
Summary: Veneziano gets bored during a meeting.
Notes:
Veneziano was tired.
Very tired.
Even though the presentation itself wasn't too boring or too provocative (for once), the Mediterranean Nation couldn't stave off the telltale signs of mental exhaustion and physical fatigue. Lazy brown eyes fluttered under the weight of his eyelids while his mouth smoothly parted with a betraying yawn that he barely covered with a hand. Fortunately, most Nations present were all too aware of the Italian's tendencies. At this point, one of them offered to give a copy of their notes and a recording of the presentation—an offer that had Veneziano thanking them and dashing out into the empty silence of the hallway outside.
It was a welcoming sort of atmosphere that the normally energetic man enjoyed. With a sigh, he sunk into the plush cushions of a nearby chair. Although it wasn't as comfortable (or stylish) as he would have liked, he nestled himself deep into the cushions, not caring in the least that his suit jacket was at a risk of becoming bedraggled and crumpled. Besides, most had seen him bloodied from war—one little crease here and there wouldn't stain his reputation.
For a while, he let his breathing even. His eyes gently closed and he felt himself fall into the arms of Morpheus…
"Sir," a muted voice spoke. It was only because the voice sounded feminine and shy that stopped Veneziano from waking up with a scowl on his face. "Is this yours?"
Hmm? The Italian made a humming noise of confusion before opening bleary eyes. When his vision had corrected itself to account for the sudden transition from sleep to wakefulness, he recognized an object that the pretty lady held in her hand. It was a highlighter that Japan had sent him for his birthday a few years ago. It was one of those pastel colored highlighters that was thick and bright enough to catch his eyes, but not too bright that Italy would have a headache trying to decipher the presentation printouts. It was a helpful device that saved North Italy from getting endlessly hounded by Germany.
"Oh my! I usually take better care of my things!" He straightened in his seat and gave the young woman a bright smile. She placed the highlighter into his waiting palm. A lovely blush decorated her cheeks—looks like his flirting wasn't as rusty as he was led to believe. "Grazie, bella! What brings you here?"
If possible, the woman blushed even harder. It was during that moment when the Italian realized that she was wearing professional attire and the lanyard bearing an ID, which alerted Veneziano to the fact that this woman must have been a political aide for one of his fellow Nations. He would have recognized her as one of his own, but there was something distinctly other that marked her as another Nation's child. Still, she was fairly pretty and by the looks of it, professional and kind to boot.
The young woman smiled and tucked a loose lock that had drifted from the strict coils of her bun and answered, "Would it be unprofessional of me to say that I was getting bored?" She shrugged her shoulders and looked away, clearly embarrassed by her admission.
"Don't worry about it!" Italy placed a hand on her shoulder and beamed at the surprised look on her face. "Trust me, most of us have skipped out on conferences multiple times before. No one will give you too much trouble for it. And if they do—"
Veneziano made a small cutting motion over his neck. It was meant in jest, but the woman looked a little past him in what appeared to be fear.
"Ah, miss—?"
A large hand, masculine and familiar, wrapped itself around his bicep. Veneziano, with the hesitancy one would find in a stalked prey animal, looked up to see an all too familiar face looking down at him with disappointment in his clear, blue eyes. Electric blue, Veneziano would say if he were painting them. Now, all Veneziano wanted to do was scurry away as fast as he could away from his northern neighbor.
"Italy, how many times have I told you, don't just run out the door—"
"But—" Veneziano couldn't help but whine. "—I swear, I asked permission to go! And besides, I was busy talking to this beautiful young woman over here!"
There was a sound that was akin to that of a snort or a cough, but Veneziano paid it no mind. The woman must have not been used to hearing compliments about her, which was a shame. She was utterly gorgeous and if given enough time… maybe they could be spending time over some cups of espresso!
Germany looked down at him with that cold stare before letting go of his arm.
"Oh, fine. I suppose you've been diligent in your notes for the past few meetings!"
"Grazie Dio!"
Veneziano tugged the woman after him, running in the opposite direction of the meeting.
"Wait!" Germany began to run after the Italian a few paces, but stopped in defeat. "You forgot your highligher, you stupid Italian."