Well, here's our fourth chapter!

Before going on, I wanna thank you all for asking about my vacation. It was great, the beach was awesome, I was forced to sing in a talent show, but I don't want to talk about that xD I also came back looking very very tan O.O And no, Daddy, nobody hit on me... *wink wink* (-le gasp- Am I becoming like... France?)

Anyway, a reply to my reviewers:

MaxiTalia: Wow! You're Italy and Liechtenstein combined, two of my favorite characters in one person! That must be awesome!

Eva of Moonstone: I think the JapLiech one sounds interesting. I'll probably turn it into a oneshot, but it'll have to wait a while. Sorry!

WOW: Only England and Austria are inside the plan at the moment, but I plan for someone else to join them very soon. And once again... love your little skit!

SparklyPandas: I imagine that would be very kawaii =)

AKJK: I don't like reader inserts, and well, you can pretend that you're Liechtenstein :D

Guest: Yep, I've given the story an image icon thingy~~ I think it turned out quite nicely, but a little small, and well, it's of Romano and Liechtenstein.

And... on with the story!

IV. Meeting Veneziano

Romano dreamed that night.

This time, he was viewing a fancy looking room inside of a house. He wasn't personally in the dream, but he seemed to be watching it. It was a strange feeling of weightlessness and curiosity that he hung onto.

Romano was surveying the quiet room when the door opened and the boy who looked like him, but only with a curl on the opposite side of his head, stumbled in. He looked starved and exhausted.

"I'm hungry." He complained, his high, childish voice deflated with hunger.

Another figure walked in after him. Romano recognized the petite little girl with the blonde pigtails. These were the people that he had seen in his previous dream. But the timeline must have jumped to a period before the one in his other dream, because all both of the nations in the room looked younger than before.

The blonde girl donned an apron over her blue plaid dress, and something about her seemed strangely familiar. Was it her big, smiling emerald green eyes? Her soft blonde strands of hair? Nah, if he'd ever met anyone with such beautiful hair and eyes, he'd definitely remember them. Or was this from when his memory was still whole?

"How about I make you some pasta? Mr. Austria just went over to Mr. Switzerland's place, and Miss Hungary has gone, too. Oh, we can look for Romano, too." Once more, the little girl's sweet voice had him frozen as he tried to imprint the sound of it in his mind. Romano was suddenly aware of what he was feeling though, and a dark blush seeped into his cheeks.

"Ooh, pasta! Ve! Let's go!" The boy took the girl's hand and stole a kiss when she wasn't looking. He laughed cheerfully, and dragged her out of the room too quickly for Romano to see her reaction.

Suddenly, Romano felt a strange red-hot bubbling sensation inside him. It couldn't be jealousy, could it? But from his spot of observation over the room, he could hear the merry giggles out in the hallway, and it made his insides boil.

Romano was ready to meet his younger brother.

He wondered what Veneziano would look like. He wondered how Veneziano would act like. But most of all, he wondered what it felt like to have a brother, and if Veneziano could help him restore the little parts of his childhood memory. He clung to that little spark of hope.

"What's wrong Roma? Worried about Veneziano? Or are you worried about Belgium?" Spain chuckled, biting into a tortilla.

Apparently, Spain had also invited Belgium over, who claimed that she wanted to see how Romano was doing. Romano was also excited to meet her; he wondered if she would look as she had in the pictures and act as nice as Spain had praised her on.

"You know, you used to have a crush on Belgium when you were younger." Spain smiled widely. "You would demand her to kiss you, and then she'd tease you."

"Shut up bastard. You told me that before already, and I don't want to hear it again." For some reason, Romano's eyes flickered toward Liechtenstein, who didn't even seem to be listening and was busy eating her cheese. "Plus, maybe I liked her as a little kid, but I'm grown up now." He scowled into his pizza.

"Relax, Roma. I was kidding." Spain spoke with his mouth full, but still managed to shoot a smile in Romano's direction. "Well, they'll be here in an hour, so finish up! I'm done." Stuffing the rest of the tortilla into his mouth, Spain stood up and looked toward Liechtenstein. "Do you need any help with the dishes?"

Liechtenstein shook her head, her violet ribbon fluttering slightly. "Nein. I'll be fine."

"Ok then." Spain grinned at Liechtenstein, and she replied with a smile of her own. Romano wondered how she had gotten used to Spain so quickly, while she still spoke to him warily. After staring at his plate glumly for a few seconds, he proceeded to eating the rest of the slice of pizza. He didn't care if they were on more friendly terms than him, anyway.

Romano finished his pizza to the sound of the dishwasher, and avoided Liechtenstein's soft green eyes trailing after him as he stalked back to his room. He didn't know why he was acting so sourly to her, and he didn't want to dwell on it, but he couldn't stop. And frankly, he was scared of how he would act around her without hiding behind the cold and aloof mask.

"Romano! Belgium's here!" Came Spain's voice, and Romano sighed to himself, turning around on the staircase and making his way back downstairs once more. His excited mood had suddenly evaporated.

A blonde nation greeted him at the doorway, along with a grinning Spain. "Ciao." Romano said curtly, peering into her eyes. The nation's bright green eyes radiated happiness, something that irked Romano a bit, for some strange reason.

"Hey there Romano!" Belgium grinned and ruffled his hair, and then threw an arm around Spain. "Do you still remember me, Romano?"

He didn't. "No." He told Belgium, studying her more carefully. The wavy shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes were expected, as he had seen from the pictures, but he didn't quite feel as attracted to her as he had expected. Sure, Belgium was pretty, and maybe he had a crush on her when he had been younger, but that was different now.

He turned away from the cheerful couple and headed back into the house, aware of the lingering stares burning into his back. He wondered what had changed him so much. Was it the memory loss or something else entirely?

Sitting in his room and waiting for Veneziano, Romano thought about the strange dreams that he had been having lately. He remembered that there were the same people each time, but he could never recall what they looked like. Well, except for the little blonde girl.

Romano's eyes trailed around the room and then out his window, where he stared longingly at the clouds.

He tried conjuring up the girl in his mind. Squinting his eyes at the sky, Romano remembered blonde braids, emerald green eyes that were always wide and smiling. He also recalled her little pink lips, the ever-present rose blush tint coloring her pale complexion. Her dress, sometimes blue and sometimes red, with an apron over it. He tried matching this description to the nations he had met, but couldn't seem to come up with the right match.

There was a knock on his door.

"M-master Romano?" He'd recognize that voice anywhere, although he wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

"What?" Romano retorted, and a strange thought suddenly crossed his mind. Could it have been Liechtenstein? No, Liechtenstein's hair was shorter, although the same color, and-

"Master Romano, Veneziano is here." Liechtenstein said quietly, pushing the door slightly ajar.

"Really?" With a curious expression dawning on his face, Romano jumped down from his perch and pulled the door open.

"Fratello! I'm so glad that you're alright! Germany said that he went to see you and you were absolutely fine, but I was so worried and I just wanted to see you myself. He also said you have something called 'memory loss' and aren't able to remember your past, but you still remember me, right? Ve~!" The other half of him, half the nation, that is, tackled him and wrapped him in a big bear hug.

"Gah! S-Stop that!" Romano exclaimed, struggling in his brother's grip and blushing immensely. When Veneziano did remove his grip, he dragged his brother to the sit on the carpet on the floor. "Ve! Tell me everything!"

"You-"

"Oh, Liechtenstein, come here too!" Veneziano beamed at Liechtenstein, and Romano noticed that his eyes seemed to stay forever closed. "You have a very beautiful maid, ve." He told Romano, tugging on Liechtenstein's hand to pull her down next to him.

Romano gaped at the pair before him, and felt something a little like relief when Liechtenstein pulled away. "I've got to do something, Italy. I'll be right back." She sent him a smile, and then rushed out the door, blonde hair fluttering back and forth and maid dress hitched up to her ankles as she raced down the stairs.

"You're lucky to have such a beautiful nation working for you, fratello." Italy said, stretched out on his stomach and grinning at Romano as he ranted on. "I just met Liechtenstein downstairs, and she was very nice to me. Germany dropped me off, and she seemed to know him, and promised that she'd take good care of me. Then she said that she'd make me pasta when I come over another day, because she didn't have the ingredients ready. And then I told her that I'd come over and help her make it, ve!" He spoke so fondly of Liechtenstein that Romano wondered where he had gone wrong and why Liechtenstein wouldn't treat him so. You were mean to her, remember? And you don't even want her around anyway, so why think about her so much?

Romano ignored the voices in his head. "The potato bastard was here?" He asked, maneuvering the conversation away from Liechtenstein.

"Si! Oh, you still dislike him, fratello? He's not a bad guy, really, and now that your memory's temporarily gone, maybe you can start over with him. He's not as strict as he looks, ve! And he's usually very tolerant of everything. I just don't like how he makes us train all the time, and his sausages taste kinda bad, but other than that, he's a nice guy."

"I don't think so." Romano scowled, and suddenly the door was flung open and Liechtenstein walked in, carrying a clear bowl of tomatoes and a plate of pasta.

"Pasta!" Veneziano exploded, jumping to his feet and rushing toward Liechtenstein. Romano stared after him... What a strange guy, he thought.

Romano watched as his brother took the plate from Liechtenstein's hand in such a rush that he knocked her over to the ground. In the space of three seconds, Liechtenstein had been knocked to the ground, the bowl of tomatoes flew out of her hand, and tomatoes were rolling all around his room.

Making a point to ignore Liechtenstein –he didn't ask himself why he was acting so strange and ignorant- Romano picked up the tomato nearest him. "Look what you did, you clumsy girl. The tomatoes are ruined now." He complained, but nobody replied to him. Instead, Romano looked up to the sight of a flustered Liechtenstein and his brother rushing over to help her.

"Mi dispiace! I'm so sorry Liechtenstein! Are you ok, ve? Did I hurt you?" Italy frantically threw his plate of pasta to the side and dropped down beside Liechtenstein, gathering all the tomatoes into a pile as the bowl was hopelessly broken.

"It wasn't y-your fault. I-I'm fine." Liechtenstein stammered, reaching out her hands to gather up the tomatoes. "I'm going to get a new bowl." She said hurriedly, her lips wavering.

Italy reached out for her hand. "Your finger's bleeding! Did the glass from the bowl cut you or something?"

Romano huffed.

"N-Nein! I'll be fine." Liechtenstein protested, and Romano wondered whether Veneziano would let go of her or not.

"Here! This is what Ludwig does to my boo-boos and owies." Italy brought Liechtenstein's hand to his lips and kissed it gently, while Romano stared in anger. Who was he do that to his maid?

Liechtenstein was speechless for a few seconds, but then she seemed to regain her composure. Staring at Italy with wide eyes, she managed to stammer out, "Danke!" and gather the tomatoes in her apron. Before Romano could compensate what was happening, she had disappeared out the door.

"Fratello, you should really be nicer to Liechtenstein." Italy told him, looking after Liechtenstein worriedly.

"Hey, she's my maid, not yours." He scowled, and then became silent as Veneziano talked on and on about how he should change his attitude. Romano caught a sentence here or there that showed him Veneziano knew him well, at least the old him, but he didn't pay much attention. He was busy wondering when Liechtenstein would return so he could apologize for being so curt and short tempered with her.

Veneziano left after dinner, and promised that he'd come back. While Liechtenstein ate dinner along with him, his brother, Spain and Belgium, she didn't seem to be interesting in saying anything, and Romano couldn't help thinking that it was his fault. It was only her second day, and he had already started treating her badly. He didn't see the reason why he was so mean toward her, though. It just seemed like whenever he tried to keep a decent conversation with her, he would notice her large, shining eyes giving him all their attention, her hopefulness still vying for his kindness, and somewhat her wariness that built a wall between them. When those times came and he started to feel strange emotions stirring inside him, he would bury them underneath a pile of reckless words and ignorance. But he wasn't a coward in any way... right?

So Romano decided to help Liechtenstein after dinner.

"Aren't you done with your food, Master Romano?" She spoke to him for the first time since the accident that afternoon, but her voice was clear of any bitterness.

"S-Si." Romano replied, trying to chase away the strange nervousness he felt. Let's get this over with... He thought.

"I... I wanted to stay and help you." Romano blurted out, his green eyes immediately pinpointing on the floor. "I mean... I wanted to..."

"That'd be great." She smiled, and for the first time, that smile was directed at him. Romano felt a warm blush spread over his cheeks. What was she doing to him?

"You can help me bring these dirty dishes over to the sink, if you don't mind. Then we'll have to rinse them and put them in the dishwasher." Liechtenstein grabbed the plates on the table, and Romano made a move to do the same.

Not really used to cleaning up (and he obviously hadn't ever listened to Spain's orders to do his chores before, as Spain had told him), Romano took too many plates at a time and his hands shook as he walked over to the sink, trying hard to balance the dishes on his hands.

"Not so many!" Liechtenstein laughed, and the familiar high tinkling laugh she had sounded strangely familiar. "Let me help you."

Romano saw Liechtenstein reaching out for the plates as he peeked out from behind them. "G-Grazie." He told her, feeling immediate relief as the weight was lifted away from him.

"H-Hey Liechtenstein." He said quietly as his hands were filled to the wrist with soap bubbles and he scrubbed the dishes.

"Ja?"

"I'm s-sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to be so..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say next and instantly becoming flustered again.

"It's alright." Liechtenstein told him, although her face suddenly seemed strained, like there was something else she wanted to say but couldn't quite manage.

"I really mean it. I'm sorry about that." He was also sorry about the way he'd treated her, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"I know you mean it. I guess it's just..."

"What?" Romano asked her, genuinely curious, although he tried not to show it.

There was a long silence as they loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. "It's nothing." Liechtenstein finally told him, undoing her ribbon and heading out of the kitchen, toward her room, he presumed.

"Good night, Romano."

"I..." Romano stood in the empty kitchen by himself, staring after her retreating figure. He felt stunned, and he couldn't manage the words until she had left already. "Good night, Liechtenstein." He called after her, but he was sure that she hadn't heard. And Romano remained in the kitchen long after that, wondering about Liechtenstein and about himself. The monotonous humming sound of Spain's dishwasher finally broke him from his reverie, and he stumbled back into his room as if struck by lightning.

"How is the plan working out so far?" Austria asked England as the blonde nation plopped on his couch. Arthur had made a point to visit more often lately, and Austria found that Hungary had taken a strange liking to the British nation, as she often claimed that "He's such a gentleman!"

"Relax, my friend. She's only been there for two days, but I have a feeling that she and Italy will become good friends. Romano, on the other hand... I don't know what to make of him." England replied, busying himself with a scone.

Austria noticed that England made all sorts of disgusted faces as he munched on the scone, and he wondered if England had finally noticed that his food tasted horrible. "How do you know all this? Do you stalk them or something?"

"Of course not!" England protested. "I asked Spain how Liechtenstein was doing, and that's what he told me."

"Well then..." Austria sipped his tea daintily. "You better hope that your plan works out, Britain."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But it will. We'll find a way to connect the three of them, don't worry!" England smirked, and for a moment Austria was convinced. And then all his trust evaporated into the air as quickly as tea left out overnight when he saw England muttering to himself: "I sure do hope so."

How'd you feel about that little character change in Romano near the end there? And what about Austria and England's little exchange? Leave a message in the reviews :D