España's Princesa

Chapter 7

Rosa was confused. When Zio Feli came over he took them all to dinner at the place where Toni works, even though dinner was long over. Once they got there Mamá told Rosa to go bug Francis. And that's where Rosa was, sitting with Francis and the strange man with the red eyes. Rosa was uncomfortable and would repeatedly sneak glances at Mamá , Papà and Zio Feli. She didn't like this being left out thing at all.

"Hm? What is ze matter mon petit? Feeling a bit left out?" Zio Franny asked when he noticed Rosa once again staring at her family.

She nodded and happily climbed into Francis's lap when he offered.

"Vhat do you zink zeir talking about?"

Francis shrugged and shook his head. "It is beyond me, mon ami. Whatever it is it must be serious. Did you see ze look on Feli's face?"

"Ja. He looked extra serious. It vas kinda scary seeing him so serious."

"What was scary?" A blonde boy approached wearing an apron like Zio Franny.

He set a plate full of nuggets and fries in front of Rosa, who smiled and went on to eating them gratefully.

"Hallo mein Schatz (hello my dear), Feli's serious face." The blonde boy sat across from Rosa and Francis to sit next to Gilbert.

"Feli? Serious? That's a first. And who's this?" Matthew asked, smiling kindly at Rosa.

"Zis, mon Mathieu, is Rosa. Toni found her about a week ago and has been fostering her since. Isn't she just ze cutest thing you've ever seen?"

Upon realizing she was being spoken to Rosa looked up to see the other blonde man smiling at her. "Yes she is. Hi Rosa, my name is Matthew but you can call me Mattie if it's easier. How old are you?"

Rosa carefully wiped the crumbs from her face and stared at her hand, thinking hard. She did this a few moments before holding up three fingers on each hand. She smiled proudly at herself for figuring it out on her own. Usually Papá had to help her.

"Six? Wow you're so big! I see you like the food I brought. We had some leftovers and you looked hungry."

"What do you say, mon petit?" Francis asked her kindly.

She looked to Francis then back to Matthew and ever so quietly muttered, "G-Grazi…"

"Awe, you're welcome. So what are those three talking about?"

"Who knows. We've been trying to figure it out zis whole time. Vhatever it is zey didn't want Rosa to hear it." Rosa visibly tensed when Gil said that.

"Mon ami, shush. Do not listen to him mon petit. I'm sure it is nothing. Just some… uh… adult talk." Rosa glanced at him doubtfully and continued chewing her dino shaped nuggets, although more slowly this time.

~(meanwhile)~

"Fratello, what are you talking about?" Lovi asked, not so much angry as he was flustered. 'What fratello says can't be true. Right?'

"It's true! I saw it on the television! It looked just like her! Her real name is Marta Verona. Her mother's name is Fina and her father's name is Giovanni. Their worried sick about her and want her home."

Toni had been oddly silent this whole time, until now. "If their so concerned about her why was she starving on the streets in the first place!?""

"Toni…" Lovi had never seen Toni so upset before.

Toni's fists were so tight his knuckles were turning a pure white. His teeth grit as he tried to calm down again. This was a new sight for both Italian brothers and neither knew what to do.

Lovi was worried about Toni. Both men had to assume Rosa had a family. They said this to themselves from the beginning. But it never felt real until now. Lovi would be lying if he said he were fine with this. Toni wasn't the only one who had become attached to the little girl. But, they had to face the facts. She wasn't theirs anymore. She never was. The right thing to do was contact her real parents and let them know she was safe and sound.

"But," Everyone paused as Toni spoke once more, his voice shaking slightly. "But, why didn't she say anything? I asked her if she had parents and she… she just gave me a really pitiful look… Why didn't she say she had a family?" He dropped his head in his hands and for a moment Lovi thought Toni would cry.

"Papà?" Lovi stood at the sound of Rosa's timid voice.

"Piccolo I-" Lovi began to ask why she wasn't with Francis but she wasn't listening.

Rosa tugged on Toni's shirt repeatedly. Worry filled her hazel orbs as she continued tugging, mumbling 'Papà?' like a mantra. Lovi couldn't watch this. It was breaking his heart. He picked her up, much to Rosa's displeasure.

"Papà? Mamà, perché è papà triste? (why is daddy sad?)"

"It's okay piccolo, Papà is just tired. Don't worry." Lovi mumbles to Rosa in an attempt to calm her.

Both know, however, that Toni is upset. While trying to calm Rosa, Lovi would occasionally glance at Toni with concern.

"Let's get you back to zio Franny, sì?" Rosa gave up her attempts to get to Toni and reluctantly agreed to once again stay with zio.

Rosa's innermost thoughts were at war. She was worried, sad, and scared all at once. She was worried for Papà, sad because he had ignored her, and scared she had angered him into despising her. She curled into Mattie's lap this time, trembling slightly. She wasn't cold, in fact she had worked up quite a sweat with all her anxiety.

"Hey Birdi, doesn't it feel like der Kleiner (the little one) has a fever?" Gil mentioned as he lightly rested a pale hand on her forehead.

"Hm?" Mattie rested his own hand on the back of her neck where it indeed appeared she had some sort of fever. "It does. Here, can you hold her? I'm gonna go get her a cold drink and see if that helps." Gil nodded and Mattie passed Rosa on to him and went back into the kitchen to get her a glass of water.

Rosa was feeling tired and hot and dizzy. She just felt icky. She hadn't even noticed Mattie had passed her to Gil. She was barely aware she was in Mattie's lap to begin with.

~(meanwhile)~

Lovi trying to calm Toni down, who was laid on the table, face down, with his arms as pillows to support his forehead. "Hey, idiota, how long are you gonna pout? You told me from the fucking beginning her parents might come looking for her so why're you getting so pissy about this?"

His shoulders shook and for a moment Lovi thought he made Toni cry until Toni turned his head to look at Lovi, a sad smile gracing his lips. This was a rare sight for Lovi and it made him uncomfortable. This was his lover, the man who sprinkled him in smiles and kisses. Right now he was different. He looked broken and sad. It was scary and heart-breaking.

"Mi amour, I do love you so but you suck at cheering me up…" Toni muttered with a weak chuckle.

"Well, I'm not used to you being the sad one that's my fucking job! If you're this bented up about it I'll by you a damn dog if you want! So, so just cheer up… okay?"

Toni felt bad. His sadness had affected Lovi but he couldn't bring himself to smile…

"Mon ami." Toni looked up and saw Francis holding a very frightened Rosa clutching a piece of paper to her chest. "Votre petit (You're little one), insisted I take her to you so she could give you this cute picture she made."

Toni sat up and took Rosa from Francis. He was making everyone worry about him. Lovi, Feli, Rosa and even Francis, though he'd never admit it. He sat Rosa in his lap, which made him happier but also sad at the same time. This may be one of the last times he would get to hold her, or see her beautiful pictures, or her cute face. Granted he didn't know much about taking care of a little girl but isn't that every first parent? No parent knew what they were doing the first time around, they just had to follow their heart. Toni pushed these thoughts away. He didn't want to worry Rosa even more.

"You drew me a picture, niñita? May I see?" Toni tried hard to smile but it fell when he noticed the beginnings of tears in her hazel eyes. "Niñita, no don't cry mi querida. Why are you crying?"

"Papà è arrabbiato con me. Ho fatto male? (Daddy is upset with me. Did I do bad?)" Toni was confused. He had noticed she spoke Italian when upset but he didn't know very much.

He looked to Lovi and he translated. "No niñita, you didn't upset Papà. It's okay. Can I see you're pretty picture?" He smiled smally to encourage her that all was fine.

Lovi wiped her cheeks with a napkin and she smiled. Rosa was never so happy as she was when she was with her Mamá and Papá. She happily showed Toni her picture. It was a picture of all of them at a park having a picnic.

Toni's smile grew. "It's beautiful niñita! I love it. Muy bien." He kissed the top of her forehead.

Feeling a bit ignored Feli cleared his throat. "Yoo-hoo. I'm still here…"

"Sorry fratello… But, we shouldn't talk about this in front of Ma-Rosa." At hearing her name Rosa looked up at Mamá.

"No mi amor, I think we should…" Toni's smile once again faded. "Thank you for telling us Feli. We'll talk about it and get back to you okay?"

Feli was concerned. Toni smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. His voice sounded tired. Feli decided to just nod and leave them be. He knew how much Toni loved Rosa and even Lovi was starting to like her. It broke Feli's heart to know that he made his fratello and his best friend so sad. He wanted to cry but he had no right to. All around this was the right thing to do. Rosa had a family waiting for her. Searching for her, and as much as Toni and Lovi loved the little girl it wouldn't change that.

The ride home was silent. Each person drowning in their own thoughts. Rosa was tired but she couldn't bring herself to quiet her mind long enough to rest. What had made Mamá and Papá so sad? Why wasn't Papá smiling at her anymore? He said she didn't do anything wrong. So why did it feel like she did? He liked her picture so that meant she wasn't in trouble, right? He kissed her head, too. Upon thinking of said kiss, Rosa placed a hand on her forehead. She was confused.

Mamá hadn't said anything to her at all. Was Mamá mad at her? No, that wasn't right. Mamá had wiped her tears and smiled at her. That meant something… Right? Rosa finally had a Mamá and Papá who loved her and made her happy and made her smile. She didn't want to lose that. She wanted to do everything she could to stay with them. That way they could be a family forever. That's all she wanted…

Lovi sat in the passenger seat, slouched and staring sadly out the window. His thoughts weren't the happiest at the moment and he felt he'd cry any second. He didn't want Toni or Rosa to see him cry. Even though he was sure Toni's thoughts were similar to his own at the moment he didn't want to worry Rosa. He would glance at her in the backseat occasionally. Her head was down, as if asleep but she wasn't. Lovi would see her look to the sides every now and then without really looking at anything. She was most likely thinking she'd done something wrong and Toni and him were mad at her. He wanted to comfort her but he felt it wouldn't be very convincing. He assumed the same went for Toni.

'Toni…' Lovi glanced at his lover. Toni was driving, face forward and body tense. His green eyes gleamed slightly as if on the verge of tears himself. His face was solemn. Lovi didn't like this. He was used to Toni always smiling but right now he looked so tired… So very tired. Lovi just wanted things to be simple. He looked back out the window watching as the night flew past in a blur of black against the lights that shone. 'Why couldn't something good just happen once without falling to shit?' Lovi thought as his eyes burnt with angry tears. 'Dammit…'

Toni was no better than his two passengers. His thoughts churning like waves in a storm. He knew Feli wasn't trying to upset them. Feli never did things like that. No, Toni didn't blame Feli for anything. He blamed himself. He knew he never should have gotten his hopes up like this. He had only been setting himself up for heartbreak. Just thinking about waking up one day without Rosa coming in to wake him or to find her sleeping on top him made his chest ache. It was like trying to imagine life without Lovi. He couldn't do it…

His hands shook but he kept them on the steering wheel, gripping tighter till his knuckles were white so no one would notice. He didn't want to feel like this but he couldn't help it. He wanted to smile and laugh and to tell Rosa and Lovi that everything was fine. Toni glanced at Rosa in the rear-view mirror. She looked as lost as he felt. He thought back to when he first met Rosa just a week ago. He had asked if she had family. She never said yes or no but the look she gave him… He had just assumed she was like him and didn't enjoy talking about it. But, maybe, just maybe, her look was that of a girl who really was lost? Maybe she had gotten separated from them at the market and was just lost and afraid? Or had she run away and was simply afraid she'd be in trouble once she got home?

Thank you all for reading and for your reviews! I'm sorry it took me so long to post that last chapter. But here's a new one. I usually write my chapters with a goal of 2,000 words well this one had a bit more. I think this one had about 2,500? Anyway, thanks again for reading and I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit depressing I just had to capture everyone's feelings.

One more thing. I have a Wattpad where I'm posting this story and another. The other is a compilation of Hetalia one-shots. It will only be posted on Wattpad. For more info on that look at my bio. It'll explain everything and give you a link. So you know if you'd be interested or know someone who'd like that check it out.

Love ya, mi preciosas!