It was strange how they met; Lovino was in the fields, amongst the tomato plants, but he wasn't working like Antonio had wanted him to. Instead he was sitting, singing a song he had known since he was a child, the harvest basket empty in his lap.

She was wandering by when she heard him singing. His words carried across the field, his song about the sun. The words were sad, but his voice has sweet and clear. She stopped where she stood, a few feet away, and she began to sing a song her brother had taught her, about the moon. Their voices mingled in the space between them.

Lovino startled and looked up at the tiny blonde girl's whose sweet soprano joined his treble, seeing how close she was, yet he had not noticed her until then.

"Who are you?!" he asked sharply in Italian. She looked at him quizzically, not understanding his question.

"W-who are you?" he repeated again in English.

She carefully examined his face, watching his dark brown eyes narrowing in confusion the longer she remained silent, still unsure if she had understood his question.

"My name is Lily." She answered carefully and slowly. "My brother told me not to talk to strangers."

The boy blushed, a heavy red hue tinting his tanned skin. "Then you shouldn't be talking to me!" he snapped as his face got progressively redder.

Lily laughed shyly. "He never said anything about singing with strangers."

Lovino watched Lily as she sat down beside him, smoothing her red and pink striped dress out around her.

"Let's sing again!" she stated cheerfully, and Lovino opened his mouth to reply, but didn't know what to say. And so he sang a line from his song about the sun, and Lily sang a line from her song about the moon. They went back and forth for a very long time, stopping only to figure out what song to sing next. Lovino, despite himself, enjoyed Lily's company.

Lily stood up to go when the sun started setting. "Well, goodbye."

"Lovino," He said quickly, clearing his throat. "My name is Lovino."

Lily smiled her sweet smile, the smile Lovino had gotten so used to that day.

"Thank you, Lovino." She said. "Will I be able to see you again?"

Lovino closed his eyes and stretched his arms out over his head. "Come by any day. I'll be here."

He watched her leave, and waved to her just before she disappeared from his sight.

-

Lily did not bring up the boy to Vash when she returned home. He frowned when she entered the house, but he did not ask her where she had been. He did not ask her until dinner, after she sat down in her seat across the table.

"Where were you today?" he asked, his voice sharper and louder then he meant it to be.

Lily gently replaced her fork on the wooden table. "The market." she lied- the first lie she had ever told Vash.

"I told you not to go to the market without me." Vash said, his voice a little quieter, but still with an edge. "You could get hurt, or… just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay, I won't go to the market alone without telling you first." Lily said calmly, a compromise.

Vash's face reddened for a slight moment.

"Only with my permission." He agreed, and left the dining room with his plate.

-

Lovino didn't expect Lily to return the next day. He was working today, because Antonio had yelled at him about the empty basket he had brought back the day before.

"I'm going to check on you today!" Antonio had warned Lovino, wagging his finger in a childish way. "You better be working hard!"

"Stupid tomato-bastard." Lovino cussed, dropping tomato after tomato into his basket.

"Stupid tomato-what?" Lily asked, coming up behind the Italian boy, who dropped the tomato he was holding onto the ground.

"N-nothing! Sorry! Nothing!" Lovino cried, spinning around to face the tiny blonde girl, his face red. She laughed quietly.

"What are you doing?"

Lovino sighed. "Work."

"Can I help?"

"W-what? N-no... I mean... if you want, I guess..." he stuttered, unsure if he should refuse her or be polite.

"I would like to help you, Lovino." she said with a sweet smile, saying his name carefully.

"O-okay, then. Okay." Lovino nodded. "I only have one basket to fill, so we can finish the job quickly..."

"Alright." Lily agreed and gently plucked a tomato from the plant, holding it up so Lovino could see. "Like this?"

Lovino nodded, a smile crossing his lips. "Yup."

A look of determination crossed Lily's face as she scrutinized the tomatoes before her. She hesitated before finally picking one, and Lovino held the basket out for her. The two of them worked in silence until Antonio came, to check on Lovino's work.

"Oi, Lovi~! How are you?" the young man called cheerfully, and Lovino gritted his teeth.

"Wow! that's a lot of tomatoes!" Antonio marveled, before looking up from the basket to the blonde girl it sat next to. He spun around, a mixed look of shock and fear on his face.

"What is Vash's sister here for?!" he hissed in spanish, grabbing Lovino's shoulder.

"She offered." Lovino replied calmly in italian. "You can't turn down a lady's request; that's what you taught me."

"Well, don't get yourself killed." Antonio shrugged, his bright smile returning. "See ya later!" he said, in english again.

Lovino and Lily both watched Antonio leave, ducking behind one of the tomato plants.

"He's not really gone, is he?" Lily smiled knowingly, looking up at Lovino.

"Nope." Lovino mumbled looking away.

"My brother does that too, sometimes." Lily smiled, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Right now?!" he panicked, recalling Antonio's earlier warning to 'not get himself killed'.

"No, I doubt it." she sighed softly. "He had political work to do when I left."

"Oh," Lovino said, barely masking his relif. He bit into the tomato in his hand, as if it were an apple.

"Would you mind if I took a few tomatoes home with me?" Lily said and stood up, brushing off her dress.

He smiled, swallowing the tomato in his mouth. "Go ahead."

"You're very sweet, Lovino." Lily said. "I rather like you."

Lovino began stuttering, flushing red once again.

"Th-thank you, Lily... I-I like you t-too..."

The girl smiled, and quickly leaned forward to kiss the Italian boy on the cheek, before picking three tomatoes from the basket and leaving for home.

"So Cute!!" Antonio cried once Lily was out of sight, leaping out from his hiding place behind the tomato plant. "You two are so adorable!!"

"Shut up, you thick-headed bastard!"

-

The next day Lily returned breifly, to give Lovino a jar of the tomato sauce she had made. She left quickly, once again kissing him on the cheek. Vash was waiting for her to return home, so that they could go to an important meeting with Roderich, Elizaveta and Ludwig.

He ate the sauce by himself. Spain wasn't around at the time, so it wasn't like he could share it even if he wanted to, but he felt that the sauce was a gift to him, and only he should eat it.

It was delicious.

-

The fourth day, it rained. Lovino waited outside, cold and wet, his mind at war. He both wanted Lily to come, and didn't want her to come, because of the rain. He stood out in the rain without an umbrella for two hours on the pathway heading to the feilds. He was surprised when he saw the petite girl approaching, an umbrella over her head.

"You're soaked." she said, as if it were a surprise. He attempted a smile, but Lily already had grabbed his hand and was leading him back to his house, her other arm holding the black umbrella over both their heads. "Quickly, before you catch cold!"

Lovino left her n the kitchen while he changed. She sat in one of the plain wooden chairs, silently and patiently, and looked up when Lovino enetered the room, a look of worry on her face.

"Do you feel unwell?" she asked him quickly..

"No, I feel fine." he answered with a convincing smile. She smiled back, relieved.

"The tomato sauce..." she asked suddenly, then ducked her head shyly. "What... what did you think of it?"

Lovino blushed, pocketing both hands. "It was delicious."

Lily beamed. "I'm so happy!" she said, and Lovino smiled back. "I'm really happy you liked my gift..."

"Uhm," Lovino started, unsure of what to say. "Let me walk you home, Lily."

The rain had stopped, now only dripping from the over hanging branches that lined the path leading to Lily's home.

"Is your brother home?" Lovino asked cautiously, Lily walking beside him with her umbrella closed and tucked under her arm.

"I don't think so." she said, and took the italian's hand in her own.

They walked in silence until they reached Vash and Lily's house. It was a large wooden building surrounded by trees. Lovino and Lily walked up th winding path that led to the front porch. they stood over the doormat awkwardly until Lovino decided to speak, turning to face Lily.

"Lily..." he started, his voice catching. He forced himself not to look away. "you're so open with your feelings... I... I want to be, too." He quickly looked over his shoulders, as if Vash was hiding behind one of the trees or the corner of the house.

"Lily, I... think I love you..." he said quietly, but then repeated himself a little louder. "I'm in love with you, Lily."

And Lily smiled. She stood on tip-toe, and slowly their lipd met. Lovino gently kissed her back, and the worlds seemed still and quiet and beautiful for that moment.

And then it all happened so quickly.

The door to the house swung open, Vash ripping through the air, shoulder colliding with Lovino. He whipped the gun out, and pulled the bruised Italian off the rocky pathway by the front of his shirt. Vash ignored Lily's cries at his back, pleading him to stop, to leave Lovino alone.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Vash demanded, his eyes filled with an inhuman rage. Lovino winced, flinching away from the hand gun the Swiss boy toted in his open hand. Vash threw him to the ground when he didn't answer immediately. "SAY SOMETHING!"

"I didn't hurt her! Honest!" Lovino cried, raising his hands as a sheild, but Vash kicked him hard in the ribs.

"Stop, brother, please!" Lily begged, tears running down her face, as Vash jabbed Lovino in the head with his gun.

"Make me believe you." he hissed, his green eyes boaring into Lovino's retinas.

"I..." Lovino's voice caught in his throat. "I didn't... I'd never hurt Lily! I'd never, ever do anything to hurt her!" Lovino cied, tears escaping the corners of his eyes.

Vash stared at Lovino, looking for a sign that the boy was lying before standing slowly, turning to face Lily.

"Is he telling the turth?!" he barked in German at his younger sister, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Ja... Ja." she answered, voice choked into a whisper by her tears. "Its the truth...."

Vash frowned, and slowly sat down on the porch steps. He clicked the safety 'on' on the handgun, and put it aside.

"Why..." he started, his voice small. "Why didn't you tell me?"

And slowly, Lily and Lovino explained the story, from the beginning.

-

It took Vash a while to get used to Lovino's presence. He could see that he made Lily happy, which put his mind at ease, just a little bit. But he definatly took his time in trusting the boy, especially with their abrupt meeting on his doorstep.

Eventually though, he took to Lovino, even enough to call him a friend.

'Eventually' being the key word, of course.

A/N: Holy smokes! I'm finally done!

After three monthes of work, I give you 'Eventually', a fluffy-romantic Liech/Romano fic!

... What is this "Liech/Romano" you say? For shame! It's only one of the cutest Hetalia pairings ever! /shotdead.

Hahaha. I absolutly loe these two!

Anywhoo, thanks for reading guys! Reveiws are loved, critique loved even more!!

- Kat xoxoxo !!