HELLOOOOO OUT THERE MY AMAZING AND PATIENT AND SUPER DUPER TOTALLY AWESOME READERS.

Oh God, I'm so sorry. I'm sure I've lost a good chunk of readers by now, since I haven't updated in UNREASONABLY CLOSE TO A YEAR. Unfortunately I've had a lot happen and I kinda needed to step away from writing for a while. Not only that, but my Hetalia muse just COMPLETELY abandoned me and it's only recently that I regained enough ambition to continue this. I CANNOT apologize enough to you guys who really like the story, and I'm going to do my best to update it more frequently from now on. The writing gods are not kind to me... But you guys are awesome. It's feedbak from you guys that lights a fire under me and pushes me to not leave this unfinished.

Now then, as for questions.

TwistedRoses132: If you're still out there! I believe I've had this question before, about whether or not Alfred would make an appearance, and I guess it's alright if I let this one detail slip. Lol, don't worry, America is my favorite character, honestly, so I always want him to pop up in stories too. Unfortunately, I couldn't really find a place for him, so as of right now he's only scheduled to make a very minor cameo at the end of the story. However, you'll find quite a few other misc characters scattered throughout Agrabah, so see how many you can recognize! (Hint: It will probably be very obvious because subtlety isn't my thing)

Now then. I'll warn you guys right now this chapter is about twice as long as the last, going from page count. It was originally obscenely longer, but I need a bit more time to fine-tune my character interactions so I had to cut it off a little early. I'm working on the next and hopefully that'll be done pretty quick here.

SO! Without further ado, please enjoy the long long long awaited new chapter!

-Chapter Five-

The marketplace was an almost overwhelming experience. Lovino was not unaccustomed to seeing so many people, but to actually be walking among them like a normal citizen was entirely different. The noise, the chatter, the shouting venders, the pure life and energy that bustled through the crowded streets. It was everything the prince had dreamed of and more.

He could smell grilling meat and freshly caught fish. He could hear laughter and normal conversation amongst friends and neighbors. He could feel the wind whip dirt and sand past his feet and the sun beat down from its midday position in the sky. There were live animals and carts of food too cheap to keep in the palace kitchen and street performers who danced on beds of nails or swallowed fire and nobody was bowing or forcing smiles for his sake.

It was the single most amazing place Lovino had ever gotten lost in.

In spite of having no idea where he was or what to do with himself, the young man seemed perfectly content to wander about the so-much-bigger-in-person city for the time being. He would have to find shelter soon, he knew. As soon as Feliciano realized he'd run away, the city would be swarming with guards. He was pretty sure he could outsmart most of them, but it never hurt to play it safe.

The prince was suddenly startled out of his thoughts when a weight collided with his side, causing the man to stumble slightly. As an automatic reflex, he hissed and turned to snap at whoever had been so careless.

"Hey! Watch it!"

But the annoyance quickly faded away at the sight before him. A young boy stepped back from him, sandy blonde hair matted and dirty. He turned his head up slowly to meet Lovino's gaze with wide, dark blue eyes and-oh god, those eyebrows. They weren't quite as thick, but they bore an eerie resemblance to the Royal Vizier's.

Could Arthur have some secret commoner honeys hidden away? No...No he was much too uptight and fussy to be getting laid on a regular basis.

"Oh, sorry sir! I wasn't looking where I was going." Lovino's outrage was no match for those kicked puppy dog eyes, so he just huffed a sigh and looked away indignantly.

"L-Look, it's fine. Just pay attention next time! Now beat it, kid." The boy smiled up at him, nodding before taking off down the street again.

"Same to you, sir!" He could be heard snickering not so discreetly as he hurried away. Lovino just watched after him with a puzzled expression. Why was he laughing? Commoners were a little strange.

Did his waist feel lighter?

Peter was grinning devilishly as he weaved through the wide streets, cradling the plump purse in his hands. The innocent little boy act hadn't been quite as effective since he'd gained a reputation among the marketplace regulars, but the blonde had a feeling his latest sucker definitely wasn't from around here.

Success was even sweeter when he realized just how heavy the pilfered sack was. He relished the weight and the satisfying jiggle of coins inside. It made him feel a touch less guilty as well. If this was that guy's idea of walking-around-money, he obviously had plenty more at home. Why not spread the wealth a little?

"HEY! YOU THIEVING LITTLE BRAT! GET BACK HERE!"

The man's voice bellowed with impressive volume over the rest of the crowd, followed by quick footsteps. Peter glanced back to see the man barreling towards him, nearly knocking over a few other people in the process. The boy yelped and sped up, rushing down the road and ducking around as many people and carts as he could in an effort to lose him.

Shoot, he hadn't counted on him being observant enough to notice right away!

The chase continued for another minute or so, under a few overpasses and past several vendors, cutting through alleyways and around a street performer or two. Lovino had come this close to getting his head sliced off by a man juggling swords. Finally, an unfortunately placed camel brought the child to an abrupt halt and the brunette managed to catch up, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and lifting him up off his feet. He was looking frazzled and furious, and at some point his hood had fallen off, but the royal heir could hardly care less at the moment.

"What do you think you're doing, you fuzzy-browed little bastard? How dare you swipe my purse like that! Hand it over right now or I'll show you some of the discipline your parents clearly haven't!" The boy struggled in his grasp, kicking and clutching the purse close to his chest.

"Put me down, jerkface! I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't steal anything!" He stuck out his tongue defiantly.

"Oh don't give me that, you've got it right in your hands! I know it's mine, it has very distinct stitching! Now fork it over, kid!" Lovino held out his hand to emphasize his demand, but the boy simply shook his head in refusal.

"My name isn't KID! It's Peter! P-E-T-E-R! Stupid jerk!"

"Why you little-" The young prince was quite tempted to verbally abuse the bajeezus out of the uppity little brat, but then his ears started burning and he became acutely aware of the hushed whispers and uncomfortable glances being tossed their way. Suddenly, Lovino was feeling a bit self-conscious and exposed. He really shouldn't be drawing all this attention to himself, he realized. With both frustration and awkward caution, he let the boy down, but kept a tight grasp on his shirt. Peter was rather bewildered himself, and thus stopped squirming for the time being. The older male grunted and leaned down to the younger's eye level, staring at him with a firm expression.

"Look, ki-Peter. You can't just steal from people, you're going to get an ear lobbed off that way!" If the descriptions he'd heard of just how violent those bandits could be were anything to go by, at least.

"But it's not fair!" Peter protested, glaring up at the man stubbornly. "My father works just as hard as anybody-no, WAY harder-and we barely make enough to get by! What do you need all this for, huh? You probably have loads of money at your house, so just let us have this!"

"at my house..." Lovino barely restrained a groan. It was true, technically speaking, and he felt a small sense of guilt gnawing at his insides. He tried to shake it off, though, and returned to being authoritative. "Actually, I don't have a home anymore. I'm sort of a drifter now, so that's all the money I have to live off of, thank you very much."

At this, Peter's resolve softened a little and he appeared genuinely stunned. A contemplative silence passed between the two, during which the blue-eyed boy turned his gaze away and tried very hard not to look like he felt bad. He shouldn't, he reasoned, because it was this guy's own fault if he wasn't smart enough to keep pickpockets at bay. But his mother probably wouldn't approve of him stealing from somebody who didn't even have a steady income (of course, his parents didn't really approve of his little hobby regardless, but that was besides the point). With a reluctant sigh, he handed the purse back over, knowing he would be kicking himself for being such a good samaritan later.

"I guess a clueless guy like you needs it more than me anyway. You'll probably be broke by the end of the week." Lovino twitched slightly, narrowing his eyes a little but taking the purse back and finally releasing the boy's shirt.

"I'll be nice and ignore that this time." The prince stood up straight again, and Peter turned to walk away, dejected, when Lovino called out. "Hey, hold up. I wanna give you something." Shoulders slumped, the boy looked back with mild curiousity.

"Aw, what is it, jerkface? I have to get home."

"Here, take this with you." The boy's demeanor brightened as soon as the coins spilled into his palms. He gaped at his hands for a moment, then turned his shock up at Lovino, who wore a broad smirk.

"A-Are you for real? This is a lot...You're not just going to send officers after me and say I stole it, are you?" His own face became suspicious, and Lovino couldn't help but chuckle, feeling a certain smugness.

"Just take it and scram, you little brat. And stay out of trouble." Peter hesitated, then carefully pocketed the offering and flashed a grateful smile.

"Thank you. I guess you're not a total jerkface." Waving briefly, the boy hurried off once again, leaving the former prince to watch after him with a small huff and a subtle smile.

"Yeah, same to you, brat!" With a 'hmph', the young man pulled his hood back over his head, readjusting his coin pouch and taking a wary look around to make sure no guards had spotted him. Then continued off to explore the city further. It occured to Lovino that he should probably ask for directions soon. It was getting late in the morning, and he didn't want to risk running into a familiar face.

"Let's try here! We haven't checked down this street yet!"

Speak of the wurst-munching devil.

Lovino cursed under his breath, turning to see Ludwig making his way towards him with the ever-quiet Kiku in toe. Both were alert and scanning the citizens carefully, pausing for half a second every now and then when they caught a glimpse of some potential clue. Luckily, they hadn't yet appeared to notice him. The rogue prince felt his chest tighten with a sense of urgency and, without a second thought, he slunk into the darkest alleyway he could find within a ten yard radius. Unlike the ones he had chased Peter through, this ended in a stone wall, which worked out perfectly because the young man could press himself all that more effectively into the shadows. He watched the opening tensely, holding his breath, afraid that the smallest noise might give him away.

Finally, after what felt like hours (when in reality, it probably wasn't even a couple of minutes), the pair of guards wandered by. Ludwig didn't even glance his way, and he almost sighed with relief. Almost. Kiku, hearing the faint sound of something shifting against stone, paused and turned his head just slightly to peer into the darkness. Lovino felt his heart jump and he sucked in his breath again, pursing his lips tightly together and willing himself to sink into the wall behind him.

His heart beat once. Twice. Three times - shit, why was it so unbelievably loud? It sounded like a drumline in his ears!

Kiku hesitated, then took a step towards him. Lovino thought he was going to have a heart attack. But then.

"Kiku, move it! I think I just saw him headed towards one of the inns!" The black-haired man blinked and glanced back out into the street, then into the shadows once more before pulling back and continuing after his comrade.

"I'm coming..!"

Lovino waited until he was sure the footsteps had faded away and became indistinguishable amongst the dull roar of voices and clatter, then heaved a huge sigh and leaned heavily against the wall. He tilted his head back, a nervous laugh escaping his throat. He'd never been so grateful to that stupid potato bastard in his life. Not that he'd be thanking him anytime soon.

"Shit, that was a close call. I'd definitely better find somewhere to hide out before those assholes catch up to me again!" However, just as Lovino pulled himself up and started forward, the light that poured in from the street was obstructed by another figure. Or rather, three figures.

"Well well, it seems like you're in a bit of trouble, aru!"

The brunette looked up in confusion at the trio of dark-haired individuals blocking his only exit. A short young man in the front, with a black ponytail and almost golden eyes, who wore a broad, confident smirk. On either side of him were two other men. One had wild, windblown hair and a wayward curl (not unlike his own), and seemed like he could barely contain his energy with the way he was bouncing on his heels. The other was the complete opposite, with neat, flat hair and a blank stare that rivaled Kiku's in apathy. Lovino opened his mouth to try and reply, but before he could speak the bubbly one interrupted him.

"I bet it's cause you stole all that money! Right? Right? That's a lot for a drifter to be carrying around! Bet you swiped it off a noble when he wasn't looking!" He made this accusation with a bright grin, and Lovino wasn't really sure whether he ought to be annoyed or concerned.

"If that's the case," the man in the middle (probably the leader, he deduced) cut in, folding his arms and letting his head loll to the side with a predatory smirk, "then we'd be more than happy to take that contraband off of your hands, aru."

"I didn't steal anything. This is my money." Lovino insisted with a grunt, trying to ignore the sense of forboding and the little voice in the back of his head yelling at him to get out of there because something was about to go down. "Now fuck off, I have places to be!" He started forward, but came to a stop when the trio began to advance on him. He drew a breath, stepping back again, trying to keep distance between them.

"Well then, we should try and make this quick, aru! Wouldn't want to hold you up or anything." Before he knew it, the ponytailed man was in front of him, extending a hand. "Just hand over the money and we'll be on our way, aru."

"I said fuck off you weird, ponytailed bastard!" Lovino spat, knocking his hand away (a rather bold move in his own opinion) and struggling to keep his so far composed demeanor from melting into the steadily growing fear he felt beneath the surface. How dare they attempt to rob the Prince of Agrabah! Granted, they had no idea who he was, but still. Suddenly, he recalled the precautioun he'd hid away under his sash for just such an occation. He reached for his side, but before he could even grasp the handle, a pair of impractically long sleeves had slipped under his arms and restrained him.

"Whoops! Not so fast there!" He hadn't even seen that stupidly happy-looking minion move, yet somehow he was behind him, holding the fugitive up against his chest. Somehow, the assailant managed to snake one hand into his sash and pulled out the small dagger, revealing the weapon to his superior before tossing it carelessly to the ground. "No fair, pulling out weapons on unarmed people, even if they are robbing you! You have to play by the rules, right Aniki?"

"I told you to call me Yao, aru. And good eye, Yong Soo." The leader granted a compliment, but it seemed begrudging. He turned to the third member, who had remained deathly silent during the whole exchange. "Jia Long, pick that up. It looks nice. We might be able to get something for it as well, aru." Jia Long nodded and quietly retrieved the dagger, while the elder of the three turned his gaze back up to Lovino, who was now frantically struggling against Yong Soo's grip - to no avail, unfortunately.

"S-Sonovabitch! Give that back, you asshole! That's mine! And let me go! You're squeezing too tight and you smell like rotting fish!"

"Hey, that's not nice! I don't smell like rotting fish! Do I, Aniki?" Yong Soo screwed up his face with indignation, looking up at Yao for confirmation.

"Be silent, aru." The elder paid him no real mind, instead reached out to carefully remove the purse from Lovino's waist. After a moment, he pulled back again, successful, and stuffed the treasure into his oversized sleeve with a triumphant smile. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it aru?"

"Girly-looking bastard! Give that BACK!" Lovino punctuated his sentence with a kick at the man's legs, but it was effortlessly avoided. Yao responded by roughly grabbing Lovino's jaw and shoving his head back against Yong Soo more, holding him just tight enough to prevent the young man from crying out.

"Hmph! You kids today, you don't have any manners, aru!" Yao scowled, leaning far too close to the prince's face for comfort. "We've been very courteous through this whole process compared to most people. Maybe we should do something to remind you to cooperate next time...something to keep you from spouting such rude language, aru." A sinister smirk curled his lips, golden brown eyes glinting mischeviously. "Maybe you'll keep that in mind if we slice off the tip of your tongue with your own blade, aru?"

Lovino could swear his heart stopped just then. His face paled and his eyes widened, unable to hide the painfully obvious fear anymore. Oh God, these bandits really were as evil and bloodthirsty as Ludwig had claimed. Speaking of which, where was that bastard when he actually needed him? Maybe he could call for help. Maybe if he told them who he was, who his brother was, they'd back off and let him alone (nobody wanted to get on the Sultan's badside afterall, and what better way to earn a death sentence than to attack the Prince of Agrabah?). It was a degrading thought, and Lovino hated himself for feeling so desperate in that moment, but frankly he'd rather be humiliated than lose an organ...or worse.

"The blood stains would probably significantly decrease the value of the dagger." Jia Long interrupted his panicked thoughts. He had finally allowed himself to speak, but his dark eyes wandered away from the scene, lost in indifference.

"Besides," Yong Soo piped up, just jumping right into the conversation, "I thought Aniki said that sort of thing was unsanitary. That it totally grosses you out, right?" Yao flinched slightly, taken aback as his legs were more or less cut out from under him by his companion's casual words. He hissed and cast a glare at the both of them, twitching profusely and heaving a sigh of exasperation.

"Aiya! You two are impossible, aru! How am I supposed to sound threatening when you won't take this stuff seriously, aru?"

In his outrage, Yao had taken his hand off of the prince's jaw, and Lovino was just about to scream - NO. Not scream. Screaming is what women did. - give a very manly shout for help when a melon exploded against the back of the short leader's head, making him stumble and crash into the dirt below. Not even a split second later, two halves of another melon were soaring through the air, one splattering all over Yong Soo's face while the other was knocked away by a well-timed kick from Jia Long.

In the confusion, Yong Soo had dropped Lovino, who was too stunned to do more than sit on the ground and gape towards the alleyway's entrance. Towards a strange-looking pair of men who had appeared right out of thin air. Towards the people he prayed would be his saviors, and not a whole new kind of trouble.

"Have no fear, mysterious assassin guy! Your super awesome rescue team is here!"

Sunrise brought a new morning to the city of Agrabah, and with it breakfast time. Amidst a bustling marketplace, a figure settled comfortably atop a small building. Gilbert leaned his top half against the raised ledge, watching the activity below as he munched idly on part of a melon. The smaller half was sitting beside him, being pecked at by a hungry little ball of yellow fluff. Red eyes scanned the throng of random citizens with mild interest, half searching for the form of his tan-skinned partner in crime. A light rattling sound from the other end of the roof told Gilbert that somebody was making their way up the wooden ladder that rested on the side of the structure, prompting his attention to turn that way.

"Hey, took you long enough!" The albino tossed a good-natured grin at his friend, who was climbing up into view with just the smallest bit of difficulty. He had a melon of his own tucked under his arm, forcing him to go a little slower than usual, but eventually setting foot on the rooftop and meandering over to sit at Gilbert's side with that sunshiney smile plastered across his face.

"Lo siento, mi amigo! I was hoping to find that tomato vendor again, but no such luck. Ah well, a meal is a meal, si?" Gilbert just rolled his eyes and snickered knowingly to himself, taking another bite and savoring the sweet, tangy flavors in his mouth.

"Tomatoes for breakfast? Really? You ever think maybe you have a problem, Tonio?"

"The only problem that can ever come from a tomato is that there is never enough of them!" Antonio insisted. To which his friend scoffed.

"Yeah, that and getting the royal guard on your ass! Serves you right, of course, being so careless kesese."

"I'll have you know that was a fluke! I wasn't being careless, the shop keeper was just abnormally observant!"

"Oooh, abnormally observant. Using big words today, are we?"

"Shut up!" The spaniard elbowed his still laughing companion in the side, huffing with indignation before letting his eyes wander over the edge of the building. "Speaking of the guards though, have you had any trouble with them today?" Gilbert blinked curiously, taking another bite and looking up thoughtfully.

"Now that you mention it," he mumbled inbetween chewing, "not really. I saw a bunch of them earlier. At first I thought they didn't notice me because of my awesome stealthiness, but they seemed like they were busy with something else." Antonio nodded in understanding, having had much the same experience during his morning ritual of scavenging food.

"I practically swiped this right out from under Ludwig's nose and he didn't bat an eye! It seems like there's a whole lot more of them on the streets today too, doesn't there? Something must be going on."

"Maybe someone threatened to assasinate the Sultan again!" Gilbert suggested, looking far more excited by the prospect than would generally be deemed appropriate. Antonio gave him a somewhat disapproving look, but then shrugged and simply shifted his focus to balancing his still uneaten melon on his propped up knee.

"That's not very nice, Gil. But hey, with them all preoccupied, it makes things easier for us, si?" He hummed cheerfully, that bright grin returning. Just as he prepared to break the fruit open and finally get started on his breakfast, a commotion erupted from the street below, drawing both their interest.

"HEY! YOU THIEVING LITTLE BRAT! GET BACK HERE!"

Gilbert craned his neck to have a look, Gilbird hopping up onto his shoulder with a soft squeak. Antonio set his melon aside and crawled closer to the ledge to peer over the edge.

"Hm? What's all that noise?"

"Dunno. Sounds like somebody's in trouble, though."

It took a moment to actually catch sight of them, but eventually their eyes locked on two people coming down the street rather quickly. In front was a small blonde boy, clutching something to his chest as he twisted around carts and slipped between shoppers. Not too far behind, his pursuer was taking a more direct route, cutting right through the masses and leaving a string of unintelligible curses in his wake. At some point his green hood flew off, revealing a young man with dark hair, probably just a bit younger than either of themselves.

"Ah, that chico...isn't that Berwald's kid?" Antonio observed, blinking curiously. Gilbert tilted his head to the side, trying to get a better look.

"Hey, yeah, I think it is. Phil...Paul...something like that?"

"Peter." Antonio corrected, "I don't think I've seen that other person before, though." Suddenly, the boy staggered to a stop to avoid ramming face-first into a camel, and the unknown man caught up to him, roughly grabbing him up off of his feet and shouting furiously. The green-eyed man felt his protective instincts flare up and he began to push himself to his feet. "Looks like he's in trouble. Vamos, amigo mio!"

"Hold up a second." Much to his surprise, the white-haired man grabbed the back of his vest and tugged him back down, pushing his head beneath the ledge so that they were more hidden.

"G-Gil! What's the matter with you? That mean guy might try to hurt him!" Antonio sputtered, pushing the other man's hands off of him and trying to sit up, only to be jerked down again.

"As awesome as it would be to swoop in and save the day like a pair of badass superheroes, I don't think we need to. Settle down and watch, you spazz." Antonio grunted quietly, narrowing his eyes a little before turning them back to the scene below. At some point during their conversation, the stranger had let Peter back down and seemed to be scolding him in a more subdued voice that was too muffled by distance and background noise for them to distinguish.

The darker-skinned street urchin felt his insides calm and he allowed himself to cautiously relax, though remained vigilant just in case. He studied the stranger up and down, trying to detect any potential threat. He was definitely young - probably somewhere between seventeen and twenty was his best guess. It was difficult to make out his form under those baggy robes, but based off of that face, Antonio could imagine he was slim (though not underfed). Speaking of that face, he had a wonderful complexion. It was obvious from the clean, unblemished skin and the pretty, nicely groomed hair (it looked like it would be so soft to the touch) that he was well-taken care of. And those eyes. Those fiery golden eyes were so wide and lively and captivating.

He wasn't sure when he came to the realization that his cheeks felt warm, because he was only barely paying attention to anything else around him. He couldn't help being distracted, though. That stranger, he was so...

So...

Cute.

"Dude, what's the matter with you?" Antonio snapped out of his reverie to the sight of Gilbert staring at him like he had beetles crawling out of his ears. He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.

"Lo siento, were you saying something? I wasn't listening."

"Yeah, I know." The other thief grunted, raising a brow. "No, I didn't say anything, but you're just staring off into space with that stupid love sick puppy dog look on your - Oh my God Tonio, really?" Antonio pulled back a little, confused.

"What did I do?" Gilbert just gave him an incredulous look, honestly unable to believe that his hapless friend was capable of being so cliche as to fall victim to Love at First Sight. Well, no, he could believe it he supposed. Still, he was quite disappointed.

"Oh come on! You know the awesome me is cool with you liking guys, but you don't even know him!"

"W-What? I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to, you were oggling him like a piece of meat. For God's sake, at least have some tact, man." Antonio did his best to will the subtle blush from his cheeks, his gaze beginning to wander. He was being drawn back towards the mysterious young man, but just barely managed to restrain himself and halt his vision at the edge of the building.

"It's not that, necessarily. He's just..." Without entirely realizing it, his expression had melted into a goofy smile and he felt a happy, bubbling sensation in the pit of his stomach. "He's so cuuuute..! You can't look at that face and tell me he doesn't look adorable!"

"You realize ten seconds ago you wanted to beat the shit out of him for manhandling that kid."

"That was ten seconds ago, this is now! You shouldn't live in the past, mi amigo." Gilbert just rolled his eyes and sighed, exchanging a glance with Gilbird, who squeaked and shook it's head hopelessly in return.

"Ah, look at that! He just gave Peter money, even though he tried to steal from him! That's so sweet, can you believe it? And look at that little smile of his. Oh, I just want to go down there and give him a hug." Antonio had evidently given into that guilty pleasure and was now shamelessly enthralled in the scene, while Gilbert just decided it was easier to sit and casually observe as he continued his meal, letting his more passionate friend get the gushing out of his system.

However, while Antonio was focused solely on the still unnamed object of his affections, Gilbird apparently spotted something more interesting and lightly tugged at his master's shirt to alert him. Never one to ignore his sweet chick's pleas for attention, the bird's namesake reached up and gently cupped his hand around the critter, allowing Gilbird to sit in his palm while he addressed him.

"What's up, buddy? Something bugging you?" The creature hopped in a circle to turn itself in another direction, flapping it's wings and chirping loudly. The two communicated with their own special code, and this particular gesture could be loosely translated into, Potentially unawesome activity over this way!

Gilbert followed the bird's line of vision, and within moments had spotted the source of it's concern.

"Oh boy. Antonio, check that out." He reached over and nudged Antonio's shoulder to try and steal his attention back. When that didn't work, he opted to just grab the young man's chin and forcefully turn his head in the right direction. On the side of the street just opposite the mystery boy, a dark-haired trio was loitering about in the entrance of a shady alleyway. They weren't an uncommon sight around these parts. A notorious gang of (somewhat bumbling) thieves under the leadership of Yao Wang who, despite looking quite young, acted like a cantankerous old man. Antonio and Gilbert had gotten into scuffles with them once or twice before, but they tended to avoid eachother for the most part simply because neither group had anything the other wanted. Though the intense look in Yao's eyes, locked squarely on the stranger, told them he'd most definitely found something of interest.

"Looks like Yao and them have their sights set on your boyfriend." Antonio would have objected to the last part of the statement, but was too preoccupied with being worried for that adorable boy's safety.

"Si. This could be problematic-"

"Let's try here! We haven't checked down this street yet!"

All eyes were then drawn to the pair of guards quickly making their way down the street. They were instantly recognized as a very tense-looking Ludwig and Kiku. Yao's group pulled themselves further into the shadows to make themselves discreet, and the duo on the rooftop flattened themselves to avoid detection. Antonio was almost certain the pair must be looking for him until his eyes caught the panicky stranger retreating into a nearby alley. Suspicions successfully raised, he touched Gilbert's shoulder and spoke in a low voice.

"That boy. I think he's hiding from the guards. Do you think he's the one they've been looking for this whole time?"

"Tch, it would figure you'd crush on a dangerous criminal. I'll bet he really is an assassin."

"No, he doesn't really seem coordinated enough to be an assassin...a-and I didn't say I had a crush on him you know-!"

"Shh! Duck!" Gilbert pushed the other man's head down just as Ludwig and Kiku passed by their building, though luckily their eyes never seemed to wander overhead. When they passed by without incident, the pair relaxed again, quietly watching. A kind of suspense hung in the air when Kiku suddenly paused in front of the alley the mystery boy had taken refuge in, and Antonio found himself on the edge of his figurative seat, holding his breath. After several seconds, Ludwig's voice rang out again, beckoning Kiku away, and the tanned man breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why are you acting all relieved? He's a dangerous criminal, quit fawning over him like some schoolgirl!"

"You don't know that for sure!" Antonio protested with a childish frown, "Maybe he's just a lovable delinquent like us that's gotten into some trouble." Gilbert just groaned and rolled his eyes, holding his face in exasperation.

"Antonio, what am I going to do with you - ah! Looks like Yao and them are on the move." The albino man caught sight of the trio slinking out of the shadows, waiting until the guards had disappeared around the corner before quickly dashing across the street and entering the stranger's alley.

"Ah, eso no es bueno." Antonio turned his head to catch Gilbert's gaze, his own expressioning hardening slightly with seriousness. "He could be in trouble if we leave him alone with them." Gilbert merely smirked, knowing exactly where this was going. He grunted softly, pushing himself up to his feet and picking up the remains of the breakfast he knew he wasn't going to get to finish.

"Well, I guess we have no choice, then. Let's go be badass superheroes."

"Mysterious...assassin...guy? What?"

Gilbert personally felt like their dramatic entrance, along with the epic poses they held just long enough to make an effective impression, warranted a little more than the bizarre stares they got from the four men at the back of the alleyway. Though he supposed they had just been dumbstruck by the sheer combined awesomeness of Antonio and himself. Which was reasonable.

Yao pushed himself up from the ground, sputtering and cursing in a harsh-sounding foreign language while he tried to dust himself off. He turned to glare at the pair who dared to intrude upon their business, growling lowly under his breath.

"You two! What do you think you're doing, aru? This isn't any of your concern, so get out of here, aru!" Antonio shook his head, a dangerous, almost deadly air emanating from the man in spite of his misleadingly cheerful smile. He dropped his pose in favor of taking a more imposing stance, cracking his knuckles loudly.

"Lo siento, guys. But you know we can't rightly let you threaten innocent civilians like that. Especially ones that are so cute! You should leave him alone and please give back his money. I don't like getting into confrontations if I can avoid it."

"But the awesome me is just fine with confrontation, so if you'd rather do things that way, be our guest!"

"Hmph." Yao smiled slyly, confidently, straightening himself once again and resuming that in-control demeanor. "It seems you've forgotten our last encounter, aru. If I recall correctly, you just barely escaped with a broken arm, didn't you Gilbert?"

"It wasn't broken! And that was a cheap shot, it totally doesn't count!" The ponytailed man shook his head with a chuckle, beginning to shift his footing and take an offensive stance.

"Is that how you see it, aru? Well, I suppose some people never learn. Allow us to attempt to drill this lesson into your skulls one more time, aru. Jia Long, keep an eye on the drifter boy. Yong Soo, with me aru!" Yong Soo, who was still spitting small chunks of melon out of his mouth, looked up with a grin and was more than thrilled to take his place beside the older man, taking his own stance (which looked slightly more silly with those long sleeves dangling over his arms).

"Gotcha, Aniki! You can count on me!"

Likewise, Jia Long took his place in front of their victim, though far more silently. Lovino attempted to push himself up again, but was suddenly met with a sharp look from his guard and quickly sank back down. These guys seemed pretty confident, they could probably take care of themselves.

He missed the first move. He'd blinked and suddenly the four were caught up in a blur of flailing limbs and dust clouds. It was a little difficult to keep track of them when they moved so fast and expertly, like they'd been brawling on the streets their entire lives (they most likely had been, he realized a little morbidly). Yao and Yong Soo were all flips and fancy footwork, and the young prince could almost admire their skill and precision. It was like watching an intricate dance. In contrast, the new-comers weren't nearly so graceful. Barely dodging one attack after another, throwing themselves at their opponents and using dirty, sneaky tactics. Yet for all their barbarian qualities, the pair worked flawlessly as a team, each constantly aware of the other's location and exchanging strategy through mere wordless glances.

Receiving a swift kick to the chest, Antonio flew backwards, ramming into the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of him for a moment. He rubbed the back of his skull with a soft wince, thankful that his thick-headedness was for once a positive attribute. In the meantime, Gilbert was preoccupied with fighting off Yong Soo, who had (thanks to some slick moves and a brief distraction from Antonio) gotten his oversized sleeves tied up, making blocking significantly more difficult. The albino was quickly gaining the edge, and Yong Soo was backed into a corner before he realized it. He barely managed to evade another attack by buckling his knees and dropping down, making a move to sweep Gilbert's own feet out from under him. The red-eyed man succesfully dodged, but a third figure took advantage of his distracted state and grabbed him from behind, swinging him around until he crashed into the ground. By the time his back hit the dirt, Gilbert's vision was spinning, dizzy from the motion. When he refocused, Yao's form towered over him with a broad smirk, his foot pressing heavily against the downed man's neck.

"You're getting to be a real pain, aru. Maybe it'd be best if we ended this here and now." He pushed down harder, the pressure causing Gilbert to gag and claw at the man's ankle, unable to breathe. He could see the sick pleasure that glittered in Yao's eyes at the sight of his struggle, so he hardened his own expression and made an effort to deny the man any show of panic or pain. He was never truly worried, though. Not as long as his backup was there.

In a flash, Yao was tackled from the side and hit the ground, pinned under the weight of a tan-skinned lummox. He struggled and threw out a slew of curses that Antonio was sure would have made him blush if he understood them, eventually knocking him off again. Antonio stumbled back and, while holding his bruised chest, reached down to help a still choking Gilbert up to his feet. The duo stood side-by-side seconds later, a little worse-for-wear but still confident and ready to fight. Yao clicked his tongue at their arrogance, beginning to push himself up as well.

"I'm really starting to become fed up with you two, aru- "

Crack.

"AIYAAAA!" There was a collective cringe as everyone watched the ponytailed man collapse to the ground, stiffly rolling himself onto his stomach and stretching his arms to clutch at his back. Another string of foreign curses, these ones much more fiery and his voice tinged with restrained agony. Immediately, Yong Soo hopped up to his feet, rushing to the man's side.

"Uh-oh! Sounds like the old man threw his back out again!"

"I AM NOT AN OLD MAN, ARU! MY BONES ARE JUST STIFF FROM MY POOR SLEEP LATELY, ARU!"

"Sure sure, whatever you say old-timer." After a bit of complicated fiddling with his sleeves and a creative use of his teeth, the younger man was able to unbind his arms and positioned himself at Yao's head, slipping his hands under the man's arms and gingerly beginning to pick him up. Jia Long didn't need to be called, appearing at Yao's feet in an instant. He took the leader's legs, and together the minions/brothers/whatever they called themselves hoisted Yao up into the air with practiced skill.

The man himself groaned, still quite in pain, plus the added humiliation of being seen this way in front of his enemies. Not one to give up his pride so easily, Yao hissed and glared furiously at Antonio and Gilbert, shaking his fist at the pair as he was carted away like a sack of potatoes.

"This isn't the end, aru..! You may call this a draw, but we shall be back soon enough to claim a full victory! And next time you won't be so lucky as to escape your fate, aru!"

A few more choice swears bounced off the walls as Yao's voice quickly faded into obscurity, then disappeared altogether. Antonio and Gilbert exchanged glances. A second later and they had burst into laughter, patting eachother on the back for a job well done and revelling in the hilarity of Yao's face when he left.

"Aw man, did you see the way he was trying not to cry? So awesome, that timing was the best too!"

"It's a little funny and a little sad that so many of our meetings end like that, si? Maybe Yao should consider seeing a doctor about that back problem."

"Oh it's just because he's secretly a wrinkly old man with a good complexion! Though not as awesome as mine, of course. When I'm as old as him, I bet I'll look even sexier than I do now."

"If he really is an old man, then why do you keep getting your ass handed to you by him, mi amigo?"

As the duo laughed and teased one another, Lovino sat at the back of the alley, seemingly forgotten. He could only stare in fascination for several seconds, not entirely sure what he'd just witnessed. He had to wonder if this was a common occurance in the streets of Agrabah. Of course, he knew that there was crime and the occational clash between bands of thieves, but his visions had evidently been somewhat...romanticized. Not to mention, in his fantasies, he was always the dashing badass hero who fought off a whole horde of bad guys that were trying to rough up some innocent (preferably pretty) civilian.

And who exactly passed the law requiring all these street urchins to look so bizarrely attractive despite living in filth?

Wait a minute, what?

The prince shook himself out of his daze and quickly began to get up, trying to calculate the best way to sneak away without being noticed. Just because they had saved him didn't mean that they couldn't have ulterior motives. Right as he was beginning to slink into the shadows, however, a chirping sound reached his ears and suddenly he found himself assaulted by a yellow ball of fluff. With a yelp, the young man stumbled back, swiping fruitlessly at the air to try and shoo the creature away. It fluttered about wildly until Lovino had finally slipped off his feet again, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

At last the creature settled down, nesting itself quite comfortably ontop of the boy's head. Meanwhile, two shadows had fallen over him, drawing his eyes upward to the men gazing back down at him with curious but not at all intimidating expressions.

"Hey, Gilbird! Not awesome, I told you to stay put in your hiding place until I said it was safe to come out!" Lovino flinched slightly, thinking for a moment the albino was speaking to him. However, there was a peeping sound from overhead and the small yellow bird lifted itself off of Lovino's head and fluttered towards Gilbert, landing safely in his outstretched palm like a trained pet.

Well now he was just beyond confused.

"Está bien, muchacho?" A soft, warm voice drew the runaway's attention away from the paler man to his companion, who had leaned down to offer him a hand and a friendly smile. Their eyes locked and Lovino found it unusually difficult to tear his gaze away from those deep green pools. The stunned silence left Antonio puzzled, so he translated his question and repeated it more slowly, thinking perhaps the boy didn't understand. "Are you alright, young man?"

At last the prince snapped back to life, quickly pushing himself up and dusting his robes off with an indignant grunt.

"I'm perfectly fine. And I had that situation under control, you know! I was just about to make my move and take all of those guys down when you two showed up." The boy huffed and readjusted his hood, making sure his curl was well hidden. Antonio frowned momentarily in disappointment, but that was swiftly replaced with his trademark grin.

"Yes, that certainly seemed like the case. I could tell by the way you looked like you were about to scream."

"What did you say, bastard?" Lovino flushed with humiliation and shame, compensating with a dagger-filled glare. To think anybody saw him at such a weak point was a serious blow to his manly pride. Something seemed to strike Antonio just then, because the man went quiet, just staring at the younger male. And then some bizarre squealing noise broke the silence.

"Your faaaaace! So red!" Antonio stepped forward and, oblivious to Lovino's clear discomfort at the closeness, pinched the boy's cheeks. "You look just like a tomato~!" Lovino sputtered in confusion, his entire face heating up significantly at the touch. No one outside an extremely short list of palace staff had ever been allowed to touch him.

"T-Tomato..? What the fu- "

"Ah ah ah! Please, mi tomate, watch your language. Such vulgar words shouldn't pass through those adorable lips~"

"Wha- G-Get off me you creepy tomato-obsessed bastard!" Lovino shoved him away roughly, dusting his sleeves off as though he were shooing off Antonio's cooties. "Shit, why is everybody in this city so weird?"

"Hey hey, you oughta be a little more grateful, you know!" Gilbert interjected, pointing dramatically at the disguised royal. "We wasted our breakfast saving your sorry ass! The least you could do is say thanks. Ingratitude is so unawesome!"

Lovino twitched slightly, folding his arms and turning his head away with a harumph.

"Oh big deal. It's almost lunch time anyway, just get something else to eat." Gilbert wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or punch the kid in the mouth. He opted for the less violent choice. For now.

"Are you serious? You really must not be from around here. We don't get lunch. Even with all my awesome survival skills, we're lucky to get dinner half the time!" While the red-eyed man ranted, his friend set a hand on his shoulder to calm him, a sympathetic look etched on his features.

"Come on now, Gil, don't be too harsh with him. He's just a boy, si?"

"Well it's true! You didn't even get to eat anything, right? Spent all your time oggling him- "

"A-Ah ah ah - please don't scream that right in front of him..! And it wasn't oggling!" Listening to the back and forth, Lovino found that accursed guilt rolling around in the pit of his stomach again. The same force that had assaulted him when he was dealing with that pickpocket (and had inadvertantly gotten him mugged). But try as he might, once that pitiful feeling set in, Lovino simply could not ignore it. A side effect of living with Feliciano, he was sure. The fugitive sighed in resignation, dropping his arms to his sides and calling out to the pair.

"Alright, alright! If you two will stop bitching at eachother for ten minutes, I'll pay you back for the rescue. Even though I didn't really need it." This effectively captured their attention, the companions turning to look back at Lovino with wide, hopeful eyes. Repayment. Gilbert could practically see the glitter of gold and silver pieces already. Antonio's mind, however, had drifted off into a garden full of plump, ripe tomatoes.

"Aha, now that's more like it! Finally, some appreciation!" Gilbert flashed an enthusiastic grin, leaning in closer and rubbing his hands together, watching the younger man expectantly. Just waiting for him to pull out something valuable. "Well? What is it, then? Come on, we saw what you gave Peter, we deserve at least twice that for saving your life, right?" Lovino, in turn, glared unamusedly and inched further back.

"Actually, I can't really give you money or anything. I got mugged, remember? That ponytailed bastard stole my coin purse." Immediately Gilbert's expression fell into one of despair and he clapped his hands over his eyes, tilting his head back and groaning in frustration.

"Gaaah, that rotten oriental bastard! We finally get ourselves a meal ticket and he and his goons ruin it!"

"The fuck do you mean meal ticket?"

"Oh! Espera un momento!" The sudden burst of Spanish drew Gilbert and Lovino's attention to the third man in their little exchange. Antonio dug into the pocket of his pants, pulling out the familiar pouch and offering it to the prince with a smile. "I managed to swipe it off of Yao while we were fighting. I think everything should still be in there."

"Ah...er...thanks." Lovino carefully took his bag back. When his fingers clumsily brushed against Antonio's, he felt a brief surge of electricity shoot through his veins and quickly recoiled. Antonio might have felt it too, because he seemed momentarily surprised by something. Then went right back to smiling like an oblivious idiot.

"What? You goody-goody dumbass! If you had the purse all along you should have just kept it!" Gilbert repremanded, jerking his friend out of his daze by pinching the side of his face rather hard. Antonio winced at the unexpected pain, shoving the albino back gently and rubbing his cheek with a pout.

"I told you, we don't steal what we don't need!"

"WE NEED MONEY ALL THE TIME, TONIO. ALL THE TIME."

"But come on, Gil! Look at that face. We can't steal from somebody that cute!"

"Argh! Tonioooo! Your unawesomeness fills me with such homicidal raaaage!"

In spite of the awkwardness and the seriously creepy vibe he was getting from the two strangers, Lovino found himself trying to stifle a small chuckle of amusement. He observed the back and forth with a small smile, an odd sense of attachment beginning to root itself into his subconscious. Childish and idiotic as these commoners may be, they were certainly interesting. The younger man tucked his savings away for safe keeping, interrupting the conversation by loudly clearing his throat.

"Hey hey, what did I say about bitching? Shut up already!" The pair looked towards him again, Gilbert thoroughly disgruntled at this point, and Lovino couldn't help but smirk slightly. "I said I would repay you, didn't I?" The hooded man reminded just a little bit haughtily, "So I will. I'm a man of my word, afterall. Now then, where's the best tavern in town?"

The current state of the palace was nothing short of absolute chaos. From the moment Elizaveta had alerted the Sultan to his brother's letter, the guards had been running about the grounds in a so far futile search. Nobody had seen him leave, nor heard any suspicious sounds during the night. The only reassurance they had that this was a legitimate run away and not a disguised kidnapping was that nobody could immitate Lovino's unique brand of begrudging affection quite that accurately.

Eventually, it was determined that this was in fact not some kind of sick prank, and that the prince was nowhere inside the palace walls. Thus, the search was extended into the city itself, hoping Lovino would prove just inept enough to get stuck there instead of trekking further into the desert. The very idea that the prince was outside the protected sanctuary of their home at all was enough to throw Feliciano into near hysterics. Consequenty, after Ludwig took his men out into the streets, the young ruler spent the better part of the afternoon pacing around the throne room and wondering to himself if he should start manufacturing some white flags just in case.

"You'll wear a hole in the floor that way, your majesty." The voice of his trusted advisor called Feliciano back to reality, causing the young man to stop in his tracks and look to Arthur hopefully.

"S-Sorry, ve. I can't help it. Have you heard any news on fratello?" The blonde man shook his head in denial, and Feliciano's face fell into a disheartened frown. It really didn't suite the painfully cheerful boy at all, and a small part of Arthur felt a little bad for him. Only a little, though.

"Unfortuanetly not. It seems that your brother is quite the elusive chap." Arthur grunted under his breath, fingering the lion's head on his staff with disinterest. "Who would have guessed..." In truth, the Vizier was rather fed up with this whole fiasco. After finally securing the Sultan's mystical necklace, he'd spent the night trying to properly set up that infernal contraption he had stashed away in one of the many secret chambers scattered throughout the palace. By the time he'd finally gotten everything in working order, this mess started up and since then he'd been completely preoccupied. This was seriously cutting into his scheming time.

"I see..." Feliciano sighed, a lead weight settling in his stomach and a fresh wave of anxiety washing over him. "I suppose fratello always has been good at not being found when he doesn't want to be, ve..." He paused to stare off thoughtfully, reaching a hand up to instinctively clutch at the necklace his grandfather had given him. He started slightly when he didn't feel it, then recalled that he hadn't been able to find it that morning, either. He must have misplaced it somewhere, though that was especially odd since he never took it off. The only reason he wasn't scouring the area for his precious heirloom at the moment was because of Lovino's disappearance.

"Hey...Arthur...I know this is kind of a bad time and all, but have you seen my amber necklace anywhere ve? I think I lost it the other night." Arthur flinched, discreetly touching the pocket that held the piece of jewelry. Biting back his nerves - there was no way Feliciano actually remembered their conversation - the blonde man shook his head once again.

"My apologies, your majesty, but I haven't. Perhaps you left it in the baths?" Feliciano sighed once more in disappointment, tugging off his Sultan's hat and running a hand through his auburn locks.

"Maybe. I did take a bath after dinner last night. I could go check there later, ve."

"Yes, well, good luck with that." Arthur turned rather abruptly, starting away before he could be recruited into another search party. How unbareably pointless it would be, looking for the object he was already carrying around. "I'm afraid I must go attend to some important matters. The duties of a government don't suddenly halt themselves because of family crisis, you know."

"Oh..right. Of course." Even if the Sultan couldn't quite detect the annoyance in those words, it did strike enough of a chord to elicit a spark of guilt. He was so caught up in worrying over his brother he'd completely neglected his responsibilities. He'd been advized to let his staff handle those matters today, since Feliciano was generally pretty useless when he was upset, but he really did hate feeling like such a burden. "Ve~ Is there anything I can help with, Arthur? Maybe I could come with you and- "

"No, no!" Arthur jerked around, waving with wild dismissal at the younger man. "It's quite alright, I assure you. Just stay here, wait for news and leave everything to us, my dear Sultan."

"Ah, but- "

"Just go make some pasta or something, it's quite alright!" Before the ditzy ruler could protest further, his Vizier had hurried out of the room. The heavy mahogany doors closed behind him with an echo that bounced off the walls, emphasizing just how spacious and empty the throne room truly was. Feliciano frowned, making a small, hopeless noise as his gaze dropped to the floor. He wrung his hat in his hands, not caring at all how the movement ruffled the large decorative feather.

"V-Ve...but...I just want to help..." Emotionally strained to an extent he hadn't felt since his grandfather's death, Feliciano trudged back to his throne, plopping himself heavily down onto the fluffy cushion and drawing his knees up to his chest. He rested the headpiece ontop of his knees, staring blankly into the shining crimson jewel that adorned it. This piece of clothing was the symbol of the Sultan. The signifier of the man in charge of ruling the whole kingdom.

It was really only appropriate that it was still a little too big for him.

"Grandpa...what am I supposed to do?" His voice was soft, near a whisper. He spoke with reverence and desperation, like a prayer to God when there was nothing else to lean on. "I'm never any good when bad things happen, ve... I always have to depend on Ludwig or Arthur or you... I can't even keep Fratello happy." A gentle breeze wafted into the room, stirring auburn bangs and drawing his gaze towards the open balcony and the bright expanse of azure sky.

Feliciano had never really longed for freedom or a change in lifestyle. He had his friends and family, and that was always more than enough for him. He couldn't understand the need to break away that Lovino evidently harbored, but he did know what it was like to feel out of place. Nobody took him seriously as a ruler, not even his own staff. He didn't miss the way his Vizier would roll his eyes at his silly ramblings (poor Arthur had to put up with so much, he really hated upsetting him), and more than once somebody had conveniently forgotten to inform him of an important meeting just so that they could get something productive done.

He really wasn't anything like his grandfather afterall, was he?

Between himself and Lovino, it was really a miracle that the palace was still functioning.

Feliciano exhaled, shaking the negative thoughts out of his consciousness. He couldn't allow himself to get caught up in self pity right now. His lips set in a firm line and he nodded to himself, eyes alight with the embers of a fiery determination that was steadily building inside.

Action.

His brother had figured out that no progress was made without somebody taking action. And if Feliciano wanted things to change, he was going to have to do the same. Pushing himself up out of his seat, the brunette pulled his turban on and puffed up his chest, setting his hands on his hips.

"Right! Grandpa, I know what to do, ve~!" he declared, "We'll find fratello and then I'm going to act strong and brave like you! I'll study and read up on politics really really hard and get so smart that I'll know how to run the whole wide world!" He spread his arms out across the air, lips breaking out into a large, confident smile. He was already getting so excited over the prospect. He couldn't wait to tell Ludwig!

"Also, I'm going to help fratello to feel better, ve~!" He nodded to himself. He had to make that a priority. His brother was tempermental, antisocial, and couldn't go three seconds without insulting someone, but he was a good guy who deserved to be happy. "I'll find somebody he can really love and then he won't be so lonely anymore. We'll get along again and BE THE BEST SULTANS EVER!"

His ambitious fire fully blazing, the energetic royal hopped down the couple of steps that led up to his throne and darted across the long ruby carpet, to the other end of the room. It occured to him, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he felt more at ease despite not having his precious heirloom. It instilled some pride, knowing he wasn't as dependant on the necklace as he thought he was. Maybe still a little too reliant on his dead relative, but that was another matter. He threw open the large doors with minimal effort, strutting out into the hallway with purpose. The doors closed again with an echoing bam, leaving behind only an empty throne room and a soft gust of wind that rustled the drapery.

And so our two starcrossed lovers finally meet. Gotta admit, I got to this part of the story and realized "Oh God, I don't know how to write romance what am I doing". So uhm...best shot at their first encounter, I guess? It's a little more difficult than I expected to act like they haven't known eachother their wholes lives.

Also. Fight scenes. Yikes. Yeah, sorry about that.

I REAAALLLYYY hope I pulled off Yao and the gang okay here. Peter I'm not too worried about, but I was hesitant to make China, S. Korea and Hong Kong the street thugs. I struggled trying to figure out who would be a good choice to rough up poor little Lovi and introduce him to the unsafe side of the streets, and in the end China's little gang just seemed like a perfect fit for a more light-hearted confrontation. Also, using "Jia Long" for Hong Kong in this fic. Since he doesn't have an OFFICIAL name and I've seen it used before in the fandom (plus Kaoru seems a little too Japanese for him) I went with that.

Aah, I'm worried that Feliciano's transition from depressed to confident is a little rushed at the end, but really that scene was more to help us transition into a time skip. Also, establish Feli's little side story about his struggle to become a more competant ruler. Er..at least that's what I hope people got from it.

Anyways, your guys' thoughts on the Antonio-Lovino interaction so far? Doing alright or is the pacing just all wrong? Any comments would be appreciated~!

Oh, one last thing before I go. It's probably tacky to make art for your own story, but I couldn't resist: (hetaladdin .tumblr post /275487 62766/ cover-art-for-antonio-and-the-fabulous-genie-of) (You'll have to add a "dot com slash" between "tumblr" and "post" until I can figure out how to do this link thing... Really sorry!)

Til next time. Stay beautiful, readers~