This Is Sparta: Chapter Two.

The man pushed him off and took off the hood shadowing his features. All at once, Feliciano was put at ease. He threw his arms around the man and hugged him the way he would a long lost friend. The intruder smiled down at his grandson, just as pleased to see him.
     "Grandpa Rome, I've missed you!" Italy gushed, still clutching his predecessor. "But tell me, where did you go? You just vanished one day into thin air! Like woosh, vee!
     Rome cocked his head as if to recall something. Nothing seem to come since he seemed just as stoic as before. He scratched his head and smiled. "To tell you the truth, I'm not completely sure, Italy. But you've found a nice girl and had a nice kid in my absence."
     Pride shined in his eyes the way any grandfather would have looked at their son or grandchild. This was a day Feliciano Vargas would never forget.
     The great man continued. "So tell me about your life, Italy. You got married and you had a kid, si? How did this happen? I want to know EVERYTHING," he said.
     He leaned forward, very eager to hear what would be his grandson's, no doubt, adventurous conquests. And Feliciano had a lot to tell him so he told him in great detail. His day had ranged from an accidental meeting with his soon-to-be future wife, to an even more accidental first date.
     The meeting had been simple enough. Feliciano had been out with both Kiku and Ludwig when he'd made a gesture a bit too big to contain and pushed an unsuspecting tourist into a nearby water fountain. Turns out she'd never leave.
     He'd been quick to help, but even quicker to freak out. In all honesty, he'd been babbling after the incident, just spewing out random crap. He had barely comprehended what he'd been saying when suddenly, he let a date offer slip out. After an awkward help up and an even more awkward silence, the girl answered. And somehow she'd said yes. And Feliciano just couldn't say no to her dazzling [color] eyes and her batting eyelashes.
     They'd exchanged names and information and somehow they had ended up married two years later. Feliciano still counted it as a miracle that they had met and even more amazing that he'd knocked her over. It was because of luck he was where he was now.
     After explaining the story, Feliciano fell silent. He was waiting for his grandfather to give him a sign he'd comprehended what he'd said. Rome nodded his head and laughed.
     "Did I ever tell you about the time I met your grandmother?" He asked, causing Italy's eyes to go wide with horror.
     Yes, Rome had told him about that time. It involved a one night stand and gruesome details still etched into his mind. He'd been five at the time.
     "Si, si!" Italy said hurriedly.
     Rome walked over to the cradle Sparta laid in and carefully wrapped his great grandchild up in his arms. She stirred, but didn't awaken.
     "I just wanted to see what you've created while I've been away," he muttered so softly, it was almost inaudible. However, Feliciano heard him. "Your best work yet, mi figlio." He placed young Sparta back into her crib and offered her father a melancholy smile. "I must get going now."
     Feliciano didn't even have a chance to say anything before his grandfather disappeared back into thin air. Such a sad parting. Italy never got to see his grandfather again, though every now and then, he'd catch a glimpse of him from the corner of his eye. His presence was always near. Sparta, too saw this stranger. Sparta grew up well, having a guardian angel lurking from the shadows, though she had no memory of this man who she had met when she was so young. Rome continued to love and guide his children and grandchildren for ever and ever.
   
~The night of Sparta's birth, Rome, Italy~

Lovino Vargas paced his bedroom impatiently. He had a strange foreboding something was coming. He couldn't shake off the feeling that it would happen tonight. And tonight of all nights! Maybe it was the Mafia again, though he'd managed to put them in their place before. But no, it didn't seem to be that.
     Sighing, he sat on his bed and waited. The clock on his nightstand read 12:32 P.M. Running an anxious hand through his hair, he pressed his eyes closed, sensing another presence fill the room. He opened his eyes to see who it was and immediately felt his lower lip quiver.
     Rome smiled down at his older grandson. He stroked Lovino's cheek and knelt down at his level so they could see eye to eye. Lovino felt a bitter surge of his inferiority complex. Rome hadn't bothered to check up on him and years, yet Feliciano had so happily announced having seen him. But what should he have expected? Rome had picked FELICIANO to live with him, not him.
     Lovino realized a thick silence had fallen between them. Rome finally broke it. "There, there, mi ragazzo, don't cry," he whispered in Latin, which Romano happened to be fluent in. He wondered what his grandfather was talking about until a warm, fat tear streaked down his face. God, he WAS crying!
     Rome chuckled and sat beside him on the bed, cradling his close like how he used to do when Romano was a child.
    "I'm sorry, Lovino. I haven't been a very good grandfather to you over the last few years," he cooed, running his hands through Romano's hair. "I just wanted you to know how proud I am of you, mi figlio and that I'll always be watching."
     He began singing in Latin and soon, Romano fell into a deep sleep. When he woke the next morning, even though Rome was already gone, the words he'd spoken remained, along with a new loving feeling. Roma didn't feel so lonely anymore.

End.

Previous:  This Is Sparta: Chapter One.Part One.
It was an amazing day for Feliciano Vargas. His wife had went into labor earlier that morning and now he had a baby girl to account for. Besides, he'd always wanted to name his spawn...
     "Sparta?" [Dear Reader] gritted through clenched teeth. She laid in the hospital bed, glaring at her husband while simultaneously being amazed he could be so empty-headed. "You named our daughter SPARTA?!"
     Sparta, upon hearing her name stirred in her father's grasp. She was so tiny, only weighing six pounds and a half. She looked so much like her father- the same red mop hung from her head. Her eyes, however, belonged to her mother's genes, sparkling [eye color].
     Feliciano, seeing no problem with it, nodded. "And it's down on the paper so it's legal!" He grinned. "Funny thing though, the nurse gave me a strange look when I named her. I wonder why..."
     He went back to cooing to Sparta. [DR] groaned. It wasn