Speed Date

Maria sighed as she looked down at her drink. All around her, her fellow nations were chatting amongst themselves. When she looked up, she saw Alfred finish a conversation with a certain Englishman. He then quickly flashed his "hero" smile at her and hurried off. This whole event was all that American's doing, really. Alfred had gotten this brilliant idea on how to bring all the nations together. And that wonderful idea was…

"Speed dating!" exclaimed Alfred after a meeting, one day. "It'd be a great way to get to know each other better!"

"That has got to be one of the worst ideas I have ever heard," Arthur said.

"Whatever Iggy, I think it's a great idea. And Maria, you agree with me, right?" retorted Alfred as he slung his arm around Maria's shoulder.

"Umm…  Yeah. Sure. If you say so," Maria quickly said while slipping out from under his arm.
And this is how Maria ended up at Alfred's house, dressed to the nines, and sipping her drink.

"Okay guys," came Alfred's voice from somewhere in the middle of the room. "This is how it's going to go down. Everyone with a number one card is going to find a table and sit. Everyone with a number two card is going to find a table as well. You have 1 minute to talk and get to know each other better. When that minute is up, the timer will go off and those with a number two card will move one table to the right. Ok. Does everybody understand the rules? Ok, good. And… Start!"

Everyone looked down at the cards they were given and found a table. Maria had a number one card. She situated herself at a table in the corner and continued to look down at her drink. She heard someone slip into the seat across from her and she looked up.

"Lovino?" Maria wondered out loud. "Is that you? Oh my goodness. It is! It's been so long!"

Maria couldn't help but reminisce. When she was spending time at Boss Spain's house, Lovino had been there as well. She smiled at the thought of little Lovi and his stubbornness. He had always acted like a jerk towards Antonio. But he was always sweet, well as sweet as he possibly could be, towards Maria. She must have started zoning out because the next thing she heard was the sound of snapping and an Italian accent.

"Oi! You're just as absent-minded as I remembered you Maria. I hope you realize that we have what, less than half minute left?"

"Humph. And you're just as sweet as I remember," Maria laughed. "Wait. Are you upset that we didn't get the full minute to talk?"

"N…No…NO! It's not that. Not that at all!" Lovino sputtered.

Maria smiled, "If you say so."

"I...I do say so!"

A buzzer sounded. Lovino stood up and rubbed the back of his head. He stood there awkwardly not knowing what to say.

"You know, if you really want to talk, we can after this thing is over," Maria said.

"Fine. Only if you want to," Lovino replied.

He bid her good bye and walked over to the next table. Maria giggled and took another sip of her drink. When she looked up, Maria remembered that there were still more people she had to speed date with. She took in a deep breath as she prepared to repeat this experience all over again.