You arrived in Rome, Italy, where you were going to spend six months living in. You were alone there, and you knew no one. You pulled out the map from your bag and unfolded it to find out where the hotel was. You already made reservations for it. The map showed the hotel you were going to stay at was on the other side of Rome. You sighed, you didn't save a lot of money for transportation. You walked out of the airport, and walked across the street to the bus stop. There were four other people at the bus stop other than you, and they didn't seem all that friendly. So you kept to yourself and stood there awkwardly, and waited for the bus to arrive.
When the bus did arrive the others climbed on before you, and when you gave the change to the bus driver, you noticed there was only one seat left, which was next to a guy who looked happy-go-lucky and friendly. He was wearing a blue outfit, which looked more like a uniform. You pointed at the seat and asked, "May I please sit here?"
He looked up at you with amber-brown eyes and a bright smile. "Ve~ Of course!" He patted the seat next to him and you obediently sat down. You took a glance at him and you noticed he had a hair curl sticking out. You looked back to your map, and tried to figure out the bus route. The guy looked to you and he smiled. "Are you new here?" he asked with an Italian accent, you had just noticed.
You looked back at him and nodded. "Yeah, I haven't been here before." you told him. He leaned over to look at the map and noticed your markings of the hotel. He chuckled. "What?" you asked, confused at why he had laughed.
"Do you want me to help you get to your hotel?" he questioned. You didn't expect him to offer help. You agreed anyways. "Well, first, we'll have to transfer buses." he told you. When the bus stopped you both got off and headed to the bus in front of the previous one. You both went to the very back and sat together. "Now, we have to sit here for a little while."
You folded your map and placed it back in your bag. "Thank you," you said, and he looked a bit confused. "For helping me, that is." you finished. He grinned and you couldn't help but grin back. "I never did get your name." You inquired.
He kept that infectious grin on his face. "Call me Feliciano." he said.
"Okay, Feliciano , I'm ______" you told him.
Feliciano's eyes widened. "That's one of the most beautiful names I've ever heard!" he said with enthusiasm. You slightly giggled at his awestruck expression.
You two began talking on and on about the things you like. You found out Feliciano likes pasta, pizza, cats, and he is very close with his best friend, who is German, Ludwig. After he brought up his best friend that was all he talked about. You decided to put your input in, "You really care for Ludwig, don't you?"
He smiled and looked out the window. "Yeah, he's one of the best." he paused. "He takes care of me. When you two meet, I know you'll think he's amazing."
After the bus ride, you two got out and you headed towards the hotel. "Again, thank you, Feliciano. It was really nice to meet you."
He grabbed your hand and looked you in the eyes. "Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow? I can show you around Rome, I know it like the back of my hand!"
You couldn't resist, but you had to ask, "So you had a car this whole time? Don't you think it would've been quicker to just drive me?" you asked him.
He laughed shyly. "Well, I wanted to spend more time with such an amazing person!" he said, and your cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.
You nodded. "Okay, well, farewell," you said.
But then Feliciano pulled you closer and gave you a kiss. After he pulled away, he said, "Addio, bella." [1]. You placed to fingers on your lips and your face went to a red shade. You watched him walk away, and you bit your lip to stop yourself from smiling, but you coudn't help it. Your face beamed as you thought, Italy won't be so bad after all.
Translation Notes:
[1] Addio, bella. - Goodbye, beautiful.
