"My name is Feliciano Vargas," Feliciano said before taking a sip of the coffee he had ordered. "I'm from Venice, Italy. It's rather obvious why I'm here, being a soldier and all."

The woman looked down at her drink and at first, hesitated to speak. "I'm Monika Beilschmidt. My brothers and I are originally from Berlin, but we moved here when we were growing up."

"Monika," Feliciano said softly. He liked the sound of her name. He repeated it a couple times, which annoyed Monika slightly. "So who are your brothers?"

Monika groaned a little. "Should I even be talking to you about my personal life?"

"Talking about your family isn't personal!" he whined. "I'll even tell you about my older brother! His name is Lovino, and two years ago, before my country joined the war, he fled to America."

Monika wouldn't look at Feliciano in the eyes. She always looked down or to the side. She had never talked to a stranger about anything, considering she wasn't the one to easily trust. But, if she didn't say anything, he'd more than likely pester her until she spoke. Feliciano did seem like a nice man anyway. "My oldest brother, the one who yelled at you, is Gilbert. And then there's Ludwig, my twin brother who went missing." She took a sip of her coffee in order to stop talking.

"Now that didn't seem so hard, right?" he asked playfully. "I don't understand why you're so uptight about small talk."

Monika set her drink down. "I'm not uptight," she snapped. "I just don't understand why I'm talking to someone I'll never see again after this day. I don't even know why I agreed to coffee. It feels like this is all a waste. Plus, Gilbert is probably wondering where I am."

Feliciano looked at her worryingly. Monika interested him, and he would regret not seeing her again. Did she not want to see him? Ignoring her last statement, he asked, "Why do you think we won't see each other again? As far as I know, I'll be here for a while, and then once the war is over, I'll be sure to return here."

Monika looked at Feliciano suspiciously. As well as being nice, he seemed to cling onto strangers quickly, which bothered her slightly. "Why would you do that? There isn't much around here."

"Why not?" he replied cheerfully. "The city is really nice, and when we become friends, I'd like to see you."

Monika looked at him in the eyes for the first time. Her assumptions about him being easily attached to others seemed to be correct. "We just met," she stated coldly. She lowered her head slightly to stop their eye contact. Feliciano whined a little, considering he liked how blue her eyes were. "I know little to nothing about you, except that you're from Italy, you have a brother, and you're a soldier. That doesn't qualify as knowing you enough to be a friend."

"That's why we get to know each other! We could spend every day seeing one another until I leave! And then we could write letters too!" Feliciano started to panic a little. He wasn't sure just yet why he was insisting on keeping in contact with her, except for the fact that even though she was closed-minded, she was kind. She even agreed to coffee! Feliciano had no idea why she was playing hard-to-get with him, and all he wanted was to be friends.

"You seem rather confident about this. What makes you think I'll agree?" Monika fidgeted with her now empty coffee cup. She would pretend there was still some left just to find an excuse not to talk.

"Because I don't think anyone would pass up the opportunity to make friends."

Monika's eyes shot back to his in shock from his answer. She had never met anyone as friendly as he was in all her life. She questioned how and why he even became a soldier. His figure made him appear weak, and his personality seemed unfit for fighting. But it wouldn't be right to ask him right away. If she did see him again, and maybe when time passed, then she'd ask. "You're not something I'd expect from a soldier," she admitted.

"Well, not everybody is the same," he told her. "I mean, being in the military wouldn't be something I'd consider if not for my current situation." Feliciano was chipper with his words, which made Monika uneasy. He didn't want to be in the military, and yet there he was. She swore anyone in the Italian army would sign up. This man must have had some sort of back story behind him.

"Maybe I should get going," she suggested. "I have errands to run."

Feliciano frowned slightly. "Well, can we do this again tomorrow?"

Monika was surprised by his offer. She didn't think she'd find someone who enjoyed her company even for less than five minutes. It would be rude to turn him down, so she nodded slightly and told him that it would be okay if it were for no more than an hour which brought back Feliciano's smile.

After saying their goodbyes, the pair parted in opposite directions. Monika went to run errands, while Feliciano returned back to the base, where he was once again, cheered on by his fellow troops. They pestered him for answers, wondering who exactly that woman was and how they knew one another.

"Today was the first time we talked," he told them. "She was kind of scary at first."

"Then she's the definition of a German beauty," someone replied. "She even had the blonde hair and blue eyes. Now, if only she had longer hair so she could be in braids."

"I think her hair is perfect the way it is. It matches her quite well."

"So are you going to see her again?"

"Of course! We're going to have coffee again tomorrow morning." Feliciano sighed happily. "It kind of sounds silly, but I barely know her and thinking about her gives me butterflies."

"Just don't get too attached," someone joked. "It'll be hard for you to focus once we leave Stuttgart. I don't think you'll get kicked out of the army for a broken heart."

Feliciano smile grew weak. "I'm aware."

That night, Feliciano found himself lying in bed, thinking about Monika Beilschmidt. He knew practically nothing about her, yet he found her to be fascinating. He longed to know more about her, and spending mornings with her getting coffee would be the perfect opportunity. Feliciano was surprised at himself for developing such a large crush on someone like her. Most of the girls back in Venice that he'd pursue were the type who would swoon over the idea of dating him. Monika didn't even like the idea of a simple get-together. Feliciano just couldn't understand why he was so attracted to her. Of course, he thought she was beautiful, and he admired her body figure, but the way her mind worked was what caught his attention the most. She didn't want to do anything more than apologize to him about her brother.

"It was if she was," he mumbled to himself before his eyes widened at his sudden realization, "she was playing hard to get!" He smiled childishly. That had to be why he liked her so much. Because she kept to herself, Feliciano wanted to get to know her. Getting her to open up to him would be a difficult task, but if he could get one thing out of this, it would be earning her friendship. He wanted at the most, a friend who he could write letters to, and visits on special occasions. He wouldn't let his little crush on her get in the way, because no matter how much of a romantic Feliciano was, he knew his fellow troops were right about the day they left Stuttgart. It would be too painful for Feliciano, especially if she ended up returning feelings for him.

Feliciano tried to shake off any negativity. He just needed to think positive. He was going to see Monika the next day.